Partap Sharma, Indian playwright, died he was 71.

Partap Sharma was an Indian playwright, novelist, author of books for children, commentator, actor and documentary film-maker died he was 71..^[1]

^{(12 December 1939 – 30 November 2011)}

Background

Sharma was born in Lahore, Punjab, India (now in Pakistan) and was the oldest son of Dr. Baij Nath Sharma and Dayawati (Pandit) Sharma. Sharma’s father was a civil engineer who served as Technical Advisor to governments in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Tanganyika and Libya and later retired to their ancestral property in Punjab as a farmer. This colourful Punjabi village forms much of the backdrop of Sharma’s novel, Days of the Turban.
Sharma’s early education was in Trinity College, Kandy, Ceylon, and Bishop Cotton School, Shimla. Sharma received a triple promotion and completed school at 14 before going to study at St. Xavier's College, Bombay; all other universities in India required a minimum age of 16. He was married to Susan Amanda Pick and they have two daughters: Namrita and Tara Sharma.
Sharma’s association with the Indian National Theatre, Mumbai, began in 1961 with the production by it of his first full-length play “Bars Invisible” and continued until the production of the banned “A Touch of Brightness.” While working on his writing, Sharma freelanced as a narrator for short films and newsreels and directed a few documentaries for the Government of India. Sharma has voiced many national and international award-winning documentaries and short films. He is the voice on most of the Son et lumière shows produced in India, including the one still running forty years later, at the Delhi Fort, in Delhi. Sharma was the TV host of the popular programme “What’s the Good Word?” produced by Television Centre, Mumbai.

Writings

Books

The Surangini Tales

The Surangini Tales (1973) is a children’s book, about Surangini, daughter of the village zamindar. She is the most beautiful maiden anyone has ever seen. Kalu, the poor weaver, loves her, but only the wealthiest of eligible young men can ask for her hand in marriage. Unless, Kalu with his deft hands, quick wit and unselfish love can produce something like a miracle, unexpected and amazing, on the day she is to choose her bridegroom….!

Dog Detective Ranjha

Dog Detective Ranjha (1978) is a story book about Sharma’s Alsatian dog Ranjha. Sharma dedicates the book to animal lovers the world over, and particularly in India where some of the world’s earliest animal stories were written.
Even today the streets in India are open not only to traffic and human beings but also the friendly cows and bulls who wander freely as they please, sometimes absentmindedly standing in a bus queue or staring in with curiosity from the doorstep of a shop. There are even festivals for the less loved creatures, like snakes. Birds, of course, are often fed little morsels even by those who can hardly afford a daily meal for themselves. In the great epic, Mahabharata, it is said that when the legendary hero, Yuddhister went to heaven he insisted that his dog should be allowed to accompany him.
'Sharma has written a good, old-fashioned adventure story book, its rather solid virtues enlivened by the amusing device of having events narrated by the dog.' - Rosemary Stones, Children's Book Bulletin (UK)

The Little Master of the Elephant

The Little Master of the Elephant (1984) tells the story of a parched land, where people are dying or leaving. Chintu and his elephant Vivek go in search of water to save a dying uncle. They come back with a retinue of people and animals and a river of water instead of first a bucketful. This is just the beginning of their adventures together and their search for the meaning of life. In a part Chintu finds love and is promised to be king and find the meaning of what he is looking for.

Top Dog

Top Dog (1985) has more stories about Ranjha, the dog detective. They live in Mumbai and Ranjha has been so skillfully trained in the art of tracking that he has become famous for the crimes he has solved. All the stories in this book are based on real cases and Ranjha tells us, in his own words, about some of the most puzzling he has helped to solve. He tracked down a local thief, he got involved in a particularly unpleasant case of what seemed to be ritual murder, he got to the bottom of a series of thefts from a warehouse that had reduced the owner of the goods to despair. He helped to find and return to her family a little girl, who had been kidnapped.

