Worldwide | Latest Obituaries


Celebrated orchestra leader Michael Tilson Thomas has died
Thu Apr 23 5:43 pm
Conductor, composer and educator Michael Tilson Thomas, who led the San Francisco Symphony for 25 years, establishing its reputation as a world-class orchestra, died Wednesday. He was 81.

Michael Tilson Thomas, renowned conductor and composer, dies at 81
Thu Apr 23 11:53 am
Thomas led the San Francisco Symphony from 1995 to 2020, helping to establish its reputation as a world-class orchestra. In 2021, he was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a type of brain cancer.

Don Schlitz, Grammy Award-winning writer of 'The Gambler,' remembered
Mon Apr 20 4:49 pm
Grammy-winning country songwriter Don Schlitz passed away this month at 73. He was the writer behind songs such as Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" and Randy Travis' "Forever and Ever, Amen".

Remembering South Carolina's topiary artist Pearl Fryar, who died this month at 86
Sat Apr 18 7:42 am
NPR's Scott Simon talks with topiary artist Michael Gibson about South Carolina's Pearl Fryar, a notable self-trained topiary artist who died earlier this month.

Visionary NPR leader Kevin Klose, who led network to new heights, has died
Wed Apr 15 12:19 pm
Klose led NPR for a decade starting in 1998, a period of incredible growth for the public media network.

Asha Bhosle, iconic Bollywood singer, dies at 92 years old
Tue Apr 14 4:12 pm
Legendary Bollywood singer Asha Bhosle has died at 92 years old. Her decades-long career left a lasting impact in India and across the world.

Sid Krofft, creator of TV's trippiest kids shows, has died
Tue Apr 14 4:04 pm
Kids' television creator Sid Krofft, who along with his brother Marty created some of the most memorable and weirdest children's programming of the late 1960s, '70s and early '80s, has died at age 96.

Remembering former 'Morning Edition' technical director Brian Jarboe
Tue Apr 14 4:42 am
We remember former Morning Edition technical director Brian Jarboe, who died Monday.

Remembering NPR audio engineer Brian Jarboe
Mon Apr 13 5:01 pm
We take a moment to remember former NPR audio engineer Brian Jarboe, who died on Monday. As a colleague, he was kind, agile and skilled in the studio — and he always had a guitar pick on him.

Asha Bhosle, the voice of Bollywood, has died aged 92
Sun Apr 12 10:31 am
The Bollywood legend was one of the world's most recorded artists — who, by her own reckoning, made more than 12,000 songs.