Born in Sicily, he trained as a farrier but became a barber in New Jersey, where his most famous client was the former president. He died of the coronavirus. Source: New York Times
Posts published in “Deaths (Obituaries)”
Carol Paumgarten, ‘Den Mother’ to a Dance Scene, Dies at 76
By Gotham Rex on October 9, 2020
Her sprawling studio, Steps on Broadway, has been a mecca for professionals, celebrities, children and just everyday people who want to dance. Source: New York Times
Maurice Edwards, Busy Figure in Theater and Music, Dies at 97
By Gotham Rex on October 9, 2020
He was involved with the Brooklyn Philharmonic for many years and performed both on Broadway and off. He died of the novel coronavirus. Source: New York Times
Jim Dwyer, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist, Dies at 63
By Gotham Rex on October 8, 2020
Working for New York Newsday, The Daily News and The Times, he covered the human stories of New York in dramatic prose and crusaded against injustice. Source: New York Times
Joseph L. Bruno, Fallen Power in New York Senate, Dies at 91
By Gotham Rex on October 7, 2020
As the Republican majority leader for 13 years, he was one of the “three men in a room” who decided things in Albany. Then came corruption charges and, ultimately, vindication. Source: New York Times
Robert K. Ruskin, Who Targeted New York Corruption, Dies at 93
By Gotham Rex on October 6, 2020
As investigation commissioner under Mayor Lindsay in the early 1970s, he went after police officers, building inspectors, parking ticket fixers and peep-show operators. Source: New York Times
Soraya Santiago Solla, Transgender Trailblazer, Dies at 72
By Gotham Rex on October 3, 2020
She was the first in Puerto Rico to change a gender designation on a birth certificate and the first there to reveal that she’d had sex-reassignment surgery. Source: New York Times
Soraya Santiago Solla, Transgender Trailblazer, Dies at 73
By Gotham Rex on October 2, 2020
She was the first in Puerto Rico to change a gender designation on a birth certificate and the first there to reveal that she’d had sex-reassignment surgery. Source: New York Times
Grace Meo, Skilled Seamstress and Serious Sinatra Fan, Dies at 93
By Gotham Rex on October 1, 2020
Ms. Meo could sew anything, and she loved her family, but her heart belonged to the Voice. She has died of Covid-19. Source: New York Times
Bette Dewing, Columnist for a ‘Gentle City,’ Dies at 97
By Gotham Rex on September 28, 2020
For more than 40 years, Ms. Dewing urged New Yorkers to reclaim civility in her column in Our Town, an Upper East Side weekly. She died of the coronavirus. Source: New York Times
Donald Kendall, Pepsi’s Chief During the Cola Wars, Dies at 99
By Gotham Rex on September 24, 2020
He faced off against Coke, wooed a ‘Pepsi generation’ and bought Frito-Lay, fast food chains and 7Up. Ever loyal, he downed a Pepsi for breakfast. Source: New York Times
Sterling Magee, Bluesman Known as ‘Satan,’ Dies at 84
By Gotham Rex on September 24, 2020
As half of the duo Satan and Adam, he played blues on the streets of Harlem and later on stages around the world. He died of complications of Covid-19. Source: New York Times
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Photos of Her Rise to the Supreme Court
By Gotham Rex on September 19, 2020
Pictures capture moments in her legal career, from law school professor to associate justice on the high court. Source: New York Times
Steve Carter, Playwright in a Black Theater World, Dies at 90
By Gotham Rex on September 17, 2020
He emerged from the Black Arts movement and the famed Negro Ensemble Company, writing dramas and satires about the Black and Caribbean-American experiences. Source: New York Times
DJ Jaffe, Ad Man Turned Mental Health Crusader, Dies at 65
By Gotham Rex on September 16, 2020
He pushed for passage of Kendra’s Law in New York, which mandates outpatient psychiatric treatment for patients deemed dangerous. It became a model for similar programs nationwide. Source: New York Times