Larry Kramer, a writer and one of the earliest AIDS activists, died today at age 84. You can read his full resume in the many obituaries that have been and will be published but, in short, Kramer was a co-founder of two AIDS activism groups — Gay Men’s Health Crisis, in 1982, which provided support…
obits
RIP, Kobe Bryant
After the death of my friend Elizabeth Wurtzel earlier this month, I spent a lot of time thinking about how complicated people leave complex legacies. I returned to that line of thought today, as the country reacted in shock to the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, 41, in a helicopter crash that killed a…
RIP, Elizabeth Wurtzel
Writer Elizabeth Wurtzel died yesterday at age 52 of leptomeningeal disease — a complication of metastatic breast cancer that had spread to the fluid around the brain and spinal cord. I met Elizabeth on Wednesday, May 27, 2009. I know the exact date because we were at a black-tie dinner at the Metropolitan Museum of…
Year in Review: Remembrances
I’ve had a hanging shoe rack inside my closet door for a long time. Since last month, the bottom few racks keep collapsing for no clear reason — they’ve done it even when there are no shoes on them. Towards the end of November, the bottom four racks fell down with a big bang, sending…
RIP, Elijah Cummings
Civil-rights icon and Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings of Baltimore died this morning at age 68. He was an elegant and eloquent speaker — a shining example of leadership. Watch his first speech from the floor of the House of Representatives in 1996. Rep. Elijah Cummings first speech on the floor of the House of Representatives…
20 Years Later: JFK Jr., Carolyn, and Lauren
It’s been 20 years since the Friday-evening small-plane crash that killed John F. Kennedy Jr.; his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy; and one of Carolyn’s older twin sisters, Lauren Bessette. I was the managing editor of People magazine’s website, three months into the job after spending the previous 10 years in business news. This era seems so…
RIP, Gloria Vanderbilt
I wish I could find a shareable version of Richard Avedon’s starkly chic portrait of Gloria Vanderbilt wearing Mainbocher for Harper’s Bazaar. Fortunately, Gloria herself posted it on Instagram. CLICK HERE. Vanderbilt died Monday aged 95 from stomach cancer. She was born into fame thanks to her father, a wealthy and dissolute great-grandson of 19th-century…
RIP, Tim Conway and Doris Day
Occasionally, when I feel down, I watch two Tim Conway clips from the great Carol Burnett show. I’m sure you’ve seen both absolutely everywhere today after the announcement of Conway’s death at the age of 85. I managed to work the “Elephant” clip into a fashion post about the SAG Awards in 2016. The “Dentist”…
RIP, Margaret Hayes
Margaret Hayes, the president and chief executive of Fashion Group International, died last week at age 79. FGI is a nonprofit organization for the fashion industry; as its website explains, the group’s mission “is to be the pre-eminent authority on the business of fashion and design and to help its members become more effective in…
RIP, Karl Lagerfeld
For years now, whenever I would read an interview with designer Karl Lagerfeld, I couldn’t help but imagine that after Andy Warhol died in 1987, Karl decreed, “Now I must be Warhol.” For instance, Karl’s response to a question about how he felt before a 2007 fashion show — “I have no human feelings” —…