Arts & Entertainment

Longtime Grateful Dead Bass Player Phil Lesh Has Died at 84

Grief will ripple through the Bay Area music community today, as the family of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh announced that he passed away peacefully early Friday morning.

Bay Area Sports

SF Giants Legend Willie Mays Has Died at 93

The “Say Hey Kid” and all-time greatest Giant Willie Mays passed away Tuesday at the age of 93, leaving a legacy of 24 All-Star appearances, countless broken racial barriers, and a statue at the SF ballpark by which he will always be remembered.

Arts & Entertainment

Local Legend Gina LaDivina, Drag Show Hostess and Performer, Dies at 74

San Francisco's queer nightlife world and San Francisco at large lost an icon Tuesday night. Miss Gina LaDivina, a longtime performer at Aunt Charlie's, The Stud, and Oasis has passed. The cause reportedly was complications from cancer.

SF News

Rev. Cecil Williams, Evangelist of Equality and Dignity for All and Founder of GLIDE, Dies at Age 94

Reverend Cecil Williams, who until today had been a living testament to the modern era of San Francisco and its reputation for accepting all varieties of the human condition, has died at age 94.

SF News

OJ Simpson Has Died at Age 76, His Family Announces

While known for a stellar football career and a bizarre high-profile murder trial that gripped the nation, OJ Simpson was also a San Francisco native who attended Galileo High and City College. He died Wednesday of prostate cancer.

Arts & Entertainment

SF-Born Metal Sculptor Richard Serra, Known As the ‘Poet of Iron,’ Has Died at 85

Brother to the famed local defense attorney Tony Serra, internationally renowned metal sculptor Richard Serra may be best known locally for sculptures so huge that they blocked traffic in SoMa, but he passed Tuesday in New York from pneumonia.

Bay Area Sports

Warriors Assistant Coach Dejan Milojević Dies of Sudden Heart Attack, Wednesday Night’s Game Postponed

Golden State assistant coach Dejan Milojević is credited with developing Nikola Jokic and was considered a key component to the Warriors’ 2022 title run, but he died Wednesday morning after a sudden heart attack Tuesday night.

SF News

U.S. Olympian, Surfer, and Famed Bay Area Swim Coach Richard Thornton Dies at 65

1980 U.S. Olympic swim team member, former U.S. national team swim coach, and four-decade coach of San Ramon Valley Aquatics Richard Thornton died while heading out to surf in Santa Cruz on Thursday, according to his family.

SF Restaurants, Food & Drink

Famed Napa Winemaker and Judgement of Paris Figure Mike Grgich Dies at 100

A renowned and beloved figure in the Napa Valley, Mijenko “Mike” Grgich, died Wednesday at age 100, reportedly passing in his sleep with family members at his side at home in Calistoga.

SF Restaurants, Food & Drink

Napa-Based Celebrity Chef Michael Chiarello Dies at Age 61

Michael Chiarello, a celebrity of food TV and a long-established Bay Area chef and restaurateur, died Friday at the age of 61.

SF Politics

Dianne Feinstein, Lioness of the Senate and Onetime SF Mayor, Dies at Age 90

Senator Dianne Feinstein, the first woman to represent California in the Senate and a onetime mayor of San Francisco who led the city through a tragic and tumultuous time, died Thursday night at age 90.

Arts & Entertainment

'Euphoria' Actor Angus Cloud Dead at 25, Found at Home In Oakland

It appears that actor Angus Cloud, who played Fezco on two seasons of the HBO series 'Euphoria,' has taken his own life at age 25, and he was found dead in his family's home in Oakland.

SF News

Unique Davis Character Killed By Serial Stabber Remembered as Kind, Intelligent Soul

It was interesting that, in the days following his death at the hands of an apparent serial killer in the quiet college town of Davis, residents were reluctant to refer to David Breaux as "homeless." Now, a posthumous profile tries to explain.

Arts & Entertainment

Local News Stations Cover Heklina's Passing, Can't Quite Report On That 'Empty Chair'

The immediate outpouring of grief on Monday for the sudden death of iconic San Francisco drag performer Heklina included several impromptu gatherings of friends in the city's nightlife scene.

Arts & Entertainment

Drag Community Mourns the Loss of Legendary San Francisco Queen Heklina

As news ripples out through the local and national drag community about the loss of San Francisco legend Heklina, many are processing the shocking news and mourning on social media.

Arts & Entertainment

Report: SF Drag Icon Heklina Dies While On Tour In London

A beloved San Francisco drag legend, club owner, and pillar of the local nightlife community has reportedly passed away. Heklina, a.k.a. Stefan Grygelko, was on tour in London with friend and longtime collaborator Peaches Christ, and Peaches reported the news on Facebook.

Arts & Entertainment

Veteran San Francisco-Based Stage Actor Ken Ruta Dies at Age 89 of COVID Complications

Ken Ruta, a highly skilled actor who was a fixture on Bay Area stages for more than five decades, died last month at the age of 89, and his death is only being confirmed by the Chronicle now. The cause was reportedly pneumonia brought on by a summer case of COVID-19.

SF News

The Queen Is Dead, and SF Media Now Fondly Recalls Her Visit to the City 40 Years Ago

The event of the queen's death, even though it's far removed from the U.S. and will have no impact on global politics, feels inescapably historic. And San Francisco only has one royal visit to commemorate on this day, from 1983.

Arts & Entertainment

Fiancé of Shannon and the Clams’ Shannon Shaw, Joe Haener, Has Died

Just three months before he was to wed Shannon and the Clams vocalist Shannon Shaw, locally well-known drummer Joe Haener was killed in an Oregon car accident last week.

Bay Area Sports

The USF Dons' Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, and the Alley-Oop Origin Story

Bill Russell's recent passing at age 88 highlights the evolution of the game of basketball, and the countless contributions made by two Bay Area-bred greats.

Bay Area Sports

Bay Area Sports Legend and Civil Rights Icon Bill Russell Has Passed Away

One of the most decorated athletes in American sports history and a key player in the civil rights movement, Bill Russell, passed away over the weekend. He was 88 years old.

SF News

Oakland Hells Angels Founder Sonny Barger Has Died

A figure in Hunter S. Thompson books who elevated the Hell’s Angels to a national movement, Oakland Hells Angels chapter founder Sonny Barger has passed away at 83.

Arts & Entertainment

Oscar-Winning Marin County Filmmaker John Korty Has Died at Age 85

The director of “Go Ask Alice” and “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” was the inspiration for Coppola and George Lucas to start up their own Bay Area film studios, and remained in Marin County throughout his prolific career.

Arts & Entertainment

Legendary California Painter Wayne Thiebaud Has Died at 101

Thiebaud’s paintings of cakes, pinball machines, and cityscapes have fetched up to $40 million, and the painter who passed away on Christmas Day.

SF Restaurants, Food & Drink

Harry Denton, Beloved SF Bar Impresario, Dies at 77

Harry Denton, who lent his name to multiple bars in San Francisco and became a central figure in the city's nightlife scene over three decades, has died at the age of 77.