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Column: Away from basketball, Kobe Bryant’s future seemed limitless

We are stuck in a cul-de-sac of disbelief. There is no way Kobe Bryant is gone. This is not how his story was supposed to end.

I was in a hotel lobby in Atlanta on Sunday, talking with Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks. The conversation paused, and he took a call from his wife in California. She heard Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash.

Our conversation was over.

An afternoon of incomplete sentences was just beginning. “What? “How?” Player after player asked them as they stared at their phones and boarded the bus for the game Sunday night in Atlanta against the Hawks.

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The Wizards and Hawks did play a game. There was a moment of silence before the opening tip. The Hawks then started the game by taking an eight-second violation, and the Wizards responded by holding the ball for a 24-second violation. Eight and 24 were Bryant’s jersey numbers.

It didn’t feel right to be in an NBA arena just a couple of hours after learning of Bryant’s death.

But then, where else should we be but near a basketball court and Bryant’s game? The evening was both confusing and cathartic.

From loud music to T-shirt tosses, it was just like any other game — only it was not. We kept score and followed the play, but our Wizards radio broadcast drifted to memories of Bryant.

In December 2006, Bryant scored 45 points against the Wizards in Los Angeles, but the Wizards won the game 147-141 in overtime, led by Gilbert Arenas’ 60-point performance. It was the most heated and intense individual competition I have ever witnessed in more than two decades of broadcasting the team game of basketball.

After the exhausting game, I walked by the Lakers exercise room on the way out of the Staples Center. Bryant was lifting weights.

I could barely speak, and Bryant was pumping iron. Fueled by anger at the loss or the desire to get better, it struck me then that Bryant, even at the top, was always reaching to go higher.

More often than not, Bryant always came out on top against the Wizards. In his final game in D.C. in December 2015, Bryant made all the key shots and scored 31 points to help the Lakers escape with a 108-104 win.

Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant watch the first half of an NCAA college basketball game between Connecticut and Houston, Saturday, March 2, 2019, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

The next time I saw Bryant was at NBA broadcasting meetings after his retirement in 2016.

Bryant flashed that winning-shot smile that will forever be etched in our memory, and he dominated the room. Bryant talked excitedly of retirement and all its possibilities.

To be clear, “retirement” for Bryant was just from the work of an NBA player. It seemed Bryant was about to be busier than ever.

He talked of movies. Bryant later won an Oscar for his animated short film “Dear Basketball.”

He talked of business. Just last week, Bryant helped announce BodyArmor as the official sports drink of Major League Soccer.

The possibilities for Bryant away from basketball seemed limitless, but it was also clear at that NBA broadcaster get-together that he would not be far from the game. You could hear it as he talked about being a basketball parent.

Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, died with her father in Sunday’s helicopter crash. According to several reports, they were on their way to Bryant’s training complex (the Mamba Sports Academy) and a youth basketball tournament (the Mamba Cup).

Gianna Bryant wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps. We imagined her winning over Los Angeles as a WNBA player with the Sparks, just as her father did with the Lakers. She shared her father’s love for basketball and, by all accounts, his competitive fire.

With that combination, we are deeply saddened over Gianna Bryant’s lost future — a future with father Kobe Bryant smiling by her side.

Dave Johnson

Dave Johnson is Senior Sports Director and morning sports anchor. He first arrived at WTOP in 1989, left in 1992 and returned in 1995. He is a three-time winner of the A.I.R. award as best radio sportscaster in D.C. In 2008 he won the Edward R. Murrow award for best writing for sports commentaries.

In this Tuesday, Dec. 12, l995. file photo, Phyllis McGuire, the youngest of The McGuire Sisters, smiles after receiving a cluster of balloons from longtime friends Debbie Reynolds and Rip Taylor at her home in Las Vegas. Phyllis McGuire, the last surviving member of the three singing McGuire Sisters who topped the charts with several hits in the 1950s, has died, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2020 (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File)

AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File

FILE – In this June 8, 2008 file photo, actress Dawn Wells arrives at the TV Land Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. Wells, who played the wholesome Mary Ann among a misfit band of shipwrecked castaways on the 1960s sitcom “Gilligan’s Island, died Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020, of causes related to COVID-19, her publicist said. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

FILE – Rebecca Luker, left, and her husband Danny Burstein arrive at the 73rd annual Tony Awards in New York on June 9, 2019. Luker, 59, a three-time Tony nominated actor who starred in some of the biggest Broadway hits of the past three decades, died Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020, said Sarah Fargo, her agent. The actor went public in 2020 saying he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as A.L.S. or Lou Gehrig’s disease. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File

FILE – K.T. Oslin appears at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 23, 1989. Oslin, who hit it big with the 1987 hit “80′s Ladies” and won three Grammy awards, has died at age 78. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File)

AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File

FILE – In this Jan. 28, 1996, file photo, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene gives a thumbs up in Sun Devil Stadium before taking on the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, Ariz. “Kevin to me represents all the things you want in a Hall of Famer: great work ethic, passion and love for the game, great consistency,” said longtime NFL coach Dom Capers, who will present Greene for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016. Greene died Dec. 21, 2020, at age 58. (AP Photo/Hans Deryk, File)

