George Benton, American boxer, pneumonia, died at 78.

George Benton  was a boxer and a boxing trainer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

(May 15, 1933 – September 19, 2011)

His first amateur bout was when he was thirteen. He turned professional three years later at the age of sixteen. He boxed professionally from 1949 to 1970 and defeated future world champions Freddie Little, Jimmy Ellis, and Joey Giardello. In seventy-six professional fights, he was never knocked down and was stopped just twice, on a cut against Luis Manuel Rodriguez and when he didn't come out for the final round of his fight with Bennie Briscoe. Benton had a professional record of 62–13–1 (37 KOs).
Benton became the #1 ranked middleweight in the world in the early 1960s, but he never got a shot at the world title. In 1962, after he beat Giardello, Benton thought that he would get a title shot. However, Giardello's manager, Lou Duva, was well connected and was able to get Giardello a fight with Dick Tiger for the World Middleweight Championship, which Giardello won by decision. "Yeah, I screwed George out of his shot," Duva said. "He didn't even know about it till I told him many years later."
Benton's boxing career ended in 1970 after he was shot. The shooter had tried to pick up Benton's sister in a bar, and Benton's brother beat him up. Vowing to kill someone from the Benton family, the man shot Benton in the back. He was in and out of the hospital for two years. The bullet is still lodged near Benton's spine.
With his boxing career over, he turned to training. He studied under Eddie Futch and was in Joe Frazier's corner for his third fight with Muhammad Ali, the Thrilla in Manila. He was also in the corner of Leon Spinks when he upset Ali to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
For seventeen years, Benton worked with Lou Duva and the Duva family's promotion company, Main Events, as the head trainer for many of their fighters. Among the fighters he trained were Evander Holyfield, Mike McCallum, Meldrick Taylor, and Pernell Whitaker.
In 1989 and 1990, Benton was named "Trainer of the Year" by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
In 2001, he was elected to the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.
He died on 19 September 2011 after a battle with pneumonia.^[1]

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Ivo Škrabalo, Croatian writer, director and actor, died at 77.

Ivo Škrabalo was a Croatian film critic, screenwriter, and member of parliament.^[1][2]

(19 February 1934 – 18 September 2011) 

Škrabalo was born in Sombor, where he finished elementary and high school before moving to Zagreb in 1952.^[3] He enrolled at the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Law and earned a MSc in international law, with a doctoral thesis on the creation of Bangladesh.^[3]
He also studied at the Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Art and graduated from its film directing department.^[2] Škrabalo then worked as a dramaturge at Zagreb-based film studios Zagreb Film (1958–1962) and Jadran Film (1964–1967) and was later hired as an advisor at Croatia Film in the late 1960s.^[3] He directed a number of short films and wrote or co-wrote several screenplays for feature films including the 1970 comedy classic One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away.
Škrabalo was also a prolific film critic and he made significant contributions to film publications published by the Miroslav Krleža Lexicographical Institute. He also authored four books about the history of Croatian cinema, including his seminal work 101 Years of Film in Croatia 1896–1997 published in 1998.^[4] He also gained some fame for quirky translations of titles of imported pornographic films which entered nationwide distribution in Yugoslavia in the 1980s.^[4]
In the early 1990s Škrabalo became involved in politics. Between 1991 and 1992 he briefly a senior post in the ministry of culture in the national unity government led by Prime Minister Franjo Gregurić,^[4] and was elected to the Croatian Parliament twice – from 1992 to 1995 he served as member of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) and from 2000 to 2003 as member of its short-lived splinter party LIBRA which later merged into the present-day Croatian People's Party.^[1] He was one of the mayors proposed by the opposition and rejected by President Franjo Tuđman during the 1995–1997 Zagreb crisis.
Scientist and diplomat Zdenko Škrabalo is his older brother.


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Swian Zanoni, Brazilian motocross rider, died from a race accident at 23.

Swian Zanoni  was a Brazilian motocross sport rider. He was appointed as one of the major talents of the new generation of the sport in Brazil. He was born in Divino, Minas Gerais, Brazil and died in Orizânia.

(18 April 1988 – 18 September 2011)

Zanoni was a motorcyclist since he was eight years old.
In his career, the Brazilian was twice runner-up Brazil in the SX2 class, and 20-time champion in motocross and supercross Carioca and a vice Latin American supercross in Costa Rica.^[1]
He died in a stage of the championship motocross in Minas Gerais, Orizânia about 300 km from Belo Horizonte. Zanoni was taken to the hospital in the nearby town of Divino, Minas Gerais, but died from his injuries. With participation in the Motocross World Championship this year, Zanoni was recovering after breaking his forearm during the Grand Prix of Latvia.^[2]



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Jamey Rodemeyer, American gay activist, died from suicide by hanging at 14.

