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Notable deaths last week

• Former U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright, the longtime Texas Democrat who became the first House speaker in history to be driven out of office in midterm, has died at age 92.

The World War II veteran and author, often praised for his eloquence and oratorical skills, represented a Fort Worth-area congressional district for 34 years, beginning with his election in 1954. He was the House's Democratic majority leader for a decade, rising to the speakership in January 1987, to replace Tip O'Neill.

Although three House speakers had resigned before Wright stepped down in 1989, they all served during the 19th century - and none had been under fire for breaking House ethics rules.

The House Ethics Committee investigated Wright's financial affairs for nearly a year at the prodding of a little-known Georgia congressman, Republican Newt Gingrich, who publicly branded Wright a "crook." The bipartisan committee charged Wright with 69 violations of House rules on reporting of gifts, accepting gifts from people with an interest in legislation, and limits on outside income.

Wright was in the presidential motorcade on Nov. 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.

• Alexander Rich, one of the principal figures in molecular biology, who was known for advancing knowledge of the DNA and RNA molecules that provide the blueprints for life and for helping lay the groundwork for several areas of modern biotechnology, has died at 90.

The death was announced by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he joined the faculty in 1958 and continued going to the laboratory until his hospitalization about two months ago.

The son of Eastern European immigrants who never finished high school, Rich held bachelor's and medical degrees from Harvard and garnered many of the top prizes in science.

Regarded as an inspirational mentor, he trained and kept ties to generations of young scientists, worked to curb the nuclear arms race and formed bonds with Soviet and Chinese counterparts to try to prevent the Cold War from turning hot.

His scientific interests included searching for life beyond Earth and trying to find biochemical keys to the origin of life.

• Food critic Josh Ozersky, whose witty and snarky writing generally focused on his obsession with all things meat, has died in Chicago. He was 47.

Ozersky, who was in the city for the James Beard Foundation Awards, was found dead in his room at the Conrad Chicago Hotel on Monday, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Authorities said a Tuesday autopsy was inconclusive and the final determination on the cause and manner of Ozersky's death requires further testing.

Ozersky was a food writer for Esquire magazine and frequent contributor to other publications including Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal and Food & Wine. He also was an author and founding editor of New York Magazine's Grub Street food blog.

He was on the awards committee for this year's Beard Foundation awards, which honor those who follow in the footsteps of James Beard, considered the dean of American cooking when he died in 1985. Ozersky was in Chicago to attend the ceremony, which took place Monday night.

• Renowned fiddler Johnny Gimble, who gained fame for his backup work with country stars from Merle Haggard to Carrie Underwood, has died at 89.

Gimble grew up on a farm near Tyler, in East Texas, spent two years with Wills' group beginning in 1949, and later became a much-requested session musician in Nashville performing with country giants such as Haggard, Willie Nelson, George Strait, Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn. He won six Country Music Association awards as best instrumentalist.

• Kenan Evren, the Turkish general who led a 1980 coup that ended years of violence but whose rule unleashed a wave of arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings, has died at age 97.

Evren was hailed as a hero at the time of the coup for ending fighting between rightists and leftists that left some 5,000 people dead and put the country on the brink of a civil war.

But he later became one of the country's most controversial figures, remembered more for the torture of former militants and their supporters and for introducing a constitution that restricted freedoms and formalized the military's role in politics. Turkish political leaders are today still scrambling to change the constitution he helped institute.

Last year, Evren was convicted of crimes against the state and sentenced to life imprisonment, becoming the first general to be tried and convicted for leading a coup in Turkey, which has a history of military takeovers.

• Joanne Carson, the second wife of "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson, has died in Southern California. She was 83.

Born Joanne Copeland in Los Angeles, she married Johnny Carson in 1963, a year after he began hosting "The Tonight Show."

After their divorce in 1972, she became close to writer Truman Capote. He kept a writing room at her house, where he died in 1984.

• Marcia Brown, a celebrated author and illustrator of children's books and three-time Caldecott Medal winner whose work ranged from the bold strokes of "Once a Mouse" to the more abstract and lyrical sketches of "Cinderella," has died. She was 96.

