Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship in October 1980. Clem Albers/The Chronicle
Paul Kantner at a free concert in Golden Gate Park in June 1985. Frederic Larson/The Chronicle
Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship
(Marty Balin singing) in 1985. Eric Luse/The Chronicle
Paul Kantner playing at the bandshell in Golden Gate Park. one of many free concerts to celebrate 20th anniversary of the Summer of Love
in June 1987.
UPI photo.
Jefferson Airplane in 1968. Standing left to right: Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Marty Balin, Spencer Dryden, Jorma Kaukonen. Seated: Jack Casady. Chronicle File
Jefferson Starship
(Paul Kantner bottom left) in 1981.
Paul Kantner behind the lamp of the Jefferson Airplane
Handout
Photo dated late 1960s
Paul Kantner at home in 1985. Vincent Maggiora/The Chronicle
Paul Kantner and Grace Slick holding daughter leave hospital in January 1971.
Paul Kantner of the Jefferson in October 1971.
Paul Kantner and Grace Slick and daughter China of the Jefferson Airplane in October 1971.
Bill Graham (right), owner of Filmores East & West, chats with Paul Kantner (left) and Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. John Olson / John Olson / The LIFE Picture Collection
Concert in Golden Gate Park with Grateful Dead and Jefferson Starship on Sept. 28, 1975.
Lots of shots of spectators, fans and Deadheads
Jefferson Starship Guitarist Craig Chaquico and Paul Kantner Terry Schmitt/The Chronicle
Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead and Paul Kantner in 1982. Steve Ringman/The Chronicle
Guitarist Paul Kantner in San Francisco, Ca., on Wednesday Jan. 11, 2012. Paul Kantner of the original Jefferson Airplane marked the San Francisco group's 40th anniversary with a run of shows at the Rrazz Room. Michael Macor/The Chronicle
Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Paul Kantner, of Jefferson Airplane. The group was behind songs such as ìWhite Rabbitî and ìSomebody to Love. Kantner was the principal songwriter. Contributed Photo
Before Hot Tuna was formed, Tom G. O'Neal captured this performance by Jack Casady, Paul Kantner and Jorma Kaukonen playing as Jefferson Airplane in 1968. Tom G. O'Neal/TGO Photo
A file photo of Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship. Contributed Photo
Paul Kantner in 1975.
Promotional studio portrait of American rock group Jefferson Starship in the 1970s. (Left to right): Aynsley Dunbar, Pete Sears, David Freiberg, Mickey Thomas, Craig Chaquico and Paul Kantner.. Hulton Archive
American rock group Jefferson Airplane performs on stage at the Central Park bandshell, New York City, August 1969. (Left to right): Guitarist Paul Kantner, drummer Spencer Dryden, singer Grace Slick, guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, bassist Jack Casady, singer Marty Balin.. RCA Records
Robin Williams and Paul Kantner John O'Hara/The Chronicle
Jefferson Starship's Grace Slick, Craig Chaquico and Paul Kantner had their own interpretations of Black and White in April 1982. John O'Hara/The Chronicle
Charlotte Maillard and Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship at the Black & White Ball in 1987. Deanne Fitzmaurice
Veterans and icons of the Bay Area music scene (Left to right): Joe McDonald, Michael Carabello and Paul Kantner gather outside Cafe Trieste in San Francisco to talk about their special experiences. Lance Iversen/The Chronicle
Paul Kantner outside Cafe Trieste in San Francisco. Lance Iversen/The Chronicle
Standing Ovations 2009 "Rockin' the Mint."
Paul Kantner (Jefferson Starship) Drew Altizer/Special to the Chronicle
This Jan. 17, 1996, file photo shows members of the 1960's band "The Jefferson Airplane," from left, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, and Spencer Dryden posing backstage after the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York. Paul Kantner, an original member of the seminal 1960s rock band Jefferson Airplane and the eventual leader of successor group Jefferson Starship, has died at age 74. JOE TABACCA/Associated Press
Original Jefferson Airplane member Paul Kantner sang in Mill Valley with the "Jefferson Airplane Volunteers."