Jamey Rodemeyer  was an openly bisexual ^[1] teenager, known for his activism against homophobia and his videos on YouTube to help victims of homophobic bullying. He committed suicide as a result of constant bullying. ^[2]

(March 21, 1997 – September 18, 2011)

Personal life

Jamey T. Rodemeyer^[3] lived with his parents, Tim and Tracy Rodemeyer, in their home outside of Buffalo, New York.^[4] He also had one sister, Alyssa Rodemeyer. He was open about his sexuality, and faced severe bullying as a result of it.^[5] Rodemeyer's inspiration to help others came from his biggest idol, Lady Gaga. He often referred to her in his videos and quoted her lyrics to provide guidance to others.^[6]

Activism

Rodemeyer encountered bullying throughout middle school because of his homosexuality. Anonymously posted comments on his Formspring account included hate messages such as, "I wouldn't care if you died. No one would. So just do it :) It would make everyone WAY more happier!".^[7] Despite this, he used his experiences to make videos on YouTube under the username xgothemo99xx, in order to help others who were experiencing similar situations. He also notably made a video for the "It Gets Better" project, a website dedicated to preventing teen suicide.^[2]

Death

Rodemeyer was found dead by his sister the morning of September 18, 2011 in an apparent hanging suicide. Prior to his death, he posted a final update on Twitter that was directed toward Lady Gaga. The tweet read, "@ladygaga bye mother monster, thank you for all you have done, paws up forever".^[8]

Aftermath

The Amherst Police Department launched a criminal investigation after the death of Jamey Rodemeyer, assisted by the Erie County District Attorney, Frank A. Sedita III. The investigation lasted nine weeks and included analysis of Jamey's home computer and mobile phone records. Although evidence of criminal harassment was found, these incidents either had insufficient evidence to prosecute or were expired beyond the statute of limitations. The investigation closed without any charges being filed.^[9]
The news of Jamey's death resulted in outrage by supporters all around the world. Following his death, Tim and Tracy Rodemeyer were interviewed by various news outlets about their son and his struggles against bullying. Both parents took the opportunities to promote peace and equality in the hopes of preventing occurrences similar to this one from happening in the future.^[10]
In an interview with Ann Curry on The Today Show, Jamey's parents said that their son was still being bullied even after his suicide.^[11] When his sister attended a school homecoming dance, Jamey's friends began chanting his name in support when a Lady Gaga song began playing. As a result, bullies at the dance began chanting that they were glad he was dead.^[11]
Upon learning of his death, Lady Gaga stated that she was extremely upset, spending her days "reflecting, crying and yelling". She went on to dedicate her song "Hair" to Jamey during a performance at the iHeartRadio music festival at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, saying, "I wrote this record about how your identity is really all you've got when you're in school...so tonight, Jamey, I know you're up there looking at us and you're not a victim. You're a lesson to all of us. I know it's a bit of a downer, but sometimes the right thing is more important than the music." Lady Gaga later met with President Barack Obama to discuss what his administration would do to prevent bullying in schools.^[8]
Also in response to his death, reigning Miss New York Kaitlin Monte founded an online petition to bring the issue of cyberbullying aka Jamey's Law in front of New York lawmakers.^[12] Shortly after, State Senator Jeffrey Klein proposed new cyberbullying legislation. The two partnered to launch the New York Cyberbully Census.^[13]
In October 2011, actor Zachary Quinto noted Rodemeyer's death as the genesis of his decision to come out publicly as gay, saying on his official website, "but in light of Jamey's death – it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it – is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality."^[14][15][16]
In response to Zachary Quinto's coming out and also in reaction to gay suicides caused by bullying, Dan Kloeffler of ABC News Now also came out.^[17]
That same month, another teenager, Jamie Hubley, was reported to have committed suicide for the same reason. While he never explicitly talked about Rodemeyer, comparisons have been drawn.^[18][19]
The Fox TV show Glee made a reference to Jamey while Finn (Cory Monteith) was talking to Santana (Naya Rivera) about gay suicide.


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William F. May, American film society founder (Film Society of Lincoln Center), died from heart failure at 95.

