Two colorful figures from two entirely different worlds died Thursday: controversial diet guru Dr. Robert Atkins, who was 72, and eccentric American-born billionaire philanthropist J. Paul Getty Jr., who was 70.

Atkins, who advocated a widely utilized yet even more widely debated high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet, died in a New York hospital, where he had been since April 8 after he slipped and fell on some ice, reports Reuters.

Atkins, who is survived by his wife and his mother, underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain but went into a coma and died more than a week later from complications, said his spokesman, Richard Rothstein.

"It makes me proud that my husband has touched so many lives, and having this reaffirmed at this time is very much helping me through this terrible ordeal," Veronica Atkins said in a statement.

Atkins's 1972 book "Diet Revolution" was updated twice and hit the bestseller lists despite the criticism. His latest book, "Atkins for Life," came out last year.

Oil heir Getty, who died Thursday in Britain, was a onetime hippie who gave away more than $200 million to a wide array of causes and was such an Anglophile that, besides becoming a British citizen (in 1970), he even built a replica of London's Oval cricket ground at his 2,500-acre Wormsley Lodge estate in southern England. His death came after a series of infections, said his London-based doctor.

As Reuters reports, Getty lived a legendary life, evolving from oil tycoon to drug addict and ultimately reclusive benefactor. A wife and five children survive him.