Here are just some of the coronavirus pandemic’s many victims: who they were, and the lives they touched.
Anthony Mason remembers cinematographer Allen Daviau, character actor Allen Garfield, United Nations official Lila Fenwick and others who have died from the coronavirus.
Don Reed, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren’s oldest brother, died from coronavirus on April 21. He was 86.
Reed joined the Air Force when he was 19 years old, Warren said in a statement. His military career included combat in Vietnam.
«He was charming and funny, a natural leader,» Warren said. «What made him extra special was his smile. He had a quick, crooked smile that seemed to generate its own light — and to light up everyone around him.»
My oldest brother, Don Reed, died from coronavirus on Tuesday evening. He joined the Air Force at 19 and spent his career in the military, including five and a half years off and on in combat in Vietnam. He was charming and funny, a natural leader. https://t.co/b8m0xKzAmM
Warren said it was «hard to know» that no family could be with Reed when he died, but said she is grateful for the health care workers who took care of him.
«I will miss my brother,» she said.
Sergeant Major Bennie Adkins, a Medal of Honor recipient, died on April 17 in Alabama after battling coronavirus. He was 86.
His more than 20 years in the U. S. Army included 13 as a Green Beret and three tours of duty in Vietnam. In 2014, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by former President Barack Obama for his heroism in a 1966 battle, where he carried wounded soldiers to safety while fighting off attacking forces.
His Medal of Honor citation commended his «extraordinary heroism and selflessness» while sustaining 18 different wounds to his body.
Adkins leaves behind three children, as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Allen Daviau, a cinematographer who made his breakthrough with the 1982 blockbuster movie «E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial,» died from COVID-19 on April 15. He was 77.
Daviau was known as a master of light. Seeing color TV at age 12 started his «fascination with the technology of light and photography,» he said.
Early on, he met a young Steven Spielberg, who hired him as cinematographer for «E. T.,» «The Color Purple» and «Empire of the Sun.»
Daviau and Spielberg seemed to share «a sense of wonder» at the way things looked, Daviau’s friend of almost 60 years Colman Andrews said. «They both reacted pretty strongly to children, I think, and to the sense of wonder that young people would have as they discovered stuff.»
Daviau was given the American Society of Cinematographers Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 and earned five Oscar nominations.
«You have to be able to take chances for chance to find you,» Daviau said in an ASC speech.
In a statement, Spielberg said Daviau’s «warmth and humanity were as powerful as his lens.»
«He was a singular talent and a beautiful human being,» Spielberg said.
Keenan Duffy, a father of two from Lafayette, Louisiana, died from coronavirus complications on April 14. He was 39.
Duffy had driven his mother to the hospital where she tested positive for the coronavirus, before winding up in the same hospital a week and a half later.
His wife, Kerstin — with whom he raised stepdaughter Simone and 11-year-old son Kaden — said Duffy fought a high fever when he got sick.
Kaden remembered his dad as «very supportive» of him in his school activities and football.
«He’d be there every game,» Kaden told CBS News’ David Begnaud. «He was always on the sidelines saying go get ’em.»
Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, the mother of Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns, fought a month-long battle with coronavirus. She died on April 13 at 58 years old.
«It’s been very difficult for me and my family to say the least. She’s the head of the household. She’s the boss,» Towns said.
Cruz-Towns, who was with her son when he was the number-one pick in the 2015 NBA draft, did not miss a single game in his first season.
«Her passion was palpable,» the Towns family said in a statement. «And her energy will never be replaced.»
British comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor, best known as a member of the 1970s comedy trio The Goodies, died April 12 of COVID-19. He was 79.
A part of Cambridge University’s Footlights revue in the early 1960s, Brooke-Taylor didn’t put his law degree to use, as he worked with several future members of Monty Python in such 1960s TV comedy series as «The Frost Report,» «At Last the 1948 Show,» «Do Not Adjust Your Set,» and the radio series «I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again.» He also appeared in «Marty» (with Marty Feldman).
Beginning in 1970 Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie teamed up on the BBC as the comedy trio The Goodies, whose surreal, slapstick- and music-filled series ran for nine seasons. They even had top 10 hits with their songs «The Inbetweenies» and «Funky Gibbon.»
On radio Brooke-Taylor starred opposite John Cleese and Oddie on «I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again,» and for more than 40 years, he was also a panelist on BBC Radio’s beloved takeoff on quiz shows, «I’m Sorry, I Haven’t a Clue.»
In 2018 Brooke-Taylor told the Radio Times that he was very proud of the staying power of «The Goodies,» «though this is tempered, slightly, by what appear to be quite old people coming up to me and saying, ‘My parents used to allow me to stay up to watch you’!»