Days of the Turban

Sharma’s novel Days of the Turban (1986) presents a picture of Indian Society from the inside. It shows a country in transition, where old values are under attack from new ideas but where, in the end, the traditions and ways of life still have their place.
It tells the story of Balbir, the youngest member of a wealthy Punjabi family, the descendant of a great Brahmin warrior dynasty. In the Punjab the family counts for everything. Over-educated and bored with life in a Punjabi village, Balbir wants only to escape, to get away from the demands of ever-present family. Most of all he would like to follow his glamorous elder brother Raskaan, who has escaped to Europe and become westernised and rich, a businessman in Berlin.
Searching for adventure and trying to raise the money to finance his escape, Balbir becomes entangled with local gunrunners. Venturing into the golden Temple at Amritsar with a message for the Sikh extremists who have fortified it, he is held hostage to ensure that his cousin Satyavan will provide the arms the movement needs.
The book provides an insight into the mind of extremists. It shows how extremism builds on fear and then has to reach further into terrorism, not necessarily to further its aim, but for its leadership to keep ahead of its supporters and rivals. The descent from revolutionary to terrorist can be jagged and rapid.

A Touch of Brightness

"A Touch of Brightness" (1964) centres around Rukmini, a girl sold to a brothel in Mumbai and her relationship with Pidku, a street urchin, who tries desperately to rescue her from her life as a prostitute. Rukmini mesmerises Pidku with her visionary stories of the gods and her dreams of a married life as the wife of the blue god Krishna.. Even in a brothel, her extravagant optimism never ceases but only deepens.
In 1965 the play was selected for the first Commonwealth Arts Festival from among 150 works of Commonwealth writers. It was also invited to tour four theatres in Britain for a commercial run. In September 1965 the production troupe, sponsored by the Indian National Theatre, was prohibited from proceeding to England. To prevent the troupe of actors from going abroad to present the work, fifteen passports were impounded overnight. The authorities gave no explanation for this, but the reason was obvious. To quote directly from an editorial "Do these people honestly believe that the prestige of India will be enhanced by letting drama-lovers in London know the heartening fact of the existence of brothels in this country?"
The play was banned in Mumbai in 1966 on the grounds that it was set in the infamous redlight area of the city and therefore ‘dealt with subjects which should not be depicted on stage’. Seven years later, in 1972, the Mumbai High Court decreed that the censoring authority had ‘exceeded its jurisdiction’ and the ban was revoked. The play was produced by the Indian National Theatre in Mumbai in 1973.
It is interesting to note that forty years on, in 2006 it was selected by Sahitya Akademi (India's National Academy of Letters) to launch a series of contemporary plays by Indian writers in English.
Meanwhile, the play had become a subject of academic study in universities in India and abroad. The play has also been produced and published in at least five countries in various languages. It was broadcast for the first time over radio by the BBC Third Programme on 3 November 1967 with a cast that included Judi Dench (as Prema/Rukmini), and music specially composed for it by the famous sitar player, Pandit Ravi Shankar. Well known literary critic Walter Allen wrote of this play when it was first broadcast “the most imaginatively satisfying” experience in his recent listening.
It was rebroadcast on BBC 7 in 2007.
In 1999, Geeta Citygirl staged the American premiere of A TOUCH OF BRIGHTNESS at Aaron Davis Hall in Harlem, NY. Partap Sharma was present for the opening night performance.

Zen Katha

The Zen Katha of Bodhidharma is a historical play about the founder of zen who was also a master of martial arts. Revered in China, Okinawa and Japan, the Indian monk Bodhidharma was, till the writing, performance and publication of this play, almost forgotten in his homeland India.
It tells the story of how Bodhidharma, born a prince in South India in the fifth century, had to discover ways to excel at unarmed combat because the royal Pallavas prided themselves on their wrestling skills. The Prince became a monk and fled from the demands of a throne to China, but could not so easily escape the woman who loved him.^[2]

Sammy!

The irrepressible ‘Mahatma’ in Gandhi is the Inner Voice he could not ignore. This intricately crafted play portrays Gandhi’s journey from a tongue-tied lawyer to a shrewd politician and finally the Mahatma (Great Soul). Set against the dramatic background of India’s struggle for freedom, this outstanding play surprises our expectation at every turn of the story. Full of humour and style, the play makes past events seem like present gossip and the audience is transported deeper within themselves.

Sammy, English

The play brings alive Gandhi’s philosophy, pragmatism, and sense of humour. Partap Sharma’s play unwinds Gandhi’s concepts and his techniques for non-violent struggle. The play is captivating as we realise that Gandhi’s struggle has no enemy, no arms, no hate nor revenge, but only the inner strength of millions of ordinary men, women and children.
The play has won the 2006 META ^[3] awards in India for Best Original Script, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Costumes. It is playing to great acclaim in India, and S.E Asia and after the European Premiere in Brussels in October 2006, travelled to the US,UK in 2007.^[4] It then travelled to New Zealand ^[5] and Australia where it received standing ovations.^[6]
Sharma's Sammy has also travelled all the way successfully to the Scotland. The story in itself will be a form of reviving the values of Mahatma in foreign lands through theatre and this play has been woven as the director (Pranay Ahluwalia) has tried to show history through modern eyes which would lead the audience into the era which shaped the future of India for generations to come.
90 Minutes for Gandhi, was staged at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2009 as a horizontal adaption of the original play under the banner of The Holycow Performing Arts Group,^[7] an Edinburgh-based amateur theater group. The play has been very well received.