William Frederick May  was an American chemical engineer, businessman and co-founder of the Film Society of Lincoln Center.^[1][2]

(October 25, 1915 – September 18, 2011)

May was born in Chicago in 1915 and raised in the suburb of Oak Park.^[2] He graduated from Oak Park High School and earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester in 1937.^[1] He pursued graduate studies at both the University of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology.^[1]
In the 1930s, May joined DuPont as part of a research team which developed the first rust-proof paint.^[1][2] He was hired by the American Can Company in 1940, based in a laboratory in Maywood, Illinois.^[2] May became head of the American Can Company and shepherded the company through fifteen years of expansion and growth from 1965.^[1] He spearheaded American Can Company's relocation of its corporate headquarters to Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1972.^[2]
May was elected to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' board of directors in 1967.^[1] He was tasked with establishing a new film department for Lincoln Center.^[1] He worked as the program's chief fundraiser, while two other members of the committee handled artistic contributions, Richard Roud and Amos Vogel, both of whom founded the New York Film Festival.^[1] However, Lincoln Center withdrew financial support from the committee in 1968 due to financial woes.^[1] May searched for new financial donors. In 1969, May and two Lincoln Center executives, Schuyler G. Chapin and Martin E. Segal, co-founded the Film Society of Lincoln Center.^[1]
May retired from the American Can Company in 1980.^[2] He served as the dean of what is now called the New York University Stern School of Business for four years.^[1][2] He later became the chief executive of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, eventually becoming chairman emeritus in 2006.^[2]
William May died on September 18, 2011, in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he resided since 1970, at the age of 95.^[1] Before moving to Greenwich, he and his family had lived in nearby Chappaqua, New York.^[2] He was survived by his, Kathleen; two daughetrs; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.^[2]


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Bayless Manning, American lawyer, Dean of Stanford Law School (1964–1971), first President of the Council on Foreign Relations, died at 88.

Bayless A. Manning  was an American lawyer, law professor, writer and expert of corporate law.^[1] He served as the dean of Stanford Law School from 1964 to 1971.^[2] He left Stanford in 1971 and became the first president of the Council on Foreign Relations.^[1][3]

(March 29, 1923 – September 18, 2011)

Manning worked as the editor of the Yale Law Journal as a law student before graduating from Yale Law School at the top of his graduating class in 1949.^[1] He then clerked for Justice Stanley Forman Reed, an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.^[2]
Manning taught as a professor at Yale University from 1955 to 1964.^[1] He simultaneously served as a member of the President's Advisory Panel on Ethics and Conflicts of Interest in Government beginning in 1960.^[1] Manning became the dean of Stanford Law School from 1964 to 1971.^[1] In 1971, Cyrus R. Vance and David Rockefeller soon appointed Manning as the first president of the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR).^[1][3] Following the end of his tenure at CFR, Manning joined Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, a law firm based in New York City.^[1]
In 2001, Manning was awarded the Certificate of Meritorious Achievement from the United States Office of Government Ethics for the Executive Branch.^[1]
Manning moved to Boise, Idaho, in the late 1980s.^[1] He died at his home in Boise on September 18, 2011, at the age of 88.^[2] He was survived by his wife, Alexandra Zekovic, five children, and six grandchildren.^[2]


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Norma Holloway Johnson, American federal judge, first African American woman to serve as a district court chief judge, died from a stroke at 79.

Norma Holloway Johnson , born Normalie Loyce Holloway, was a United States federal judge, and the first African American woman to serve as a US District Court Chief Judge.

(July 28, 1932 – September 18, 2011)

Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, she received a B.S. from District of Columbia Teachers College in 1955 and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1962. She was in private practice in Washington, DC in 1963. She was a Trial attorney of Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice from 1963 to 1967. She was an Assistant corporation counsel, Washington, DC from 1967 to 1970. She was a judge on the District of Columbia Superior Court from 1970 to 1980. Judge Johnson was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on February 28, 1980, to a seat vacated by George L. Hart. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 9, 1980, and received commission on May 12, 1980.^{[citation needed]}
Johnson ruled on Kenneth Starr's probe of the Clinton administration.^[1] She also convicted Rita Lavelle for contempt of court and sentenced her to prison.^{[citation needed]} Served as chief judge, 1997-2001. She assumed senior status on June 18, 2001. Johnson served in that capacity until December 31, 2003, due to retirement.
Johnson died Sunday, September 18, 2011, at her brother's home in her native Lake Charles, following a stroke. She was 79 years old.^[2]


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Tom Daly, Canadian movie director and producer, died from a long illness at 93.

