Less than two weeks after Angelina Jolie described her decision to have a double mastectomy to avoid breast cancer in an Op-Ed article in The New York Times, her aunt, Debbie Martin, has died of the disease in Escondido, Calif., The Associated Press reported. She was 61 and died on Sunday.

Ms. Martin was the younger sister of Ms. Jolie’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who died of ovarian cancer in 2007. Ms. Jolie wrote in The Times on May 14 that it was her mother’s death and the presence of a defective gene, BRCA1, which increases her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer, that prompted her to have preventive surgery.

Ron Martin, Ms. Martin’s husband, confirmed to The A.P. that she also had the BRCA1 gene, but was not aware of it until after her 2004 cancer diagnosis. “Had we known, we certainly would have done exactly what Angelina did,” he said.

He added that after learning she had breast cancer his wife had her ovaries removed because, like several other women in her family, she had a high genetic risk for ovarian cancer.

Rockabilly singer-musician Sonny Burgess is 84
Actress Carroll Baker is 82
Producer-director Irwin Winkler is 82
Actor John Karlen (“Cagney and Lacey”) is 80
Actress Beth Howland (“Alice”) is 72
Singer Gladys Knight is 69
Actress Sondra Locke is 69
Singer Billy Vera is 69
Singer John Fogerty is 68
Actor Brandon Cruz (“The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”) is 51
Actress Christa Miller (“Scrubs,” ”The Drew Carey Show”) is 49
Country singer Phil Vassar is 49
Singer Chris Ballew (bah-LOO’) of Presidents of the United States of America is 48
Singer Kylie Minogue is 45
Rapper Chubb Rock is 45
Actor Justin Kirk (“Weeds”) is 44
“The View” co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck is 36
Actress Monica Keena (“Dawson’s Creek,” ”Undeclared”) is 34
Singer Colbie Caillat (kal-LAY’) is 28
Actress Carey Mulligan (“The Great Gatsby”) is 28
Actor Joseph Cross is 27.

On May 28th, 1966, Ike and Tina Turner released “River Deep, Mountain High.”

In 1976, the Allman Brothers Band broke up after Gregg Allman testified against his personal road manager, who was charged with drug trafficking. The band reformed in 1978.

In 1977, singer-actor John Davidson escaped a fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, which killed 164 people and injured 130. Davidson stayed to help the victims.

Also in 1977, Bruce Springsteen settled his year-long suit against ex-manager Mike Appel and immediately began recording his “Darkness on the Edge of Town” album.

In 1983, The US Festival opened in San Bernardino, California. It lost millions of dollars, largely because of huge fees paid to such performers as David Bowie and Van Halen.

In 1996, singer Dave Gahan (GAHN) of Depeche (duh-PESH’) Mode was arrested after allegedly overdosing on a speedball of cocaine and heroin at his hotel in suburban Los Angeles.

In 1998, actor Phil Hartman was shot to death by his wife, Brynn, who then killed herself. Hartman was 49.