National & International Obituaries

Known for his puffy hair, oversized handlebar mustache and a love for puns, Gene Shalit joined Today in 1970 and became arts editor in 1973. He was a middle-of-the-road critic, known for his wit and intelligence.

Legendary painter David Hockney died on Thursday at the age of 88. The late NPR correspondent Susan Stamberg spoke with the artist in 2016 about his lifelong obsession with looking.

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with civil rights icon Ruby Bridges about her friend, Pulitzer Prize winning child psychiatrist Robert Coles, who died on June 4 at 97.

Satrapi's groundbreaking graphic novel Persepolis introduced readers to life in Iran during the Islamic revolution and the Iran/Iraq war. She died June 4, 2026. Originally broadcast June 2, 2003.

Hockney moved from London to Southern California in the 1960s and was an innovative painter, photographer, stage designer and printmaker.

The fearless free-funk and jazz artist, a student of Ornette Coleman's Harmolodics concept, followed his unorthodox path to a singular five-decade career.

David Gilkey, an NPR photojournalist who documented tragedy and hope, was killed in Afghanistan in 2016 along with NPR's Afghan interpreter and fellow journalist Zabihullah Tamanna.

Satrapi was the author of the acclaimed graphic novel "Persepolis" and a leading champion for women's rights in Iran. Satrapi's death was confirmed by the French presidency.

The Iranian-French cartoonist and filmmaker was perhaps most well-known for the graphic memoir, and subsequent film, about her life during the Iranian revolution in 1979.

Peabo Bryson, the legendary singer behind Beauty and the Beast and 'A Whole New World,' has died at 75.