Paul Kantner, of Jefferson Airplane/Starship poses for a portrait at Cafe Trieste, a favorite hangout him, on Friday Sept. 5, 2008 in San Francisco. Mike Kepka/The Chronicle
(Left to Right) Paul Kantner, Diana Mangano, Marty Balin, keyboard. Chris Smith and Mark "Slick" Aguilar are behind Balin.
Paul Kantner, of Jefferson Airplane/Starship poses for a portrait at Cafe Trieste, a favorite hangout him, on Friday Sept. 5, 2008 in San Francisco. Mike Kepka/The Chronicle
Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship in October 1980. Clem Albers/The Chronicle
Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship in October 1980. Clem Albers/The Chronicle
Click through the images to see more people we have lost in 2016
William Christopher, 1932-2016:
William Christopher, the actor best known for his role as Father Francis
Mulcahy on the hit 1970s-1980s sitcom "M.A.S.H," died on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016, at his
home in Pasadena, California. He was 84. In this photo, Christopher, left, Harry Morgan, Mike Farrell, Alan Alda, and Jamie Farr, take a break on the set during taping in Los Angeles.
WALLY FONG/Associated Press
Barbara Tarbuck, 1942-2016 : Actress Barbara Tarbuck held a recurring role on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital for more than a decade. She played Lady Jane Jacks, an Australian billionaire, between 1996 and 2010.
Frazer Harrison
Debbie Reynolds, 1932-2016: Debbie Reynolds, an actress and singer who became famous for her film roles in "Singin' in the Rain," "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," and "How the West Was Won," died December 28, 2016 of a stroke she suffered at her son's home in Beverly Hills. She died just one day after her daughter, actress and writer Carrie Fisher passed.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Carrie Fisher, 1956-2016: Carrie Fisher, who earned a permanent place in film culture and modern mythology for her role as Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" films, died Tuesday, Dec. 27. Fisher experienced a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles, just 15 minutes before landing on Friday, Dec. 23. She was revived and rushed to the hospital, where she died four days later. She was 60 years old.
CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images
George Michael, 1963-2016: George Michael, who rocketed to stardom with WHAM! and went on to enjoy a long and celebrated solo career lined with controversies, died, his publicist said Sunday, Dec. 25. He was 53.
Francois Mori/Associated Press
Richard Adams, 1920-2016: British author Richard Adams, whose 1972 book "Watership Down" became a
classic of children’s literature, died Dec. 24, 2016, in Oxfordshire, England.
He was 96. Adams’ lyrical and poignant novel about the plight of rabbits whose home
was under threat has sold millions of
copies and was made into a film, with a remake scheduled for next year.
SUB
Zsa Zsa Gabor, 1917-2016: Zsa Zsa Gabor, the jet-setting Hungarian actress who made a career out
of multiple marriages, conspicuous wealth and jaded wisdom about the
glamorous life, died Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016. She was 99. The middle and most famous of the sisters Gabor died Sunday of a heart
attack at her Los Angeles home.
Associated Press
Craig Sager, 1951-2016: Craig Sager, the longtime NBA sideline reporter famous for his flashy
suits and probing questions, died Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016, after a battle with cancer. He was 65.
Ronald Martinez
Bernard Fox, 1927-2016: Bernard Fox, at left, the mustachioed actor known to TV viewers as Dr. Bombay on "Bewitched" and Col. Crittendon on "Hogan’s Heroes," died Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016. He was 89. The Welsh-born actor’s extensive, wide-ranging film and TV credits
included "The Mummy," "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo," "The Dick Van Dyke
Show," "McHale’s Navy" and "Columbo."
MICHAEL DWYER/Associated Press
Alan Thicke, 1947-2016: Alan Thicke, a Canadian singer, songwriter and actor best remembered for
his portrayal of a father who was the ultimate suburban middlebrow
dispenser of advice to his children on the television sitcom "Growing
Pains," died Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. He was 69. He died of a heart attack, a publicist for one
of his sons, the singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, said.
Richard Shotwell/AP
John Glenn, 1921-2016: John Glenn, whose 1962 flight as the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the
Earth made him an all-American hero and propelled him to a long career
in the U.S. Senate, died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016. The last survivor of the original
Mercury 7 astronauts was 95.
