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“Imagineer” Eddie Sotto, Who Transformed The Visitor Experience At Disney Theme Parks, Is Dead At 67

“While Sotto's best-known masterworks are overseas, (such as) the creation of Main Street, U.S.A., for Disneyland Paris …, he had a reputation for fighting tirelessly to enhance the theme park experience, pushing for improvements to everything including ride vehicles and the food on guests' plates.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

The Artists We Lost In 2025

In their own words: Roberta Flack, Diane Keaton, Robert Redford, Rob Reiner, Frank Gehry, and many more. - The New York Times

James Ransone, Actor Who Played Ziggy On ‘The Wire,’ Has Died At 46

“Ransone was born in 1979 in Baltimore, an advantage in the early 2000s when The Wire, then a little-watched drama on HBO, was looking to cast actors from the city for the show’s second season.” - The New York Times

Rosa Von Praunheim, The Pioneer Of Gay Cinema In Germany, Has Died At 83

“His second feature, entitled It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives, premiered at the Berlin film festival in 1971 and has since been described as Germany’s 'Stonewall moment,’ radically breaking conventions in its portrayal of queer life.” - The Guardian (UK)

Choreographer Hans Van Manen Has Died At 93

“(He) was the Netherlands’ best-known choreographer for over sixty years and regarded as one of the great masters of contemporary ballet. He was also one of the most productive, creating more than 150 works. … All bear his distinct signature – clarity in structure, refined simplicity and an aversion to unnecessary decorative frills.” - Gramilano (Milan)

Humphrey Burton, BBC’s First Head Of Music And Arts, Dead At 94

In the 1960s, he was producer and then host of flagship arts magazine Monitor before supervising all music and arts programming. He co-founded London Weekend Television, then hosted ITV’s first major arts program, Aquarius. In the mid-1970s, he returned to the BBC, presiding over a golden age of arts on television. - The Telegraph (UK)

Rob Reiner’s Son Nick Struggled With Addiction For Years As His Parents Grew Desperate

Now 32 and being held without bail as a suspect in the murder of his parents, Nick was 15 when he entered drug rehab for the first time. He see-sawed between attempts at recovery and relapses with heroin and cocaine ever since. - The New York Times

Rob Reiner, Director Of When Harry Met Sally, Princess Bride, This Is Spinal Tap And So Many More, Dead At 78

Reiner was “a writer, director, producer, actor and political activist whose career in Hollywood spanned more than six decades and included some of the most iconic titles in movie history,” and a political activist who "emerged as a force in California politics.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Rob Reiner, Actor Turned Director, And His Wife Michele Found Dead In Los Angeles

News broke late Sunday night that "the Los Angeles Police Department said it was investigating an ‘apparent homicide’ at the couple’s home in West Los Angeles.” - The New York Times

Dick Van Dyke At 100 Is A Fully Wonderful Argument For Dancing Every Day Of Your Life

“He has outlived mentors, co-stars, romantic partners and several studios. He’s even outlived the jokes about his performance in Mary Poppins. These days his mangled cockney accent is regarded with more fondness than contempt.” - The Guardian (UK)

Madeleine Wickham, Whose Pen Name Was Sophie Kinsella, Has Died At 55

“The works under her pen name came to define Ms. Wickham’s career. She wrote nine Shopaholic novels, which sold tens of millions of copies and were translated into dozens of languages.” The writer announced a glioblastoma diagnosis in an Instagram post in 2024. - The New York Times

Peter Greene, Actor In Pulp Fiction And The Mask, Has Died At 60

“Over a four-decade career, Mr. Greene stood comfortably in a villain’s shoes, bringing to life a range of characters who unnerved audiences with their sadism and moral corruption,” including in Pulp Fiction and The Mask. - The New York Times

Novelist Joanna Trollope Is Dead At 82

“When popular fiction written by, and mainly for, women tended to be classified either as ‘romantic novels’ or ‘historical sagas’, Joanna” — a great-great-great-grandniece of Anthony Trollope — wrote “about real situations and dilemmas that had relevance to modern women of all ages and circumstances.” - The Guardian

D.L. Coburn, Playwright Of “The Gin Game,” Has Died At 87

He was in his late 30s when he wrote the play, his first. It premiered in Los Angeles in 1976; it reached Broadway the following year, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, and ran for over 500 performances, winning Tandy a Tony and Coburn himself a Pulitzer. - TheaterMania

Judi Dench On The State Of Her Memory And Her Eyesight

The 91-year-old acting legend, who has age-related macular degeneration, stopped performing because she can’t see her way around a set or read a script anymore. And she says, “I can’t remember what I’m doing tomorrow, I swear to you,” but can still remember quite a lot of Shakespeare. - The Guardian

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