Alex Traub
Posts
Ralph Jennings, 86, Dies; Built Up Fordham’s Public Radio Station
He transformed WFUV from “a sandbox” into a professional operation, increasing its listenership nearly tenfold.
Betty Halbreich, World’s ‘Most Famous Personal Shopper,’ Dies at 96
She was a local New York secret before gaining wider renown as the dressing-room companion of rich, powerful women. A dark past lay beneath her...
Remo Saraceni, 89, Dies; Inventor of the Walking Piano Seen in ‘Big’
His keyboard, which became famous after Tom Hanks melodiously hopped on it, displayed Mr. Saraceni’s vision of technology powered by “people energy.”
Martin Greenfield, Tailor to Sinatra, Obama, Trump and Shaq, Dies at 95
He dressed six presidents, coached designers and made thousands of suits for TV shows and movies. But his beginnings were dismal: He learned to sew...
Sydell L. Miller, Self-Made Eyelash and Hair Care Mogul, Dies at 86
She and her husband, Arnold, made it big in the beauty industry by giving new skills, products and dignity to the workaday salon hairdresser.
Lucy Morgan, Feared and Revered Florida Reporter, Dies at 82
Her investigations upended rural sheriffs’ departments, exposed state senators’ misdeeds and exemplified the power of a past era in American newspapering.
Laszlo Birinyi, Leading Stock Picker and Market Forecaster, Dies at 79
His investment strategy, which tracked the flow of money, won him a reputation for prescience in the 1990s.
Joseph Pedott, 91, Dies; Made Chia Pets an ‘as Seen on TV’ Sensation
The commercials he created, with their “ch-ch-ch-Chia” jingle, became as much a vivid part of American consumer life as the goofy product they sold.
Nicholas Gray, 86, Dies; Paired Hot Dogs With Papaya to Make a Landmark
His Gray’s Papaya, a knockoff of another frankfurter haven, helped turn an unlikely culinary combination into a New York phenomenon.
Chris Strachwitz, Who Dug Up the Roots of American Music, Dies at 91
Traveling the nation to discover little-known performers for the Arhoolie label, which he founded in 1960, he earned a nickname: El Fanático.