The Blog of Death

Mike O'Callaghan

Donal "Mike" O'Callaghan, a newspaper columnist and former governor of Nevada, died on March 5 from a heart attack. He was 74.

Born Donal O'Callaghan in LaCrosse, Wis., he adopted the first name Mike when he was a teenaged boxer. At 16, O'Callaghan enlisted in the Marines as part of the post-World War II occupation forces. He served in the Air Force as an intelligence specialist then joined the Army in order to fight in the Korean War.

On Feb. 13, 1953, his company came under heavy fire from Chinese Communist forces. To rescue several soldiers trapped in an out-guard post, O'Callaghan voluntarily put himself in harm's way. He was hit by a mortar and badly wounded. Rigging a tourniquet out of telephone wire, O'Callaghan saved the men, crawled back to the command post and continued to direct the firefight for three more hours. His left leg was later amputated below the knee, and his efforts were rewarded with the Silver Star and a Purple Heart.

When he returned to the states, O'Callaghan earned a master's degree from the University of Idaho and moved to Henderson, Nev., to teach high school history and economics. He helped found and run the Henderson Boys Club, became the state's first health and welfare director and was named regional director to the federal Office of Emergency Preparedness by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

An interest in politics led O'Callaghan to run for lieutenant governor in 1966. He lost that race, but was elected to the state's top spot four years later. During his two terms in office, the popular Democrat was best known for supporting the Equal Rights Amendment and creating the state's Consumer Affairs Office.

After his second term ended, O'Callaghan became a journalist, spending two decades as a columnist and executive editor at the Las Vegas Sun. A high school, a park and a hospital are all named in his honor.

• Timeline of O'Callaghan's Life

Noah Sylvester Purifoy

Noah Sylvester Purifoy could take a piece of trash and turn it into artwork worth thousands of dollars.

The African-American sculptor, who was considered the father of the Los Angeles black assemblage movement, used to scour swap meets and garage sales to find the items used in his sculptures. Bowling balls, toilets, old tires and other debris were gathered and erected into towering pieces of art. Purifoy was best known for "66 Signs Neon," a sculpture he created from 3 tons of debris left over from the 1965 Watts riot. His assemblage art has appeared in the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Whitney Museum in New York and the California Afro-American Museum.

Purifoy learned welding, metal and woodworking skills in high school. After earning a bachelor's degree in social science from the Alabama State Teacher's College, he taught high school shop classes. During World War II, he enlisted in the Navy and served as a Seabee in the South Pacific.

Purifoy returned to home after the war and received a master's degree in social work in 1948 from Atlanta University. After moving to Los Angeles, he reconsidered his plan of becoming a social worker. Instead, he applied to the Chinouard School of Art and became the first full-time black student to be admitted.

With the help of several friends, Purifoy co-founded the Watts Towers Arts Center in 1965. From 1976 to 1987, he worked for the California Arts Council and brought art to correctional institutions, schools and social programs.

Purifoy moved to the Mojave Desert and spent his remaining years building sculptures. In 1998, he established the Noah Purifoy Foundation to preserve and maintain the 100 pieces of art in his 2.5-acre garden.

Purifoy died on March 5 in a fire. When San Bernardino County firefighters found him inside his home, Purifoy was sitting in his wheelchair with third degree burns on over 90 percent of his body; it is believed he fell asleep while smoking. He was 86.

• Listen to a Tribute From NPR

Adan Sanchez

Singer Adan Sanchez, the son of balladeer Rosalino "Chalino" Sanchez, died on March 27 in an automobile accident in Sinaloa, Mexico. He was 19.

Sanchez was on a promotional trip through northwestern Mexico when the 1989 Ford Crown Victoria he was riding in blew a tire. The driver lost control and the vehicle rolled. Sanchez, who was not wearing a seatbelt, sustained serious head injuries and died on the scene. The other passengers were hospitalized for their injuries.

Chalino Sanchez was a Los Angeles-based music legend who transformed traditional Mexican ballads into tough tales about criminals and drug traffickers. He was kidnapped and murdered in 1992.

Adan, who adopted Chalino as his middle name, recorded nine albums of ballads and tributes to his father. His songs were mostly played on Spanish language radio stations, but his matinee idol looks appealed to thousands of teenaged fans. Sanchez's final CD, "Homenaje a Mi Padre," was released last year.

Paul A. Theis

Paul A. Theis, a former speechwriter in President Gerald R. Ford's administration, died on March 24 from complications of heart surgery. He was 84.

Born in Fort Wayne, Ind., Theis earned a journalism degree from the University of Notre Dame and a degree in foreign service from Georgetown University. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Forces as a B-17 Flying Fortress combat pilot in Italy.

Upon his return to the states, Theis covered Washington for Newsweek and Army Times, then served as an executive assistant to Rep. Oliver P. Bolton (R-Ohio). He also worked on the inaugural committees of Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon, directed public relations for the Republican Congressional Committee and co-edited the book, "Who's Who in American Politics."

Shortly after President Ford was sworn into office, Theis joined the White House staff as head of its editorial department. There he was in charge of speechwriting, presidential messages, research and writing correspondence. President Ford named him deputy undersecretary of agriculture for congressional and public affairs in 1976. But when the president was defeated in the next election, Theis became a staff consultant to the House Committee on Agriculture.

Theis founded Headliner Editorial Service in 1981, and ran the Washington-based firm until his death. In January, he self-published his first novel, "Devil in the House."

Alistair Cooke

Alistair Cooke, the legendary broadcaster who produced the British radio program "Letter From America" for 58 years, died on March 30. Cause of death was not released. He was 95.

Born in Britain and given the name Alfred Cooke, he graduated with a degree in English from Cambridge University. Cooke changed his name to Alistair then traveled to the United States in 1932 to study at Harvard and Yale on a fellowship. Although drama was his first passion, a cross-country trip by car one summer gave him another: storytelling.

Cooke returned to England in 1934 and took a job as a film critic with the BBC. Four years later, he worked as a BBC radio commentator who reported on American affairs, both political and cultural. He even became a U.S. citizen in 1941.

The weekly radio segment, "Letter From America," launched in 1946. Originally scheduled to run for 13 weeks, the program was so popular with listeners of the BBC World Service that Cooke continued to produce it for more than half a century. Heard by an estimated 22 million listeners around the world, it was the longest running radio broadcast in history. Cooke aired his final dispatch, "Letter No. 2,869," on March 2.

In addition to his BBC work, Cooke was a correspondent for NBC, The Manchester Guardian and The Guardian newspaper. On television, he served as the host of "Omnibus" from 1952 to 1961, and narrated the NBC documentary series, "America." From 1971 to 1992, Cooke presented "Masterpiece Theatre" on PBS, an act that was later parodied on "Sesame Street" and "Saturday Night Live."

For his distinguished broadcasting efforts, Cooke won four Emmy Awards and three George Foster Peabody Awards. He also published 12 books, including the 1973 bestseller "Alistair Cooke's America." He was made an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1973.

• Complete Coverage From the BBC

Peggy Bauer

Grace Margaret "Peggy" Reid Bauer, an award-winning wildlife and outdoor photographer, died on March 23 in an automobile accident near Sequim, Wash. She was 72.

The Chicago native attended Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and married Harry Politi. She spent seven years as a full-time wife and mother of three boys before meeting Erwin Bauer, a well-established nature photographer, in 1970. They fell madly in love with each other and divorced their spouses.

In 1972, the Bauers moved to Jackson Hole, Wyo. Peggy began learning wildlife photography and within three years, she and her husband became a professional team. For the next two decades, they traveled all over the world, taking pictures of natural environments and wildlife.

They published 51 books together, including the 2003 collections "The Alaska Highway: A Portrait of the Ultimate Road Trip" and "The Last Big Cats: An Untamed Spirit." Their photography was featured in national and international magazines and appeared on over 300 covers.

The Bauers shared a lifetime achievement award from the North American Nature Photography Association in 2000. Erwin Bauer died last month with Peggy at his side.

Bobby D. Wight

Bobby D. Wight, a veteran officer of the San Diego Police Department, was proud to wear his uniform every day. After all, he designed the department's shoulder patch that is sewn into every officer's jacket and shirt.

Born in Utah, Wight's family moved to San Diego when he was a youth. After completing a cadet program with the El Cajon Police Department, he worked as a campus police officer at Grossmont College.

Wight graduated from the San Diego Regional Police Academy in 1980 and was sworn in as an SDPD officer the following year. He was one of seven officers assigned to the fledgling San Diego harbor unit, which patrols the waters of Mission Bay. Wight later worked in the Special Enforcement Division and helped write a gang enforcement manual used to train cadets at the police academy.

During his 20-year career in law enforcement, Wight received numerous commendations, including a medal for helping to clean up the Otay River Valley. In 1994, he was the SDPD's nominee for San Diego County Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. Wight also ran Cop Art Designs, a graphic design shop that specialized in creating logos for police units. Health problems forced him to retire as a detective in 2000.

Wight died on Feb. 24 from complications of diabetes and a heart condition. He was 47.

Peter Ustinov

Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov, an Academy Award-winning British actor and author, died on March 28 from heart failure. He was 82.

Ustinov left the Westminster School at 16, and trained at the London Theatre Studio. He appeared in local revues and wrote his first stage play, "Fishing for Shadows," when he was only 19. During World War II, he wrote and acted in films for the British Army Cinema Unit.

Ustinov's six-decade film career launched in 1942, when he appeared in the film, "One of Our Aircraft Is Missing." More than 80 TV and movie roles followed, including parts in "The Great Muppet Caper," "Lorenzo's Oil," "Luther" and in several movies as Hercule Poirot. He directed eight feature films, but was most proud of his work on "Billy Budd," which he also wrote and produced.

Ustinov received his first Oscar nomination in 1951 for "Quo Vadis." He won the best supporting actor prize a decade later for playing Lentulus Batiatus, the proprietor of a school for gladiators, in "Spartacus." In 1964, he won again for his humorous portrayal of Arthur Simon Simpson in the comedic caper, "Topkapi."

Fluent in French, German, English, Italian, Russian and Spanish, Ustinov starred in, produced and directed his own plays on stages all over the world. In his "spare time," Ustinov served as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, president of the World Federalist Movement and chancellor of Durham University in England. He also wrote several books, including the 1977 autobiography "Dear Me." Ustinov was awarded the Companion of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1975, and knighted in 1990.

When asked what he wanted his epitaph to say, Ustinov replied: "Keep off the grass."

Laura Schmidt Pizzarello

Laura Schmidt Pizzarello, a freelance medical writer who specialized in covering end-of-life issues, died on Feb. 25 from pancreatic cancer. She was 51.

A New York native, Schmidt earned a bachelor's degree from Marymount College in Arlington, Va., and completed her master's degree in thantology from Hood College in Frederick, Md.

As a freelance writer, Schmidt spent the past 12 years penning articles for AARP and hospice newsletters and Web sites. She advocated for patients' rights and called for caregivers to improve the quality of end-of-life care.

