Eric Woolfson died He was 64.

Eric Woolfson died he was 64. Woolfson was a Scottish lead singer, songwriter and lyricist, executive producer, pianist, and co-founder of The Alan Parsons Project. He wrote 2 songs that hit the British Singles Chart, with these songs spending a total of 4 weeks on the chart.^[2]

After splitting up with Alan Parsons during the recording of Freudiana, Woolfson pursued musical theatre. His works have mainly been performed in Germany and Austria, but have also been heard in Korea and Japan.

(18 March 1945 – 2 December 2009[1])

Woolfson, who belonged to a Jewish family, was born in the Charing Cross area of Glasgow and raised in the Pollokshields area.

He started composing music in his early teens. He moved to London where he found work as a session pianist, at the age of 18. The record producer for the Rolling Stones, Andrew Oldham, signed him up as a songwriter. During the following years, Woolfson wrote songs for such artists as Marianne Faithfull, Frank Ifield, Joe Dassin, The Tremeloes, Marmalade, Dave Berry, and Peter Noone. His songs were recorded by over 100 artists both in Europe and America. During the '60s he worked with two then-unknown writers, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

In 1971, with the assistance of Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, Lol Creme and Graham Gouldman (who later became 10cc), a single was produced under the name of Eric Elder ("San Tokay" b/w "Sunflower") and issued on UK Philips 6006 081 and US Philips 40699. Woolfson then produced a single by Graham Gouldman ("Nowhere To Go" b/w "Growing Older") which was issued in 1972 on UK CBS 7739.

In the early '70s, Eric turned his hand to management and was instantly successful. His first two signings were Carl Douglas (whose record Kung Fu Fighting was one of the biggest selling hits of all time) and engineer/record producer Alan Parsons.

In 1975, Woolfson joined forces with record producer Alan Parsons who was a recording engineer on many Beatles and Paul McCartney albums as well as having engineered Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon.

Eric and Alan formed a new kind of collaboration that would allow Parsons' engineering skills to be used to the fullest extent while allowing Woolfson to exploit his talents as a songwriter and lyricist. The Alan Parsons Project was born, the name originally being intended as a working title for their collaborative project. From 1976 to 1987, Woolfson and Parsons collaborated on the conception and lyrics for all ten albums by The Alan Parsons Project, which have achieved world-wide sales in excess of 40 million.

On every Project album, Woolfson would sing a guide vocal track for each song, which the album's eventual lead vocalists would use as a reference. Some of these tracks can be heard on the new remastered editions of various Project albums released in 2007. Woolfson himself was the actual singer on many of the Project's biggest hits, such as "Time", "Don't Answer Me" and the band's signature tune "Eye in the Sky", which spent several weeks in the Top 3 of Billboard's Hot 100 in 1982.

Freudiana was originally meant to be the eleventh album by The Alan Parsons Project, but Woolfson was keen to explore the possibility of realising the project as a musical. While recording the album, Brian Brolly was introduced to Woolfson and promised to steer the album in this new direction. Brolly was previously a partner with Andrew Lloyd Webber, and together they created such musicals as Cats. With some help from Brolly, Woolfson was able to turn Freudiana into a stage musical.

Before the Freudiana stage production opened in 1990 in Vienna, a double-length studio album was released. The musical had a successful run, and it was planned that the show would open in other cities. However, plans were put on hold when a lawsuit broke out between Brolly and Woolfson, each fighting for control of the project. In the end, Brolly won.

The studio disc (the "white" album) was quite difficult to obtain for a while. There was also a double-length German-language cast disc (the "black" album) which is currently out of print.

