Diane Keaton, the quirky actress known for her roles in “Annie Hall,” “The Godfather,” and the “Father of the Bride” films, has died at 79, Dori Rath, a producer and friend of Keaton, confirmed to CBS News in a phone call on Saturday.
Additional information was not immediately available. Keaton’s family, which has not responded to CBS News’ inquiries, has not released a statement, and is not planning to today, according to Rath.
People Magazine, which first reported Keaton’s death, said the actress died in California on Saturday, Oct. 11, citing a family spokesperson.
An actress for more than four decades, the beloved star thought she would be a singer, telling “CBS Sunday Morning” in February 2010, “I wanted to sing. I did everything I could to be a singer.”
Born in 1946 in Los Angeles, Keaton appeared on the stage in the musical “Hair” at 22 years old and then in Woody Allen’s “Play It Again, Sam” in 1968, for which she would receive a Tony nomination.
Keaton said her voice wasn’t good enough, and she moved on to acting, making her first film appearance in “Lovers and Other Strangers” in 1970, while her many early TV credits include appearances on “Mannix,” “The F.B.I.,” “Night Gallery,” and “Love, American Style.”
Diane Keaton at the Ralph Lauren Spring 2024 Ready To Wear Fashion Show at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on September 8, 2023 in Brooklyn, New York.
Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images
She starred as Al Pacino’s girlfriend Kay in “The Godfather” in 1972 and repeated the role in the crime saga’s two sequels. The couple became romantically involved after the filming of The Godfather Part II, Keaton said.
Keaton then became well-known for a string of movies she did with famed director Woody Allen — starting one of the 70s most enduring screen partnerships. She starred in “Manhattan,” “Annie Hall,” and “Love and Death, among others.
She said she had a “huge crush” on Allen right from the moment she saw him.
“He was hilarious,” Keaton told “CBS News Sunday Morning.”
She was also romantically linked to Warren Beatty, who directed her and with whom she co-starred in “Reds.”
Diane Keaton makes her acceptance speech after she won the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role at the 50th Annual Academy Awards presentation at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles on April 3, 1978.
Bettmann via Getty
Keaton won her first Oscar for “Annie Hall” — an exceptionally rare win for a comic performance — at the 50th Annual Academy Awards and would go on to be nominated three more times, for “Reds,” “Marvin’s Room,” and “Something’s Gotta Give.”
Keaton never married and didn’t start a family until she was 50, saying she was “a late developer.” Keaton said if she got married, she would’ve had to “compromise too much.”
She said she wanted to try more adventurous things for herself and also said she was “afraid of men.” She said she was always being turned down and overlooked. “I wasn’t marriage material.”
Diane Keaton at the World Premiere of “Poms,” on May 1, 2019, in Los Angeles.
Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File
She adopted two children when she was in her 50s: a daughter, Dexter, and a son, Duke. Keaton said she really enjoyed being a daughter and didn’t embrace parenthood until after her father died.
“I had to accept I had to move on,” she said.
She continued to act throughout her life, her last appearance coming in 2024’s “Summer Camp.”
Hollywood stars pay tribute to Diane Keaton
Tributes to Keaton poured in from fellow Hollywood actors after they learned of her passing.
In a post on social media, Bette Midler said, “I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me.”
“[Keaton] was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star,” Midler, who starred alongside Keaton in “The First Wives Club,” wrote on Instagram. “What you saw was who she was…oh, la, lala!”
Kimberly Williams-Paisley, who played Keaton’s daughter in “Father of the Bride,” said working with the legendary actress will always be one of the highlights of her life.
“You are one of a kind, and it was thrilling to be in your orbit for a time. Thank you for your kindness, your generosity, your talent, and above all, your laughter,” she wrote.
A family spokesperson confirmed that the legendary actress passed away in California on October 11, 2025
Diane Keaton, the Oscar-winning actress who starred in films like “Annie Hall” and “The Godfather,” has died. She was 79. A family spokesperson confirmed Keaton’s death in California on Saturday, October 11, 2025. Details were not immediately available, and loved ones requested privacy during their time of grief. Keaton’s IMDB account showed that she had five projects in the works.
Keaton, born Diane Hall in Los Angeles on January 5, 1946, emerged as a talent in the 1970s, becoming one of Hollywood’s most sought-after leading ladies. The eldest of four children to civil engineer John Hall and homemaker Dorothy, she discovered her passion for acting in high school plays before dropping out of college to chase her theater dreams in New York City. She eventually took her mother’s maiden name and made her screen debut in 1970’s film “Lovers and Other Strangers.” Her breakthrough role, however, was as Kay Adams, the wife to Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone, in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film “The Godfather.” Keaton later reprised the role in the Oscar-winning 1974 sequel and 1990’s trilogy closer.
In 1977, her work with director Woody Allen in “Annie Hall,” which was loosely a semi-autobiographical film based on their real life romance, earned her the Academy Award for best actress. This also made her a fashion icon, with Keaton bringing the “menswear” look to life for women. She went onto do other popular films, such as “Father of the Bride,” “The First Wives Club,” “The Family Stone,” “Maybe I Do,” “Because I Said So,” and so many more.
I had so much fun during this 2023 interview with Diane Keaton. She had the best sense of humor and we really laughed the whole time. I remember genuinely being surprised when she said “I think you’re insane”…😂 It was so funny. https://t.co/b3cSffWeeSpic.twitter.com/mtrtNlfMJ8
Keaton had an incredible sense of humor and was said to be a joy to work with. During a 2023 interview, Keaton joked around with the interviewer while promoting the romantic comedy, “Maybe I Do.” She was asked which of her co-stars she’d “run away” with, Richard Gere or William H. Macy. Keaton gave a kind and genuine answer, noting that she’d run away with both men, one on each side of her.
She never married, but had been romantically linked once to Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, and Woody Allen.
Keaton is survived by her two children, daughter Dexter and son Duke, whom she adopted in 1996 and 2001.
Over the course of her career, Diane Keaton also won a BAFTA Award, two Golden Globes (Annie Hall and 2003’s Something’s Gotta Give) , and a Tony Award, among other honors. She was also well known as a style icon for her trendsetting mix of traditionally masculine garb in unexpected proportions. “When you think of Diane, you think of these great pieces of clothing,” designer Michael Korssaid of Keaton in 2014.
Diane Keaton on May 01, 2021 in Los Angeles,
BG004/Bauer-Griffin
Keaton was also a photographer and writer, penning memoirs Then Again, Brother & Sister, and Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty. Speaking with Vanity Fair in support of the latter book, Keaton said that her most marked characteristic was “Insecurity in conjunction with ambition.” When asked what her favorite occupation was, she responded “Seeing. As Walker Evans said, ‘Look! We don’t have that much time.’”
Hollywood is in mourning after the news that Diane Keaton has passed away was announced today.
Keaton, 79, recently passed away in California. The death was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Oscar-winning actress. “There are no further details available at this time, and her family has asked for privacy in this moment of great sadness,” a spokesperson told People.
Keaton, who became famous for starring in The Godfather movies as Kay Adams, won an Oscar for Best Actress for playing the titular role in Woody Allen’s 1977 classic Annie Hall. Keaton had remarkable longevity as an actress and was still leading films as recently as last year, as she starred in Summer Camp.
Keaton also recently starred in Book Club and its sequel, Mack & Rita, and Maybe I Do. Other notable films in her decorated career include Something’s Gotta Give, which gave Keaton her fourth Best Actress nomination, as she was also nominated for Reds and Marvin’s Room. Other hits include Father of the Bride, The First Wives Club, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and Crimes of the Heart.
The actress became a mother at age 50 when she adopted two children.
ComingSoon sends our condolences to Keaton’s friends and family during this time.
Craig Heist, a former WTOP Sports broadcaster and a D.C.-area sports journalist who became a mainstay inside the press boxes of the region’s professional sports teams, has died. He was 66.
A long-time Nationals radio broadcaster, Craig Heist was a fixture in the press box, in the clubhouse and on the baseball field. (Courtesy Baltimore Orioles)
A long-time Nationals radio broadcaster, Craig Heist was a fixture in the press box, in the clubhouse and on the baseball field. (Courtesy Baltimore Orioles)
Craig Heist, a former WTOP Sports broadcaster and a D.C.-area sports journalist who became a mainstay inside the press boxes of the region’s professional sports teams, has died. He was 66.
Heist reported on sports in the D.C. region for over 30 years, covering almost all of the area’s major sports teams. He had just covered the Washington Capitals’ NHL season opener on Wednesday and was set to attend the Washington Commanders game on Monday night.
The cause of his death is unknown.
Known affectionately as “Heisty” by friends and colleagues, Heist became a press box staple, covering in-person for multiple outlets, including 15 years for WTOP. He also was an anchor and reporter for 106.7 The Fan and the postgame host on the Nationals Radio Network since 2013.
“He believed in getting the job done regardless of what it took,” WTOP Sports Director George Wallace said, adding that he was “a grinder.”