Jay LaPrete/AP
Greg Lake, 1947-2016: Greg Lake, the prog-rock pioneer who co-founded King Crimson and
Emerson, Lake and Palmer, died Wednesday Dec.
7, 2016, after "a long and stubborn battle with cancer," according to his
manager. He was 69. This file photo shows Greg Lake, left, Keith Emerson, centre, and Carl Palmer after an award ceremony in London in 1972.
AP
Van Williams, 1934-2016: Van Williams, who starred as the emerald-suited superhero in the short-lived TV series "The Green Hornet, died Nov. 28, 2016. He was 82. AP
Fidel Castro, 1926-2016: Former President Fidel Castro, who led a rebel army to improbable
victory in Cuba, embraced Soviet-style communism and defied the power of
10 U.S. presidents during his half century rule, died Friday, Nov. 25, 2016, at age 90.
Charles Tasnadi/AP
Ron Glass, 1945-2016: Ron Glass, the handsome, prolific character actor best known for his
role as the gregarious, sometimes sardonic detective Ron Harris in the
long-running cop comedy "Barney Miller," died Friday, Nov. 25, 2016, at age 71 of respiratory failure.
AP
Florence Henderson, 1934-2016: Florence Henderson, who went from Broadway star to
become one of America’s most beloved television moms in "The Brady
Bunch," died Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. She was 82. Henderson died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los
Angeles, after being hospitalized the day before. Henderson had suffered heart failure.
Nick Agro/AP
Sharon Jones, 1956-2016: Sharon Jones, the stout powerhouse who shepherded a soul revival
despite not finding stardom until middle age, died Friday, Nov. 18, 2016. She was 60.
Jones died
at a Cooperstown, N.Y., hospital after battling pancreatic cancer.
Loved ones and members of her retro-soul band, the Dap-Kings, were among
those surrounding her.
Jake Coyle
Gwen Ifill, 1955-2016: Gwen Ifill, co-anchor of PBS' "NewsHour" with Judy Woodruff and a
veteran journalist who moderated two vice presidential debates, died
Monday, Nov. 14, 2016 of cancer. She was 61.
Andy Kropa/AP
Robert Vaughn, 1932-2016: The urbane actor who starred as the American spy Napoleon Solo on the slick 1960s NBC series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. died on Nov. 11, 2016. Vaughn, who received an Oscar nomination for playing Paul Newman's hard-drinking buddy Chet in the 1959 drama "The Young Philadelphians," died of acute leukemia in a hospital on the East Coast, his manager Matthew Sullivan told The Hollywood Reporter. A resident of Richfield, Conn., he had been undergoing treatment for his illness in New York and Connecticut.
Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Leonard Cohen, 1934-2016: Leonard Cohen, the baritone-voiced Canadian singer-songwriter who seamlessly blended spirituality and sexuality in songs like "Hallelujah," ''Suzanne" and "Bird on a Wire," died on Nov. 11, 2016.
JOEL SAGET/Staff
Janet Reno, 1938-2016: Janet Reno, the first woman to serve as U.S. attorney general and the epicenter of several political storms during the Clinton administration, died from complications of Parkinson’s disease in Miami Monday, November 7, 2016. She was 78.
Barry Thumma/AP
Tom Hayden, 1939-2016:
Famed '60s anti-war activist Tom Hayden, whose name became forever linked with the celebrated Chicago 7 trial, Vietnam War protests and his ex-wife actress Jane Fonda, died Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016, in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 76. Hayden had suffered a stroke in 2015.
Lennox McLendon/AP
Kevin Meaney, 1956-2016: Meaney, a comic’s comic who worked the standup circuit, was a staple on late-night TV and starred in the short-lived 1990s CBS series "Uncle Buck," died Friday, Oct. 21, 2016, at age 60. Meaney was found dead at his home in Forestburgh, in upstate New York. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Bobby Bank/WireImage
Shimon Peres, 1923-2016: Peres, a former Israeli president and prime minister, whose life story mirrored that of the Jewish state and who was celebrated around the world as a Nobel prize-winning visionary who pushed his country toward peace, died early Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016. He was 93.