Tom Daly  was a Canadian film director and producer, who was the head of Studio B at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) in the 1950s and '60s. He produced and executive produced more than 300 films over a 44-year career at the NFB.^[1]

(born April 25, 1918 in Toronto - dead September 18, 2011 in Westmount)

Early years

Daly learned the art of film editing from filmmaker Stuart Legg and documentary pioneer and NFB founder John Grierson, who had hired Daly in 1940 directly following his graduation from the University of Toronto. Daly was passionate about assisting in the NFB's war effort. Grierson was apparently taken with Daly’s intellect and bookish manner and brought him aboard as a production assistant, joking calling him “the best butler in the business,” an expression which would serve as the title for film scholar D.B. Jones’s book on Daly, The Best Butler in the Business: Tom Daly of the National Film Board of Canada, decades later.^[2]

Studio B

As head of the NFB's Studio B unit, Daly was involved in, or responsible for, numerous milestones and achievements in both documentary and animation film art, including Cinéma vérité and Direct Cinema productions, as well as the multi-projector cinematic presentation In the Labyrinth, which eventually led to the development of IMAX. Daly was persuaded to put aside his studio responsibilities for a year and a half to edit In the Labyrinth.^[1][2]
He also produced such classic works as Colin Low's Corral, Wolf Koenig and Roman Kroitor’s Lonely Boy, Koenig and Low’s City of Gold, Kroitor and Low’s Universe, Arthur Lipsett’s Very Nice, Very Nice, and Gerald Potterton’s animated short My Financial Career. Daly also served as executive producer on Candid Eye, a 14-part cinema-vérité series made between 1958 and 1961.^[1][2]
Daly ran a mixed-discipline studio that included many of the most talented Canadian film-makers of the time, including an animation group with luminaries such as Norman McLaren, Don Arioli, and Robert Verrall; a documentary team including Roman Kroitor and Terence Macartney-Filgate, and with both Colin Low and Wolf Koenig working at various times in both areas.^[1]

Retirement and death

He died on September 18 after a lengthy illness, at the Chateau Westmount residence in Westmount, Quebec.^[3]


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Jack Adler, American comic book artist, died at 94.

Jack Adler was an artist who worked as a cover artist and colorist for DC Comics. He was a staff member of DC's production department from 1946 to 1981, rising steadily up the ranks to production manager and vice president of production.

(July 1, 1917 – September 18, 2011)

Early life

Adler attended the High School of Art and Design,^[2] and graduated from Brooklyn College.^[1]

Career

Adler's first comics job was for Funny Folks #2 (DC Comics, Jun./July 1946). He received the industry's Shazam Award for Best Colorist in 1971. Adler's cover art was often featured on Silver Age issues of Sea Devils, G.I. Combat, and Green Lantern.
After going to work for DC Comics in 1946, he took on a staff position doing production and coloring for the entire DC line in 1947. He held this position until 1960, when he became DC's assistant production manager for the next fifteen years. From 1975 until his retirement in 1981,^[3] Adler was DC's production manager and vice president of production.^[1]
Radio host Howard Stern is Adler's cousin.^[4]


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Moisés Villanueva de la Luz, Mexican politician, MP (2011) (body found on this date), died at 47.

Moisés Villanueva de la Luz was a Mexican politician and a member of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party) where he served as federal deputy and local MP.

(17 November 1964 – 17 September 2011) 

Villanueva de la Luz Moses studied for a degree in Law and Social Sciences at the Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero (Autonomous University of Guerrero), his political career in the Institutional Revolutionary Party progressed within the framework of the Confederación Nacional Campesina (National Peasant Confederation) in Guerrero, where he was regional coordinator and state political adviser, in addition to Visitor electoral trainer of the Agrarian agriculture, as well as Member of the Congress of Guerrero from 1999 to 2002. Alternate elected federal deputy for the V Distrito Electoral Federal de Guerrero (Federal Electoral District of Guerrero) he succeeded Sofia Hernández Ramírez as the leader of LXI Legislature of the Mexican Congress in 2009. On 30th March 2011 he took over leadership of the deputation and stood down as the owner in the Comisiónes de población, Fronteras y Asuntos Migratorios y Reforma Agraria (Chamber of Deputies was part of the Commission on Population, Borders and Migration Issues and Agrarian Reform).
He was reported missing on 4 September 2011 on the way road between the cities of Chilapa and Tlapa^[1], in the Región de la Montaña, (Mountain Region), he was found murdered next to his driver on 17 September in Huamuxtitlán. ^{[2] [3]}


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Kurt Sanderling,German conductor, died at 98.

