National Obituaries

TOKYO (AP) — Akira Toriyama, the creator of the best-selling Dragon Ball and other popular anime who influenced Japanese comics, has died, his studio said Friday. He was 68.

NEW YORK (AP) — Steve Lawrence, a singer and top stage act who as a solo performer and in tandem with his wife Eydie Gorme kept Tin Pan Alley alive during the rock era, died Thursday. He was 88.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.

LONDON (AP) — Edward Bond, a playwright who shocked the British theater world with his explosive 1965 drama “Saved,” has died, his agent said Tuesday. He was 89. Bond’s literary agency, Casarotto Ramsay and Associates, said that he died on Sunday.

Chris Mortensen, the award-winning journalist who covered the NFL for close to four decades, including 32 as a senior analyst at ESPN, died Sunday morning. He was 72. ESPN confirmed Mortensen’s death on Sunday.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ed Ott, a former major league catcher and coach who helped the Pittsburgh Pirates win the 1979 World Series, died Sunday. He was 72. Ott died in the central Pennsylvania town of Danville, according to the Pirates.

MONTREAL — Quebec actor, television and radio host Paul Houde died suddenly on Saturday morning due to complications following surgery, his family announced on social media. He was 69.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andy Russell, the standout linebacker who was an integral part of the Pittsburgh Steelers' evolution from perennial losers to champions, has died. He was 82. The team confirmed Russell's death on Saturday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Iris Apfel, a textile expert, interior designer and fashion celebrity known for her eccentric style, has died. She was 102. Her death was confirmed by her commercial agent, Lori Sale, who called Apfel “extraordinary.

OTTAWA — The flag fluttered at half-mast on Parliament's Peace Tower and several provincial legislatures on Friday as Canadians paid tribute to former prime minister Brian Mulroney.