Life In Legacy - Week of May 17, 2008

Art and Literature

Roxanna Brown (62) art historian and director of the Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum at Bangkok University. Brown was arrested at her Seattle hotel on May 9 and later implicated in Los Angeles in connection with a federal investigation on a single count of wire fraud for allegedly allowing her electronic signature to be used on appraisal forms in illegal trafficking of pilfered Southeast Asian art donated to museums. She was found dead of an apparent heart attack in her cell in Seattle, Washington on May 14, 2008.

Will Elder (86) one of the original Mad magazine cartoonist-illustrators who helped to set the irreverent visual style of the legendary satirical publication in the '50s and later cocreated the long-running "Little Annie Fanny" color cartoon strip in Playboy magazine. Elder died of complications from Parkinson's disease in Rockleigh, New Jersey on May 15, 2008.

Zelia Gattai (91) celebrated author of Brazilian best-seller Anarchists, Thank God! and widow of famed Brazilian novelist Jorge Amado. Gattai was hospitalized weeks ago. Her condition worsened after intestinal surgery, and she died in Salvador, the northeastern Brazilian city immortalized in Amado's novels, on May 17, 2008.

Oakley Hall (87) novelist and writing teacher, director of the creative writing program at the University of California at Irvine. Hall also worked to foster the talent of younger writers through the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, an annual writers' conference in the Sierra Nevada. Among his works are the novel Warlock, a finalist for the 1958 Pulitzer Prize, and the libretto for an opera based on Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose. He died of cancer and kidney disease in Nevada City, California on May 12, 2008.

John Ranard (56) documentary photographer who depicted the grim realities of life in modern Russia, along with intimate views of boxing and his own fatal illness. Ranard was best known for contributing the photographs that accompanied Joyce Carol Oates's text in the 1987 book On Boxing. He died of liver cancer in New York City on May 14, 2008.

Robert Rauschenberg (82) pop artist whose use of odd and everyday materials won him regard as a pioneer in pop art. Rauschenberg died of heart failure on Captiva Island, off Florida's Gulf coast, on May 12, 2008.

Jeff Torrington (72) Scottish writer who worked for 30 years on an award-winning first novel based on his own hard life. Torrington's novel Swing Hammer Swing! won two Whitbread Awards in 1992, for best first novel and book of the year. He suffered from Parkinson's disease and died in Paisley, Scotland on May 11, 2008.

Business and Science

Willis E. Lamb Jr. (94) emeritus professor of physics and optical sciences at the University of Arizona who shared the 1955 Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery of a slight and subtle discrepancy in the quantum theory describing how electrons behave in the hydrogen atom. Lamb died of a gallstone disorder in Tucson, Arizona on May 15, 2008.

Dr. Richard R. Lower (78) surgeon whose heart operations on animals in the '50s helped to pave the way for the first successful transplant of a human heart in 1967. As a surgical resident at Stanford University in 1959, Lower transplanted part of a dog's heart to a second dog, which lived for eight days, shattering a previous survival record of seven hours. Lower died of pancreatic cancer in Twin Bridges, Montana on May 17, 2008.

Bob McCord (69) restaurateur whose Sagebrush Cantina, open since 1974, became a popular destination that fueled the growth of Calabasas, Calif. and its historic old town. McCord died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare brain disorder, in Burbank, California on May 12, 2008.

Robert Mondavi (94) pioneering Napa Valley vintner whose vision and drive revolutionized the way the world thought about California wine. Robert Mondavi Winery grew into a $500 million-a-year business as it introduced European winemaking techniques to the US, like the use of French oak aging barrels and stainless-steel fermentation tanks. Mondavi died in Yountville, California on May 16, 2008.

Dr. Jacob Robbins (85) endocrinologist whose studies of the thyroid gland at the National Institutes of Health helped to explain how it helps to govern metabolism and how thyroid cancers caused by radiation may be treated or possibly prevented. Robbins died of heart failure in Bethesda, Maryland on May 12, 2008.

Harvey Schein (80) leader of the Sony Corp. of America in the '70s who doubled its size in spite of championing the failed Betamax video recording system and clashing with Sony's top Japanese executives. Schein died of lymphoma in New York City on May 14, 2008.

Education

Dagmar Barnouw (72) University of Southern California professor and author whose provocative works about the aftermath of World War II took aim at what she called the sanctification of Holocaust survivors, the "politics of not-forgetting Nazi evil," and the idea of collective German guilt. Barnouw died of complications from a stroke she suffered Apr. 14, in San Diego, California on May 14, 2008.

