Artists, entertainers who died in 2007 include Norman Mailer, Luciano Pavarotti, Kurt Vonnegut
Sunday, December 30, 2007 2:56 AM PST
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| Norman Mailer reflects on turning 80 during an interview in his Brooklyn Heights apartment in this Jan. 28, 2003 file photo in New York. Mailer, the macho prince of American letters who for decades reigned as the country’s literary conscience and provocateur, died of renal failure on Nov. 10, 2007. He was 84. |
NEW YORK (AP) — World War II service shaped the lives and careers of authors Norman Mailer and Kurt Vonnegut, and in turn their works were profoundly influential in the Vietnam era.
Vonnegut turned his ordeal as a POW during the 1945 allied firebombing of Dresden, Germany, into his 1969 novel ‘‘Slaughterhouse-Five.’’ Its surrealistic approach made it a hit with young readers who were questioning the Vietnam War.
Mailer made his name with the postwar novel ‘‘The Naked and the Dead,’’ drawing on his war service. Two decades later his 1968 account of Vietnam protesters’ march on the Pentagon, ‘‘The Armies of the Night,’’ won a Pulitzer.
They were two of the artists, entertainers and pop culture figures who died in 2007.
Through such masterpieces as ‘‘The Seventh Seal,’’ director Ingmar Bergman combined startling imagery and a deep understanding of human nature. Michelangelo Antonioni, who died the same day as Bergman, explored alienation in films such as ‘‘L’Avventura.’’ Ousmane Sembene of Senegal gained worldwide honors through such films as ‘‘Moolaade.’’
Along with their artistry on the opera stage, Luciano Pavarotti and Beverly Sills had star personalities that brought them millions of fans who saw them only on television. Pianist Oscar Peterson and drummer Max Roach were remembered as geniuses in the jazz world.
Scottish-born Deborah Kerr epitomized elegance when she danced in ‘‘The King and I.’’ A smooth baritone in a tuxedo didn’t go out of style if the voice belonged to the likes of Robert Goulet. Rhinestone suits were the proper attire for country star Porter Wagoner.
