Remembering Talent Lost in the 2020s (2) Quiz

Answer: Fashion designer

Issey Miyake's original name was Kazunaru Miyake (1938-2022); the character for Kazunaru in Japanese writing is also read as Issey, which means "one life". He was born in Hiroshima and was there on August 6, 1945, when the atomic bomb was dropped, an episode he never forgot and which left its mark. He rarely referred to the episode, declaring that he preferred to think of things that can be created that bring beauty and joy.

Issey Miyake studied graphic design in Tokyo and after graduating in 1964 went to Paris where he worked at the Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy ateliers. He lived in the United States for a year and worked with the designer Robert Rauschenberg. In 1970 he returned to Tokyo and opened his own atelier. He became known among other things for his "Pleats Please" line of clothing (with no buttons, zippers, or snaps), which prioritizes freedom of movement. He created costumes for the Frankfurt Ballet, uniforms for employees of various companies, etc. I think that the most known thing he developed was the black turtleneck garment that became part of Steve Jobs's signature attire. Like other fashion designers, he also had a perfume line. In 1992, he launched the perfume "L'eau d'Issey", for women, a great success.

Answer: Prime Minister

Shinzo Abe (1954 - 2022), aspired to become a filmmaker but was descended from a prominent political family and the family tradition predominated. His father served in the House of Representatives for over 30 years and his grandfather helped the Liberal Democrat Party and was prime minister. After graduating in public administration and political science from Seikei University he briefly attended the University of Southern California. He started his professional career in the private sector but in 1982 he started working for the government. He was his father's secretary when his father was Minister for International Trade and Industry and Minister for Foreign Affairs, visiting dozens of countries.

Shinzo Abe was president of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives from 1996 to 2022, and Prime Minister for 4 terms, the last of which was from 2017-2020. The opinions about him are controversial. His supporters describe him as a patriot who worked hard to increase the country's security and give Japan a leading role on the international stage. Others understand that its nationalist and denialist policies damaged the country's relations. He was assassinated on July 8, 2022, in Nara, when delivering a campaign speech to an ally.

Answer: Writer and essayist

Hilary Mantel's original name Hilary Mary Thompson (1952-2022). Later she legally adopted her stepfather's surname, Mantel. She was born in England to an Irish family; she graduated with a Bachelor of Jurisprudence in 1973 in the same year that she married the geologist Gerald McEwen. In 1977 the couple moved to Botswana, where they stayed for five years, and later moved to Saudi Arabia where they stayed for four years. Her first novel, "Every Day is Mother's Day", was released in 1985 and the following year she published the sequel "Vacant Possession". During her life, she wrote 12 novels, a personal memoir, two collections of short stories, and numerous articles and opinion pieces.

Hilary Mantel became internationally known with the publication of "Wolf Hall" (2009) a fictional account about Thomas Cromwell, who was the main adviser to King Henry VIII of England, for which she received the Booker Prize. The sequel to "Wolf Hall", called "Bring Up the Bodies" (2012) won her a new Booker Prize, making her the first author to win the award for a sequel. In 2020, "The Mirror and the Light", the third book in the series about Thomas Cromwell was published. She died on September 22, 2022, from complications of a stroke. Days before her death her name was on the shortlist for the Nobel Prize in Literature 2022.

Answer: Singer and Song Writer

Loretta Webb was born in 1932, in the United States, to Clara and Melvin T. Webb, a coal miner and subsistence farmer, who passed away at age 52 from a stroke after battling coal worker's pneumoconiosis, caused by long-term exposure to coal dust. At age 15 Loretta married Oliver V. Doolittle Lynn, taking his name. By the age of 20, she already had 4 children. Her husband presented her with a guitar and encouraged her to have her own band. After winning a talent contest, she was signed to a record label and toured the country to promote her songs. Among her early hits are "I'm A Honky Tonk Girl" and "Whispering Sea".

Many of her songs focused on issues women faced, especially herself, by violating conservative concepts of the country music genre. The song "Coal Miner's Daughter", her signature song released in 1970, provided the title for her biography written by George Vecsey, and for the biographical musical film, released in 1980, for which Sissy Spacek (as Lynn) received the Oscar for Best Actress. Four songs by Lynn are part of the film's soundtrack.

Loretta Lynn became known as the "Queen of Country". She received numerous awards and honors and played an important role in the spread of country music. Her career, which spanned six decades, ended in October 2022, at age of 90, while she slept.

Answer: Queen

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (1926-2022), best know as Queen Elizabeth II, was born during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King George V, and, at this time, she was the third in the line of succession to the British throne. With the death of her grandfather, the resignation of her uncle Edward VIII, and the death of her father, George VI, she became Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms, a position she held from February 6, 1952, until her death in 2022. Her reign lasted 70 years and 214 days, the longest of any British monarch.

