George Plimpton, famously the eponymous “Paper Lion,” but also a genuine giant of American letters, passed away at 76. He founded the highly respected Paris Review in 1953, and is famout — or infamous — for his contributions to “participatory journalism,” a school which we may probably blame for the aforementioned Dr. Thompson.

Today, too, singer Robert Palmer passed away, much younger at 54, of a heart attack. He had his largest success in the eighties, which is why I don’t need to explain aobut “Addicted to Love” or “Simply Irresistable,” or even the Power Station.