Her cancer was detected last summer after a back massage left her covered in bruises. Schmidt was chronicling her remaining months into a book, but the medications she took made her too ill to write. In December, Schmidt's story was featured on the ABC television show, "Nightline." She and her husband Joseph also participated in a video documentary produced by AARP and the DC Coalition of End-of-Life Care for health care professionals.

Karl Weintraub

Professor Karl Joachim Weintraub was such a popular teacher that students at the University of Chicago used to stand in line overnight just to register for one of his classes. The annual event was reported in the student newspaper with the headline: "Waiting for Weintraub."

Born in Germany to a Jewish father and a Christian mother, Weintraub's family hid him with a Christian family in Holland during World War II to avoid the Holocaust. After the war, Quakers arranged for him to come to the United States, where he earned a doctorate in history from the University of Chicago.

He joined the faculty in 1954 and spent nearly 60 years teaching Western history and culture at the school. In his courses, Weintraub challenged students to broaden their outlooks by seeing history through the eyes of its major players. Changes in higher education led to the downsizing of many western civilization classes, but those taught by Weintraub and his wife, Katy O'Brien Weintraub, were left intact.

Weintraub won numerous awards during his distinguished academic career, including two Quantrell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the E. Harris Harbison Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Amoco Foundation Award for Distinguished Contributions to Undergraduate Teaching. He served as the chair of the Committee on the History of Culture and dean of the Humanities Division.

Although Weintraub technically retired in 2001 as the Thomas E. Donnelley Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in History, he continued teaching for another year without pay. The author of numerous articles, he also penned two books: "Visions of Culture: Voltaire-Guizot-Burckhardt-Lamprecht-Huizinga-Ortega y Gassett" and "The Value of the Individual: Self and Circumstance in Autobiography."

Weintraub died on March 25 from a brain tumor. He was 79.

Jan Berry

William Jan Berry, one-half of the 1960s duo Jan & Dean, died on March 26. Cause of death was not released. He was 62.

Berry was attending University High School in West Los Angeles when he and his friends formed a doo-wop group called The Barons. Berry transformed his family's garage into a practice area, complete with reel-to-reel tape machines and a piano, and hooked up with his friend Baron Arnie Ginsburg to record the song, "Jennie Lee."

They went to a local recording studio to convert their tape into a record, and the catchy tune was overheard by producer Joe Lubin, vice president of Arwin Records. In June 1958, "Jennie Lee" by Jan & Arnie became a Top 10 hit. They appeared on the "Dick Clark Show" and played in front of nearly 12,000 fans at the first rock-n-roll show ever held at the Hollywood Bowl, but their follow-up singles didn't sell as well. The duo broke up at the end of the year, and Arnie went to college to study architecture. The Barons also disbanded at graduation.

Berry and classmate Dean Torrence still wanted to make music, so they joined forces in college to form Jan & Dean. Inside Berry's garage, they recorded the song, "Baby Talk," which hit the Top 10 in 1959 and led to an appearance on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand." Jan & Dean became pioneers of the West Coast sound during the 1960s, chronicling the surf world of Southern California with a string of hits such as "Linda," "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena" and "Surf City."

"Deadman's Curve," which was co-written with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, became a prophetic anthem for teens who risked their lives by driving too fast. In 1966, Berry's own career was cut short when his speeding Corvette hit a parked landscaping truck. He suffered severe brain damage that left him partially paralyzed and unable to talk, and was forced to undergo years of recovery in order to resume singing and songwriting. In the mid-1980s, Southern California Rehabilitation Services launched the Jan Berry Center for the Brain Injured.

• Discography

Matthew Gribble

Matthew Gribble, an Olympic swimmer who once held the world record in the 100-meter butterfly, died on March 21 in an automobile accident. He was 41.

Gribble and his 3 1/2-year-old son, Trahern, were returning home from the Miami-Dade County Fair when another driver hit their car head-on. Gribble died at the scene; his son was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital and later listed in stable condition.

An All-American at the University of Miami, Gribble won two NCAA titles and still holds the school record in the 100-meter fly with a time of 47.26. During his freshman year, he was selected for the Olympic swim team, but did not compete because the United States boycotted the 1980 Moscow Games.

Gribble was a member of the 400-meter medley relay team that won the gold medal at the 1982 World Games in Ecuador. The following year, he set and held the world record for the 100-meter butterfly for 326 days.

After winning three gold medals at the 1983 Pan American Games, Gribble made the 1984 U.S. swim team. He attended the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, but suffered a back injury and never competed past the preliminary round.

A financial officer at Hasbro, Gribble was a member of the University of Miami Hall of Fame.

[Update - June 2, 2005: The corner of SW 117th Ave. and 128 St. was renamed Matthew O. Gribble Street in honor of the late University of Miami swimmer and Olympian.]

Millie Jeffrey

Ron Gettelfinger, president of the United Auto Workers, recently described trailblazing activist Mildred "Millie" McWilliams Jeffrey as "…absolutely fearless when it came to fighting for equality, fairness and human dignity. She was a first-rate organizer and coalition builder; she brought people together and served as role model for many of us."

Born in Alton, Iowa, Jeffrey was the oldest of seven children. Her mother, Bertha, was the state's first female registered pharmacist. Millie studied psychology at the University of Minnesota and joined the campus YWCA, which at the time was considered a controversial group for sponsoring interracial dances and attempting to integrate local restaurants.

Jeffrey's involvement with the Y and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom exposed her to the plight of women factory workers, who worked long hours for low wages. She took up their cause, organized the mill workers into the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, and gained a reputation as a tough but compassionate labor leader.

Jeffrey earned a master's degree in social economy and social research from Bryn Mawr College then spent a year as an investigator for the National Recovery Administration. She married fellow union organizer Homer Newman Jeffrey and together, they traveled throughout the South and East organizing textile workers into powerful unions. During World War II, the pair moved to Washington D.C. to work as consultants to the War Labor Board.

In 1944, Jeffrey took a job as the director of the newly formed UAW Women's Bureau. She organized the first UAW women's conference to protest the massive postwar layoffs of women production workers, ran the union's radio station and its community relations department, and retired in 1976 as director of the UAW's consumer affairs department.

Jeffrey joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and helped organize Americans for Democratic Action. In the 1960s, she marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and managed Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign in Michigan. She helped establish and chaired the National Women's Political Caucus in 1971, a group that lobbied for child care and the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Three years later, she was elected to the Wayne State University Board of Governors, an office she held until 1990.

For a lifetime of work on behalf of labor, women and minorities, President Bill Clinton gave Jeffrey the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000; it is the nation's highest civilian honor. She was also inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame.

Jeffrey died on March 24 from natural causes. She was 93.

Toni Onley

Toni Onley, an experienced pilot and well-known Canadian painter, died on Feb. 29 in a plane crash near Vancouver. He was 75.

Onley was practicing landings and take-offs in his LA4 Buccaneer amphibious plane when it went down. The aircraft plunged into the Fraser River, floated for a bit then submerged. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Onley previously survived the crash of another plane several years ago when it struck the side of a glacier.

Born in England, Onley studied painting under landscape watercolorist John Nicholson and attended the Douglas School of Fine Arts. He moved to Canada in 1948 and continued his education at the Doon School of Fine Art.

To support his artistic endeavors, Onley worked as a surveyor, draftsman, commercial artist and teacher. In 1957, he won a scholarship to the Institute Allende in Mexico, where he studied mural painting and fresco. During the 1960s, the prolific artist completed a 300 sq.ft. mural for the Queen Elizabeth Playhouse in Vancouver, and was one of seven artists chosen to represent Canada at the Paris Biennial.

Onley sold a painting for $500 in 1965 and used the money to learn how to fly. Wherever he traveled -- Italy, England, Japan -- Onley captured the landscape in his art. Inspired by the wilderness he viewed from the air, many of Onley's later pieces focused on the coastal and mountainous areas of British Columbia. He also donated artwork to raise funds for environmental groups that worked to save some of the area's old growth forests.

Onley earned $930,000 for a single canvas in 1981, which at the time was the highest price ever paid to a Canadian artist. His work was shown in galleries around the world and featured in his autobiography, "Flying Colours." He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1999.

• Watch Video Interviews With Onley

Kiki McCabe

Mary Catherine "Kiki" Priester McCabe, an Emmy Award-winning soap opera writer, died on March 7 from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She was 75.

The Iowa native first broke into show business as a secretary to soap opera maven Agnes Nixon. In the early 1960s, Nixon created the daytime dramas "One Life to Live" and "All My Children," and served as the head writer on many others. Originally, Nixon dictated to McCabe. But over time, Kiki came to know the characters intimately and would offer story suggestions.

For the next 20 years, they were a top notch writing team with Nixon developing plotlines and McCabe writing dialogue for soaps like "Guiding Light" and "Another World." From 1970 to 1983, they penned scripts for "All My Children"; McCabe even won an Emmy Award for her writing.

In 1986, McCabe obtained a master's degree in social work from the University of Georgia. She spent her final years working as a counselor for the DeKalb Mental Health Center in Atlanta, Ga.

Steve Thoburn

Steve Thoburn, a greengrocer in Sunderland, England, earned the nickname the "Metric Martyr" in 2001 when he refused to sell his wares using the metric system.

For selling bananas by the pound, Thoburn's scales were seized by Trading Standards officers and used in his prosecution. European Union rules adopted by the British Parliament allow fruit and vegetables to be labeled in both metric and imperial measures, but all produce must be sold in grams and kilograms only.

Thoburn was found guilty of breaching the Weights and Measures Act and given a conditional six-month discharge. He and four other British vendors appealed the conviction to the House of Lords, but ultimately lost their two-year legal battle.

Thoburn left school when he was 16 and joined the family fruit and vegetable business. He opened his own shop in Southwick market in 1989, where he worked six days a week.

Britain's most famous fruit vendor died on March 14 from heart failure. He was 39.

Jorge Guinle

Jorge Guinle, a once-wealthy playboy who romanced several movie stars, died in poverty on March 5 after refusing to undergo surgery to remove an aneurysm in his aorta. He was 88.

Heir to one of Brazil's wealthiest families, Guinle moved to Hollywood in the 1940s. He took a job reviewing scripts set in Brazil for accuracy, and spent his off-hours partying with movie stars like Orson Welles and Ronald Reagan. He even shared an apartment with Errol Flynn.

Known as "Jorginho," the suave Guinle bragged in interviews and in his memoir, "A Century of the Good Life," about his romantic liaisons with Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Veronica Lake, Marilyn Monroe and several other beautiful starlets. Although he was married three times, Guinle earned a reputation as a playboy who threw lavish champagne parties until he squandered his entire fortune. He spent his final years living off a government pension.

"The secret of living well is to die without a cent in your pocket. But I miscalculated, and the money ran out too early," Guinle once said.

Les Gray

Thomas Lesley Gray, the lead singer of 1970s glam rock group Mud, died on Feb. 21 from a heart attack. He was 57.

Gray played the trumpet in his school band and joined a traditional jazz band when he was 12 years old. He later wrote commercials for an advertising agency and played in a skiffle group called The Mourners with his younger brother, Pete.