Arthur W. Burks (92) member of the team that designed the ENIAC computer in 1946, a frequent collaborator of computing theorist John von Neumann, and a pioneer in computing education. At the University of Michigan, where he taught for 40 years, Burks championed the potential of computing long before there were academic departments in computer science. He died of complications from Alzheimer's disease in Ann Arbor, Michigan on May 14, 2008.

J. C. Hurewitz (93) Columbia University professor whose research, belief in the importance of local history, and scholarship enhanced the emerging field of Middle Eastern studies starting in 1950. Hurewitz began studying Middle Eastern politics before it was a recognized subject and later guided hundreds of students through the Middle East Institute, which he directed (1970-84). He died of pneumonia in New York City on May 16, 2008.

Beverly Rae Kimes (68) would-be theater writer who parlayed a job as a secretary at a fledgling car magazine into a career as one of the nation's preeminent historians of automobiles. When Kimes became the first employee hired at Automobile Quarterly—which spotlighted elegance in cars, mainly antique ones—she quickly advanced from typing and stenography to writing or editing more than 20 books and hundreds of articles, winning almost every award in automotive journalism and becoming a judge and announcer at classic car meets. She died in New York City on May 12, 2008.

Wilfrid Mellers (94) English musicologist, composer, critic, and teacher who published more than 20 books on subjects ranging from 17th-century English and French composers to the music of the Beatles and Bob Dylan. Mellers died in Scrayingham, North Yorkshire, England on May 16, 2008.

Elsa Ochoa-Fernandez (67) director of Cal State San Bernardino University's International Studies Center who had developed a variety of educational programs that helped foreign students who had problems dealing with professors or navigating their way through the university system because of their limited command of the English language. Ochoa-Fernandez died of cancer in San Bernardino, California on May 11, 2008.

Michael Rossman (68) organizer of the Free Speech Movement at the University of California at Berkeley in 1964, later known for his books on politics, society, and education. Rossman died of leukemia in Berkeley, California on May 12, 2008.

News and Entertainment

Seamus Casey (27) New Zealand opera singer named Christchurch's Young Performer of the Year in 2002 and selected to join the Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artists program. Casey had been on life support for a week after being struck by a car. He died in Sydney, Australia on May 12, 2008.

Diane Chenery-Wickens (48) British film and TV make-up artist who had worked on such BBC-TV shows as The League of Gentlemen, Casualty, and Pride & Prejudice. Chenery-Wickens also won an Emmy in 2000 for the miniseries Arabian Nights and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2003 for the comedic program Dead Ringers. She was reported missing in January 2008 after she had failed to arrive for a meeting in London. Her body was found concealed in a lane close to her woodland home near Uckfield, East Sussex, England on May 16, 2008. Her husband, David Chenery-Wickens (51), was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Stephen Claussen (41) wildlife expert and animal trainer best known for his work preparing Free Willy movie star Keiko the killer whale (orca) in the wild off the Norwegian coast in 2002. Keiko later died of pneumonia on Dec. 12, 2003 at age 27. Claussen was one of two men killed in a plane crash near Eagleswood, New Jersey on May 17, 2008.

Alexander ("Sandy") Courage (88) Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated arranger, orchestrator, and composer who created the theme for the classic Star Trek TV show, which he composed, arranged, and conducted in a week in 1965. Over a long career, Courage collaborated on dozens of movies and orchestrated some of the greatest musicals of the '50s and '60s, including My Fair Lady, Hello, Dolly!, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Gigi, Porgy & Bess, and Fiddler on the Roof. He died in Pacific Palisades, California on May 15, 2008.

Warren Cowan (87) one of the last of the publicists who helped to make Hollywood a glamour capital. Cowan joined veteran publicist Henry Rogers (d. 1995) in 1950 to form Rogers & Cowan; it soon became the biggest publicity company in Hollywood. Among their clients: Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Doris Day, Clint Eastwood, Gene Kelly, Lucille Ball, John Wayne, Cary Grant, Danny Kaye, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Rogers & Cowan was sold to an English conglomerate in 1988. In 1994, Cowan formed another company, Warren Cowan & Associates. An ex-husband of actress Barbara Rush, he was the father of Fox News correspondent Claudia Cowan. He died of cancer three weeks after his diagnosis, in Los Angeles, California on May 14, 2008.

