Country Music Legend Johnny Cash Dies

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NASHVILLE (voa) - American country music legend Johnny Cash has died at the age of 71.

A hospital spokesperson says Cash passed away early Friday in a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, due to complications from diabetes. He also suffered from Parkinson's Disease, a fatal neurological disorder.

Cash had been in declining health since the death in May of his wife, country music star June Carter Cash.

The popular singer and songwriter was a towering figure in American music, spanning different musical genres, including country, rock and folk.

His career spanned five decades. He won 11 Grammies (music industry awards) as well as numerous Country Music Association Awards. He most recently was nominated for several MTV video music awards.

His most popular hits included Ring of Fire, A Boy Named Sue, Folsom Prison Blues, I Walk the Line, and Sunday Morning Coming Down. So many of his songs were about prison life and the hard times of inmates that many fans wrongly assumed Cash had spent time behind bars himself.

Johnny Cash was known worldwide as "the Man in Black" because he always performed dressed in black clothing. He was born on a cotton farm in the southern state of Arkansas in 1932, one of seven children.

Actor John Ritter Dies

And a well-known American comic actor, John Ritter, also has died.

Ritter, who was 54, died of a massive heart attack late Thursday, after taping an episode of his latest hit television comedy, Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.

Known for physical comedy, Ritter is perhaps best remembered for the 1970's hit comedy series Three's Company, where he portrayed Jack Tripper, a bungling chef living in an apartment with two single women.

The actor died less than a week short of his 55th birthday.

John Ritter was the son of country singer and actor Tex Ritter.