Begum Sumroo

Set in the late eighteenth century The Rebel Courtesan, Begum Sumroo (she is also known as Begum Samru), traces the picaresque adventures of a legendary historical figure from British India, Begum (Queen) Sumroo.
Farzana is a peerless courtesan who morphs into a powerful ruler, known for her political accomplishments as well as her amorous liaisons. After seducing Walter Reinhardt Sombre, a Swiss German mercenary, she acquires the kingdom of Sardhana from Emperor Shah Alam, and commands a fierce brigade of 3000 European and Indian soldiers.
It is said that tourists who visited British India were advised to see the Taj Mahal, and to pay their respects to the Begum! The story is of an amazing Indian woman who was ahead of her time and ours.

Staged plays

• Brothers Under The Skin, (1956)
• Bars Invisible (1961)
• A Touch Of Brightness (1965)
• The Word (1966)
• The Professor Has A Warcry (1970)
• Queen Bee (1976)
• Power Play (1991)
• Begum Sumroo (1997)
• Zen Katha (2004)
• SAMMY! (2005)

Documentaries and films

Partap Sharma has directed some outstanding documentaries, as independent producer and for the Government of India’s Films Division, and Channel Four Television, UK. His film credits include:

• The Framework Of Famine, 1967, an investigation of how nature’s devastation is compounded by human corruption and inefficiency; banned for it’s “ruthless candour” then released after other documentary-makers protested.

• The Flickering Flame, 1974, a study of the mismanagement of the energy crisis and its effect on the suburban housewife; banned and never released.

• Kamli, 1976, a short film depicting the status of women in rural Indian society.

• The Empty Hand, 1982, (co-directed) a prize-winning audiovisual about the art of karate.

• Viewpoint Amritsar, 1984, co-directed a film about the Golden Temple and environs in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star.

• The British Raj Through Indian Eyes, 1992, a documentary series telecast in 1992 by Channel Four Television UK. Part I: The Uprising of 1857. Part II: The Massacre at Jallianwallah Bagh 1919.

The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum in Bristol, UK, now has a permanent section entitled 'The Sharma Archive' consisting of 30 video and 67 audio tapes made by Partap Sharma. Interviews and footage of Indian nationalists, freedom fighters and writers. Indian perspectives on the Raj. Some transcripts available (CDs, Videos and Cassettes).

• Sailing Around The World And Discover America Yachting Rally, two video programmes directed by Sandhya Divecha and produced by Sharma’s Indofocus Films Pvt. Ltd.

• British Raj Hindustani Nazron Se, 1995–98, A Hindi TV Serial.

Children’s film

The Case Of The Hidden Ear-Ring, 1983

Feature films

As an actor Sharma played a role in the Merchant-Ivory film “Shakespeare Wallah”. Other films include the lead role in the following Hindi films:

• Phir Bhi (1971)
• Andolan (1975)
• Tyaag Patra (1980)
• Pehla Kadam (1980)
• Nehru – The Jewel of India (1989)
• The Bandung Sonata (2002) Filmed in China, Sharma played Nehru in this international film which was subsequently re-titled for release in China as Chou-en-Lai in Bandung.

Audio CDs

• Julius Caesar (2007)

"Commonly acknowledged as one of the most recorded (for advertising shorts) voices of India, actor-playwright and thespian Pratap Sharma's latest venture - a solo recording of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is a literary tour de force. It makes for spell-binding listening as he holds the stage all alone, lending each character a completely distinctive tone and nuance. This recording ... is particularly remarkable, since Sharma was on oxygen at all times to combat emphysema, a lung ailment from which he has been suffering for the past few years." - Gaver Chatterjee, Education World. "Quite a solo feat. He lent each role a certain shading, using nuance, inflection…" -Indian Express.

• The Merchant of Venice (2007)

"The recording has an amazing range of voice - without break for changing from one character to another. Partap Sharma, the Golden Voice of India…" - Hindustan Times.
"Shakespeare comes alive loud and clear. Partap's is among the most marvellous voices in not just India but the world. This recording of one man speaking in so many accents will be a staple for young students." - The Times of India.