Woolfson was eager to write for musical theatre. He explained his career switch during an interview in 2004:

"I eventually developed The Alan Parsons Project as a vehicle but then I realised that there was more to it than that and that Andrew Lloyd Webber was right and that the stage musical was a fulfilling media for a writer like myself. I got into stage musicals in the mid-eighties." His musicals are mainly performed in Germany. This was for two reasons: The Alan Parsons Project was well known in Germany, and at that time the arts were very well funded there." ^[3]

His first musical premiered in Vienna in 1990: Freudiana, about Sigmund Freud. The success of this first work led to Woolfson’s second musical Gaudi (concerning the Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi) (1995), which ran for over five years in several German productions. Gambler, Woolfson’s third musical also premiered in Germany in 1996 and had a first run of over 500 performances. Gambler has had five productions in Korea, one of which also toured Japan in 2002 (the first time a Korean language production had been staged in this way). A fourth musical Edgar Allan Poe, based on the life of the author, was given a demonstration production at Abbey Road studios, London in 2003.^[4]

Dancing with Shadows (based on the anti-war play Forest Fire by the Korean playwright Cham Bum-Suk and with a book by Ariel Dorfman) was premiered in July 2007 in Korea.^[5]

Eric Woolfson Woolfson died of cancer on December 2, 2009. His passing was announced by the following message posted on his official Facebook page: "We are very sad to have to tell you that Eric Woolfson passed away in the early hours of this morning after a long and brave battle with cancer. He very much enjoyed seeing all your kind comments and posts on this Facebook page and his family wanted to thank you for your appreciation of his work." ^[6]

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Richard Todd died he was 90

Richard Todd 90 was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.

(11 June 1919 – 3 December 2009)

Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland.^[1] His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for his country. Richard spent a few of his childhood years in India, where his father, a British officer, served as an army physician.

Later his family relocated to West Devon and Todd attended Shrewsbury School. Upon leaving school, Todd trained for a potential military career at Sandhurst before inaugurating his acting training at the Italia Conti Academy.

When Todd was 19, his mother committed suicide.

He first appeared professionally as an actor at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park in 1936 in a production of Twelfth Night. He played in regional theatres and then co-founded the Dundee Repertory Theatre in 1939.

During the Second World War, Todd joined the British Army, receiving a commission in 1941. Initially, he served in the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry before joining the Parachute Regiment and being assigned to the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion as part of the British 6th Airborne Division.

On 6 June 1944, as a captain, he participated in the British Airborne Operation Tonga during the D-Day landings.^[2] Todd was among the first British officers to land in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord. His battalion were reinforcements that parachuted in after glider forces had landed and completed the main assault against Pegasus Bridge near Caen.^[2] He later met up with Major John Howard on Pegasus Bridge and helped repel several German counter attacks.^[3]

As an actor, Todd would later play Howard in the 1962 film The Longest Day.

After the war, Todd returned to repertory theatre in the UK. A film contract with Associated British followed in 1948. He had appeared in the Dundee Repertory stage version of The Hasty Heart, playing the role of Yank and was subsequently chosen to appear in the 1948 London stage version of the play, this time in the leading role of Cpl. Lachlan McLachlan. This led to his being cast in that role in the Warner Bros. film adaptation of the play, which was filmed in England. Todd was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the role in 1949.^[4]

He later appeared in the The Dam Busters (1955) as Wing Commander Guy Gibson, probably the role for which he is best known. Americans remember Todd for his role as the United States Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall in the film version of Catherine Marshall's best selling biography, A Man Called Peter. Todd was the first choice of author Ian Fleming to play James Bond in Dr. No, but a scheduling conflict gave the role to Sean Connery. In the 1960s, Todd unsuccessfully attempted to produce a film of Ian Fleming's The Diamond Smugglers^[5] and a television series based on true accounts of the Queen's Messengers.^[6]

In 1953, he appeared in a BBC Television adaptation of the novel Wuthering Heights, as Heathcliff. Nigel Kneale, responsible for the adaptation, said the production came about purely because Todd had turned up at the BBC and told them that he would like to play Heathcliff for them. Kneale had to write the script in only a week as the broadcast was rushed into production.^[7]

In the 1970s, he gained new fans when he appeared as the reader for Radio Four's Morning Story. In the 1980s his distinctive voice was heard as narrator of the series Wings Over The World, a show about the history of aviation shown on Arts & Entertainment television. He appears before the camera in the episode about the Lancaster bomber. Todd continued to act on television, including roles in Virtual Murder, Silent Witness, and in the Doctor Who story Kinda in 1982.