Nancy Ebsen Daughaday (89) former director of the highly acclaimed theater organization Newport Harbor Actors Theater (NHAT) who married comedic actor and dancer Buddy Ebsen (d. 2003) in 1944 and had five children before divorcing in '85 after 41 years of marriage. Daughaday died in Newport Beach, California on May 14, 2008.

Justin Delano (24) aspiring musician who played bass guitar and sang lead vocals for the Devon-based "geek-rock, acid jazz" quartet Small Town Night Life, which had recently performed a gig at the Starlite Room. Delano suffered serious injuries when a school bus slammed into his motorcycle at an intersection on May 5 and had been hospitalized for almost two weeks but never regained consciousness. He died in Devon, Alberta, Canada on May 14, 2008.

Bob Florence (75) pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader who won a Grammy and two Emmys in a career reaching back to the late '50s. Florence was best known as a skillful and sophisticated arranger, especially adept at writing for big jazz band instrumentation. He died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California on May 15, 2008.

Jacob Forbes (20) lead vocalist of the up-and-coming Missouri hard-core rock band The Lights Go Out in Georgia who had recently recorded their two-song demos, including "Sweaty Teddy's Rockin' Steady" and "We Don't Need Roads." Forbes was killed in a car accident in Carroll County, Missouri on May 17, 2008.

Al Gallico (88) music publisher whose firm's copyrights included "Stand by Your Man," "Time of the Season," and "House of the Rising Sun." Gallico discovered country singer Donna Fargo and published her big hit, "The Happiest Girl (in the Whole USA)." He died of cardiac arrest and pulmonary disease in Los Angeles, California on May 15, 2008.

Youssef Idilbi (32) Dutch actor who made his TV debut in the role of Abdullah Yildirem in the hit Dallas-type series Westenwind (1999-2001). Idilbi had recently made guest appearances on several episodes in the West Frisian language series Dankert en Dankert. He committed suicide by jumping off the roof of Theater School in Amsterdam, Netherlands on May 15, 2008.

Hannelore Jacobs (64) youngest member of the German pop group the Jacobs Sisters who, with her sisters Johanna, Eva, and Rosi, sang on their latest hit "Yes, Sir, I Can Boogie" and other songs like "Don't Bring Lulu." The group won success in the US during the '60s and performed in New York and Las Vegas in shows with jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Sammy Davis Jr., and Duke Ellington. Hannelore Jacobs died of pneumonia in Dahlen, Saxony, Germany on May 16, 2008.

John Phillip Law (70) tall, blond actor who played the blind angel Pygar opposite Jane Fonda in Barbarella (1968) and a lovesick Russian seaman in The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966), among other film and TV roles. Law died in Los Angeles, California on May 13, 2008.

David Mitton (69) creator of the children's TV series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, which evolved into an international hit and a merchandising juggernaut. A veteran of British children's programming, Mitton directed or wrote more than 180 episodes of the series, beginning with the first one in October 1984. The show became an instant success on British TV and in 1989 made its debut in the US as Shining Time Station on PBS, with Ringo Starr in the role of Mr. Conductor, succeeded the next year by George Carlin. Mitton died of a heart attack in London, England on May 16, 2008.

Lola Montes (90) one of the US's most renowned Spanish dancers and a frequent southern California performer over a career of more than 70 years. In 1955, Montes started her own company, the Los Angeles-based Lola Montes & Her Spanish Dancers; the troupe toured the country for 22 years on the community concerts circuit. Montes died of pneumonia in Laguna Woods, California on May 16, 2008.

Joyce ("Dottie") Rambo (74) gospel singer and songwriter whose songs have been recorded by Dolly Parton. Rambo had more than 2,500 songs published, including gospel classics such as "He Looked Beyond My Fault & Saw My Need" and the 1982 Gospel Music Association Song of the Year, "We Shall Behold Him." She was on her way to a Mother's Day performance in Texas when her tour bus ran off Interstate 44 and struck an embankment near Mount Vernon, Missouri, killing her and injuring seven others, on May 11, 2008.

David Reader (26) principal cellist of the Augusta Symphony Orchestra who had just completed his first season with the group and was considered a very talented musician. Reader was found shot to death in his car, in what authorities say was a drug deal gone sour, in Augusta, Georgia on May 11, 2008.

