Category: Obituary

Roger Corman, influential B-movie king who nurtured great directors, dies at 98

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Low-budget cinema maestro Roger Corman, who cranked out hundreds of outrageous films over six decades and helped launch the careers of acclaimed directors Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, James Cameron and Ron Howard, died on Thursday at age 98, family members said.

Corman, a producer and director hailed as the “king of B movies,” died at his home in Santa Monica, California, his wife and daughters said in an post on his Instagram account late on Saturday without giving the cause of death.

“It is with profound sadness, and boundless gratitude for his extraordinary life, that we remember our beloved husband and father, Roger Corman,” his wife Julie and daughters Catherine and Mary, said in the post.

“His films were revolutionary and iconoclastic, and captured the spirit of an age,” they wrote.

Corman was given an honorary lifetime Academy Award in November 2009 for his “rich engendering of films and filmmakers.”

“Roger, for everything you have done for cinema, the academy thanks you, Hollywood thanks you, independent filmmaking thanks you,” Academy Award-winning filmmaker Quentin Tarantino told Corman at his Oscar ceremony. “But, most importantly, for all the weird, cool, crazy moments you’ve put on screen, the movie lovers of planet Earth thank you.”

Corman’s work – he produced more than 300 films and directed about 50 – was filled with those weird, cool and crazy moments. The movies were shot swiftly on the cheap and only a handful lost money.

They covered genres including sci-fi, horror, biker films, rebellious teen fare, Edgar Allan Poe tales and more. Their titles were not exactly subtle – “Attack of the Crab Monsters” (1957), “The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent” (1957), “The Brain Eaters” (1958), “Teenage Cave Man” (1958), “A Bucket of Blood” (1959), “Creature from the Haunted Sea” (1961), “Bloody Mama” (1970), “Gas-s-s-s” (1970), “Galaxy of Terror” (1981) and “Piranhaconda” (2012).

Past age 90, he was still prolific, producing films with titles such as “Cobragator” and “Death Race 2050.”

“I believe to be successful over the long run, unless you’re a Federico Fellini or an Ingmar Bergman or a true genius in filmmaking, you have to understand that you’re working in both an art and a business,” Corman told a pop culture website in 2010.

He gave early career breaks to future stars including Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Sandra Bullock, Talia Shire, William Shatner, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper.

But he was best known for nurturing directors. As a frugal producer, Corman hired promising young filmmakers who could work on a shoestring budget, launching their careers.

Before “Raging Bull,” Scorsese directed Corman’s “Boxcar Bertha” (1972). Before “The Godfather,” Coppola directed “Dementia 13” (1963) for Corman. Jonathan Demme of “The Silence of the Lambs” fame directed Corman’s “Fighting Mad” (1976). Howard directed “Grand Theft Auto” (1977) for Corman before “A Beautiful Mind.” All four men went on to best director Oscars.

Also, Peter Bogdanovich directed Corman’s “Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women” (1968) before making “The Last Picture Show,” and Cameron was art director for Corman’s “Battle Beyond the Stars” (1980) before “Titanic.”

Sometimes his proteges thanked Corman by giving him cameo roles, such as the FBI director in “The Silence of the Lambs” and a congressman in “Apollo 13.”

‘I promise you’

At Corman’s 2009 Oscar ceremony, Howard fondly recalled getting a shot to make his directorial debut with “Grand Theft Auto” at a time when he was viewed as a lightweight TV sitcom actor. Howard said he complained to Corman about not getting sufficient resources.

Corman did not cough up more money, Howard said, but told him: “I promise you this: If you continue to do a good job for me on this picture, you’ll never have to work for me again.”

No one would argue that the movies Corman produced were subtle or nuanced. Many were complete schlock, filled with crazy effects, bizarre plots, bare breasts, ridiculous monsters or women behind bars. But some had artistic merit.

He directed “The Little Shop of Horrors” (1960), filming it in just two days and one night. It featured a young Nicholson, who had impressed Corman in an acting class, and an icky plot about a lonely flower shop worker who creates a carnivorous plant that craves human flesh.

He also made several horror films in the 1960s starring Vincent Price inspired by Edgar Allan Poe stories, including “House of Usher” (1960), “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) and “The Masque of the Red Death” (1964).

Corman stopped directing in 1971 and focused on producing. He directed just one more film, 1990’s “Frankenstein Unbound.”

In contrast to his trademark low-budget stuff, Corman also dabbled in international arthouse cinema, serving as the U.S. distributor of films by fabled directors Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, François Truffaut and more.

