Walter Mirisch, a film producer who with his two brothers ran a pioneering independent production company that helped bring to the screen a raft of classic films, including the Oscar best-picture winners “West Side Story,” “The Apartment,” and “In the Heat of the Night,” died Feb. 24 in Los Angeles, at 101. The Mirisch Company, which Mr. Mirisch founded in 1957, grew to be an industry powerhouse, greenlighting films by leading directors — including John [...]

Chaim Topol, best known for playing Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof,” and known by his surname throughout his acting career, died in Israel on March 9. He was 87. He began his career as an actor after being assigned to the entertainment troop while serving in the Israeli army. In his career, he won a number of international film awards, including two Golden Globes, one for “Sallah Shabati” and one for “Fiddler.” He [...]

Amy Schwartz, prolific author and illustrator of books for children, died Feb. 26 at her home in Brooklyn. She was 68. Her books included several on the theme of “100 things,” written in rhyme — 100 things That Make Me Happy, 100 Things I Love To Do With You, 100 Things I know how To Do. Among her most recent books was 13 Stories About Ayana, a follow-up to her 13 Stories About Harris from [...]

Judith Heumann, an activist who helped secure legislation protecting the rights of disabled people, died March 4 in Washington, DC. She was 75. Judith Heumann has been called “the mother of the disability rights movement” for her longtime advocacy on behalf of disabled people through protests and legal action, her website says. She lobbied for legislation that eventually led to the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, which was enacted in 1990, also the Individuals With [...]