Milestones

DIED The founder of a Tibetan-studies program at Indiana University and author of the autobiography Tibet Is My Country, Taktser Rinpoche was a committed and lifelong advocate for his homeland. Yet Rinpoche, who was born Thubten Jigme Norbu, didn't always see eye to eye with his younger brother, the Dalai Lama. Though they remained close personally, politically Rinpoche supported absolute independence, while the Dalai Lama worked toward a compromise of "meaningful autonomy." Rinpoche was 86.

While animator Bill Melendez worked on a vast range of cartoons during his nearly 70-year career, it was bringing Charles Schulz's Peanuts characters to life on TV and in film that brought him fame. He got his start in the late '30s with Walt Disney, working on Bambi, Dumbo and other projects before moving on to animate Warner Bros. characters like Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig. In 1959, Melendez was introduced to the world of Charlie Brown and Snoopy, and six years later, he animated the classic A Charlie Brown Christmas. For his impeccable work, Melendez earned four Emmy Awards and an Oscar nomination. He was 91.

She co-starred in The Broadway Melody, the first talkie to win an Academy Award for Best Picture, yet actress Anita Page was known for her work in silent films. The New York City native was cast in many silent movies, notably alongside Joan Crawford in 1928's Our Dancing Daughters, though when her MGM contract ended in 1933, Page all but disappeared from film. She was 98.