During her long reign, many events happened, including the Cold War, the assassination of John Kennedy, the attack on the twin towers, the COVID-19 pandemic, and many inventions that impacted the world, such as the Internet, and smartphones. She performed the duties of a sovereign until practically her dying day. Until the end of her life, Elizabeth's personal popularity was very high.

Answer: President

The Russian and Soviet Mikhail S. Gorbachev (1931-2022), was named Viktor at birth, but his mother, a fervent Orthodox Christian, secretly christened him Mikhail. He was born into a poor peasant family when the Soviet Union was a one-party state, ruled by the Communist Party. He studied law at Moscow State University, where he met Raisa Titarenko, whom he married.

Gorbachev held various government positions until becoming Secretary General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1985 to 1991 and president of the Soviet Union from 1990-1991. His efforts to democratize the country and decentralize and modernize the economy led to the fall of Communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. He is considered one of the most important figures of the second half of the 20th century, having received, in 1990, the Nobel Peace Prize.

Answer: Film director, screenwriter, and film critic

Jean-Luc Godard (1930-2022) was born in Paris to a wealthy family and educated in Switzerland, where he stayed during WWII. He stated that he was not a frequent cinemagoer, but that after reading some publications he became interested. In the 1950s, he attended cine clubs in Paris, where according to him, he "discovered a world which nobody had spoken to me about".

He wrote for a long time for the influential journal "Cahiers du cinéma" until he released his first film "Breathless" (1960), which represented the beginning of the New Wave, a movement that rejected the old techniques of filming, allowing the director to use new and creative techniques. He continued using these techniques in numerous films such as "My Life to Live" (1962) and "Every Man for Himself" (1979). Godard was highly praised for "Histoire(s) du Cinéma: 1980-2000" (1997), a video study of French film. He is recognized as one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century. On September 2022, his death was announced as an assisted suicide procedure. According to his family "He was not sick, he was simply exhausted".

Answer: Actor and director

Sidney Poitier (1927-2022) was born prematurely in Miami where his parents, who were farmers in the Bahamas, were to sell their produce. He grew up in the Bahamas and at the age of sixteen, he moved to New York City, aiming at becoming an actor. While looking for opportunities as an actor, he sought to improve his reading and writing skills and reduce his Bahamian accent. In late 1949, he starred in the film "No Way Out" (1950), and in 1951 he starred in the film "Cry, the Beloved Country". In 1972, after participating in numerous films, Sidney Poitier made his directorial debut.

Poitier became the first Black actor to win the Award for Best Actor for "Lilies of the Field" (1963). He acted in more than 50 films and directed 9 films and many television shows. In parallel, from 1997-2007, he was an ambassador for the Bahamas to Japan and from 2002-2007 he was also an ambassador for the Bahamas to UNESCO. He received numerous awards and honors and as a citizen of the Bahamas, was granted knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974. On January 2022 Poitier died at home peacefully.

Answer: Singer and actress

Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022) was born in England, but at age of five, her family moved to Australia. When she was 14 she formed a group that performed in a cafe with three colleagues. In 1964, her talent was first recognized when she appeared on television and was awarded a trip to England. There she recorded her first single "Till you Say You'll Be Mine" (1966) and her debut album, "If not for You" (1971).

Her career soared with her debut opposite John Travolta in the film that was an adaptation of the Broadway musical, "Grease", which became the biggest box-office hit of 1978. The soundtrack album was one of the world's best-selling albums. Throughout her extensive career, she recorded many hit songs and starred in numerous movies.

In addition to her artistic career, Newton-John was an environmental activist, dedicated to animal rights causes and campaigns to support cancer research. In 1992, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and faced several relapses until in 2022, when she passed away.

Answer: Comic book artist

The American George Pérez (1954-2022), born to Puerto Rican parents, began drawing at age 5 and became one of the most popular and influential artists in the comic book genre. In 1973, he began his professional life in the comics industry as a penciler of a satire of Rich Buckler's character "Deathlok" and was hired by Marvin Comics as a regular, penciling some adventures authored by Bill Mantlo. He rose to prominence in the 1970s penciling "The Avengers" for Marvel Comics. For DC Comics George Pérez penciled "The New Teen Titans", and "Crisis on Infinite Earths" among others. He drew the encyclopedic "History of the DC Universe" and had a run on "Wonder Woman", a comic for which he also wrote the script.

He worked for several decades with comic publishers Marvel and DC, and in 2014, moved to Boom! Studios. In December 2021, on Free Comic Book Day, George Pérez announced his critical situation with pancreatic cancer, and on May 6, 2022, he passed away, leaving the world, according to his friends, less vibrant.