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The January 27 concert of the San Francisco Symphony was loaded with extra-musical import. Michael Tilson Thomas, music director of the orchestra for 25 years and now its music director laureate (and conductor laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra), led his final subscription concert. It came 50 years after his debut with the orchestra in 1974. Then, he conducted a Mahler symphony (No 9). This time, it was Mahler again, the Symphony No 5.

It was a beautiful performance, surely if deliberately shaped, led and superbly played, in the terrific acoustics of Davies Symphony Hall. But that was not the extra-musical import. In 2021 Tilson Thomas was diagnosed with an aggressive, incurable brain tumour, and it is very much in doubt, month to month, how long he can still perform. Two scheduled subscription series before this one had been cancelled. The orchestra leaves open the possibility that he can return for special occasions, but no more subscription series are planned.

So this seemed like a farewell. The audience gave Tilson Thomas standing ovations at the beginning and end. The orchestra wore blue lapel ribbons and waved blue poppies during the final applause, blue being Tilson Thomas’s favourite colour. His husband and partner of 40 years, Joshua Robison, emerged with a bouquet of red roses and their latest dog. Tilson Thomas singled out individual players before beckoning the entire orchestra to rise.

All this in honour of his innumerable contributions to this city (where he has long lived) and its orchestra. He upgraded the quality of performance, conducted the standard repertory with increasing mastery, broadened and revitalised the programming (with special attention to West Coast composers and to American mavericks), recorded, himself composed, and introduced all manner of programmatic experiments, including semi-staged operas. The block in front of Davies Hall was recently renamed MTT Way.

The performance proved fascinating. The score lay untouched on the podium. Tilson Thomas’s gestures were restrained, his left hand occasionally reaching behind him to a railing for support. Everything sounded unusually slow, 10 minutes longer than his 2016 recording with this same orchestra. The Adagietto — the music Leonard Bernstein took to his grave — lasted 13 minutes.

But the music seemed not enervated but savoured. The grand climaxes rang out, but it was the myriad delicate details, exquisitely articulated by the players, that caught the heart.

Was it really a farewell? No one knows, very much including Tilson Thomas. At the very end, after all the flowers and ovations, he quieted the crowd and spoke softly. He said he’d be back. One wants and hopes to believe him.

★★★★★

sfsymphony.org

The post Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the San Francisco Symphony in a shifting Mahler No 5 — evaluate appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Chef Michael Chiarello, here in Miami in 2015, is dead at 61.

Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images

Michael Chiarello, a prominent chef known for appearing on “Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello” and “Top Chef,” has died. He was 61. 

Chiarello’s company Gruppo Chiarello said in a statement sent to CNN that the restaurateur died on Saturday in Napa. He was being treated for an acute allergic reaction resulting in anaphylactic shock, the company’s statement said.

“We deeply mourn the loss of our beloved patriarch Michael. His culinary brilliance, boundless creativity, and unwavering commitment to family were at the core of his being. He brought people together through the joy of shared meals, fostering lasting memories around the table,” the Chiarello family shared in a statement.

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The statement continued, “As we navigate this profound loss, we hold dear the moments we cherished with him, both in his kitchens and in our hearts. His legacy will forever live on in the love he poured into every dish and the passion he instilled in all of us to savor life’s flavors.”

The chef is known for his time hosting his namesake Food Network series, “Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello,” for 10 seasons beginning in 2003. The series won three Emmys between 2003 and 2006. (Food Network and CNN are both part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)

Chiarello appeared on a number of other cooking series such as “Top Chef,” “Top Chef Masters,” “The Next Iron Chef,” “Iron Chef America” and “Supermarket Superstar,” which debuted in 2013.

He also has appeared as a guest chef on “The Today Show,” “CBS Early Show,” “Regis & Kathy” and “The View.”

The California native graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY in 1982 and was named Food & Wine Magazine’s Chef of the Year in 1985. Chiarello was also named Chef of the Year by his alma mater in 1995.

He went on to open his first restaurant, Tra Vigne, in Napa Valley in 1986 and has since developed and opened over 10 restaurants in the Northern California region, including his popular eateries Bottega and Coqueta.

Chiarello has authored over eight cookbooks since 1995, and opened the Chiarello Family Vineyards in the late ’90s.

Photos: Notable Deaths in 2023

Jimmy Buffett

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song “Margaritaville” and turned that celebration of loafing into a billion-dollar empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, died Sept. 1, 2023. He was 76. “Margaritaville,” released on Feb. 14, 1977, quickly took on a life of its own, becoming a state of mind for those ”wastin’ away,” an excuse for a life of low-key fun and escapism for those “growing older, but not up.” The song is the unhurried portrait of a loafer on his front porch, watching tourists sunbathe while a pot of shrimp is beginning to boil. The singer has a new tattoo, a likely hangover and regrets over a lost love. Somewhere, irritatingly, there is a misplaced salt shaker.

AP file, 2010

Tina Turner

Tina Turner, the unstoppable singer and stage performer who teamed with husband Ike Turner for a dynamic run of hit records and live shows in the 1960s and ’70s and survived her horrifying marriage to triumph in middle age with the chart-topping “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” died May 24, 2023, at 83. Few stars traveled so far — she was born Anna Mae Bullock in a segregated Tennessee hospital and spent her latter years on a 260,000 square foot estate on Lake Zurich — and overcame so much. Her trademarks included a growling contralto that might smolder or explode, her bold smile and strong cheekbones, her palette of wigs and the muscular, quick-stepping legs she did not shy from showing off. She sold more than 150 million records worldwide, won 12 Grammys, was voted along with Ike into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 (and on her own in 2021 ) and was honored at the Kennedy Center in 2005. Her life became the basis for a film, a Broadway musical and an HBO documentary in 2021 that she called her public farewell.

AP file, 2009

Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” graced a decadeslong career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, died July 21, 2023. He was 96, just two weeks short of his birthday. The last of the great saloon singers of the mid-20th century, Bennett often said his lifelong ambition was to create “a hit catalog rather than hit records.” He released more than 70 albums, bringing him 19 competitive Grammys — all but two after he reached his 60s — and enjoyed deep and lasting affection from fans and fellow artists.

AP file, 2006

Bob Barker

Bob Barker, the enduring, dapper game show host who became a household name over a half century of hosting “Truth or Consequences” and “The Price Is Right,” died Aug. 26, 2023. He was 99. Barker retired in June 2007, thanking his studio audience “for inviting me into your home for more than 50 years.” He started that marathon run in 1956 on “Truth or Consequences,” where he remained for 18 years. He began hosting a revived version of “The Price Is Right” on CBS in 1972. It would become TV’s longest-running game show. He was also an animal rights activist.

AP file, 2007

Raquel Welch

Raquel Welch, whose emergence from the sea in a skimpy, furry bikini in the film “One Million Years B.C.” would propel her to international sex symbol status throughout the 1960s and ’70s, died Feb. 15, 2023. She was 82. Welch’s breakthrough came in 1966’s campy prehistoric flick “One Million Years B.C.,” despite having a grand total of three lines. Clad in a brown doeskin bikini, she successfully evaded pterodactyls but not the notice of the public.

AP file, 1982

Lisa Marie Presley

Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley and a singer-songwriter dedicated to her father’s legacy, died Jan. 12, 2023. She was 54. Presley shared her father’s brooding charisma — the hooded eyes, the insolent smile, the low, sultry voice — and followed him professionally, releasing her own rock albums in the 2000s.

AP file, 2012

Jim Brown

Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown, the unstoppable running back who retired at the peak of his brilliant career to become an actor as well as a prominent civil rights advocate during the 1960s, died May 18, 2023. He was 87. One of the greatest players in football history and one of the game’s first superstars, Brown was chosen the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1965 and shattered the league’s record books in a short career spanning 1957-65. Brown led the Cleveland Browns to their last NFL title in 1964 before retiring in his prime after the ’65 season to become an actor. He appeared in more than 30 films, including “Any Given Sunday” and “The Dirty Dozen.” When he finished playing, Brown became a prominent leader in the Black power movement during the civil rights struggles of the 1960s.

AP file, 1965

Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte, the civil rights and entertainment giant who began as a groundbreaking actor and singer and became an activist, humanitarian and conscience of the world, died April 25, 2023. He was 96. With his glowing, handsome face and silky-husky voice, Belafonte was one of the first Black performers to gain a wide following on film and to sell a million records as a singer; many still know him for his signature hit “Banana Boat Song (Day-O),” and its call of “Day-O! Daaaaay-O.” But he forged a greater legacy once he scaled back his performing career in the 1960s and lived out his hero Paul Robeson’s decree that artists are “gatekeepers of truth.”

AP file, 2011

Sinéad O’Connor

Sinéad O’Connor, the gifted Irish singer-songwriter who became a superstar in her mid-20s and was known as much for her private struggles and provocative actions as for her fierce and expressive music, died July 26, 2023, at age 56. Recognizable by her shaved head and with a multi-octave mezzo soprano of extraordinary emotional range, O’Connor began her career singing on the streets of Dublin and soon rose to international fame. She was a star from her 1987 debut album, “The Lion and the Cobra,” and became a sensation in 1990 with her cover of Prince’s ballad “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a seething, shattering performance that topped charts from Europe to Australia and was heightened by a promotional video featuring the gray-eyed O’Connor in intense close-up.

AP file, 2014

David Crosby

David Crosby, the brash rock musician who evolved from a baby-faced harmony singer with the Byrds to a mustachioed hippie superstar and an ongoing troubadour in Crosby, Stills, Nash & (sometimes) Young, died Jan. 18, 2023, at age 81. While he only wrote a handful of widely known songs, the witty and ever opinionated Crosby was on the front lines of the cultural revolution of the ’60s and ’70s — whether triumphing with Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young on stage at Woodstock, testifying on behalf of a hirsute generation in his anthem “Almost Cut My Hair” or mourning the assassination of Robert Kennedy in “Long Time Gone.”

AP file, 2017

Paul Reubens

Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose character Pee-wee Herman became a cultural phenomenon through films and TV shows, died July 30, 2023, at age 70. Reubens died after a six-year struggle with cancer that he did not make public, his publicist said in a statement.

