Aged

Aston “Family Man” Barrett, bassist for Bob Marley and the Wailers, has died aged 77.The news was confirmed on Saturday by Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s minister for culture, who wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “I share with you my deep regret at the passing of Aston Francis Barrett, popularly known as ‘Family Man’ or ‘Fams’ … He died at the University of Miami Hospital in Florida in the United States early this morning.”Barrett was born in 1946 and grew up in Kingston, where he would help to lay the foundations for reggae and…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeIsabelle Thomas, the British documentary filmmaker and wife of Oscar-nominated Killers of the Flower Moon producer Bradley Thomas, has died aged 39 after falling from a hotel in Los Angeles. Thomas, also known as “Izzy”, died by suicide and was discovered “with multiple traumatic injuries” at the Hotel Angeleno, according to records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s…

Wayne Kramer, the guitarist who co-created MC5 – one of the rawest, most influential and politically engaged bands in US history – has died aged 75. His Instagram page announced the news: “Wayne S Kramer. Peace be with you. April 30 1948 – February 2 2024.”Born and raised in Detroit, Kramer teamed with teenage friend and fellow guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith, each of them influenced as much by free jazz as they were by R&B and rock’n’roll. Along with the frontman Rob Tyner, they made MC5 into an incendiary force in…

Carl Weathers, the actor whose credits include Rocky and Predator, has died at 76.His family released a statement through his agent to announce that he died “peacefully in his sleep” on 1 February.“Carl was an exceptional human being who lived an extraordinary life,” the statement continued. “Through his contributions to film, television, the arts and sports, he has left an indelible mark and is recognized worldwide and across generations. He was a beloved brother, father, grandfather, partner and friend.”Weathers was…

Mark Gustafson, co-director of Oscar-winning animation Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, died on Thursday aged 64. The news was reported in the Oregonian, and Del Toro posted a tribute on social media, saying Gustafson was “a pillar of stop-motion animation compassionate, sensitive and mordantly witty man”.Gustafson joined Del Toro on Pinocchio after a long career in stop-motion, having animated The California Raisins in the 1980s at the start of his career, and rising to be animation director on the Wes Anderson Roald…

N Scott Momaday, a Pulitzer prize-winning storyteller, poet, educator and folklorist whose debut novel House Made of Dawn is widely credited as the starting point for contemporary Native American literature, has died. He was 89.Momaday died on Wednesday at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, publisher HarperCollins announced. He had been in failing health.“Scott was an extraordinary person and an extraordinary poet and writer. He was a singular voice in American literature, and it was an honor and a privilege to work with…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeBroadway legend and two-time Tony winner Chita Rivera, best known for originating the role of Anita in the 1957 stage production of West Side Story, has died. She was 91. Rivera’s death came after a brief illness, her publicist announced on Tuesday morning (30 March).The triple threat was also known for her starring role as Velma Kelly in the first Broadway production of Chicago in…

Jonathan Escoffery, 43, was born in Texas and lives in Oakland, California. His debut, If I Survive You, about a second-generation Jamaican in Miami, where Escoffery grew up, was shortlisted for last year’s Booker and is currently on the shortlist of the Gordon Burn prize, announced on 7 March. The novelist Rumaan Alam has called it “a reminder of what fiction can do... It’s truly a feat that a book of short stories tackling such big stuff – family, love, violence, race – could be so damn funny.”What did it mean to be…

Melanie Safka, the American singer-songwriter known as Melanie who had a global hit with Brand New Key, has died aged 76.Her children Leilah, Jeordie, and Beau Jarred announced her death on social media, describing her as “one of the most talented, strong and passionate women of the era and every word she wrote, every note she sang reflected that”. No cause of death has been given.Born and raised in Queens, New York, Melanie broke through in the late 1960s after a grounding in the folk clubs of New York’s Greenwich…

Frank Farian, the German singer, songwriter and producer behind eurodisco hit-machine Boney M, pop duo Milli Vanilli and numerous other chart-topping acts has died aged 82, his agency has announced.Born Franz Reuther in Kirn, western Germany, he started his career as a solo musician, and enjoyed a hit with a schlager version of the country song Rocky in 1976. Around the same time, he came up with the idea for Boney M, a disco group of four West Indian singers and dancers that he masterminded.The band charted worldwide…