WTOP Sports anchor Dave Preston was alongside Heist for the Capitals game on Wednesday. He said his former co-worker was in “good spirits” and ready for another season.
“(He was) more than a co-worker,” Preston said. “He was a really good friend, especially to all of us who lived in those press boxes, from Wizards to Caps to Nationals to college football and basketball season.”
WTOP Sports anchor Dave Preston was alongside Craig Heist for the Capitals game on Wednesday. He said his former coworker was in “good spirits” and ready for another season.
Heist began his career covering sports at WKHI in Ocean City, Maryland, and he graduated from Salisbury University in 1987.
WTOP Sports Director Emeritus Dave Johnson remembers meeting Heist in the 1980s covering Baltimore Orioles games at Memorial Stadium. In the ’90s, Johnson said he recommended Jim Farley, WTOP’s program director at the time, to hire Heist because he fit “the DNA of WTOP.”
“He truly was someone who absolutely loved his work, and it came through, not only in the quality of his work, but also how he approached it,” Johnson said.
Former WTOP Sports anchor Jonathan Warner sat in with Heist at multiple games, saying he admired Heist’s ability to find the story. With Heist’s death, he said, the region is losing over 30 years of D.C. sports knowledge.
“He was one of the first people in the press box, and he’d go right down to the locker room or the clubhouse, and he would get to know the players,” Warner said. “They get to know him. He would go to spring training, he would go to training camp, he got to know these players and the managers and the coaches on a personal level.”
Wallace, who had known Heist for 25 years, said his former co-worker took him and any new interns under his wing to learn how to cover games for radio.
“He was at a ballpark 162 nights a year, 81 for the Nats, 81 for the Orioles,” Wallace said. “When he was working with us, he would do a lot of things on his own, just because he knew that the story needed to be covered, or he knew that the game needed to be covered.”
In the newsroom, Warner said if Heist loved you, “you had a friend for life.” In baseball press boxes, he sat in a center seat and would try to engage in with other reporters.
“He had an electric pencil sharpener, and I think some of the writers would just come over and use that as an excuse just to talk to Heisty,” Warner said.
Yet, Johnson said Heist was not an attention seeker. Instead, he was someone who would help anyone out if asked.
“There was only one Craig, and there was only one Craig that was at every baseball game, every Nationals or Orioles, every Capitals, Wizards, go right down the list, he was there,” he said. “He was the one you could say, ‘all right, he was at all of these sports,’ and that made him truly one of a kind.”
Heist is survived by his wife, Suzanne.
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Chris Dreja, the co-founding rhythm guitarist and later bassist of the Yardbirds, has died, reports The New York Times. On September 25, Dreja died of complications of multiple strokes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease while in a London nursing home, according to his daughter, Jacqueline Dreja Zamboni. He was 79.
Although the Yardbirds were best known for their trio of all-star guitarists—Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and the late Jeff Beck—sharing the leading spotlight, Dreja’s essential role on rhythm guitar helped create an essential backdrop for the group to shine, especially during their extended instrumental passages that would go on to influence countless pillars of classic rock. Dreja co-founded the group in 1963 as a rhythm guitarist until original bassist Paul Samwell-Smith left the band three years later, after which he picked up the instrument until the band’s dissolution in 1968.
After the Yardbirds split, Page invited Dreja to join Led Zeppelin, but he declined in favor of pursuing his photography career instead. Among his achievements behind the lens are, most notably, the band photo of Led Zeppelin on the back of their 1969 self-titled debut album. Dreja photographed numerous musicians, ranging from Bob Dylan to Ike and Tina Turner, and did a shooting session with Andy Warhol during Dreja’s years working in a New York-based photo studio.
Born in 1945, Dreja grew up in Kingston Upon Thames, England, and was drawn to rock ‘n’ roll as a teenager. Dreja met original Yardbirds lead guitarist Anthony “Top” Topham in a pre-college art program and the two formed an early rock band together. Once singer Keith Relf, bassist Samwell-Smith, and drummer Jim McCarty joined them in 1963, they officially formed the Metropolitan Blues Quartet before quickly renaming themselves as the Yardbirds. When Topham left several weeks into the band’s practices, he was replaced by Clapton, who played with a bold, confident approach that won over London club attendees. Come 1963, the Yardbirds took over the Rolling Stones’ residency at London’s Crawdaddy.
“Well, if you’re reading this obituary, I’m dead. I died of FOMO due to complications from ALS,” reads an obituary for Linda Murphy, also written by Linda Murphy.Justine Hastings smiled as she read her mother’s obituary, because she knew how much she feared missing out on life.”She would be the one on the dance floor, starting the party; she was the party,” Hastings said.The Massachusetts woman passed on Sept. 21, and her heart shone through in the obituary she wrote herself, using humor to describe how her life was impacted by an ALS diagnosis, like when she started using a respirator at night.”We became a throuple about a year and a half ago when hose, my bipap, moved into the marital bed,” Murphy wrote.Her ALS diagnosis came in 2022, about a decade after she fought and beat breast cancer. She even wrote a book about that battle.”She always wanted to say – ‘As long as I can be positive in my little world, maybe it can spread,’” Hastings said.Her obituary urged people to show kindness to strangers and avoid negativity.”Please be kind to everyone: the telemarketer, the grocery clerk, the Dunkin’s staff, the tailgater, your family, your friends. Speak nicely and positively. Is there really ever a reason to be negative? I don’t think so,” the obituary says.Hastings said her mother “wanted to go viral, spread a message to spread happiness and be kind.”The obituary also gives directions to those who plan to attend her funeral service.”If you were a stinker and meanie to me or my family or friends during my lifetime … Please do everyone a favor and STAY AWAY, we don’t want your negative drama & energy. Only nice, loving people are welcome,” she wrote. Murphy also told her loved ones, “PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t waste money on flowers.””Buy a bunch of scratch tickets and give them out to strangers along your way. Make people happy, that is the best way that you can honor my memory,” she wrote.Now, Hastings hopes her 60-year-old mother’s final words can reach people around the world.”My advice is to say yes to party, trip, adventure, raise a glass to me in cheers,” Murphy wrote in her obituary. “Just live life to the fullest. Never know what tomorrow brings, so say yes to today.”
“Well, if you’re reading this obituary, I’m dead. I died of FOMO due to complications from ALS,” reads an obituary for Linda Murphy, also written by Linda Murphy.
Justine Hastings smiled as she read her mother’s obituary, because she knew how much she feared missing out on life.
“She would be the one on the dance floor, starting the party; she was the party,” Hastings said.
The Massachusetts woman passed on Sept. 21, and her heart shone through in the obituary she wrote herself, using humor to describe how her life was impacted by an ALS diagnosis, like when she started using a respirator at night.
“We became a throuple about a year and a half ago when hose, my bipap, moved into the marital bed,” Murphy wrote.
Her ALS diagnosis came in 2022, about a decade after she fought and beat breast cancer. She even wrote a book about that battle.
“She always wanted to say – ‘As long as I can be positive in my little world, maybe it can spread,’” Hastings said.
Her obituary urged people to show kindness to strangers and avoid negativity.
“Please be kind to everyone: the telemarketer, the grocery clerk, the Dunkin’s staff, the tailgater, your family, your friends. Speak nicely and positively. Is there really ever a reason to be negative? I don’t think so,” the obituary says.
Hastings said her mother “wanted to go viral, spread a message to spread happiness and be kind.”
The obituary also gives directions to those who plan to attend her funeral service.
“If you were a stinker and meanie to me or my family or friends during my lifetime … Please do everyone a favor and STAY AWAY, we don’t want your negative drama & energy. Only nice, loving people are welcome,” she wrote.
Murphy also told her loved ones, “PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t waste money on flowers.”
“Buy a bunch of scratch tickets and give them out to strangers along your way. Make people happy, that is the best way that you can honor my memory,” she wrote.
Now, Hastings hopes her 60-year-old mother’s final words can reach people around the world.
“My advice is to say yes to party, trip, adventure, raise a glass to me in cheers,” Murphy wrote in her obituary. “Just live life to the fullest. Never know what tomorrow brings, so say yes to today.”
The man who died after being struck by a train in Fort Worth on Tuesday has been identified by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office as “So You Think You Can Dance” star Joshua Demon Allen.
Allen was from Fort Worth and graduated from North Crowley High School, the Star-Telegram reported in 2008, shortly after Allen appeared on the TV show.
The school threw a parade for Allen after his victory, according to the Star-Telegram’s archives.
North Texas native Joshua Allen, winner of the 2008 season of the TV competition “So You Think You Can Dance?” poses for “The Last Picture Show” on Nov. 24, 2008, at Fort Worth’s Bass Hall, where he performed as a child. Paul Moseley Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives
Two days before Allen left for Los Angeles to compete on the show, his 13-year-old cousin was shot and killed. Allen’s audition aired the night his cousin was killed, according to the Star-Telegram’s archives.