Corman was born on April 5, 1926, in Detroit. He graduated from Stanford University in 1947 with an engineering degree, but quit his first job as an engineer after three days and got work at the 20th Century Fox film studio as a messenger.

After a detour studying modern English literature at the University of Oxford, he returned to the United States intent upon making his mark in the film industry. The name of Corman’s 1990 autobiography revealed his guiding philosophy: “How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

OJ Simpson, NFL legend acquitted in the ‘trial of the century’, dies at 76

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

OJ Simpson, the football legend and movie star whose acquittal for the murder of his White ex-wife exposed a racial chasm in the US in the 1990s, has died. He was 76.

The cause was cancer, according to a post by his family on his account on X, formerly Twitter. It said he died on April 10 “surrounded by his children and grandchildren.” He had been a free man since 2017, when he finished serving a nine-year prison sentence for kidnapping and armed robbery in a case that developed after his acquittal for murder.

Simpson was widely known and admired before his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman were found in 1994 with their throats slashed. Police famously pursued Simpson down a California freeway in a televised car chase.

His arrest triggered a worldwide mania about the case, which resulted in an almost year-long trial that made the judge and lawyers on both sides household names — and racial discrimination a leading topic of conversation.

Despite what seemed like overwhelming evidence of his and the victims’ blood and DNA, a mostly Black jury acquitted him in 1995, a verdict watched by more than 100 million people.

Carrie Bess, a member of the jury, said in a 2016 ESPN documentary that the verdict was payback for the 1991 brutal police beating of Rodney King, a Black man, that was recorded by a bystander and televised nationally. Another juror had raised his fist in a Black-power salute right after it was read.

Prosecution Problems

Apart from racial issues, there were practical ones. In the view of many, prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden erred in forcing Simpson to try on bloody leather gloves found at the crime scene and at Simpson’s nearby home and having the police officer who found the gloves testify.

After Simpson struggled to put the gloves on, his lead lawyer Johnnie Cochran told the jury in his closing argument “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” The police officer, Mark Fuhrman, was shown to have used racial slurs toward Black people and declined to say if he had planted the gloves, citing his right not to incriminate himself.

Simpson’s so-called dream team of defence lawyers included famed trial lawyer F. Lee Bailey and former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz. They focused on race in their cross-examination of Fuhrman.

Reaction to the verdict split along racial lines with Black people across the country celebrating in the streets and White people stunned.

A jubilant Simpson vowed to search for the real killers, but he was quickly back in court after the families of the victims sued him for wrongful death. With a lesser standard of proof to satisfy and a mostly White jury this time, the families won a $33.5 million judgment and seized some of Simpson’s possessions, including the Heisman trophy he had won for being the best college football player in 1968.

Book Rights

The items netted only about $300,000 at auction. Simpson moved to Florida, where his home and National Football League pension were shielded from creditors. The Goldman family acquired rights to a book that was a hypothetical confession written by Simpson. Called If I Did It, the book was published with the “If” in tiny letters so the title seemed to say “I Did It.”

His agent Mike Gilbert said that Simpson had confessed to killing his ex-wife, telling him after drinking beer and smoking marijuana: “If she wouldn’t have opened the door with a knife she’d probably still be alive.”’

In 2007, Simpson was arrested with some friends for detaining at gunpoint a seller of sports memorabilia, including some relating to Simpson’s NFL career. Thirteen years to the day of his 1995 acquittal, he was sentenced to 33 years in prison on kidnapping, robbery and weapons charges. He was paroled in 2017.

Orenthal James Simpson was born on July 9, 1947, in San Francisco. His father Jimmy was a chef and bank custodian. His mother Eunice was a hospital administrator.

He grew up in a San Francisco housing project and attended City College in San Francisco. He transferred to the University of Southern California and became a star running back.

Simpson played the same position for the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers, and became the first player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. Later, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and became a television commentator for NFL games.

While still playing football, he began acting on TV and then in movies that included The Towering Inferno, Capricorn One and the trilogy of Naked Gun police comedies.

He became widely known as a pitchman, most notably for Hertz, sprinting through airports in commercials to show how quickly the rental-car company served customers.