Garden said Brooke-Taylor was «a funny, sociable, generous man who was a delight to work with. Audiences found him not only hilarious but also adorable.»
Photographer Anthony Causi, who covered sports for the New York Post for 25 years, died April 12 from the coronavirus. He was 48. Born in Brooklyn, Causi graduated from Pace University and joined The Post as a photo messenger before advancing to photo editor and then full-time journalist photographer.
Causi was a smiling and friendly fixture at venues all across the New York area, from Yankee Stadium to Madison Square Garden. His action shots often popped impressively on the Post’s sports pages, and he was admired not only by colleagues but also by the famous players he chronicled.
His uncle, Joe Causi, an on-air personality for WCBS-FM Radio, said his nephew often took photos at Little League events pro bono.
On March 22 Causi posted a photo of himself on Instagram breathing through a respirator: «I never thought I would get something like this. I thought I was indestructible. If I do make it out of here, I promise you this: the world’s not going to know what hit it.»
Major League Baseball called Causi a «sports photojournalist extraordinaire» and said he «brought out the best in the players and the people of our National Pastime.»
Dan Spano, a personal trainer in Connecticut, died of COVID-19 on April 11. He was 30.
Spano owned a GYMGUYZ franchise with his college roommate Jimmy Bonavita and friend Sam Langer.
«He was such a great spirit,» said Spano’s first client, Mark Brooks. «He was just so committed. I mean, we loved him.»
Multiple clients considered Spano a part of their families. One of them, named Rodrigo Placido, said they would «see each other three or four times a week» and Spano «adored» his kids.
Melissa, Spano’s sister, said one of her favorite memories was him singing his favorite song, «Tiny Dancer,» «at the top of his lungs.»
Spano was «infatuated» with his 3-month-old niece, Adrianna, Melissa said. «It breaks my heart that she’s not going to have the opportunity to know Uncle Dan,» she said.
Spano had no underlying conditions, according to his sister. «He was perfectly healthy,» she said. «He could be anyone.»
A post shared by Tyler Perry (@tylerperry) on Apr 8,2020 at 7:24pm PDT
Charles Gregory Ross, an Emmy-nominated hairstylist known for his frequent collaborations with Tyler Perry, died of complications from COVID-19 on April 8 after a two-week battle at an Atlanta hospital.
In addition to working with Tyler Perry, Ross’ impressive resume includes the 2000 film «Remember the Titans» and Lee Daniels’ upcoming movie, «The United States vs. Billie Holiday.»
He also served as Perry’s personal hairstylist on Adam McKay’s Dick Cheney biopic «Vice,» and worked on a host of the media mogul’s other films.
The renowned hairstylist was mourned by celebrities like Perry, Daniels, Viola Davis and Kerry Washington, who all expressed their grief on social media.
Davis in particular posted a moving tribute to Ross, writing «RIP Charles Gregory. He did my hair for the Academy Awards, Lila and Eve and Madea Goes to Jail. Another loss from the deadly Coronavirus. Rest well. May God’s peace be with your family. You were a jewel.»
Perry used the news of Ross’ death to highlight the virus’ outsized impact on black Americans.
«I love everything about who we are. All of us,» the star wrote. «And I love us all too much to watch us die on the vine because we are the last to know and we are not taking this pandemic seriously.»
Prea Nankieshore, a New York City emergency room clerk, passed away due to COVID-19 on April 8. She was 34.
Nankieshore was the first person people saw in the emergency room, registering patients at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, a hospital in Queens, New York.
A mother of 8-year-old twin boys, «Prea was a walking angel,» said her fiancé Markus Kahn, who’d known her since high school. «She’s the most unselfish person I ever met in my life.»
Nankieshore «wanted to help people,» her colleague Dr. Rachel Bruce said.
«Even when it became difficult and even frightening in the last month to come to work, she wanted to be somewhere she was needed,» Bruce said.
Mario Araujo, a member of the Chicago Fire Department, died from complications of the coronavirus on April 7. He was 49.
Araujo joined the department in 2003 and spent most of his career on Truck 25.
«I went to one of my worst fires with him, and he was aces,» said Jon Kataoka, a lieutenant in the department. «He’d go through a brick wall for you.»
Araujo came to the United States with his family from El Salvador at age 6.
«We all supported him being a firefighter because he wanted to help people,» said his cousin Christina, «and that made us happy too.»
«He was someone that all of us looked up to because he loved his job so much,» she said.
Veteran character actor Allen Garfield died of coronavirus complications on April 7. He was 80.
During his decades-long career, Garfield appeared in over 100 films and shows, including memorable roles in the films «The Conversation» and «The Candidate.» He often played nervous or anxious characters.