“He had a natural gift for movement — no formal training, yet he could watch something once and his body just knew how to do it,” Allen’s representative Christina Price told the LA Times on Wednesday. ”Beyond his talent, he gave back, teaching kids in Texas through dance workshops.”
In the season that Allen won “So You Think You Can Dance,” the show’s runner-up was Stephen “tWitch” Boss, who died by suicide in 2022.
Allen’s career included appearances in 2010’s “Step Up 3D,” an episode of “American Horror Story,” and the 2011 remake of “Footloose,” according to IMDb.
This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 6:42 PM.
Lillie Davidson is a breaking news reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She graduated from TCU in 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, is fluent in Spanish, and can complete a crossword in five minutes.
The beloved environmental leader, whose groundbreaking research with chimpanzees grew into a global movement for conservation, was scheduled to speak to more than 1,000 students in Pasadena before her passing
Credit: Araya Doheny/Getty Images for Sierra Club
The world has lost one of the most iconic voices for science and the environment.
Dr. Jane Goodall, the influential primatologist and activist whose work changed our understanding of chimpanzees and us as humans, passed away at the age of 91 while on her tour in California due to natural causes..
Her passing marks the end of her extraordinary journey. Yet it also carries deep impact. Goodall spent her final days doing what she has done for more than six decades – traveling the globe, sharing her message, and inspiring the next generation to act. She was scheduled to appear in Pasadena this week for more than 1,000 students from schools across Los Angeles.
The Scientist Who Redefined Humanity
In 1960, young Jane Goodall traveled all the way to Tanzania to study wild chimpanzees. At the time, she had little scientific knowledge. She was just a young woman with a notebook, a pair of binoculars, and a passion for what she does.
What she discovered amazed the world.
She discovered chimpanzees using sticks to dig termites out of the ground, as well as hugging one another to show affection, and even fighting in ways that looked oddly familiar to humans. These observations proved that humans were not the only species capable of making tools, showing affection, or getting into conflict.
Her work did not just change science textbooks – it changed the way people thought about animals, and about ourselves. Goodall showed that the line between humans and other species wasn’t as defined as we once believed it to be.
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Credit: Getty Images for Sierra Club
From Scientist to Global Advocate
Goodall’s adventures in the forests of Africa were only the start of her journey.
She soon realized that to protect chimpanzees meant protecting their habitats and bringing awareness to the world about the threats they face.
In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute to continue her work with chimpanzees and to teach the world about her work and why it is important. A few years later, she launched Roots and Shoots, a youth program that has since spread to more than 60 countries around the globe. Their mission there was simple – give young people the tools they need to improve their communities and protect the planet.
Over the years, she became an important activist as much as she was a scientist. She traveled to lecture halls, conferences, and even classrooms to urge people to rethink the way they move through life. She encouraged people to think differently about the way they eat, shop and treat the world.
In 2002, she was named a UN Messenger of Peace, a role that gave her an even bigger platform to share her messages of hope for the future.
A Cultural Icon
Goodall was also more than just a researcher and activist. She became a cultural figure recognized around the world. She appeared in documentaries, wrote more than two dozen books, and inspired many films. Her soft voice, gentle mannerisms, and quiet determination stood out in our noisy world.
She never lectured with anger, but rather appealed to the people’s sense of compassion and responsibility. That approach made her one of the most respected and admired influential figures of her time.
A Local Chapter in Her Global Mission
Her devotion to young minds was clear even in her final days. Just before her death, Goodall was planning an upcoming visit to EF Academy in Pasadena. The event, called TREEAMS (trees and dreams), was planned as a ceremony with more than 1,000 students from across Los Angeles. Together, they were set to launch a student-led movement to plant 5,000 trees in Los Angeles over the next several years.
Goodall was scheduled to deliver the keynote speech, answer questions from students, and take part in the tree planting ceremony. It was the kind of event she loved the most – a chance to inspire kids to care for the planet and believe in themselves and their ability to change it.
Although she never made it to Pasadena, the project itself now feels like a fitting tribute to her. The students will go and plant trees, carrying forward the very work she has dedicated her whole life to.
Her Long Lasting Legacy
Goodall’s death on tour feels symbolic of her character. She never stopped moving, never stopped educating audiences both big and small, and never stopped working for the furniture she believed in. She often said that “every individual matters, every individual has a role to play, every individual makes a difference.”
That belief defined her life. From the forests of Tanzania to classrooms in Los Angeles, she carries the same message with her. We are all a part of nature, not separate from it, so it is our duty to care for it.
Her loss leaves a hole in our world, but her life’s work remains a blueprint for what comes next.
She has inspired generations of people, from scientists, activists, students and everyday people who are now the ones who must continue her legacy. In every tree planted, every child who looks at the world with curiosity and compassion, Goodall’s spirit lives on within them.
She showed us what is possible in this world when kindness and courage guide us. And even in death, her voice continues to echo, asking us all to protect the planet we share.
Jane Goodall, the renowned conservationist who shaped the world’s knowledge of chimpanzees, has died at the age of 91, the institute she founded announced Wednesday.
The Jane Goodall Institute said she died of natural causes while on a speaking tour in California. Goodall had been scheduled to take part in an event in Pasadena billed as “a day of inspiration and action.” At the event Wednesday, a moment of silence was held for Goodall, and a prerecorded video was played of her talking about the importance of youth and their ability to change the world.
“Dr. Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world,” the institute said in a statement.
Goodall started documenting the lives and habits of chimpanzees in Tanzania as a young woman in the 1960s — but her passion for animals began long before that, in childhood. She told CBS News she would spend hours in a tree at her home in Bournemouth, England, with library books, dreaming of Africa. “I’ll go to Africa, live with animals, write books about them. That was it,” she said.
Jane Goodall communicates with a chimpanzee named Nana on June 6, 2024, at the zoo of Magdeburg, Germany.
JENS SCHLUETER/DDP/AFP via Getty Images
Born in London on April 3, 1934, Goodall grew up during an era with much different expectations for girls. She said she had “no intention of being a scientist, because girls didn’t do that sort of thing.”
She landed a job instead as a secretary with famed paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey after meeting him at a friend’s family farm in Kenya. He raised money to send Goodall to Gombe, Tanzania, for six months to study chimpanzees. At just 26 years old, alone in Africa, Goodall immersed herself in the chimpanzees’ world — of which little was known at the time — and made the groundbreaking observation that the primates used and made tools.
This discovery redefined the scientific world’s understanding of the relationship between humans and animals. Dr. Leakey said upon learning of the findings, “Now we must redefine man, redefine tool, or accept chimpanzees as humans!”
Goodall began studying at Cambridge University shortly afterward and earned her Ph.D. in ethology in 1966. One year later, she gave birth to her only child, son Hugo, whom she had with wildlife photographer Baron Hugo van Lawick. The couple met when National Geographic sent van Lawick to Gombe, Tanzania, to photograph and document Goodall’s research with the chimpanzees.
Goodall said van Lawick’s film got people to believe her research findings, saying that when “his film started doing the rounds, showing the chimps using little twigs to fish for termites, they had to believe.”
The couple divorced after about a decade together and Goodall married Derek Bryceson, director of Tanzania’s national parks, in 1975. Bryceson died in 1980.
She established the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, which continued research at Gombe and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. Its youth program, Roots & Shoots, empowers young people in more than 60 countries.
Over the years, she published books and served as a United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2002. In January, then-President Joe Biden honored her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
For the last four decades of her life, Goodall traveled the world speaking about climate change, the threats facing chimpanzees and how humans can help solve the problems they’ve created.
Goodall spoke with CBS News in 2020, as the world was grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, and discussed the importance of conservation and the environment.
“We need to realize we’re part of the environment, that we need the natural world. We depend on it. We can’t go on destroying,” Goodall said.
“We’ve got to somehow understand that we’re not separated from it; we are all intertwined. Harm nature, harm ourselves.”
Cara Tabachnick is a news editor at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at cara.tabachnick@cbsinteractive.com
Assata Shakur, the Black revolutionary and godmother to Tupac Shakur, has died, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported last Friday, September 26. A cause of death was not specified beyond “health conditions and advanced age.” Shakur’s daughter, Kakuya Shakur, confirmed the news in a Facebook post. “At approximately 1:15 PM on September 25th, my mother, Assata Shakur, took her last earthly breath,” she wrote. “Words cannot describe the depth of loss that I am feeling at this time.” Shakur was 78.
Born JoAnne Deborah Byron in 1947 to an accountant father and schoolteacher mother, Shakur spent her childhood between Queens, New York, and her grandparents’ home in North Carolina, then still under Jim Crow laws. She dropped out of high school at 17, but took night classes and eventually attended the City College of New York, where she met and married a fellow student activist named Louis Chesimard. Their marriage only lasted a year, according to The New York Times, but Shakur kept Chesimard’s surname.