Kurt Sanderling CBE was a German conductor. He worked in Germany and the Soviet Union.

(19 September 1912 – 17 September 2011) 

Biography

Kurt Sanderling was born in Arys, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Orzysz, Poland) to Jewish parents. After early work at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, he left for the Soviet Union in 1936, where he worked with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. From 1942 to 1960, he was joint principal conductor with Yevgeny Mravinsky of the Leningrad Philharmonic. As a German refugee with a broad cultural outlook, he grew very close to Dmitri Shostakovich.^[1]
Sanderling was a favorite of musicians world over. His easy going conducting manner proved he could get the finest results with orchestras of much lesser calibre. His Brahms and Sibelius cycles are held in highest critical acclaim. Listeners may note a warmth of approach more akin to old world conductors rather than the current "jet-set" style modern interpreters.
He returned to East Germany where he led the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and Dresden Staatskapelle. He made his British debut in 1970. He later became particularly associated with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London starting in January 1980, with a series of performances of the complete Beethoven symphonies at Wembley. The Philharmonia later appointed Sanderling their Conductor Emeritus. He was also Emeritus Conductor of the Madrid Symphony Orchestra.^[2]
Sanderling had conducted several major symphony orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, who had asked Sanderling to be the permanent conductor of the orchestra, however, Sanderling's commitments made him refuse the offer. Martin Bernheimer praised Sanderling's conducting skills. He announced his retirement from conducting in 2002.^[3]
In September 2002, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).^[4]
His recordings include sets of the complete Beethoven symphonies with the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the piano concertos with pianist Mitsuko Uchida, Nos. 3, 4 with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Nos. 1, 2 and 5 with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He was among the first conductors to perform and record Deryck Cooke's completion of Gustav Mahler's 10th symphony, which his friend Berthold Goldschmidt had premiered.^{[citation needed]}
Sanderling died on 17 September 2011, two days before his 99th birthday in Berlin.^{[4][1][5][6][7]}

Family

Sanderling was married twice. His son by his first wife, Nina Bobath, whom he married in 1941, is the conductor Thomas Sanderling. His marriage to his first wife ended in divorce after his return to East Germany in 1960. His second wife was the former Barbara Wagner, a double bassist in the Berlin Symphony Orchestra; they had two sons, the conductor Stefan Sanderling, who in 2002 became music director of the Florida Orchestra, and the cellist/conductor Michael Sanderling.^[4][1]

Publications

• 2002: Kurt Sanderling & Ulrich Roloff-Momin: Andere machen Geschichte, ich machte Musik. Parthas, Berlin 2002, 431 pp., ill., discographie, ISBN 3-932529-35-9, (Biography; in German)

Film

• Seine Liebe zu Brahms. Kurt Sanderling unterrichtet die 4. Sinfonie. (with the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart of the SWR) Documentation, 60 Min., a film by Norbert Beilharz, First transmission: 2. November 2003, Inhaltsangabe des SWR (German)

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Charles H. Percy, 91, American politician, Senator from Illinois (1967–1985), died from Alzheimer's disease at 91.

Charles Harting Percy was an American businessman and politician. He was president of the Bell & Howell Corporation from 1949 to 1964. In 1966, he was elected to the United States Senate from Illinois as a Republican; he served for almost twenty years, until 1985, after he was defeated by Paul Simon. During his Senate career, he concentrated on business and foreign relations.

(September 27, 1919 – September 17, 2011)

Early life and education

Charles Harting Percy was born in Pensacola, the seat of Escambia County in far northwestern Florida, the son of Edward H. Percy and the former Elisabeth Harting.^[4] His father, an Alabama native descended from Virginians, was at various times an automobile salesman and bank cashier. His Illinois-born mother was a concert violinist. Edward was a son of Charles Brown Percy and Helen Leila Herndon, from the powerful Herndon family of Virginia.^[5][6] Elizabeth Harting was a daughter of Phineas Fredrick Harting and Belle Aschenbach.^[7]
The family moved to Chicago when Percy was an infant. As a child, he was notable for his entrepreneurial energy, and often held several jobs while attending school. In the mid-1930s, his pluck brought him to the attention of his Sunday school teacher, Joseph McNabb, the president of Bell & Howell, then a small camera company.
Percy completed high school at New Trier High School. He entered the University of Chicago on a half tuition scholarship. He completed his degree in economics in 1941.^[1][4]