• Macbeth (2008)

"It comes as no surprise that the man with the golden voice needs no advertising or publicity for his work. Sharma, the man they call simply 'the voice' has voiced all the characters in the play, from the three witches to Macbeth himself - an aural treat. The series is also testimony to the writer-documentary filmmaker-actor's fighting spirit as he battles with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema." - CNN/IBN

Awards and honours [1]

Sharma won numerous first prizes in school & university in debating, elocution & acting including first prize at the All India Inter-University Youth Festival, Delhi, in 1958.
1971 National Award for the lead role in the feature film “Phir Bhi” which also won the National Award for the best Hindi film of the year.
Cleo Award U.S.A for best voice.
1976 RAPA First Prize for best voice in radio spots.[2]
1992 the “Hamid Sayani” Trophy for a lifetime of all-round excellence in radio and television.
2000 Ad Club of Mumbai Award for Lifetime Contribution to Advertising.
2006 “Meta Award” for Best Original Script for SAMMY![3]
2007 "Yuva Thespo 9 Lifetime Achievement Award " [4]

Trivia

Hindi film actress Tara Sharma is Partap Sharma's daughter.

To see more of who died in 2011 click here

Carl Robie, American Olympic gold (1968) and silver-medal winning (1964) swimmer, died he was 66.

Carl Joseph Robie, III was an American swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder died he was 66..^[1]

^{(May 12, 1945 – November 30, 2011)} 

At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Robie received a silver medal for his second-place finish in the men's 200-meter butterfly. Four years later at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico, he won a gold medal for winning the men's 200-meter butterfly. Robie broke the world record in men's 200-mter butterfly four times during his career, including twice on the same day in August 1962.
Robie practiced civil trial law in Sarasota, Florida. He was inducted in the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1976.
Robie died at the age of 66 on November 29, 2011.


To see more of who died in 2011 click here

Robert Osserman, American mathematician, died he was 84.

Robert Osserman was an American mathematician  died he was 84..

(December 19, 1926 – November 30, 2011)

Raised in Bronx, he went to Bronx High School of Science (diploma, 1942) and New York University. He earned a Ph.D. (1955) from Harvard University on the thesis Contributions to the Problem of Type (on Riemann surfaces) advised by Lars Ahlfors.^[1]
He joined Stanford University in 1955.^[2] He joined the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in 1990.^[3] He worked on geometric function theory, differential geometry, the two integrated in a theory of minimal surfaces, isoperimetric inequality, and other issues in the areas of astronomy, geometry, cartography and complex function theory. Osserman was the head of mathematics at Office of Naval Research, a Fulbright Lecturer at the University of Paris and Guggenheim Fellow at the University of Warwick. He edited numerous books and promoted mathematics, such as in interviews with celebrities Steve Martin^[4] and Alan Alda.^[5]
Robert Osserman died on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at his home.^[2]

Books

• Two-dimensional calculus (Krieger, 1977)
• Survey of minimal surfaces (1986)
• Poetry of the universe — a mathematical exploration of the cosmos (Random House, 1995)

Awards

• John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellow (1976)
• 2003 Joint Policy Board for Mathematics Communications Award.

To see more of who died in 2011 click here

Zdeněk Miler, Czech animator and illustrator, creator of The Mole, died he was 90.

Zdeněk Miler was a Czech animator and illustrator best known for his Mole (Krtek or Krteček in original) character and its adventures  died he was 90..

(Czech pronunciation: [ˈzdɛɲɛk ˈmɪlɛr]; 21 February 1921 – 30 November 2011)

Early years

Miler was born in Kladno just west of Prague, the capital of what was then Czechoslovakia. He became an animator partly because of the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. He took part in the demonstrations held consequent to death of Jan Opletal which lead to the closing of universities and colleges. He escaped being sent to a Concentration camp. Instead he wound up working as an animator.
Miler enjoyed painting as a child. His hobby developed when he joined the national graphic school in Prague in 1942. He later studied at the College of Arts and Crafts (Uměleckoprůmyslová škola Praha). In 1948 he began work at the cartoon studio Baťa in Zlín. There he learned the important practical skills relating to film production specializing in animated films. After the second World War, he started work at the cartoon company «Bratři v triku» and worked first as draughtsman then author and director. He later became the head of the company.
^[1] He died at 2:00 pm from bronchopneumonia at his home in 2011.^[2]
The book describes his funeral. Miler is buried from a common grave at Saint Marx Cemetery on 31 December