While at City College, Shakur became a member of the Golden Drums society, a Black activist organization, and, subsequently, the Black Panther Party. However, she disliked the Black Panthers’ macho posturing and, in 1971, joined the Black Liberation Army (BLA), a Marxist-Leninist offshoot of the group. That same year, Shakur dropped what she would later call her slave name and became Assata Olugbala Shakur. According to her 1988 autobiography, “Assata” means “she who struggles,” “Olugbala” means “Love for the people,” and Shakur means “the thankful.”
Between 1971 and 1973, Shakur was indicted 10 times on charges including murder, aggravated assault, and armed robbery, but only one of those cases led to her being sentenced. On May 2, 1973, Shakur and two other BLA members—Sundiata Acoli and James Costan—were pulled over by New Jersey state troopers due to a broken taillight. In an ensuing gunfight, officer Werner Foerster and Costan were both killed, and another officer was wounded.
Shakur held that she didn’t shoot anyone during the confrontation and had her arms in the air when she herself was shot. Medical examiners corroborated this version of events upon her arrest. However, she was deemed equally responsible in Foerster’s death under New Jersey law. Shakur was found guilty of first-degree murder and assault and sentenced to life in prison plus 33 years in 1977.
Two years later, members of the BLA led a jailbreak on what was then the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women. They commandeered a prison van and were able to free Shakur, taking two guards hostage in the process. Shakur then disappeared before resurfacing in Cuba in 1984, having been granted political asylum by then-President Fidel Castro. She became the first woman added to the FBI’s “Most Wanted Terrorists” list, and died with a $2 million bounty on her head. As recently as 2017, U.S. President Donald J. Trump demanded her return to the country.
Three members of the family featured in TLC‘s 2017 series Meet the Putmans have died after a car accident that also injured five others.
The family announced grandparents ‘Papa’ Bill Putman and ‘Neenee’ Barb Putman, as well as their daughter-in-law Megan Putman, “have gone home to be with the Lord” after they died from their injuries.
“Dear Friends and Family, I come to you with a heavy heart asking for your prayers. Our family was in a tragic car accident and we lost Papa, Neenee, and Aunt Megan,” the family announced in a statement on Instagram.
Megan’s husband Blake and their children Lulu, Alena and Noah, plus niece Gia, were also injured in the accident, as the family asked followers to keep them “in your prayers as they remain in the hospital, we are asking for complete healing and strength for each of them.”
The family added in part, “We ask for your continued prayers for Uncle Blake, Lulu, Alena, Noah, and Gia as they recover, and for our whole family as we walk through this deep loss. Even in this valley, we will praise Him. We trust that His plan is perfect, and that one day, we will be reunited in Heaven.”
The Putmans were introduced in TLC’s 2017 reality show Meet the Putmans, which followed Bill and Barb’s extended multi-generational family of 25 as they lived under one roof. The series was revived on YouTube as Growing Up Putman in 2021.
Lt. Col. George Hardy, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen who flew in World War II, has died at 100, the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. National Office announced on Friday.
Hardy was 19 when he flew his first combat sortie over Europe, the office said. He was the youngest Red Tail fighter pilot to do so. He was stationed in Italy during World War II and completed 21 missions.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black servicemembers to serve as pilots in the U.S. military. They served in the 99th Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group, as well as in support roles. Only 13 documented original Tuskegee Airmen are still alive today, the office said.
“His legacy is one of courage, resilience, tremendous skill and dogged perseverance against racism, prejudice and other evils,” the office said. “We are forever grateful for his sacrifice and will hold dear to his memory.”
Today is a sad day for Tuskegee Airmen, Incorporated. We announce the passing of a true American hero.
Hardy was born in Philadelphia in 1925, the National WWII Museum said in a news release. His older brother was a member of the U.S. Navy. Hardy wanted to enlist, but his father refused to sign the necessary paperwork because of the racial barriers he feared Hardy would face, the museum said.
Hardy joined the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1944 and was deployed to Europe in early 1945. During missions, he often escorted heavy bombers, the museum said. In a 2014 interview with the museum, he recalled an incident where his plane was strafed by enemy fire.
Hardy also served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. National Office said. The museum said he flew 45 combat missions in the Korean War and 70 during the Vietnam War.
When not overseas, Hardy earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in systems engineering at the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, the National WWII Museum said. He worked with the Department of Defense on creating the first worldwide military telephone system.
Hardy retired from the Air Force in 1971. In his retirement, he became “a champion of the legacy” of the Tuskegee Airmen, the museum said. In 2007, the regiment received the Congressional Gold Medal. In 2024, Hardy accepted the National WWII Museum’s American Spirit Award on behalf of the group. The award is the institution’s highest honor and celebrated the airmen’s “accomplishments and patriotism in the face of discrimination.”
“When I think about the fellas who flew before me and with me at Tuskegee, and the fact that we did prove that we could do anything that anyone else could do and it’s paid off today,” Hardy said, when accepting the award. “It’s hard to believe that I’m here receiving this award—with them.”
Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University’s Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News’ TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
Robert B. Barnett, a powerhouse Washington attorney who became a fixture in the political and publishing worlds as the literary representative for Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton and dozens of other leaders, has died at age 79.
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
2/21
Earl S. Richardson, who served as president of Morgan State University during a period of rapid growth and advancement, from 1984 to 2010, died Sept. 13, 2025, the university announced.
(Courtesy Morgan State University)
3/21
FILE – Former FBI and CIA head William H. Webster speaks to reporters in Washington, Oct. 25, 2002.
(AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson, File)
4/21
A file photo of Haymarket Town Councilor Bob Weir. Weir, a Republican who was elected in 2023 to the Prince William County Board of County Supervisors to represent the Gainesville District died Sunday from colon cancer.
(Courtesy InsideNoVa)
5/21
David Gergen, a White House adviser to four U.S. presidents, on September 12, 2012 in New York City. Gergen died at 83 on July 11, 2025.
(Photo by Thos Robinson/Getty Images for Time Inc.)
6/21
This undated photo provided by Annique Dunning, executive director of Sherwood Forest Plantation, shows Harrison Ruffin Tyler, grandson of U.S. President John Tyler, who died on May 25, 2025, at 96 years old.
(Sherwood Forest Plantation via AP)
This undated photo provided by Annique Dunning, executive director of Sherwood Forest Plantation, shows Harrison Ruffin Tyler, grandson of U.S. President John Tyler, who died on May 25, 2025, at 96 years old. (Sherwood Forest Plantation via AP)
7/21
Jim Henneman, the longtime Baltimore Orioles beat writer and official scorer and the namesake of the press box at Camden Yards, has died. He was 89.
FILE – BALTIMORE, MD – APRIL 27: Jim Henneman stands next to a sign for the Press Box that was renamed in his honor at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 27, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland.
(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – APRIL 27: Jim Henneman stands next to a sign for the Press Box that was renamed in his honor at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 27, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
8/21
Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va. listens during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 10, 2014. Connolly, a Democratic congressman and fixture of Virginia politics, has died at age 75.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
9/21
Tom Brown, infielder-outfielder for the Washington Senators, poses at spring training camp in Pompano Beach, Fla., March 11, 1963. Tom Brown, a University of Maryland alum and two-sport star whose interception sealed the 1966 NFL title game for Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers, has died. He was 84.
(AP Photo/Ray Howard)
10/21
Stan Love (34) of the Los Angeles Lakers gets Steve Mix’s arm out of the way as he gets a jump shot off in an NBA game with the 76ers on Jan. 9, 1975, in Philadelphia. Former NBA player Stan Love, who played for the Baltimore Bullets and was the father of Miami Heat player Kevin Love, has died. He was 76.
(AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy, File)
11/21
A headshot of Former Prince George County Fire Chief Benjamin Barksdale. Barksdale died at the age of 60.
(Courtesy Prince George’s County Fire and EMS)
12/21
Jack Fitzgerald poses for a photo. Jack Fitzgerald, whose fatherly face and gravely voice was familiar to D.C. area TV viewers who saw his Fitzgerald Auto Malls commercials, has died.
(Courtesy Fitzgerald Auto Malls )
13/21
Tony Blanco poses for a portrait during Washington Nationals Photo Day on February 27, 2006 at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Florida. Tony Blanco, who played one MLB season was among the dead after a roof collapsed at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic.
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
14/21
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Jessica Aber speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Department of Justice on Dec. 6, 2023 in D.C. Jessica Aber, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was found dead Saturday. She was 43.
(Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
15/21
President Richard M. Nixon (center) talks with D.C. Police Chief Jerry Wilson (left) and Mayor Walter E. Washington (right) in his White House office, May 8, 1971. Former D.C. Chief of Police Jerry Wilson, who led the Metropolitan Police Department during the tumultuous late 60s and early 70s, died earlier this month at the age of 96 in an assisted living facility in Gainesville, Virginia.
(AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi)
16/21
FILE – John Feinstein, one of the country’s foremost sports writers and the author of numerous bestselling books, died unexpectedly Thursday. He was 69.
(WTOP/Dave Johnson)
17/21
Former Rep. Beverly Byron posed for a photo. Beverly Byron, part of a powerful and durable Western Maryland Democratic family and one of only 11 women elected to represent Maryland in Congress, died Sunday of heart failure at her home in Frederick, surrounded by several members of her family. She was 92.
