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Oh No, Chris Rock, Why?

"He and his peers have achieved immense success, but still don’t know how to cope with the cultural shifts that naturally occur over a long career. Instead they want to keep the conditions that gave rise to their success forever preserved so they can say whatever." - The New York Times

Bert I. Gordon, Sci-Fi B-Movie Schlockmeister Turned Cult “Auteur”, Is Dead At 100

"Critics called his storylines ludicrous and his special effects schlocky, … but many of his films turned a profit and gained a cult following, attracting later generations of moviegoers … (with) mutant ants, 60-foot giants, rampaging grasshoppers and a bloodthirsty spider that proves too big to squash." - MSN (The Washington Post)

Architect A. Eugene Kohn, Specialist In Iconic And Very Tall Skyscrapers, Is Dead At 92

Kohn Pedersen Fox, the firm which he co-founded and served as president and number-one salesman, designed such celebrated buildings as the World Bank headquarters in DC, Procter & Gamble headquarters in Cincinnati, and skyscrapers from London and New York to Seoul and Shanghai. - MSN (The Washington Post)

Robert Blake, 1970s Hollywood Star Tried For The Murder Of His Wife, Is Dead At 89

"Once hailed as among the finest actors of his generation, Blake became better known as the center of a real-life murder trial, a story more bizarre than any in which he acted. Many remembered him not as the rugged, dark-haired star of Baretta, but as a spectral, white-haired murder defendant." - AP

Ian Falconer, Creator Of Olivia The Pig, Is Dead At 63

He was already a successful designer for opera and ballet (who got his start with David Hockney) when, in the 1990s, he started writing stories about a pig for his niece Olivia.  He published his first Olivia book in 2000, and the series became a juggernaut. - MSN (The Washington Post)

Chaim Topol, Actor Known Worldwide For “Fiddler On The Roof”, Is Dead At 87

A revered actor in his native Israel, he had a respectable list of stage and screen credits there and internationally, but he was indelibly associated with Tevye the Dairyman, whom he played in the West End, on Broadway, in the movie film, and elsewhere, performing the role more than 3,500 times. - Variety

The Reality Of Artistic Success In Canada: “I Still Can’t Pay My Bills”

Molly Johnson has achieved at the highest level in Canada, with the awards to match: “I gotta say I was depressed. It saddened me, initially, deeply, that here I am in this stage of my career and I still can’t really pay my bills." - Toronto Star

Wall Street Billionaire Commits Suicide, Leaving Hole In The Art World

“He brought the attitude of a businessman and an entrepreneur to a sector that, as you well know, is much less focused on that than on the present moment.” - Artnet

Scott Adams – How The Creator Of “Dilbert” Fell So Far So Fast

"For close observers, the story of Adams, 65, has taken a stunning turn — though in a manner that had been foreshadowed in recent years as the cartoonist rebranded himself as a provocateur, routinely making headlines for his polarizing views on politics, race and other aspects of identity." - MSN (The Washington Post)

Tom Sizemore Was A Drug-Addicted Basket Case — And One Of Hollywood’s Most Compelling Character Actors

"He was one of a long line of screen performers whose brilliance was shadowed by shocking offenses that employers were willing to factor into the hiring process because of his track record of superlative performances. His life was filled with reprieves and second chances." - Vulture

Just How Does Angela Bassett Do The Thing?

During red carpets for her second Oscar nomination, 29 years after her first, the actor has to remain guarded. "It’s an attempt to remain poised in the midst of a whirlwind. It’s being grateful, thankful. And I think all that comes across as being regal." - Washington Post

Rafael Vinoly, Architect Of Dramatic Glass Roofs For Cultural Centers, 78

The Uruguayn-born "Viñoly was at once a 24-7 architecture geek and a bon vivant with a penchant for French wines. ... He was also a classically trained pianist who gave recitals in a music pavilion on his property in Water Mill, N.Y., on eastern Long Island." - The New York Times

Lou Stovall, Artist And Printmaker Who Worked With Alexander Calder And Jacob Lawrence, 86

"Working with sponges, brushes, towels, squeegees, hand-cut stencils and a rich array of oil-based inks, Mr. Stovall helped demonstrate that printmaking was an art form, not just a commercial craft." - Washington Post

Pierre Apraxine, Who Transformed The Met’s Photography Collection, 88

"Born into exiled Russian nobility and numbering among his forebears an admiral who served under Peter the Great, Mr. Apraxine had trained in classical draftsmanship and art history in Brussels before essentially falling into the photography world in New York in the early 1970s." - The New York Times

How Jonathan Majors And Michael B. Jordan Fought On The Movie Set, Without Fighting Off Set

Majors, whose star is rising fast right now, was worried that Jordan - already a superstar - might not be great to work with, because of his experience with others in the industry. "The game is set up so it makes it feel like feast or famine." - The New York Times

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