Norris karate chopped and kickboxed his way through more than a dozen action films in the 1980s, before leaping to TV in Walker, Texas Ranger. He's pictured above in California in October 2003. Jeff Golden/Getty Image hide caption
Obituaries NPR remembrances of remarkable individuals.
Obituaries
Internationally renowned German philosopher Juergen Habermas speaks to journalists in an auditorium of the Philosophical School of Athens in 2013. Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Singer Joe McDonald sings during the concert marking the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock music festival on Aug. 15, 2009 in Bethel, New York. McDonald has died at age 84. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption
Southern Christian Leadership Conference spokesman Bernard LaFayette speaks to reporters after attending a SCLC meeting on March 6, 2010, in Atlanta. Gregory Smith/AP hide caption
People attend a celebration of life service for civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope on Friday in Chicago. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption
In this 2017 photo, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, sits in a session to deliver his message for the Iranian New Year. A portrait of the late revolutionary founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, is next to him. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/AP hide caption
White House confirms death of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Willie Colon in an undated photograph. Michael Ochs Archives/Michael Ochs Archives hide caption
FILE - Eric Dane arrives at a promotional event for the series "Euphoria," in Los Angeles, April 20, 2022. Jordan Strauss/Invision via AP hide caption
Democratic presidential candidate Jesse Jackson passes on May 7, 1985 near a poster, reading "No to Reagan to war", against the incoming visit of US President Ronald Reagan at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Marcel Mochet/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
How the Rev. Jesse Jackson transformed American politics
The Rev. Jesse Jackson died Tuesday at the age of 84. Jason Mendez/Getty Images hide caption
Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of the country's most influential leaders, dead at 84
Frederick Wiseman made roughly 50 documentaries, many of which chronicled the inner workings of everyday institutions. He's pictured above at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013. Larry Busacca/Getty Images hide caption
Frederick Wiseman, who captured the weirdness and wonder of everyday life, dies at 96
Robert Duvall in February 2005. Mark Mainz/Getty Images North America hide caption
Ebo Taylor played his his first show in the U.S. in 2022 after an invite from the music label Jazz is Dead. Jazz is Dead hide caption
Actor James Van Der Beek arriving at the Emmy Awards in 2019. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
'Dawson's Creek' star James Van Der Beek has died at 48
Demond Wilson (right) in a still from a 1974 episode of Sanford and Son. The actor played Lamont Sanford, the disgruntled offspring of Redd Foxx's Fred Sanders (left), in the hit 1970s NBC sitcom. NBC Television/Getty Images/Hulton Archive hide caption
Moira Rose (Catherine O'Hara) appears in a commercial for Herb Ertlinger's fruit wine in an episode of Schitt's Creek. Screenshot by NPR hide caption
Remembering actor Catherine O'Hara of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone'
Catherine O'Hara in Los Angeles in 2025. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP hide caption
Gladys West went from a one-room schoolhouse in rural Virginia to college and to working on planetary motions and modeling. "I really did like geometry," she said of her high school years. "I fell in love with that." Courtesy of the West family hide caption
Claudette Colvin sits for a portrait, Feb. 5, 2009, in New York. Julie Jacobson/AP hide caption
Cartoonist Scott Adams poses with his a life-size cutout of his creation, Dilbert, in 2014. Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images hide caption
Scott Adams, the controversial cartoonist behind 'Dilbert,' dies at 68
Bob Weir performs with the Grateful Dead at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, Calif. in 1983. A member of the Dead from its inception, Weir took few solos, but his distinctive rhythm guitar playing and emotive singing were signatures of the group. Ed Perlstein/Getty Images hide caption
Former CIA agent Aldrich Ames leaves federal court after pleading guilty to espionage and tax evasion conspiracy charges April 28, 1994, in Alexandria, Va. Wilfredo Lee/AP hide caption