(Courtesy Maryland Matters)
18/21
Baltimore Orioles Rich Dauer throws to first after making a diving catch in the first inning of the American league playoff game against the Chicago White Sox, Saturday, Oct. 8, 1983, Chicago, Ill. Rich Dauer, an infielder who played a decade in the major leagues and won a World Series as a player with Baltimore and as a coach with Houston, has died. He was 72.
(AP Photo/John Swart)
19/21
Undated file photo of NBC Washington and former WTOP reporter Derrick Ward. Ward, who has delivered local news in the D.C. area for decades, died following complications from a cardiac arrest. He was 62.
(Courtesy NBC Washington)
20/21
FILE – Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Brian Matusz watches from the dugout after being removed from the baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in the sixth inning in Baltimore, Tuesday, June 26, 2012.
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
21/21
Amit Yoran, President of RSA Security, testifies on data encryption policies between the tech industry and law enforcement during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, April 19, 2016. Amit Yoran, the CEO and chairman of cybersecurity firm Tenable Holdings, died Friday after a battle with cancer, according to a company announcement. He was 54.
(Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
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Virginia Culver, who in her 44 years at the Denver Post covered religion and reported news obituaries, yet on the matter of her own mortality remained intensely private, died Sunday in Denver.
She was 84, if you must know.
The irreverent journalist, nicknamed “the Rev” by some colleagues and “God” by others, forged a career out of explaining the intersection of religion and rapidly changing social values, and later memorializing the lives of Coloradans who otherwise would never have made headlines.
“This was Virginia’s gift — helping readers understand the world around them and the people whose names they’d never heard,” Denver Post Editor Lee Ann Colacioppo said. “She wasn’t in this business to do big news investigations. She wanted to tell stories and she did it with unfailing energy for four decades, trailblazing a presence in the newsroom and setting a standard, especially for young women, on how to be tough, generous and fair.”
Culver was born in 1941 to parents who’d lived in a railcar during the Depression-era Dust Bowl before moving to Eads near the Kansas state line. Her father owned a service station, and her mother worked as a teacher and caterer. Both nurtured her lifelong love of classical music.
Fascinated by the intrigues in her small town, she reported for her high school newspaper and studied journalism at the University of Colorado before going to work for the Lamar Daily News.
In 1967, she landed a job at the big-city Denver Post, where she met John Snyder, her editor, whom she married the next year. He died four years later, leaving her widowed in her early 30s. She didn’t remarry, and kept the name Virginia Snyder in her private life.
His death and that of her sister, Margaret, when both were young girls, were conversation stoppers for Culver. Too hard, don’t go there, she’d signal. Period. Full stop.
Culver briefly covered women’s clubs until becoming the paper’s religion editor, a role that largely entailed culling wire copy and posting notices about church meetings. The Post didn’t give women bylines in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But, within a decade, she had turned her job into a hard news beat vital to helping readers understand the role of faith in changing times.
She reported on how various faiths responded to abortion rights and feminism in the 1970s. She wrote about cultists and faith healers, the rise of megachurches and downfalls of televangelists mired in money and sex scandals in the 1980s. She broke the news of Pope John Paul II’s 1993 visit to Colorado for World Youth Day, which she closely covered, even flying here from Rome with the pontiff.
For decades, she chronicled the emergence of female and openly LGBTQ clergy members in various denominations, and debates over whether to embrace civil unions between same-sex couples. She covered anti-semitism in Colorado in the aftermath of Jewish radio host Alan Berg’s killing in Denver in 1984, and wrote about Islamophobia following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, when some readers criticized her for giving Muslims a voice.
Culver cultivated long relationships with clergy members, lay leaders and spiritual followers throughout Colorado — sources she affectionately called “my people,” even though, as an atheist, she didn’t share their faith.
After being moved off the religion beat in 2002, she worked for nine years writing obituaries, turning what felt like a professional slight into an act of creativity. Rather than memorializing business and big-monied bigwigs, she made a point of writing about lives led by strong women, rebels and makers of art, music and wonder.
One of her obituaries celebrated the life of a Bureau of Reclamation photographer who transitioned from a man to a woman and built miniature circuses. Another told the story of a Colorado Springs magician who made a living by suspending his wife in midair.
“She didn’t bend, she didn’t kowtow after being put on obituaries, which she considered a slap. She just stepped up and wrote those pieces beautifully,” said Cindy Parmenter, a college classmate and fellow Post reporter with whom Culver stayed close for 65 years.
Both professionally and personally, Culver relished little more than juicy stories about colorful characters. She liked her food bland, yet her gossip spicy and language salty, rarely mincing words, faking smiles or suffering fools, chauvinists or mansplainers. The winner of dozens of journalism awards elbowed into the all-male Denver Press Club to become its first female member in 1970. She came up with biting nicknames for Post editors and colleagues who annoyed her.
Former Denver Post reporter Virginia Culver in Denver on Feb. 23, 1971. (Photo by Millard Smith/The Denver Post, file)
For her friends at the paper — and there were many — she kept a stash of chocolates in her desk drawer. She brought fresh fruit every day through two pregnancies for this reporter who sat across from her, one of several generations of women in the newsroom whose work she championed and with whom she stayed close long after they moved on from the paper.
“To have succeeded in the newspaper business, we had to support each other. That’s how you got by. Neither the world nor journalism were open to us. We had to fight our way,” Parmenter said.
Culver also had a playful side, including weak spots for puns, pinwheels and Cracker Jack prizes. Well into her 60s, she kept a scooter in the downtown Denver newsroom. The giant workspace was like a small town for her. Scooting from desk to desk, she was the authority on its intrigues.
Despite her criticisms of The Post as it changed in the online era, the paper gave Culver her most prized identity and community. She loved news, the company of people who gather it and the honor of telling stories about her native state. “Tis a Privilege to Live in Colorado,” read an inscription on a wall of the newsroom that, long after her retirement in 2011, she remained deeply grateful to be a part of.
As Colacioppo tells it, “There’s a reason the staff stood and cheered and applauded and cried a bit as she left for the last time.”
“We knew we were saying farewell to a giant in our newsroom.”
Culver had respiratory and heart diseases caused in part by her decades-long smoking habit — the only upside of which were the hours she spent schmoozing with Post colleagues on cigarette breaks. In recent years, she hid her health challenges from family and friends and pushed away those trying to care for her and otherwise help with end-of-life planning.
“Virginia had no plans of going anywhere,” said her nephew, Kyle Culver.
“More than anybody I’ve known, she didn’t want to be told what to do,” Parmenter added.
Shifting in and out of consciousness over the last week, the lifelong Democrat surprised friends on Thursday as they discussed politics at her bedside.
“(Expletive) Trump” she blurted out.
Those were among her last coherent words before she let go Sunday morning at the Intermountain Health Hospice in Wheat Ridge.
Culver might have tried micromanaging this obituary from the afterlife were it not for the fact that she didn’t believe in an afterlife. She winced at the verb “passed on” instead of “died.” Once it’s over, it’s over, she insisted, although had recently sought other views about what happens after.
“She seemed curious toward the end,” said Bonnie Gilbert, a former Post staffer and dear friend.
“I think she knew the situation with her health and was afraid,” Parmenter added. “All of us, especially as we get older, worry about where we’re going from here.”
Culver was preceded in death not only by her husband John and sister Margaret, but also her parents Bill and Hilda Culver and brother Gene Culver. Along with her nephew Kyle and his daughter, Lauren, who were at her side Sunday, she is survived by nieces Kyna and Keri Culver. She is also mourned by a wide circle of friends with whom she spent years travelling, attending theater and concert performances, meeting for dinners each Friday and brunch each Sunday and discussing everything from authoritarianism to the afterlife.
Her family and friends will gather at the Press Club later this fall to celebrate her life and legacy over dark chocolate and red wine with ice cubes, her favorites.
Susan Greene is a former Denver Post reporter and columnist.
Sonny Curtis, a vintage rock ‘n’ roller who wrote the raw classic “I Fought the Law” and posed the enduring question “Who can turn the world on with her smile?” as the writer-crooner of the theme song to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” has died at 88.
Curtis, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Crickets in 2012, died Friday, his wife of more than a half-century, Louise Curtis, confirmed to The Associated Press. A statement from his family on his Facebook page Saturday said that he had become suddenly ill.
“He made a mark on this world, and he made a mark on the hearts of all who knew him. It’s a sad day, but what a life. May we look at his life with joy rather than sadness. He would have wanted that,” the statement read.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum also acknowledged Curtis’ death.
“Sonny Curtis was a gentle, humble man who wrote extraordinary songs,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, in a statement.
Curtis wrote or co-wrote hundreds of songs, from Keith Whitley’s country smash “I’m No Stranger to the Rain” to the Everly Brothers’ “Walk Right Back,” a personal favorite Curtis completed while in Army basic training. Bing Crosby, Glen Campbell, Bruce Springsteen and the Grateful Dead were among other artists who covered his work.
