>>The movie and theater director Arthur Penn, best known as the director of "Bonnie and Clyde," has died at 88.
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>>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/movies/30penn.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=obituaries
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>>Nobody does better obituaries than the Times, especially the longer ones. You may not even have known who the person was, or very little about them. Or maybe it's someone you were familiar with. I always learn some things I didn't know about them, too. It's always fascinating to read about the choices these people made, the different stages of their lives. Back in the old days writing obits was considered the most lowly beat for a newspaper reporter, the equivalent of writing parking tickets. That certainly is not the case with these. They are often the best thing in the paper.
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>I'm sure you realize that the obits for famous folks are written years in advance and updated until the person passes....In order to judge the Times does the obits better than any other paper (not denying as I can not qualify any of them) you'd have to read other papers...

Yes, Tracy, I am aware they have obits in the can for figures of note. What would you expect, that they drop everything they're doing the day Ronald Reagan dies (for example) and crank out three pages? They insert a few details such as the time and cause of death, grab a few reaction quotes, and into the paper it goes.

That's true, I would have to read all the other papers (and magazines etc.) to state with validity that the Times obits are the best. Jeez.