AP file, 2009

Lance Reddick

Lance Reddick, a character actor who specialized in intense, icy and possibly sinister authority figures on TV and film, including “The Wire,” “Fringe” and the “John Wick” franchise, died March 17, 2023. He was 60. Reddick was often put in a suit or a crisp uniform during his career, playing tall, taciturn and elegant men of distinction. He was best known for his role as straight-laced Lt. Cedric Daniels on the hit HBO series “The Wire,” where his character was agonizingly trapped in the messy politics of the Baltimore police department.

AP file, 2013

Richard Belzer

Richard Belzer, the longtime stand-up comedian who became one of TV’s most indelible detectives as John Munch in “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Law & Order: SVU,” died Feb. 19, 2023. He was 78. For more than two decades and across 10 series — even including appearances on “30 Rock” and “Arrested Development” — Belzer played the wise-cracking, acerbic homicide detective prone to conspiracy theories. Belzer first played Munch on a 1993 episode of “Homicide” and last played him in 2016 on “Law & Order: SVU.”

AP file, 2013

Mark Margolis

Mark Margolis, who had a breakout role as a mobster in “Scarface” but became best known decades later for his indelible, fearsome portrayal of a vindictive former drug kingpin in TV’s “Breaking Bad,” died Aug. 3, 2023. He was 83. Margolis was nominated for an Emmy in 2012 for outstanding guest actor in “Breaking Bad” as Hector “Tio” Salamanca, the murderous elderly don who was unable to speak following a stroke. But this actor did not need dialogue; he communicated via facial expressions and the sometimes menacing use of a barhop bell taped to his wheelchair.

AP file, 2014

Angus Cloud

Angus Cloud, the actor who starred as the drug dealer Fezco “Fez” O’Neill on the HBO series “Euphoria,” died July 31, 2023. He was 25. Cloud hadn’t acted before he was cast in “Euphoria.” He was walking down the street in New York when casting scout Eléonore Hendricks noticed him. Cloud was resistant at first, suspecting a scam. Then casting director Jennifer Venditti met with him and series creator Sam Levinson eventually made him a co-star in the series alongside Zendaya for its first two seasons.

AP file, 2019

Clarence Avant

Clarence Avant, the judicious manager, entrepreneur, facilitator and adviser who helped launch or guide the careers of Quincy Jones, Bill Withers and many others and came to be known as the “Black Godfather” of music and beyond, died Aug. 13, 2023. He was 92.

AP file, 2019

Cindy Williams

Cindy Williams, who was among the most recognizable stars in America in the 1970s and 1980s for her role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshall’s Laverne on the beloved sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” died Jan. 25, 2023. She was 75. Williams played the straitlaced Shirley Feeney to Marshall’s more libertine Laverne DeFazio on the show about a pair of blue-collar roommates who toiled on the assembly line of a Milwaukee brewery in the 1950s and 1960s.

AP file, 2012

Alan Arkin

Alan Arkin, the wry character actor who demonstrated his versatility in everything from farcical comedy to chilling drama as he received four Academy Award nominations and won an Oscar in 2007 for “Little Miss Sunshine,” has died. He was 89. A member of Chicago’s famed Second City comedy troupe, Arkin was an immediate success in movies with the Cold War spoof “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming” and peaked late in life with his win as best supporting actor for the surprise 2006 hit “Little Miss Sunshine.”

AP file, 2011

Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot, the folk singer-songwriter known for “If You Could Read My Mind” and “Sundown” and for songs that told tales of Canadian identity, died May 1, 2023. He was 84. One of the most renowned voices to emerge from Toronto’s Yorkville folk club scene in the 1960s, Lightfoot recorded 20 studio albums and penned hundreds of songs, including “Carefree Highway,” “Early Morning Rain” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

AP file, 2012

Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck, a guitar virtuoso who pushed the boundaries of blues, jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, influencing generations of shredders along the way and becoming known as the guitar player’s guitar player, died Jan. 10, 2023. He was 78. Beck was among the rock-guitarist pantheon from the late ’60s that included Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. Beck won eight Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice — once with the Yardbirds in 1992 and again as a solo artist in 2009.

AP file, 2010

Bobby Caldwell

Bobby Caldwell, a soulful R&B singer and songwriter who had a major hit in 1978 with “What You Won’t Do for Love” and a voice and musical style adored by generations of his fellow artists, died March 14, 2023. He was 71. The smooth soul jam “What You Won’t Do for Love” went to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 6 on what was then called the Hot Selling Soul Singles chart. It became a long-term standard and career-defining hit for Caldwell, who also wrote the song.

AP file, 2013

Gary Rossington

Gary Rossington, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s last surviving original member who also helped to found the group, died March 5, 2023, at age 71. According to Rolling Stone, it was during a fateful Little League game, Ronnie Van Zant hit a line drive into the shoulder blades of opposing player Bob Burns and met his future bandmates. Rossington, Burns, Van Zant, and guitarist Allen Collins gathered that afternoon at Burns’ Jacksonville home to jam the Rolling Stone’s “Time Is on My Side.”

AP file, 2017

Wayne Shorter

Wayne Shorter, an influential jazz innovator whose lyrical, complex jazz compositions and pioneering saxophone playing sounded through more than half a century of American music, died March 2, 2023. He was 89.

AP file, 2013

Jerry Springer

Jerry Springer, the onetime mayor and news anchor whose namesake TV show featured a three-ring circus of dysfunctional families willing to bare all on weekday afternoons including brawls, obscenities and blurred images of nudity, died April 27, 2023, at age 79. At its peak, “The Jerry Springer Show” was a ratings powerhouse and a U.S. cultural pariah, synonymous with lurid drama. Known for chair-throwing and bleep-filled arguments, the daytime talk show was a favorite American guilty pleasure over its 27-year run, at one point topping Oprah Winfrey’s show.

AP file, 2010

Jacklyn Zeman

Jacklyn Zeman, who became one of the most recognizable actors on daytime television during 45 years of playing nurse Bobbie Spencer on ABC’s “General Hospital,” died May 10, 2023. She was 70. Zeman joined “General Hospital” in 1977 as Barbara Jean, who went by Bobbie, and was the feisty younger sister of Anthony Geary’s Luke Spencer.

AP file, 2016

John Beasley

John Beasley, the veteran character actor who played a kindly school bus driver on the TV drama “Everwood” and appeared in dozens of films dating back to the 1980s, died May 30, 2023. He was 79. Beasley played an assistant coach in the 1993 football film “Rudy” and a retired preacher in 1997’s “The Apostle,” co-starring and directed by Robert Duvall.

AP file, 2017

Michael Lerner

Michael Lerner, the Brooklyn-born character actor who played a myriad of imposing figures in his 60 years in the business, including monologuing movie mogul Jack Lipnick in “Barton Fink,” the crooked club owner Bugsy Calhoun in “Harlem Nights” and an angry publishing executive in “Elf” died April 8, 2023. He was 81.

AP file, 2012

Tom Sizemore

Tom Sizemore, the “Saving Private Ryan” actor whose bright 1990s star burned out under the weight of his own domestic violence and drug convictions, died March3, 2023, at age 61. Sizemore became a star with acclaimed appearances in “Natural Born Killers” and the cult-classic crime thriller “Heat.”

AP file, 2013

Charles Kimbrough

Charles Kimbrough, a Tony- and Emmy-nominated actor who played a straight-laced news anchor opposite Candice Bergen on “Murphy Brown,” died Jan. 11, 2023. He was 86. Kimbrough played newsman Jim Dial across the 10 seasons of CBS hit sitcom “Murphy Brown” between 1988 and 1998, earning an Emmy nomination in 1990 for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series. He reprised the role for three episodes in the 2018 reboot.

AP file, 2008

Julian Sands

Actor Julian Sands, who starred in several Oscar-nominated films in the late 1980s and ’90s including “A Room With a View” and “Leaving Las Vegas,” was found dead on a Southern California mountain in June 2023, five months after he disappeared while hiking. He was 65. Sands, who was born, raised and began acting in England, worked constantly in film and television, amassing more than 150 credits in a 40-year career. During a 10-year span from 1985 to 1995, he played major roles in a series of acclaimed films.

AP file, 2019

Cynthia Weil

Cynthia Weil, a Grammy-winning lyricist of notable range and endurance who enjoyed a decades-long partnership with husband Barry Mann and helped write “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “On Broadway,” “Walking in the Rain” and dozens of other hits, died June 1, 2023, at age 82.

AP file, 2010

Sheldon Harnick

Tony- and Grammy Award-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick, who with composer Jerry Bock made up the premier musical-theater songwriting duos of the 1950s and 1960s with shows such as “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Fiorello!” and “The Apple Tree,” died June 23, 2023. He was 99.

AP file, 2016

Barrett Strong

Barrett Strong, one of Motown’s founding artists and most gifted songwriters who sang lead on the company’s breakthrough single “Money (That’s What I Want)” and later collaborated with Norman Whitfield on such classics as “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “War” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” died Jan. 29, 2023. He was 81. 

AP file, 2004

Willis Reed

Willis Reed, who dramatically emerged from the locker room minutes before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to spark the New York Knicks to their first championship and create one of sports’ most enduring examples of playing through pain, died March 21, 2023. He was 80.

AP file, 1970

Tim McCarver

Tim McCarver, the All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as one of the country’s most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators, died Feb. 16, 2023. He was 81.

AP file, 2003

Billy Packer

Billy Packer (left), an Emmy award-winning college basketball broadcaster who covered 34 Final Fours for NBC and CBS, died Jan. 26, 2023. He was 82. Packer’s broadcasting career coincided with the growth of college basketball. He worked as analyst or color commentator on every Final Four from 1975 to 2008. He received a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio and Sports Analyst in 1993. 

