Departures

Dick Fosbury

An Olympic champion whose unorthodox high jump technique revolutionized the sport, Fosbury died March 12 at age 76. An unimpressive high jumper at his Medford, Ore., high school, Fosbury began experimenting with his form when he was 16. Most jumpers at the time employed a straddle technique, crossing the bar while face down. But Fosbury’s experiments led him to an angled approach that left his back arching over the bar. Eventually he found success with his back-down jump, earning a place on Oregon State’s track team and then a spot in the 1968 Olympics. There, in Mexico City, his successful jump of 7 feet, 4¼ inches earned him a gold medal and a new Olympic record. The Oregon jumper didn’t make the 1972 Olympic team, but most who did adopted his technique, dubbed the Fosbury Flop.

—This obituary has been corrected to note Fosbury attended high school in Medford, Ore.

Lance Reddick

Reddick, a television and movie actor whose screen presence made him a ­natural for playing cops and other authority figures, died March 17. He was 60. As a child in Baltimore, Reddick focused on music, eventually earning a music degree from the University of Rochester. He used a graduate program at Yale to transition into acting. After landing recurring roles on Oz and Law & Order, Reddick earned a starring role as an ambitious police lieutenant on HBO’s The Wire. In film, he was perhaps best known for his portrayal of a concierge and fixer named Charon in the John Wick movies.