Having won best actor Oscars for On the Waterfront and The Godfather, the brooding performer retained his privacy until the end, with the cause of his death remaining secret.
Screen legend Marlon Brando, whose 60-year career was built on a series of emotionally intense roles, died aged 80 in July. Janet Leigh, star of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, died in October
In March broadcaster Alistair Cooke died aged 95, weeks after giving up his 58-year position as host of Radio 4's weekly Letter From America.īafta-winning television writer Jack Rosenthal, responsible for early episodes of Coronation Street and London's Burning, and TV presenter and steeplejack Fred Dibnah lost their fights against cancer.īroadcaster and journalist Bernard Levin, Auf Wiedersehen Pet star Pat Roach, US stand-up comic Rodney Dangerfield, Rentaghost star Molly Weir and Guinness Book of Records co-founder and TV presenter Norris McWhirter also passed away in 2004. Over a 40-year career his sustained passion for music and his warmth as host of Radio 4's Home Truths gained him widespread affection and respect.įormer Blue Peter presenter Caron Keating died aged 41 in April, losing her seven-year battle with breast cancer. Funeral services were scheduled for Monday.Broadcaster John Peel gained a huge following in his 40-year careerīroadcaster John Peel, who introduced thousands of Radio 1 listeners to their favourite bands, died in October aged 65 while on holiday in Peru. She is survived by her mother, two brothers and a sister. In 2002 she starred as Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical “Love, Janis,” which earned her rave reviews.īranigan recently had been working on material for a new release. In 1994, she sang a duet with David Hasselhoff called “I Believe” for the soundtrack of the television show “Baywatch.” She released a 13-track “Best of Branigan” LP the next year.Īfter the death of her husband, Lawrence Kruteck, in 1996, Branigan stopped performing but returned to the stage in 2001. She signed as a solo artist with Atlantic Records in 1982.Īfter her run of success in the 1980s, her releases in the early 1990s attracted little attention. During the late 1970s, she toured Europe as a backing vocalist for Canadian singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen. She attended the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan. Her songs also appeared on soundtracks for the films “Flashdance” and “Ghostbusters.”īranigan was born July 3, 1952, and grew up in Armonk, N.Y. She also made television appearances, including guest spots on “CHiPs,” and in the films “Mugsy’s Girls” and “Backstage.”īranigan released seven albums after her debut “Branigan,” including “Solitaire,” “Self Control,” and “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You,” which was co-written with Michael Bolton. “Gloria,” a signature song from her debut album “Branigan,” stayed on the pop charts for 36 weeks and earned her a Grammy nomination for best female pop vocalist, the first of four nominations in her career. He said she had complained to a friend of a headache for about two weeks before she died, but had not sought medical attention. She was 52.īranigan died of a brain aneurysm Thursday in her sleep at her home in East Quogue, said her brother Mark Branigan. Laura Branigan, a Grammy-nominated pop singer best known for her 1982 platinum hit “Gloria,” has died.
A corrected version of the story is below: