/ Stars that died in 2023

Monday, November 8, 2010

Katarina Marinič, Slovenian supercentenarian. has died she was 110,

Katarina Marinič  was a Slovenian supercentenarian. She was the oldest ever person from Slovenia.[1][2]
Marinič was the 9th of 10 children born to Anton and Marija Gabršček at Deskle, Austria-Hungary. In 1915 the family became refugees and moved elsewhere within Austria's kingdom, but returned to the territory of modern-day Slovenia in 1918. During her time away from her place of origin, Marinič worked in the chocolate factory at Vienna and attended a culinary school in Bruck. In 1929 she married Rudolf Marinič at Smrečje. They had no children. Rudolf died in 1967. Marinič had eight nephews and a centenarian niece living in Italy. She lived in a retirement home in Nova Gorica for the last 13 years of her life.[3][4]

(30 October 1899 – 2 September 2010)


She died on 2 September 2010, aged 110 years, 307 days, taking the title as Slovenia's oldest person.[5]
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Sunday, November 7, 2010

Leo Trepp, German-born American rabbi, last surviving German rabbinical witness to the Holocaust., has died he was 97

Leo Trepp  was a German-born American rabbi who was the last surviving rabbi who had led a congregation in Nazi Germany during the early days of The Holocaust.[1]



(March 4, 1913 – September 2, 2010)

Contents

Early life and work

Trepp was born on March 4, 1913, in Mainz, Germany.[2] He studied philosophy and philology at the University of Frankfurt and the University of Berlin and in 1935 received his doctorate from the University of Würzburg. He was ordained by the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums in 1936. Trepp recalled having conducted his first seder in 1936 in Oldenburg, when he was a newly ordained rabbi in Nazi Germany, leading the 15 synagogues in the district.[3] He saw that he had a dual role in working "to keep the Jewish community from breaking down, while at the same time give many fellow believers the possibility to emigrate".[2] As Jews were forbidden to attend public schools, Trepp asked the local Nazi officials if he could form a school in a synagogue in Oldenburg to educate Jewish children together with Aryan students, and was given approval for his plan, along with funding for school supplies and desks, as well as rent for the space that was being used as a school.[2]

Imprisonment

On Kristallnacht, an anti-Semitic pogrom that took place on the night of November 9, 1938 and resulted in the destruction of hundreds of synagogues and the deaths of 91 Jews, Trepp was arrested and placed in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he was held as one of as many as 30,000 Jews who were arrested and held in prison camps by the Nazis.[1] In the wake of Jews being detained and dying, Trepp saw his role as being part of "a very rewarding rabbinate because the Jews needed me".[1] He recalled the inmates being called out in Sachsenhausen at 4:00 in the morning, seeing the guard towers manned with soldiers holding machine guns and being told "You are the dregs of humanity. I don't see why you should live".[1] He told God that he was prepared to die, but was overcome with the feeling that "God was with me. I know God was there. In the concentration camp with me. And it was the worst place for it. That's why it was the best."[1]
Trepp was released from Sachsenhausen after 18 days of incarceration through the intervention of the Joseph Herman Hertz, the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom—under the condition that he and his wife had two weeks to leave the country.[2]
He went first to England and then to the United States in 1940. He ultimately moved to Northern California, where he led three congregations, including Beth Ami in Santa Rosa, California and Beth El in Berkeley.[1]

After the war

Trepp was a frequent visitor to Mainz, where he was involved in the restoration and revitalization of the Weisenau synagogue. Starting in 1983, Trepp spent 20 years teaching Jewish religion, Jewish mysticism and Talmud to students at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz.[4] He was the author of the books The Complete Book of Jewish Observance, A History of the Jewish Experience and Judaism: Development and Life.[5]
Despite his longstanding efforts at fostering Christian-Jewish reconciliation, Trepp expressed concern that in the hands of nationalists and Islamists that "Anti-Semitism has become acceptable again". Speaking to German youth in 1993, he stated that "You bear no guilt for what your grandparents did. But there is responsibility. Germany must become the leading country in the fight against anti-Semitism."[6]
Trepp was the subject of the 2009 German language documentary film Der Letzte Rabbiner by Christian Walther, which was translated into English and shown as The Last Rabbi.[2] A resident of San Francisco, Rabbi Trepp conducted his 74th, and final, Passover Seder there with his extended family in 2010. Trepp died at age 97 on September 2, 2010, in San Francisco.

