Margalit Fox's Blog, page 56

David Lloyd, Tenor With City Opera, Dies at 92

Mr. Lloyd, an American lyric tenor with New York City Opera in the 1950s, was also known as a recitalist and oratorio soloist.

John E. Karlin, Who Led the Way to All-Digit Dialing, Dies at 94

Mr. Karlin, a Bell Labs industrial research psychologist, was also instrumental in the shortening of telephone cords and the creation of rectangular keypads for touch-tone models.

Andr� Cassagnes, Etch A Sketch Inventor, Is Dead at 86

A chance inspiration involving metal particles and the tip of a pencil led Mr. Cassagnes to develop Etch A Sketch in the late 1950s.

Stephen Simon, Conductor Who Led a Handel Revival, Dies at 75

The founder of the resident chamber orchestra of the Kennedy Center, Mr. Simon showed audiences that there was more to a composer than the “Messiah.”

Jean-L�on Destin�, Dancer, Dies at 94

Considered the father of Haitian professional dance, Mr. Destin� first came to international attention in the 1940s and remained prominent for decades afterward.

Mary Jane Phillips-Matz, Verdi Biographer, Dies at 86

Ms. Phillips-Matz’s monumental “Verdi: A Biography,” the product of some 30 years’ research, was published in 1993 and spanned 941 pages.

Mary Jane Phillips-Matz, Verdi and Puccini Biographer, Dies at 86

Ms. Phillips-Matz’s examinations of two of opera’s most important composers focused on their lives, not musicology.

Linda Riss Pugach, Whose Life Was Ripped From Headlines, Dies at 75

Mrs. Pugach’s blinding by her lover, Burton N. Pugach, in 1959 became a news media sensation, and her later marriage to Mr. Pugach in 1974 became an equally sensational sequel.

Taiho, Dominant Postwar Sumo Champ, Dies at 72

Taiho, widely considered the greatest sumo wrestler of postwar Japan, had a career record of 746-144-136.

Joseph Eger, Horn Player and Activist, Is Dead at 92

Mr. Eger, a French horn player, was a conductor and advocate for progressive causes whose work sought to promote harmony in both senses of the word.