Krtek the Mole

Miler made about 70 films. In approximately 50 of them, the protagonist was his most famous creation, the small mole (Krtek in Czech). The idea for its creation came when he was commissioned to make an educational film for children in 1956. He was not happy with the script he was given. Since he was strongly influenced by the films of Walt Disney, he looked for an animal as the main character. Later, he said that the idea to use the mole as his main character came to him when he stumbled over a mole hill during a walk.^[3] The first film was titled “How the mole got his trousers” (“Jak krtek ke kalhotkám přišel”), which won a Silver Lion in Venice. In the beginning, the mole spoke. But Miler wanted his mole to be understood everywhere in the world so he decided to use his daughters as voice actors, reducing the speech to short non-figurative exclamations in order to express Krtek's feelings and world perception. His daughters were also his test audience, who got to see the films first. Thus Miler could see whether his message resonated with children.
Krtek was a huge success in Czechoslovakia, Eastern Europe and Germany from the beginning and today Krtek can be seen in over 80 countries.

Works

Krtek

• How The Mole Got His Trousers (Jak krtek ke kalhotkám přišel) at the Internet Movie Database 1957
• Krtek a autíčko. 1963 (The mole and the car)
• Krtek a raketa. 1965 (The mole and the rocket)
• Krtek a tranzistor. 1968 (The mole and the radio)
• Krtek a zelená hvězda. 1969 (The mole and the green star)
• Krtek a žvýkačka. 1969 (The mole and the chewing gum)
• Krtek v zoo. 1969 (The mole in the zoo)
• Krtek zahradníkem. 1969 (Mole the gardener)
• Krtek a ježek. 1970 (The mole and the hedgehog)
• Krtek a lízátko. 1970 (The mole and the lollipop)
• Krtek a televisor. 1970 (The mole and the television)
• Krtek a paraplíčko. 1971 (The mole and the umbrella)
• Krtek malířem. 1972 (Mole the painter)
• Krtek a muzika. 1974 (The mole and music)
• Krtek a telefon. 1974 (The mole and the telephone)
• Krtek a zápalky. 1974 (The mole and the matches)
• Krtek chemikem. 1974 (Mole the chemist)
• Krtek A more buldozer. 1975 (The mole and the bulldozer)
• Krtek A koberec. 1975 (The mole and the carpet)
• Krtek A vejce. 1975 (The mole and the egg)
• Krtek fotografem. 1975 (Mole the photographer)
• Krtek hodinářem. 1975 (Mole the watchmaker)
• Krtek v poušti. 1975 (The mole in the desert)
• Krtek o vánocích. 1975 (The mole and Christmas)
• Krtek a karneval. 1976 (The mole and the carnival)
• Krtek ve městě. 1982 (The mole in the city)
• Krtek ve snu. 1984 (The mole in the dream)
• Krtek a medicína. 1987 (The mole and the medicine)
• Krtek filmová hvězda. 1988 (Mole the film star)
• Krtek a orel. 1992 (The mole and the eagle)
• Krtek a hodiny. 1994 (The mole and the clock)
• Krtek a kachničky. 1995 (The mole and the ducklings)
• Krtek a kamarádi. 1995 (The mole and friends)
• Krtek a oslava. 1995 (The mole and the celebration)
• Krtek a robot. 1995 (The mole and the robot)
• Krtek a uhlí. 1995 (The mole and the coal)
• Krtek a víkend. 1995 (The mole and the weekend)
• Krtek a houby. 1997 (The mole and the mushrooms)
• Krtek a maminka. 1997 (The mole and the mummy)
• Krtek a metro. 1997 (The mole and the underground)
• Krtek a myška. 1997 (The mole and the mouse)
• Krtek a sněhulák. 1997 (The mole and the snowman)
• Krtek a zajíček. 1997 (The mole and the small hare)
• Krtek a pramen. 1999 (The mole and the stream)
• Krtek a šťoura. 1999 (The mole and the grumbler)
• Krtek a flétna. 1999 (The mole and the flute)
• Krtek a vlaštovka. 2000 (The mole and the swallow)
• Krtek a rybka. 2000 (The mole and the small fish)
• Krtek a žabka. 2002 (The Mole and the small frog)