AP Photo/Hans Deryk, File

Charley Pride performs “Kiss An Angel Good Morning” at the 50th annual CMA Awards in Nashville, Tenn. on Nov. 3, 2016. Pride will get a lifetime achievement award at the CMA Awards in November. Pride died at age 86 on Dec. 12, 2020. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File

FILE – In this Sept. 4, 1985, file photo, Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier in 1947, poses at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in front of the rocket-powered Bell X-IE plane that he flew. Yeager died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File)

This photo provided by Je’Caryous Entertainment shows Natalie Desselle Reid. Reid, who starred alongside Halle Berry in the 1997 film “B.A.P.S.” and on the sitcom “Eve,” died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020. She was 53. (Leonard Reid/Courtesy of Je’Caryous Entertainment via AP)

Leonard Reid/Courtesy of Je’Caryous Entertainment via AP

Actor David Prowse, who was the man in the Darth Vader suit in the first three Star Wars films, died Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020, according to his agent. Prowse was 85. He is seen here at a 2007 Star Wars event signing autographs in Los Angeles. (AP/Reed Saxon)

AP/Reed Saxon

Country star Hal Ketchum died Nov. 20, 2020 at age 67. (YouTube)

AMERICAN IDOL XIII: Austin Auditions: Contestants Tristen Langley (R) and his mother, former contestant Nikki McKibbin, audition in front of the judges on AMERICAN IDOL XIII airing Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (Photo by FOX Image Collection via Getty Images) — Nikki McKibbin, a singer from Texas best known for her third place finish in the first season of American Idol, died Nov. 1. She was 42. Pictured, former contestant McKibbin next to her son, contestant Tristen Langley, on American Idol XIII airing 2014. (Courtesy FOX Image Collection via Getty Images)

In this April 30, 2017, file photo, “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek speaks at the 44th annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Pasadena, Calif. Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek died Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, after battling pancreatic cancer for nearly two years. Trebek died at home with family and friends surrounding him, “Jeopardy!” studio Sony said in a statement. Trebek presided over the beloved quiz show for more than 30 years. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File

FILE – In this Jan. 23, 1987 file photo, actor Sean Connery holds a rose in his hand as he talks about his new movie “The Name of the Rose” at a news conference in London. Scottish actor Sean Connery, considered by many to have been the best James Bond, has died aged 90, according to an announcement from his family. (AP Photo/Gerald Penny, File)

AP Photo/Gerald Penny, File

FILE – This Oct. 30, 2005 file photo shows Country singer Jerry Jeff Walker at a campaign fundraiser at Willie Nelson’s ranch outside Austin, Texas. The Texas country singer and songwriter who wrote the pop song “Mr. Bojangles,” has died at age 78. Family spokesman John T. Davis says Walker died Friday, Oct. 23, 2020 of cancer after battling throat cancer and other health issues for several years. (AP Photo/Jack Plunkett)

AP Photo/Jack Plunkett

In this Jan. 10, 1966 file photo, members of the band, the Spencer Davis Group, from top left: Muff Winwood, Pete York and Steve Winwood and Spencer Davis, foreground. British guitarist and bandleader Spencer Davis, whose eponymous rock group had 1960s hits including “Gimme Some Lovin’” and “I’m a Man,” has died at the age of 81. Davis’ agent, Bob Birk, said Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020 that he died in a hospital while being treated for pneumonia. (AP Photo, File)

AP Photo, File

FILE – In this Sept. 26, 1962 file photo, Richard M. Nixon, Republican candidate for governor of California, chats actress Rhonda Fleming, actor George Murphy and actress- singer Jane Powell in Hollywood, Calif. Actress Rhonda Fleming, the fiery redhead who appeared with Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston, Ronald Reagan and other film stars of the 1940s and 1950s, has died, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. She was 97. (AP Photo/File)

AP Photo/File

In this Monday, Dec, 10, 2012 file photo, lyricist Herbert Kretzmer and his wife Sybil Sever attend the premiere for “Les Miserables” at the Ziegfeld Theatre, in New York. Kretzmer, the journalist and lyricist best known for his English-language adaptation of the musical Les Misérables, has died. He was 95. His family confirmed Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020 that Kretzmer had died of advanced effects of Parkinson’s disease at his home in London with his Sybil by his side. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File

Conchata Ferrell arrives at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 16, 2007, in Los Angeles. Ferrell, who became known for her role as Berta the housekeeper on TV’s “Two and a Half Men,” has died. Ferrell was 77. A publicist says the actor died in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles following cardiac arrest, with her family at her side. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File

In this July 28, 2013, file photo, Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan speaks during ceremonies in Cooperstown, N.Y. Joe Morgan has died. A family spokesman says he died at his home Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, in Danville, Calif. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)

AP Photo/Mike Groll, File

Former New York Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford waves to fans from outside the dugout at the Yankees’ annual Old Timers Day baseball game, Sunday, June 12, 2016, in New York. Ford died Oct. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

AP Photo/Kathy Willens

UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1970: Photo of Johnny Nash Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images — Johnny Nash performs in 1970. He was best known for his hit song “I Can See Clearly Now.” Nash died Oct. 6, 2020. He was 80. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

David Lee Roth, left, and Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen perform on Aug. 13, 2015, in Wantagh, N.Y. Van Halen, who had battled cancer, died Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020. He was 65. (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP, File