Career

Percy started at Bell & Howell in 1938 as an apprentice and sales trainee. In 1939 he worked at Crowell Collier. He went to work full time for Bell & Howell in 1941, after college. Within a year he was appointed a director of the company. Percy served three years in the United States Navy during World War II and returned to the company in 1945.^[3]
After Joseph McNabb died in 1949, Percy was made the president of Bell & Howell. In 1949, the Jaycees named Percy one of the "Outstanding Young Men in America", along with Gerald R. Ford, Jr., of Michigan (future U.S. President) and John Ben Shepperd (future Texas Attorney General.)
During his leadership of Bell & Howell, Percy led the company through years of expansion, with a 32-fold increase in company sales, a 12-fold increase in employees, and taking the company public, with a listing for stock sales on the New York Stock Exchange. While continuing to make a variety of movie cameras for military, commercial and home use; and movie and sound projectors, in the late 1940s, the company branched into the production of microfilm. Later it entered the information services markets as well.

Political career

In the late 1950s, Percy decided to enter politics. With the encouragement of then U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Percy helped to write Decisions for a Better America, which proposed a set of long-range goals for the Republican Party. He was considered to be a liberal Republican, among a group from the Northeast and Midwest.
Percy first entered electoral politics with a run for governor in 1964, which he narrowly lost to Democratic incumbent Otto Kerner. During his gubernatorial campaign, Percy reluctantly endorsed Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater, his future Senate colleague, who fared poorly in Illinois.

U.S. Senate

In 1966, Percy ran for senator from Illinois; he upset the Democratic senator Paul Douglas (a former professor of Percy's at the University of Chicago) with 56 percent of the vote. During that campaign, Percy's 21-year-old daughter Valerie was murdered at the family home under mysterious circumstances, apparently by an intruder. He suspended the campaign for two weeks. Valerie Percy's murder has never been solved, despite a long investigation.^[2] Following the murder, CBS postponed, and eventually canceled, its planned airing of the Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho.
In 1967, Senator Percy introduced a bill to establish a program to stimulate production of low-cost housing. Percy's proposal was the first of its kind to provide home ownership to low-income families, and it received strong support from Republicans in both the House and the Senate. When asked why he selected housing for his first major legislative proposal, Percy said: "Of all the problems I ran across during three years of campaigning, first for the governorship and then for the Senate, the most appalling in their consequences for the future seemed to be the problems of the declining areas of the city and countryside, the inadequacy of housing."
In 1978, as Percy was completing his second term, he appeared invincible.^[8] Percy was considered so strong that the Democratic party was unable to persuade any serious candidates to challenge him.^[9] Emerging from the Democratic primary was the dark horse candidate, Alex Seith, who had never before sought elected office but had served as an appointee on the Cook County Zoning Board of Appeals for twelve years, nine as chairman.
But at that time, Percy's reputation as a Rockefeller Republican, contrasted with Seith's ostensible hard-line foreign policy positions, combined to make Percy suddenly vulnerable in the weeks before the election. Sensing his improbable loss, Percy went on television days before the polling and, with tear-filled eyes, pleaded with Illinois voters to give him another chance. He said, "I got your message and you're right . . . I'm sure that I've made my share of mistakes, but your priorities are mine."^[10] He won re-election by a 54% to 46% margin.
Percy served in the Senate until the end of his third term in January 1985. He had been narrowly defeated for re-election in November 1984 by the liberal Congressman Paul Simon. After Percy's defeat, no Republican would win a senatorial race in Illinois until Peter Fitzgerald in 1998.
In 2006, in writing about the influence of political lobbies on the U.S. relationship with Israel, political theorists John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt wrote that they believed Percy's loss resulted from the campaign waged against him by the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).^[11] The lobbying group controlled substantial monies and helped lawmakers who they believed supported the security of Israel. Earlier that year, Percy had addressed himself, along with the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Dante Fascell, to the cause of Karl Linnas, a concentration camp commander who was to be deported back to Estonia, having lied in the papers he used to enter the United States. Linnas had ordered, and participated in, the murders of Jews and other prisoners.^[12] Percy's view, shared by Fascell and by Representative Donald L. Ritter of Pennsylvania and of the Helsinki Commission was that Linnas should be deported but not to the Soviet Union.
While in the Senate, Percy was active in the areas of business and international affairs. Although he explored the possibility of running for President in 1968 and 1976, he did not run either time. During the early 1970s, he clashed with the policies of President Nixon and criticized the U.S. conduct of the Vietnam War.
In 1977, Percy and Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey - responding to the 1973 OPEC oil embargo and high energy prices in general - created the Alliance to Save Energy^[13] to encourage a national commitment to energy efficiency. Sen. Percy was the founding chairman of the organization.^[14]
Perhaps Percy's most important act, and his longest-lasting legacy, was ending the practice of nominating federal judges from the Chicago political machine. He implemented a system of consultation with, and advice from, several groups, including the professional bar association, which was considered novel at the time.^[15] One of his nominees, John Paul Stevens, was selected by Gerald Ford as a justice of the United States Supreme Court.^[15]

