No real details yet, but this was another one of those "What? Who? Really? How old was he?" kind of deaths that catches you completely unaware. Our thoughts are with his family.

The 83-year-old Hillerman had already lived through two heart attacks and surgeries for prostrate and bladder cancer, and was still writing. From the AP obituary:

"I'm getting old," he declared in 2002, "but I still like to write."

Anne Hillerman said Sunday that her father was a born storyteller.

"He had such a wonderful, wonderful curiosity about the world," she said. "He could take little details and bring them to life, not just in his books, but in conversation, too."

Robert Asprin (1946-2008)

On May 22, 2008, Bob passed away quietly in his home in New Orleans, LA. He had been in good spirits and working on several new projects, and was set to be the Guest of Honor at a major science fiction convention that very weekend.
He is survived by his mother, his sister, his daughter and his son, and his cat, Princess, not to mention countless friends and fans and numerous legendary fictional characters.

He will be greatly missed.

Illuminatus! remains one of the books I tackle again every year or so, to see what I missed all those other times, and his other writings are refreshing streams of sanity in an increasingly bizarre world. Not serious, mind you, just sane. His final blog post:

"Various medical authorities swarm in and out of here predicting I have between two days and two months to live. I think they are guessing. I remain cheerful and unimpressed. I look forward without dogmatic optimism but without dread. I love you all and I deeply implore you to keep the lasagna flying.

"Please pardon my levity, I don't see how to take death seriously. It seems absurd."

Announcement.

Generally when his name come up he gets remembered (and rightfully so) as the tap-dancing Monster from "Young Frankenstein" and Frank Barone from "Everybody Loves Raymond." But everyone knows the first one and I never watched Raymond (thereby disproving the title), so tonight I'll be honoring his brilliant, off-center memory by rewatching his honorable gangster in "Johnny Dangerously," his messianic nutball in "The Dream Team," and his hilarious prophetic insurance salesman in the best episodes of "The X-Files" ever.

Actually he was a good guitar player, a decent pianist, a wizard songwriter, a committed family man (eventually), an insightful philosopher, and that rarist of things, a social activist with a sense of humor. I think he'd have been shocked to learn how many people still consider him a role model, but the world become a bit less fun when John Lennon was shot to death 26 years ago today.

His widow, Yoko Ono, has asked that fans commemorate the anniversary of his death this year with a Day of Forgiveness, but I'll spend it as I always have: with hours and hours of music. Are you doing anything to honor Lennon today?

Dave's many creations—including some of the X-Men's staple characters—brought tremendous joy to his legion of fans. For three decades, he was a beloved fixture at comics conventions across the country where he would sketch for a pittance and encourage would-be creators. Those of us who knew Dave personally will remember him as one of the sweetest, jovial, most generous individuals in the comics industry. I'll miss my friend very much.

There are no details of services at this time. Dave asked to be cremated, and his widow Paty is burdened with the news, so well-wishers are asked not to call. Email can be sent to magnetorampant@yahoo.com.

I was never a big Legion fan, but I was watching intently as he helped Len Wein and Chris Claremont redefine a sagging team book into a powerhouse. RIP Dave.

And before you chastise me over the title, understand that I may be the only living person who liked his Popeye. Sure, Gosford Park was a huge success and Prairie Home Companion got plenty of accolades. And M*A*S*H was groundbreaking, of course, but you almost have to like that one or the other film students look at you funny. Altman had one of the most all-over-the-map careers of any director, he was known for sticking to his principles, and big name stars would fight to get in his movies. To me, he was the guy who stuck Robin Williams on the big screen with huge forearms and who knew at a glance that Shelly Duvall was born to play Olive Oyl, or possible a pipe cleaner.

But then, at least other people saw Popeye. If you want to get into really obscure, underappreciated Altman movies you'll need to go get O.C. and Stigg…

My first introduction to his odd style was from the award-winning supplement he wrote for the Paranoia role-playing game "The Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues." Strange, funny, brilliant guy. There are some touching tributes from Neil Gaiman and at Making Light.