In this July 2, 2008 photo, actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd appears during a portrait session in Atlanta. Police say Byrd, known for his roles in many Spike Lee films and who was nominated for a Tony Award in 2003, was shot dead in Atlanta on Saturday. He was 70. (Marcus Yam/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Marcus Yam/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP

In this March 1968 file photo, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson is pictured during baseball spring training in Florida. Gibson, the dominating pitcher who won a record seven consecutive World Series starts and set a modern standard for excellence when he finished the 1968 season with a 1.12 ERA, died Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. He was 84. (AP Photo, File)

AP Photo, File

Musician Mac Davis performs at the Texas Film Awards in Austin, Texas on March 6, 2014. Davis, a country star and Elvis songwriter, died on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020 after heart surgery. He was 78. Davis started his career writing hits for Presley, including “A Little Less Conversation” and “In the Ghetto.” The Lubbock, Texas-native had a varied career over the years as a singer, actor and TV host and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. He was named ACM entertainer of the year in 1974 after the success of songs like “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me.” (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP, File

FILE – In this Jan. 31, 2015, file photo, Australian-born singer Helen Reddy attends the 2015 G’DAY USA GALA at the Hollywood Palladium, in Los Angeles. Reddy, who shot to stardom in the 1970s with her feminist anthem “I Am Woman” and recorded a string of other hits, has died at age 78. Reddy’s children Traci and Jordan announced that the actress-singer died Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Rob Latour/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Rob Latour/Invision/AP, File

This is a 1970 file photo showing Chicago Bears football player Gale Sayers. Hall of Famer Gale Sayers, who made his mark as one of the NFL’s best all-purpose running backs and was later celebrated for his enduring friendship with a Chicago Bears teammate with cancer, has died. He was 77. Nicknamed “The Kansas Comet” and considered among the best open-field runners the game has ever seen, Sayers died Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (AP Photo/FIle)

AP Photo/FIle

This promotional portrait of the The Four Seasons in 1965 shows, from left, Tommy DeVito, Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi. DeVito died Sept. 22, 2020 at age 92. (CNN)

CNN

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Sept. 18, 2020. She was 87. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File

FILE - In this April 29, 2016, file photo, "Forrest Gump" author Winston Groom speaks to students at Jinks Middle School in Panama City, Fla. Groom, the author of the novel "Forrest Gump" that was made into a six-Oscar winning 1994 movie that became a soaring pop culture hit, has died, an Alabama official close to the writer said Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. He was 77. (Andrew Wardlow/News Herald via AP) — FILE – In this April 29, 2016, file photo, “Forrest Gump” author Winston Groom speaks to students at Jinks Middle School in Panama City, Fla. Groom, the author of the novel “Forrest Gump” that was made into a six-Oscar winning 1994 movie that became a soaring pop culture hit, has died, an Alabama official close to the writer said Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. He was 77. (Andrew Wardlow/News Herald via AP)

In this May 3, 2018 file photo, Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals performs at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans. In a statement from a family member, Hibbert died on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File

Diana Rigg arrives at the 72nd annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 10, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) — Diana Rigg arrives at the 72nd annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 10, 2018, in New York. Rigg died on Sept. 10, 2020. She was 82. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Ronald “Khalis” Bell attends a ceremony honoring Kool & The Gang with a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame on Oct. 8, 2015, in Los Angeles. Bell, a co-founder and singer in the group, has died. He was 68. Publicist Sujata Murthy says Bell died at his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands with his wife by his side. The cause of death has not been released. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP, file)

Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP, file

In this April 9, 1965, file photo, Lou Brock, of the St. Louis Cardinals, poses in Missouri. Hall of Famer Brock, one of baseball’s signature leadoff hitters and base stealers who helped the Cardinals win three pennants and two World Series titles in the 1960s, has died. He was 81. (AP Photo, File)

AP Photo, File

FILE – In this Jan. 29, 2018 file photo, Chadwick Boseman, a cast member in “Black Panther,” poses at the premiere of the film in Los Angeles. Actor Chadwick Boseman, who played Black icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown before finding fame as the regal Black Panther in the Marvel cinematic universe, has died of cancer. His representative says Boseman died Friday, Aug. 28, 2020 in Los Angeles after a four-year battle with colon cancer. He was 43. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File

FILE – Actor Ben Cross arrives at the “Chariots of Fire” premiere in London on July 10, 2012. Cross, the actor who also starred “Star Trek,” has died. He was 72. Cross’ representative Tracy Mapes said in an emailed statement that the actor died suddenly Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, after a short illness. (Photo by Jon Furniss/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Jon Furniss/Invision/AP, File

In this Jan. 1, 2002 file photo, singer and actor Trini Lopez poses in Dallas. Trini Lopez, a singer and guitarist who gained fame for his versions of “Lemon Tree” and “If I Had a Hammer” in the 1960s and took his talents to Hollywood, has died. He was 83. Filmmaker P. David Ebersole confirmed that Lopez died Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020 at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, Calif., from COVID-19. (Cheryl Diaz Meyer/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

Cheryl Diaz Meyer/The Dallas Morning News via AP

Film director Alan Parker arrives at the opening ceremony of 26th Moscow International Film Festival in Moscow on June 18, 2004. Parker, whose movies included “Bugsy Malone,” “Midnight Express” and “Evita,” has died at the age of 76. A statement from the director’s family says Parker died Friday in London after a long illness. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze, File)