AP file, 2006

The Iron Sheik

The Iron Sheik, a former pro wrestler who relished playing a burly, bombastic villain in 1980s battles with some of the sport’s biggest stars and later became a popular Twitter personality, died June 7, 2023. He was 81. During his pro wrestling career, he donned curled boots and used the “Camel Clutch” as his finishing move during individual and tag team clashes in which he played the role of an anti-American heel for the WWF, which later became the WWE.

AP file, 2009

Treat Williams

Actor Treat Williams, whose nearly 50-year career included starring roles in the TV series “Everwood” and the movie “Hair,” died June 12, 2023, after a motorcycle crash in Vermont. He was 71. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role as hippie leader George Berger in the 1979 movie version of the hit musical “Hair.”

AP file, 2018

Bill Richardson

Bill Richardson, a two-term Democratic governor of New Mexico and an American ambassador to the United Nations who dedicated his post-political career to working to secure the release of Americans detained by foreign adversaries, died Sept. 2, 2023. He was 75.

AP file, 2021

Daniel Ellsberg

Daniel Ellsberg, the history-making whistleblower who by leaking the Pentagon Papers revealed longtime government doubts and deceit about the Vietnam War and inspired acts of retaliation by President Richard Nixon that helped lead to his resignation, died June 16, 2023. He was 92.

AP file, 1973

Pat Robertson

Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a run for president and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition, died June 8, 2023. He was 93. For more than a half-century, Robertson was a familiar presence in American living rooms, known for his “700 Club” television show, and in later years, his televised pronouncements of God’s judgment, blaming natural disasters on everything from homosexuality to the teaching of evolution.

AP file, 2015

Robert Blake

Robert Blake, the Emmy award-winning performer who went from acclaim for his acting to notoriety when he was tried and acquitted in the killing of his wife, died March 9, 2023, at age 89. Blake, star of the 1970s TV show, “Baretta,” never recovered from the long ordeal which began with the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, outside a Studio City restaurant on May 4, 2001. The story of their strange marriage, the child it produced and its violent end was a Hollywood tragedy played out in court. Blake portrayed real-life murderer Perry Smith in the movie of Truman Capote’s true crime best seller “In Cold Blood.”

AP file, 1977

Ted Kaczynski

Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, the Harvard-educated mathematician who retreated to a dingy shack in the Montana wilderness and ran a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others, died June 10, 2023. He was 81. Branded the “Unabomber” by the FBI, Kaczynski died by suicide at the federal prison medical center in Butner, North Carolina.

AP file, 1996

Lloyd Morrisett

Lloyd Morrisett, the co-creator of the beloved children’s education TV series “Sesame Street,” which uses empathy and fuzzy monsters like Abby Cadabby, Elmo and Cookie Monster to charm and teach generations around the world, died Jan. 15, 2023. He was 93. 

AP file, 2019

Chaim Topol

Chaim Topol, a leading Israeli actor who charmed generations of theatergoers and movie-watchers with his portrayal of Tevye, the long-suffering and charismatic milkman in “Fiddler on the Roof,” died March 8, 2023, at age 87. A recipient of two Golden Globe awards and nominee for both an Academy Award and a Tony Award, Topol long has ranked among Israel’s most decorated actors.

AP file, 2015

Len Goodman

Len Goodman, a long-serving judge on “Dancing with the Stars” and “Strictly Come Dancing” who helped revive interest in ballroom dancing on both sides of the Atlantic, died April 22, 2023. He was 78.

AP file, 2007

Burt Bacharach

Burt Bacharach, the singularly gifted and popular composer who delighted millions with the quirky arrangements and unforgettable melodies of “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and dozens of other hits, died Feb. 8, 2023. The Grammy, Oscar and Tony-winning composer was 94. Over the past 70 years, only Lennon-McCartney, Carole King and a handful of others rivaled his genius for instantly catchy songs that remained performed, played and hummed long after they were written. He had a run of top 10 hits from the 1950s into the 21st century, and his music was heard everywhere from movie soundtracks and radios to home stereo systems and iPods, whether “Alfie” and “I Say a Little Prayer” or “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” and “This Guy’s in Love with You.”

AP file, 1979

Stella Stevens

Stella Stevens, a prominent leading lady in 1960s and 70s comedies perhaps best known for playing the object of Jerry Lewis’s affection in “The Nutty Professor,” died Feb. 17, 2023. She was 84. She was a prolific actor in television and film up through the 1990s, officially retiring in 2010.

AP file, 1968

Barry Humphries

Tony Award-winning comedian Barry Humphries, internationally renowned for his garish stage persona Dame Edna Everage, a condescending and imperfectly-veiled snob whose evolving character has delighted audiences over seven decades, died April 22, 2023. He was 89.

AP file, 2013

Annie Wersching

Actor Annie Wersching, best known for playing FBI agent Renee Walker in the series “24″ and providing the voice for Tess in the video game “The Last of Us,” died Jan. 29, 2023. She was 45. Her first credit was in “Star Trek: Enterprise,” and she would go on to have recurring roles in the seventh and eighth seasons of “24,” “Bosch,” “The Vampire Diaries,” Marvel’s “Runaways,” “The Rookie” and, most recently, the second season of “Star Trek: Picard” as the Borg Queen. 

AP file, 2010

Dave Hollis

Dave Hollis, who left his post as a Disney executive to help his wife run a successful lifestyle empire, died Feb. 12, 2023. He was 47. Hollis worked for Disney for 17 years and had been head of distribution for the company for seven years when he left in 2018 to join his wife’s venture. The parents of four moved from Los Angeles to the Austin area, collaborated on livestreams, podcasts and organized life-affirming conferences. In their podcast, “Rise Together,” they focused on marriage.

AP file, 2015

Christine King Farris

Christine King Farris, the last living sibling of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., died June 29, 2023. She was 95. For decades after her brother’s assassination in 1968, Farris worked along with his widow, Coretta Scott King, to preserve and promote his legacy. But unlike her high-profile sister-in-law, Farris’ activism — and grief — was often behind the scenes.

AP file, 2015

David Jude Jolicoeur

David Jude Jolicoeur, known widely as Trugoy the Dove and one of the founding members of the Long Island hip-hop trio De La Soul, died Feb. 12, 2023. He was 54. De La Soul’s debut studio album “3 Feet High and Rising,” produced by Prince Paul, was released in 1989 by Tommy Boy Records and praised for being a more light-hearted and positive counterpart to more charged rap offerings. De La Soul signaled the beginning of alternative hip-hop. 

AP file, 2015

Robbie Knievel

Robbie Knievel, an American stunt performer who set records with daredevil motorcycle jumps following the tire tracks of his thrill-seeking father — including at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 1989 and a Grand Canyon chasm a decade later — died Jan. 13, 2023. He was 60.

AP file, 2000

Gina Lollobrigida

Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida, who achieved international stardom during the 1950s and was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world” after the title of one of her movies, died Jan. 16, 2023. She was 95. Besides “The World’s Most Beautiful Woman” in 1955, career highlights included Golden Globe-winner “Come September,” with Rock Hudson; “Trapeze;” “Beat the Devil,” a 1953 John Huston film starring Humphrey Bogart and Jennifer Jones; and “Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell.”

AP file, 1950s

Lynette Hardaway (“Diamond”)

Lynette Hardaway, an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump and one half of the conservative political commentary duo Diamond and Silk, died Jan. 9, 2023. She was 51. Hardaway (pictured at left), known by the moniker “Diamond,” carved out a unique role as a Black woman who loudly backed Trump and right-wing policies.

AP file, 2018

Adam Rich

Adam Rich, the child actor with a pageboy mop-top who charmed TV audiences as “America’s little brother” on “Eight is Enough,” died Jan. 7, 2023. He was 54. Rich had a limited acting career after starring at age 8 as Nicholas Bradford, the youngest of eight children, on the ABC hit dramedy that ran from from 1977 to 1981.

AP file, 2002

Bobby Hull

Hall of Fame forward Bobby Hull, who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the 1961 Stanley Cup Final, has died. Hull was 84. The two-time MVP was one of the most prolific scorers in NHL history, leading the league in goals seven times. Nicknamed “The Golden Jet” for his speed and blond hair, he posted 13 consecutive seasons with 30 goals or more from 1959-72.

AP file, 2019

Charles White

Charles White, the Southern California tailback who won the Heisman Trophy in 1979, died Jan. 11, 2023. He was 64. A two-time All-American and Los Angeles native, White won a national title in 1978 before claiming the Heisman in the following season, when he captained the Trojans and led the nation in yards rushing.

AP file, 1979

Robbie Robertson

Robbie Robertson, The Band’s lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as “The Weight” and “Up on Cripple Creek” mined American music and folklore and helped reshape contemporary rock, died Aug. 9, 2023, at 80. The Canadian-born Robertson was a high school dropout and one-man melting pot — part-Jewish, part-Mohawk and Cayuga — who fell in love with the seemingly limitless sounds and byways of his adopted country and wrote out of a sense of amazement and discovery at a time when the Vietnam War had alienated millions of young Americans.

AP file, 2015

Ron Cephas Jones

Ron Cephas Jones, a veteran stage actor who won two Emmy Awards for his role as a long-lost father who finds redemption on the NBC television drama series “This Is Us,” died Aug. 19, 2023, at age 66.

AP file, 2019

Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher

Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher, who was thrust into the political spotlight as “Joe the Plumber” after questioning Barack Obama about his economic proposals during the 2008 presidential campaign, and who later forayed into politics himself, died Aug. 27, 2023. He was 49.

AP file, 2008

Mohamed Al Fayed

Mohamed Al Fayed, the flamboyant Egypt-born businessman whose son was killed in a car crash with Princess Diana, died Aug. 30, 2023. He was 94. Al Fayed, the longtime owner of Harrods department store and the Fulham Football Club, was devastated by the death of son Dodi Fayed in the car crash in Paris with Diana 26 years ago. He spent years mourning the loss and fighting the British establishment he blamed for their deaths.

AP file, 2016

Jerry Richardson

Jerry Richardson, the Carolina Panthers founder and for years one of the NFL’s most influential owners until a scandal forced him to sell the team, died March 1, 2023. He was 86.

