Heath Ledger Dead at Age 28
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008
Hollywood and movie fans were shocked yesterday by the news of the death of Australian actor Heath Ledger. He was only 28 years old. Ledger was a rising star who many thought embodied everything that was potentially good in the future of Hollywood. Details of his death are still being investigated but what is for certain is that his death is tragic and disheartening for people all over the world. For up-to-date information on the details of Heath Ledger’s death, visit www.cnn.com.
One of the top high-note lead trumpeters in jazz, Pete Candoli, passed away last week at the age of 84 while at his home in Studio City. For over 60 years, Pete played with some of the great jazz musicians the country had ever heard – Tommy Dorsey, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Les Brown and Tex Beneke – to name a few. 
Controversial and brilliant Chess Master, Bobby Fischer died on Thursday, January 17 at the age of 64 in his home city of Reykjavik, Iceland. The cause of death is not yet known but he had been suffering from an unspecified illness for some time. Fischer was a world-renowned chess player who in the summer of 1972 claimed the world championship title by beating Russian grandmaster Boris Spassky. He was the first American to win the title.
Maila Nurmi created a ghoulish glamour girl with a bone-chilling scream and an unmatched skill for double-entendre, as her late night persona. She danced around cobwebs and tarantulas as she introduced the late night horror films of the 1950s. It was this dark character, Vampira, that made her famous and a cult icon for generations.
Co-founder of Wham-O Inc., Richard Knerr passed away on Monday at the age of 82. This was the man who, along with his business partner Arthur Melin, brought children around the world some of the most whimsical, fun loving toys that ever came to being. Knerr invented the hula-hoop and the Frisbee over 50 years ago and they have become a staple toy around school yards and college campuses everywhere.