AP Photo/Misha Japaridze, File

In this June 20, 2014, file photo, Herman Cain, CEO, The New Voice, speaks during Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority event in Washington. Cain died of COVID-19 on July 30, 2020. He was 74. (AP Photo/Molly Riley, File)

AP Photo/Molly Riley, File

This image provided by @mpozitolbertphotography shows Malik B in studio. The rapper and founding member of The Roots, has died. He was 47. The group announced the death of the Philadelphia-based emcee in a social media post Wednesday. The cause of death has not been released. Malik B, whose real name is Malik Abdul Basit, was a major contributor to the group, which includes Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter. He appeared on four albums before departing the group in 1999. In the following year, the Roots won their first Grammy. (@mpozitolbertphotography via AP)

@mpozitolbertphotography via AP

FILE – In this June 18, 2016, file photo, U.S. actress Olivia de Havilland poses during an Associated Press interview, in Paris. Olivia de Havilland, Oscar-winning actress has died, aged 104 in Paris, publicist says Sunday July 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File

FILE – In this Nov. 18, 2011 file photo, Regis Philbin appears on his farewell episode of “Live! with Regis and Kelly”, in New York. Philbin, the genial host who shared his life with television viewers over morning coffee for decades and helped himself and some fans strike it rich with the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” died on Friday, July 24, 2020, at the age of 88. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)

AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File

John Lewis, a lion of the civil rights movement whose bloody beating by Alabama state troopers in 1965 helped galvanize opposition to racial segregation, and who went on to a long and celebrated career in Congress, died. He was 80. FILE- In this Jan. 3, 2019, file photo, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., waves to the audience during swearing-in ceremony of Congressional Black Caucus members of the 116th Congress in Washington. The NAACP is honoring Lewis for his Congressional service and long history as a civil rights activist. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File

FILE – Naya Rivera, a cast member in the television series “Glee,” poses at a screening and Q&A for the show, at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles on May 1, 2012. Authorities say Rivera’s body was found at a Southern California lake on Monday morning, July 13, 2020, five days after her 4-year-old son was found alone in a boat the two had rented. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File

Grant Imahara, host of Discovery Channel’s “MythBusters” and Netflix’s “White Rabbit Project,” was pronounced dead on July, 14, 2020 in a statement from the Discovery Channel. He was 49. (CNN)

CNN

Actress Kelly Preston has died after a two-year battle with breast cancer. Her husband of nearly 29 years, actor John Travolta, broke the news to fans on Instagram. Preston began her career in the 1980s and went on to appear in popular movies, like “Jerry Maguire.” She and Travolta last starred together in the 2018 film “Gotti.” Preston was 57 years old.

FILE – Charlie Daniels performs during a memorial service for country music singer Troy Gentry at the Grand Ole Opry House on Sept. 14, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Daniels who had a hit with “Devil Went Down to Georgia” has died at age 83. A statement from his publicist said the Country Music Hall of Famer died Monday due to a hemorrhagic stroke. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File

FILE – In this file photo dated Tuesday, March 6, 2018, Italian composer Ennio Morricone directs an ensemble during a concert of his “60 Year Of Music World Tour”, in Milan, Italy. Morricone, who created the coyote-howl theme for the iconic Spaghetti Western “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and the soundtracks such classic Hollywood gangster movies as “The Untouchables,” died Monday, July 6, 2020 in a Rome hospital at the age of 91. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, file)

AP Photo/Luca Bruno, file

FILE – In this March 10, 1966 file photo, Hugh Downs hosts the “Today”show on NBC. Downs, a genial and near-constant presence on television from the 1950s through the 1990s, has died. His family said Downs died of natural causes Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 99. Downs was a host of the “Today” show on NBC, worked on the “Tonight” show when Jack Paar was in charge, and hosted the long-running game show “Concentration.” (AP Photo/Jack Kanthal, File)

AP Photo/Jack Kanthal, File

In this May 26, 1963 file photo, Carl Reiner shows holds two Emmy statuettes presented to him as best comedy writer for the "Dick Van Dyke Show," during the annual Emmy Awards presentation in Los Angeles. Reiner, the ingenious and versatile writer, actor and director who broke through as a “second banana” to Sid Caesar and rose to comedy’s front ranks as creator of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and straight man to Mel Brooks’ “2000 Year Old Man,” has died, according to reports. Variety reported he died of natural causes on Monday night, June 29, 2020, at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 98. (AP Photo, File) — In this May 26, 1963 file photo, Carl Reiner shows holds two Emmy statuettes presented to him as best comedy writer for the “Dick Van Dyke Show,” during the annual Emmy Awards presentation in Los Angeles. Reiner, the ingenious and versatile writer, actor and director who broke through as a “second banana” to Sid Caesar and rose to comedy’s front ranks as creator of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and straight man to Mel Brooks’ “2000 Year Old Man,” has died, according to reports. Variety reported he died of natural causes on Monday night, June 29, 2020, at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 98. (AP Photo, File)

FILE – In this March 15, 2010 file photo, director Joel Schumacher poses for a portrait in Las Vegas. A representative for Schumacher said the filmmaker died Monday, June 22, 2020, in New York after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 80. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File