In 1966, Gray, drummer Dave Mount, bassist Ray Stiles and guitarist Rob Davis formed Mud. The band won a talent contest and appeared on "The Basil Brush Show," then toured Great Britain as the opening act for Jack Jones. Mud produced more than a dozen hit singles, including the chart-toppers "Lonely This Christmas," "Tiger Feet" and "Oh Boy." "Tiger Feet" was the biggest-selling single of 1974.

The band split up three years later, and Gray launched a solo career. He released five singles between 1977 and 1982, and toured as Les Gray's Mud. In 1981, he also recorded "Rock on Elvis" under the name Tulsa McLean.

After smoking 50 cigarettes a day, Gray spent his final years battling throat cancer. Although doctors wanted to remove his voicebox, he opted for chemotherapy instead.

• Watch Classic Mud Video Clips

Edward Zubler

Edward G. Zubler once had a bright idea.

After doing six years of research at General Electric, he developed the halogen lamp in 1959. Zubler and his team of engineers improved standard incandescent light bulbs by adding a halogen gas. The halogen recycled tungsten deposits, creating a brighter, longer-lasting light bulb. Halogen lamps are mostly used in automobile headlights, floodlights and in studio lighting.

For his work in advancing lighting technology, Zubler earned numerous patents and awards. In 1978, his portrait and biography were put on display in an exhibit to technical pioneers in lighting at the Toshiba Science Institute in Kawasaki, Japan.

Prior to joining GE, Zubler received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Canisius College in New York, and a doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Notre Dame. He served as a combat medic in the U.S. Army's 102nd Infantry Division in Europe during World War II, earning a Purple Heart for a shrapnel injury to his back and a bayonet cut to his knee, and two Bronze Star Medals for valor.

Zubler died on March 20 from complications of surgery. He was 79.

John C. West

John Carl West, the former governor of South Carolina, died on March 21 from cancer. He was 81.

West graduated from The Citadel and attained the rank of Army major during World War II for deciphering Japanese signals for the Pentagon. At the end of the war, he served in Japan as part of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey and earned an Army Commendation Medal. In 1946, he returned to the states, obtained a law degree from the University of South Carolina and delved into politics.

West was elected as a Democrat to the state Senate in 1954 and became the state's lieutenant governor in 1967. When he won the gubernatorial race in 1970, West pledged to rid the state government of "any vestige of discrimination" and to make it "colorblind." Known as a man who embraced change, West hired James Clyburn as a senior aide. Clyburn later ran the State Human Affairs Commission that West set up in 1972, and became the state's first black U.S. representative since Reconstruction.

During his tenure as governor, West created a state housing authority to run programs to help low-income individuals and families obtain affordable housing. He also passed a law that required mandatory auto insurance for all drivers and vetoed a bill re-establishing capital punishment. The Legislature later overrode the veto.

Once his term in office ended in 1975, West set up law practices in Camden and Hilton Head, S.C. Two years later, President Jimmy Carter appointed him ambassador to Saudi Arabia, where he served until 1981. His final years were spent teaching Middle East studies at the University of South Carolina. The John C. West Forum on Politics and Policy, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civic leadership institute, was established at USC in 2002.

Jenkin Lloyd Jones Sr.

Jenkin Lloyd Jones Sr.'s journalistic efforts informed and enlightened the people of Oklahoma for 50 years.

After earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin in 1933, Jones became a reporter for the Tulsa Tribune, an afternoon daily owned and published by his father, Richard Lloyd Jones Sr. Over the next eight years, Jones wrote hundreds of stories, covered the Nuremberg war crimes trials and interviewed missionary Albert Schweitzer in Africa.

Jones wrote a moderately conservative weekly column that was syndicated in more than 100 newspapers. He served as the Tulsa Tribune's editor from 1941 to 1988, and as its publisher until 1991. The paper folded the following year after a 51-year joint operating agreement with the Tulsa World collapsed.

A former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Jones was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1972. He died on Feb. 24 at the age of 92.

Vilayat Khan

Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan, one of India's leading sitar players, was born into a musical family. He could trace his lineage back six or seven generations to Miyan Tansen, the court musician of Emperor Akbar of the late 16th century.

Khan gave his first public performances at six, and began recording his own music two years later. A determined child prodigy, he sometimes practiced until his fingers bled.

Khan was credited with creating his own style of playing the sitar, and performed in venues all over the world. He twice received the Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan, but rejected these honors because he said the awards committee was too incompetent to judge his artistic abilities.

Khan had a second home in New Jersey. He frequently lectured at Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, Calif., and was scheduled to give a performance this spring at Zankel Hall in New York City. He also composed music for the films, "Jalsaghar" and "Guru.''

Khan died on March 13. Cause of death was not released. He was 76.

Ludmilla Tchérina

Ludmila Tchérina, a French ballerina, actress and artist, died on March 21. Cause of death was not released. She was 79.

The daughter of a Russian aristocrat father and French mother, Tchérina became a prima ballerina with the Grands Ballets of Monte Carlo when she was only 15 years old. That accomplishment made her the youngest prima ballerina in the history of dance.

Under the pseudonym of Tcherzina, she danced in New York, Milan, Paris and at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. She married her main dancing partner, Edmond Audran, who died in a car accident in 1951. Tchérina stopped dancing for two full years, but was persuaded to return to the stage by her new husband, Raymond Roi, who survives her.

Upon retiring from professional dancing, Tchérina became a true Renaissance woman. Her paintings and sculptures appeared in exhibitions around the world. She opened her own ballet company, choreographed routines, then turned her attention to acting.

From 1946 to 1975, Tchérina appeared in 22 movies, including "The Red Shoes," "Sign of the Pagan" and "The Tales of Hoffmann." She also penned two novels and a screenplay.

Chuck Niles

Chuck Niles, the velvety voice of jazz in Los Angeles, died on March 15 from complications of a stroke. He was 76.

Born Charles Neidel, Niles learned the clarinet when he was seven years old, and was playing the saxophone professionally by the time he was 14. He joined the Navy in 1945 and served briefly in the South Pacific. After returning to the states, he played alto sax in the jazz band, the Emanon Quartet, earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from American International University and landed a job playing music on WTXL in Springfield, Mass.

In 1956, Niles moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. He appeared in a few films ("Breakfast at Tiffany's," "Teenage Zombies") and stage productions until his friend Sleepy Stein recruited him to be an announcer on KNOB.

He would remain on the air for more than 40 years.

Niles hosted shows on several L.A. stations. Known as "Be-Bop Charlie," "Mr. Jazz" and the "Minister of Cool," he spent the past 14 years making the afternoon drive time a pleasant and informative experience for listeners of KKJZ. His love of the genre also endeared him to jazz artists, who wrote songs like "Niles Blues," "Nilesology" and "Bebop Charlie" in his honor. Niles is the only jazz disc jockey to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of the Islamic group Hamas, died on March 20. He was killed when an Israeli helicopter fired three missiles at him as he left a Gaza City mosque. He was in his mid-60s.

Born in what is now known as the Israeli city of Ashkelon, Yassin was paralyzed in childhood in a sporting accident. He grew up in Palestinian refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, studied at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, then became a teacher and spiritual leader.

The quadriplegic preacher founded Hamas in 1987 as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas, which provides education and health care to impoverished Palestinians, is also responsible for scores of suicide bombings and other deadly attacks on Israelis. The militant group rejects the existence of Israel and seeks to establish an Islamic state in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

When Hamas was formally outlawed by Israel in 1989, Yassin and 200 others were jailed in a mass raid. He was convicted of organizing attacks on civilians and ordering the kidnappings of two Israeli soldiers. Although he was sentenced to life in prison, Yassin was released in 1997 when a botched assassination attempt in Jordan forced Israel to release dozens of Palestinian prisoners.

In Sept. 2003, the Israeli military dropped a bomb on a building where he was meeting with top Hamas leaders. Everyone inside escaped and Yassin received a slight wound on his hand.

William H. Pickering

William Hayward Pickering, a pioneer of the U.S. space program, died on March 15 from pneumonia. He was 93.

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Pickering spent his teens building an early radio station with a classmate that allowed him to communicate with people all over the world by Morse code. He attended Canterbury College then traveled to America in 1929 to study at the California Institute of Technology. After earning a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a doctorate in physics, he became a U.S. citizen in 1941.

Pickering joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and organized electronics efforts to support guided missile research and development. In Oct. 1957, Sputnik 1 made the Soviet Union the first nation to send an artificial satellite into orbit around the Earth. Charged with matching this feat, Pickering rose to the challenge and oversaw the launch of the first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, just 83 days later. That satellite, and Explorer III (also launched in 1958), discovered the Van Allen radiation belt, which encircles the Earth. Known as "Mr. JPL" and "Rocket Man," Pickering headed the laboratory from 1954 to 1976. Under his guidance, the JPL team sent robotic probes to the Moon, Venus and Mars.

In retirement, Pickering worked at the University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia. He also founded the energy company, Lignetics Inc. For his contributions to science and technology, Pickering received NASA's Distinguished Service Medal and the National Medal of Science. He was given an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II, and twice appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

Brian Maxwell

Brian Maxwell, a former world-class marathon runner and the founder of the multimillion-dollar PowerBar empire, died on March 19 from a heart attack. He was 51.

Although Maxwell was born in London, he grew up in Toronto and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1975 with a degree in architecture. He was an outstanding student athlete on the school's track team who went on to represent Canada in many international competitions as a long-distance runner. Once ranked the No. 3 marathon runner in the world by Track and Field News, Maxwell served as a member of Canada's Olympic track team when it boycotted the Moscow Games in 1980.

Maxwell invented the PowerBar after he was forced to drop out of a 26.2-mile marathon race at the 21-mile mark. He did some research and learned that was the point where the body ceased burning carbohydrates and began burning muscle tissue. So he and his wife, Jennifer, worked to devise a portable, tasty source of energy. They began selling PowerBars out of their kitchen in 1987. Within a decade, the popular energy bar company grew to $150 million in sales and 300 employees. They sold the company to Nestle SA in 2000 for a reported $375 million.

In the final years of his life, Maxwell sat on the board of directors of Coolsystems Inc., a sports medical device startup in Berkeley, Calif.

Princess Juliana

Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina, Princess of Orange-Nassau and former Queen of The Netherlands, died on March 20 from pneumonia. She was 94.

The only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Hendrik, Juliana studied literature and religion at Leiden University. During the Depression of the early 1930s, she represented the Royal House at many official events and served as president of The Netherlands Red Cross. Juliana and her family were briefly forced to flee to England when the Nazi army invaded The Netherlands in 1940. She spent several years living in Canada then returned to her impoverished homeland after the war ended.

Juliana was 39 years old when she took the throne in 1948. Over the next three decades, she helped rebuild her country, officially ended 346 years of colonial rule in the former Dutch East Indies and oversaw the recognition of an independent Indonesia.

Known as a kind and down-to-earth monarch, Juliana was also active in social issues. She frequently visited hospitals and retirement homes, and toured the southern provinces of Zeeland and South Holland during the floods of 1953, in which 1,800 people died. Her children attended public school, and she was often spotted riding her bicycle or shopping at the local supermarket.