John Rutsey (55) former drummer and cofounding member of the Canadian hard rock band Rush who played on the "Not Fade Away" single and its version "You Can't Fight It" from their first debut album in 1974. Rutsey later left the group shortly after Rush's self-titled album was released and was replaced by then-drummer Neil Peart. Rutsey died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack in Toronto, Canada on May 11, 2008.

Jimmy Slyde (80) one of the last great tap dancers of the big-band era, whose smooth moves carried him from swing and bebop to Broadway (Black & Blue [1989]) and movies, including Tap (1989) and The Cotton Club (1984). An elegant, engaging performer with a sharp wit, Slyde was one of the giants of rhythm tap, known for his great musicality, impeccable timing, and ability to glide across the stage effortlessly. He died in Hanson, Massachusetts on May 16, 2008.

Heather Stohler (29) former fashion model who had appeared in several Calvin Klein ads along with English supermodel Kate Moss. Stohler was killed in an apartment fire with her boyfriend, Daniel Risley, in Vincennes, Indiana on May 11, 2008.

Ron Stone (72) Houston broadcasting legend who anchored the news on KPRC-TV for 20 years. Stone spent more than 30 years on the air in Houston. He was a daily fixture for KPRC viewers from 1972 until he retired in '92 and formed a production company. Before that, Stone worked at KHOU-TV for 10 years. He died of prostate cancer in Houston, Texas on May 13, 2008.

Wong Yue (53) actor who starred in several classical kung fu movies throughout the '70s and '80s. Wong's best-known performances were under the direction of his mentor Lau Kar-leung, including starring roles in one of the first comedic martial arts independent films He Has Nothing but Kung Fu (1977), Dirty Ho (1979), Swift Sword (1980), Kid from Kwangtung (1982), and Crazy Shaolin Disciples (1985). Wong died of pneumonia in Hong Kong, China on May 14, 2008.

Politics and Military

Sheikh Saad Abdullah al-Sabah (78) briefly emir of Kuwait. Sheikh Saad was the eldest son of Sheikh Abdullah al-Salem al-Sabah, 11th emir of Kuwait. He was Kuwait's crown prince (1977-2006) and prime minister (1977-2003) until he gave up the post because of poor health. In 1997 he underwent colon surgery. He was already ailing when he succeeded to the throne in 2006 after the death of his predecessor, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah. Saad stepped down nine days later, after rivals from another branch of the family and opposition within Parliament created a political crisis. He died in Kuwait on May 13, 2008.

Lucius D. ("Luke") Battle (89) career diplomat, special assistant to Secretary of State Dean Acheson (1949-53) in the administration of President Harry S. Truman, who led a reorganization of the State Department under President John F. Kennedy and later was ambassador to Cairo. Battle died of complications from Parkinson's disease in Washington, DC on May 13, 2008.

Billy Joe Rish (75) former Florida state representative who in the '70s led impeachment investigations of three Florida Supreme Court justices suspected of having a corrupt relationship with a utility company lawyer-lobbyist. Two of the justices resigned during the investigation, and the third was cleared. Rish died of cancer in Port St. Joe, Florida on May 17, 2008.

Travis ("T-Bo") Twiggs (36) Marine staff sergeant who recently visited the White House with a group of Iraq war veterans called the Wounded Warriors Regiment and met President George W. Bush. Twiggs had been through four tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan, and several months of therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder, for which he said he was taking up to 12 different medications. About two weeks later, Twiggs went AWOL from his job in Quantico, Va. He and his brother, Willard J. ("Will") Twiggs (38), drove to the Grand Canyon, where their car was found hanging in a tree in what appeared to be a failed attempt to drive into the chasm. They carjacked a vehicle at the park on May 12. Two days later they were seen at a southwestern Arizona border checkpoint and took off when they were asked to pull into a secondary inspection area. After an 80-mile chase, as Border Patrol agents closed in on the car on the Tohono O'odham reservation, Travis Twiggs fatally shot his brother, then himself in an apparent murder-suicide, near Tucson, Arizona on May 14, 2008.

Lionel van Deerlin (93) former San Diego congressman and longtime journalist, for many years a liberal voice in a region dominated by conservatives. A Democrat, Van Deerlin represented the southern part of San Diego County from 1962 until he was defeated amid the '80 Reagan landslide, then began writing a weekly column for the San Diego Tribune and later the Union Tribune. He suffered a heart attack in March and died in San Diego, California on May 17, 2008.