Oded Balilty/AP
Arnold Palmer, 1929- 2016: Palmer ranked among the most important figures in golf history, and it went well beyond his seven major championships and 62 PGA Tour wins. He died Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016 at the age of 87.
Express/Getty Images
Charmian Carr, 1942-2016: Carr, the actress best known for sweetly portraying the eldest von Trapp daughter in Rogers & Hammerstein’s "The Sound of Music," died Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016, in Los Angeles of complications from a rare form of dementia. She was 73.
Edward Albee, 1928-2016: Three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee, who
challenged theatrical convention in masterworks such as "Who’s Afraid of
Virginia Woolf?" and "A Delicate Balance," died Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, at his home in Montauk, east of New York. He was 88. With the deaths of Arthur Miller and August
Wilson in 2005, he was arguably America’s greatest living playwright.
SARA KRULWICH
Phyllis Schlafly, 1924-2016: Schlafly, the outspoken conservative activist who helped defeat
the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and founded the Eagle Forum
political group, died Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. She was 92.
Uncredited/AP
Hugh O'Brian, 1925-2016: O'Brian, who shot to fame as Sheriff Wyatt Earp in what was hailed
as television’s first adult Western, died at home Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, in Beverly Hills. He was 91. Above, he confers with James Stewart, left, on the set of "Cheyenne Autumn." O'Brian went on to found HOBY, a youth leadership philanthropic organization.
DAB/AP
Gene Wilder, 1933-2016: Wilder, the frizzy-haired actor who brought his deft comedic touch to such unforgettable roles as the neurotic accountant in "The Producers" and the mad scientist of "Young Frankenstein," died on August 29, 2016. He was 83.
MYCHELE DANIAU/AFP/Getty Images
Juan Gabriel, 1950-2016: Gabriel, a superstar Mexican songwriter and singer who was an icon in the Latin music world, died August 28, 2016 at his home in Southern California at age 66. Mr. Gabriel was Mexico’s leading singer-songwriter and top-selling artist. His ballads about love and heartbreak and bouncy mariachi tunes became hymns throughout Latin America and Spain and with Spanish speakers in the United States.
Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press
Steven Hill, 1922-2016: Hill, a versatile character actor in theater, films and
television who achieved his greatest success late in life as grumpy
District Attorney Adam Schiff on TV’s long-running "Law & Order," died
Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016. He was 94.
Jessica Burstein/AP
Jack Riley, 1935-2016: Jack Riley, who played the grumpy, self-absorbed Mr. Carlin on the 1970s
"The Bob Newhart Show" sitcom and provided the voice for absent-minded dad Stu
Pickles on "Rugrats," died Aug. 19, 2016. He was 80.
Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images
John McLaughlin, 1927-2016: John McLaughlin, the conservative political commentator and host of the namesake long-running television show that pioneered hollering-heads discussions of Washington politics, died Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016. He was 89.
Kevin Wolf/AP
Fyvush Finkel, 1922-2016: Actor Fyvush Finkel, the plastic-faced Emmy Award-winning character
actor whose career in stage and screen started in Yiddish theater and
led to memorable roles in "Fiddler on the Roof" on Broadway and on TV in "Boston Public" and "Picket Fences" died Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. He
was 93.
Kathy Willens/AP
Kenny Baker, 1934-2016: Kenny Baker, the 3-foot 8-inch actor who
played R2-D2 in the "Star Wars" films, died Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016, at his home in Preston, northwest England. He was 81.
Reed Saxon
Garry Marshall, 1934-2016: Writer-director Garry Marshall, whose deft touch with comedy and romance
led to a string of TV hits that included "Happy Days" and "Laverne &
Shirley" and the box-office successes “Pretty Woman” and "Runaway
Bride," died Tuesday, July 19, 2016. He was 81. Marshall died at a hospital in Burbank, California, of
complications from pneumonia after having a stroke. Marshall was the brother of actress-director Penny Marshall.
Rich Fury/AP
Sydney Schanberg, 1934-2016: Sydney H. Schanberg, a former correspondent for The New York Times
awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the genocide in Cambodia in
1975 — and whose story of the survival of his assistant inspired the
film "The Killing Fields" — died Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He was 82. Above, Schanberg, left, talks with his former assistant Dith Pran at the New York Times office in New York. Dith died in 2008.