His active acting career extended into his eighties. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1993.^[8]

Both Todd's marriages ended in divorce. His first was to actress Catherine Grant-Bogle, whom he met in Dundee Repertory and was married to from 1949 until 1970; they had a son Peter (1952-2005) and a daughter Fiona. He was married to model Virginia Mailer from 1970 until 1992; they had two sons, Andrew and Seumas (1977-1997).^[9] In retirement, Todd lived in the village of Little Ponton and later in Little Humby, 8 miles from Grantham.

Two of Todd's four children committed suicide. In 1997, Seumus Palethorpe-Todd shot himself in the head in the family home in Lincolnshire. An inquest heard the suicide might have been a depressive reaction to the drug he was taking for severe acne. On 21 September 2005, Peter killed himself with a shotgun in East Malling, Kent, following marital difficulties.^[10]

His sons' suicides affected Todd profoundly; he admitted to visiting their adjoining graves regularly. He told the Daily Mail, that dealing with those tragedies was like his experience of war, "You don't consciously set out to do something gallant. You just do it because that is what you are there for."

Todd, who had been suffering from cancer,^[11] died in his sleep at his Little Humby home on 3 December 2009.^[12] He is survived by his daughter and one of his three sons.^[13]

Solange Magnano, Miss Argentina died she was 38

Solange Magnano, Miss Argentina dies from gluteoplasty complications. Solange Magnano, former Miss Argentina died Sunday from gluteoplasty complications, an elective plastic surgery that would life her buttocks. Solange Magnano had 7 year-old twin girls. She won the Miss Argentina crown in 1994.

Born in Bueno Aires, Solange Magnano in 1971, she entered several beauty pageants and in 1994 was crowned Miss Argentina. Many people travel to Argentina for cosmetic surgery, because it is much less expensive than other countries. A close friend of the family stated that the procedure involved injections and the fluid went into her lungs and brain, and she died.

Utah is one of the least expensive states to have cosmetic surgery, and many people travel here from around the country because even with travel expenses, it is still less expensive, according to Dr. Daniel Sellers in Salt Lake City. The top plastic surgeries in the US are liposuction and breast augmentation.

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Tara the elephant

tiskimcoAn elephant at the Toronto Zoo died this morning after zoo staff found her lying down, unable to stand up.

Tara, the 41-year-old "matriarch" of the elephant herd, had not exhibited any recent health concerns, Eric Cole, supervisor of the zoo's African Savanna, said. She was found by animal care staff shortly before 8 a.m. Monday morning, who tried in vain to lift the 8,500-pound animal back onto her feet. They were unable to hoist her back up, and she died at 11 a.m.

Tara was out in public as recently as last weekend, Cole said, and appeared to be doing well. "She was in good form, chasing the others and being her usual bossy self," he said. "She wasn't lethargic; she was eating."

The zoo will conduct a post-mortem examination with the assistance of the Ontario Veterinary College to determine Tara's exact cause of death. According to the zoo, the average lifespan of an elephant is between 40 and 45 years.

Another elephant, Tessa, died at Toronto Zoo five months ago after being pushed over by another elephant. However, Cole ruled that out as a possibility in this case, saying Tara was alone in her pen at the time.

Tara has lived at Toronto Zoo since 1974, arriving from southern Africa shortly after the zoo opened, and as many as 50 million people have visited Tara since. According to Cole, she had been "the boss" of the elephant herd for the past four years since the death of Patsy, the herd's previous matriarch.

"If there was a disagreement between other elephants, she would break it up," Cole said. "She liked to be the one in control. She'd go over and just by getting close to whoever she was going to interact with, they'd run away. Sometimes she'd throw her trunk at them. She didn't have to do much."

Toka, a 40-year-old elephant, is the new matriarch of the three remaining elephants, Cole said. Iringa, 40 and Thika, 30, round out the herd.

