Skip to content
User banner image
User avatar
  • Clay Risen

Posts

James Giffen, Who Was Embroiled in ‘Kazakhgate,’ Dies at 81

The government charged him with funneling $78 million in bribes to Kazakhstan, but dropped the case after a judge decided he had acted with C.I.A....

Roger Welsch, ‘America’s Premier Storyteller,’ Dies at 85

Author, humorist and tractor buff, he quit academia and found fame as a correspondent from the Nebraska heartland for the CBS News program “Sunday Morning.”

Lowry Mays, Who Revolutionized the Radio Industry, Dies at 87

He built his company, Clear Channel Communications, from a single struggling station into one of the world’s biggest media empires.

Lowry Mays, Who Revolutionized the Radio Industry, Dies at 87

He built his company, Clear Channel, from a single struggling station into one of the world’s biggest media empires.

E. Bryant Crutchfield, 85, Dies; Gave the World the Trapper Keeper

His ability to blend the fun and the functional with the binder he invented brought order to the chaos of grade-school life in the 1980s...

Bill J. Allen, Alaska Businessman at the Center of Scandal, Dies at 85

He was one of the state’s most powerful figures, but his extensive corruption schemes brought him down — and took several politicians with him.

Willie Lee Morrow, Barber Who Popularized the Afro Pick, Dies at 82

He built an empire around hair care products aimed at African American consumers, including a softener that inspired the Jheri curl.

Charles Kernaghan, Scourge of Sweatshops, Is Dead at 74

He specialized in taking down high-profile brands that used low-wage labor, including a line of clothing licensed by Kathie Lee Gifford.

Sean Thackrey, Creator of Eccentric California Wines, Dies at 79

A polymath, he dismissed conventional wisdom about varietals, terroir and scientific management and won a cult following in the process.

Robert J. Vlasic Dies at 96; Made a Fortune by Making Pickles Funny

His company took a lighthearted approach to its products, with a wisecracking stork as its mascot, and became the market leader.