AP
Noel Neill, 1920-2016: Noel Neill, the petit film and television actress who played Lois Lane
in 1940s "Superman" movie serials and on television in the 1950s, died
on Sunday, July 3, 2016, at her home in Tucson, Ariz. She was 95. In this 2010 file photo, she appeared at the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Ill.
Stephen Rickerl/AP
Michael Cimino, 1939-2016: Michael Cimino, the Oscar-winning director whose film "The Deer Hunter"
became one of the great triumphs of Hollywood’s 1970s heyday and whose
disastrous "Heaven’s Gate" helped bring that era to a close, died Saturday, July 2, 2016, at age 77.
Edwin Reichert/Associated Press
Pat Summitt, 1952-2016: Pat Summitt, who was at the forefront of a broad ascendance of women’s
sports, winning eight national basketball championships at the
University of Tennessee and more games than any other Division I college
coach, male or female, died Tuesday, June 28, 2016. She was 64. Summitt stepped down after 38 seasons and 1,098 victories at Tennessee
in April 2012, at 59, less than a year after she learned she had
early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Stephan Savoia/AP
Buddy Ryan, 1934-2016: Buddy Ryan, pro football’s famously combative defensive innovator who
helped propel the New York Jets and the Chicago Bears to Super Bowl
championships, died Tuesday, June 28, 2016, in Kentucky. He was 82. He had been treated for skin cancer in
recent years.
Kevork Djansezian/AP
Anton Yelchin, 1989-2016: Anton Yelchin, a rising actor best known for playing Chekov in the new "Star Trek" films, was killed June 19, 2016, after being pinned by his own car when it rolled down his
driveway in Los Angeles. He was 27.
Richard Shotwell
Gordie Howe, 1928-2016: Gordie Howe, the hockey great who set scoring records that stood for
decades, died Friday, June 10, 2016. He was 88. Howe set NHL marks with 801 goals and 1,850 points that held up until
Wayne Gretzky surpassed his idol in the record books.
Anonymous/AP
Muhammad Ali, 1942-2016: Ali, the magnificent heavyweight champion whose fast fists and irrepressible personality transcended sports and captivated the world, died Friday, June 3, 2016. He was 74.
AP
Theresa Saldana, 1955-2016: Theresa Saldana, the "Raging Bull" actress who
survived a stalker’s brutal attack to become a crime victim’s advocate
and reclaimed her entertainment career with "The Commish”" and other TV
shows, died Monday, June 6, 2016, in Los Angeles. She was 61. Saldana had been suffering from pneumonia.
Chris Martinez/AP
Peter Shaffer, 1926-2016: Playwright Peter Shaffer, whose durable, award-winning hits included "Equus" and "Amadeus," died Monday, June 6, 2016. He was 90. In this photo from 2008, Shaffer stands with Daniel Radcliffe, as they celebrate being awarded by for Best Play Revival to Shaffer and Best Newcomer to Radcliffe for "Equus."
Carmen Valino/AP
Morley Safer, 1931-2016: Morley Safer, the veteran "60 Minutes" correspondent who was equally at home reporting on social injustices, the Orient Express and abstract art, and who exposed a military atrocity in Vietnam that played an early role in changing Americans’ view of the war, died Thursday, May 19, 2016. He was 84. Safer, who had been in declining health, died at his home in Manhattan. He announced his retirement last week.
John Paul Filo/AP
Prince, 1958-2016: Pop superstar Prince, one of the best selling pop artists of all time and widely acclaimed as among the most inventive musicians of his era, was found dead at his home on Thursday, April 21, 2016, in suburban Minneapolis. He was 57.
KEVIN KANE/AP
Chyna, 1970-2016: Chyna, the tall, muscle-bound, raven-haired pro-wrestler who rocketed to popularity in the 1990s after taking on both women and men in the ring and later revealed her struggles with addiction on reality TV, dies Wednesåay, April 20, 2016. She was 46. The former World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler was found her dead in her Redondo Beach, Calif., apartment.
