Departures: Astrophysicist probed the dark side

Jeremiah Ostriker

An American astrophysicist who theorized the universe encompasses more of the unseen than the seen, Ostriker died April 6 aged 87. During an academic career at Columbia University and Princeton University in which he studied the formation of galaxies, Ostriker made a series of conjectures that—though not yet proven—fundamentally altered the mainstream scientific understanding of the universe. In a 1974 paper, he and his Princeton colleagues argued in favor of the existence of dark matter—a hypothetical form of matter that’s unseen and currently undetectable through direct observation. In 2015, Ostriker received the Gruber Prize in Cosmology for his theoretical work in both dark matter and its cousin, dark energy.

Val Kilmer

A movie star who could steal a picture in a supporting role, Kilmer died April 1. He was 65. A Julliard-trained stage actor, Kilmer first found screen success in comedic movies like Top Secret! But it was Kilmer’s scene-stealing performance as Iceman in 1986’s Top Gun that made him a household name and helped the film gross more than $350 million at the box office. Kilmer stood out as Doc Holliday in the 1993 Western Tombstone and took a leading role as the masked hero in the 1995 movie Batman Forever. A 2014 throat cancer diagnosis and subsequent trachea operation hampered Kilmer’s ability to speak. Despite his condition, Kilmer reprised his Iceman character in 2022 for Top Gun: Maverick.

Dick Carlson

A journalist entrusted with the responsibility of broadcasting American news into enemy territory, Carlson died March 24. He was 84. Carlson began his career in journalism in 1963 taking a job with a wire service and later worked at a San Francisco television station. Years later, Carlson would win a Peabody Award for TV coverage of an auto industry scam while reporting for a Los Angeles station. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan nominated Carlson to lead Voice of America, the U.S. government’s broadcast network that published reliable news behind the Iron Curtain. Carlson held the post until just before the Soviet Union’s 1991 collapse. Carlson’s more famous son Tucker Carlson is a popular media pundit.

George Foreman

A boxer who authored one of the greatest comeback stories in sports, Foreman died March 21. He was 76. After winning gold at the 1968 Olympics, Foreman became the heavyweight champion in professional boxing, knocking out the previously undefeated Joe Frazier in 1973. A loss to Muhammad Ali in 1974 appeared to stall Foreman’s career. But after a hiatus, during which he became a Pentecostal minister, he returned to the ring in 1987. In arguably his last chance at glory, Foreman, slowed by age and girth, caught champion Michael Moorer with a straight right in a 1994 championship bout. Foreman knelt in prayer as the referee counted Moorer out, making Foreman—at 45 years old—the oldest man ever to win a heavyweight title belt.

Alan Simpson

A Republican U.S. senator from Wyoming known as much for his humor as for his attempts to wrangle the federal budget deficit, Simpson died March 14. He was 93. In 1978, Simpson won his first of three Senate terms and quickly joined party leadership, becoming the Republican whip from 1985 to 1995. While in office, Simpson angered social conservatives by opposing measures to prohibit partial-birth abortions. In 2010 President Barack Obama appointed the retired Simpson to co-chair a bipartisan commission to study methods of managing the nation’s swelling debt. The final proposal included both entitlement reforms that angered Democrats and tax increases that angered Republicans.