AP file, 2013

Sister André

Lucile Randon, a French nun known as Sister André and believed to be the world’s oldest person, died Jan. 17, 2023, at age 118. She was born in the town of Ales, southern France, on Feb. 11, 1904. She was also one of the world’s oldest survivors of COVID-19.

AP file, 2022

Tatjana Patitz

Tatjana Patitz, one of an elite group of famed supermodels who graced magazine covers in the 1980s and ’90s and appeared in George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90” music video, died at age 56.

AP file, 2006

Russell Banks

Russell Banks, an award-winning fiction writer who rooted such novels as “Affliction” and “The Sweet Hereafter” in the wintry, rural communities of his native Northeast and imagined the dreams and downfalls of everyone from modern blue-collar workers to the radical abolitionist John Brown in “Cloudsplitter,” died Jan. 7, 2023. He was 82.

AP file, 2004

Cardinal George Pell

Cardinal George Pell, a onetime financial adviser to Pope Francis who spent 404 days in solitary confinement in his native Australia on child sex abuse charges before his convictions were overturned, died Jan. 10, 2023. He was 81.

AP file, 2018

Ken Block

Ken Block, a motorsports icon known for his stunt driving and for co-founding the action sports apparel brand DC Shoes, died Jan. 2, 2023, in a snowmobiling accident near his home in Utah. Block rose to fame as a rally car driver and in 2005 was awarded Rally America’s Rookie of the Year honors.

AP file, 2013

Walter Cunningham

Walter Cunningham, the last surviving astronaut from the first successful crewed space mission in NASA’s Apollo program, died Jan. 3, 2023. He was 90. Cunningham was one of three astronauts aboard the 1968 Apollo 7 mission, an 11-day spaceflight that beamed live television broadcasts as they orbited Earth, paving the way for the moon landing less than a year later.

AP file, 2014

Anton Walkes

Professional soccer player Anton Walkes died Jan. 18, 2023, from injuries he sustained in a boat crash off the coast of Miami. He was 25. Walkes began his career with English Premier League club Tottenham and also played for Portsmouth before signing with Atlanta United in MLS. He joined Charlotte for the club’s debut MLS season in 2022.

AP file, 2017

Pat Schroeder

Former U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder, a pioneer for women’s and family rights in Congress, died March 13, 2023. She was 82. Schroeder took on the powerful elite with her rapier wit and antics for 24 years, shaking up stodgy government institutions by forcing them to acknowledge that women had a role in government. She was elected to Congress in Colorado in 1972 and won easy reelection 11 times from her safe district in Denver.

AP file, 1999

Seymour Stein

Seymour Stein, the brash, prescient and highly successful founder of Sire Records who helped launched the careers of Madonna, Talking Heads and many others, died April 2, 2023, at age 80. Stein helped found the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation and was himself inducted into the Rock Hall in 2005.

AP file, 2005

Klaus Teuber

Klaus Teuber, creator of the hugely popular Catan board game in which players compete to build settlements on a fictional island, died April 1, 2023. He was 70. The board game, originally called The Settlers of Catan when introduced in 1995 and based on a set of hexagonal tiles, has sold tens of millions of copies and is available in more than 40 languages.

AP file, 1995

Ginnie Newhart

Ginnie Newhart, who was married to comedy legend Bob Newhart for six decades and inspired the classic ending of his “Newhart” series, died April 23, 2023. She was 82.

AP file, 1985

Vida Blue

Vida Blue, a hard-throwing left-hander who became one of baseball’s biggest draws in the early 1970s and helped lead the brash A’s to three straight World Series titles before his career was derailed by drug problems, died May 6, 2023. He was 73.

AP file, 1976

Martin Amis

British novelist Martin Amis, who brought a rock ‘n’ roll sensibility to his stories and lifestyle, died May 20, 2023. He was 73. Amis was a leading voice among a generation of writers that included his good friend, the late Christopher Hitchens, Ian McEwan and Salman Rushdie. Among his best-known works were “Money,” a satire about consumerism in London, “The Information” and “London Fields,” along with his 2000 memoir, “Experience.”

AP file, 2012

Doyle Brunson

Doyle Brunson, one of the most influential poker players of all time and a two-time world champion, died May 14, 2023. He was 89. Brunson, called the Godfather of Poker and also known as “Texas Dolly,” won 10 World Series of Poker tournaments — second only to Phil Hellmuth’s 16. He also captured world championships in 1976 and 1977 and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1988.

AP file, 2011

Hodding Carter III

Hodding Carter III, a Mississippi journalist and civil rights activist who as U.S. State Department spokesman informed Americans about the Iran hostage crisis and later won awards for his televised documentaries, died May 11, 2023. He was 88.

AP file, 2003

Ray Stevenson

Ray Stevenson, who played the villainous British governor in “RRR,” an Asgardian warrior in the “Thor” films, and a member of the 13th Legion in HBO’s “Rome,” died May 21, 2023. He was 58. He made his film debut in Paul Greengrass’s 1998 film “The Theory of Flight.” In 2004, he appeared in Antoine Fuqua’s “King Arthur” as a knight of the round table and several years later played the lead in the pre-Disney Marvel adaptation “Punisher: War Zone.” Though “Punisher” was not the best-reviewed film, he’d get another taste of Marvel in the first three “Thor” films, in which he played Volstagg. Other prominent film roles included the “Divergent” trilogy, “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” and “The Transporter: Refueled.”

AP file, 2017

Astrud Gilberto

Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian singer, songwriter and entertainer whose off-hand, English-language cameo on “The Girl from Ipanema” made her a worldwide voice of bossa nova, died June 5, 2023, at age 83.

AP file, 1981

Tori Bowie

U.S. Olympic champion sprinter Tori Bowie died May 2, 2023, from complications of childbirth, according to an autopsy report. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Bowie won silver in the 100 and bronze in the 200. She then ran the anchor leg on a 4×100 team with Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix and English Gardner to take gold.

AP file, 2017

Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy’s longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died June 12, 2023. He was 86. A onetime cruise ship crooner, Berlusconi used his television networks and immense wealth to launch his long political career, inspiring both loyalty and loathing.

AP file, 2021

John Goodenough

John Goodenough, who shared the 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work developing the lithium-ion battery that transformed technology with rechargeable power for devices ranging from cellphones, computers, and pacemakers to electric cars, died June 25, 2023, at age 100.

AP file, 2019

Coco Lee

Coco Lee, a Hong Kong-born singer and songwriter who had a highly successful career in Asia, has died by suicide July 5, 2023. She was 48. She was the first Chinese singer to break into the American market, and her English song “Do You Want My Love” charted at #4 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Breakouts chart in December 1999.

If you or someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide, call 1-800-273-TALK, text 741741 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

AP file, 2005

Jane Birkin

Actor and singer Jane Birkin, who made France her home and charmed the country with her English grace, natural style and social activism, died July 16, 2023, at age 76. The London-born star and fashion icon was known for her musical and romantic relationship with French singer Serge Gainsbourg. Their songs notably included the steamy “Je t’aime moi non plus” (“I Love You, Me Neither”). Birkin’s ethereal, British-accented singing voice interlaced with his gruff baritone in the 1969 duet that helped make her famous and was forbidden in Italy after being denounced in the Vatican newspaper.

AP file, 2021

William Friedkin

William Friedkin, the generation-defining director who brought a visceral realism to 1970s hits “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist” and was quickly anointed one of Hollywood’s top directors when he was only in his 30s, died Aug. 7, 2023. He was 87. Friedkin won the best director Oscar for “The French Connection.”

AP file, 2011

Steve Harwell

Steve Harwell, the longtime frontman of the Grammy-nominated pop rock band Smash Mouth died Sept. 4, 2023. He was 56. Smash Mouth was known for hits including “All Star” and “Then The Morning Comes.”

AP file, 2008

Michael McGrath

Michael McGrath, a Broadway character actor who shined in zany, feel-good musicals and won a Tony Award for “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” died Sept. 14, 2023. He was 65. McGrath was in over a dozen Broadway shows including “Plaza Suite,” “She Loves Me,” “Tootsie” and “Spamalot” as well as on television as the sidekick to Martin Short on “The Martin Short Show.”

AP file, 2012

Fernando Botero

Renowned Colombian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero, whose depictions of people and objects in plump, exaggerated forms became emblems of Colombian art around the world, died Sept. 15, 2023. He was 91.

AP file, 2013

David McCallum

Actor David McCallum, who became a teen heartthrob in the hit series “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” in the 1960s and was the eccentric medical examiner in the popular “NCIS” 40 years later, died Sept. 25, 2023. He was 90. McCallum’s work with “U.N.C.L.E.” brought him two Emmy nominations, and he got a third as an educator struggling with alcoholism in a 1969 Hallmark Hall of Fame drama called “Teacher, Teacher.” McCallum returned to television in 2003 in another series with an agency known by its initials — CBS’ “NCIS.”

AP file, 1975

Brooks Robinson

Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, whose deft glovework and folksy manner made him one of the most beloved and accomplished athletes in Baltimore history, died Sept. 26, 2023. He was 86. Coming of age before the free agent era, Robinson spent his entire 23-year career with the Orioles. He almost single-handedly helped Baltimore defeat Cincinnati in the 1970 World Series and homered in Game 1 of the Orioles’ 1966 sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers for their first crown. Robinson participated in 18 All-Star Games, won 16 consecutive Gold Gloves and earned the 1964 AL Most Valuable Player award after batting .318 with 28 home runs and a league-leading 118 RBIs.

AP file, 2007

Michael Gambon

Veteran actor Michael Gambon, who was known to many for his portrayal of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight “Harry Potter” films, died Sept. 28, 2023. He was 82. No matter what role he took on in a career that lasted more than five decades, Gambon was always instantly recognizable by the deep and drawling tones of his voice. He was cast as the much-loved Dumbledore after the death of his predecessor, Richard Harris, in 2002.

AP file, 2011

Tim Wakefield

Tim Wakefield, the knuckleballing workhorse of the Red Sox pitching staff who bounced back after giving up a season-ending home run to the Yankees in the 2003 playoffs to help Boston win its curse-busting World Series title the following year, died Oct. 1, 2023. He was 57.