This May 12, 2014 file photo shows playwright Larry Kramer at the premiere of HBO Films’ “The Normal Heart” in New York. Kramer, the playwright whose angry voice and pen raised theatergoers’ consciousness about AIDS and roused thousands to militant protests in the early years of the epidemic, died Wednesday, May 27, 2020 in Manhattan of pneumonia. He was 84. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File

Members of the original cast of the "Leave It To Beaver" television series pause during filming of an upcoming TV special, "Still The Beaver," in Los Angeles on Dec. 10, 1982. From left to right are Ken Osmond, Tony Dow, Babara Billingsley and Jerry Mathers. Osmond died May 18, 2020. He was 76. (AP Photo/Wally Fong) — Members of the original cast of the “Leave It To Beaver” television series pause during filming of an upcoming TV special, “Still The Beaver,” in Los Angeles on Dec. 10, 1982. From left to right are Ken Osmond, Tony Dow, Babara Billingsley and Jerry Mathers. Osmond died May 18, 2020. He was 76. (AP Photo/Wally Fong)

In this May 13, 2011 file photo, French actor Michel Piccoli attends a press conference for Habemus Papam, at the 64th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France. Michel Piccoli, a prolific screen star whose served as muse to filmmaker Luis Bunuel and was a leading man for Jean-Luc Godard, has died. He was 94. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau

Phyllis George, the former Miss America who became a female sportscasting pioneer on CBS’s “The NFL Today” and served as the first lady of Kentucky, died Thursday, May 14, 2020, at a Lexington hospital after a long fight with a blood disorder, according to her family. She was 70. This photo is from her days as a CBS sportscaster in 1976. (AP/Suzanne Vlamis, File)

AP/Suzanne Vlamis, File

In this Jan. 17, 2014, file photo, director Lynn Shelton poses at the premiere of the film “Laggies” during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah. Shelton, an independent filmmaker who directed “Humpday” and “Little Fires Everywhere,” has died at age 54. Shelton’s publicist, Adam Kersh, said in a statement Saturday, May 16, 2020, that she died Friday in Los Angeles from an unidentified blood disorder. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP, File

Fred Willard, the comedic actor whose improv style kept him relevant for more than 50 years in films like “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Best In Show” and “Anchorman,” died at age 86 on Friday, March 15, 2020, according to his daughter, Hope Mulbarger. He’s seen here at a 2016 event. (John Salangsang/Invision/AP, File)

John Salangsang/Invision/AP, File

Comedian and actor Jerry Stiller died on Monday, May 11, 2020, according to his son Ben Stiller. He was 92. Stiller is seen here attending a 2013 event in New York City. (Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP)

Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP

Betty Wright, left, and Nicholas Collins attend the Little Dreams Foundation Annual Music Auditions at Estefan Kitchen on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017 in Miami. (Photo by Michele Eve Sandberg/Invision/AP) — Betty Wright died May 10, 2020. In this photo, Wright, left, and Nicholas Collins attend the Little Dreams Foundation Annual Music Auditions at Estefan Kitchen on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017 in Miami. (Photo by Michele Eve Sandberg/Invision/AP)

FILE – In this Jan. 16, 2010 file photo, media executive Andre Harrell speaks during the 2010 BET Hip Hop Honors in Washington. Harrell, the Uptown Records founder who shaped the sound of hip-hop and R&B in the late ’80s and ’90s with acts like Mary J. Blige and Heavy D and also launched the career of mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, has died, several members of the music community revealed late Friday, May 8, 2020. He was 59. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

AP Photo/Nick Wass

Little Richard, the self-proclaimed “architect of rock ‘n’ roll,” died Saturday, May 9, 2020. He was 87. He is seen here in 2001, performing at the 93rd birthday and 88th year in show business gala celebration for Milton Berle, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP/John Hayes)

AP/John Hayes

Roy Horn, of the illusionist team of Siegfried & Roy, died of complications from the coronavirus on Friday, May 8, 2020. Horn was 75. He is seen here kissing a six-week-old white-striped tiger cub at his Las Vegas home in 2008. (AP Photo/Louie Traub)

AP Photo/Louie Traub

Brian Howe, former frontman for the British rock group Bad Company, died Tuesday at age 66, his friend and longtime manager Paul Easton told CNN. (CNN)

CNN

In this Jan. 14, 1973 file photo, Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula is carried off the field after his team the won NFL football Super Bowl game with a 14-7 victory over Washington Redskins in Los Angeles. The perfection of the 1972 Miami Dolphins has earned them the nod as the NFL’s greatest team. The 1972 Dolphins edged the 1985 Chicago Bears for the NFL’s greatest team in balloting by 59 national media members as part of the NFL’s celebration of its 100th season. Shula died May 4, 2020 at age 90. (AP Photo/File)

AP Photo/File

Actor Sam Lloyd, who appeared on several television shows and portrayed lawyer Ted Buckland on the comedy, “Scrubs,” has died. He was 56.