Other films

• The Millionaire Who Stole The Sun (O milionáři, který ukradl slunce) at the Internet Movie Database 1948 after Jiří Wolker
• Měsíční pohádka. 1958 (A moon history)
• Jak štěňátko dostalo chuť na med. 1960 (How the Puppy wanted Honey)
• O štěňátku. 1960 (About the small puppy)
• Jak štěňátko chtělo malé pejsky. 1960 (How the puppy wanted small dogs)
• Jak sluníčko vrátilo štěňátku vodu. 1960 (How the sun returned the water to the small puppy)
• O nejbohatším vrabci ve světě. 1961 (About the world's richest)
• Rudá stopa. 1963 (The red trace)
• O Čtverečkovi a Trojúhelníčkovi. 1963 (About the small square and the small triangle)
• Sametka. 1967 (The Velvet Caterpillar)
• Romance helgolandská. 1977 (A Helgoland romance)
• Cvrček a stroj. 1977 (The cricket and the machine)
• Cvrček a pavouk. 1977 (The cricket and the spider)
• Cvrček a housličky. 1978 (The cricket and the violin)
• Cvrček a slepice. 1978 (The cricket and the chicken)
• Cvrček a pila. 1978 (The cricket and the saw)
• Cvrček a bombardón. 1978 (The cricket and the bombardone)
• Cvrček a basa. 1979 (The cricket and the contrabass)

To see more of who died in 2011 click here

Chester McGlockton, American football player (Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos), died from an apparent heart attack he was 42.

Chester McGlockton was an American football defensive tackle who played for four different teams in his twelve season National Football League career from 1992 to 2003  died from an apparent heart attack he was 42..

(September 16, 1969 – November 30, 2011) 

Early years

McGlockton was a High School All-American as a Tight End/Defensive Lineman at Whiteville High School in Whiteville, North Carolina. He played Varsity Football all four years. During his senior year he led the Whiteville Wolfpack to a 15-0 record, a State Championship, and a USA Today National Ranking.

College career

He played college football at Clemson University under Danny Ford and Ken Hatfield. He scored a touchdown as a freshman in the 1989 Gator Bowl vs. the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Professional career

McGlockton was drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1st round (16th overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft. He played six seasons with the Raiders, earning all four of his Pro Bowl appearances with them. McGlockton also played for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Denver Broncos, and ended his career by playing one season with the New York Jets. McGlockton finished his NFL career with 51 sacks including a career season high of 9.5 in 1994.

Post-football

At the start of 2009, he was an intern coach with the University of Tennessee football team. He accepted a defensive assistant position at Stanford in 2010 and worked on David Shaw's staff.^[2]

Death

McGlockton died of an enlarged heart on November 30, 2011.^[3]


To see more of who died in 2011 click here

Peter Lunn, British Olympic alpine skier (1936) and spymaster, died he was 97.

Peter Northcote Lunn  was a British alpine skier who competed in the 1936 Winter Olympics  died he was 97.. As a spymaster in the early Cold War, he was noted for his resourceful use of telephone tapping.

(15 November 1914 – 30 November 2011)

