Alex Traub

Alex Traub works on the Obituaries desk at The New York Times. His job includes both writing and vetting candidates for obituaries. He occasionally reports on New York City for other sections of the paper.

Previously, he worked on the editorial staffs of The New York Review of Books, The Hindustan Times and The Telegraph of Kolkata. He also wrote for those publications and for The Economist and The Guardian.

Latest

Bill Cobbs, ‘Bodyguard’ and ‘Night at the Museum’ Actor, Dies at 90
He was not a Hollywood household name. But his face was one anyone who watched TV or movies over the past several decades could recognize.
By Alexandra E. Petri
Frederick Crews, Withering Critic of Freud’s Legacy, Dies at 91
A literary critic, essayist and author, he was a leading voice among revisionist skeptics who saw Freud as a charlatan and psychoanalysis as a pseudoscience.
By Scott Veale
Donald Sutherland, a Chameleon of a Movie Star, Dies at 88
In a wide-ranging career (from “M*A*S*H” to “Ordinary People” to “The Hunger Games”), he could be endearing in one role, menacing in another and just plain odd in a third.
By Clyde Haberman
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George Woodwell, 95, Influential Ecologist on Climate Change, Dies
The founder of the renowned Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts, he also helped shape U.S. policies on controlling toxic substances like DDT.
By Keith Schneider
Bob Schul, a Singular U.S. Olympian in the 5,000-Meter Race, Dies at 86
His remarkable sprint in the final yards on a muddy track in the 1964 Games in Tokyo made him the only American ever to win the gold medal in that event.
By Richard Goldstein
James Kent, Chef Who Was Building a Restaurant Empire, Dies at 45
He had opened two restaurants and a cocktail bar in downtown Manhattan, and he was preparing for a big expansion backed by LeBron James.
By Alex Traub
Remo Saraceni, 89, Dies; Inventor of the Walking Piano Seen in ‘Big’
His keyboard, which became famous after Tom Hanks melodiously hopped on it, displayed Mr. Saraceni’s vision of technology powered by “people energy.”
By Alex Traub
Tony Lo Bianco, ‘French Connection’ Actor, Dies at 87
Once labeled a “natural-born heavy,” he shined onscreen and especially onstage, securing a Tony nomination and winning an Obie Award.
By Anita Gates
Howard Fineman, Veteran Political Journalist and TV Pundit, Dies at 75
From his beginnings with a daily newspaper, he moved easily through Newsweek magazine to cable news and, later, to the frontiers of online journalism.
By Clay Risen
Fumihiko Maki, Honored Architect of Understated Buildings, Dies at 95
A Pritzker Prize winner, he designed notable projects in his native Japan and in the U.S., including 4 World Trade Center and the M.I.T. Media Lab’s new home.
By Fred A. Bernstein