Post Mortem Archive: Adam Bernstein

Woodward (by Bernstein)

British actor Edward Woodward died today, and I felt too great an urge to see how many eagle-eyed readers might notice the implied Woodward-Bernstein joke, given by surname. More than that, Woodward, who was 79, enjoyed a varied and successful career. In addition to his best-known role, that of the...

All About Obits

Obit writers do mingle among the living from time to time. Perhaps it was someone's idea of a pre-Halloween joke, but I spoke last week at the private Hill School in Pottstown, Pa., to an audience of faculty members of students about the craft of writing obituaries. With lots of...

Welcome again

Washington Post obituaries editor Adam Bernstein welcomes visitors to our newly updated blog, and to our Facebook and Twitter pages....

'Dr. No' Dies

The stage actor Joseph Wiseman, who died Monday at 91, had an acclaimed career on Broadway and was a memorable supporting actor in films such as "Detective Story," "Viva Zapata!" and "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz." But Mr. Wiseman was forever linked to "Dr. No," the first entry in the...

Queen of Libya

The Times of London has a first-rate obit today clearly written by a Libyan expert who could make sense of the tangle of tribe loyalties and royal intrigue surrounding the life and death of Fatima al-Sanussi, the last queen of the North African country. After they were ousted and Gaddafi...

Faking Accomplishments

It doesn't take very long on the obits beat to learn that families routinely exaggerate the importance of their deceased relative's achievements. Occasionally, the deceased person has participated in the deception; often it's simply a matter of relatives who extrapolate from stories they heard or who don't think it's such...

Older Entries in This Category »

Tell Us: What's Robert Novak's Legacy?, Adam Bernstein , August 18, 2009

This Budd's For You, Adam Bernstein , August 6, 2009

Obit as Equalizer, Adam Bernstein , July 28, 2009

Controversial Afrocentric Scholar Dies, Adam Bernstein , June 17, 2009

Too Much Huey, Adam Bernstein , June 16, 2009

A Grave Problem, Adam Bernstein , June 11, 2009

Q&A: Italian Americans in Jazz, Adam Bernstein , June 9, 2009

Sam Butera, Sax Star, Dies, Adam Bernstein , June 5, 2009

David Carradine's Best Work?, Adam Bernstein , June 4, 2009

Poem for a Neighbor, Adam Bernstein , June 3, 2009

Peter Falk Family Battle, Adam Bernstein , June 2, 2009

Washington's Wolfman Jack, Adam Bernstein , June 2, 2009

Bad 'Association', Adam Bernstein , May 29, 2009

Jane ("Cat People") Randolph Dies, Adam Bernstein , May 27, 2009

FDIC Chairman Dies, Adam Bernstein , May 13, 2009

Cereal Killer, Adam Bernstein , May 13, 2009

Wikipedia, Obits and Faking, Adam Bernstein , May 7, 2009

Redstone v. Reaper, Adam Bernstein , May 4, 2009

Frankie "Musclehead" Manning Dies, Adam Bernstein , April 28, 2009

Lindy Hop Pioneer Dies, Adam Bernstein , April 27, 2009

Tilahun Gessesse, Leading Ethiopian Singer, Dies, Adam Bernstein , April 21, 2009

Obit Writer RIP, Adam Bernstein , April 17, 2009

Jewish Woman Who Married Nazi Officer Dies, Adam Bernstein , March 25, 2009

'Marty' Star Dies, Adam Bernstein , March 17, 2009

Ambassador Gets the Bird, Adam Bernstein , March 17, 2009

Man Behind Initials of WTTG Dies, Adam Bernstein , March 13, 2009

O! Curtsy, Adam Bernstein , March 13, 2009

Obits of the Air, Adam Bernstein , March 11, 2009

Newspaperman as Savior, Adam Bernstein , March 6, 2009

Son of "Little Tramp" Dies, Adam Bernstein , March 5, 2009

Playwright Horton Foote is Dead, Adam Bernstein , March 4, 2009

Pay Up, Adam Bernstein , March 4, 2009

TV's McMahon, Barry Said to be Ailing, Adam Bernstein , March 3, 2009

Veteran D.C. Journalist Nicholas Blatchford Dies, Adam Bernstein , February 6, 2009

Baugh of the Movies, Adam Bernstein , December 18, 2008

"Where's Johnson?", Adam Bernstein , November 20, 2008

The War and the Dead, Adam Bernstein , November 11, 2008

John Leonard: His Own Worst Critic, Adam Bernstein , November 7, 2008

Edie and Ernie, Adam Bernstein , October 23, 2008

Paul Newman's Shrewd Move, Matt Schudel , September 27, 2008

Norma Desmond Revisited, Adam Bernstein , September 9, 2008

Two Obits of Chile Under Pinochet, Adam Bernstein , July 31, 2008

Report on Steve Fossett, Adam Bernstein , July 30, 2008

Obiter v. Obiter, Adam Bernstein , June 3, 2008

Harvey Korman RIP, Adam Bernstein , May 30, 2008

On Faith On Death, Adam Bernstein , May 28, 2008

A "Derogatory" Obit?, Adam Bernstein , May 26, 2008

Conference of Death, Adam Bernstein , May 14, 2008

Of Parakeets and Freezers, Adam Bernstein , April 19, 2008

The Local Angle, Adam Bernstein , April 17, 2008

Burying the Compliment, Adam Bernstein , March 2, 2008

Steve Fossett, Officially Dead, Matt Schudel , February 16, 2008

Britney Spears -- the Latest Craziness, Adam Bernstein , February 5, 2008

Heath Ledger and Gene Kelly, Adam Bernstein , January 22, 2008

Suzanne Pleshette, Adam Bernstein , January 22, 2008

Ahead of the News, Adam Bernstein , January 22, 2008

Newspaper Promotes Self in Obit, Adam Bernstein , January 16, 2008

Bozo, Adam Bernstein , January 11, 2008

Dead Air, Adam Bernstein , December 17, 2007

Block That Euphemism, Adam Bernstein , December 12, 2007

I Don't Drink ... Wine, Adam Bernstein , November 21, 2007

Ian Smith, Adam Bernstein , November 21, 2007

Far-flung Death News, Adam Bernstein , November 2, 2007

Corrections, Adam Bernstein , October 18, 2007

Clusters, Adam Bernstein , October 18, 2007

A "Red" Shipley Remembrance, Adam Bernstein , October 9, 2007

False Death, False Information, Adam Bernstein , October 4, 2007

That Was Some Lady, Adam Bernstein , September 27, 2007

Death Du Jour, Adam Bernstein , September 19, 2007

Death Du Jour, Adam Bernstein , September 17, 2007

Saint Noochie?, Adam Bernstein , September 17, 2007

Fascinating Fake, Adam Bernstein , September 17, 2007

Bad News in Obits, Adam Bernstein , September 14, 2007

Anecdotes, Adam Bernstein , September 12, 2007