He married his first wife Marguerite in 1967. They had three children — Arnelle, Jason and Aaren — before their divorce in 1979. He married Nicole Brown in 1985. They divorced in 1992 after she had accused him numerous times of assaulting her. They had two children, Sydney and Justin.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Former Lok Sabha Speaker and ex-Maharashtra CM Manohar Joshi dies at 86

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Former Lok Sabha Speaker and former Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi died at a Mumbai hospital on Friday, where he was admitted earlier in the week after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Joshi was admitted in PD Hinduja Hospital’s ICU on Wednesday and breathed his last at the private medical facility, family sources said, PTI reported.

Joshi (86), was severely ill, the hospital had said in a statement on Thursday. The Shiv Sena stalwart was admitted to the same hospital in May last year after suffering a brain haemorrhage.

Joshi served as chief minister from 1995 to 1999 and was the first leader from the undivided Shiv Sena to occupy the top post in the state. He was also elected as a Member of Parliament and was the Lok Sabha Speaker from 2002 to 2004 when the Vajpayee government was in power.

With inputs from PTI

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

‘The Office’ star Ewen MacIntosh passes away

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Actor and comedian Ewen MacIntosh, known for playing Keith in The Office, died at the age of 50. The social media handle of JustRight Management confirmed the news.

With great sadness we announce the peaceful passing of our beloved comedy genius Ewen MacIntosh. His family thank all who supported him, especially Willow Green Care Home. There will be a private cremation for family & close friends soon & a celebratory memorial later in the year

— JustRight Management (@JustRightMgt) February 21, 2024

He was a part of Miranda, Little Britain, the 2014 film The Confusion of Tongues and the 2017 film Finding Fatimah. But the Welsh actor is best known for playing the deadpan accountant at the fictional paper company Wernham Hogg Keith Bishop in the UK version of the sitcom The Office.

The cause of his death is not known.

The Office creator Ricky Gervais, who also collaborated with the late actor for the Netflix series After Life, took to X to express grief over MacIntosh’s passing.

Extremely sad news. The very funny and very lovely Ewen Macintosh, known to many as ‘Big Keith’ from The Office, has passed away. An absolute original. RIP. pic.twitter.com/Hhd3zkRVMs

— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) February 21, 2024

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Ameen Sayani, iconic voice of Geetmala on All India Radio, dies at 91

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Renowned radio personality Ameen Sayani passed away at 91 after a heart attack, his son Rajil Sayani confirmed on Wednesday. Sayani also stated that his father was rushed to the HN Reliance Hospital in Mumbai but couldn’t be saved. The funeral will be held on Thursday, he added.

Born on December 21, 1932, in Mumbai, Ameen Sayani etched his name in the annals of Indian broadcasting history. His journey commenced as an English-language broadcaster, later transitioning to Hindi post-independence, where he left an indelible mark.

Ameen Sayani’s resonant voice and charismatic style made him a household name, captivating audiences for generations. Sayani’s iconic radio show ‘Binaca Geetmala’ became a national sensation, introducing millions to the joys of radio listening and Hindi film music.

Known for his endearing salutation “Behno aur Bhaiyo” (sisters and brothers), Sayani’s rapport with his listeners was unparalleled. Over a career spanning six decades, he produced and presented over 54,000 radio programs and lent his voice to 19,000 advertisements and jingles.

Beyond his contributions to radio, Sayani also graced the silver screen with his presence, appearing in various films in cameo roles, often as an announcer.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Legal icon Fali Nariman who protested both the Emergency and abrogation of Article 370 dies at 95

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Eminent jurist Fali Sam Nariman died in New Delhi on Wednesday, February 21. He was 95. He was suffering from multiple ailments, including cardiac issues.

It was in 1950 that he enrolled as an advocate in the Bombay High Court, and became a senior advocate in 1961. Since 1972, he became an advocate in the Supreme Court of India, New Delhi.

He served as the additional solicitor general between 1972 and 1975. He resigned from the post during the emergency.

He was born on January 10, 1929. He was born in Rangoon (now Yangon) to a well-off business executive. The Nariman family fled to India in the face of the Japanese invasion in 1942 when Fali was 12.

He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in January 1991 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2007.

He was also nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha in November 1999.

His son, Rohinton Nariman, was a judge of the Supreme Court.

He had argued in landmark cases that helped enshrine legal doctrines like –

1. Kesavanand Bharti Case – Basic Structure Doctrine. Parliament cannot amend the basic structure of India’s constitution.
2. Minerva Mills Case – Doctrine of protecting fundamental rights against arbitrary state action.
3. SP Gupta Case – Lay the foundation of the modern day collegium system of judicial appointments.
4. RTI Act – On two occassions, in 2005 and 2012, defended the constitutionality of RTI Act, calling for transparency and accountability.

