People Who Died: Baltimore Edition

From Blaster Al to Proposition Joe.

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.