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Saturday, November 6, 2010

Morgan White, American actor and children's television host died he was , 86

Morgan White [1] was an American actor died he was , 86.

(July 25, 1924 – September 2, 2010)

Contents

Fans are bidding a warm aloha to the man behind 'Pogo Poge'. If you grew up in the 60's or 70's, you might remember rushing home after school to watch 'Checkers & Pogo' on KGMB.

The actor who played Pogo, Morgan White, is now gone but not forgotten.
White entertained Hawaii's keiki for nearly 15 years as Pogo Poge. He passed away Thursday in Utah, where he retired. But White leaves this world going down in Hawaii's TV history.
It's a show that captured the hearts of kids, and White was in the center of it all.
"Morgan was the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. He was really, really nice and he loved kids so his part on 'Checkers & Pogo' was the perfect job for him," said Rob Hearn, who played 'Jake the Janitor', 'John the Clown', and 'Granny Garbonzoon' on the show.
The show was Hawaii's version of 'Romper Room' with kids in the live audience, though Hearn, says it was even better.
"Romper room was for little kids. Checkers & Pogo? Even the grown-ups watched it," said Hearn.
The after school kids program was born in 1967.
You may remember, Friday was 'Pie-Day'.
Another highlight was the chance for kids to snatch as many pennies as they could.
"And some of the kids would come up with some pretty weird ideas of getting the pennies. They'd turn them over and they'd bring it out like this and try to get two hands in there. It was fun watching them," said White in a documentary KGMB produced in 1999 called 'Checkers & Pogo Remembered'.
The documentary, written and directed by Lawrence Pacheco, includes an interview with White after the show's final episode.
"It's a mixed emotion, you know, how do you draw a curtain on 14 years of love and fun?" White said.
Checkers & Pogo ended in 1982 as the longest running and most successful children's show in Hawaii.
"It was a phenomenon, it was an incredible phenomenon. Back at that time there were no video games, there were no 1,000 cable channels," said actor Fred Ball, who played 'Professor Fun'.
Ball says they had no idea Checkers & Pogo was going to be a hit, remembered still, 28 years later.
"Morgan White and all three Checkers do live on and hopefully Professor Fun, we live on in the minds and hearts of the now aging kamaaina's of the entire state of Hawaii," said Ball.
White continued acting after Checkers & Pogo.
He played the Attorney General in several episodes of the original Hawaii Five-0 TV series.
White was 86 years old.

 


Personal life and Death

After the show ended, White retired to farm in Sevier, Utah. He died in Utah at the age of 86 on September 2, 2010.[2]

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Wakanohana Kanji I, Japanese sumo wrestler, died from kidney cancer. he was , 82

Wakanohana Kanji I  was a sumo wrestler, the sport's 45th Yokozuna (the highest-ranking position).
Wakanohana's younger brother (by twenty-two years) was the late former ozeki Takanohana Kenshi and he was the uncle of Takanohana Koji and Wakanohana Masaru  died from kidney cancer. he was , 82. He won ten top division yusho or tournament championships during his career and at a fighting weight of around 100 kg was one of the lightest yokozuna ever. He had a long-standing rivalry with Tochinishiki and was one of the most popular wrestlers of the 1950s. After his retirement in 1962 he established Futagoyama stable and was also head of the Japan Sumo Association from 1988 until 1992.


(若乃花 幹士 Wakanohana Kanji?, March 16, 1928 – September 1, 2010)