Nariman had raised criticism against the Supreme Court judgement leading to the abrogation of Article 370. In an interview to India Today, Nariman had said, “It (the verdict) is, in my view, an incorrect appreciation of the Constitution, which I didn’t expect the court to do.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences to the Nariman family.”Shri Fali Nariman Ji was among the most outstanding legal minds and intellectuals. He devoted his life to making justice accessible to common citizens. I am pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and admirers. May his soul rest in peace,” he wrote on X.

Raian Karanjawala, the managing partner of the litigation firm managing partner, Karanjawala & Co expressed condolences and said, “Fali Nariman died today at the age of 95. Seventy five of these years were spent in the practice of law, fifty four as a Senior Counsel. Both the law and the nation were immensely enriched by his presence and, in his later years, he often assumed the mantle of a conscience keeper of the courts.”

“Alert till the end, his voice resonated even more than in the earlier days. The courts will miss him and so will the country,” Karanjawala added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Model-actor Poonam Pandey succumbs to cervical cancer at 32

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Model-actor Poonam Pandey, known for her strong social media presence and modelling career, passed away at the age of 32 due to cervical cancer. The news was confirmed by her team on her official Instagram account. She reportedly breathed her last on Thursday night at her family home in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Poonam’s manager, Nikita Sharma, expressed her sorrow over the loss, describing Poonam as a luminary in the film industry and a beacon of strength and resilience.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Poonam Pandey (@poonampandeyreal)

The Instagram post announcing her death read, “This morning is a tough one for us. Deeply saddened to inform you that we have lost our beloved Poonam to cervical cancer. Every living form that ever came in contact with her was met with pure love and kindness. In this time of grief, we would request for privacy while we remember her fondly for all that we shared.”

On the professional front, Poonam was last seen in the first season of ‘Lock Upp’, a show hosted by Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut. Despite not winning the show, she managed to expand her fan base. The show was eventually won by stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui.

Also Read: Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas move out of $20-million LA mansion, file lawsuit against seller

Poonam’s personal life also made headlines when she married Sam Bombay in a surprise wedding. The couple often shared their moments on social media platforms. However, the marriage was short-lived as she accused him of domestic violence shortly after their wedding in 2020.

Poonam’s death left her followers in shock and disbelief, with many paying their tributes in the comments section on her Instagram. Some users even wondered if it was a marketing gimmick.

Poonam had shot to internet fame over a decade ago when she declared that she would strip if India won the 2011 Cricket World Cup final match.

Interestingly, the news of Poonam’s death comes a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in Budget 2024 an initiative by the Centre to promote cervical cancer vaccination among girls aged 9 to 14. The vaccination programme will involve the administration of the HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine, designed to offer protection against specific strains of cervical cancer.

Also Read:  The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Netflix to release a documentary on the Sheena Bora case on February 23

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor Andre Braugher, who played Captain Holt, dies

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor Andre Braugher, who played Captain Raymond Holt, died on Monday, December 11 at the age of 61, Variety reported, citing confirmation from his publicist. The cause of his death is not yet known.

He had also played Detective Frank Pembleton on ‘Homicide: Life on Street’, for which he had won a lead actor Emmy. He had also won another Emmy for his performance in ‘Thief’.

Braugher was born in Chicago and graduated from Stanford University, following which he attended the Julliard School in the drama division.

He first appeared on screen as a Union soldier in ‘Glory’, where he played a free Black man Thomas Searles, who joins the first Black regiment. He then also played Kojak’s sidekick in the TV movie revival of ‘Kojak’.

As his TV career expanded, he also appeared in various feature films, with roles in ‘Frequency, ‘Duets, ‘City of Angels’, ‘The Mist’, ‘Salt’, among others.

He is survived by his wife and ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ co-star Ami Brabson and his three children.

Here are some of the iconic lines by his character Captain Holt:

– “I don’t care for cheese. I’m a curd mudgeon”
– “Why is no one having a good time? I specifically requested it.”
– “I’m a human. I’m a human male”
– “Captain Wuntch, good to see you. But if you’re here, who’s guarding Hades?”
– “Wuntch is dead! BAGEL! BAGEL! BAGEL!”
– “No, from now on, call me… Velvet Thunder!”
– “If you love someone, you’ll remember what they look like”
– “You took the wrong fluffy boy!”
“Yas queen!”
“Vindication!”