In this April 19, 2018 file photo, Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor greets media as he arrives for the song launch of film ‘102 Not Out’ in Mumbai, India. Rishi Kapoor, a top Indian actor and a scion of Bollywood’s most famous Kapoor family, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 67. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File

In this Jan. 22, 2018 file photo, actor Irrfan Khan poses for a portrait to promote the film “Puzzle” during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. He appeared in films such as “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Life of Pi” and “Jurassic World.” Khan died Wednesday, April 29, 2020, after being admitted to a hospital with a colon infection. He was 53. (AP Photo/Taylor Jewell/Invision, File)

AP Photo/Taylor Jewell/Invision, File

In this June 5, 1989, file photo, The Statler Brothers, from left, Harold Reid, Don Reid, Phil Balsley and Jimmy Fortune, perform at the 23rd annual Music City News Country Awards show in Nashville, Tenn. Harold Reid, who sang bass for the Grammy-winning country group The Statler Brothers, died Friday, April 24, 2020, after a long battle with kidney failure. He was 80. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File

<p>Shirley Knight, winner of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a miniseries or special, holds the Emmy she won for “Indictment: The McMartin Trial,” and another Emmy for Judy Davis who also won Outstanding Actress in a miniseries or special for “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story,” at the 47th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony Sunday, Sept. 10, 1995, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, Calif. Davis was not present at the ceremonies. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)</p> — Shirley Knight, winner of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a miniseries or special, holds the Emmy she won for “Indictment: The McMartin Trial,” and another Emmy for Judy Davis who also won Outstanding Actress in a miniseries or special for “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story,” at the 47th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony Sunday, Sept. 10, 1995, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, Calif. Knight died April 22, 2020 at age 83. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

This 1990 file photo shows director of photography Allen Daviau speaking during an interview in Los Angeles. Daviau, who shot three of Steven Spielberg’s films including “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” died Tuesday, April 14, 2020 at age 77. (AP Photo/Julie Markes, FIle)

AP Photo/Julie Markes, FIle

In this June 6, 1999 file photo, actor Brian Dennehy, left, applauds playwright, Arthur Miller, before awarding him the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Tony Awards in New York. Dennehy, the burly actor who started in films and later in his career won plaudits for his stage work in plays, died of natural causes on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 in New Haven, Conn. He was 81. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File

Longtime WWE ring announcer Howard Finkel died April 16. He was 69. (YouTube)

Mort Drucker, whose distinctive caricatures of celebrities appeared in the pages of Mad Magazine for more than five decades, has died, according to tweets from the magazine and CNN’s Jake Tapper. Drucker was 91. (Getty Images/Bernard Weil)

Getty Images/Bernard Weil

This 1985 image released by NBC shows executive producer Thomas L. Miller. Miller, who produced a string of hit TV comedies included “Full House” and “Perfect Strangers” before beginning a new chapter as a Tony Award-winning theater producer, has died. He was 79. Miller died Sunday in Salisbury, Connecticut, from complications of heart disease, a spokeswoman for Miller’s family said Wednesday. (Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank via AP)

Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank via AP

FILE – This Sept. 24, 1984 file photo shows Allen Garfield at the screening for “Irreconcilable Differences” in Los Angeles. Garfield, the veteran character actor who was a vital player in classic 1970s films like “The Conversation” and “Nashville,” died Tuesday, April 7, 2020, in Los Angeles due to complications from COVID-19.. He was 80. (AP Photo/Scott Harms, File)

AP Photo/Scott Harms, File

FILE – In this Sept. 11, 2019 file photo, John Prine accepts the Album of the Year award at the Americana Honors & Awards show in Nashville, Tenn. Prine died Tuesday, April 7, 2020, from complications of the coronavirus. He was 73.

In this file photo dated March 25, 1964, British actor Sean Connery kisses actress Honor Blackman during a party at Pinewood Film Studios, in Iver Heath, England. Blackman, the actor best-known for playing Bond girl Pussy Galore, hasdied of natural causes unrelated to coronavirus, aged 94, according to an announcement Monday April 6, 2020. (AP Photo)

Actress Shirley Douglas, mother of Kiefer Sutherland, died April 5. She was 86. (Getty Images/George Pimentel)

Getty Images/George Pimentel

In this June 21, 2006 file photo, singer-songwriter Bill Withers poses in his office in Beverly Hills, Calif. Withers, who wrote and sang a string of soulful songs in the 1970s that have stood the test of time, including “Lean On Me,” “Lovely Day” and “Ain’t No Sunshine,” died in Los Angeles from heart complications on Monday, March 30, 2020. He was 81. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File

This April 28, 2019, file photo, shows Ellis Marsalis during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced Wednesday, April 1, 2020, that Marsalis has died. He was 85. (AP Photo/Sophia Germer, File)

AP Photo/Sophia Germer, File

This Sept. 14, 2019 file photo shows Adam Schlesinger, winner of the awards for outstanding original music and lyrics for “Crazy Ex Girlfriend,” in the press room at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Schlesinger, an Emmy and Grammy winning musician and songwriter known for his band Fountains of Wayne and his songwriting on the TV show “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” has died from coronavirus at age 51. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File

Joe Diffie performs at "Luke Combs Joins the Grand Ole Opry Family" at Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday, July 16, 2019 in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Al Wagner/Invision/AP) — Joe Diffie performs at “Luke Combs Joins the Grand Ole Opry Family” at Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday, July 16, 2019 in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Al Wagner/Invision/AP)