Curtis’ start with Buddy Holly
Born during the Great Depression to cotton farmers outside of Meadow, Texas, Curtis was a childhood friend of Buddy Holly’s and an active musician in the formative years of rock, whether jamming on guitar with Holly in the mid-1950s or opening for Elvis Presley when Elvis was still a regional act. Curtis’ songwriting touch also soon emerged: Before he turned 20, he had written the hit “Someday” for Webb Pierce and “Rock Around With Ollie Vee” for Holly.
Curtis had left Holly’s group, the Crickets, before Holly became a major star. But he returned after Holly died in a plane crash in 1959 and he was featured the following year on the album “In Style with the Crickets,” which included “I Fought the Law” (dashed off in a single afternoon, according to Curtis, who would say he had no direct inspiration for the song) and the Jerry Allison collaboration “More Than I Can Say,” a hit for Bobby Vee, and later for Leo Sayer.
Meanwhile, it took until 1966 for “I Fought the Law” and its now-immortal refrain “I fought the law — and the law won” to catch on: The Texas-based Bobby Fuller Four made it a Top 10 song. Over the following decades, it was covered by dozens of artists, from punk (the Clash) to country (Johnny Cash, Nanci Griffith) to Springsteen, Tom Petty and other mainstream rock stars.
“It’s my most important copyright,” Curtis told The Tennessean in 2014.
“The Mary Tyler Moore Show”
Curtis’ other signature song was as uplifting as “I Fought the Law” was resigned. In 1970, he was writing commercial jingles when he came up with the theme for a new CBS sitcom starring Moore as a single woman hired as a TV producer in Minneapolis. He called the song “Love is All Around,” and used a smooth melody to eventually serve up lyrics as indelible as any in television history:
“Who can turn the world on with her smile? / Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile? / Well it’s you girl, and you should know it / With each glance and every little movement you show it.”
The song’s endurance was sealed by the images it was heard over, especially Moore’s triumphant toss of her hat as Curtis proclaims, “You’re going to make it after all.” In tribute, other artists began recording it, including Sammy Davis Jr., Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Minnesota’s Hüsker Dü. A commercial release featuring Curtis came out in 1980 and was a modest success, peaking at No. 29 on Billboard’s country chart.
Curtis would recall being commissioned by his friend Doug Gilmore, a music industry road manager who had heard the sitcom’s developers were looking for an opening song.
“Naturally I said yes, and later that morning, he dropped off a four-page format — you know ‘Girl from the Midwest, moves to Minneapolis, gets a job in a newsroom, can’t afford her apartment etc.,’ which gave me the flavor of what it was all about,” said Curtis, who soon met with show co-creator (and later Oscar-winning filmmaker) James L. Brooks.
“James L. Brooks came into this huge empty room, no furniture apart from a phone lying on the floor, and at first, I thought he was rather cold and sort of distant, and he said ‘We’re not at the stage of picking a song yet, but I’ll listen anyway,’” Curtis recalled. “So I played the song, just me and my guitar, and next thing, he started phoning people, and the room filled up, and then he sent out for a tape recorder.”
Curtis would eventually write two versions: the first used in Season 1, the second and better known for the remaining six seasons. The original words were more tentative, opening with “How will you make it on your own?” and ending with “You might just make it after all.” By Season 2, the show was a hit and the lyrics were reworked. The producers had wanted Andy Williams to sing the theme song, but he turned it down and Curtis’ easygoing baritone was heard instead.
Solo career
Curtis made a handful of solo albums, including “Sonny Curtis” and “Spectrum,” and hit the country Top 20 with the 1981 single “Good Ol’ Girls.” In later years, he continued to play with Allison and other members of the Crickets. The band released several albums, among them “The Crickets and Their Buddies,” featuring appearances by Eric Clapton, Graham Nash and Phil Everly. One of Curtis’ more notable songs was “The Real Buddy Holly Story,” a rebuke to the 1978 biopic “The Buddy Holly Story,” which starred Gary Busey.
Curtis settled in Nashville in the mid-1970s and lived there with his wife, Louise. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1991 and, as part of the Crickets, into Nashville’s Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007. Five years later, he and the Crickets were inducted into the Rock Hall, praised as “the blueprint for rock and roll bands (that) inspired thousands of kids to start up garage bands around the world.”
Sonny Curtis, a vintage rock ‘n’ roller who wrote the raw classic “I Fought the Law” and posed the enduring question “Who can turn the world on with her smile?” as the writer-crooner of the theme song to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” has died at 88.Related video above: Remembering those we lost in 2025Curtis, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Crickets in 2012, died Friday, his wife of more than a half-century, Louise Curtis, confirmed to The Associated Press. His daughter, Sarah Curtis, wrote on his Facebook page that he had been suddenly ill.Curtis wrote or co-wrote hundreds of songs, from Keith Whitley’s country smash “I’m No Stranger to the Rain” to the Everly Brothers’ “Walk Right Back,” a personal favorite Curtis completed while in Army basic training. Bing Crosby, Glen Campbell, Bruce Springsteen and the Grateful Dead were among other artists who covered his work.Early days with Buddy HollyBorn during the Great Depression to cotton farmers outside of Meadow, Texas, Curtis was a childhood friend of Buddy Holly’s and an active musician in the formative years of rock, whether jamming on guitar with Holly in the mid-1950s or opening for Elvis Presley when Elvis was still a regional act. Curtis’ songwriting touch also soon emerged: Before he turned 20, he had written the hit “Someday” for Webb Pierce and “Rock Around With Ollie Vee” for Holly.Curtis had left Holly’s group, the Crickets, before Holly became a major star. But he returned after Holly died in a plane crash in 1959 and he was featured the following year on the album “In Style with the Crickets,” which included “I Fought the Law” (dashed off in a single afternoon, according to Curtis, who would say he had no direct inspiration for the song) and the Jerry Allison collaboration “More Than I Can Say,” a hit for Bobby Vee, and later for Leo Sayer.Meanwhile, it took until 1966 for “I Fought the Law” and its now-immortal refrain “I fought the law — and the law won” to catch on: The Texas-based Bobby Fuller Four made it a Top 10 song. Over the following decades, it was covered by dozens of artists, from punk (the Clash) to country (Johnny Cash, Nanci Griffith) to Springsteen, Tom Petty and other mainstream rock stars.”It’s my most important copyright,” Curtis told The Tennessean in 2014.’The Mary Tyler Moore Show’Curtis’ other signature song was as uplifting as “I Fought the Law” was resigned. In 1970, he was writing commercial jingles when he came up with the theme for a new CBS sitcom starring Moore as a single woman hired as a TV producer in Minneapolis. He called the song “Love is All Around,” and used a smooth melody to eventually serve up lyrics as indelible as any in television history:”Who can turn the world on with her smile? / Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile? / Well, it’s you, girl, and you should know it / With each glance and every little movement you show it.”The song’s endurance was sealed by the images it was heard over, especially Moore’s triumphant toss of her hat as Curtis proclaims, “You’re going to make it after all.” In tribute, other artists began recording it, including Sammy Davis Jr., Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Minnesota’s Hüsker Dü. A commercial release featuring Curtis came out in 1980 and was a modest success, peaking at No. 29 on Billboard’s country chart.Curtis would recall being commissioned by his friend Doug Gilmore, a music industry road manager who had heard the sitcom’s developers were looking for an opening song.”Naturally I said yes, and later that morning, he dropped off a four-page format — you know ‘Girl from the Midwest, moves to Minneapolis, gets a job in a newsroom, can’t afford her apartment etc.,’ which gave me the flavor of what it was all about,” said Curtis, who soon met with show co-creator (and later Oscar-winning filmmaker) James L. Brooks.”James L. Brooks came into this huge empty room, no furniture apart from a phone lying on the floor, and at first, I thought he was rather cold and sort of distant, and he said ‘We’re not at the stage of picking a song yet, but I’ll listen anyway,’” Curtis recalled. “So I played the song, just me and my guitar, and next thing, he started phoning people, and the room filled up, and then he sent out for a tape recorder.”Curtis would eventually write two versions: the first used in Season 1, the second and better known for the remaining six seasons. The original words were more tentative, opening with “How will you make it on your own?” and ending with “You might just make it after all.” By Season 2, the show was a hit and the lyrics were reworked. The producers had wanted Andy Williams to sing the theme song, but he turned it down and Curtis’ easygoing baritone was heard instead.Later lifeCurtis made a handful of solo albums, including “Sonny Curtis” and “Spectrum,” and hit the country Top 20 with the 1981 single “Good Ol’ Girls.” In later years, he continued to play with Allison and other members of the Crickets. The band released several albums, among them “The Crickets and Their Buddies,” featuring appearances by Eric Clapton, Graham Nash and Phil Everly. One of Curtis’ more notable songs was “The Real Buddy Holly Story,” a rebuke to the 1978 biopic “The Buddy Holly Story,” which starred Gary Busey.Curtis settled in Nashville in the mid-1970s and lived there with his wife, Louise. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1991 and, as part of the Crickets, into Nashville’s Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007. Five years later, he and the Crickets were inducted into the Rock Hall, praised as “the blueprint for rock and roll bands (that) inspired thousands of kids to start up garage bands around the world.”Associated Press journalist Mallika Sen contributed reporting.
