Timothy Joseph Russert, 85, the father of late "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert and the inspiration for his son's bestselling book about their relationship, died Thursday of natural causes in Buffalo, N.Y.
The elder Russert, known as Big Russ, grew up in south Buffalo and worked two full-time jobs, driving a city sanitation truck and a Buffalo News delivery truck, to support his family.
The younger Russert, who died of a heart attack at 58 in June 2008, paid tribute to his father's blue-collar values and eternal optimism in the 2004 bestseller "Big Russ & Me." The book was a series of lessons the journalist said he learned from his father, a World War II veteran whose favorite expression, according to his son, was, "What a country!"
Alicia de Larrocha, 86, a Spanish pianist who thrilled music listeners for decades with polished and enthralling interpretations of great classical works, died Friday in her native Barcelona.
Just under 5 feet tall, and with unusually small hands for a piano virtuoso, De Larrocha won listeners over with the richness and robustness of her sound. Critically acclaimed for her polished technique in performing Mozart, Beethoven, Schuman and Rachmaninov, De Larrocha was also unrivaled in her interpretation of Spanish composers such as Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados and Isaac Albeniz.
Bob Stupak, 67, a colorful gambler and the developer of the 1,149-foot Stratosphere tower on the Las Vegas Strip, died Friday in Las Vegas of leukemia.
Stupak, known for outlandish promotions, opened the $550 million Stratosphere hotel-casino in 1996 in hopes the tower would attract millions of visitors to Sin City. The tower was conceived in 1990 as a way to promote the Stratosphere's predecessor, Stupak's Vegas World casino.
The Stratosphere filed for bankruptcy in 1997 and was eventually taken over by billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