Although she abdicated the throne to her daughter Beatrix in 1980, Juliana remained popular with her subjects. The Dutch continued to celebrate their national holiday on her birthday, despite the fact that she declined the title of queen mother and chose to be called princess instead. Her final years were spent in seclusion.

John Pople

Sir John Anthony Pople, a Nobel laureate and knight of the British Empire, died on March 15 from liver cancer. He was 78.

Born in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, England, Pople developed a passion for mathematics when he was 12 years old. He reveled in algebraic equations and read calculus books he found in trashcans.

Pople attended Cambridge University, where he earned a doctorate in mathematics in 1951. The following year, he envisioned a plan to develop mathematical models to study molecules. With these models, scientists could determine theoretical outcomes without performing physical experiments.

Pople taught mathematics at Cambridge, and served as the head of the physics department at the National Physical Laboratory near London, but yearned to spend more time doing research in quantum chemistry rather than administrative paperwork. So he moved to the United States in 1964, and took a teaching position at Carnegie Tech, which later become Carnegie-Mellon University. For two decades, Pople educated students on chemical physics while working on a computer program that would predict the properties of molecules. He joined the faculty of Northwestern University in 1993, and continued his research.

In 1998, Pople shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Australian Walter Kohn of the University of California-Santa Barbara. Kohn won for his development of density-functional theory, which simplifies the mathematical description of the bonding between atoms. Pople was cited for creating computer programs that test the chemical structure and details of matter.

One such program, Gaussian-70, has been used by thousands of scientists and universities. Enhanced with Kohn's density-functional theory, the program helps scientists create computer models of chemical reactions that are difficult or impossible to recreate in the laboratory. It has been used to study interstellar matter based on telescope measurements, how pollutants react with the ozone layer and how certain drugs can be used to fight HIV.

Pople won Israel's Wolf Prize in chemistry and was named an Officer of the Legion of Honor by France. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in 2002 for his contributions to science.

J.J. Jackson

John "J.J." Jackson, one of MTV's first VJs, died on March 17 from a heart attack. He was 62.

Jackson combined his good humor and encyclopedic knowledge of music to launch a career as a radio disc jockey. He became a popular voice on WBCN in the late 1960s, then moved to Los Angeles where he commanded the afternoon radio slot at KLOS for eight years. He was working as a rock reporter for KABC-TV in 1980 when a fledgling cable station asked him to move to New York and announce videos on television.

MTV launched in 1981 and became a pop culture hit. Jackson spent five years as an on-air personality. He was best known for unmasking KISS in 1982 and covering the 1985 Live Aid benefit concert in London.

Jackson moved back to Los Angeles in 1987, where he became a DJ for KROQ and the music program director for KEDG. Most recently, he hosted "The 7th Day" at KLOS and the weekly syndicated show, "The Beatle Years," on the Westwood One Radio Network. Before his death, Jackson was planning to join former MTV VJ Mark Goodman at Sirius satellite radio.

Mercedes McCambridge

Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge, who Orson Welles once called "the world's greatest living radio actress," died on March 2 from natural causes. She was 87.

Born in Joliet, Ill., McCambridge graduated from Mundelein College and signed an acting contract with NBC Radio in Chicago. In her 20s, she moved to New York, where she appeared in several Broadway plays before landing the title role in the radio adaptation of "Abie's Irish Rose." She spent several years working with Welles before focusing on her film career.

McCambridge's radio-trained voice served her well in Hollywood. She acquired a reputation as an outspoken woman with a talent for playing strong-willed characters. She made her screen debut in the 1949 film "All the King's Men," a role that earned her an Academy Award for best supporting actress. Broderick Crawford, who played the lead in the film, won the best actor Oscar; the drama also won for best picture. That same year, McCambridge won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and another for Most Promising Newcomer-Female.

Despite such critical acclaim, McCambridge had trouble finding good roles because her severe appearance didn't fit the glamour girl image that was popular in many postwar films. However, she chose her future projects wisely, acting in "Giant, (for which she earned a second Oscar nomination for best supporting actress), "A Farewell to Arms" and "Touch of Evil."

In 1973, McCambridge put her talents to the test by taking on the voice-over role of The Demon in the classic horror flick, "The Exorcist." Although she didn't receive credit in the first printing of the movie, The Screen Actors Guild intervened on her behalf and had her name inserted into future printings of the film. She also did numerous guest appearances on TV shows, such as "Bewitched," "Charlie's Angels" and "Magnum P.I." She returned to New York in the 1990s to play the grandmother in Neil Simon's Broadway hit, "Lost in Yonkers."

Her personal life, which included bouts with alcoholism, two divorces and a son who later killed his wife and children before committing suicide, were chronicled in the autobiographies "The Two of Us" and "The Quality of Mercy."

Karen Watson

Karen Watson was helping to set up a mobile water purification plant in Mosul on March 15 when she and three other U.S. relief workers were killed in a drive-by shooting. She was 38.

Described by friends as a warm and fun-loving woman, Watson joined the Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield, Calif., seven years ago and dedicated her life to doing missionary work. She joined the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, and began restoring schools for children living in El Salvador, Mexico, Macedonia and Kosovo before traveling to Iraq in 2003.

Watson graduated from high school and worked as a detention officer at the Kern County jail in Lerdo, Calif. In her off-hours, she led a Bible study class and participated in her church's singles group.

Before she left for Iraq, Watson gave her pastor a two-page letter in a sealed envelope, with instructions to read it if she died overseas. When Pastor Phil Neighbors opened the letter, it began: "When God calls, there are no regrets. To suffer was expected. His glory is my reward."

James Parrish

James Herbert Parrish Jr., a former NFL lineman, died on March 10 from cancer. He was 35.

Born in Baltimore, the 6-foot-6, 320-pound offensive tackle attended Temple University on a full scholarship; he studied finance and political science.

In 1992, Parrish launched his professional football career with the Miami Dolphins. Over the next decade, he became a football nomad, playing for Indianapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, Dallas, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, the New York Jets, Chicago and Kansas City. He was a member of two Super Bowl teams -- the 1994 Cowboys who beat Buffalo, and the 1996 Steelers who lost to Dallas.

When cancer forced him to retire from the game, Parrish became a successful Merrill Lynch broker in Dallas.

Natan Yonatan

Natan Yonatan, an award-winning Israeli poet, died on March 12. Cause of death was not released. He was 81.

Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Yonatan immigrated to Israel when he was two years old. He earned a graduate degree in Hebrew and general literature from Tel Aviv University, and spent 27 years as the chief editor of the Sifriyat Poalim publishing house.

Yonatan published his first book of poetry in 1951. Nineteen others followed, which were translated into several languages. Although he often wrote about love, nature and war, Yonatan was best known for the poem, "That Man." It was written to eulogize Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995.

The winner of the 2001 Newman Prize for Hebrew Literature, Yonatan recently appeared in "Living in Conflict: Voices From Israel and Palestine," a documentary about the 1973 Middle East war.

Carol Conner

Carol Conner was a legal trailblazer who served as an icon to many young women in South Carolina.

A third-generation attorney, Connor served as a public defender in Richland County during the late-1970s. She spent five years as a Family Court judge, and became the state's first female Circuit Court judge in 1988. Five years later, she was elected to the Appeals Court bench, another first for a woman in South Carolina.

Conner died on Feb. 20 from cancer. She was 54.

Lawrence Ritter

Lawrence Stanley Ritter, the author of the classic baseball book "The Glory of Their Times," died on Feb. 15. Cause of death was not released. He was 81.

Ritter graduated from Indiana University and received a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin. He taught at Yale University and Michigan State University, worked as an economist and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and edited the Journal of Finance. From 1960 to 1991, he taught at New York University, serving as the chairman of the business school's finance department. A research room and an endowed chair have been named in his honor.

Other than finance, Ritter had a passion for baseball and writing. In 1966, he received a $3,000 advance to write the book, "The Glory of Their Times." For the next four years, he and his son traveled around the country, taping interviews with baseball players from the early part of the 20th century. The book sold more than 400,000 copies and was adapted into a documentary piece broadcast on PBS.

Ritter also wrote or co-wrote seven other baseball books, including "The Babe: A Life in Pictures," "The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time" and "Leagues Apart: The Men and Times of the Negro Baseball Leagues."

Jack Lundberg

John "Jack" Lundberg is believed to be one of the last surviving steelworkers who built the Empire State Building in New York City.

A member of Iron Workers Local 371, Lundberg helped erect the Chrysler building and Rockefeller Center in Manhattan and the John Hancock Tower in Boston. But he received requests for interviews from The Discovery Channel and the BBC about his work on the Empire State Building. Completed in 1931, the 102-story building was the world's tallest skyscraper until the World Trade Center was constructed in the 1970s.

Born in Lexington, Mass., Lundberg traveled all over the country, moving when his work required it. He died on March 10 of natural causes at the age of 97.

Doris Troy

Doris Troy, a singer, songwriter and actress who left an indelible mark on the music industry, died on Feb. 16 from emphysema. She was 67.

Born Doris Higginsen, the New York native spent her childhood singing in gospel groups. At 16, she worked as an usherette at the Apollo Theatre, a job that exposed her to some of the best black artists of the 1950s. Determined to enter the business herself, Troy began writing her own music. She joined the jazz group, The Halos, and sang as one half of Jay and Dee. Her first major songwriting success came in 1960 when "How About That," was recorded by Dee Clark. It reached No. 33 on the Billboard pop chart and remained there for five weeks.

One of the first soul divas, Troy was often labeled in the press as a one-hit wonder for her 1963 R&B/pop crossover, "Just One Look." But her vibrant, distinctive vocals accompanied numerous artists over the years. She sang with the Rolling Stones on "You Can't Always Get What You Want," Pink Floyd on "Dark Side of the Moon" and with Dusty Springfield on "In the Middle of Nowhere." While touring Britain in 1965, she earned a devoted fan following; at the time her back-up band included a musician named Reginald Dwight (later known as Sir Elton John).

The Beatles signed Troy to their Apple label in 1969. Although her eponymous album featured the talents of Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills, Leon Russell and Ringo Starr, sales were disappointing. Her follow-up effort was a live gospel album recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

Troy's life story served as the inspiration for the 1981 gospel musical, "Mama, I Want to Sing." The play, which was written by her sister Vy Higgensen and producer Ken Wydro, became the highest grossing off-Broadway show ever. It toured for 14 years in America and abroad, with Troy playing the role of her own mother. She later appeared in the musical, "Gospel Is…!"

In 1996, Troy received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.

• Discography

Jim Eubank

Jim Eubank, a world-class swimmer and real estate developer, died on March 1 from complications of a stroke. He was 88.

Born in Seattle and raised in Inglewood, Calif., Eubank taught himself how to swim in the ocean. He was working as a lifeguard in Los Angeles County when the Coast Guard recruited him to serve in the Office of Strategic Services Maritime Unit, an elite underwater swimming squad, during World War II. A forerunner of the Underwater Demolition Team, the squad sent Eubank to Burma, Indonesia and the South China Sea to conduct maritime sabotage and reconnaissance missions. For his valor as a squad leader, he received an honorary green beret and membership in the Special Forces Regiment in 1998.