Sonny Curtis, a vintage rock ‘n’ roller who wrote the raw classic “I Fought the Law” and posed the enduring question “Who can turn the world on with her smile?” as the writer-crooner of the theme song to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” has died at 88.
Related video above: Remembering those we lost in 2025
Curtis, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Crickets in 2012, died Friday, his wife of more than a half-century, Louise Curtis, confirmed to The Associated Press. His daughter, Sarah Curtis, wrote on his Facebook page that he had been suddenly ill.
Curtis wrote or co-wrote hundreds of songs, from Keith Whitley’s country smash “I’m No Stranger to the Rain” to the Everly Brothers’ “Walk Right Back,” a personal favorite Curtis completed while in Army basic training. Bing Crosby, Glen Campbell, Bruce Springsteen and the Grateful Dead were among other artists who covered his work.
Early days with Buddy Holly
Born during the Great Depression to cotton farmers outside of Meadow, Texas, Curtis was a childhood friend of Buddy Holly’s and an active musician in the formative years of rock, whether jamming on guitar with Holly in the mid-1950s or opening for Elvis Presley when Elvis was still a regional act. Curtis’ songwriting touch also soon emerged: Before he turned 20, he had written the hit “Someday” for Webb Pierce and “Rock Around With Ollie Vee” for Holly.
Curtis had left Holly’s group, the Crickets, before Holly became a major star. But he returned after Holly died in a plane crash in 1959 and he was featured the following year on the album “In Style with the Crickets,” which included “I Fought the Law” (dashed off in a single afternoon, according to Curtis, who would say he had no direct inspiration for the song) and the Jerry Allison collaboration “More Than I Can Say,” a hit for Bobby Vee, and later for Leo Sayer.
Meanwhile, it took until 1966 for “I Fought the Law” and its now-immortal refrain “I fought the law — and the law won” to catch on: The Texas-based Bobby Fuller Four made it a Top 10 song. Over the following decades, it was covered by dozens of artists, from punk (the Clash) to country (Johnny Cash, Nanci Griffith) to Springsteen, Tom Petty and other mainstream rock stars.
“It’s my most important copyright,” Curtis told The Tennessean in 2014.
‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’
Curtis’ other signature song was as uplifting as “I Fought the Law” was resigned. In 1970, he was writing commercial jingles when he came up with the theme for a new CBS sitcom starring Moore as a single woman hired as a TV producer in Minneapolis. He called the song “Love is All Around,” and used a smooth melody to eventually serve up lyrics as indelible as any in television history:
“Who can turn the world on with her smile? / Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile? / Well, it’s you, girl, and you should know it / With each glance and every little movement you show it.”
The song’s endurance was sealed by the images it was heard over, especially Moore’s triumphant toss of her hat as Curtis proclaims, “You’re going to make it after all.” In tribute, other artists began recording it, including Sammy Davis Jr., Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Minnesota’s Hüsker Dü. A commercial release featuring Curtis came out in 1980 and was a modest success, peaking at No. 29 on Billboard’s country chart.
Curtis would recall being commissioned by his friend Doug Gilmore, a music industry road manager who had heard the sitcom’s developers were looking for an opening song.
“Naturally I said yes, and later that morning, he dropped off a four-page format — you know ‘Girl from the Midwest, moves to Minneapolis, gets a job in a newsroom, can’t afford her apartment etc.,’ which gave me the flavor of what it was all about,” said Curtis, who soon met with show co-creator (and later Oscar-winning filmmaker) James L. Brooks.
“James L. Brooks came into this huge empty room, no furniture apart from a phone lying on the floor, and at first, I thought he was rather cold and sort of distant, and he said ‘We’re not at the stage of picking a song yet, but I’ll listen anyway,’” Curtis recalled. “So I played the song, just me and my guitar, and next thing, he started phoning people, and the room filled up, and then he sent out for a tape recorder.”
Curtis would eventually write two versions: the first used in Season 1, the second and better known for the remaining six seasons. The original words were more tentative, opening with “How will you make it on your own?” and ending with “You might just make it after all.” By Season 2, the show was a hit and the lyrics were reworked. The producers had wanted Andy Williams to sing the theme song, but he turned it down and Curtis’ easygoing baritone was heard instead.
Later life
Curtis made a handful of solo albums, including “Sonny Curtis” and “Spectrum,” and hit the country Top 20 with the 1981 single “Good Ol’ Girls.” In later years, he continued to play with Allison and other members of the Crickets. The band released several albums, among them “The Crickets and Their Buddies,” featuring appearances by Eric Clapton, Graham Nash and Phil Everly. One of Curtis’ more notable songs was “The Real Buddy Holly Story,” a rebuke to the 1978 biopic “The Buddy Holly Story,” which starred Gary Busey.
Curtis settled in Nashville in the mid-1970s and lived there with his wife, Louise. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1991 and, as part of the Crickets, into Nashville’s Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007. Five years later, he and the Crickets were inducted into the Rock Hall, praised as “the blueprint for rock and roll bands (that) inspired thousands of kids to start up garage bands around the world.”
Associated Press journalist Mallika Sen contributed reporting.
WTOP Business reporter Jeff Clabaugh has died at the age of 63 after delivering money news reports to D.C.-area listeners for 30 years.
WTOP’s Jimmy Alexander has more with some of those here at WTOP who knew Jeff best.
WTOP business reporter Jeff Clabaugh has died at 63 following a battle with cancer. (Courtesy Russ Rader)
WTOP business reporter Jeff Clabaugh has died at 63 following a battle with cancer. (Courtesy Russ Rader)
WTOP business reporter Jeff Clabaugh, whose steady-paced voice conversationally delivered money news to the D.C. region for three decades, has died at 63.
Following a yearlong battle with cancer, Clabaugh died Thursday night in his home, with his long-term partner, Russ Rader, at his side.
A master of consumer business news, Clabaugh gave reports twice an hour on WTOP’s airwaves and wrote punchy, popular stories for WTOP.com.
Clabaugh gave his final money news report Tuesday, capping off more than 30 years of business reporting on WTOP.
“Jeff loved his job so much he could sometimes not stop doing it,” said Rader, Clabaugh’s partner of 35 years. “And he so admired his colleagues at WTOP and how they strove for quality and accuracy with what hit the air every single day.”
WTOP’s Director of News and Programming Julia Ziegler wrote an email to staff Friday morning to announce Clabaugh’s passing.
“Jeff Clabaugh made WTOP’s Business Reports what they are today,” Ziegler said. “His work ethic was incredible. And his voice was so smooth. He was one of the best storytellers in the WTOP newsroom.”
From the Midwest to the Netherlands to the Glass-Enclosed Nerve Center
Clabaugh was born Sept. 11, 1962, and was raised in the Midwest.
“When he was 3, he would run around with an empty toilet paper roll and report on what was happening inside and outside the house,” said his sister, Becky Nash, of Council Bluffs, Iowa.
From a young age, it was clear Clabaugh was destined for a career in radio, she said.
“Now our neighbor is in his backyard,” she recounted of Jeff’s reports as a toddler.
His professional journalism career started in Omaha, Nebraska, where he covered commodities markets for then juggernaut radio station WOW. His reporting took him everywhere from USA Today Sky Radio to Radio Netherlands in Holland.
Jeff Clabaugh reported some of his money news reports on WTOP from his home in St. John. He jokingly referred to it as the “WTOP Caribbean Bureau.”
(Courtesy Russ Rader)
Courtesy Russ Rader
Jeff Clabaugh (right) and his partner of 35 years, Russ Rader .
(left)
left
Jeff Clabaugh at his home office in St. John.
(Courtesy Russ Rader)
Courtesy Russ Rader
A group photo including Jeff Clabaugh taken in the British Virgin Islands.
(far right)
far right
Jeff Clabaugh loved to cook. Pictured above, a feast at his home in St. John.
(Courtesy Russ Rader)
Courtesy Russ Rader
Jeff Clabaugh was quite the “foodie.”
(Courtesy Russ Rader)
Courtesy Russ Rader
A group photo from early in Jeff Clabaugh’s career. He’s pictured in the second row, second from the left. To his right, former WTOP Sports Director Dave Johnson.
(Courtesy Mike McMearty)
Courtesy Mike McMearty
Why WTOP celebrates ‘Jeff Clabaugh Day’
Clabaugh has been heard on WTOP since the 1990s. He started as a news anchor at WTOP before taking a job at the Washington Business Journal.
He worked for the Washington Business Journal for decades, which included delivering on-air reports for WTOP.
In January 2016, Clabaugh was officially hired as WTOP’s in-house business reporter.
