The Morning Fix
Finish your latte, then get your fill of insider showbiz news.
His bubble-like plastic wall pieces reflected Southern California's sunshine and car culture. He made his mark early, as part of the original stable of artists at Ferus Gallery, an avant-garde showcase on La Cienega Boulevard.
The music venture released a series of hit-single compilation albums. The series has sold 77 million albums in the United States since its debut in 1998. Earlier, at EMI, Mercer signed the Sex Pistols.
His most famous work was 'Spindle,' also called 'the car kebab,' a landmark in a Chicago suburb. |
|
Profiles of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Browse by:
Age,
Cemetery,
Country of Birth,
High School, Hometown, Number of Children, ...
High School, Hometown, Number of Children, ...
| Advertisement |
|
|
Spotlights from the Los Angeles Times
Free personality quiz
Amazingly accurate, it uses images to read your mind.
Clip and cut costs
Get coupons every Sunday with Times home delivery.
Meet Christopher Nolan
See "The Dark Knight," "Insomnia" and their director in person.
Frank Frazetta dies at 82; renowned fantasy illustrator
His covers for "Conan" paperbacks and others in the 1960s set the standard for sword-and-sorcery-genre artwork.
Lena Horne dies at 92; singer and civil rights activist who broke barriers
Horne achieved a place in the pantheon of female jazz vocalists and broke ground in Hollywood as an African American star in the '40s. She also won acclaim on Broadway and as a cabaret performer.
William Elkins Jr. dies at 90; advisor and confidant of Mayor Tom Bradley
The mayor's special assistant and friend since junior high was Bradley's 'eyes and ears' in the African American community. He also played a key role in the mayor's dealings with Washington.
Walter J. Hickel dies at 90; former Alaska governor, Interior secretary
Hickel was fired from his Interior post in late 1970 after sending President Nixon a letter critical of his handling of student protests after the deadly National Guard shootings at Kent State.
Francisco Aguabella dies at 84; Afro-Cuban percussionist
Aguabella, a sacred drummer of the Santeria religion, left Cuba in the 1950s. He performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Eddie Palmieri, Carlos Santana and the Doors.
Flora Thornton dies at 96; L.A. philanthropist and arts patron
The USC School of Music bears her name. Among her many activities, she was a member of the LA Opera board and helped establish its young artist program.
Giulietta Simionato dies at 99; Italian mezzo-soprano
The opera star had an instantly recognizable voice and was wildly popular with audiences in her more than 30-year career at La Scala in Milan. She also sang with Metropolitan Opera 28 times.
Umaru Yar'Adua dies at 58; Nigerian president
Yar'Adua took office in 2007 with an ambition of modernizing his nation and cleansing it of corruption. But his political weakness and persistently bad health left him unable to accomplish much.
Robin Roberts dies at 83; Hall of Fame pitcher
As part of the 'Whiz Kids,' he led the Philadelphia Phillies to the 1950 National League pennant.
Max Palevsky dies at 85; computer magnate and philanthropist
A founder of Intel, the billionaire donated lavishly to political causes and the arts. He was a key backer of L.A.'s first black mayor, Tom Bradley.
Guenter Wendt dies at 86; storied overseer of early NASA space flights
He invented and managed the White Room atop the launch tower where astronauts prepared for takeoff on the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab projects.
Jack Friedman dies at 70; toy maker
His successes included companies that made E.T. dolls, video games and action figures.
Ernie Harwell dies at 92; longtime Detroit Tigers announcer
The Hall of Famer spent 42 seasons with the team. Earlier, when he left the Brooklyn Dodgers for the New York Giants, he was succeeded by Vin Scully.
PASSINGS: Angus Maddison, Patricia Rico, Michael Pataki, Don Guest, Ron Fimrite
Angus Maddison, economist, dies at 83; Patricia Rico, women's track and field figure, dies at 76; Michael Pataki, actor, dies at 72; Don Guest, producer, dies at 75; Ron Fimrite, writer, dies at 79
Funeral set for entertainment lawyer Peter Lopez
L.A. County coroner has confirmed Lopez's gunshot death as a suicide.
Lynn Redgrave dies at 67; member of famed acting family
'Child of whom nothing was really expected' was nominated for two Academy Awards and won two Golden Globes.
PASSINGS: Danny Aiello III, Ruth Nussbaum
Danny Aiello III, stuntman, dies at 53; Ruth Nussbaum, Reform Jewish leader, dies at 98
Helen Wagner dies at 91; actress played Nancy Hughes on 'As the World Turns'
She spoke the first words on the CBS soap opera when it premiered in 1956 and stayed with the show for 54 years. The network says she held the world record for time spent in the same role on TV.
Shay Duffin dies at 79; actor portrayed Brendan Behan
Duffin won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his one-man show about the colorful Irish writer, which he also wrote.
Avigdor Arikha dies at 81; Israeli artist who as a boy sketched concentration camp scenes
A painter, draftsman and printmaker, Arikha became one of Israel's most important contemporary artists.
Dr. Helen M. Ranney dies at 89; pioneering female physician explored sickle cell genetics
Ranney studied the blood disease in the early 1950s, when researchers knew virtually nothing about DNA. She later headed UC San Diego's department of medicine.
Felicia Haberfeld dies at 98; fought to reclaim husband's ancestral home in Auschwitz
The Poland native also founded the 1939 Club, an organization of Holocaust survivors, and was a board member of the L.A. Museum of the Holocaust.
Alice Miller dies at 87; psychoanalyst explored effects of child abuse
Miller, author of ‘The Drama of the Gifted Self and the Search for the True Self,’ wrote about the pervasiveness of child abuse and its lasting influence.
Enjoy more stories like this for 