Literary opinions

Percy said of the Autobiography of Malcolm X, that "Every white person should read it."^[16]

Marriage and family

Percy was a Christian Scientist.^[4] During World War II, Percy married Jeanne Dickerson. They had twin daughters, Valerie and Sharon (born 1944), and a son Roger (born 1947). Jeanne died in 1947, of a violent reaction to drugs after a seemingly simple and successful operation. In 1950, Percy married Loraine Guyer. Their children were Gail (born 1953) and Mark (born 1955).
About a year after the murder of her twin sister Valerie, in 1966, Sharon Percy married John D. Rockefeller IV,^[4] who was later elected to two terms (1977-1985) as the Democratic Governor of West Virginia and has been a United States Senator from that state since 1985.
He remained active after leaving political office, but suffered from Alzheimer's disease in his later years.^[17]
He died on September 17, 2011 at the Washington Home and Community Hospice in Washington, D.C..^[4][18]

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Eleanor Mondale, American television personality, daughter of Walter Mondale, died from brain cancer at 51.

Eleanor Jane Mondale Poling was an American radio personality, television host, and actress.

(January 19, 1960 – September 17, 2011) 

Biography

Mondale was the only daughter of Joan Mondale and former Vice President Walter Mondale. Her older brother is former Minnesota State Senator Theodore A. "Ted" Mondale. Her younger brother is attorney William H. Mondale, the former assistant Minnesota attorney general. For her senior year of high school, Mondale attended St. Timothy's, a boarding school outside of Baltimore. After graduating from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, she moved to begin a career in Hollywood.^[1]

Personal life

After graduating from St. Lawrence University, Mondale quickly earned a reputation in the media for being a "wild-child", although she claims many of the rumors were unfounded.^[1] She reportedly dated Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1979 after they met on the set of The Villain (1979), for which she was a film production assistant.
Mondale was married three times. Her first marriage, to football player Keith Van Horne, lasted from April 9, 1988, until August 1989, when Van Horne filed for divorce.^[2] In 1990 she dated rock singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, traveling on tour with him to Australia.^[1][3] She also dated Washington Redskins offensive tackle George Starke.^[4]
Mondale's second marriage, from June 21, 1991, to November 1991, was to Greg Malban, a DJ known as Greg Thunder.
In 1998, Mondale was named in the Starr Report as having met with President Clinton at the White House on December 6, 1997, while Monica Lewinsky, with whom Clinton had been having an affair, was kept waiting at the White House for 40 minutes. During Lewinsky's wait, a Secret Service officer reportedly told her that Clinton was meeting with Mondale, prompting Lewinsky to fly into a rage. The Washington Post reported: "Lewinsky 'stormed away, called and berated Mrs. Currie (Betty Currie) from a pay phone.' Currie, in turn, 'hands shaking and almost crying,' told the officers that Clinton was 'irate' that they had told Lewinsky about Mondale and warned a Secret Service supervisor that 'someone could be fired.'"^[5]
In 1996, several mainstream publications, including The Washington Post, had implied that Mondale was having a fling with Clinton—claims that she denied. "What's funny is every time I've seen the president there have been at least five other people in the room," she told the Chicago Sun-Times. "I don't think we would have carried on this so-called affair right in front of Barbra Streisand and people like that!"^[6]
In 1999, Mondale sold her house in Los Angeles to move to New York to be with her boyfriend at the time, New York plastic and reconstructive surgeon Joe DeBellis.^[7]
In June 2005 Mondale married Minneapolis musician Chan Poling of the group The New Standards. Poling has three children with ex-wife Terri Paul: son Chandler Jr. and daughters Maddie and Olivia. Mondale and Poling lived on a small farm in Minnesota, where they raised miniature horses until her death.

