People Who Died: Baltimore Edition

Every December the Baltimore City
Paper publishes a feature called “People Who Died,” covering
some of the less-well-known-but-still-important figures who passed
away in the past year. This year and last year, unlike
previous years,
the obituarists have limited themselves to deceased people who
lived in the Baltimore area. That means a couple of bona-fide
celebrities, such as Tom Clancy and Richard Ben Kramer, slipped
onto the list this
time, but it also means the more obscure entries will be
really obscure for those of you who don’t live around
here, so it balances out. The 2013 edition’s highlights
include tributes to actor Robert Chew,
best known for playing Proposition Joe on The Wire, and
writer “Blaster”
Al Ackerman, an old-time zinester whose weird and funny tall
tales deserve a much wider audience than they got in his
lifetime.