PIM -Fallen Angels-January 2017

James Alan McPherson
September 16, 1943 – July 27, 2016
Bill Nunn
October 20, 1953 – September 24, 2016
MacArthur Fellowship recipient and Pulitzer
Prize-winning writer James Alan McPherson died
of complications from pneumonia at the age
of 72. He was an American essayist and shortstory
writer. He was the first black writer to win
the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and was included
among the first group of artists who received a
MacArthur Fellowship. At the time of his death,
McPherson was a member of the permanent
faculty and a professor emeritus of fiction at the
Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
Best known for his role as Radio Raheem in Spike
Lee’s 1989 film “Do The Right Thing,” Bill Nunn
died at age 62 after a long battle with leukemia.
The actor went on to star in other Lee films like
“Mo’ Better Blues” and had notable roles in
“New Jack City” and “Sister Act.” But his work
wasn’t limited to movies as Nunn also expanded
to the theater and opened the Bill Nunn Theatre
Outreach Project in 2008 to inspire Black youth
to participate in the trade.
George Nauflett
February 9, 1932 – October 28, 2016
Arnold Palmer
September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016
Chemist and inventor George Nauflett, who had
two dozen patents to his name, died in a house
fire at age 84. He grew up during segregation
and went on to become a rocket scientist. He
was featured in a book about prominent African
Americans called The Inventive Spirit of African
Americans: Patented Ingenuity. “He had 22
patents, he participated in 59 publications,
just a brilliant man,” said his daughter Joyce
Bradford.
Arnold Daniel Palmer was an American
professional golfer who is generally regarded as
one of the greatest players in the sport’s history.
Dating back to 1955, he won numerous events
on both the PGA Tour and the circuit now known
as PGA Tour Champions. Nicknamed The King,
he was one of golf’s most popular stars and
its most important trailblazer. In a career that
spanned more than six decades, he won 62 PGA
Tour titles from 1955 to 1973, placing him at that
time behind only Sam Snead and Ben Hogan,
and still fifth on the Tour’s all-time victory list.
Gloria Naylor
January 25, 1950 – September 28, 2016
Billy Paul
December 1, 1934 – April 24, 2016
30 PREP INSIGHT MAGAZINE - FALLEN ANGELS EDITION | JANUARY 2017
Author Gloria Naylor, was an accomplished
writer known for illuminating the stories of Black
women. Naylor, is best known for her awardwinning
book The Women of Brewster Place.
Published in 1982, the novel went on earn
Naylor the National Book Award the following
year. Throughout her career, Naylor taught
literature at several institutions, including New
York University, Cornell, and Boston University,
and her beautiful and complex portrayals of the
lives of Black women inspired a generation of writers.
Paul Williams, known professionally as Billy Paul,
was a Grammy Award-winning American soul
singer, known for his 1972 #1 single, “Me and Mrs.
Jones”, as well as the 1973 album and single “War
of the Gods” which blends his more conventional
pop, soul, and funk styles with electronic and
psychedelic influences. Paul was identified by his
diverse vocal style which ranged from mellow and
soulful to low and raspy. Billy Paul was 80 years
old when he died and had been hospitalized
following a recent pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
JANUARY 2017 | PREP INSIGHT MAGAZINE - FALLEN ANGELS EDITION 31