Biography

The son of Arnold Lunn, he was born in Coventry and educated at Eton.
Shortly before his second birthday in 1916, Lunn's father introduced him to skiing at Mürren, which was the Lunn family's winter home.^[2] "I remember endlessly walking up the practice slope, skiing over a large bump and falling over," Lunn said at the age of 95. "My mother picked me up and said, 'Lean forward' — rather good advice."^[3] During the 1930s, Lunn was one of Britain's leading skiers. He was a member of the British international ski team from 1931 to 1937, and its captain from 1934 to 1937. At the 1936 Winter Olympics at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, he led the British ski team^[4] and finished twelfth in the alpine skiing combined event, the highest British placing. "I was overawed by the event and skied too carefully," he said later. "It was the only major international downhill race in which I failed to fall."^[3] Lunn and his father, who refereed the slalom in the 1936 Winter Olympics, detested every form of totalitarianism. Neither marched in the opening procession or attended the lavish banquet given by the Nazis.^[5]
As well as two skiing manuals and The Guinness Book of Skiing, Lunn also wrote Evil in High Places, a thriller with a skiing background.
On 24 April 1939, Lunn married the Hon. Antoinette Preston (1912–1976),^[6] the daughter of Viscount Gormanston (1879–1925). They had three sons and three daughters.^[4]
Espionage writer Richard C. S. Trahair provides this description of Lunn: "He had a slight build and blue eyes, spoke in a soft voice with a lisp, and appeared to be a quiet gentle fellow. However benign his appearance, he was a forceful man of strong will, hardworking, a devout Roman Catholic, and militant anti-Communist."^[4]
In 1939 Peter Lunn entered government service, and in 1941 he joined the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). A Royal Artillery officer, he was seconded to MI6 and supervised secret operations for 30 years. He worked in Malta (1939–1944), Italy (1944–1945), West Germany (1945–1946), London (1946–1948), Vienna (1948–1950), Bern (1950–1953), Berlin (1953–1956), London again (1956-1957), Bonn (1957–1962), Beirut (1962–1967), and London for a third time (1967–1968).^[4] Wherever he went, Lunn seized every opportunity to ski. "We had four weeks in Mürren every Christmas," his son Stephen recalled. "He skied every day from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm, and he was furious if he went a day without a big fall, because that meant he wasn't trying hard enough."^[3]
As head of the SIS station in Vienna, Lunn discovered that beneath the French and British sectors, there were telephone cables that linked field units and airports of the Russian Army to Soviet headquarters. He got expert advice on tapping these lines, and a private mining consultant agreed to construct a tunnel from the basement of a police post to the main phone cable between the Soviet headquarters in the Imperial Hotel and the Russian military airfield at Schwechat.^[4] Operation Conflict, conceived by Lunn, was the first Cold War tunnel operation. It garnered a rich trove of message traffic from 1948 to 1951 and was a forerunner for the more ambitious Berlin Tunnel a few years later.^[7]
In 1954 Lunn was SIS head of station in Berlin, and cooperated with his CIA opposite number William King Harvey to bring about work on the Berlin Tunnel (known as Operation Gold by the Americans and Operation Stopwatch by the British). The operation was codenamed PBJOINTLY, with the P and B standing for Peter and Bill respectively. Most of the manpower and funds were provided by the Americans, while the technical skills and experience from the Vienna tunnel came from Lunn's officers. Unknown to either the SIS or the CIA, the tunnel was revealed to the Soviets from the beginning by George Blake, who worked for SIS on the project.^[4] In the event, the KGB was quite happy to let the West snoop on the Red Army, and did not use the tapped lines for disinformation, as that could have led to Blake's exposure.^[7] A full account of the operation from a British perspective is given by espionage writer David A. T. Stafford in his book Spies Beneath Berlin (2002).
Lunn retired from government service in 1986.^[4] In 2008, at a centenary dinner, he became an honorary member of the Alpine Ski Club, which his father Arnold Lunn had founded 100 years earlier.

Publications

• High-Speed Skiing (1935)
• Evil in High Places (1947)
• A Ski-ing Primer (1948)
• The Guinness Book of Skiing (1983)

To see more of who died in 2011 click here

Leka, Crown Prince of Albania, Albanian royal and politician, pretender to the Albanian throne (since 1961), died he was 72.

Leka, Crown Prince of Albania, was the only son of King Zog I of the Albanians and his queen consort, born Countess Géraldine Apponyi de Nagyappony  died he was 72.. He was called Crown Prince Skander at birth. Leka was pretender to the Albanian throne and was referred to as King Leka I by Albanian monarchists and some members of the media.^[1]

^{(also known as King Leka I; 5 April 1939 – 30 November 2011)}

Family and early life

King Zog I of the Albanians was forced into exile only two days after the birth of Crown Prince Leka due to the Italian invasion of Albania. Shortly after, he was replaced on the throne of Albania by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy — an action the King of Italy would later plead personal forgiveness for. Count Ciano, the Italian Foreign Minister, arrived in the immediate aftermath of the invasion. On searching the Palace in Tirana he found the 'labour room' in the Queen's suite; seeing a pile of linen on the floor, stained by the afterbirth, he kicked it across the room. "The cub has escaped!" he said.^[2]
Crown Prince Leka began life in exile in various countries. After travelling across Europe, the Royal Family settled in England, first at the Ritz Hotel in London, then moving for a very short period in 1941 to Sunninghill near Ascot in Berkshire, and then in 1941 to Parmoor House, Parmoor, near Frieth in Buckinghamshire.
After the war, Zog, Queen Geraldine and Leka moved temporarily to Egypt, where they lived at the behest of King Farouk I.
Through his mother, Leka has some attested distant mediaeval roots in Albania, whereas his father's much closer Albanian ancestry cannot be historically attested, except by oral history as far as the Middle Ages. The Zogu family were one of the main Principalities that fought beside the Albanian hero Skanderbeg against the invading Turks, and Mamica Kastriot (Skanderbeg's sister) reputedly married into the Toptani family, which King Zog's mother came from.
Leka was educated at Parmoor House, and then at English schools in Egypt and at Aiglon College, Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland. Fluent in many languages he also studied economics at the Sorbonne and passed out of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England. Following this he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the British Army.^[3] He had since made his money with successful business deals in commodities.
Leka became heir apparent of the abolished throne on 5 April 1957. On the death of King Zog in 1961, Leka was proclaimed King of the Albanians by a convened Albanian National Assembly-in-Exile, in a function room at the Hotel Bristol, Paris.^[4] He also holds the position of 2nd Sovereign Head of the Order of Skanderbeg, the Order of Fidelity and the Order of Bravery.^[3]