<p>Joseph Lowery died March 27, 2020 at age 98.</p> — ATLANTA, GA – OCTOBER 04: Joseph Lowery and producer Will Packer onstage at 96th Birthday Celebration For Dr. Joseph Lowery at Rialto Center for the Arts on October 4, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

Mark Blum, a veteran stage actor known for films including “Desperately Seeking Susan” and “Crocodile Dundee,” has died due to complications from Covid-19. He was 69. (Courtesy CNN)

Courtesy CNN

This May 14, 2006 file photo shows Tony Award winning playwright Terrence McNally in front of the Philadelphia Theater Company in Philadelphia. McNally, one of America’s great playwrights whose prolific career included winning Tony Awards for the plays “Love! Valour! Compassion!” and “Master Class” and the musicals “Ragtime” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” died Tuesday, March 24, 2020, of complications from the coronavirus. He was 81. (AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr)

AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr

FILE – In this Oct. 24, 2017 file photo, Kenny Rogers poses with his star on the Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville, Tenn. Rogers, whose husky voice carried him as a TV and music star across genres, died at 81 on March 20, a representative said. (AP/Mark Humphrey)

Lyle Waggoner arrives at the “The Carol Burnett 50th Anniversary Special” at the CBS Television City on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, in Los Angeles. Waggoner died March 17, 2020. He was 84. (Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP/Willy Sanjuan)

In this Oct. 2, 2008 file photo, actor Stuart Whitman arrives at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival black-tie gala fundraiser in Santa Barbara, Calif. Whitman, who appeared in hundreds of films and television shows, died Monday in Montecito, Calif. at 92.

FILE – In this Feb.5, 2018 file photo, Tonie Marshall poses during a photocall prior to the 23rd Lumieres awards ceremony in Paris. French-American filmmaker and actress Tonie Marshall, who remained the only female director to ever win a French Cesar award, has died. She was 68.

FILE – In this Friday, Oct. 16, 2015 file photo, actor Max Von Sydow attends the Lumiere Award ceremony of the 7th Lumiere Festival in Lyon, central France. Max von Sydow, the self-described “shy boy”-turned-actor who played the priest in the horror classic “The Exorcist,” has died. He was 90, it was reported on Monday, March 9, 2020. He was known to art house audiences through his work with Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. But it was his role as the devil-evicting priest in William Friedkin’s controversial 1973 film “The Exorcist” that brought him to international attention.

Former CNN anchor Bobbie Battista passed away on the morning of Tuesday, March 3, 2020, after a four-year battle with cervical cancer, a family spokeswoman said. She was 67. (AP/RIC FELD)

“Inside the Actor’s Studio” host James Lipton is 89 on Sept. 19. Here, Lipton speaks at the RUSH Philanthropic Arts Foundations Art for Life Benefit at Fairview Farms in Water Mill on Saturday, July 18, 2015, in New York. Lipton died March 2, 2020 at age 93. (Scott Roth/Invision/AP/Scott Roth)

This Oct. 22, 1996 file photo shows co-creators of “The Young And The Restless,” Lee Phillip Bell, left, and her husband William J. Bell Sr. standing by a celebratory cake marking the 6000th episode of the daytime soap opera series in Los Angeles. Lee Phillip Bell, who co-created “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful” and hosted her own daytime talk show in Chicago for 33 years, died Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 at her home in Los Angeles. She was 91.

FILE – In this Feb. 26, 2017, file photo, Katherine Johnson, the inspiration for the film, “Hidden Figures,” poses in the press room at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Johnson died Feb. 24, 2020.

In this Jan. 14, 2012 file photo, former model and restaurateur B. Smith arrives at the BET Honors red carpet in the Warner Theatre in Washington. Smith died Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, at her Long Island, New York, home, after battling early onset Alzheimer’s disease, according to a family statement on social media. She was 70.

The up-and-coming rapper known as Pop Smoke was fatally shot during a break-in early Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2020, at a Hollywood Hills home, the Los Angeles Times reported. (WireImage/Johnny Nunez)

In this June 2, 1996, file photo, Zoe Caldwell holds her award for Leading Actress in a Play for her role in “Master Class” at the 50th Annual Tony Awards in New York. Caldwell, a four-time Tony Award winner famous for portraying larger-than-life characters, has died. Her son Charlie Whitehead said Caldwell died peacefully Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, at her home in Pound Ridge, New York. She was 86. Whitehead said her death was due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm, File)

AP Photo/Ron Frehm, File

Actress Ja’Net Dubois attends the Black Business Association’s Salute to “Black History Awards Dinner” at California African American Museum on February 28, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Dubois died Feb. 18 at age 74. (Photo by Robin L Marshall/Getty Images)

Actress Kellye Nakahara Wallet died Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020. She famously played Nurse Kellye in “M*A*S*H,” which ran from 1972-1983. In this 2009 photo, she is seen arriving at the 7th Annual TV Land Awards held at Gibson Amphitheatre on April 19, 2009 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

FILE – In this Nov. 18, 2013 file photo, Lynn Cohen arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” at Nokia Theatre LA Live. Cohen, an actress best known for playing the plainspoken housekeeper and nanny Magda in “Sex and the City,” has died. She was 86. Cohen died Friday, Feb. 14, 2020 in New York City, said her manager, Josh Pultz. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

