New York socialite Brooke Astor died of pneumonia on Monday (13Aug07). She was 105. The real estate heiress passed away at 2pm at her New York home, her son Anthony Marshall's lawyer has confirmed. Astor's friend and guardian Annette De La Renta - wife of designer Oscar De La Renta - tells the New York Post, "She left the world peacefully in a dignified manner and in her own house. We couldn't have asked for more."De La Renta was granted guardianship of Astor last year (06) after a judge ruled the socialite's son Marshall was not caring for Astor properly and allowing her to live in squalor.Marshall's own son, Philip Marshall, has accused his father of spending millions of dollars of Astor's money without her knowledge.British novelist John Gardner has also passed away after collapsing near his home in Basingstoke, England. He was 80.Gardner is best known for resurrecting the James Bond books in 1980, 16 years after the character's creator Ian Fleming died in 1964.
The author, who passed away on 3 August (07), wrote 14 Bond books in total.