Obituaries

TV Psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers Dies At 85

Scott Neuman — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:33:00 +0000

Dr. Joyce Brothers, whose long-running television show dispensed advice on life and relationships to her viewers, has died in New York at age 85, according to her publicist.

She died on Monday of natural causes, Sanford Brokaw said.

Brothers, who was a pioneer of the television advice show, first gained fame as a winning contestant on the television game show "The $64,000 Question" in 1955, becoming the only woman ever to win the top prize.

'Monkeemobile' Creator Dean Jeffries Dies

Mark Memmott — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:29:00 +0000

Dean Jeffries, the car customizer who created the "Monkeemobile" for The Monkees TV show, "Black Beauty" for The Green Hornet and who painted two famous words on actor James Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder, died last weekend at his Hollywood home. He was 80. A son says Jeffries died in his sleep.

As NPR's Nina Gregory tells our Newscast Desk, Jeffries was a legend of California car culture.

Matt Groening's Mother, Inspiration For Marge Simpson, Dies

Krishnadev Calamur — Tue, 07 May 2013 21:38:00 +0000

"Margaret Groening died peacefully in her sleep on April 22, 2013, in Portland."

That paid obituary, which ran Monday in The Oregonian, marked the life of the woman who served as the inspiration for one of the best-known characters on television and arguably pop culture: the beehive-coiffed Marge Simpson.

Groening was 94.

Her son, Matt Groening, created The Simpsons, a show for which he drew on characters from his own childhood.

says on its Facebook page that he passed away Tuesday in London.

Inspiration For Marge Simpson Passes Away

Tue, 07 May 2013 09:11:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And in our last word in business today, we remember a woman who inspired one of TVs most famous moms.

(SOUNDBITE FROM TV SHOW, "THE SIMPSONS")

JULIE KAVNER: (as Marge Simpson) Oh, I've never been so proud. You both deserve a big, big reward.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

That's doting mother Marge Simpson of "The Simpsons." The woman who inspired her, Margaret Groening, passed away last month at the age of 94.