FILE – In this file photo dated Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011, British TV personality Caroline Flack arrives for the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women of the Year Awards in London. The host controversial reality TV show “Love Island,” has died aged 40, according to a statement from her family Saturday Feb. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Jonathan Short, FILE)

AP Photo/Jonathan Short, FILE

In this March 1993 file photo, Joseph Shabalala, front left, founder of South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo, stands with the group and Paul Simon, front right, as they pose for a photograph. The founder of the South African multi-Grammy-Award-winning music group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Joseph Shabalala, has died at age 78. Shabalala died at a hospital in the capital Pretoria Tuesday Feb. 11, 2020, his family confirmed to local media. (AP Photo/File)

AP Photo/File

FILE – In this June 13, 2013, file photo, actor Robert Conrad poses for photographers during the closing ceremony of the 2013 Monte Carlo Television Festival, in Monaco. Conrad, the rugged, contentious actor who starred in the hugely popular 1960s television series “Hawaiian Eye” and “The Wild, Wild West,” has died at age 84. A family spokesperson says the actor died Saturday morning, Feb. 8, 2020, in Malibu, Calif., from heart failure.

In this April 25, 1997, file photo, Author Roger Kahn, author of the bestseller “The Boys of Summer”, poses at his home in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y. Kahn, the writer who wove memoir and baseball and touched millions of readers through his romantic account of the Brooklyn Dodgers died Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, at a nursing facility in Mamaroneck, N.Y., according to his son Gordon Kahn. He was 92.

Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas has died at age 103 on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020. His son, actor Michael Douglas, wrote in an Instagram post: “Kirk’s life was well-lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet.” (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

In this undated file photo shows Willie Wood of the Green Bay Packers. Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Wood, captain of the 1959 USC football team who played in the first 2 Super Bowls, died Monday, Feb. 3, 2020 of natural causes in Washington, D.C. He was 83.

In this June 3, 2004 file photograph, author Mary Higgins Clark poses in her home in Saddle River, N.J. Clark, the tireless and long-reigning “Queen of Suspense” whose tales of women beating the odds made her one of the world’s most popular writers, died Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, at age 92. Clark’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, announced that Clark died in Naples, Fla, of natural causes.

Bob Shane, the last surviving original member of the popular folk group the Kingston Trio and the lead singer on its million-selling ballad “Tom Dooley” and many other hits, has died. (AP/Ellis R. Bosworth)

In this April 15, 2014 file photo, Nicholas Parsons poses for the media with his Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) medal given to him by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, Berkshire. British broadcaster Nicholas Parsons, who hosted the witty, wordy radio program “Just a Minute” for more than 50 years, has died at the age of 96. Parson’s agent, Jean Diamond, said he died Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020 morning after a short illness.

In this Nov. 26, 2013 file photo Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant smiles during a media availability before an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards in Washington. The Retired NBA superstar has died in helicopter crash in Southern California, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020.

Moderator Jim Lehrer addresses the audience before the first presidential debate at the University of Denver, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012, in Denver. Lehrer died Jan. 23, 2020. He was 85. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

This Sept. 21, 1986 file photo shows actor John Karlen, center, who portrays the husband of detective Mary Beth Lacey on the TV show “Cagney & Lacey, ” posing with presenters Stacy Keach, left, and Angie Dickinson after Karlen won an Emmy for best supporting actor at the Emmy Awards in Pasadena, Calif. Karlen, known for his roles on the television series “Dark Shadows” and “Cagney & Lacey,” died Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, of congestive heart failure in Burbank, Calif. He was 86.

FILE – This April 24, 2015 file photo shows Terry Jones at a special Tribeca Film Festival screening of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” in New York. Jones was diagnosed in 2015 with a form of dementia that impairs the ability to speak. He died Jan. 22, 2020.

“Mean” Gene Okerlund interviews Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson. Johnson, a WWE Hall of Fame wrestler who became better known as the father of actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, died Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. He was 75.

Neil Peart, the renowned drummer and lyricist from the band Rush, has died. His rep Elliot Mintz said in a statement Friday that he died at his home Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020 in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 67. (Rich Fury/Invision/AP/Rich Fury)

This 1959 file photo shows Edward “Kookie” Byrnes. Edd Byrnes, who played cool-kid Kookie on the hit TV show “77 Sunset Strip,” scored a gold record with a song about his character’s hair-combing obsession and later appeared in the movie “Grease,” has died at age 87. Byrnes died Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, at his home in Santa Monica, Calif., his son, Logan Byrnes, said in a statement.

Buck Henry, the versatile writer, director and character actor who co-wrote and appeared in “The Graduate,” has died in Los Angeles. He was 89. Henry’s wife, Irene Ramp, told The Washington Post that his death was due to a heart attack.

Controversial UK Author Elizabeth Wurtzel wrote “Prozac Nation,” “Bitch” and “The Bitch Rules.” (Corbis via Getty Images/Neville Elder)

FILE – In this Wednesday, May 15, 2013 file photo, NBA Commissioner David Stern takes a question from a reporter during a news conference following an NBA Board of Governors meeting in Dallas. David Stern, who spent 30 years as the NBA’s longest-serving commissioner and oversaw its growth into a global power, has died on New Year’s Day, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. He was 77.

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