Contents

Career

He was born in Aomori and moved to Hokkaidō as a child. After working as a stevedore, he was scouted by the maegashira Onoumi,[1] joining Nishonoseki stable in November 1946. He was trained harshly by Rikidōzan in Nishonoseki stable, but he reportedly bit Rikidōzan's leg in retaliation for his training.[2] Onoumi became head coach of Shibatayama stable after his retirement in May 1952, and Wakanohana followed him to the new stable. It was renamed Hanakago stable in September 1953.
He reached the top division in 1950. During his career he was nicknamed the Dohyo no Oni, or Devil of the Dohyo due to his great fighting spirit and endurance. In September 1955 he fought a bout against yokozuna Chiyonoyama that lasted for over 17 minutes before being declared a draw.[1] (Most sumo matches are over in a few seconds). He was promoted to ozeki after that tournament. He won his first top division championship in May 1956. Shortly before the following tournament his four year old son was scalded to death when a boiling hot pot of chankonabe fell on him.[3] Despite being devastated by the tragedy,[4] Wakanohana chose to compete in the tournament but ended up dropping out with a fever.[3] He had to wait until January 1958 for promotion to yokozuna, which was confirmed shortly after he took his second tournament championship. He was the first yokozuna produced by the Nishonoseki ichimon or group of stables in over 20 years and consequently he had to borrow the kesho mawashi of the former Futabayama to perform his first dohyo-iri or yokozuna ring entering ceremony.[4]
Wakanohana's great rival as yokozuna was Tochinishiki. They were very evenly matched, being of similar height and weight, and both ended up with ten top division titles each. In March 1960, they faced each other undefeated on the final day – the first time ever that two yokozuna had met like this.[3] Wakanohana won the match and Tochinishiki retired after the next tournament. Wakanohana kept going until the new era of yokozuna Taiho and Kashiwado, retiring in May 1962.
Wakanohana was such a popular wrestler that he even starred in a feature film 若ノ花物語 土俵の鬼 Wakanohana monogatari dohyou no oni about his life, made by the Nikkatsu movie studio and released across Japan December 27, 1956.[4][5]

Retirement from sumo

After retirement he set up his own training stable, Futagoyama, which produced a string of top wrestlers, including ozeki Takanohana (his brother) and Wakashimazu, and yokozuna Wakanohana II and Takanosato. He was also head of the Japan Sumo Association from 1988 to 1992. Among his reforms was an attempt to improve the quality of the tachi-ai or initial charge of a bout by fining wrestlers who engaged in matta, or false starts. At the end of his last tournament in charge he presented the Emperor's Cup to his nephew, Takahanada. Upon his retirement from the Sumo Association in 1993, his stable merged with his brother's Fujishima stable. He became director of the Sumo Museum. He died of kidney cancer in September 2010 at the age of 82. Umegatani I, who lived to 83, is the only yokozuna to live longer than him.[6]

Fighting style

Wakanohana was a noted technician, and his trademark was his overarm throwing techniques.[6] As well as uwatenage and dashinage he was also well known for yobimodashi, or pulling body slam, a kimarite that has virtually disappeared from professional sumo today. He was equally adept at both a hidari-yotsu (right hand outside, left hand inside) and migi-yotsu (the reverse) grip on his opponent's mawashi.

Top division record

Note: The Osaka tournament resumed in 1953. The Kyushu tournament was first held in 1957, and the Nagoya tournament in 1958.
Wakanohana Kanji I[7]
year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo
March
Haru basho, Osaka
May
Natsu basho, Tokyo
July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya
September
Aki basho, Tokyo
November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
1950 West Maegashira #18
11–4
F
x East Maegashira #9
10–5
x East Maegashira #4
4–11
x
1951 East Maegashira #7
11–4
F
x East Maegashira #1
8–7
x East Komusubi
7–8
x
1952 West Komusubi
5–10
x West Maegashira #4
5–10
x West Maegashira #9
10–5
x
1953 West Maegashira #3
8–7
East Maegashira #1
8–7
East Maegashira #1
8–7
x West Komusubi
8–7
x
1954 West Sekiwake
8–7
O
East Sekiwake
9–6
East Sekiwake
9–6
x West Sekiwake
11–4
O
x
1955 East Sekiwake
7–7–1draw
West Sekiwake
10–4–1draw
West Sekiwake
8–7
x West Sekiwake
10–4–1draw
T
x
1956 East Ōzeki
13–2
East Ōzeki
12–3–P
East Ōzeki
12–3–P
x East Ōzeki
12–2–1
x
1957 East Ōzeki
11–4
East Ōzeki
10–5
East Ōzeki
11–4
x East Ōzeki
11–4
East Ōzeki
12–3
1958 East Ōzeki
13–2
East Yokozuna
12–3
West Yokozuna
11–4
East Yokozuna
13–2
East Yokozuna
14–1
East Yokozuna
12–2–1draw
1959 East Yokozuna
14–1
East Yokozuna
12–3
East Yokozuna
14–1–P
West Yokozuna
11–4
West Yokozuna
14–1
East Yokozuna
11–4
1960 West Yokozuna
0–3–12
East Yokozuna
15–0
East Yokozuna
13–2
East Yokozuna
13–2
East Yokozuna
13–2
East Yokozuna
5–4–6
1961 West Yokozuna
12–3
Sat out due to injury West Yokozuna
10–5
East Yokozuna
3–4–8
West Yokozuna
10–5
East Yokozuna
11–4
1962 East Yokozuna
11–4
West Yokozuna
0–2–13
East Yokozuna
Retired
0–0–15
x x x
Record given as win-loss-absent    Championship Retired Demoted from makuuchi

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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Cammie King, American actress (Gone with the Wind), died from lung cancer she was 76.