After the war, Eubank moved to Los Angeles and launched a career in real estate. He purchased residential properties and shops in the Hollywood Hills, then moved to San Marcos, Calif., a suburb north of San Diego, and developed a strip of restaurants known as Old California Restaurant Row. In 1995, the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce named him Business Person of the Year.

When he wasn't wheeling and dealing, Eubank swam in ocean races. For 50 years, he won his division in the annual La Jolla Rough Water Swim competition. A stroke in 1983 led to the installation of a pacemaker, but that only set him back for a brief time. During his recovery, Eubank persuaded the doctors to grant him access to a stationary bicycle. Within two weeks, he was cycling up to 40 minutes.

Eubank swam no less than a mile a day in the three-lane heated lap pool he built himself. In the past 10 years, he set two world records and five national records in the 100-, 200-, 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter swims for his age class. He was named Masters Swimmer of the Year among males 85-89 in 2001 by SWIM Magazine, and won four out of the five events he entered at the World Masters Championships in New Zealand.

Last year, Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly challenged Eubank to a 50-yard swim race. Although he was half Eubank's age, Reilly lost by a length.

Drake Sather

Drake J. Sather, a stand-up comedian and screenwriter, committed suicide on March 3. Sather was reportedly depressed over the breakup of his marriage and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 44.

The Seattle native started in show business as a stand-up comedian. He penned material for David Spade, and wrote for "Saturday Night Live" during its 1993-94 season. Sather went on to write for numerous TV shows, including "News Radio," "The Dennis Miller Show" and "Ed." He received an Emmy nomination for his work on "The Larry Sanders Show," and co-wrote a skit with actor Ben Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards that later became the basis for the 2001 movie, "Zoolander."

Until last month, Sather was in pre-production on the new FOX comedy, "Mr. Ed," which stars David Alan Basche, Garret Dillahunt, Sherilyn Fenn and Sherman Hemsley. He was the writer and executive producer of the show.

Julius Dixon

Lollipop lollipop, oh lolli lolli lolli
Lollipop lollipop, oh lolli lolli lolli
Lollipop lollipop, oh lolli lolli lolli
Lollipop -- pop!

Ever get these lyrics stuck in your head? They were written by songwriters Beverly Ross and Julius Dixon for the duo, Ronald and Ruby. Ross was better known as the "Ruby" of the group. When "Lollipop" was recorded by the Chordettes in 1958, the catchy tune reached No. 2 on the pop charts.

Born in South Carolina, Dixon served in the Army during World War II. He was assigned to Special Services in Germany and hosted the weekly radio broadcast "Variety Jive," then moved to New York City to work as a professional songwriter. Ross and Dixon first hit the charts in 1955 with the song, "Dim, Dim the Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere)," which Bill Haley recorded as his follow-up to "Shake, Rattle and Roll."

Dixon died on Jan. 30. Cause of death was not released. He was 90.

Cardinal Franz Köenig

Cardinal Franz Köenig, the longtime Roman Catholic archbishop of Vienna, died on March 13. Cause of death was not released. He was 98.

Köenig attended the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and studied old Persian languages and religion at its Bible Institute. He earned doctorate degrees in philosophy and theology, and was ordained as a priest in 1933. During World War II, Köenig worked as a chaplain and teacher.

The author of the three-volume collection, "Christ and the Earth's Religions," Köenig spent the 1950s becoming an influential player in the Catholic Church. He served as Vienna's archbishop for two years before Pope John XXIII elevated him to cardinal in 1958.

Köenig then became a respected church diplomat in countries behind the former Iron Curtain. From 1966 to 1981, he was the president of the papal Secretariat for Non-Believers, and played a key role in the preparations for the Second Vatican Council. Although he was twice considered a candidate for pope, Köenig instead facilitated the 1978 papal nomination of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla. Now known as Pope John Paul II, Wojtyla was the first non-Italian pope in more than four centuries.

Köenig served as archbishop of Vienna until his retirement in 1985. He was replaced by Hans Hermann Groer, who later resigned in disgrace amid allegations he molested boys in the 1970s. Groer died last year.

Alf Bicknell

Behind the tinted windows of the Fab Four's Austin Princess sat Alfred George Bicknell.

From 1964 to 1966, he was the Beatles' chauffeur, ferrying them to and from concert venues and movie sets. When the band traveled in John Lennon's Rolls Royce Phantom V, Bicknell was usually behind the wheel. He even inspired the song, "Baby You Can Drive My Car."

In "Ticket to Ride: The Ultimate Beatles Tour Diary!" the 1999 autobiography he co-wrote with Alasdair Ferguson, Bicknell described the day Lennon snagged the chauffeur's cap off his head and tossed it out the window. "You don't need that anymore, Alf. You are one of us now," Lennon reportedly said.

Bicknell was born in Surrey, England, in 1928. He worked as an apprentice butcher and circus clown before serving three years with the British Army. In the late 1950s, Bicknell became a professional driver known for discreetly shuttling foreign dignitaries and celebrities to their desired destinations.

After the Beatles stopped touring, Bicknell spent the 1970s driving business executives. He retired in 1980 following a chainsaw accident, and joined the Beatles convention circuit, giving speeches and selling memorabilia.

Bicknell died on March 9. Cause of death was not released. He was 75.

Estelle Axton

As the co-founder of the Stax Records Co., Estelle Axton was a maternal presence in the Memphis music scene. Known as Lady A, she and her brother Jimmy Stewart built an R&B record label that rivaled Detroit's Motown during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Axton grew up in Tennessee, playing the organ and singing in the family's gospel quartet. She studied education at Memphis State University, where she met her husband Everett Axton.

Axton was a middle-aged bank clerk when she mortgaged her home to launch the record company in 1957. It was originally called Satellite Records, but that name had to be changed because another company already owned the rights to it. So the siblings combined their last names to come up with Stax.

During its heyday, Stax Records offered an impressive lineup of artists, including Sam and Dave, Otis Redding Jr., Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Booker T. and the MGs, Rufus Thomas, and the Mar-Keys. Several Stax tunes, such as "Soul Man" and "In the Midnight Hour," turned into chart-topping hits.

Until the company went bankrupt in 1975, it placed 166 hits in the pop charts. Two years later, Axton and other family members established Fretone Records, which produced the popular Rick Dees single, "Disco Duck." A museum dedicated to the history of Stax opened in 2003.

Axton died on Feb. 24 of natural causes. She was 85.

Sallie Fiske

Sallie Maranda Fiske, one of the first women to work in broadcast journalism in Los Angeles, died on Feb. 19. Cause of death was not released. She was 75.

The daughter of Frank Fiske, a Los Angeles journalist, and actress Dorothy Guthrie, Sallie graduated from Fullerton College and became a fashion buyer for the May Co. department store chain. In 1956, she hosted the KCOP talk show, "Strictly for Women," then worked as the channel's news editor for several years before making advertising her career.

She returned to television in the 1970s when KCOP gave her another afternoon talk show. In reaction to conservative crusader Anita Bryant's anti-homosexual "Save Our Children" campaign, Fiske announced her sexual orientation on TV in 1977. She was fired for coming out of the closet and never worked in broadcast journalism again.

Her disclosure, however, presented other opportunities. Fiske became a gay rights activist who was influential in helping West Hollywood develop its nondiscrimination policies and ordinances. She also campaigned to defeat the Briggs Initiative, a 1978 California state ballot measure that would have allowed school boards to identify and fire gay teachers.

In 1985, Fiske launched the short-lived West Hollywood Paper, a weekly publication. Her final years were spent freelancing, and was best known for editing the 1994 book, "Queer Blood: The Secret AIDS Genocide Plot."

John McGeoch

John McGeoch, a former guitarist of the band Siouxsie and the Banshees, died on March 4. Cause of death was not released. He was 49.

McGeoch was living in Manchester, England in 1977 when he answered an ad placed in a record shop by Howard Devoto. Devoto, who had just left the Buzzcocks, was looking for musicians "to play slow music again." He and Devoto hooked up with Dave Formula, Barry Adamson and Martin Jackson to form the band Magazine. Their debut at the Electric Circus caught the attention of Virgin Records. Four albums and a string of hits later, McGeoch left the group in 1980 and joined Siouxsie and the Banshees.

McGeoch played guitar on the albums "Kaleidoscope" (1980), "Juju" (1981) and "A Kiss in the Dreamhouse" (1982), and performed on the Banshees' first American tour. He played with Generation X and Peter Murphy before forming The Armoury Show with Richard Jobson, a former member of The Skids. McGeoch then spent several years as a member of Public Image Ltd., a band fronted by former Sex Pistols singer John Lydon.

Recently, McGeoch trained to become a nurse and recorded background music for television programs. He was listed in Mojo Magazine as one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."

Joseph L. Godat Jr.

Dr. Joseph L. Godat Jr. delivered more than 10,000 babies.

Known as Dr. Joe, Godat was beloved by patients for his caring bedside manner and extensive medical knowledge. The first obstetrician to administer epidural anesthesia to deliver babies at Baylor University Medical Center, Godat also used sonograms before they became a popular procedure.

Godat earned a bachelor's degree from St. Louis University and a medical degree from the University of Missouri School of Medicine. He moved to Dallas and completed his residency at Parkland Memorial Hospital in 1962.

For the next four decades, Godat worked as an obstetrician and gynecologist in Dallas. Near the end of his career, he was delivering the children and grandchildren of his very first patients. He gained national recognition for discussing the once-taboo subject of sexual dysfunction, and for writing the books "Putting Impotence to Bed: What Every Woman & Man Needs to Know" and "The Seasons of a Woman's Life."

Godat died on March 9. Cause of death was not released. He was 73.

Ralph Winters

Ralph Winters, an Oscar-winning film editor, died on Feb. 26 of natural causes. He was 94.

Born in Ontario, Canada, Winters and his family moved to California in 1918. His father landed a job as a tailor in the wardrobe department at MGM; Ralph was hired by the studio 10 years later to work as an assistant editor. Training with older, more experienced editors, he learned the craft by creating silent versions of movies for theaters that were not yet equipped with sound.

Over the next seven decades, he edited more than 70 movies, including "Gaslight," "Little Women," "On the Town," "Jailhouse Rock," "The Great Race," "The Thomas Crown Affair," "The Front Page," "Micki & Maude" and "Cutthroat Island." Winters teamed up with writer/director Blake Edwards on nearly a dozen films, editing classics like "The Pink Panther," "10" and "Victor/Victoria." Nominated for six Academy Awards in the best film editing category, he won twice -- for "King Solomon's Mines" in 1950 and "Ben-Hur" in 1959.

In 1951, Winters became a founding member of the American Cinema Editors, the industry's only honorary society of film editors. Forty years later, he won the ACE's Career Achievement Award. His autobiography, "Some Cutting Remarks: Seventy Years a Film Editor," was published in 2001.

Dave Blood

Dave Schulthise, the bassist of the '80s pop-punk band, the Dead Milkmen, committed suicide on March 10. He was 47.