Jordan M. Wright (50) lawyer, businessman, and publisher who at age 10 was delighted to discover that campaigning politicians hand out self-promotional trinkets, then collected more than a million bumper stickers and other campaign artifacts—from the time of George Washington to that of George W. Bush. Earlier this year, Wright published Campaigning for President, a book of photographs of his collectibles, two of which, from 1964, flank him in the picture above. The sad lesson he learned from his collection, he said, was: "There hasn't been an election since Washington's when we didn't go to the voting booth holding our nose." Wright died of an embolism in Atlantic Beach, New York on May 11, 2008.

Society and Religion

Hadeel Alhodaif (25) free-lance blogger and author whose high-profile plight for a free conventional media in the restrictive kingdom of the Middle East made her the only Saudi woman who came out publicly calling for the immediate release of influential blogger Fouad Al-Farhan, arrested in December and held for four months without charge after he took advantage of the growing space for free speech under King Abdullah. Alhodaif made numerous TV appearances and had campaigned for free speech in the blogging community, where she urged women to start their own web diaries. She fell into a coma and died unexpectedly in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on May 16, 2008.

Billy Carrigan (20) student at the University of California at Berkeley who suffered major injuries when he crashed his pickup truck on Highway 36 while racing home to be with his family after his sister, Jennifer, and her boyfriend Steven Furtado (both 18) were found stabbed to death on Mother's Day, May 11. Authorities said the young couple were the victims of a double homicide and arrested Jennifer's ex-boyfriend, Reyes Carrillo (18), in connection with the murders. Billy Carrigan was taken off life support and died in Chico, California on May 13, 2008.

Faith Creer (31) Los Angeles woman, one of 21 passengers and the only fatality when she was ejected from a tour bus operated by Glendale's Royal American Tours & Charter en route from Culver City, Calif. to Laughlin, Nev. The bus veered off the highway onto a dirt median and overturned on Interstate 40, seriously injuring Creer's husband Ray and eight others. The cause of the one-vehicle crash was under investigation. Creer died at the scene near Barstow, California on May 17, 2008.

Bernardin, Cardinal Gantin (86) prelate of Benin, whose influence in the Catholic Church was felt in Europe and West Africa. One of the last cardinals to be named by Pope Paul VI, Gantin spent more than 30 years in the Roman Curia. He was head of the Vatican's Justice & Peace Commission and of the Congregation for Bishops, one of the top Vatican positions. He died of complications caused by dehydration, five days after his 86th birthday, in Paris, France on May 13, 2008.

Sister Catherine Mulkerrin (73) former assistant director of the Boston Archdiocesan Office for Victims of Abuse who advised Roman Catholic Church leaders in Boston to warn parishioners about priests accused of sexually abusing children before the church scandal broke in 2002. Mulkerrin said she heard allegations against more than 100 priests. Many of her memos to supervisors were later released as part of lawsuits filed against the archdiocese by alleged victims. Mulkerrin said archdiocese leaders ignored her repeated concerns that priests accused of sexual abuse were allowed to return to parish work without supervision. She died of cancer in Framingham, Massachusetts on May 17, 2008.

Irena Sendler (98) Polish social worker who helped to save some 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazis by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto and giving them false identities. Sendler had been hospitalized since April with pneumonia. She died in Warsaw, Poland on May 12, 2008.

Dick Sutcliffe (90) creator of the popular religious children's TV show Davey & Goliath, a Christian-themed children's show about a boy and his talking dog that used stop-action animation. Sutcliffe died of a stroke in Dallas, Texas on May 11, 2008.

Cathleen Crowell Webb (46) school receptionist who in 1985 acknowledged that she had lied about being raped in '79 when she was 16. Gary Dotson served nearly eight years in prison for the "crime" and became the first person in the US exonerated by DNA. Webb told police she lied to cover up a possible pregnancy after consensual sex with her boyfriend. The case gripped the Chicago suburban area and brought Dotson national attention, especially among those launching wrongful-conviction campaigns that later freed many inmates across the country. Webb died of breast cancer in Harrisville, New Hampshire on May 15, 2008.

Astrid Zachrison (112) Swedish supercentenarian who surpassed 112-year-old Elsa Moberg to become the nation’s longest-lived record holder ever in October 2007. Zachrison died on the eve of her 113th birthday in Oskarshamn, Sweden on May 14, 2008.