Eleanore Cammack "Cammie" King was an American former child actress died from lung cancer she was  76.. She is best known for being one of the actresses who portrayed "Bonnie Blue Butler" in Gone with the Wind (1939). She also provided the voice for the doe "Faline" in the animated Disney film, Bambi (1942).



(August 5, 1934 – September 1, 2010) 


Life and career

King was born in Los Angeles, California. While her acting career only spanned four years during her childhood, she appeared in two of the biggest movies of the era, Gone with the Wind and Bambi.
She was the godchild of Herbert Kalmus, co-founder of Technicolor, and became his stepchild in 1949 when he married her mother, Eleanore King. Cammie King was married twice and had two adopted children.[1] Her father-in-law from her second marriage, Judd Conlon, was a musical arranger for many Disney films including Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953).
In the early 2000s, King made a guest appearance as a contestant on the TV game show To Tell the Truth, hosted by John O'Hurley. Upon reflecting on her film career, King once joked, "I peaked at 5." She spent 40 years working as a marketing coordinator for the Fort Bragg-Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce.[1]
King privately published a small book Bonnie Blue Butler: A Gone With the Wind Memoir in 2009, mainly selling copies directly to fans via personal appearances and the internet. King died on September 1, 2010, at her home in Fort Bragg, California, at age 76, from lung cancer.[2] She is interred at Culver City, California's Holy Cross Cemetery[3].


Filmography

  • 1939Gone with the Wind — Bonnie Butler
  • 1939Blondie Meets the Boss — Millie (uncredited)
  • 1942Bambi — Young Faline (uncredited)

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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Vance Bourjaily, American novelist.died he was , 87

Vance Bourjaily  was an American writer, novelist, playwright, journalist, and essayist died he was , 87.[1][2]


(September 17, 1922 – August 31, 2010)

Life

Bourjaily was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Monte Ferris Bourjaily, a Lebanese immigrant who was a journalist and later became editor of the United Features Syndicate, and Barbara Webb, an American-born features author and novelist.[3] Bourjaily moved several times during his youth. His childhood was spent in Connecticut, Virginia, and New York. Bourjaily graduated from Handley High School in Winchester, Virginia in 1939. After graduating, Bourjaily enrolled in Bowdoin College. With the coming of World War II, Bourjaily became a volunteer ambulance driver from 1942 to 1944. He then served two years in the army from 1944 to 1946. Bourjaily's time in the army was a central theme to many of his later writings.
Bourjaily graduated from Bowdoin College with a B.A. in 1947. While at Bowdoin, he became a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Theta chapter).
Bourjaily married Bettina Yensen in 1946. The couple had two children and later divorced. Bourjaily re-married in 1985, to Yasmin Mogul (a former student) and had a son by her. He died in Greenbrae, California on August 31, 2010.[3]

Career

Bourjaily began his work with his first novel entitled The End of My Life. The book was heavily influenced by Bourjaily's wartime experiences.[citation needed] Critics said that the novel borrowed heavily from the style and tone of Ernest Hemingway.[citation needed] However, the novel was met with praise and was hailed by critic John Aldridge as a war novel on the level of Hemingway's Farewell to Arms.[citation needed]
Bourjaily's second novel, The Hound of Earth, paints a picture of Cold War America through the eyes of a scientist who helped develop the atomic bomb. His third novel, The Violated, dealt with the themes of violence and alienation. This book was also met with critical praise.[citation needed]
Brill Among the Ruins is Bourjaily's most critically acclaimed novel.[citation needed] The novel was nominated for a National Book Award in 1970 and was praised in the New York Times Book Review.[citation needed]
Bourjaily spent much of his career in academia. From 1957 to 1980, he worked as a creative writing instructor and a professor at the University of Iowa. Bourjaily also worked at several other academic institutions such as Oregon State University, the University of Arizona, and Louisiana State University.
While living in San Francisco, Bourjaily wrote feature stories for the San Francisco Chronicle. [3]