AP file, 2009

Dick Butkus

Dick Butkus, a middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears whose speed and ferocity set the standards for the position in the modern era, died Oct. 5, 2023. He was 80. Butkus was a first-team All-Pro five times and made the Pro Bowl in eight of his nine seasons before a knee injury forced him to retire at 31. He was the quintessential Monster of the Midway and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility. Trading on his image as the toughest guy in the room, Butkus enjoyed a long second career as a sports broadcaster, an actor in movies and TV series, and a sought-after pitchman for products ranging from antifreeze to beer.

AP file, 2019

Michael Chiarello

Michael Chiarello, a chef known for his Italian-inspired Californian restaurants who won an Emmy Award for best host for “Easy Entertaining With Michael Chiarello” and appeared on Bravo’s “Top Chef” and “Top Chef Masters,” died Oct. 6, 2023. He was 61.

AP file, 2013

Piper Laurie

Piper Laurie, the strong-willed, Oscar-nominated actor who performed in acclaimed roles despite at one point abandoning acting altogether in search of a “more meaningful” life, died Oct. 14, 2023. She was 91. Laurie arrived in Hollywood in 1949 as Rosetta Jacobs and was quickly given a string of starring roles with Ronald Reagan, Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis, among others. She went on to receive Academy Award nominations for three distinct films: The 1961 poolroom drama “The Hustler”; the film version of Stephen King’s horror classic “Carrie,” in 1976; and the romantic drama “Children of a Lesser God,” in 1986. She also appeared in several acclaimed roles on television and the stage, including in David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” in the 1990s as the villainous Catherine Martell.

AP file, 2009

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Meet the latest additions to Forbes’ ranking of America’s richest people.

By Sarah Young, Contributor

It got harder to make The Forbes 400 ranking of America’s richest people this year, with the minimum net worth required to make the list hitting a record-tying $2.9 billion. Yet, despite the high bar, 18 people amassed fortunes big enough to earn a spot among this elite group for the first time.

The most famous face to join the 400 this year: Michael Jordan, the first pro athlete ever to appear in these ranks. The basketball great earned some $90 million over his playing career, but it’s his off-court moves that land him among the wealthiest Americans. For decades he has gotten a cut of every Jordan-branded sneaker, shirt or sock Nike sells—enough to bring him $260 million in estimated (pretax) income over the past year alone. Big bucks have also come from the Charlotte Hornets. In August, Jordan sold a majority stake in the NBA team at a $3 billion valuation, 17 times what it was worth when he became lead owner in 2010.

The richest of all newcomers is Elisabeth DeLuca (worth an estimated $8.2 billion), widow of Subway founder Fred DeLuca (d. 2015). In August, private equity firm Roark Capital struck a deal to acquire the sandwich giant in a deal reported to be worth more than $9 billion—which could put an estimated $3.4 billion after taxes into the pockets of DeLuca, who inherited half the business upon her husband’s 2015 death, according to Forbes’ reporting.

The youngest newcomer this year is 38-year-old Josh Kushner. The son of real estate developer Charles Kushner and younger brother of Jared Kushner, who served as senior advisor to his father-in-law President Donald Trump, he’s the first member of his clan to make The Forbes 400. For that, he can thank Thrive Capital, the venture capital firm he founded in 2010 at age 25. An early backer of startups like Instagram, Spotify and Slack, Thrive raised $175 million in January at a $5.3 billion valuation.

Seven of this year’s new Forbes 400 listees hail from the world of finance and investments, the most of any industry. Besides Kushner, there are Seth Boro, Scott Crabill and Holden Spaht – three partners of private equity firm Thoma Bravo, who are worth an estimated $3.3 billion apiece; investor Rajiv Jain ($3.1 billion), who made a gutsy gamble on Adani Group in March; early Berkshire Hathaway backer Stewart Horejsi ($3 billion); and insurance magnate J. Hyatt Brown ($2.9 billion).

Others found their fortunes elsewhere. William Goldring ($6 billion) got rich from alcohol; his Sazerac Company owns the Buffalo Trace Distillery and produces Fireball Cinnamon Whisky. Power couple Eren Ozmen ($3.4 billion) and Fatih Ozmen ($3.3 billion) made their money in aerospace. There are now two Forbes 400 members in Mississippi: James and Thomas Duff ($3 billion each), who co-own tire retailer Southern Tire Mart and own several other businesses through their Duff Capital Investors holding company. Only two newcomers to this year’s list hail from the tech industry: Sanjit Biswas ($3.6 billion) and John Bicket ($3.5 billion) of San Francisco-based software company Samsara, which went public in 2021.

HERE ARE THE 18 NEW MEMBERS OF THE FORBES 400

NET WORTHS ARE AS OF SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Elisabeth DeLuca & family

Net worth: $8.2 billion | Age: 76 | Source of wealth: Subway

The widow of Subway cofounder Fred DeLuca, Elizabeth DeLuca inherited half of the sandwich company upon his death in 2015. In August, Roark Capital agreed to buy the chain in a deal reported to be worth more than $9 billion.

Annette Lerner & family

Net worth: $6.5 billion | Age: 93 | Source of wealth: Real estate

In 1952, she lent her husband, Ted, $250 to create Lerner Enterprises, a D.C.-based real estate company. Following his death in February, Lerner and her children are now credited with his fortune, which includes a portfolio of Washington, D.C.-area real estate and the Washington Nationals baseball team.

William Goldring & family

Net worth: $6 billion | Age: 80 | Source of wealth: Alcohol

The Louisiana-native is the chairman of the Sazerac Company, an alcoholic beverage producer which owns the Buffalo Trace Distillery and the Fireball Cinnamon Whisky brand.

Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch

Sanjit Biswas

Net worth: $3.6 billion | Age: 41 | Source of wealth: Sensor systems

A former teenage engineer at Oracle, his Samsara offers tools like AI dash cams, realtime driver coaching and route mapping for customers such as oil field servicer Liberty Energy, moving company PODS and plumbing giant Roto-Rooter.

Josh Kushner

Net worth: $3.6 billion | Age: 38 | Source of wealth: Venture capital

The youngest newcomer this year, Kushner launched VC firm Thrive Capital in 2010. The son of real estate developer Charles Kushner and brother-in-law of Ivanka Trump, he’s married to supermodel Karlie Kloss.

John Bicket

Net worth: $3.5 billion | Age: 43 | Source of wealth: Sensor systems

He cofounded Samsara alongside Biswas, who he met at MIT as a graduate student in computer science.

Eren Ozmen

Net worth: $3.4 billion | Age: 65 | Source of wealth: Aerospace

Ozmen, a Turkish immigrant, put herself through business school with an office-cleaning job and selling baklava. Her Sierra Space is gearing up to launch Dream Chaser, the only spacecraft now capable of landing on a commercial runway, in the upcoming year.

Seth Boro

Net worth: $3.3 billion | Age: 48 | Source of wealth: Private equity

Scott Crabill

Net worth: $3.3 billion | Age: 53 | Source of wealth: Private equity

Holden Spaht

Net worth: $3.3 billion | Age: 49 | Source of wealth: Private equity

The trio are managing partners at Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm with over $120 billion in assets. Company namesakes Carl Thoma and Orlando Bravo are also members of The Forbes 400.

Fatih Ozmen

Net worth: $3.3 billion | Age: 65 | Source of wealth: Aerospace

Fatih Ozmen is CEO of Sierra Nevada Corporation, which he co-owns with his wife Eren Ozmen.

Rajiv Jain

Net worth: $3.1 billion | Age: 55 | Source of wealth: Finance

After coming to the U.S. from India in the early 1990s for an MBA at the University of Miami, Jain worked at Swiss asset manager Vontobel for nearly 22 years. He cofounded GQG Partners in 2016. The firm, which is listed in Australia, has $107 billion in assets under management. GQG placed a big contrarian bet on embattled Indian conglomerate Adani Group, investing more than $6 billion after a short seller accused the firm of fraud and stock market manipulation in January. (Adani denied the allegations.)

Geoffrey Palmer

Net worth: $3.1 billion | Age: 73 | Source of wealth: Real estate

A Los Angeles-based developer, Palmer made a multibillion-dollar fortune building luxury residential buildings in southern California.

James Duff

Net worth: $3 billion | Age: 62 | Source of wealth: Tires, diversified

Thomas Duff

Net worth: $3 billion | Age: 66 | Source of wealth: Tires, diversified

The Duff brothers run tire retailer Southern Tire Mart, and Duff Capital Investors, whose investments include trucking company KLLM, construction firm T.L. Wallace Construction and energy firm DeepWell Energy Services.

Stewart Horejsi & family

Net worth: $3 billion | Age: 86 | Source of wealth: Berkshire Hathaway

Using profits from his family’s Kansas-based welding supply company, Horejsi began buying Berkshire Hathaway stock in 1980, when the price was as low as $295 per share. Berkshire’s class A stock now trades north of $500,000.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

Michael Jordan

Net worth: $3 billion | Age: 60 | Source of wealth: Charlotte Hornets, endorsements

The basketball great notched one of the biggest wins of his business career in August, when he sold a majority stake in the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets at a $3 billion valuation, 17 times what it was worth when he became lead owner in 2010. Meanwhile, he’s still cashing royalty checks from every Jordan-branded sneaker, shirt or sock Nike sells—enough to bring him $260 million in estimated (pretax) income over the past year, nearly triple the roughly $90 million he made over his 16-year playing career.

J. Hyatt Brown

Net worth: $2.9 billion | Age: 86 | Source of wealth: Insurance

His Brown & Brown is the fifth largest insurance brokerage in the U.S.. He chairs the firm, which his father cofounded in 1939.

