Sad news: Folk legend and powerful musical voice Richie Havens, who over the years probably played more gigs in Philly than anyone even knows, has passed away. From 1965 until last year, Havens gigged with gusto and gave lie to the notion that the acoustic guitar was nothing but a genteel instrument; indeed, his open-tuned, [...]

Though he may not have been a household name, Vincent Montana, Jr. was every bit as intrinsic to the classic Philly soul sound as names like Gamble and Huff. The discography attached to his CV extends far beyond his signature work with disco staples the Salsoul Orchestra and MFSB, and into what, frankly, we regard [...]

We’re just going to put this here, in case it turns out that 10,000 bats dying in Bucks County turns out to be the fatal Jenga piece of our entire local ecosystem and a hundred years from now, space aliens or superhumans go looking on the Internet to find out what happened to us. Well, [...]

In a city that sometimes feels like it’s filled with bafflingly charismatic homeless people, Norman Brown stood out. Norman’s turf, for at least two decades, was the South Street/Queen Village area, and if you ever spent any significant amount of time living or working in that part of town, there’s a good chance you encountered [...]

Arlene Ackerman, the controversial former leader of the School District of Philadelphia passed away this weekend after a battle with pancreatic cancer. During her three years as the district’s superintendent (and in her buyout-led departure), Ackerman was no stranger to controversy and strong opinions (both her own and ones she inspired). A simple search of [...]

Philebrity is saddened to learn of the passing of legendary Philly guitarist Jef Lee Johnson. Johnson, whose work spanned decades and freely jumped musical barriers, was perhaps best known as a member of The Soultronics, the session-man supergroup (which also included ?uestlove and James Poyser), originally formed to back D’Angelo. Johnson’s journeyman career was perhaps [...]

South Philly’s own Jack Klugman, who starred in the classic TV shows The Odd Couple and Quincy as well as acclaimed films like Twelve Angry Men and Days of Wine and Roses, has passed. We’ll remember Klugman for all of these and more, but also, just as much, the “punk rock” episode of Quincy, as [...]

We heard rumors at the beginning of the month, but we now know that they were true: After over 35 years in business, the Market Street porn-palace known as The Forum is closed. According to The Inquirer, the owner of the property is looking to revive the area with new apartments and street-level commercial space [...]

Ed Schwartz, who served on city council for one term from 1984-1988, and then spent time with the Office of Housing and Community Development, the Philadelphia Tax Reform Commission, and founded the Institute for the Study of Civic Values, passed away yesterday from a suspected heart attack. Council President Darrell Clarke said: Councilman Schwartz was [...]

There may be some American lives that are simply too large to comment on, and it could well be that Arlen Specter’s was one of them. A complicated, nuanced politician capable of both villainy and populism who might have been the last great Republican moderate (ever?), he also spent his last days learning the ropes [...]

After a long battle with cancer, NFL Films founder Steve Sabol died today only a few weeks before his 70th birthday. Born in Philadelphia in 1942, he began working as a cameraman for a film company founded by his father, which would evolve into NFL Films. He became the company’s president in 1985, and, “was [...]

Giant of free jazz/native son Byard Lancaster passed away yesterday of pancreatic cancer, we’re told. Though his discography may not be as deep as some of his contemporaries, Lancaster played with a wild assortment of major figures in the avant-jazz world, including Archie Shepp, McCoy Tyner and Sun Ra. But he wasn’t averse to a [...]

Legendary composer and EGOT-winner (he’s also got a Pulitzer) Marvin Hamlisch has passed away suddenly. Hamlisch is most known for his scores for The Sting, The Spy Who Loved Me, Sophie’s Choice, A Chorus Line, and more. Hamlisch was set to guest conduct with the Philly Pops in April for the Bond And Beyond Concert [...]

Just after we’d wrapped on Friday, news broke that legendary Philly DJ Butterball — government name Joe Tamburro — had passed from this earthly plane on to somewhere altogether more funky. To say he will be missed doesn’t even approach the half of it. As time goes by, we’re beginning to realize that we may [...]

Native Philadelphian Sherman Hemsley, known for playing one of TV’s most loved and memorable characters, has passed away. Hemsley at one time worked as a mail sorter in Philadelphia before he took on the role of George Jefferson in the early 70s first on All in the Family, and then on The Jeffersons. The rest, [...]

Aw man. Andy Griffith has died at the ripe old age of 86. Griffith, of course, was known mostly for his roles on The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock, but we’ve also long admired him for his starring role in the completely enthralling 1957 film A Face In The Crowd. If you haven’t seen it, [...]

Beloved children’s author/witty raconteur Maurice Sendak has passed away at the age of 83, we’re sorry to report. Sendak, of course, was widely hailed as the man who revolutionized children’s books with works such as Where The Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen — stories and illustrations that routinely joined darkness and whimsy [...]

MCA, dead at 47. So sad. Such an amazing dude.

A concerned reader writes: It’s one thing to write negative articles about The Franklin Institute. But you didn’t have to kill their hawk… http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/05/03/male-red-tail-hawk-missing-from-franklin-institute-confirmed-dead/ Oh dear. No, this cannot be. At this time, we’d like to state with the utmost respect for the science part of The Franklin Institute (as opposed to the, uh, other [...]

We were greatly saddened to learn of the death of Daniel James Krawiec, known to many as Dan K. Dan, who was a fixture on Philly’s punk and indie scenes for years — as well as a familiar face in Northern Liberties, where he’d worked for Rustica Pizza for several years — passed away on [...]