Cole acknowledged that the three remaining elephants are older, saying that "whenever we lose an elephant, we have to reassess how the loss will affect the dynamic of the group." He said that the zoo will examine its options after the grieving period.

Toka, Iringa and Thika were given time alone with Tara's body Monday morning to mourn their loss.

"They were out for three hours with her, and were just kind of standing around her," Cole said.

A number of the zoo's elephant keepers came in on their days off to say goodbye as well. "The elephants really get you," Cole said. "The staff are all devastated."

Charles Proctor Sifton died he was 74,

Charles Proctor Sifton died he was 74. Sifton was a United States federal judge.

(March 18, 1935 – November 9, 2009)

Born in New York, New York, Sifton received a B.A. from Harvard College in 1957 and an LL.B. from Columbia Law School in 1961. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Göttingen in Göttingen, Germany from 1957 to 1958.

He was in private practice in New York City from 1961 to 1962, and was staff counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 1962 to 1964. He returned to private practice until 1966, then served as an assistant U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York until 1969, when he again returned to private practice until 1977.

On August 16, 1977, Sifton was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York vacated by John F. Dooling, Jr.. Sifton was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 12, 1977, and received his commission the same day. He served as chief judge from 1995 to 2000, assuming senior status on March 18, 2000.

He was the Father of New York TImes writer Sam Sifton.

Judge Sifton died from sarcoidosis on the morning of November 9, 2009.

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Jerry Fuchs died he was 34

Gerhardt "Jerry" Fuchs died he was 34. Fuchs was an American indie rock drummer, writer and graphic artist. Fuchs was a member of the bands Turing Machine, The Juan Maclean, !!! and Maserati and performed drums live with the groups MSTRKRFT and LCD Soundsystem.^[1][2][3](December 31, 1974 – November 8, 2009)

Fuchs attended college at the University of Georgia, where he studied graphic design and drummed in the local Athens bands The Martians and Koncak. In 1996 he moved to New York to join Vineland, a four-piece led by Bitch Magnet guitar player Jon Fine. After touring and recording with Vineland for two years, he began to play with Justin Chearno and Scott DeSimon, two former members of the band Pitchblende; this band would later become Turing Machine.^[4]

Fuchs's disco and Motorik-influenced style^[5] led to his becoming associated with DFA Records, joining the dance-punk group !!!, performing on their album Myth Takes. He was a recording and touring member of The Juan Maclean, and also played live and/or on the recordings of other outfits including Holy Ghost!, LCD Soundsystem, Moby and MSTRKRFT.^[6] He then joined Maserati, playing on their albums Inventions for the New Season (2007) and Passages (2009). He completed a U.S. tour with Maserati opening for Mono in September–October 2009.^[7]

Fuchs also did graphic design work for the magazine Chunklet^[4] and wrote articles as a freelance writer for Entertainment Weekly.^[2]

Early in the morning on November 8, 2009, Fuchs was caught in a broken elevator in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City, and when he attempted to jump out of the car, he accidentally fell to his death down the elevator shaft.^[8][3]He was attending a benefit to raise education funds for underprivileged children in India.

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Burleigh Hines died he was 77,

Burleigh Hines died he was 77. Hines was a retired Chicago television news reporter.

(born August 26, 1932-died November 8, 2009)

A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Hines began his career as a newspaper reporter.^[1] He wrote for the Memphis Tri-State Defender and the Chicago Daily News in the 1960s.^[2]

From 1968 until 1974, Hines was a correspondent for WBBM in Chicago. In 1974, he joined WBBM-TV as the station's editorial director. He transitioned to being an on-air reporter for the TV station, a position he held until retiring in 2001. He covered many types of stories, from crime to human interest to animal stories. His great love was working on the streets, reporting on ordinary people doing remarkable things.

In 1968, Hines co-authored the book Nightmare in Detroit: A Rebellion and its Victims, with Van Gordon Sauter, who went on to become president of CBS News. The book is about riots in Detroit in July 1967.

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