MORE FROM FORBES

MORE FROM FORBESThe 2023 Forbes 400 List Of Richest Americans: Facts And FiguresBy Chase Peterson-WithornMORE FROM FORBESThe 2023 Forbes 400: The 20 Richest People In AmericaBy Devin Sean MartinMORE FROM FORBESThe Youngest Billionaires On The 2023 Forbes 400 ListBy Savannah BornMORE FROM FORBESDonald Trump, Sam Bankman-Fried And The Snapchat Founders: Here’s Who Fell Off The 2023 Forbes 400 List Of Richest AmericansBy Richard J. ChangMORE FROM FORBESThe Richest American Tech Billionaires In 2023By Phoebe Liu

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Hertfordshire studio Michael Collins Architects has added a boxy, two-storey copper and charred larch extension to a terraced house alongside a railway station in south London.

The extension and renovation was named Jewellery Box, as a nod to the way the Victorian terrace and subdued extension hide the home’s more vibrant interiors.

Micheal Collins Architects added a boxy extension to a Victorian terrace

“Our clients talked about the house having a jewellery box quality, where a simple form is pulled apart to reveal a more complex, light and textured interior,” explained Michael Collins Architects founder Michael Collins.

“The extension to the rear is conceived as two cubic volumes that slide across a plinth, with areas of glazing set between,” he told Dezeen.

The ground floor extension contains a kitchen

The studio extended the home to the rear with a pair of blocky additions that were informed by the various ad hoc extensions added to terraced houses in London that can often be seen when travelling by train in the city

On the ground floor, an oxidised-copper extension contains a kitchen and dining space, while a smaller charred larch-clad extension above houses a first-floor bathroom. This is topped with a roof deck that is accessed from the second floor.

The extension opens onto a small garden

“The block-like exterior was inspired by the simple poetry of stacked boxy self-built ‘add-ons’ and ‘closet returns’ seen along the rear of railway terraces that reflect the varied lives of their inhabitants, we weren’t keen on trying to create a highly ordered composition,” said Collins.

“A key issue was how to create a sense of spatial generosity on this constrained site, and how to address the steep natural embankment at the rear.”

Gold and Inchyra Blue are combined in the kitchen

The studio clad the outside of the home in dark industrial materials to reference the nature of the site alongside the railway tracks, and the home’s former owner who was a chimney sweep.

Satish Jassal Architects adds oak framed conservatory to renovated London townhouse

“The use of oxidised copper and charred larch were informed by the context,” said Collins. “Specifically the urban memory of a famous south London chimney sweep that lived and ran his business from the property, but also the sooty quality of the brickwork along the railway embankment, and the oxidised metal infrastructure found along the line.”

The interiors contrast the dark exterior

In contrast to the subdued exterior the interior spaces were decorated with bright colours, with Inchyra Blue cabinets and surfaces combined with gold backsplashes in the kitchen.

“An aquatic datum of flush panels conceal utility areas, larders, and a toilet wrapping around the internal walls of the kitchen to create a sense of immersion and continuity with the trained plants around the garden walls,” added Collins.

The studio also renovated the main house

Overall the architect believes that the home is fitting to its location and would not make sense anywhere else.

“We hoped the project would be as idiosyncratic as its surroundings,” he said.

“The project grew from the site and two very unique clients. These factors informed its orientation, massing and materiality and we like to think that it would not make sense on a different site.”

Jewellery Box was longlisted in the small interior category of Dezeen Awards 2020. This category was won by Sim-Plex Design Studio’s four-bedroom smart home in Hong Kong.

Photography is by Jacob Milligan.

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Michael Harris hit two homers and Bryce Elder, one of Atlanta’s eight All-Stars, threw 6 2/3 solid innings and led the Braves to their ninth straight win of the season Monday, 4-2 over the Cleveland Guardians night .

Harris scored solo shots in the third and fifth innings against Guardians rookie Gavin Williams (0-1). Atlanta’s No. 9 hitter is hitting .416 (37 of 89) with seven homers and 16 RBIs in his last 24 games.

Marcell Ozuna also scored for the Braves, who have won 17-of-18 and 24-of-27. Atlanta, which had three winning streaks in at least eight games, improved its MLB best record to 57-27.

Elder (7-1) didn’t give up a run until Amed Rosario hit a two-run single in the seventh. AJ Minter came on as a substitute and came out of a two-for-one save, and Nick Anderson eliminated Myles Straw with two opponents in the eighth. Raisel Iglesias hit a 1-2-3 ninth on his 15th save.

REDS 3, NATIONALS 2

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joey Votto hit a home run in two runs to end a 21-0 loss, Ian Gibaut pitched in the sixth inning from a stalemate and Cincinnati beat Washington for a fifth win in six games.

Votto hit a fourth-round home run on Jake Irvin, placing the ball squarely in the left-midfielder’s bullpen and powering Elly De La Cruz. It’s his fourth home run in 12 games this season since his return in June.

Luke Weaver (2-2) clinched the win by allowing two earned runs on six hits in more than five innings. He was spared a tenth straight non-decision – or worse – when Gibaut made the sixth run, conceding just one goal, knocking out Corey Dickerson and causing a Derek Hill flyout.

Catcher Tyler Stephenson drove in the Reds’ other heat with an RBI single in the second. Fresh from being named an All-Star, closer Alexis Díaz made his 24th save.

Jeimer Candelario hit his twelfth home run of the season, a solo shot in the fourth inning for Washington. Irvin (1-4) batted three and allowed six hits.

MARLINS 5, CARDINALS 4

MIAMI (AP) — Nick Fortes hit an RBI starting shot in the seventh inning and Miami battled St. Louis.

Marlin’s pinch hitter Yuli Gurriel equalized in game seven with a two-run double against reliever Andre Pallante (2-1) after two straight walks. The Marlins then used the fast Jon Berti to secure the run for Gurriel, and Berti scored with Fortes’ groundball single.

Tanner Scott, the Marlins’ reserve, hit a scoreless eighth to retain the lead and AJ Puk secured the last three outs for his 14th save of the season.

Paul DeJong had broken a 2-2 tie for the Cardinals with an RBI double in game six. Willson Contreras was 3 of 4, completing the cycle in trebles.

Huascar Brazoban (3-1) secured the last two outs of the seventh round and secured the win.

YANKEES 6, ORIOLES 3

NEW YORK (AP) — Harrison Bader hit a crucial three-run home run in the eighth inning and New York rallied to beat Baltimore.

Anthony Volpe scored the winning run in the seventh game on a wild pitch from All-Star Relief player Yennier Cano (1-1) before the Yankees made the comeback before post-game fireworks.

Giancarlo Stanton opened the eighth with a hard single against Cano before Anthony Rizzo followed with a single against Danny Coulombe. After putting in a strong performance in the first pitch, Bader hit a 1-1 winner for his seventh home run in left field.

Tommy Kahnle (1-0) sat out former Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks in the eighth round to tie the game. Clay Holmes scored two strikeouts for his tenth save in a 1-2-3 ninth set.

The second-placed Orioles lost for the fifth time in six games and are three games ahead of third-placed New York in the division standings.

BREWERS 8, CUBS 6

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Newly signed Jahmai Jones hit a narrow three-run double in his first major league appearance since 2021, helping Milwaukee move past Chicago.

After bases loaded and there were two outs in the seventh inning, Jones hit a line drive on the first pitch from reliever Anthony Kay, who one-hoped off the midfield wall and hit Raimel Tapia, Christian Yelich and Owen Miller, causing the Game ended in 6-0 draw .

The Brewers finished their comeback six runs down in the eighth inning with an RBI single from Willy Adames and a sacrifice fly from Miller – both ahead of Mark Leiter Jr. (1-2) – to take an 8-6 lead.

Brewers All-Star Devin Williams conceded a double from Nico Hoerner and a walk to Ian Happ in the ninth round, then knocked out All-Star Dansby Swanson to earn his 18th save.

Joel Payamps (3-1) threw a perfect eighth inning for Milwaukee.

The Brewers won their third straight game to stay tied with Cincinnati for first place in the NL Central. The Cubs have lost three straight games and seven of their last eight games.

ASTROS 12, RANGERS 11

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jose Abreu and Chas McCormick had back-to-back RBI doubles in the ninth inning and second-placed Houston Astros rebounded after giving up an eight-run lead.

Abreu and McCormick also scored earlier for Houston, who picked up three out of four games against their state rival to move up the league lead within three games. It’s the closest result the Astros have had in a month after trailing a full 6 1/2 games.

Kyle Tucker, who led Houston’s best eighth Grand Slam 6-0 in the second round, led in the ninth round with a single against Rangers closer Will Smith (1-3), who made only his second save from 16 chances. Abreu and McCormick then followed Alex Bregman’s deep flyout with their doubles.

The Rangers had their only lead from Corey Seager’s sacrificial flight, leading to an 11-10 score in the eighth.

Bryan Abreu (3-2), Houston’s fifth pitcher, allowed that run in the eighth before Ryan Pressly machined the ninth for his 18th save in 21 attempts.

TWINS 8, ROYAL 4

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Edouard Julien hit a pinch hit and a solo home run to start a five-run eighth inning and Minnesota defeated Kansas City for the seventh time in eight games this season.

Carlos Correa had four hits from the starting position and Byron Buxton scored two runs with sacrifice flies for the Twins.

The Royals had leveled the score early in the inning with a solo home run by Nick Pratto against Brent Headrick (2-0), the first batter he faced.

Kansas City reliever Taylor Clarke (1-3) gave up five runs and five hits, retiring just one of the seven batters he faced.

The Royals have lost 11 of their last 12 games in Minnesota.

MARINERS 6, GIANTS 5

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Julio Rodríguez hit a two-run double against All-Star closeer Camilo Doval in a four-run ninth inning and Seattle was able to beat San Francisco.

JP Crawford broke a 2-all tie with a sacrifice fly against Doval. Rodríguez’s double made it 5-2, and Teoscar Hernández added an RBI single with two outs, giving the Mariners Doval his worst performance in the majors.

Andrés Muñoz (2:1) secured victory in eighth place. Doval (2-3) saved for the third time in 27 chances this season.

Rookie catcher Blake Sabol hit two home runs and drove all five runs for the Giants. He launched a three-run shot with two outs in the ninth to put San Francisco on point. Pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores hit a single before Paul Sewald knocked out Brandon Crawford to end the game.

