Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary Dies at 86
Peter Yarrow, a founding member of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, has died. He was 86.
Yarrow’s death was confirmed to The New York Times by his publicist, Ken Sunshine. His cause of death was due to a four-year battle with bladder cancer.
Yarrow’s daughter, Bethany, shared in a statement to the Associated Press, “Our fearless dragon is tired and has entered the last chapter of his magnificent life. The world knows Peter Yarrow the iconic folk activist, but the human being behind the legend is every bit as generous, creative, passionate, playful, and wise as his lyrics suggest”
Born in Manhattan on May 31, 1938, Yarrow discovered his love for music while studying psychology at Cornell University
Peter, Paul and Mary won five Grammy Awards and had two No. 1 albums. They scored six Top 10 hits, including “If I Had a Hammer,” their cover of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” their cover of John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” and the classic “Puff The Magic Dragon,” which Yarrow wrote.
After breaking up in 1970, the group got back together in 1978 and continued performing until Mary Travers died in 2009. They performed at major historical events, from the 1963 March on Washington to the 1969 Festival for Peace.
Yarrow went on to create three Emmy Award-winning TV shows for CBS based on “Puff, the Magic Dragon.” However, his reputation was tarnished when, in 1970, he was convicted of improper conduct with a minor and sentenced to one-to-three years in prison. Yarrow only served three months and was later pardoned by President Jimmy Carter in 1981.