Born Allen Goorwitz, he started out as a reporter and a Golden Gloves boxer before discovering his love for acting and studying at the Actor’s Studio in New York City.
Ronee Blakley, the actress who played his wife in the film «Nashville,» posted the news of his death on Facebook.
«I hang my head in tears; condolences to family and friends,» she wrote.
Anthony Mason shares the stories of jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, veteran nurse Judy Wilson-Griffin, and others who were lost to COVID-19.
Celebrated songwriter John Prine, who Rolling Stone once called «the Mark Twain of American songwriting,» died in Nashville, Tennessee from coronavirus complications on April 7, according to his family. He was 73.
Prine, an army veteran and two-time cancer survivor, won a lifetime achievement Grammy earlier in 2020 for a career spanning four decades during which he was lauded by music giants like Bob Dylan and Bette Midler. His songs have been covered by old and new artists such as Johnny Cash, Carly Simon, Miranda Lambert and Old Crow Medicine Show.
«The Late Show» host Stephen Colbert honored Prine earlier in the week when he was hospitalized, sharing a previously unaired duet between the two from 2016. The comedian also mourned the musician’s death in a Tuesday tweet.
Hal Willner, a music producer and longtime music supervisor for «Saturday Night Live» died at age 64, the Associated Press reported.
Blake Zidell, a representative for Willner, said the producer died April 7. Zidell said Willner had symptoms consistent with those caused by the coronavirus, but he had not been diagnosed with the virus before his death.
Willner selected music for «Saturday Night Live» skits since the early 1980s. He also helped launch the career of musician Jeff Buckley, when he produced a live tribute concert for his father, Tim Buckley, in New York in 1991.»Tonight Show» host and «SNL» alum Jimmy Fallon paid an emotional tribute to Willner at the beginning of his April 7 show, calling him a «music producer genius, creative genius.»
Carolyn Martins-Reitz and her son Thomas Martins died from COVID-19 nine days apart. She lost her battle on March 28 at the age of 55, and he died on April 6, his 30th birthday.
Carolyn’s number one passion was making sure her son, who had Down syndrome, was happy and active, her husband and Thomas’ stepfather Rudy Reitz said.
«Thomas loved everything and everyone. He loved playing basketball and spending time with friends. He loved movies. He loved his Pokémon and just loved life in general,» Reitz said.
Carolyn was «a tremendously talented artist» who loved to paint, Reitz said. She worked as a graphic designer for the Archdiocese of Newark and several magazines in New York City, he said.
Lee Fierro, who died Sunday, April 5 in Ohio from complications of COVID-19 at age 91, was a stage actress who had only a handful of film credits, but her first was a scene-stealer: Mrs. Kintner, mother of a boy who is killed by a shark, in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster «Jaws.» With a steely fire, she confronts Sheriff Brody (Roy Scheider), whom she blames for her son’s death, with a slap across the face.
Fierro had stepped away from acting to raise her family, and at first she turned down the part because, she said in a 25th anniversary documentary interview, she wasn’t happy about saying «four-letter words» in her confrontation with Scheider. So, it became a physical scene. «It was a quiet scene,» Fierro said. «Everybody was real quiet. Even the birds.» She repeated her role in the 1987 sequel «Jaws: The Revenge.»
As a resident of Martha’s Vineyard (where «Jaws» was filmed), Fierro worked with the local theatrical company, Island Theatre Workshop, appearing and directing in productions and instructing hundreds of young people. For 25 years she served as its artistic director.
«She was my teacher and mentor,» Kevin Ryan, the group’s current artistic director and board president, told the Martha’s Vineyard Times. «She was fiercely dedicated to the mission of teaching. She, no matter what it was, would stay at it and get the job done.»
Tom Dempsey, a former New Orleans Saints kicker who set a field goal record that stood for over four decades, died of coronavirus complications on April 4. He was 73.
Dempsey, who suffered from dementia in his later years, was an NFL legend. The football star was born without most fingers on his right hand and no toes on his right foot. He went on to play 11 seasons in the league, and the special shoe he used during his record-setting career is now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
After the news of his death broke, Saints players past and present took to social media to remember Dempsey and his incredible career.
Lila Fenwick, the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Law School, died of COVID-19 on April 4 at the age of 87.
Fenwick broke barriers in 1956 when she graduated from Harvard Law, just six years after women were first admitted to the school. She went on to have a career as a human rights official at the United Nations and specialized in fighting discrimination.
Her friend and former neighbor, Thomas Alamo, described Fenwick as a «very intelligent, bright, witty person.»
«She could talk to you about anything,» he said.