Kevork Djansezian/AP
Doris Roberts, 1925-2016: Roberts, who played the tart-tongued, endlessly meddling mother on "Everybody Loves Raymond," died Sunday, April 17, 2016. She was 90. Roberts won four Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Marie Barone on CBS' "Raymond."
Jordan Strauss
Patty Duke, 1946-2016: Patty Duke, who as a teen won an Oscar for playing Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker," then maintained a long career while battling personal demons, died Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at the age of 69 of sepsis from a ruptured intestine. She died in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, where she had lived for the past quarter-century. Duke starred in her own sitcom, The Patty Duke Show," which aired for three seasons. She played dual roles as identical cousins.
ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images
James Noble, 1922-2016: James Noble, a Broadway-seasoned actor who appeared on soap operas and films like "10" and "Being There," but perhaps was best known for playing the absent-minded governor to Robert Guillaume's patient head of household in the 1980s sitcom "Benson," died in Connecticut Monday, March 28, 2016. He was 94.
ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images
Mother Angelica, 1923-2016: Mother Mary Angelica, a folksy Roman Catholic nun who used a monastery garage to begin a television ministry that grew into a global religious media empire, has died. She was 92. Known to millions of viewers simply as "Mother Angelica," the founder of the Eternal Word Television Network died Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016, at the rural Alabama monastery where she lived about 45 miles north of Birmingham.
PHILIP HOLMAN/AP
Jim Harrison, 1937-2016: The fiction writer, poet, outdoorsman and reveler who wrote with gruff affection for the country’s landscape and rural life and enjoyed mainstream success in middle age with his historical saga "Legends of the Fall," died Saturday, March 26, 2016, at age 78 at his home in Patagonia, Arizona.
George Mason & Salli Slaughter/AP
Garry Shandling, 1949-2016: Garry Shandling, who as an actor and comedian pioneered a pretend brand
of self-focused docudrama with "The Larry Sanders Show," died Thursday, March 24, 2016, in Los
Angeles of an undisclosed cause.
Charles Sykes/AP
Earl Hamner Jr., 1923-2016: The versatile and prolific writer who drew upon his Depression-era upbringing in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to create one of television’s most beloved family shows, "The Waltons," died Thursday, March 24, 2016, in Los Angeles. He was 92. Above, he poses, in back, with the cast of "The Waltons."
CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images
Ken Howard, 1944-2016: The strapping character actor who starred in the 1970s TV
drama "The White Shadow" and was currently serving as president of
SAG-AFTRA, died Wednesday, March 23, 2016, at age 71. No cause was given.
CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
Phife Dawg, 1970-2016: Phife Dawg, a masterful lyricist whose witty wordplay was a linchpin of
the groundbreaking hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, died Tuesday, March 22, 2016, from
complications resulting from diabetes. He was 45.
Brian Ach
Rob Ford, 1969-2016: T he pugnacious, populist former mayor of Toronto whose career
crashed in a drug-driven, obscenity-laced debacle, died Tuesday, March 22, 2016, after a battle with cancer, his family said. He was 46.
GEOFF ROBINS/Getty
Joe Santos, 1931-2016: Joe Santos, right, who played Lieutenant Dennis Becker on “The Rockford Files” and had a recurring role on “The Sopranos,” died Friday, March 18, 2016, at 84 in Santa Monica, Calif., following a heart attack.
Fotos International/Getty Images
Larry Drake, 1950-2016: Larry Drake, who earned back-to-back Emmy Awards for his sensitive
portrayal of mentally challenged character Benny Stulwicz in "L.A. Law," was found dead in his Los Angeles-area home on Thursday, March 17, 2016. He was 66.
Lennox McLendon/AP
Frank Sinatra Jr., 1944-2016: Frank Sinatra Jr., who followed in his father’s footsteps with a singing career but never had a hit of his own, died of cardiac arrest on tour in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, March 16, 2016. He was 72.
ABC Photo Archives/ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images
Keith Emerson, 1944-2016: Keith Emerson, founder and keyboardist of the progressive-rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer, died Thursday, March 10, 2016. He was 71. The cause appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Emerson, drummer Carl Palmer and vocalist guitarist Greg Lake were giants of progressive rock in the 1970s, recording six platinum-selling albums.
