Current Affairs September 2019 - Deaths
1 - Emmy Award-winning actress Valerie Harper passed away
Four times Emmy Award winning actress, Valerie Harper passed away at the age of 80 years. She collected four Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe for playing the brash New Yorker on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and then on her own spin-off series "Rhoda".
Valerie began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut in the musical "Take Me Along" in 1959. She competed on the "Dancing with the Stars" show and made an appearance on "2 Broke Girls" in 2015.
2 - Veteran Gujarati journalist Kanti Bhatt passes away
Veteran Gujarati journalist, author and columnist Kanti Bhatt passed away at the age of 88 years. He was born on 15th July 1931 in Sachra village in erstwhile Bhavnagar state of Gujarat.
Kanti Bhatt joined journalism in 1966 in Mumbai. He also worked as journalist, writer, columnist and editor in various Gujarati publications like Chitralekha, Mumbai Samachar, Janshakti, Sandesh, Yuva Darshan, Jansatta, Vyapar and Abhiyan. He must have written more than 45,000 articles in the course of his journalistic career.
3 - Former President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe died
Former President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe died at the age of 95 years. Mugabe was a former guerrilla chief who took power after the end of white minority rule in 1980. He was ousted in a military coup in November 2017 when Emmerson Mnangagwa took over as the new President of the country.
Mugabe led Zimbabwe's fight for independence in the 1970s. His 37-year rule was criticised for repression of dissent, election rigging, and for causing the country's economic collapse.
4 - Noted novelist, playwright Kiran Nagarkar passed away
Noted novelist and playwright Kiran Nagarkar passed away at the age of 77 years. Nagarkar was known for his books 'Cuckold,' and 'Bedtime Story'. His latest novel in English, The Arsonist, was published in 2019.
Nagarkar was one of the leading lights of modern Indian literature. He wrote eight novels in English and Marathi. His works include ‘God’s Little Soldier’ (2006), ‘The Extras’ (2012) and ‘Rest in Peace’ (2015). He won the 2001 Sahitya Akademi Award for his epic novel 'Cuckold' (1997).
5 - Abdul Qadir, Pakistan's master leg-spinner, passed away
Pakistan's master leg-spinner Abdul Qadir passed away in Lahore at the age of 63 years. Qadir, who played in 67 Tests and 104 ODIs, had a total 368 wickets in his international career. Imran Khan used him as an attacking weapon in the 1983 World Cup held in England.
Qadir took 9 wickets for 56 in one test against West Indies at Faisalabad. Those figures are still the best by a Pakistan bowler in a Test innings. He played last of his international matches in 1993.
6 - Veteran Congress leader Sukhdev Singh Libra passed away
Veteran Congress leader and former MP Sukhdev Singh Libra passed away at the age of 87 years. He was the member of the 14th and 15th Lok Sabhas. He was also a Punjab MLA in 1985. He was a member of Rajya Sabha from 1998-2004.
Mr Libra had contested elections on Congress ticket, but later, he rejoined the Shiromani Akali Dal. He had also served as a member of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
7 - Former union minister Ram Jethmalani passed away
Noted lawyer and former Union Minister Ram Jethmalani passed away at age of 95 years due to ill health. Jethmalani served as a Member of the Rajya Sabha and as Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president in 2010. He earned the distinction of being the youngest advocate allowed to practice law and was known for his techniques of cross-examination of witnesses.
Jethmalani served as the Union minister for law from 1999 to 2000 and the minister of urban development in Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government.
8 - Veteran Tamil actor-director Rajasekar passed away
Tamil actor-cum-director S Rajasekar passed away at the age of 61 years. Rajasekar in partnership with Director Robert had delivered many hits in 1980s, which include 'Palaivanacholai', 'Chinnapoove Mella pesu', Manasukkul Mathappu.
Rajasekar had made his Telugu film debut in 1985 with 'Vande Mataram.' In a career spanning more than thirty years, the actor, who has acted in over eighty films in various roles, gave many blockbuster films. He also acted in a number of successful television serials.
9 - Former AP Speaker Kodela Siprasada Rao passes away
Former Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Dr. Kodela Siprasada Rao passed away at the age of 72 years. He was the senior most leader of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Mr Kodela joined the Telugu Desam Party in 1983 and was a six time MLA from Narsaraopet constituency in Guntur district. In 2014, post-bifurcation of AP, he was made the first Speaker of the Assembly.
10 - Former bureaucrat B.N. Yugandhar passed away
Former bureaucrat B N Yugandhar, father of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, passed away at the age of 82 years. He had served in the Prime Minister’s Office during late P V Narasimha Rao’s regime, as a member of the Planning Commission and also as director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration at Mussorie.
Yugandhar was known for upliftment of the marginalised sections of the society and to improve life in rural India.
11 - Renowned writer of Kerala Sivaraman Cheriyanad passes away
Kerala’s renowned writer Sivaraman Cheriyanad passed away. He received the Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award in 1988, the A.P. Kalakkad Award in 2009 and National Teachers Award in 1989. He was honored with Kerala Sahithya Akademi scholarship in 1990-91 for his study on the works of writer Parappuram.
