Obituaries

Ron Cobb has died of Lewy body dementia in Sydney at the age of 83, his wife Robin Love reports.

Cobb influenced the making of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and was a part in building the worlds of Back to the Future, Conan the Barbarian and Alien.

Cinematographer and two-time Oscar nominee Michael Chapman has died of congestive heart failure at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 84.

Chapman worked on various movies, including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Fugitive, The Last Waltz and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has died at age 84. He tested positive for the Coronavirus and was in a coma following a brain surgery earlier in August. His death is followed by seven days of state mourning.

His son bhijit Mukherjee took to Twitter to release a statement: "With a Heavy Heart , this is to inform you that my father Shri #PranabMukherjee has just passed away inspite of the best efforts of Doctors of RR Hospital & prayers ,duas & prarthanas from people throughout India ! I thank all of You 🙏."

Jack Sherman has died on August 20 at the age of 64. His cause of death has not been disclosed as of yet.

"We of the RHCP family would like to wish Jack Sherman smooth sailing into the worlds beyond, for he has passed. Jack played on our debut album as well as our first tour of the USA. He was a unique dude and we thank him for all times good, bad and in between. Peace on the boogie platform," the band said in a post to Instagram.

Sherman was the guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers from 1983 to 1984 and co-wrote much of the band's second album "Freaky Styley".

Actor Wilford Brimley has died at age 85 in St. George, Utah on Saturday after suffering from a kidney ailment. Brimley, who spotted a walrus moustache, is known for his roles in the 1985 fantasy movie "Cocoon", the television series "The Waltons" and sports film "The Natural". He was also a spokesperson for Quaker Oats and Liberty Medical, a diabetes-testing supply company.

John Saxon has died of pneumonia at age 83 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The actor played a martial artist in Enter the Dragon alongside Bruce Lee and starred in three Nightmare on Elm Street movies, among others.

Actress and two-time Academy Award winner Olivia de Havilland has died peacefully from natural causes in her Paris Home on July 26. She was 104 years old. De Havilland made her debut in "A Midsummer Night's Dream", but was best known for her role as Melanie Hamilton in the 1939 movie classic "Gone With The Wind" and was considered as one of the movie stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

In the 1950s, she moved to Paris and received the National Medal of the Arts and France's Légion d'Honneur. She was also appointed to Dome Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

John Lewis, the US civil rights hero and US Democratic congressman has died at the age of 80 after a six-month battle with cancer.

Lewis, a son of sharecroppers, was the last survivor of the “Big Six” civil rights activists, a group led by Martin Luther King. He was best known for leading some 600 protesters in the Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma in 1965.

Lewis was elected as the congressman for Georgia’s 5th district in 1987 and held the office until his death.

C.T. Vivian has died of natural causes in his Atlanta home at age 95. Vivian was a civil rights veteran and a close associate of Dr Martin Luther King Jr., who he met in 1955. He helped organise the Freedom Rides and was an advocate for non-violent protest, racial justice and equality.

In 2013, President Barack Obama awarded Vivan with the presidential medal of freedom.

Earl Cameron has died at the age of 102 on Friday. His death was confirmed by his agent who said that Cameron "passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his wife and family."

Cameron was one of the first Black actors who achieved a prominent role in British film. After working in theatre, he made his film debut in Pool of London, a 1951 crime drama. He later appeared in movies such as Safari and Thunderball. Cameron also played the first black astronaut on screen in an episode of Doctor Who.

"When I arrived in London, I had no qualifications for anything. It was a period when it was almost impossible for a black person to get any kind of job," so Cameron in a 2018 interview.

Milton Glaser has died at age 91 of a stroke and renal failure on Friday. He was one of the most celebrated and recognisable graphic designers in the United States.

His popular artworks include the iconic "I ❤ NY" logo, the 1967 illustration of Bob Dylan as well as several logos for DC Comics. In 1954, he co-founded the New York Magazine with Clay Felker and New York-based graphic design and illustration studio Push Pin Studios with several Cooper Union graduates. Glaser's work has been featured in many museums and exhibits across the world and received many awards, including the National Medal of the Arts from President Barack Obama in 2009.

American director and filmmaker Joel Schumacher has died at age 80. According to his publicist, Schumacher lost his year-long battle with cancer early Monday morning. Schumacher directed almost two dozen movies, including The Lost Boys, St. Elmo’s Fire and two Batman movies, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.

Sir Ian Holm has died aged 88 in London. The actor had starred in movies such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Alien and King Lear. In a statement, his agent said that Holm had suffered from Parkinson and that "he died peacefully in hospital, with his family and carer".

Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafón has died at age 55 in his Los Angeles home. According to La Vanguardia, the bestselling novelist was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2018. Zafón wrote eight novels that were translated into over 40 languages and sold more than 38 million copies.

"We have lost one of the world’s most read and most admired Spanish writers. Carlos Ruiz Zafón, a key novelist of our epoch, made a significant contribution to modern literature," so Spanish prime minister Predo Sánchez on Twitter.