“This was really special to him,” Ziegler wrote in her email to WTOP staff, announcing Clabaugh’s passing.
“He even created ‘Jeff Clabaugh Day’ — bringing in lunch for the newsroom each year to celebrate his career at WTOP but more to say thank you to everyone else for everything you do on a daily basis.”
A talent for breaking down money news
In the WTOP newsroom, Clabaugh was known for his dedication to his craft and his talent for money news.
“Jeff had the kind of voice and writing style that was conversational yet informative. He was warm,” WTOP General Manager Joel Oxley said. “He was smart.”
He could turn otherwise mundane news into punchy headlines and relatable storytelling.
“When Jeff was on, ready to present his money or business reports, you would literally make that motion to turn the volume up because you knew whatever he was going to say on there was going to be different, off beat, but yet, everyone could relate to the story,” WTOP reporter Steve Dresner said.
At times business news may feel high brow, but Clabaugh simplified the stories for the everyday listeners.
“He was able to pick out those money stories that people really cared about, and he would talk about them in a way that made it easy to understand, even really complicated stock or business stories that were out there,” WTOP anchor and reporter Kyle Cooper said.
Ziegler agreed, adding Clabaugh understood how to connect with listeners.
“Jeff had the incredible ability to break down the complexities of the business world and tell us how it impacted our daily lives,” Ziegler said. “He made it matter.”
Clabaugh’s life off the air
Outside his money news reports, Clabaugh enjoyed visiting his second home on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He was known for getting to the Virgin Islands and not leaving his slice of paradise for the entire vacation — no beach, no outings, just him, Rader and their pool with an incredible view.
His love for the Caribbean even made it’s mark on WTOP’s newsroom.
When WTOP moved its headquarters in 2019, reporters were allowed to name their audio booths. Clabaugh opted to label his station the “Soggy Dollar” — a nod to one of his favorite beachside bars in the British Virgin Islands.
Jeff Clabaugh poses for a photo with a sign outside his audio booth, “Soggy Dollar.” It’s named after a bar he loved in the Caribbean. (WTOP/Jeff Clabaugh)
From nicknames to one-liners, Clabaugh brought a sense of humor to the newsroom characterized by wit, sarcasm and self-deprecating jokes.
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Jeff Clabaugh learns ukulele to perform to WTOP coworkers
“A lot to respect about Jeff’s career, but also his contemplative personality,” said WTOP Traffic Anchor Dave Dildine. “His observations were usually either witty or poignant, but never banal, and it’s likely what made his teases so sharp and his temperament so welcoming.”
And he was committed to bringing a smile to other people’s faces. At one point, a colleague suggested he learn the ukulele. Months later, after even that colleague had forgotten the conversation, Clabaugh showed up to work with a ukulele and performed a song he had written for that coworker as a Christmas gift.
His love for food went beyond reporting restaurant openings. Former WTOP midday anchor Debbie Feinstein described herself and Clabaugh as “foodies.”
“In fact, he used to expertly (think food tweezers) plate small portions of whatever incredible delicacy he prepared for dinner the night before, and serve it up to Mark Lewis and me in the 10 a.m. hour during commercials. His one-bite delicacies could rival any Michelin-starred chef,” Feinstein wrote of Clabaugh.
Clabaugh made home videos as he prepared some of that food, tempting his coworkers with the sizzling sounds of the tasty food before bringing it to the newsroom.
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Home video of Jeff Clabaugh preparing a dish
Still, perhaps what he may be remembered for most around the newsroom was how much he cared.
“He cared deeply about serving our audience, he cared deeply for his family, and he cared deeply for his colleagues and friends,” Ziegler said.
WTOP anchor and reporter Dan Ronan has filled in for Clabaugh as a business reporter when he was absent from work over the past year. Ronan said he’s received notes of encouragement from Clabaugh.
“It means an awful lot to me, and I will cherish those emails and those conversations that we had as we’ve gotten to know each other over the last couple of years,” Ronan said.
Cooper at one point trained Clabaugh to anchor the newscast, a process he said is at times dicey and heated with any trainee. But the two bonded over their roots in the Midwest off the air.
“Jeff quipped something like, ‘You know, I wasn’t really sure we were going to get along, but now that I know your story, I think we’re going to be friends.’” Cooper recalled. “That just said a lot about him as a coworker and a colleague. He wanted to know what you were about, not just work with you.”
Clabaugh served as a mentor to many in the newsroom, sharing words of encouragement with young staffers and meticulously training journalists on best practices for delivering money news in his absence.
“He is someone I have told young journalists they should try to emulate because of his ability to tell stories,” Ziegler said.
Jeff Clabaugh (right) smiles for a photo during a midday newscast with anchors Debbie Feinstein and Mark Lewis. (Courtesy Debbie Feinstein)
Clabaugh’s passing follows the loss of WTOP anchor Dimitri Sotis, who died in January at the age of 55.
“To lose a titan like Jeff the same year we lose the titan Dimitri Sotis is devastating. These two men were two of the best journalists I’ve ever worked with,” Ziegler said.
Listeners who would like to share a memory of Jeff Clabaugh can send us a voice note through the WTOP News app, available on Apple or Android. Click the “Feedback” button in the app’s navigation bar.
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The music video director Diane Martel died on Thursday, September 18, in New York, her family told Rolling Stone. “Diane passed away peacefully at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital—surrounded by friends and family—after a long battle with breast cancer,” the family said. “She is survived by her aunt, Gail Merrifield Papp (wife of Joseph Papp, founder of the Public Theatre), her three beloved, loyal cats (Poki, PopPop, PomPom), and many loving lifetime friends.” Martel was 63 years old.
Martel directed her first music video, for Onyx’s “Throw Ya Gunz,” in 1992. She continued to work primarily in the hip-hop world, filming Method Man’s “Bring the Pain,” Gang Starr’s “Mass Appeal,” and more. She also did a lot of videos for Mariah Carey, including “Dreamlover,” “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” and “Whenever You Call.” Martel continued to work steadily in the 2000s, collaborating with Clipse, Jennifer Lopez, the Killers, Britney Spears, Franz Ferdinand, Ne-Yo, and others.
Martel began the 2010s with videos for Beyoncé’s “Best Thing I Never Had,” Alicia Keys’ “Brand New Me,” and more. It was 2013, however, that turned her into a household name, thanks to her headline-grabbing music videos for Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop.”
The “Blurred Lines” video starred Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I. with models Emily Ratajkowski, Elle Evans, and Jessi M’Bengue. The minimalist video featured the men and the models dancing in front of a white background, and Martel explained the general concept to Grantland in a 2013 interview: “Robin asked me to make a white cyc video. I heard the song and loved it. Here was an opportunity to try out some of my ideas about sales and craft working in unison.”
“I wanted to deal with the misogynist, funny lyrics in a way where the girls were going to overpower the men,” Martel continued. “Look at Emily Ratajkowski’s performance; it’s very, very funny and subtly ridiculing. That’s what is fresh to me. It also forces the men to feel playful and not at all like predators. I directed the girls to look into the camera, this is very intentional and they do it most of the time; they are in the power position.”
Despite Martel’s intentions, the video was widely viewed as sexist and misogynistic, with many seeing the women as being objectified by the three male artists. (The song’s lyrics were also viewed as “rapey,” as Williams said in reflection in 2019.) Not helping matters was a second, unrated version of the “Blurred Lines” video in which the women were mostly naked.
Sidney Brown, the producer and DJ who worked with the likes of Drake, Beyoncé, and Lil Wayne under the name Omen, has died. Brown was found in his Harlem, New York apartment on Saturday, September 13, by his sister, Nicole Iris Brown. “He was holistic and healthy. So we don’t know of him being sick, so this is all pretty sudden,” she said in a statement to NBC News. Brown was 49.
Born in Harlem in 1976, Brown produced for artists in the Roc-A-Fella Records orbit throughout the late ’90s and early ’00s. He worked on Memphis Bleek’s Coming of Age, Mýa’s Moodring, and Fabolous’ Street Dreams, among others. Brown also composed the score for Paper Soldiers, the 2002 rap comedy produced by Roc-A-Fella’s film studio that gave Kevin Hart his big-screen debut.
In 2006, Brown made the beat for “Tell It Like It Is” from Ludacris’ Release Therapy, which won Best Rap Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards. A few years later, he met Drake through Noah “40” Shebib, and ended up co-producing “Shut It Down,” a The-Dream duet off the Canadian rapper’s 2010 debut Thank Me Later. Brown and Shebib would reunite on Lil Wayne’s “I’m Single” and again on “Mine,” Beyoncé’s own Drake duet from her 2013 self-titled album.
Brown’s last credited work as a producer was on Action Bronson’s 2015 LP Mr. Wonderful, though he continued to DJ at local bars and restaurants. “I hope people will remember that he was willing to help the younger generation,” his sister told NBC. “He was always big on helping younger people start their careers and get themselves into the game. It was about just the music, no matter who the artist was.”
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