Schmear some cream cheese out, Murray Lender has died. Whatever you think of frozen bagels (and we've certainly got issues) many Americans would not know the joy of the bagel were it not for Lender, who helped turn his father's small New Haven bakery into a national brand. According to Lender's wife, Gillie Lender, the bagel legend died yesterday in Miami after suffering a stroke 10 weeks ago. He was 81. more ›

The longtime artistic director for Columbia Records, who first pioneered the usage of original, creative album cover art, died this past weekend. Alex Steinweiss, who also invented the first packaging for long-playing records, is credited with revolutionizing album art by his colleagues: “It was such a simple idea, really, that an image would become attached to a piece of music. When you look at your music collection today on your iPod, you are looking at Alex Steinweiss’s big idea,” said designer Paula Scher. He was 94. more ›

Tom Snyder died today, at age 71, after losing a long battle with leukemia. There are many videos with footage of his long career, because just about everyone wanted to talk to him (especially on "The Tomorrow Show" which aired after Johnny Carson in the '70s and '80s). more ›

Crikey! Steve Irwin, best known as the Crocodile Hunter, was killed by a stingray while filming in the Great Barrier Reef today. The AP reports that Irwin had been filming series, "Ocean's Deadliest," "when he swam to close to one of the animals." Irwin's friend, John Stainton, who had been on board the boat during the accident said, "He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart." Stingways have a venomous stinger and Irwin was later pronounced dead by a medical staff in Cairns. Stainton also said, "He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would have said, 'Crocs Rule!''' more ›

New York lost yet another of our great newscasters yesterday when Bill Beutel, host of WABC's nightly newscast for more than 30 years, passed away in his Pinehurst, N.C., house. He was 75. more ›

First off, two sad pieces of news: more ›

- Bob Denver passed away at age 70; Gothamist spent so many hours of our youth watching Gilligan's Island on Channel 5 that we really feel like we've lost a bumbling friend who looked great in the color red more ›

Most of the world is on PopeWatch, while the media is taking a break from TerriWatch to cover the latest on the terrible ailments of Pope John Paul II. The Vatican says he's in very grave condition, after the past few weeks of a trachetomy, a UTI, septic shock, and a heart attack of sorts. New Yorkers of Polish descent have been convening in Greenpoint at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church to pray for the Pope, while Cardinal John Egan gave a special prayer at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Here's the Vatican's official site, which seems to be experiencing heavy traffic. For more about the Popse, there's the Pope John Paul II Center in DC, a 1999 CNN profile and Wikipedia's entry. more ›

Davis starred in many Spike Lee films, including reading the eulogy he gave for Malcolm X in the film Malcolm X, but our favorite is his role as Da Mayor in Do The Right Thing - "Always do the right thing." more ›

James will of course live on in a classic Chappelle Show bit and the movie about his life, with Dave Chappelle playing him. Here's All Music Guide on Rick James, his bio on VH1, his lyrics, considered #30 on the list of Trainwreck celebrities and news on Google. more ›

Dr. Robert C. Atkins, whose all protein, high fat diet became all the rage lately, died today. He had been in a coma for over a week, after slipping on a sidewalk (icy, due to the erratic weather of late) - his associates stressed his coma and the heart infection that ultimately caused his death were not "diet-related." From the AP obituary: more ›