The Lives They Lived 2019
Remembering some of the artists, innovators and thinkers we lost in the past year.
The 12.29.19 Issue
Highlights
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Judith Krantz’s Novels Were About More Than Sex and Shopping
Her books sold some 80 million copies, freeing up millions of young women to imagine themselves as ardent sexual protagonists in their own lives.
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CreditAaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images - The Lives They Lived
David Berman of Silver Jews, Whose Music and Poetry Were a Balm
He channeled his suffering into a comfort for many, including my friend in pain.
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CreditMichael Schmelling - The Lives They Lived
Leah Chase Showed the World the Power of Gumbo
She fed presidents and paupers alike and made her New Orleans restaurant into a kind of church.
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CreditThe Historic New Orleans Collection, Gift of Harold F. Baquet and Cheron Brylski
Rosie Ruiz Was a Marathon Champion ... for a Moment
She stunned everyone when she won the Boston Marathon. But it didn’t take long to uncover the truth: She cheated.
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CreditBill Brett/The Boston Globe, via Getty Images The Lives They LivedLuke Perry, a Heartthrob Who Led With His Heart
He played a smoldering cool boy on TV. In real life, he wanted to make the world a better place.
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CreditAnnie Leibovitz/Trunk Archive The Lives They LivedUnita Blackwell Risked It All So Black Mississippians Could Vote
She was arrested dozens of times, and Klan members threw Molotov cocktails into her yard — but that didn’t stop her fight for civil rights.
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CreditJim Peppler/Alabama Department of Archives and History The Lives They LivedDick Todd Was the Kind of Editor Writers Never Forget
He worked as a book and magazine editor for nearly 50 years. Five of his writers remember his gifts.
CreditFrom the Todd family The Lives They LivedKarl Lagerfeld, the Fashion Designer Who Revolutionized Chanel
He created up to 17 collections a year for 54 years, but his greatest invention may have been himself.
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CreditThe Helmut Newton Estate/Maconochie Photography The Lives They Lived
Elijah Cummings’s American Dream, and American Obstacles
The Maryland congressman pledged his service to a country that from his earliest years tried to thwart his ambitions.
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CreditJustin T. Gellerson for The New York Times The Lives They LivedRobert Frank, an Artist for the Corporate Age
He changed photography and helped us to see New York and the rest of the country with fresh eyes.
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CreditDanny Lyon/Magnum Photos The Lives They LivedKathryn Johnson, a Reporter With a Gift for Gaining Trust
She knew that the secret to getting a great story was not telling the whole thing.
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CreditCharles Kelly/Associated Press The Lives They LivedCarrie Ann Lucas Fought for Disability Rights, Including Her Own
She refused to let anything keep her from protecting disabled children.
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CreditFrom the Lucas family The Lives They LivedAngus McQueen Enlisted the N.R.A. in the Culture Wars
He remade the National Rifle Association’s brand, and he made a fortune doing it.
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The Lives They LivedHarold Bloom, a Self-Mythologizing Prodigy of Literary Criticism
He submerged himself in literature — more grandly, and grandiosely, than anyone.
By Sam Anderson
The Lives They LivedToni Morrison, the Titan of Literature
Her friends recall a woman who was as fun as she was brilliant.
By Fran Lebowitz
The Lives They LivedEtika, a Charismatic YouTuber Who Struggled Through His Online Fame
His mental health problems collided tragically with the attention economy.
By Jamie Lauren Keiles
The Lives They LivedDoris Day, the ‘World’s Oldest Virgin,’ Could Have Been So Much More
She was an actress with subversive potential — who became a symbol of a generation’s sexual hypocrisy.
By Anthony Giardina
The Lives They LivedJimmy Nelson Made Ventriloquism an Art With His Partner Danny O’Day
They taught each other how to speak — without moving their lips.
By Elizabeth McCracken
The Lives They LivedIsabel Toledo, a Designer Who Expressed Emotion Through Clothing
Her style was always her own, from the geometry of the clothing she designed to the elegance of her life.
By Jordan Kisner
The Lives They LivedPeggy Lipton, the ‘Mod Squad’ Star and ... Singer?
She gave life to two indelible TV characters. And then there was her album.
By Rob Hoerburger
The Lives They LivedEddie Hill IV Was Just 10. He Was Supposed to Be the One to Make It.
He stood out from the start. But the dreams for young Eddie were stopped short.
By Matthew Purdy
The Lives They LivedBarbara York Main, the Australian Lady of the Spiders
A literary arachnologist, she identified dozens of new species and shed light on the landscape they crept through.
By Alan Burdick
The Lives They LivedOpportunity, the NASA Rover Who Showed Us Mars
A NASA rover set the beyond-Earth record for overland exploration, and revealed that the basis of life — water — once existed on the red planet.
By Gareth Cook
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