Cancer, Celebrity Deaths | featured news

Roger Ebert loved movies. Except for those he hated. For a film with a daring director, a talented cast, a captivating plot or, ideally, all three, there could be no better advocate than Roger Ebert, who passionately celebrated and promoted excellence in film while deflating the awful, the derivative, or the merely mediocre with an observant eye, a sharp wit and a depth of knowledge that delighted his millions of readers and viewers.

Lane Goodwin, the 13-year-old Western Kentucky boy who gained national attention in his fight against cancer, died Wednesday at his home in Beech Grove.

Earlier today, we reported that director Tony Scott was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer before he committed suicide on Sunday afternoon. Now we have a report that the director's wife, Donna Scott, told investigators those claims are, "absolutely false."

Tony Scott, director of "Top Gun," "Days of Thunder" and "Crimson Tide," had inoperable brain cancer, a source close to him told ABC News.

British-born filmmaker Tony Scott, director of such Hollywood blockbusters as "Top Gun" and "Crimson Tide," jumped to his death on Sunday from a bridge over Los Angeles Harbor, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said.

Beastie Boys rapper Adam Yauch has died at the age of 47, his New York publicist has confirmed. The star was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 but it is not clear whether his death was connected with the illness. Yauch had surgery and radiation therapy but said last year "reports of my being totally cancer free are exaggerated".

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, the winningest coach in major college football history who was fired in November over a child sexual abuse scandal involving an assistant that rocked America, died on Sunday of lung cancer.

Former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier died Monday, after he was diagnosed with liver cancer, his family said in a statement. Frazier was 67. "We The Family of ... Smokin' Joe Frazier, regret to inform you of his passing," the statement said. "He transitioned from this life as 'One of God's Men,' on the eve of November 7, 2011 at his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died of respiratory arrest brought on by a pancreatic tumor, a public health official said Monday.

Wangari Maathai, the first African woman recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, died after a long struggle with cancer, the environmental organization she founded said Monday. She was 71....