Johannes Mario Simmel, 84, an Austrian-born author whose books are said to have sold more than 70 million copies worldwide, died in the Swiss town where he lived, a local official said Friday.
Simmel died in a care home in Zug, near Zurich, on Thursday, town clerk Irene Schwendimann said, without giving the cause of death or any further details.
Simmel’s books regularly topped German-language best-seller lists before Nobel laureates such as Heinrich Boell and Guenter Grass.
His works include the World War II spy novel “It Can’t Always Be Caviar” and the Cold War thriller “Dear Fatherland.” Many of his books were translated into other languages, and the play “The Classmate” was adapted for Broadway.
Bernie Hamilton, 80, who played the no-nonsense police captain on the 1970s TV series “Starsky and Hutch,” has died.
Hamilton died Tuesday of cardiac arrest at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said his son, Raoul Hamilton.
Hamilton appeared in more than 20 films, including “The Young One,” “The Devil at 4 O’Clock,” “Synanon,” “The Swimmer,” “Walk the Walk” and “The Organization.”
He also made guest appearances on television series before becoming a regular on “Starsky and Hutch,” the ABC police drama starring Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul. Hamilton played the by-the-book Capt. Harold Dobey, a role that gave him wide recognition to this day, his son said.
Maria de Jesus, 115, a Portuguese woman who was believed to have been the world’s oldest person, died Friday, officials said.
De Jesus died in an ambulance near the central Portuguese town of Tomar, town council officials said.
She had been listed by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest person. That title now falls to an American, 114-year-old Gertrude Baines, who lives in a Los Angeles nursing home.
Born Sept. 10, 1893, de Jesus was widowed at 57, outlived three of her six children, had 11 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