Michael Putland/Getty Images
George Martin, 1926-2016: George Martin, second from right, the Beatles’ urbane producer who quietly guided the band’s swift, historic transformation from rowdy club act to musical and cultural revolutionaries, died Tuesday, March 8, 2016. He was 90.
Getty Images
Nancy Reagan, 1921-2016: Nancy Reagan, the helpmate, backstage adviser and fierce protector of
Ronald Reagan in his journey from actor to president — and finally
during his 10-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease — died Sunday, March 6, 2016, at her home in Bel-Air, California. She was
94.
Dennis Cook
Pat Conroy, 1945-2016: Author Pat Conroy, whose beloved works "The Great Santini" and "The
Prince of Tides" are set against the vistas of the South Carolina coast
that was his home, died Friday, March 4, 2016, at his home in Beaufort,
S.C.
Richard Shiro
George Kennedy, 1925-2016: George Kennedy, the hulking, tough-guy character actor who won an
Academy Award for his portrayal of a savage chain-gang convict in the
1960s classic "Cool Hand Luke," died Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, of old
age in Boise, Idaho. He was 91.
AP
Umberto Eco, 1932-2016: The Italian writer best known for the international best-seller "The Name of the Rose," died Friday, Feb. 19, 2016.
Sebastian Scheiner/Associated Press
Antonin Scalia, 1936-2016: Antonin Scalia, the influential conservative and most provocative member of the U.S. Supreme Court, has died Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016, of natural causes at age 79. Scalia was found dead in his room at a West Texas resort ranch.
Gavin Averill / Associated Press
Maurice White, 1941-2016: The founder and leader of Earth, Wind & Fire, died at home in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. He was 74.
Rob Verhorst / Redferns
Bob Elliott, 1923-2016: Bob Elliott, half of the enduring television and radio comedy team Bob and Ray, died at his home in Cundy’s Harbor, Maine, on Feb. 2, 2016. He was 92.
JACK MANNING/STF
Paul Kantner, 1941-2016: Paul Kantner, a founding member of the Jefferson Airplane who stayed with the seminal San Francisco band through its transformation from 1960s hippies to 1970s hit makers as the eventual leader of successor group Jefferson Starship, died at age 74.
Clem Albers/The Chronicle
Abe Vigoda, 1921-2016: Character actor Abe Vigoda, whose leathery, sunken-eyed face made him ideal for playing the over-the-hill detective Phil Fish in the 1970s TV series "Barney Miller" and the doomed Mafia soldier in "The Godfather," died at age 94.
Glenn Frey, 1948, 2016: Frey who co-founded the Eagles and with Don Henley became one of history's most successful songwriting teams with such hits as "Hotel California" and "Life in the Fast Lane," died Monday, Jan. 18, 2016. Frey was 67 and had been battling multiple ailments.
Gus Stewart/Redferns
Dan Haggerty, 1941-2016: Dan Haggerty, the rugged, bearded actor who starred in the film and TV series "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams" about a mountain man and animal trainer, died Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, in Burbank, Calif. Haggerty was 74 and had been battling cancer of the spine.
Nbc/San Leandro Police Department
Alan Rickman, 1946-2016: British actor Alan Rickman, whose career ranged from Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company to the "Harry Potter" films, died Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. He was 69. Rickman’s family said that the actor had died after a battle with cancer.
Evan Agostini/AP
David Bowie, 1947-2016: David Bowie, the chameleon-like star who transformed the sound — and the look — of rock with his audacious creativity and his sexually ambiguous makeup and costumes, died of cancer Sunday. Bowie, whose hits included "Space Oddity," ''Fame," ''Heroes" and "Let's Dance," died surrounded by family on Jan. 11, 2016. The singer, who was 69, had fought cancer for 18 months.
Evening Standard/Getty Images
Pat Harrington, 1929-2016: Harrington, who played apartment super Dwayne Schneider on the hit CBS sitcom,"One Day at a Time," died Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 86.
CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
Beth Howland, 1941-2016: Beth Howland, an actress best known for her role as a ditsy waitress on
the 1970s and '80s CBS sitcom "Alice," died Dec. 31, 2015, of lung
cancer. She was 74.
Doug Pizac/AP Paul Kantner, one of the giants of the San Francisco music scene, died Thursday. Mr. Kantner, a founding member of the Jefferson Airplane, was 74 and had suffered a heart attack this week.
His death was confirmed by longtime publicist and friend, Cynthia Bowman , who said he died of multiple organ failure and septic shock.
Mr. Kantner had a string of health problems in recent years, including a heart attack in March.
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With Jefferson Airplane, Mr. Kantner pioneered what became known as the San Francisco sound in the mid-1960s, with such hits as “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit.”
The Airplane was renowned for thrilling vocal gymnastics by singers Marty Balin , Grace Slick and Mr. Kantner, the psychedelic blues-rock sound developed by guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bass player Jack Casady and the LSD-spiked, ’60s-era revolutionary fervor of its lyrics.
The band was formed in 1965 in a Union Street bar called the Drinking Gourd, when Balin met Mr. Kantner and expressed his interest in creating a “folk-rock” band. It didn’t take long for the Airplane to attract a sizable local following, enough so that when fledgling promoter Bill Graham opened his legendary Fillmore Auditorium, the Jefferson Airplane served as the first headliner.
The Airplane was the first of the so-called “San Francisco sound” bands to sign a recording contract with a major label, and in August of 1966, its debut album, “Jefferson Airplane Takes Off,” was released. Slick joined the band a year later and songs like “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit” became national hits as the love children came streaming into San Francisco.
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The group quickly became an integral part of the ’60s rock scene, from the Matrix club to Golden Gate Park’s “Human Be-In” to Monterey Pop. The Airplane’s high point may have been its sterling early-morning performance at Woodstock, while its nadir may have come only months later, at the violence-plagued Altamont concert, when Balin was knocked unconscious by the rampaging Hells Angels .
After the band was grounded by feuds and a lawsuit, Mr. Kantner and Slick transformed the group into Jefferson Starship in 1974, taking the name from a Kantner solo album.
When Mr. Kantner left the Starship in 1985, he accepted an $80,000 settlement in exchange for a promise not to use the names “Jefferson” or “Airplane” without Slick’s consent.
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Slick stayed with the Starship and had a hit with “We Built This City” before the band folded in the late 1980s.
A sometimes prickly, often sarcastic musician who kept his own counsel and routinely enraged his old bandmates — they sued him for trademark infringement (and settled) after he started his own version of Jefferson Starship in 1991 — Mr. Kantner became something of a landmark on the San Francisco music scene, the only member of the band still living in town.
“Somebody once said, if you want to go crazy go to San Francisco,” he said. “Nobody will notice.”
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Mr. Kantner was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 for his work with the Jefferson Airplane during the band’s glory years — from the breakthrough 1967 “Surrealistic Pillow” album through Woodstock and Altamont.
“We never made plans,” said Mr. Kantner. “Well, we made plans, but they went awry. It was good to have a plan in case they didn’t go awry.”
He maintained a strenuous touring schedule, performing regularly with some version of the Jefferson Starship name. His group sometimes included Balin, as well as David Freiberg of the Quicksilver Messenger Service , another leading Bay Area band from the ’60s.
“When I look back on it, that’s probably longer than any of the other bands I’ve been in,” Mr. Kantner said.
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Paul Lorin Kantner was born in San Francisco on March 17, 1941.
His father, a traveling salesman, sent Mr. Kantner to military school after his mother’s death. He sought escape in science fiction books and music, before being inspired by Pete Seeger to become a folk singer. He attended Santa Clara University and San Jose State College before dropping out to pursue music.
When not on the road with his band, Mr. Kantner was a fixture at Caffe Trieste in North Beach.
“I’ve always loved San Francisco better than anywhere,” he said. “It’s always had its problems, but just the weather alone, the views. This corner alone has proved so nourishing.”
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Mr. Kantner is survived by three children; sons Gareth and Alexander, and daughter China.
Funeral arrangements are pending.