PADRES 10, ANGELS 3

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Blake Snell helped keep All-Star hitters Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout in the ballpark, and Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run home run that gave the disappointing San Diego a big win.

Trout left the game with an apparent left hand or wrist injury after committing an offfield foul in the eighth inning’s break. He immediately shook his arm. Angels manager Phil Nevin and a trainer came out to check on the superstar and he left the field.

Ohtani wasn’t able to add to his 31 homers, which led in the major leagues. He went twice. Trout, who has 18 home runs, walked, had two singles and hit one run.

In perhaps the biggest batting attempt of the night, rookie reliever Tom Cosgrove beat Ohtani in three straight pitches with two runners in the sixth pitch, a hitter after Trout hit an RBI single, and put the Angels 4-2.

Snell (5-7) held the Angels on seven hits while he had seven hits in five innings and had four walks.

Jaime Barria (2-4) allowed four runs and five hits in five innings, hitting out five and walking none.

DODGERS 5, PIRATES 2

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Max Muncy hit his 18th home run of the season and Los Angeles gave Dave Roberts his 700th win as a manager of the Dodgers.

Jason Heyward and Miguel Rojas had RBI doubles to help the Dodgers get back on their feet after losing the final two games of a weekend series in Kansas City.

Caleb Ferguson (5-3), the second of six Los Angeles pitchers, clinched the win. Evan Phillips converted the ninth goal into his twelfth save

Mitch Keller (9-4) gave up five runs (four earned) and hit out seven in five innings. The Pirates have lost three straight games by leaving nine on base and were 2 to 9 with runners in point position.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Michael Sordelli
January 3, 1945 – May 2, 2023
Michael R. Sordelli: Affectionately known as Mike, Dad, Nonno, Sordelli, Sords, Deli, Daddy-Sords and SC. Mike was born on January 3, 1945 and died on May 2, 2023 in SF surrounded by his loved ones. The loss of Mike is a great loss to his family, friends and everyone who knew him. Mike was a true SF American, proud of his Italian roots and raised in San Francisco’s Sunset area. Mike attended St. Cecilia’s and Sacred Heart HS in 1963. He earned his BA from Golden Gate University and served in the Army Reserve. Mike’s career path took him into accounting for 27 years as CEO of SFCPU. Mike became a member of the Olympic Club in 1965 and excelled at both handball and golf. His passion for golf continued throughout his retirement; He played with his golf buddies most Fridays and Saturdays. His golf adventures have taken him to many states, Scotland (played St Andrews) and Ireland. Mike has always loved a tournament. His last win was the Super Senior Tournament at the Olympic Club in September 2022; best golfer over 70! Family was important to Mike. In 1974 Mike married Wendy Wood; together they had two children, daughter Heidi Sordelli (Crowell) and son Michael R. Sordelli. In 2002, Mike met Marilyn Schaumburg, his longtime love and partner of 21 years. They formed blended families and over the years saw all five children marry and twelve grandchildren born. Mike was a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West and the Godfathers. Mike was a man of many talents: a great cook, handyman, music lover (knew every song) and a wonderful dancer. Mike was a role model and father figure to many; He was a loving and devoted father and Nonno. Before Mike, his parents Hilda and Henry Sordelli and his brother Steven Sordelli died. He is survived by sister Carol (Eddie Coste), daughter Heidi (Chad Crowell), son Mike (Lisa), and grandsons Charlie and Kendall. Mike will always be loved by his partner Marilyn; their children Megan (Dylan David), John (Mandi) and Joe (Ashley) and all grandchildren: Delaney, Marlowe, Brixton, Jaden, Talon, Camden, Kaily, Anieta, June and Anna Marie. A private party will be held in Mike’s honor. Donations can be sent to the Leukemia And Lymphoma Society of SF, the Cleft Palate Fund, the main charity of the Native Sons of the Golden West.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on June 9, 2023.

34465541-95D0-45B0-BEEB-B9E0361A315ATo plant trees to commemorate, please visit the Sympathy Store.

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Michael Anthony Walsh
March 23, 1955 – May 6, 2023
Michael Anthony Walsh passed away suddenly on May 6, 2023 in Redwood City, California.
Michael, son of Anthony and Helen Walsh, was born on March 23, 1955 in San Mateo, California. He attended St. Matthew’s Catholic Elementary School and Junipero Serra High School. Michael was a retired lieutenant in the San Francisco Fire Department. During his career he was stationed at the Bureau of Equipment, Station 39, 17 and 12. He founded Walsh Plumbing and owned Dale Plumbing & Heating. Michael was a director of the San Francisco Fire Fighter’s Local 798 and a board member of the Greater Bay Area Association of Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Mechanical Contractor Association.
Michael was a music lover and a fine chef, known for his Christmas cioppino and award-winning chili. He loved duck hunting, motorcycling and attending Giants and Raiders games. He coached his daughter’s softball and basketball teams and was known to many as “Coach Mike.” He had a deep love for family and was very proud of his Irish heritage. Michael will be remembered for his vibrant and fun personality, his generosity and his ability to touch so many lives in such a meaningful way.
Michael is survived by daughters Casey (Travis) Frantz, Erin (Vince) Conner, his partner Sherri Warman, their sons Robert (children Jace and Rome) and Derek Warman. He is also survived by siblings James (Mary), Kevin (Meghan), John (Patricia), Thomas (Brenda), Aileen Turner (William), several beloved nephews and nieces, and his faithful canine companion, Able.
Before Michael died, his parents, brother Brian Walsh, son Steven Walsh, and stepdaughter Jaime Ellison.
A memorial service will be held on June 12, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 1 Notre Dame Ave., San Mateo, CA 94402.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the San Francisco Fire Fighters Surviving Families Fund, sffdlocal798.org

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on May 17, 2023.

34465541-95D0-45B0-BEEB-B9E0361A315ATo plant trees to commemorate, please visit the Sympathy Store.

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The San Francisco 49ers didn’t come into play in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft. In fact, the defending NFC West champion isn’t expected to make his first pick until he’s 99th overall at the end of Round 3.

There’s a reason for that. General manager John Lynch and company spent a huge capital picking up quarterback Trey Lance in the 2021 NFL draft. San Francisco then sent multiple picks to the Carolina Panthers for star running back Christian McCaffrey in the 2022 season.

In hindsight, we can question the Lance trade as many times as we like. The young signal caller is actually standing on the trading block. With that in mind, the McCaffrey acquisition was an absolute home run.

San Francisco has 10 picks left in the 2023 NFL draft. With a full roster, the team is unlikely to pick that many players.

Instead, the 49ers should target specific players in potential trade-up scenarios. We’re here to say that one player, former Notre Dame star Michael Mayer, should be that target.

Mayer, a predicted first-round pick going into the draft, is still on the board and entering Day 2 on Friday. He was considered the consensus No. 1 tight end in one of the best drafts at that position in modern times NFL Draft History. Mayer has had a record-breaking campaign for the Irish and should be viewed as a future Pro Bowler.

Here’s why San Francisco should make a bold move for Mayer once round two kicks off in Kansas City later Friday.

Related: The top NFL draft prospects remaining on Day 2

The San Francisco 49ers are associated with tight ends more than any other team

John Mersits/USA TODAY NETWORK

San Francisco drew a whopping 11 tight ends ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft. Reports have since shown that the team has done more homework at that position than at any other in the league.

Although Michael Mayer was not one of those visits, there is a simple explanation. As noted above, the 49ers are not scheduled to make their first pick until the end of Round 3. Mayer should be long gone by this point.

San Francisco doesn’t want to replace All-Pro tight end George Kittle. Rather, the team wants to find another pass catcher in this position who can help out behind him and work in two tight end sets. Last season, the backup 49ers tight ends had a total of seven catches. It just won’t work.

See also: 2023 NFL Mock Draft Day 2 Edition

Michael Mayer as fit for the San Francisco 49ers

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

It’s easy. Just check out this former Notre Dame standout scouting report by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:

“Tall tight-ended combo with the behavior to block runs and the size for hard, chain-moving catches underneath. Mayer will come into the league with better blocking technique than most tight ends in this year’s draft.

Built for liner service, it was at times an extension of Notre Dame’s offensive line. His feet are a little heavy for getting in and through his routes, but he has the hand strength and contact balance to win hard-fought catches on the first two levels.”

Scouting report by Michael Mayer

A blocking tight end that can move the sticks and acts as an extension of the offensive line. This is almost a copy of what Kittle did during his brilliant career in Northern California.

At 6-foot-5 and with strong hands, Mayer will be able to get in right away while making a big impact on the running game. In two tight-end sets, he would cause major mismatches on the field with Kittle. This is especially true given San Francisco’s talent in the elite skill position in McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.

See also: San Francisco 49ers 2023 NFL Mock Draft

The cost of acquiring Michael Mayer in one trade

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

This is where it gets tricky. Mayer is among the best players remaining on the board in Round 2. Should he get into the top half of the second round, it would be a damn expensive proposition for the 49ers. That includes two third-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft and potentially their second-round picks next year.

Another decline in the second round would make this more manageable. Either way, the cost won’t be cheap.

The good news? San Francisco is expected to get some third-round picks in the 2024 NFL draft under the NFL’s minority hiring program and the Rooney Rule. That makes it easier for the San Francisco 49ers to part with a second-round pick in next year’s NFL draft to find an absolutely perfect fit.

Want the best NFL draft coverage? Visit our hub for in-depth analysis, bill drafts and player comparisons. Stay informed!

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The ongoing cultural revolution that is People’s Park in Berkeley has always been deliberately leaderless.

But someone had to host the meeting that turned the idea of ​​converting a UC vacant lot into a community park into a plan of action, and someone had to bring the truckload of weed and shovels that started it all in April 1969. That someone was Michael Delacour.

A trained boilermaker who never attended UC Berkeley — or any other university — Delacour spearheaded when the police-erected cyclone fence collapsed in May 1969, and he was there again when another cyclone fence collapsed in January 2021. his last great act of resistance on the renegade, 3-hectare open-air site.