Brown won the Caldecott, the highest honor for children's picture books, for "Cinderella," "Once a Mouse" and "Shadow." She was a National Book Award nominee in 1983 for "Shadow" and in 1992 received a Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for lifetime achievement. She is survived by her editor and longtime companion Janet Loranger.

Brown used a wide variety of formats, from pastel to woodcuts, and worked on more than 30 books, many of them published worldwide. Her credits also included "Dick Whittington and His Cat," "Stone Soup" and "Three Billy Goats Gruff."

• Elwood "Bud" Johnston, who bred and raced Eclipse Award-winning Acclamation, has died. He was 77.

Acclamation won 11 of 30 career starts and earned $1,958,048 before retiring in 2012 as Johnston's all-time leading money winner. The horse's best year was 2011, when he won five consecutive graded stakes, including the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar under trainer Don Warren. Acclamation missed the Breeders' Cup that year because of injury, but won the Eclipse as champion older male.

• Maurice Flanagan, Emirates Airline's British-born founding chief executive who built the company into the world's largest international airline, has died. He was 86.

Flanagan, a veteran British Airways executive, led a 10-man team that started Emirates in 1985 with $10 million and two rented planes. He retired in 2013 as executive vice chairman of state-owned Emirates Group.

The airline that Flanagan created became known for opulent service and aggressive expansion. It was the first carrier to offer first-class travelers private onboard mini-suites, with dining tables and "massage enabled" leather chairs, Newsweek said in 2006. Emirates was an early adopter of the latest aircraft and seatback entertainment screens.

After ranking 24th among international airlines by passenger traffic in 2000, Emirates overtook Germany's Lufthansa as the world leader in 2009.

• Errol Brown, the lead singer of the band Hot Chocolate, has died in the Bahamas, his manager said. He was 71.

Manager Phil Dale said the singer, best known for hits "You Sexy Thing" and "It Started With A Kiss," died of liver cancer. Dale said Brown's death had come as a surprise.

"(Brown) had been poorly over the past few months but he never discussed it," Dale said. "He'd be sadly missed by his friends and family. He was an extremely good personal friend."

• Marv Hubbard, a bruising fullback who made three Pro Bowls in the early 1970s for the Oakland Raiders, has died. He was 68.

Hubbard played in 90 games over seven seasons for the Raiders from 1969-75. He also played one season in Detroit. He rushed for 4,544 yards in his career with 23 touchdowns. He also caught 85 passes for 628 yards and one score.

• Forward Eboniey Jeter, who led the North Texas Mean Green women's basketball squad in shooting percentage last season, has been found dead in her dorm room. She was 21.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office website shows she was found dead Tuesday in her room in Mozart Square Hall on the University of North Texas campus. No cause of death has been determined, but a university spokeswoman said no foul play is suspected.

• Ellen Albertini Dow, a feisty character actress best known for her salty rendition of "Rapper's Delight" in "The Wedding Singer," has died. She was 101.

Her breakout rap in "The Wedding Singer" led to memorable and often foul-mouthed character roles in films like "Wedding Crashers," "Road Trip" and "54," as the drug-addled party girl Disco Dottie.

Dow's numerous television credits include "Seinfeld," "ER," "Will and Grace," "Six Feet Under," and "New Girl," which, at age 99, would be one of her last on-screen appearances.

• Maya Plisetskaya, regarded as one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century and whose career at the Bolshoi Theater spanned more than 35 years, has died at age 89.

President Vladimir Putin issued a message of condolence and tributes came from across the dance world. Mikhail Baryshnikov said on Facebook that she was "one of the greatest dancers of our time ... beautiful and graceful."

Alexander Rich
Kenan Evren
Comedian Johnny Carson and his bride, former television personality and model Joanne Copeland, at a reception in his apartment after their wedding at in New York. Associated Press/Aug. 17, 1963
Marcia Brown
Maurice Flanagan
Errol Brown
Ellen Albertini Dow waves to the crowd. Associated Press/June 30, 2012
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