Bibliography

 Selected works

  • The End of My Life (1947)
  • The Hound of Earth (1955)
  • The Violated (1958)
  • Confessions of a Spent Youth (1960)
  • The Unnatural Enemy: Essays on Hunting (1963)
  • The Man Who Knew Kennedy (1967)
  • Brill among the Ruins (1970)
  • Country Matters: Collected Reports from the Fields and Streams of Iowa and Other Places (essays) (1973)
  • Now Playing at Canterbury (1976)
  • A Game Men Play (1980)
  • The Great Fake Book (1986)
  • Old Soldier: A Novel (1990)


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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Laurent Fignon French road bicycle racer, winner of 1983 and 1984 Tour de France, died from lung cancer.he was , 50,

Laurent Patrick Fignon[1]  was a French professional road bicycle racer. He won the Tour de France in 1983 and in 1984. He missed winning it a third time, in 1989, by 8 seconds, the closest margin ever to decide the tour died from lung cancer.he was , 50,.[2] He also won the Giro d'Italia in 1989, after having been the runner-up in 1984, and the classic race Milan – San Remo in 1988 and 1989. He died of cancer on 31 August 2010.



(12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010)

Contents

Early life and amateur career

Fignon was born to Marthe Fignon[3] in Montmartre, Paris,[1][4] but lived in Tournan-en-Brie from 1963 until 1978, when they moved to Val-des-Dames.[5][6] Fignon's first sport was football and he got as far as playing for his département or area. Friends encouraged him into cycling and he rode his first official race in 1976, which he won.[6] Fignon's parents did not want him to race, and he raced without them knowing.[1] He won four more races in his first year, but only one in his second year. In this third year, he won 18 out of 36 races.[6]
By then, Fignon's parents allowed him to race, but still thought that he should study. Fignon entered the University of Villetaneuse, doing Structural and Materials Science.[1] This study did not go too well, and he left soon. Fignon then joined the army, and was posted at the Bataille de Joinville, known for its sporting reputation. After this, Fignon was sure he wanted to pursue a professional career.[1]
In 1981, Fignon rode the Tour of Corsica, where professional and amateur cyclists rode together. Fignon was able to hold the wheel of Bernard Hinault, for most of the race.[1]
It was when he rode with the national 100 km time trial team that he caught the eye of the former rider and manager, Cyrille Guimard, who gave him a place in his Renault-Elf-Gitane professional team in 1982, when he was 21 years old.[6]

Professional career

1982: first professional season

In 1982, Fignon rode the 1982 Giro d'Italia. After Fignon broke away in the second stage, he became the leader of the race, and got to wear the pink jersey.[6] He lost the lead in the next stage, but became Hinault's most trusted team mate in the mountains.[6] In Paris–Tours, Fignon had escaped and made a break of 40 seconds, when his crank broke.[6] During this first year as a professional, Fignon won the Critérium National.[7]

1983: first Tour victory

In 1983, Fignon was a part of the team that helped Bernard Hinault to win the 1983 Vuelta a España. Guimard did not want to send Fignon to the Tour de France, because two grand tours could be too much for a 22-year old rider.[8] When Hinault, winner of four of the five previous Tours, announced that he would not start due to injury, the Renault team was without a team captain. Fignon was added to the 1983 Tour de France selection for the Renault team, and the team decided to go for stage wins, with hopes of having Fignon or Marc Madiot compete for the best debutant category.[9] After stage nine, the first mountain stage, Fignon was in second place, behind Pascal Simon,[10] and he was allowed to be team leader.[11] In the tenth stage, Simon crashed and broke his shoulder blade. Simon continued, and only lost little time the next stages. In the fifteenth stage, a mountain time trial, Fignon was able to win back so much time that he was within one minute of Simon.[12] In the seventeenth stage, Simon had to give up, and Fignon became the new leader. In the next stages, Fignon was able to answer all attacks from his opponents, and he even won the time trial in the 21st stage. At 22 years old, Fignon was the youngest man to win the Tour since 1933.
Fignon later said that he was lucky to have won the 1983 Tour: if Hinault would have been present, Fignon would have helped Hinault, as Hinault was the team leader.[6]
With his round glasses and air of debonnaire, Fignon was a contrast to Hinault's hard-knocks image. He earned the nickname "The Professor", not only because of these glasses, but also because he was one of the few cyclists who had passed his baccalaureat exams.[13]

