Gustav Mahler and the Strep Throat that Killed Him
Gustav Mahler was born in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) to German-Jewish parents who were children of street peddlers. By age five, Gustav was an accomplished piano player and at 10 he played many public performances. By age 15, he was such a good pianist that the famous piano virtuoso, Julius Epstein, accepted him as a pupil at the Vienna Conservatory.
Joey Feek, the Love Story of 2016
Joey Martin Feek was born on September 7, 1975 in the small town of Alexandria, Indiana. In 1998 at age 23, she moved to Nashville to pursue her singing career and in 2000 she signed with Sony Records, but her records did not sell. In 2002, she met her future husband, guitarist Rory Feek who was 10 years older. After four months of a platonic relationship, they married and she gave wedding rings to both of his daughters, Hopie and Hedi Feek, as well as to him.
Clyde Lovellette: Size Plus Skill
Clyde Lovellette was the first basketball player to be on teams that won N.C.A.A. and National Basketball Association championships and Olympic gold medals. At 6' 9" and 245 pounds, Lovellette was probably the first of basketball's big men to show exceptional athleticism, speed and strength. On March 9, 2016 at age 86, he died of stomach cancer.
Nancy Reagan, First Lady with Many Causes
Nancy Reagan was a film actress and First Lady from 1981 to 1989 as the wife of Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States. She is perhaps best remembered for her courageous role as spokesperson and primary caregiver during her husband's 10 year battle with Alzheimer's disease. Caring for him wore her out physically and emotionally and she became much less active. She died of heart failure at age 94.
Maurice White: Parkinson’s Disease and Mitochondria
Maurice White was the founder, lead singer, main songwriter, arranger, record producer and bandleader of Earth, Wind & Fire. The band had 16 Top-40 singles and sold an estimated 90 million albums. White was nominated for 20 Grammys and won seven, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame, has a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame and won four American Music Awards. In 1992, at age 51, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Glenn Frey: Rheumatoid Arthritis and Ulcerative Colitis
Glenn Frey was the lead singer, songwriter and guitar, piano, and keyboard player in The Eagles, the great rock band that he had co-founded in 1971. In the 1980s the band broke up and he went on to sing on his own. In 1994, The Eagles got back together and were as famous as ever. At age 52, Frey developed two autoimmune diseases: rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis. In January 2016, at the too-young age of 67, Frey died with pneumonia and other complications of these autoimmune diseases.
Roger Ebert and Thyroid Cancer
Roger Ebert was the Chicago Sun-Times film critic who joined the Chicago Tribune film critic, Gene Siskel, in hosting a nationally-acclaimed show on PBS...
Erich Segal: Parkinson’s Disease
At age 33, Erich Segal wrote his best-known novel, Love Story, that sold more than 21 million copies, was the top selling work of fiction for 1970 in the United States and has been translated into more than 33 languages. He was on the track team with me at Harvard and ran the Boston Marathon with me several times.
David Bowie’s Liver Cancer
David Bowie died on January 10, 2016, of liver cancer just two days after his 69th birthday. Popular musicians have lifestyles laden with risk factors for liver cancer, heart attacks and other causes of premature death: drugs, heavy smoking, alcohol, and crazy schedules that make it impossible to eat healthfully, exercise or sleep regularly.
Early Life
Natalie Cole and Hepatitis C
How would your life have turned out if you:
• were the daughter of music legend Nat King Cole and famous singer Maria Hawkins...
William Coley, Quack or Prophet?
I love stories about quacks who become prophets. Medical breakthroughs are often made by doctors who are first ridiculed by their peers. In 1890,...
Kurt Masur, Conductor and Hero
The world lost one of its great orchestra conductors when Kurt Masur died this week at age 88. He helped to prevent a massacre...
Bret Michaels and Juvenile Diabetes
Bret Michaels is the lead vocalist of the metal-band Poison that has sold more than 45 million records , including their most famous song,...
Ron Clarke and High Altitude
Australian runner Ron Clarke died this year from an event that occurred at the Olympics in Mexico City 47 years ago.
Clarke was one of...
Ingrid Bergman’s Breast Cancer
Ingrid Bergman was one of the best actresses ever. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmys, four Golden Globes and a Tony Award for...
Jerry Quarry: Dementia from Head Injuries
Jerry Quarry was one of the toughest fighters who ever lived. He was never world champion, but:
• He fought main bouts from 1965...
Tchaikovsky’s Death: Cholera, Suicide or Murder?
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was the first Russian composer to become known throughout the world. He conducted major classical orchestras in Europe and the United...
Ty Cobb: Anger in Athletes
Ty Cobb was probably the most aggressive baseball player who ever lived. He was better than everyone else at almost every baseball statistic except...
Did Roy Orbison Work Himself to Death?
Roy Orbison was one of America’s top singers and songwriters from 1957 to 1988. He sang his emotional ballads while standing still and wearing...
Paul Prudhomme: The Perils of Morbid Obesity
Paul Prudhomme died Thursday, October 8, 2015, at age 75. He was an internationally famous chef and restaurateur who, in the early 1980's,...
Moses Malone and Darryl Dawkins, NBA Giants
In the past month, two former National Basketball Association giant centers died of heart attacks: Daryl Dawkins on August 27 at age 58 ...
Oliver Sacks and Melanoma of the Eye
Oliver Sacks died this week at age 82 of a melanoma in his eye that was diagnosed 11 years ago and recently had spread...
Emile Zola and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Emile Zola was a famous French writer of the late 19th century and perhaps one of the most honorable and courageous men of all...
Mike Pyle: Head Injuries and Dementia
Former Chicago Bears tight end Mike Pyle died this month of a brain hemorrhage at age 76. He had been one of the...
E.L. Doctorow: Tobacco Claims Another Victim
E.L. Doctorow was a best-selling author whose stories often showed how past experiences influence present behavior and how people fail to learn from their...
Rachel Carson: Is Breast Cancer an Environmental Disease?
Rachel Carson was an environmental scientist and writer who alerted the world to the health dangers of pesticides and fertilizers. Her best-selling book, Silent Spring, led to formation of a presidential commission that recommended banning DDT, and to creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 1964, she died of breast cancer.
Blaze Starr’s Flaming Couch
On June 15, 2015, 83-year-old Blaze Starr, probably the most famous burlesque stripper in North America, died of heart failure. She was famous because...
Dr. Michael DeBakey’s Famous Surgery
If you were a heart surgeon, would you operate on this patient?
• He is 97 years old
• He will certainly die in the next...
Al Oerter: Weak Heart in a Strong Body
Al Oerter won the gold medal in the discus throw in four consecutive Olympics over a span of 16 years. Each time he:
• was...
John Kerry: Hip Replacements and Fractures
On May 31, Secretary of State John Kerry fell while cycling in France and broke his right femur (upper leg bone). He was...
