Some sad news, folks. Lesbian rights activist Del Martin -- who married her wife Phyllis Lyon at City Hall this past June on the first day that same-sex couples gained the right -- died this morning at a San Francisco hospital. She as 87. (Read more about her legacy and recent passing here.) Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, if you recall, were the first queer couple to get married at City Hall. Mayor Gavin......

Inspiration to many left-leaning political activists, writers, and observational humorists, comedian/social satirist/pottymouth George Carlin died of heart failure today at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica. He was 71. Above is his "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" bit for which he was well-known. Sigh. RIP, George. Follow the jump for more clips of his comedic legacy.......

Australia-born actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his NYC apartment today. It is reported that he allegedly died of either a drug overdose or hanging at Mary-Kate Olsen's apartment. More details as they come in. Sad. Very much so. Read more about the actor here and here. You may start any and all Brokeback Mountain references starting...now. UPDATE: According to our parent site, Gothamist: The housekeeper and masseuse tried to awake him and......

The motorcycling-riding Johnny Knoxville of his time, minus any homoerotic subtext, Evel Knievel died today at the wonderful age of 69. He passed away after years of suffering from "diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs." Which? Good for him -- in that he wasn't taken down by his daredevil-laced stuntsmanship. He even survived a run-in with the Hell's Angels. (Aside: why do the Hell's Angels act like such......

Growing up west of (the) 5 freeway, the heavy metal sound fo the '80s escaped us. But while vacationing in the far off land of Riverside County during the holidays as a wee tyke, we would listen to our cousins' heavy metal tapes with envy and detached amusement. This was one of the songs we enjoyed most, Quiet Riot's "Cum on Feel the Noize." Sadly, their lead signer, Kevin Dubrow, 52, was found dead......

Former A's pitcher Joe Kennedy, 28, died at his home in Florida this morning. At this time the cause of death is officially unknown, but it was "sudden" and a brain aneurysm is rumored to be at fault, according to the Chronicle. Making his major league debut in 2001 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kennedy went on to play for other teams such as the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Toronto Blue Jays, and of......

Dick Nolan, former coach of the 49ers, died yesterday at the age of 75. While battling Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer, according to the Chronicle, he passed away in an assisted-living facility in Dallas. According to Wikipedia, he was quite the coach for the once-glorious football team. "He was head coach of the 49ers for eight seasons from 1968 through 1975, noted for developing the defense and taking the team to three straight NFC......