1984: second Tour victory

In 1984, Hinault changed to the new La Vie Claire team, established by the French entrepreneur Bernard Tapie and directed by Swiss trainer Paul Koechli. Fignon stayed with the Renault team, and became team leader. In the 1984 Giro d'Italia, Fignon was in leading position near the end of the race, with Italian Francesco Moser in second place. The highest mountain stage, where Fignon could have extended his lead as the better climber, was cancelled due to bad weather. In the final stage, an individual time trial, helicopters flew in front of Fignon, creating a headwind, and behind Moser, creating a tailwind. Moser won enough time to win the race, and Fignon ended in second place.[14] Hinault won the French National Road Race Championships. The 1984 Tour de France was a battle between Fignon and his former team captain Hinault. Hinault won the prologue, but Fignon won back time when his team won the team time trial in stage three.[15] After a large escape in the fifth stage, Fignon's team mate Vincent Barteau was leading the race. In the seventh stage, Fignon won the time trial, beating Hinault by 49 seconds.[16] Barteau was still leading the race, and remained the leader after the Pyrenées. In the sixteenth stage, Fignon again beat Hinault in a time trial, this time winning 33 seconds.[17] In the seventeenth stage, Hinault attacked five times on the penultimate climb, but every time Fignon was able to get back. Then, Fignon left Hinault behind, and won almost three more minutes on Hinault. Barteau was so far behind in this stage, that Fignon became the new leader.[18] Fignon won three more stages, for a total of five that year, and won the Tour with a ten minute margin. With his air of indifference in interviews and his crushing dominance, he was hailed as France's newest superstar.

1985 and 1986: injury years

The next two years Fignon had injury problems. Even though Fignon felt stronger than ever in early 1985,[6] a knee injury meant that Fignon missed the 1985 Tour.[19] Fignon switched to the Système U cycling team in 1986. That year, Fignon won the 1986 La Flèche Wallonne[11] Fignon entered the 1986 Tour de France, but could not compete for the victory retired on stage 12 to Pau.

1987 and 1988: return to the top

Fignon returned to his full strengths in 1987, when he finished third in the 1987 Vuelta a España, behind Luis Herrera.[11] After his retirement, Fignon wrote in his biography that Herrera's team manager bribed his team not to attack, which Herrera later denied.[20] Later that year, he finished 7th overall in the 1987 Tour de France, taking another victory at La Plagne (stage 21). In 1988, Fignon won Milan–Sanremo, but had to abandon the 1988 Tour.

1989: losing by 8 seconds

In 1989, Fignon overtook Sean Kelly as leader of the UCI Road World Rankings. That season included a win at Milan – San Remo and the Giro d'Italia.[11] In the 1989 Tour de France, Fignon was one of the big favourites, together with Greg LeMond and Pedro Delgado.[21] After Delgado was too late for the start and lost some minutes, it became a battle between LeMond and Fignon. LeMond won a minute in the time trial in stage five, using aerobars (handlebars which enabled a new and more aerodynamic riding position, also known as tri-bars as they had previously only been used in triathlons), a new type of teardrop-shaped aerodynamic helmet in the time trials and a rear disc wheel, Fignon used normal road handlebars and a bicycle with both front and rear disc wheels, which left him more affected by cross winds.[22] LeMond lead the general classification after that stage by 5 seconds. In the tenth stage, Fignon beat LeMond by 12 seconds, and became the new leader, 7 seconds ahead of LeMond. In the time trial of stage 15, LeMond again won time on Fignon, and took back the leading position. Fignon came back by dropping Lemond on Alpe d'Huez, taking back the lead, and after he won alone at Villard de Lans the next day, the margin was 50 seconds. Before the final stage, a short time trial of 24.5 km, the time difference between LeMond and Fignon was still 50 seconds, which seemed enough for the victory. French newspapers had prepared special editions with Fignon on the front page, preparing for his victory.[13] Although it was considered unlikely that LeMond would be able to win back 50 seconds on the 24.5 km, LeMond gave his best, and rode the fastest time trial to date. Fignon had developed saddle sores in stage 19, which gave him pain and made it impossible to sleep in the night before the time trial. Fignon, who rode after LeMond, lost 58 seconds during the stage, and although he became third in the stage, he lost the lead to LeMond.[23] It was calculated afterwards that if Fignon had cut off his ponytail, he would have reduced his drag that much that he would have won the Tour.[24]
During that Tour, he was on bad terms with the journalists, and he was given the "Prix Citron" for least likable rider.[25] That Tour has always been a sore point for Fignon since, and when he got the question "Aren't you do guy who lost the Tour by 8 seconds?" he answered "No, I'm the guy who won it twice."