Sivaraman was known for several novels, stories, children’s literature etc. He had served as State office-bearer of the Purogamana Kala Sahithya Sangham and held the office of president of Sahithya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society and vice president of A.R. Rajaraja Varma Memorial Committee.
12 - Veteran Malayalam Actor Sathar passed away
Veteran Malayalam actor Sathar passed away at the age of 67 years. He acted in over 300 movies including Tamil and Telugu films. He produced three movies, Revenge (1985), Black Mail (1985) and Kambolam (1994).
Some of his popular movies were 22 Female Kottayam in 2012, Natholi Cheriya Meenalla, Ee Raavil, Roudram, Kanalkireedam, Pranayakalathu, Nadodi and Ayiram Chirakulla Moham. His last movie in which he acted was Parayaan Baakki Vechathu in 2014.
13 - Tunisia’s former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali passed away
Tunisia's former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali passed away at the age of 83 years. He led the country for 23 years. He was known for delivering stability and some economic prosperity to his country. He had served as President of Tunisia from 1987 until his fall in 2011.
Ben Ali was appointed Prime Minister in October 1987. He was honored with more than 8 foreign honors such as Egypt’s Order of the Nile, Japan’s Order of the Chrysanthemum and Romania’s Order of the Star. He was honored with four Tunisian national honours.
14 - Veteran cricketer Madhav Apte passed away
Veteran cricketer Madhav Apte passed away in Mumbai at the age of 86 years. Apte made his Test debut against Pakistan at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai in November 1952 and played his last test against West Indies at Kingston in April 1953. He was the first Indian opener to aggregate over 400 runs in a Test series. He played along with several legendary cricketers, including Vinoo Mankad, Polly Umrigar, Vijay Hazare and Rusi Modi.
Apte served as president of the iconic Competition Commission of India (CCI) and 'Legends Club', a group formed to celebrate the achievements of different sportspersons.
15 - Filmmaker Shyam Ramsay died
Popular filmmaker Shyam Ramsay from the Ramsay Brothers passed away at the age of 67 years. The Ramsay Brothers were considered the pioneers of horror genre in Hindi cinema during the 80s and 90s.
The films made by Ramsay Brothers - Tulsi, Kumar, Shyam, Keshu, Arjun, Gangu and Kiran included films such as Purana Mandir, Veerana, Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche, Band Darwaza, Purani Haveli, Andhera and Saboot.
16 - Veteran actor S.K. Padmadevi passed away
Veteran actor and multi-faceted artiste S.K. Padmadevi passed away at the age of 95 years. She played the role of Bhoo Devi in the first Kannada talkie to go on sets Bhakta Dhruva in 1934. She began her career in theatre as a child artiste in 1930s.
Ms. Padmadevi also built a theatre troupe and wrote and directed plays. She was awarded the R. Nagendra Rao award for lifetime achievement by Karnataka Chalanchitra Academy in 2016.
17 - Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Skinner Boyd died
Noted American Journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Skinner Boyd passed away at the age of 91 years. He and Clark Hoyt won a Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for uncovering the fact that Senator Thomas Eagleton had severe psychiatric problems and had undergone three shock treatments.
Boyd spent 20 years as Washington bureau chief of Knight Ridder. Boyd toured the Bay of Pigs battlefield with Fidel Castro in 1961 and spent two weeks in North Vietnam in 1970. Boyd was a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford.
18 - Telugu Comedian Venu Madhav passed away
Noted Telugu comedian Venu Madhav passed away in Hyderabad at the age of 39 years. The actor has appeared in blockbusters like Master, Tholi Prema, Yuvaraju, Nuvve Nuvve, Dil, Simhadri and Arya to name a few.
Venu Madhav was last seen in Dr Paramanandaiah Students (2016). He has acted in over 600 films in Tollywood. He started his career as a mimicry artist. Before entering into Tollywood, Venu Madhav was a telephone operator in Telugu Desam Party-TDP office.
19 - Emmy Award Winner J. Michael Mendel passed away
Emmy award-winner, J. Michael Mendel, passed away at the age of 54 years. Mendel had earned four Emmys for his contribution as an animation director to "The Simpsons" and "Rick and Morty".
Joel Michael Mendel was also an American television producer. For his work on The Simpsons, Mendel won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program in 1995 ("Lisa's Wedding"), 1997 ("Homer's Phobia"), and 1998 ("Trash of the Titans"). In 2013, he joined Rick and Morty, where he won his fourth Emmy Award for the episode "Pickle Rick" in 2018.
20 - Former French President Jacques Chirac passed away
Former French president Jacques Chirac passed away at the age of 86 years. Chirac served as President of France and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra from 1995 to 2007. He was previously the Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as the Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.
Jacques Chirac earned the nickname "Le Bulldozer" early in his career due to his drive and ambition. He was also nicknamed "Chameleon Bonaparte" and "Houdini". He was also known for his stand against the American-led assault on Iraq.