The Philadelphia-based group formed in 1983 and built its fan base in the city's underground scene. Their 1985 debut, "Big Lizard in My Backyard," featured the cult-classic single "Bitchin' Camaro." Three years later, the Dead Milkmen released "Punk Rock Girl," which became an MTV favorite and hit the Top 20 on the Billboard charts.

Shortly after the release of their 1990 album, "Metaphysical Graffiti," the band's label Enigma Records went bankrupt. The Dead Milkmen signed with Hollywood Records and recorded two more albums before breaking up in 1995. The group released "Now We Are 20," a retrospective of early and rare recordings, and the video compilation DVD, "Philadelphia in Love," last year.

Schulthise, who was known as Dave Blood, suffered from extreme tendonitis in his hands and was forced to quit playing bass. He graduated from Temple University and studied economics at Purdue University before joining the group.

After the band's breakup, Schulthise became passionate about "all things Serbian." He studied Serbo-Croatian culture at Indiana University and moved to Serbia in 1998 to teach English and write historical fiction novels, but was forced to return home when NATO began bombing the former Yugoslavia.

Robert Pastorelli

Robert Joseph Pastorelli, the Emmy-nominated actor who played Eldin Bernecky on the TV show "Murphy Brown," died on March 8 of an accidental heroin overdose. He was 49.

A New Jersey native, Pastorelli was an aspiring boxer in his youth. On his 19th birthday, however, he was involved in a near-fatal car accident that ended his boxing career. He studied drama at the Actors Studio and the New York Academy of Theatrical Arts, then spent part of his 20s living in a car and working as a bartender to support himself between acting gigs.

Pastorelli made his theatrical debut in a 1977 production of "Rebel Without a Cause." He later acted in stage versions of "The Rainmaker," "Death of a Salesman" and "A Streetcar Named Desire." His big break came in 1982 when he landed a guest appearance on "Barney Miller." He made his film debut five years later as Dealer #2 in "Outrageous Fortune," and followed it with roles in "Beverly Hills Cop II," "Dances With Wolves" and "Michael."

In 1988, Pastorelli landed the role of Eldin, Murphy Brown's handsome house painter and friend, on the CBS sitcom. For the next six seasons, he colored Murphy's walls, watched her baby and dispensed advice on how she should live her life. He earned an Emmy nomination for the role, but bowed out of the series when its creator, Diane English, left the show.

Pastorelli spent the past decade acting in two to three TV and film projects a year. Last month, he finished shooting "Be Cool," the sequel to "Get Shorty."

[Update, Feb. 9, 2005: Police now say that at the time of Pastorelli's death, he was a suspect in his girlfriend's murder. Charemon Jonovich, 25, was found shot in the head inside the actor's Hollywood Hills home in 1999. Her death was initially investigated as an accident or suicide, but the Los Angeles coroner later changed the official cause of death to "homicide."]

Pedro Pietri

Pedro Pietri composed poems that illustrated the lives of Puerto Rican New Yorkers. His work served as an inspiration to many young Latino poets who patronized the Nuyorican Poets Café, a Lower East Side establishment Pietri co-founded.

Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Harlem, Pietri began writing poetry in high school. He was drafted into the Army after graduation and served with a light infantry brigade in Vietnam. He returned home fiercely opposed to the war.

In 1973, he published "Puerto Rican Obituary," his signature poem about the lives of five people who came to the United States and never managed to attain the American dream. Its message resonated with young Puerto Ricans living in New York who called themselves Nuyoricans. When Pietri was diagnosed with inoperable cancer last year, his friends and fans donated $30,000 for his care.

Pietri wrote 20 books of spoken word pieces, poems and songs, including "El Puerto Rican Embassy" and "The Spanglish National Anthem." He also produced two albums with Folkway Records and worked as an AIDS activist.

Pietri died on Feb. 3 from renal failure. He was 59.

• Listen to a Tribute to Pietri From NPR

Harold St. John

Sir Harold Bernard "Bree" St. John, the former prime minister of Barbados, died on Feb. 29 from cancer. He was 72.

St. John studied law at London University, passed the bar and practiced in Barbados and the eastern Caribbean. He joined the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in 1959 then was appointed to the Senate as an opposition representative.

For the next three decades, St. John dedicated himself to public service. When Barbados declared its independence from Great Britain in 1966, he was elected to the House of Assembly. He held several Cabinet positions in the 1970s, including deputy prime minister, minister of trade and industry and minister of tourism. He also spent less than a year as the nation's prime minister.

The BLP regained power in 1994, and St. John became the country's deputy prime minister under Owen Arthur. He was knighted that same year.

Abul Abbas

Muhammad "Abul" Abbas, the Palestinian mastermind of the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro, died on March 8 from natural causes. He was 55.

Born in Israel, Abbas grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp. He joined the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1964 and became the leader of its splinter group, the Palestinian Liberation Front, two decades later.

In October 1985, several PLF members hijacked the Achille Lauro, an Italian cruise ship en route from Egypt to Israel. The hijackers demanded the release of 50 Palestinians held by Israel, and permission to dock the boat in Syria. When the demands were not met, they killed American Leon Klinghoffer and dumped his wheelchair-bound body overboard.

The PLF hijackers negotiated to give up the ship in exchange for passage on an Egyptian airline to Tunisia. Once on board the plane, however, U.S. Navy fighters forced the aircraft to land in Sicily where Abbas and the hijackers were arrested. Although he wasn't on the Achille Lauro during the hijacking, Abbas admitted to planning the ship's seizure. For lack of evidence, the Italian authorities released him. He was later convicted of the hijacking and sentenced in absentia to five life terms in connection with Klinghoffer's murder.

In recent years, Abbas lived in Iraq under the protection of Saddam Hussein's government. He apologized in the mid-1990s for Klinghoffer's death, saying the killing was part of a botched "military" operation. The Klinghoffer family refused the apology, calling him a "murderous terrorist."

American Special Operations forces captured Abbas last April during a raid of a suspected terrorist training camp on the outskirts of Baghdad. U.S. officials held him for nearly a year without filing charges while they considered his legal status. Abbas was still in U.S. custody when he died.

Paul Winfield

Paul Edward Winfield, an Emmy Award-winning actor, died on March 7 from a heart attack. He was 62.

As a teen, Winfield was bused from his Watts home to the predominately white Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles. Encouraged by his drama teacher to become a thespian, Winfield was named best actor two years in a row by the Southern California Speech and Drama Teachers Association. He earned a scholarship to Yale University, but turned it down to attend the University of Oregon. After transferring to several West Coast schools, he dropped out of UCLA to delve into professional acting.

Winfield did a guest appearance on "Room 222" and landed his first regular TV job acting opposite Diahann Carroll in the comedy "Julia." A year later, Sidney Poitier gave him his first movie role in "The Lost Man." He catapulted to fame in 1972 when he earned a best actor Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Nathan Lee Morgan in the film, "Sounder."

Winfield soon developed a reputation for fearless dramatic versatility. Cast mainly in character roles, he spent more than 30 years working in film, television and on stage. Some of his most memorable appearances include "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," "Presumed Innocent," "Terminator" and opposite Denzel Washington in the play "Checkmates." He also narrated the A&E crime series, "City Confidential," and voiced the character of Sam Young in the cartoon "Batman Beyond."

Winfield earned a best actor Emmy nomination in 1978 as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the miniseries "King." After playing a college chancellor in the TV movie, "Roots: The Next Generation," he received a best supporting actor Emmy nomination. He finally won an Emmy in 1995 for playing a federal judge who rules on a school busing case on the show "Picket Fences."

Tichi Wilkerson Kassel

Billy Wilkerson, the founder of The Hollywood Reporter, fell in love with his maid's daughter, Tichi. After a whirlwind courtship, he and Tichi married in 1947. At the time, he was in his 60s and she was 19.

Tichi soon asked Wilkerson to give her a job, so he took her to the newspaper office and taught her the ins and outs of the publishing business. When Wilkerson died in 1962, she became the editor and publisher of the industry publication. Tichi increased the paper's circulation and influence during her six-decade tenure, and launched the Key Art Awards to honor excellence in film advertising.

In 1973, she founded Women in Film, a nonprofit group dedicated to mentoring and opening doors to women in the industry. She later married and divorced realtor William Miles, then wed Arthur Kassel, co-founder of the Beverly Hills Gun Club.

Tichi started the Wilkerson Foundation, which merged with the World Film Institute in 1995. The institute provides scholarships to film and journalism students who attend Southern California universities. A renowned philanthropist, Tichi also created scholarships at the Hollywood Women's Press Club and the Los Angeles Police Department, and established a community center and educational program for Olvera Street, the birthplace of Los Angeles.

Her memoir, "Hollywood Legends: The Golden Years of the Hollywood Reporter," was co-written with Marcia Borie and published in 1988. That same year, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and founded the Tichi Wilkerson Kassel Parkinson's Foundation to raise money for medical research into the debilitating nervous disorder.

Tichi Wilkerson Kassel died on March 8 from complications of intestinal surgery. She was 77.

Cecily Adams

Cecily April Adams, an actress and casting director, died on March 3 from lung cancer. She was 39.

Adams spent 20 years acting in TV shows like "Murphy Brown," "Home Improvement" and "Party of Five." But she was best known for appearing on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" as Ishka, the mother of Ferengi bar owner, Quark.

Adams spent her final years running a casting agency. She worked as the casting assistant for the 1988 animated-live action film, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and as the casting director on the TV sitcoms "That '70s Show" and "3rd Rock From the Sun."

The daughter of "Get Smart" star Don Adams, Cecily was married to Jim Beaver, an actor who recently appeared in the 2003 movie, "The Life of David Gale."

Alvino Rey

Alvin Henry McBurney, the bandleader and steel guitar virtuoso, died on Feb. 24 from complications of pneumonia and congestive heart failure. He was 95.

McBurney learned the banjo and formed his first band when he was 16 years old. By the time he was 20, he was playing for the Phil Spitalny Orchestra in New York. To cash in on the Latin music craze, he changed his name to Alvino Rey, and became a famous swing-band leader in his own right.

His interest in the workings of guitars led to several unique alterations. In 1927, Rey took the needle mechanism from his mother's Victrola and added it to his banjo, an adaptation that increased its volume. The Gibson Guitar Co. hired him in 1934 to conduct similar experiments with their instruments. Rey also modified a Hawaiian steel guitar by adding a pedal or two to get shifts in tuning. That variation led to the design of the modern, pedal steel guitar commonly used in country music circles.

The Alvino Rey Orchestra formed in 1939, and was accompanied by the vocal talents of the King Sisters. One of the King Sisters, Luise, married Rey; she died in 1997. The orchestra scored a string of minor successes with novelty tunes like "Strip Polka" and "I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover." But the 1942 song, "Deep in the Heart of Texas," became the orchestra's biggest hit.

In the late 1950s, Rey recorded albums for Warner Bros. under the pseudonym "Ira Ironstrings." From 1965 to 1970, he and the King Sisters produced the variety TV program, "The King Family Show." Rey was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1978.

Spalding Gray

Spalding Gray, the actor and monologist who disappeared two months ago, has died. His body was found in the East River over the weekend. He was 62.