Marriage and exile

In 1975, Leka married Australian citizen and former teacher Susan Cullen-Ward in Biarritz. They were married in a civil ceremony in the Hôtel de Ville, Biarritz. The wedding reception, at a five-star Toledo Roadhouse, was attended by members of other exiled royal families, loyal Albanians and friends, who toasted "Long live the King".^[1]
The couple returned to Madrid, where they were befriended by King Juan Carlos and continued to enjoy the attentions of Albanians while awaiting what they knew must be the fall of Communism. But when it was discovered that Leka not only retained some Thai bodyguards, but had what was described as an arms cache in their home, the Spanish Government asked him to leave. That Leka had some reason for his fears was proved when his plane arrived at Gabon for refueling, to find it was being surrounded by local troops, who were said to have been hired to capture him by the Albanian government. He saw them off by appearing at the plane's door with a bazooka in his hand. ^[5] The couple went on to Rhodesia but, after Robert Mugabe took power, they settled in a large compound near Johannesburg where they were given diplomatic status by the South African Government.
Leka spent many years exiled in Bryanston, South Africa, where his son, Prince Leka Anwar Zog Reza Baudouin Msiziwe, was born. He eventually returned to Albania, settling in Tirana, Albania, where his wife, Crown Princess Susan, died on 17 July 2004.

Return to Albania

In 1993 he entered Albania for the first time (since being exiled aged a few days old in 1939), doing so under a passport issued by his own Royal Court-in-exile. In this passport, which the Albanian government had refused to recognise previously, Leka listed his profession as "King".^[6] Leka was greeted by a crowd of approximately 500 supporters on his arrival at the airport. He stated at this time that he would renounce this passport and accept the status of a normal citizen if a referendum on the monarchy failed.^{[citation needed]}
During the 1997 rebellion in Albania, Leka returned again, this time being greeted by 2,000 supporters.^[7] A referendum was held in Albania concerning a monarchical restoration. After a recount it was announced that the restoration was rejected by approximately two-thirds of those voting.^[8] The King questioned the independence of the election. Police intervened, gunfire broke out, one person was killed, and Leka fled. In 2011, Salih Berisha who was President at the time admitted "By 2003, the Albanian Parliament passed the law that recognized the attributes of the Royal Family and it was a right decision. Also I remind you that even the referendum was held in the context of flames of the communist rebellion and therefore cannot be considered a closed matter. The Stalinist principle of: ‘you vote, but I count the votes’ was applied in that referendum. But, the fact of the matter is the Albanians voted massively for their King, but the referendum failed to meet quotas as it was manipulated."^[9]
When asked if he intended to leave Albania he replied: "Why? It is my country." After leaving Albania of his own accord he was tried and sentenced to three years imprisonment for sedition, in absentia; this conviction was pardoned in March 2002, when 72 members of Parliament asked the royal family to return.^[1][10]
Leka was backed by the Party of Right and Legality (PLL). PLL is an extreme-right monarchist party and a marginal factor in Albanian politics.^[11] It formed a coalition with other parties in Albania. Leka, however, did not vote, stating that

“

I am above all political parties, even my own.[12]

”

Leka was head of the Movement for National Development.^[13] He argued that he was a fighter for a Greater Albania in terms of ethnicity and that his restoration as king would make possible this goal.^[11] However, in February 2006, he announced he would be withdrawing from political and public life.^[13]

Death

He died on 30 November 2011 in Mother Teresa Hospital, Tirana.^[14] He was buried next to his wife’s and mother’s grave at the public Sharra cemetery in a Tirana suburb.[
To see more of who died in 2011 click here