2016 deaths

Geneton_Moraes_Neto

Geneton Moraes Neto (13 July 1956 – 22 August 2016) was a Brazilian journalist and writer from Pernambuco.Neto worked as a journalist for over 40 years in print and television. Among other roles, he was a correspondent for O Estado de São Paulo and a prominent figure at GloboNews, where he edited Jornal Nacional.
Neto's book Dossiê Brasília: os segredos dos presidentes (Portuguese for 'Brasília Dossier: Presidential Secrets'), first published in 1997, is a series of interviews with former presidents of Brazil.He died of an aortic aneurysm.

Nicolas_Noxon

Nicolas Lane Noxon (July 29, 1936 – May 3, 2016) was an American documentary filmmaker. He specialized in television programs dealing with history, science, and the natural world. Noxon produced television specials and series in association with ABC, David Wolper, Columbia Pictures Television, Metromedia, MGM, Survival Anglia, Time-Life, and National Geographic Television.

Donald_Rickard

Donald C. Rickard (2 March 1928 – 30 March 2016) was an American diplomat for the State Department and spy for the Central Intelligence Agency. Shortly before his death, Rickard claimed to have provided the information that led to the arrest of Nelson Mandela in 1962 due to allegations of communist influence under Mandela while he was working as a vice-consul in Durban, South Africa.

Lupita_Tovar

Guadalupe Natalia Tovar Sullivan (27 July 1910 – 12 November 2016), known professionally as Lupita Tovar, was a Mexican-American actress best known for her starring role in the 1931 Spanish-language version of Drácula, filmed in Los Angeles by Universal Pictures at night using the same sets as the Bela Lugosi version, but with a different cast and director. She also starred in the 1932 film Santa, one of the first Mexican sound films, and one of the first commercial Spanish-language sound films. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living actress and one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Remo_Belli

Remo Delmo Belli (June 22, 1927 – April 25, 2016) was an American jazz drummer who developed and marketed the first successful synthetic drumheads and founded the Remo company.

Gene_Porter_Bridwell

Gene Porter Bridwell (October 4, 1935 – August 4, 2016) was the seventh director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center located in Huntsville, Alabama. He served as director from January 6, 1994, to February 3, 1996.
Before becoming director of the Marshall Center, G.P. (Porter) Bridwell served as manager of the Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle Definition Office, where he supervised efforts involving the proposed vehicle's design, development, and integration. He also served on special assignment with the Space Station Redesign Team and later the U.S./Russian Space Station Integration Team. Previously, he served as manager of the Shuttle Projects Office. There he managed the Shuttle's propulsion elements, including the Space Shuttle Main Engine, External Tank, Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor, Solid Rocket Booster, Advanced Solid Rocket Motor, and related systems and activities, including the Michoud Assembly Facility.
Bridwell was born in Linton, Indiana, on October 4, 1935, and graduated from State High School in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1953. He earned a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1958 from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. He began his professional career as an engineer with Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, California. He joined the Marshall Center in 1962, and his early experience included assignments within the former Saturn Systems Office and Saturn V Program Office. In 1975, he transferred to the Shuttle Projects Office and served in key positions including chief of the Project Engineering Office, and deputy manager of the External Tank Project. In February 1983, he was appointed manager of the External Tank Project.
In the spring of 1987, he served temporarily as acting deputy center director of National Space Technology Laboratories in Mississippi. He was appointed director of institutional and program support at the Marshall Center in October 1988, and assumed the position of manager, Shuttle Projects Office, in May 1989.
In January 1990, Bridwell became the director of National Launch Systems for NASA Headquarters, co-located at the Marshall Center. In February 1992, he was officially transferred back to the Marshall Center from headquarters, where he assumed his post as manager of the Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle Definition Office.
Bridwell died in Huntsville, Alabama on August 4, 2016, at the age of 80.