Delacour was often at the park to partake in the daily shared meal of beans and rice, delivered by Food Not Bombs, the food distribution collective.

“He was on stage and people came to reach out to him because he was known and respected,” said Lisa Teague, another People’s Park activist. “He was always open to conversations about park history and our 54-year resistance.”

Delacour campaigned for the park in the fall when stage 4 lung cancer made him too weak to walk to the park from his home a half-mile away. He died March 9 in Kaiser Oakland, said Teague, a close friend and confidante. Delacour was 85.

“Michael is widely recognized as the founder of People’s Park,” said David L. Axelrod, attorney and member of the People’s Park Council. “He continued to be a thought leader and inspiration to the people of People’s Park and the wider community up until his recent death.”

The park’s annual concert on April 23 will be a memorial to Delacour. As a tribute, a bulletin board for posting handouts – a favorite activity of Delacour – will be unveiled, bearing a portrait of him by artist Ed Monroe.

People gather at People’s Park in Berkeley on May 8, 1979, 10 years after the first protests: front row, Scott Muldavin, Bonnie Lane, Michele Gray and Kevin Ruditch; back row, Michael Delacour, David Axelrod and Howard Cooper.

John Storey/The Chronicle

“Michael was a very principled person,” said Carol Denney, a folk singer and activist who has known Delacour for 50 years. “He fully embraced the principles of peace, labor and revolution and took very seriously that we are one family.”

Michael Delacour was born on February 23, 1938 in San Diego. According to a biography by Tom Dalzell published on the Quirky Berkeley website, Delacour moved around with his father, an electronics engineer, before settling in the Mission Beach area. By the time he finished high school, he had a wife and a daughter.

He got a job at Convair, a military company, and one child grew to three. After his wife brought the children to Oklahoma, Delacour drifted across Europe before landing in Berkeley to protest the war effort he was involved in during his eight years at Convair.

“He had worked in the defense industry and had the amazing realization that the good jobs he had early in life were part of the war machine,” Denney said.

In 1967, the University of California used its title to purchase a large tract of housing, many of which were classic brown-clapboard Berkeley homes, a few blocks south of campus. Some of these houses had been converted into rental apartments, home to what Hunter S. Thompson called “the non-student left.” Delacour was not among the displaced, but he lived close enough to feel the pain of those who were, and that pain only worsened when the university leveled the housing and then reduced the land to a muddy parking lot.

“They wanted the hippies out,” Delacour said in an interview with The Chronicle to mark People’s Park’s 50th anniversary. “When the university took it over, they bulldozed and leveled 53 houses. We assumed that.”

People’s Park grew out of the anti-war movement in which Delacour and his friend Liane Chu were heavily involved in both Berkeley and Washington, DC

He and Chu opened Red Square, a clothing store on Dwight Way, which is also where they live. The first organizational meeting took place there on April 15, 1969. “They agreed to build a park in the craggy, desolate wasteland that Lot had become in 1875,” is how the moment is described in Heyday’s oral history, The Battle for People’s Park, 1969.

From the unrolled sod that Delacour trucked in, the park grew to include swings, a garden, a winding brick walkway, and an amphitheater, all built and maintained by volunteers. There was even public art, with red letters spelling out the word “KNOW” along a border.

After the group of activists spent a month planting and tending their park, the university came in again with the bulldozers and an eight-foot-tall cyclone fence was put up around it.

The situation escalated on May 15, 1969, when an anti-war rally at Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus ended with a march to People’s Park to retake it. It escalated further when Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies were brought in with shotguns loaded with bird pellets. The guns were fired from the street at people gathered on rooftops along Telegraph Avenue. James Rector was killed, Alan Blanchard was blinded and 40 people were injured.

“Some people are suffering from wounds today,” Delacour told the Chronicle on the 50th anniversary. “I was shot at but not hit.”

This began 40 days and 40 nights of protest in People’s Park, the longest in the long history of Berkeley activism. The National Guard came and went, but Delacour never left, and he never gave up the rectangular land as a symbol of struggle.

Delacour was a founding member of Pittsburg Local 549 of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. It’s hard work involving heavy welding and rigging, and he worked well into his 70’s, mostly on large industrial construction projects. Outside of business hours, he could be found at the Caffe Mediterraneum, where he met Odile Hugonot, a French émigré who worked as a nurse. They lived together on the top floor of a house on Parker Street in the 1980s. By this time, Delacour’s wife, Leslie, and three children, Kathy, Vanessa, and David, had moved to Berkeley and were going in and out. He had also adopted his niece’s son, Dusk Delacour. There were many mouths to feed, but he always helped the street people, Hugonot said.

Michael Delacour, then 69, protested the Iraq war wearing a red shirt and holding a sign that read “It’s time to rebel!”

Brant Ward/The Chronicle

“He always said to me, it’s not easy to beg, so you should give them what you can when people ask for it,” Hugonot said. After seven years together, Delacour and Hugonot split, and Delacour later married Gina Sasso, another Volkspark activist. Sasso died of pneumonia in 2011 at the age of 49.

“Gina was such a rock in his life and when she died he was a broken man,” said Maxina Ventura, a longtime People’s Park activist. “But he continued to work in the park and continued to seek justice.”

Delacour ran for mayor of Berkeley in 1986 in a race won by Loni Hancock. He was also active in the squatter movement to occupy vacant buildings. He was hands-on and could always get water and electricity running and take care of plumbing, Ventura said. But his greater strength was as a motivator.

She last saw it in January 2021, when the university fenced off parts of the park. Delacour was there with his powers of persuasion and said the fence had to come down.

“He did it in his giggling way, with a twinkle in his eye,” Ventura said. “He said, ‘We have the numbers here, what are we going to do,’ and that fence fell with great joy.”

Reach Sam Whiting: swhiting@sfchronicle.com

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In the words of Scott Boras, the world’s funniest agent, there will be no Conforto Claus coming down the Texas Rangers chimney this week. Unless, of course, he fails at the physical.

That seems to be the only thing stopping Michael Conforto from signing a two-year contract with San Francisco after the underprivileged Bay Area kids dropped their top two items on their Christmas wish list: Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa. Both were shipped to New York instead. Buncha Coastal Elites.

Anyway, you may have heard that Correa wanted to take a podium in San Francisco to be heralded as the Giants’ big offseason acquisition before concerns were raised during his physical. That led to Boras calling Mets magnate Steve Cohen, who was having a martini in Hawaii, and somehow, next thing you know: Correa is a mead… and Friday Conforto became the desperate Giants’ consolation prize. He agreed to a two-year deal worth $36 million. The deal has an opt-out after 2023, so if Conforto, 30, returns to his 2020 form, he could retest the market.

The extra security was apparently the turning point. The Rangers offered a similar deal, but Conforto would have had to meet certain playing thresholds to opt out, two people with knowledge of the talks told The Dallas Morning News. In short, Rangers wanted to give Conforto a convenient opportunity to bet on themselves that bigger things are to come; The Giants had to sign him.

Whether it was the right call for Conforto remains to be seen. If you’re a lefty, Arlington was a lot easier to beat than San Francisco last year. Lefties had a .719 OPS at Globe Life Field in 2022 with 82 homers. It was the fourth most homer in a stadium by left-handers. In San Francisco, where things like wind come into play (those Luddites!), lefties have put up a .703 OPS with just 53 homers.

Regardless, Rangers could still use a left fielder. Do we need to dig up the ugly stats on how poorly left fielders have done for this team over the past decade? Not when we’re in the Christmas spirit. It’s bad. Actually the worst. That’s where we said it. OK.

For now, left field will come from a combination of Bubba Thompson, Josh Smith, Eli White (if he clears the waivers after he was drafted Friday), Ezequiel Duran or Joe McCarthy, who has a minor this week after League contract signed spent last season in Japan. This quintet has cobbled together a .211/.280/.300/.580 slash in a total of 1,053 MLB plate appearances to date. They’re an athletic group with some elite defenders and they still have potential, but they haven’t proven they’re ready to play in the majors every day. Brad Miller is also on the list, but if he makes it to the start of the season he should only be counted as a part-time DH.

Yes, Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds is commercially available and controllable, but the prize would be a top-tier swath of the Rangers’ farm system. There’s some depth left, but the front five – starting with outfielder Evan Carter – would certainly be off-limits.

You want a short-term deal, that’s for sure. They think Carter’s a year away, if that. Aaron Zavala, if he can stay healthy, could be on the same path. They need some coverage for 2023. It calls for a year-long commitment.

They can also now safely retreat from the harsh court-wide press they’ve carried over to negotiations since the start of the off-season. You can slow down the holiday season to think about the next step. It could be to focus more on relief pitching, where finally taking left Matt Moore off the market and maybe pursuing another arm could make them more money.

And then they can turn to the outfield again. On that front, a reunion with Jurickson Profar seems unlikely. Profar, who turns 30, may have the most assets and versatility of the remaining boys but he’s likely looking for a long-term deal.

No, if you’re looking for a leftfielder on a one-year contract, you’re more likely to be talking about guys like AJ Pollack, Tommy Pham or David Peralta, all guys in their mid-30s. All have career OPS numbers between .787-.801 and OPS+ numbers over 110 They have been slightly better than average in most of their careers, although neither of them had a great 2022.

They will still be there after Christmas. And New Year. Probably also after the MLK day.

The push-hard phase of free choice is over. Now it is a question of finding the best value among the remaining stocks. It’s time to take a deep breath and refocus. It’s time to move from hustle to bargain hunting. Conforto Claus isn’t coming to town.

In Short: The Rangers received RHP Nick Mears on a waiver from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, the team said. To make room for Mears, White was designated for assignment.

Mears, 26, spent most of the 2022 season on the injured list (elbow surgery). He played a total of 29 games between Bradenton (Low-A) and Indianapolis (AAA), most of it in rehab, before going two scoreless innings in two games for the Pirates in the final series of the season.

Also Read: Former Ranger Joey Gallo signs one-year deal with Minnesota Twins, report says

For more coverage of the Rangers on the Dallas Morning News, click here.

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