Final Chapters for Sept. 24: Jake LaMotta, Liliane Bettencourt, Bobby Heenan

Jake LaMotta was an iron-fisted battler who brawled his way to a middleweight boxing title and was later memorialized by Robert De Niro in the 1980 film “Raging Bull.” He died Sept. 19 at a Miami-area hospital from complications of pneumonia, according to his fiancee. He was 95. LaMotta, who was known as “The Bronx Bull,” won the middleweight title in 1949 and lost it to Sugar Ray Robinson in 1951. He handed Robinson the first defeat of his career in 1943. After retiring from boxing in 1954, he owned a nightclub for a time in Miami, then dabbled in show business and commercials.

Liliane Bettencourt was the L’Oreal cosmetics heiress and the world’s richest woman. She died Sept. 20 at her home in the Paris suburb Neuilly-sur-Seine. She was 94. Bettencourt inherited the L’Oreal fortune upon the death of her father, Eugene Schueller, in 1957. When the company went public six years later, she continued to own a majority stake. Forbes magazine estimated her fortune to be worth $39.5 billion this year.

Bobby “The Brain” Heenan was one of the most colorful and renowned managers and commentators in the history of professional wrestling. He died Sept. 17 in Tampa, Fla., from cancer complications, the WWE announced. He was 73. Heenan managed Andre the Giant when he wrestled Hulk Hogan at a sold-out Pontiac Silverdome for WrestleMania 3. He also managed such notable wrestlers as Ric Flair, King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd, Rick Rude and Harley Race. He retired as a manager in the early 1990s and turned to commentating. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004.

Penny Chenery was the owner and breeder of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat. She died Sept. 16 at her home in Boulder, Colo., following complications from a stroke, according to her children. She was 95. Chenery took over her father’s thoroughbred farm with little knowledge of horse racing and became one of the few prominent women in the sport. In 1972, her horse Riva Ridge won the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. She received the 2006 Eclipse Award of Merit for lifetime contributions to the thoroughbred industry.

Bernie Casey was an NFL wide receiver who became a poet, painter and actor. He died Sept. 19 in Los Angeles after a brief illness, his talent agent said. He was 78. Casey played for the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams during 1961-68. He appeared in some 35 films, including “Boxcar Bertha,” “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” “Brian’s Song,” “Never Say Never Again,” “Revenge of the Nerds” and “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka.” He also had a number of television credits, including “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Murder She Wrote” and “L.A. Law.”

Mitchell Flint was an American aviator who helped form the Israeli Air Force in 1948. He died Sept. 16 in Los Angeles of natural causes, his son said. He was 94. Flint was a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot and one of the founding members of “Machal,” a group of non-Israelis who fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He was one of the original members of the Israeli Air Force’s first fighter squadron and helped train Israel’s first military pilots, his son said. When he returned to the United States, Flint moved to Los Angeles and became a lawyer.

Lillian Ross was an ever-watchful New Yorker reporter whose close narrative style defined a memorable and influential 70-year career. She died Sept. 20 in New York after suffering a stroke, the New Yorker said. She was 99. Ross had hundreds of “Talk of the Town” dispatches appear in The New Yorker, starting in the 1940s when she wrote about Harry Truman’s years as a haberdasher, and continuing well into the 21st century. In 1999, her 1964 collection of articles, “Reporting,” was selected by a panel of experts as one of the 100 best examples of American journalism in the 20th century. The group, assembled by New York University, ranked it No. 66.

Albert Speer Jr. was an accomplished architect who struggled to distance himself from his father’s legacy as Adolf Hitler’s chief architect. He died Sept. 16 in Frankfurt, Germany, according to the architecture firm he founded, Albert Speer + Partner GmbH. He was 83. Speer concentrated on designing environmentally sound and energy-efficient buildings. His firm was selected to design the stadiums for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He was 12 when his father was convicted in Nuremberg of war crimes and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

This story was originally published September 23, 2017 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Final Chapters for Sept. 24: Jake LaMotta, Liliane Bettencourt, Bobby Heenan."