1990–1993: later years

Fignon withdrew from the 1990 Tour, but finished 6th in 1991. He then stopped being team captain, and transferred to the Italian Gatorade team, to became a domestique for Gianni Bugno.[6] After a dramatic 1992 Giro d'Italia, in which he was in heavy crisis during mountain stages, he rode the 1992 Tour de France, finishing 23rd overall, taking his ninth and last stage win at Mulhouse on stage 11. Fignon's last victory as professional cyclist was in the early-season Ruta Mexico in 1993, after a tight duel with Francisco Villalobos and surviving a massive collision that saw the group hit by a tow truck driven by a drunken man.[26] Fignon retired as a professional cyclist late 1993.[11]

After retirement

In 1995, Fignon founded the "Laurent Fignon organisation", to organize races, notably Paris–Nice,[7][27] from 2000 until it was taken over by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organiser of Tour de France, in 2002.[28]
Fignon remained organiser for races such as Paris–Corrèze.[29] He criticised French cycling, lamenting in L'Equipe that, "The sports directors don't do a good job any more. They lack competence and don't have authority over their riders. The non-results of French teams are not only the consequences of doping,"[29] alluding to the stringent French doping control.
On his relationships with Cyrille Guimard and Bernard Hinault, Fignon said that with Bernard Hinault, Guimard already found a champion, whereas with himself, Guimard made a champion. Therefore his bond with Guimard was stronger than Hinault's bond with Guimard.
Fignon wrote an autobiography entitled Nous étions jeunes et insouciants ("We were young and carefree"), which was released in June 2009.[30]
Also during June 2009, Fignon revealed that he was undergoing chemotherapy for metastatic cancer. He also admitted having used banned drugs[31] amphetamines and cortisone.[32] Fignon's cancer was diagnosed in April 2009 after being found in his digestive system.[33] In January 2010, his doctors discovered that the cancer originated in his lungs.[34] He died of the disease at 12.30 pm local time[35] on 31 August 2010[36] at Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris.[35][37] Fignon's funeral took place on 3 September 2010 at Pere Lachaise, Paris.[38] He is survived by both parents.[5] He is also survived by his son Jeremy and daughter Tiphaine, both by his first wife,[39] whom he divorced in 2000. He was married to Valerie from 2008 until his death.[1]

Significant victories by year

Source:[40]

1982 Renault-Elf-Gitane
1st, Critérium National
1st, Flèche Azuréene
1st, Garancières-en-Beauce
1st, GP de Cannes
1st, Stage 1 TTT Giro d'Italia
1983 Renault-Elf-Gitane
Jersey yellow.svg 1st Overall, Tour de France (and stage 21 win)
1st, Grand Prix de Plumelec-Morbihan
Stage, Tirreno–Adriatico
Stage, Critérium International
Stage, Vuelta a España
1984 Renault (Gitane)
Jersey yellow.svg 1st Overall, Tour de France (and stage 7, 16, 18, 20 and 22 wins)
1st mountains classification, 2nd Overall, Giro d'Italia (and stage 20 win)
French National Road Race Championships
1986 Systeme U (Gitane)
1st, La Flèche Wallonne
Stage, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1987 Systeme U (Gitane)
Two stages, Paris–Nice
3rd Overall, Vuelta a España (and stage)
7th Overall, Tour de France (and stage 21 win)
1988 Systeme U (Gitane)
1st, Milan – San Remo
Stage, Critérium International
1st, Paris–Camembert
1989 Super U (Raleigh)
Jersey pink.svg 1st Overall, Giro d'Italia (and stage 20 win)
1st, Milan – San Remo
2nd Overall, Tour de France (Combativity award and stage 18 win)
1st Overall, Ronde van Nederland
1st, Grand Prix des Nations
1990 Castorama (Raleigh)
1st, Critérium International
1991 Castorama (Raleigh)
6th Overall, Tour de France
1992 Gatorade (Bianchi)
23rd Overall, Tour de France (and stage 11 win)
1993 Gatorade (Bianchi)
1st Overall, Ruta Mexico

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