Acting career

Mondale dropped out of college in 1981 to move to Hollywood.^[8] She worked briefly as an extra and had one speaking line in the TV series 240-Robert.^[8] She then returned to college, graduating in 1982. By January 1983, Mondale was back in Hollywood, where she had small roles on TV shows such as Three's Company, Dynasty, and Matt Houston.^[8]
Eleanor Mondale was a regular guest on Howard Stern's E! TV show during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Journalism career

Mondale interviewed Fred Thompson at the 2007 Minnesota State Fair.

Mondale began her journalism career while still in Los Angeles, taking a job at KABC-TV in 1985.^[8] She left the station in late 1985 and soon moved to Chicago, getting her first radio break as a helicopter reporter at WMAQ (AM).^[9] She continued taking fill-in radio news jobs at various Chicago radio stations, including WCKG-FM.^[8] She also was waiting for the pilot of a King World Productions show, "The Rock 'n Roll Evening News", to be sold.^[8] Within a few months the show began airing in national syndication, with Mondale working as its Midwest correspondent.^[8]
In 1986, Mondale signed a one-year contract with powerhouse Chicago radio station WGN (AM) to appear as a frequent contributor to programs.^[10] In early 1987, Mondale joined Chicago radio station WCKG-FM as a morning news anchor.^[11] In June 1987, Mondale shifted to being the co-host of WCKG's morning show alongside John Fisher.^[12] In early 1988, Mondale took a leave of absence from WCKG to collaborate with a Chicago writer on a book about the children of U.S. presidents.^[13]
In June 1989, Mondale took a job in Minneapolis as an entertainment reporter for WCCO-TV.^[14] In March 1990, Mondale quit unexpectedly just a few days before a local magazine was to publish a feature on Mondale titled "Walter and Joan's Wild Child".^[15]
After leaving WCCO and spending some time in Australia,^[16] Mondale became a morning sidekick on WLOL-FM in Minneapolis, where she remained until the station was bought by Minnesota Public Radio in 1991.^[9][16] She also hosted "The Great American TV Poll" on the Lifetime cable channel.^[9]
In April 1991, Mondale returned to Chicago's airwaves as a morning sidekick at WKQX-FM, working alongside morning host Robert Murphy.^[17] Mondale and fellow sidekick Dan Walker were forced out of WKQX in January 1993.^[18]
After leaving WKQX, Mondale began working in television. In March 1993, Mondale and Robin Leach co-hosted a two-hour special on national television about Madonna titled "Madonna Exposed".^[19] In early 1994, Mondale began working as a correspondent for NBC's "Today" show.^[20]
In mid 1994, Mondale landed a job as anchor/host of "Q and E", a half-hour weekly celebrity show airing on E! Online cable channel.^[21] In 1996, Mondale was hired by CBS as a Los Angeles-based correspondent for "This Morning".^[22]
Mondale hosted the E! Online shows Wild On in 1997 and E! News Live. She worked on ESPN as a reporter on the horse racing events, which lasted two years (2002–2003). She covered for ESPN2 the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. After ESPN, she did stories on auto shows around the world for the Speed Channel. She worked for the CBS Television show This Morning.
In 2006, after battling brain cancer for the first time, Mondale signed on as a host at WCCO-AM.^[23] She remained there until 2009, when she left the airwaves to go on disability because of her cancer's recurrence.^[24]

Film career

• Mondale had five speaking lines in the opening minutes of the 1991 film Drop Dead Fred.^[25]
• Mondale narrated the feature documentary film Fritz: The Walter Mondale Story (2008), which details the life of her father and aspects of her own childhood.
• Mondale appeared in the short film Mirage (2004), directed by Sayer Frey and produced by Shelli Ainsworth.

Illness and death

After a bout of seizures, Mondale was diagnosed with brain cancer in June 2005. In the summer of 2006, the cancer was in remission, but she announced in February 2008 that a small tumor had returned and that she would seek treatment at the Mayo Clinic. Mondale was again diagnosed with brain cancer in August 2009 and was scheduled to undergo surgery later that same month.^[26] She died of brain cancer at her home in Minnesota on September 17, 2011, aged 51.^[27]


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