Gray's wife, Kathleen Russo, reported his disappearance to the police on Jan. 11. He had a history of depression, and previously attempted suicide in 2002.

Gray grew up in Rhode Island and graduated from Emerson College. In 1977, he co-founded the Wooster Group, an experimental theater group, with Elizabeth LaCompte, Jim Clayburgh, Willem Dafoe, Peyton Smith, Kate Valk and Ron Vawter. He appeared on Broadway as the Stage Manager in the revival of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" in the early 1990s, and published several books including, "Gray's Anatomy," "Sex and Death to the Age 14" and "Morning, Noon and Night."

Known for his one-man shows, Gray would spend hours on stage discussing his life and neuroses. He starred in the 1987 film, "Swimming to Cambodia,'' which was based on his Obie-winning monologue of the same name. He also appeared in the films "The Killing Fields," "Beaches," "The Paper" and "Kate & Leopold."

"When I'm doing my monologue, I'm in my element. I am most me when I'm on stage. I'm getting closer to enjoying life. I tell my edited life story with ... more energy than the way I live my life," he said in a 1997 interview with The Associated Press.

John Jones

During his 25-year career with the U.S. Secret Service, John Paul Jones protected four presidents -- Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon. He guarded both world leaders and presidential families. In 1960, he even drove First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to the hospital so she could give birth to her son, John Jr.

An Eagle Scout, Jones served in Korea with the U.S. Army. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Kent State University and a master's in public administration from the University of New Mexico. Jones became an agent in 1955, and handled assignments out of St. Louis, Washington, San Antonio, Austin and Louisville. He was working in New Mexico in 1963 when JFK was assassinated.

Jones, who later served as the head of the Albuquerque bureau before retiring in 1979, died on March 3 from pancreatic cancer. He was 75.

Joan Riudavets Moll

Joan Riudavets Moll, the world's oldest man, died on March 6. Cause of death was not released. He was 114.

Born in 1889, Moll grew up on the Spanish Mediterranean island of Menorca. He wanted to study medicine, but his father encouraged him to join the family's shoemaker business instead. After retiring in 1954, Moll spent his remaining years sleeping 14 hours a day and living on 300 peseta per week.

Moll attained the aging title from Guinness World Records in 2003 when Yukichi Chuganji of Japan died. The fit supercentenarian smoked, but "not too much." He attributed his longevity to a moderate lifestyle of exercise, eating a lot of small meals and socializing with friends.

Moll is survived by three daughters, five grandsons and six great-grandchildren. He also leaves behind two brothers, aged 104 and 98.

Boris Trajkovski

Boris Trajkovski, the president of Macedonia, died on Feb. 26 in a plane crash. He was 47.

An ordained Methodist minister, Trajkovski studied theology in the United States and gave up Communism. He earned a law degree from St. Cyril and Methodius University then specialized in commercial and employment law. He spent 17 years as the head of the legal department of construction company Sloboda before he dedicated his life to public service.

Trajkovski worked as chief-of-office in the Skopje government administration for two years until he was appointed deputy foreign minister of Macedonia. Elected president in 1999, Trajkovski was credited with uniting his ethnically divided country. He pledged to lead Macedonia towards membership in the European Union and NATO, and was only days away from signing the formal EU application.

Trajkovski was en route to an international investment conference when his plane crashed 50 miles south of Sarajevo. Six other officials and two pilots also died. The Parliament speaker, Ljubco Jordanovski, will serve as acting president until the next election.

Susan Schechter

Susan Schechter, an author who wrote books chronicling the battered women's movement, died on Feb. 3 from endometrial cancer. She was 57.

Schechter graduated from Washington University and earned a master's degree from the University of Illinois. From 1986 to 1993, she served as a program coordinator and consultant to Advocacy for Women and Kids in Emergencies at Children's Hospital in Boston. She was appointed to the National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women by former Attorney General Janet Reno and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala.

When she wasn't teaching at the University of Iowa, Schechter wrote books that were generally regarded as the bibles of the domestic violence community. "Women and Male Violence: The Visions and Struggles of the Battered Women's Movement," was a history and analysis of early efforts against domestic violence. She followed that up with "When Love Goes Wrong: What to Do When You Can't Do Anything Right," which was co-written in 1992 with Ann Jones.

In 1999, Schechter helped write "Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence & Child Maltreatment Cases," a set of guidelines for professionals in civil courts, child welfare services and domestic violence programs. It is commonly referred to as "the Greenbook." She also won the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators Award for Leadership in Public Child Welfare in 2003.

Albie Axelrod

Albert Axelrod is the only men's foil fencer in America to ever reach the world championship finals. With an aggressive, straight-ahead attacking style, Axelrod won a bronze medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome and was a member of five consecutive Olympic fencing teams in the foil. During the course of his 28-year career, he also won 15 U.S. National Gold Medals.

A heart murmur kept Axelrod from participating in most sports, so his mother encouraged him to learn fencing at Stuyvesant High School in New York. After graduation, he won amateur titles as a member of the Salle Santelli club.

Axelrod served with the Navy during World War II then attended the City College of New York, which had one of the best fencing teams in the nation. He became an electrical engineer for the Grumman Corp., but drove to Manhattan two or three nights each week to practice.

Axelrod died on Feb. 24 from a heart attack. He was 83.

Dana Broccoli

M wasn't the only woman capable of telling James Bond what to do. He also answered to Dana Natol Wilson Broccoli, the president of the company that owns the film rights to Ian Fleming's 007 novels.

In 1961, Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman founded Danjaq, the Los Angeles-based film studio that bought the film rights to Fleming's books. Dana Broccoli became president of Danjaq when her husband died in 1996. Three Bond films ("Tomorrow Never Dies," "The World Is Not Enough" and "Die Another Day") were produced during her tenure. After 20 cinematic forays, the Bond franchise has become the longest-running movie series of all time.

Dana was studying drama at Cecil Clovelly's Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City when she met Lewis Wilson, who was the first actor to play Batman. After World War II ended, they married, moved to Los Angeles, joined the Pasadena Playhouse and divorced. To support herself, Dana became a screenwriter and pitched a movie idea to producer Cubby Broccoli at a party. He didn't buy the story, but they wed in Las Vegas six weeks later. Actor Cary Grant was their best man.

Broccoli penned two novels, "Scenario for Murder" and "Florinda," and adapted the musical, "La Cava," into a book. She also served as the lead producer of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," which opened in London's West End in 2002. The production is scheduled to debut on Broadway in 2005.

Broccoli died on Feb. 29 from cancer. She was 82.

Celso-Ramón García

Celso-Ramón García, a doctor who directed some of the first oral contraceptive clinical trials, died on Feb. 1 from cardiovascular disease. He was 82.

A New York City native, Garcia graduated from Queens College and earned his medical degree from Downstate Medical Center of the State University of New York in 1945. He served in the Army Medical Corps, completed residencies at Cumberland Hospital in Brooklyn, then entered academia as an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Puerto Rico. There he and a team of scientists conducted some of the first clinical trials on "the pill," an oral contraceptive that was developed by Dr. Gregory G. Pincus and Dr. John Rock.

"The pill" was approved for use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration in 1960, and is one of the most popular methods of contraception today. More than 12 million women use it worldwide.

Garcia spent the next 27 years teaching human reproduction at the University of Pennsylvania before becoming a professor emeritus in 1992. He was a past president of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine as well as the founding president of the Society of Reproductive Surgeons. García also co-authored several books on menopause. In 1995, Penn's School of Medicine established the Celso-Ramón García endowed professorship in his honor.

Daniel Boorstin

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Daniel Joseph Boorstin died on Feb. 28 from pneumonia. He was 89.

Boorstin studied English history and literature at Harvard University, then traveled to England as a Rhodes scholar to attend the Balliol College at Oxford. He passed the British bar exams and was one of the few Americans at that time to become a British barrister-at-law. Upon his return to the states, he completed his advanced studies as a fellow at the Yale Law School and began a distinguished career as a teacher and author.

Boorstin taught at Swarthmore, Radcliffe and Harvard until 1941 when he joined the University of Chicago faculty. He spent 25 years teaching there, and would eventually become the Preston and Sterling Morton Distinguished Service Professor of American History.

A former member of the Communist party, Boorstin testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1953, where he named other members of his Communist organization. His participation in the McCarthy witch hunt was ill-received back in Chicago. Many of Boorstin's students boycotted his classes and printed leaflets denouncing him.

Boorstin served as the director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of History and Technology from 1969 to 1973. In 1974, President Gerald Ford appointed him the 12th librarian of Congress. The appointment met with opposition from the American Library Institutions, an organization that claimed the job belonged to a professional librarian, and the Congressional Black Causcus, which protested his conservative views on affirmative action. Several senators also demanded that Boorstin give up writing during his time as the Congressional librarian. A distinguished author of more than a dozen history books, Boorstin refused this request. Instead, he offered to write only during his off-hours -- on weekends, evenings and weekdays from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m. That same year, Boorstin won the Pulitzer Prize for history for "The Americans: The Democratic Experience." The book was the third in "The Americans" trilogy, following "The Colonial Experience" and "The National Experience."

Boorstin held the librarian position until 1987. The final years of his life were spent writing full-time and editing for Doubleday. In 1989, he won the National Book Award for Distinguished Contributions to American Letters from the National Book Foundation.

Leroy J. Alexanderson

Commodore Leroy J. Alexanderson was the last captain of the SS United States, the biggest and fastest ocean liner ever built in the nation. Known as the "Big U," the 990-foot long ship set a trans-Atlantic speed record of three days, 10 hours and 42 minutes on its maiden voyage in 1952.

Alexanderson graduated from the New York Merchant Marine Academy and received commissions with both the Naval Reserve and Maritime Service. He went to sea with the Merchant Marine on several freighters before transferring to the United States Lines.

At the start of World War II, Alexanderson volunteered for active duty in the Navy. He was assigned to the destroyer escort, USS Melville, where he served in both the North and South Atlantic. Then he captained the USS Livingston and the USS Gage, which helped transport the 6th Marine Division to Okinawa. When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, the Gage transported thousands of troops home.

In 1947, Alexanderson returned to Merchant Marine Service with the United States Lines. He served as an officer aboard several ships before being assigned as executive officer, and later commander, of the 623-foot SS America in 1955. Alexanderson became captain of the SS United States in 1964 and served on the vessel for five years. During that period, he was also named commodore of the entire United States Lines Fleet.

Alexanderson died on Feb. 28. Cause of death was not released. He was 93.

Edward Jablonski

Edward Jablonski, an author with a penchant for musical biography and history, died on Feb. 10 from heart failure. He was 81.

Jablonski combined these two interests in childhood by hanging out in airports and listening to music. He earned a Silver Star serving in the United States Army Field Artillery during World War II, then graduated from the New School for Social Research. While working for the New York chapter of the March of Dimes, Jablonski started writing record reviews and liner notes for albums. This hobby eventually turned into a distinguished, five-decade career in publishing.