His co-actor Terry Crews posted on Instagram, remembering Braugher. “Can’t believe you’re gone so soon. I’m honored to have known you, laughed with you, worked with you and shared 8 glorious years watching your irreplaceable talent. This hurts. You left us too soon. You taught me so much. I will be forever grateful for the experience of knowing you. Thank you for your wisdom, your advice, your kindness and your friendship,” he wrote, adding that Braugher showed him what a life well lived looks like.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Henry Kissinger, US diplomat under two Presidents, dies at 100

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

US diplomat Henry Kissinger died on Wednesday, November 29 (local time) in Connecticut. He was 100-years-old.

Kissinger was a Nobel Peace Prize winner and also served under two US presidents — Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford — as the secretary of state.

The former secretary of state Henry Kissinger dominated foreign policy as the United States extricated itself from Vietnam and broke down barriers with China.

With his gruff yet commanding presence and behind-the-scenes manipulation of power, Kissinger exerted uncommon influence on global affairs under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, earning both vilification and the Nobel Peace Prize. Decades later, his name still provoked impassioned debate over foreign policy landmarks long past.

Kissinger’s power grew during the turmoil of Watergate, when the politically attuned diplomat assumed a role akin to co-president to the weakened Nixon.

“No doubt my vanity was piqued,” Kissinger later wrote of his expanding influence. “But the dominant emotion was a premonition of catastrophe.”

A Jew who fled Nazi Germany with his family in his teens, Kissinger in his later years cultivated the reputation of respected statesman, giving speeches, offering advice to Republicans and Democrats alike and managing a global consulting business. He turned up in President Donald Trump’s White House on multiple occasions. But Nixon-era documents and tapes, as they trickled out over the years, brought revelations — many in Kissinger’s own words — that sometimes cast him in a harsh light.

Never without his detractors, Kissinger after he left government was dogged by critics who argued that he should be called to account for his policies on Southeast Asia and support of repressive regimes in Latin America.

With inputs from AP

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Berkshire Hathaway vice-chairman Charlie Munger dies aged 99

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Charlie Munger, the billionaire philanthropist, Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman and regarded as Warren Buffett’s closest aide, has died aged 99 on Tuesday night in California.

“Munger peacefully died this morning at a California hospital,” a statement from Berkshire Hathaway said.

Responding to Munger’s death, Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway said that the company could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s “inspiration, wisdom and participation.”

Born in 1924, Munger would have turned 100 on New Year’s day.

A trained attorney with expertise in real estate, Munger was also a name partner at a Los Angeles-based law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, before joining hands with Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway in 1978.

An alumnus of the Harvard Law School, Munger held a degree in meteorology. Reports indicate that it was Munger’s passion for engineering that led to Berkshire Hathaway invest in Chinese auto company BYD.

However, Berkshire Hathaway has been consistently trimming stake in BYD with the most recent sale taking place on October 25 this year, taking Berkshire’s stake in the Hong Kong-listed company down to 7.98% from 8.05% earlier.

Munger’s death comes a week after Buffett donated $866 million worth of Berkshire’s stock as he looks to hang his boots after a journey of nearly six decades.

“At 93, I feel good but fully realize I am playing in extra innings,” he had said in a letter to shareholders.

Buffett and Munger’s friendship dates back to even before the former took over Berkshire Hathway. In fact, Buffett was the reason for Munger to start his investment career.

Investor Mohnish Pabrai had tweeted exactly a month earlier on October 29 about “breaking bread” with Charlie and the nonagenarian investor being in good health.

It was wonderful to break bread with Charlie today. He is doing great! 100 in 65 days! pic.twitter.com/xeRjAJGBlg

— Mohnish Pabrai (@MohnishPabrai) October 29, 2023

Apple CEO Tim Cook called Munger a “titan of business and a keen observer of the world around him.”

A titan of business and keen observer of the world around him, Charlie Munger helped build an American institution, and through his wisdom and insights, inspired a generation of leaders. He will be sorely missed. Rest in peace Charlie. pic.twitter.com/vNGDktOAhz

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) November 28, 2023

Munger was one of the most open critics of cryptocurrencies, saying that the governments made a huge mistake in allowing their proliferation. Calling them “worthless,” Munger compared them to a veneral disease, saying they will only cause harm. “It is ridiculous that anyone would choose to invest in cryptocurrencies,” he had said earlier this year in an interview to CNBC.

“I think a life properly lived is just learn, learn, learn all the time,” was one of Munger’s most popular quotes.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow