Departures: Chinese Nobel physicist dies at 97

Tsung-Dao Lee

A Nobel Prize–winning physicist who charted his own path to the top of the science establishment, Lee died Aug. 4. He was 97. Lee was born in China as the son of a merchant and the grandson of a Christian pastor. As a teenager, he taught himself physics from an old textbook on Newton’s laws, ultimately earning a fellowship to attend the University of Chicago and study under famed physicist Enrico Fermi. As a professor at Columbia University, Lee’s theories about the subatomic world upended conventional particle physics, proving some particle interactions did not obey the law of conservation of parity. He and co-discoverer Chen Ning Yang won the Nobel Prize for their work in 1957—the first Chinese-born scientists granted the award.

Abdul “Duke” Fakir

A soaring tenor whose backing vocals filled out some of the most beloved songs of the 1960s, Fakir, the last surviving founding member of the Four Tops, died July 22 aged 88. Fakir and three others formed the quartet in 1953 but found little success until signing with Motown Records in 1963. The deal gave the Four Tops the musical infrastructure they needed to reach mass audiences. Initially, Fakir and his band members sang backing tracks for other groups until getting a chance to record their first hit, “Baby I Need Your Loving,” in 1964. Over the next few years, Fakir sang on some of Motown’s biggest successes, including “Reach Out I’ll Be There.”

Lou Dobbs

Dobbs, a cable news veteran whose populist takes on immigration and conspiratorial bent marked his end at two major networks, died July 18. He was 78. Dobbs joined CNN in 1980, hosting a program called Moneyline. He built a following covering business stories, but also calling for a tougher stance on immigration and trade. His relationship with the network soured when he gave airtime to conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama’s birthplace. Dobbs later moved to Fox Business until his and other network hosts’ assertions that voting machine companies helped rig the 2020 presidential election landed the network in legal peril. Fox Business canceled Dobbs’ show the day after he was named in a defamation lawsuit against the network.

Bob Newhart

A stammering comic whose facial expressions and subtle timing distinguished his genius for humor, Newhart died July 18 aged 94. He garnered national acclaim with his 1960 debut comedy record, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart. The live recording of his stand-up show, featuring a one-sided telephone conversation gag, was an instant success, rocketing to No. 1 on the charts and earning him a Grammy Award. Newhart would later star in two eponymous sitcom series for CBS in the 1970s and ’80s before settling into a comfortable career of guest star roles in television (as in The Big Bang Theory, for which he won an Emmy Award) and in film (as in Elf).

Richard Simmons

Simmons, a celebrity forged from campy workout tapes and late-night TV appearances, died July 13. He was 76. Prior to his stardom, Simmons ran aerobic classes in Los Angeles designed for overweight people too squeamish to enter regular gyms. By the 1980s Simmons’ workout videotapes, titled Sweatin’ to the Oldies, were hits. Simmons’ frenetic energy, sequined tank tops, and dolphin shorts garnered him various roles in TV and film: He landed an acting role on 79 episodes of General Hospital, and he appeared repeatedly on the Late Show With David Letterman, including one time dressed as a giant turkey. He claimed his fitness routines had helped him lose 123 pounds—and helped his fans lose a collective 12 million pounds.