Final Chapters for Oct. 1, 2017: Hugh Hefner, Anne Jeffreys, Herbert W. Kalmbach

Hugh Hefner was the founder of Playboy magazine and a symbol of the sexual revolution. He died Sept. 27 of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles. He was 91. Hefner founded the magazine in 1953 and built a brand that defined the sexual culture of the second half of the 20th century. By the 1970s, Playboy had more than 7 million readers, but competition and the internet cut into the magazine’s circulation. He opened the first of a string of Playboy clubs in Chicago in 1960 and expanded to include international editions of the magazine, casinos, a cable network and a film production company. After a mild stroke in 1985, he handed control of his empire to his feminist daughter, Christie, although he owned 70 percent of Playboy stock and continued to choose every month’s Playmate and cover shot.

Anne Jeffreys was an actress and opera singer who was known for her roles on the 1950s TV series “Topper” and the soap opera “General Hospital.” She died Sept. 27 at her home in Los Angeles. She was 94. Jeffreys began her performing career in 1940 with the New York City Opera, the Ford Symphony and the Los Angeles Opera Company. She made her film debut at MGM in 1942 in “I Married an Angel” and also appeared opposite John Wayne in “Flying Tigers.” She and her late husband, Robert Sterling, played ghosts in “Topper” during 1953-55 and she played Amanda Barrington on “General Hospital”on more than 350 episodes of the soap opera from 1984 until 2004.

Herbert W. Kalmbach was President Richard M. Nixon’s personal lawyer and a conduit for hush money from the 1972 presidential campaign to the Watergate burglars. He died Sept. 15 in Newport Beach, Calif. His death was announced by his children Sept. 29. He was 95. Kalmbach was deputy finance chairman of the 1972 re-election campaign but he rapidly became embroiled in illegal fundraising. He pleaded guilty in 1974 to violating the Federal Corrupt Practices Act by raising $3.9 million for a secret Republican Congressional Campaign Committee and served 191 days in prison.

Red Miller was a fiery head coach who guided the Denver Broncos to their first Super Bowl. He died Sept. 27 in Denver after complications from a stroke. He was 89. Miller was 12-2 in his first season as coach in Denver, and the Broncos made their first playoff appearance and got to the Super Bowl, where they fell 27-10 to the Cowboys. He coached the Broncos during 1977-80 and compiled a 42-25 record, turning a defense filled with potential into the “Orange Crush.” Earlier this year, the Broncos decided to place Miller in their Ring of Fame. He is scheduled to be recognized Nov. 17 to cap off the franchise’s alumni week.

Barbara Blaine was the founder of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP. She died Sept. 24 in St. George, Utah. She suffered a sudden tear in a blood vessel in her heart on Sept. 18 after going hiking on a vacation, her husband said. She was 61. Blaine, a lawyer with a degree in theology, was sexually abused by a Roman Catholic priest as a teenager. She started SNAP in 1988 as a support group, and served for nearly 30 years as president before stepping down this year. She recently started a new international organization to hold the Vatican and church officials overseas accountable for covering up abuse cases.

Joe Tiller was a college football coach who holds the record for most wins at Purdue. He died Sept. 30 of natural causes in Buffalo, Wyo., a funeral home said. He was 74. Tiller was an assistant at Purdue, Wyoming and Washington State before he became head coach at Wyoming in 1991. He was 39-30-1 in six seasons at Wyoming and 87-62 at Purdue from 1997 to 2008. His Purdue team with Drew Brees at quarterback lost 34-24 to Washington in the 2001 Rose Bowl.

Rob Nigh was a defense attorney who represented Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and witnessed his 2001 execution. He died Sept. 24 after a battle with cancer, former colleagues said. He was 57. Nigh, who received a bachelor’s degree from William Jewell, was known for his encyclopedic legal knowledge, work ethic and intense preparation on every case he handled. He was Tulsa County’s chief public defender before he stepped down for health reasons. He defended those accused of committing some of Oklahoma’s most egregious crimes.

Joseph M. McDade was an 18-term Republican congressman who was known for bringing federal dollars home to his northeastern Pennsylvania district. He died Sept. 24 at his home in Fairfax, Va., his family said. He was 85. McDade, who was first elected to the House in 1962, was the longest-serving Republican in the House when he was indicted in 1992 on charges he accepted gifts from defense companies in exchange for helping them win lucrative contracts. He was acquitted after a seven-week trial, but not before losing the opportunity to become chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

Ludmila Belousova was a two-time Olympic champion in pairs figure skating for the Soviet Union. She has died at the age of 81, according to Russian news reports. There was no immediate information on the cause or where she died. Belousova and her partner and husband Oleg Protopopov won the first pairs gold for the Soviet Union in the 1964 Olympics. They repeated the win in 1968. Belousova and Protopopov defected to Switzerland from the Soviet Union in 1979.

Norman Dyhrenfurth was a Swiss-American mountaineer and filmmaker who organized the successful American expedition in 1963 to Mount Everest that put six climbers on the summit. He died Sept. 24 at a hospital in Salzburg, Austria. He was 99. Dyhrenfurth assembled the historic team of 19 mountaineers and scientists for the 1963 Everest Expedition that practically launched the modern U.S. mountaineering and outdoor industry by putting the first Americans on top of the world’s highest peak. He also was an accomplished cameraman and director who was head of the UCLA Film School in the 1950s and worked on movies such as “Five Days One Summer” and “The Eiger Sanction,” plus TV shows such as “Americans on Everest.”

Charles Bradley was known as the “Screaming Eagle of Soul” for a powerful, raspy style that evoked one of his musical heroes, James Brown. He died Sept. 23. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2016 and underwent treatment, according to a statement from his publicist, but the cancer returned recently, spreading to his liver, the statement said. He was 68. Bradley achieved success later in life with his 2011 debut album “No Time for Dreaming.” He followed up his first album with “Victim of Love” in 2013. His third album, “Changes,” was released last year.

Tony Booth was a British actor and the father-in-law of former Prime Minister Tony Blair. He died Sept. 25. He had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and heart problems. He was 85. Booth had his most enduring role as the left-wing son-in-law of a bigoted father in the sitcom “Till Death Us Do Part.” The show ran for a decade from 1965 and inspired the American series “All in the Family.”

Liz Dawn was an actress who played tart-tongued Vera Duckworth in the British soap opera “Coronation Street” for more than 30 years. She died Sept. 25. She was 77. Dawn was a nightclub singer before beginning an acting career with television commercials and guest appearances. She appeared on “Coronation Street” from 1974 to 2008.

This story was originally published September 30, 2017 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Final Chapters for Oct. 1, 2017: Hugh Hefner, Anne Jeffreys, Herbert W. Kalmbach."