Jablonski's expertise in aviation and aerial warfare was the focus of several books, including the four-volume series "Airwar," and two pictorial histories of World Wars I and II. He wrote "Ladybirds: Women in Aviation," "Flying Fortress: The Illustrated Biographies of the B-17's and the Men Who Flew Them," "Warrior With Wings" and "Seawings."

But he was best known for chronicling the lives of America's greatest songwriters and composers. As a teenager, Jablonski started a correspondence with Ira Gershwin, a letter exchange that turned into a life-long friendship. Jablonski and Lawrence D. Stewart wrote "The Gershwin Years" in 1958, a biography featuring previously unavailable material from the personal archives of the Gershwin family. Jablonski also penned its 1992 follow-up, "Gershwin Remembered." His final book was the 1999 biography "Irving Berlin: American Troubadour."

Marty Jurow

Martin Jurow, a successful Hollywood agent and producer, died on Feb. 12. Cause of death was not released. He was 92.

The New York native always had a passion for acting. As a child, he staged backyard productions of vaudeville and never missed a Saturday matinee at the movies. But he soon realized his talents were more suited to the business side of Broadway and Hollywood productions. So he studied drama at the College of William and Mary and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1935. Jurow worked as an entertainment lawyer with the New York law firm of Nathan Burkan, then moved to California, where he trained under Jack L. Warner, a co-founder of Warner Bros. Pictures, and Hal B. Wallis, the producer of "Casablanca."

Jurow began producing his own movies in 1959, starting with the Gary Cooper western, "The Hanging Tree." Over the next three decades, he would produce numerous box office hits, including "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "The Pink Panther," "The Great Race" and "Terms of Endearment." He became a top-level agent for MCA and the William Morris Agency and worked on the Broadway productions of "My Fair Lady,'' "Oklahoma!," "South Pacific," "The King and I" and "Guys and Dolls.''

Jurow relocated to Dallas in the 1970s and decided to go back to law school. Upon graduation, he passed the Texas bar and became an assistant district attorney. In the final years of his life, he taught a filmmaking class at Southern Methodist University and hosted the radio show, "Martin Jurow of Show Business" on KAAM 770. His experiences in Hollywood were chronicled in the 2001 memoir, "Marty Jurow Seein' Stars: A Show Biz Odyssey."

Jerome Lawrence

Jerome Lawrence Schwartz, one half of the team that wrote the Broadway hits "Inherit the Wind" and "Auntie Mame," died on Feb. 29 from complications of a stroke. He was 88.

Lawrence graduated from Ohio State University and worked as a reporter and editor for two daily newspapers before moving to Los Angeles in 1937 to work for radio station KMPC. Two years later, he became a senior staff writer for CBS radio in Los Angeles and New York, where he met playwright Robert E. Lee in a Madison Avenue bar. They enlisted in the Army during World War II and helped to establish the Armed Forces Radio Service. Their 50-year collaboration began with the production of patriotic programs for D-Day, VE-Day and VJ-Day.

After the end of the war, Lawrence and Lee worked together on numerous radio plays and 39 widely produced stage plays. They were best known for writing "Inherit the Wind,'' which was based on the 1925 Scopes monkey trial. "Inherit" ran for three years on Broadway, sold almost 2.5 million copies in printed form, became an award-winning movie starring Spencer Tracy and Gene Kelly and earned four Tony Award nominations.

The prolific pair also adapted the Patrick Dennis novel, "Auntie Mame," into a 1956 Broadway comedy about a free-spirited New York socialite. Angela Lansbury originated the role on stage, and Rosalind Russell played the lead in the 1958 film of the same name. Lawrence and Lee won two Peabody Awards for distinguished Achievement in Broadcasting, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Theatre Association. Lee died from cancer in 1994.

In the final years of his life, Lawrence taught at the University of Southern California, and wrote the biography, "Actor: The Life and Times of Paul Muni." He was inducted into the national Theatre Hall of Fame in 1990.

• Playlist From IBDb.com

Howard Klehm

Howard G. Klehm Sr.'s inventions kept feet dry, preserved flowers and allowed brides to match bouquets to wedding color schemes.

Klehm earned a degree in music at Northwestern University in 1947. He originally planned to become a professional musician, but decided that life on the road wasn't conducive to raising a family. So he turned to inventing.

Working in his mother's basement in 1949, Klehm invented Gard, a weatherproofing spray for shoes, raincoats and tents. When the product was sold to 3M, its name was changed to Scotchgard. Specializing in products that could be delivered by an aerosol spray, Klehm invented spray-on rustproofer, deodorant and shaving cream.

In the 1970s, Klehm developed the first spray paint for flowers and accessories. When aerosols became unpopular, he created two different types of pump dispensers that used only air as the propellant. He also produced the flower preservatives known as Rogard and Silgard.

Klehm died on Feb. 21 from congestive heart failure. He was 79.

Marge Schott

Margaret Unnewehr Schott, the former Cincinnati Reds owner who was suspended by Major League Baseball for making racial slurs, died on March 2. Cause of death was not released. She was 75.

The Cincinnati native was a lumber heiress who graduated from the Sacred Heart Academy and married wealthy industrialist Charles J. Schott in 1952. When her husband died in 1968, she inherited Schottco Corp., a holding company that included Chevrolet and Buick dealerships and interests in insurance, brick manufacturing, concrete products and landfills. Schott was the first woman to own a GM dealership in a major metro area.

She purchased shares in the Reds in 1981, and took control of the team as its general partner three years later. Schott ran the oldest professional baseball team for 15 years, and was often seen on the field with her St. Bernard, Schottzie, talking with players and fans. President Ronald Reagan honored her and 84 other female entrepreneurs with a White House reception in 1986. And the city embraced her when the Reds won the World Series in 1990.

But her tenure ended in controversy. In 1992, several former Reds executives complained that Schott used racial and ethnic slurs in referring to players and business associates. In an interview with The New York Times, she said "[Adolf] Hitler was good in the beginning, but he went too far." A Sports Illustrated magazine article published offensive statements she made about a Japanese government official, Asian-Americans, working women and Jews. A Cincinnati Enquirer article quoted her saying she doesn't want Reds players to wear earrings because "only fruits wear earrings." When umpire John McSherry collapsed and died on the field during the 1996 Opening Day game, Schott expressed her disappointment in the game's postponement by saying: "I feel cheated. This isn't supposed to happen to us, not in Cincinnati. This is our history, our tradition, our team."

Although she later apologized for her comments, saying, "I don't always express myself well," Schott was suspended from day-to-day oversight of the Reds for the 1993 season and fined $25,000. After she made a similar comment about Hitler in 1996, Schott was forced to relinquish her daily control of the Reds again. That same year, General Motors Corp. filed a complaint with the Ohio Motor Vehicle Dealers Board, accusing her of hiding cars at her estate and falsifying 57 auto sales in order to meet quotas at her Chevrolet-Geo dealership. She sold the car franchise in 1997, and sold most of her stake in the Reds to current owners Carl Lindner, William Reik and George Strike for $67 million in 1999.

Schott also had a philanthropic side. She sponsored the Reds Rally, an annual dinner auction with Reds players that raised more than $1 million for the Children's Heart Association. She donated millions more to the Cincinnati Zoo and the Warren County Humane Association, and loaned her name to a school building at St. Ursula Academy, a lake on the Dan Beard Scout Reservation, a Boys & Girls Club and a pavilion at the Milford Spiritual Retreat.

The Reds plan to honor her memory at its home opener on April 5.

• Complete Coverage from The Cincinnati Enquirer

Jacques Francais

With his trained eye, Jacques Pierre Francais could look at a Stradivarius and determine if it was a fake or worth millions.

A world renown dealer of classical string instruments, Francais spent 20 years collecting two violins, a viola and a cello that Antonio Stradivari had made to be played together but were sold separately. In 1971, he assembled an exhibition of antique French violins that had not been seen in public since a 1900 exposition in France. He also brokered a $4 million sale of an instrument built by Stradivari and played by cellist Emanuel Feuermann.

The French-born Francais belonged to a 200-year line of luthiers. Francais wanted to be an artist, but his father, Émile, demanded that he remain in the family business. So he apprenticed in Mirecourt and Mittenwald, the French and German centers of violin-making. During World War II, Francais served with the Free French ski troops before joining the occupation force in Vienna. Once the fighting ended, he apprenticed with violin restorer Rembert Wurlitzer and with his father.

Francais moved to New York in 1948, bearing 20 violins, four cellos and 24 bows, which he planned to sell on consignment. He later built his own company -- Jacques Francais Rare Violins Inc. -- where he bought, sold and maintained stringed instruments by Stradivari, Nicolo Amati and Guarneri del Gesù.

Francais died on Feb. 4 from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 80.

Sandra Burton

Sandra J. Burton, one of the first women to become a correspondent for Time Magazine, died on Feb. 27. Cause of death was not released. She was 62.

Burton graduated from Middlebury College and joined Time as a library "clip girl" in 1964. During the 1970s, she rose through the magazine's ranks, working as a correspondent in Los Angeles and Paris and as the Boston bureau chief. Burton became the Hong Kong bureau chief in 1982, and made a name for herself covering southeast Asia.

In 1983, Burton was flying with opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino as he returned to the Philippines from exile in the United States. Once the plane landed, Aquino was escorted to the tarmac by government soldiers and executed. Burton later testified against the soldiers accused of the assassination and provided her audio tape recording of the shooting.

Aquino's murder sparked unrest and eventually led to the 1986 revolt that toppled dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, and installed Corazon Aquino as president. Burton chronicled these historical events for Time, and in the book "Impossible Dream: The Marcoses, the Aquinos, and the Unfinished Revolution." Her final years were spent freelancing for Time and working on a biography of James Brook, the 19th-century English soldier who was made a rajah of Sarawak.

Vera Zanardelli

Vera May Zanardelli spent most of her adult life counting people. An interviewer for the U.S. Census Bureau, Zanardelli tallied the citizens of Detroit for more than 30 years. The Pennsylvania native joined the Bureau in 1969 and became its regional director in 1977.

After retiring in 1990, Zanardelli volunteered at local libraries, read books to patients at the Henry Ford Retirement Village in Dearborn, Mich., and planned reunions for World War II veterans. She was also the executive vice president of the 11th Armored Division Association.

Zanardelli died on Feb. 3 of complications from surgery. She was 80.

Gerald Brown

Dr. Gerald Brown, the cat doctor, died on Feb. 8 of complications from cancer. He was 69.

The New Jersey native received a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University, and graduated summa cum laude from the university's school of veterinary medicine. He served as an Army lieutenant from 1959 to 1961, stationed in Chicago, where he remained after returning to the private sector.

When medical research found that cats are severely stressed by contact with dogs they don't know, Brown opened the City Cat Doctor Feline Medical Center, one of the first "cats only" clinics in the United States. For the next 30 years, he cared for the Windy City's cats when they were ill, neglected or abused. He volunteered surgical services at the Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society and donated the profits from his practice to local animal shelters.

Brown also shared advice on the raising and care of cats in monthly columns for Today's Chicago Woman and Pet Times, and as a contributor to the "Chicago Vets on Pets" feature in the Chicago Sun-Times.