Gunter Sachs, German photographer, author and multi-millionaire industrialist, died from a suicide by gunshot he was , 78.

 Fritz Gunter Sachs was a German photographer, author, industrialist, and latterly head of an institute that researched claims of astrology died from a suicide by gunshot he was , 78.. As a young man he became a sportsman, then gained international fame as a documentary film-maker and documentary photographer. He was interested in astrology and its connection with mathematics and statistics.

(14 November 1932 – 7 May 2011)

Early life and family

Sachs was born in southern Germany.^[1] His mother was the daughter of Wilhelm von Opel; his father was Willy Sachs, sole owner of Fichtel & Sachs, a leading manufacturer of ball bearings and one of Germany’s biggest automobile suppliers. Willy was known to Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler^[2][3] and arrested by the American military after the war but finally declared a follower and released. Gunter Sachs commented on his father’s past in several publications.^[4] Willy committed suicide in 1958 by shooting himself dead.^[5] Sachs' brother, Ernst Wilhelm, died in an avalanche in 1977.^[5]

Personal life

A playboy^[5] in his early years, Sachs was romantically linked to the former Iranian queen Soraya Esfandiary.^[6] He married three times.^[6] His first wife, Anne-Marie Faure, died in 1958 during surgery.^[6] He courted his second wife, Brigitte Bardot, by flying over her villa on the French Riviera in a helicopter and dropping hundreds of roses. The couple were married on 14 July 1966 in Las Vegas;^[1] they divorced in 1969.^[6] His final marriage was to Swedish former model, Mirja Larsson, (who was 26 at the time of their engagement^[7]) which lasted from 1969 until his death.^[6] He had a son Rolf Sachs (born 1955),^[5] with his first wife, and a further two sons (Christian Gunnar and Claus Alexander) with his third wife.^[8]
Sachs became a Swiss citizen in 1976.^[5]

Sports

From 1969 until his death, Sachs was the chairman of the St. Moritz Bobsleigh Club.^[9] Turn 13 of the St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun is named in his honor.

Astrological research

In the 1990s, Sachs made the international newspapers again after he commissioned major research into sun sign astrology using large samples.^{[citation needed]} Sachs set out to test the assumptions of astrologers by gathering a team of scientists and statisticians which, over two years, analysed the lives of nearly one million men and women.
"In every case, there were significant results, way beyond what is explicable through mere coincidence," he is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail newspaper on 6 November 1997.
To facilitate the research he set up the "Institute for the Empirical and Mathematical Examination of the Possible Truth of Astrology in Relation to Human Behaviour".^{[citation needed]} Then, using established statistical techniques and with help from the official statistics office in Switzerland (where the authorities have recorded the date and hour of birth of every citizen since 1875), his team gathered statistics on every aspect of human life.
His methodology and the statistical analysis have been criticized by mathematicians. They found serious errors in all parts and deny any statistical significance after the necessary corrections in his data.^[10]

Death

Sachs committed suicide on 7 May 2011 by a gunshot wound to the head^[11][12] at his home in Gstaad, Switzerland. The suicide note stated that he acted because of what he defined as "hopeless illness A." (which some have speculated to be Alzheimer's^[13]) adding that "The loss of mental control over my life was an undignified condition, which I decided to counter decisively".^[6]

Literature

• Sachs, Gunter: The Astrology File: Scientific Proof of the Link Between Star Signs and Human Behaviour. Orion Books (December 1999). ISBN 0-7528-1789-2
• Elwell, Dennis: Cosmic Loom, 2nd edition 1999. The Urania Trust. ISBN 0-04-133027-7. Discussion and interpretation of some of Gunter Sachs results and related material.

 

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Ella Schuler, American supercentenarian died she was , 113.

Ella Frieda Schuler (née Winkelmann, )was an American supercentenarian who at the age of 113 years, 244 days was the oldest living person in the state of Kansas.^[1] Schuler at the time of her death was the 8th oldest living verified person.

( September 5, 1897 – May 7, 2011)

Family

Schuler married John Cecil Schuler on August 19, 1923. Originally from Virginia, Ella met John when he traveled through Kansas working on the Union Pacific Railway. Over the next ten years, Ella gave birth to three sons: James, John, Jr. and Robert, all born in Page City, Kansas.

Biography

Schuler was born Ella Winkelmann in Fontenelle, Nebraska, the fourth child of German-immigrant parents Clausen Henry and Mary Winkelmann. Her family raised horses, milked cows, and grew corn and oats.^[1] While her brothers eventually enrolled in school, her childhood was mostly spent working at home. Schuler has stated “if you don’t want to work hard, don’t go to a farm.”^[2] In 1934, husband John left his post in the railroad industry and with Ella founded Schuler’s Grocery Business in Topeka. Eventually the Schulers expanded their business and purchased the gas station adjacent to their grocery store.^[3] While in her 50s, Schuler earned her high school diploma and soon after completed a two-year program at what was then known as Washburn College, now Washburn University.^[2] In 1952, James, the first of Ella’s three sons, died at age 26 of complications resulting from appendicitis. The Schulers closed their grocery store in 1978 to enter retirement. During the spring of 1983, after almost 60 years of marriage, Ella’s husband died. Following this, Ella spent several years traveling both through Europe and the US. She still lived independently until 1995, aged 98, when she sustained injuries from a fall on an icy sidewalk and consequently moved to an assisted living facility. Schuler died on May 7, 2011 in Topeka of natural causes.

In Later Years

At the time of her death,She left behind six grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren. She also used Facebook, which at the time made her the site's oldest member.^[4] Due to the fact that Facebook does not allow members to identify their date of birth as being prior to January 1, 1900, Schuler was unable to register her actual date of birth with the site. There is also a website about Schuler[https://files.nyu.edu/scs384/public/index.html website which is maintained by members of her family.^[5]

 

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Robert Stempel, American automobile executive, Chairman and CEO of General Motors (1990–1992) died he was , 77.

Robert Carl Stempel  was a former Chairman and CEO of General Motors (GM). He joined GM in 1958 as a design engineer at Oldsmobile and was key in the development of the front-wheel drive Toronado. He was also involved with the team that created the first catalytic converter.

 (July 15, 1933 – May 7, 2011)

Background and personal

Stempel was born July 15, 1933 in Trenton, New Jersey to Carl (a banker) and Eleanor Stempel. He was one of four children. His brother Jack worked in aerospace, brother Ted was a teacher, and a sister, Dorothy, was a social worker.^[2]
He graduated from Bloomfield High School in New Jersey in 1951. In his teen years he had worked in Bloomfield, New Jersey as a mechanic to earn his college tuition, fixing his fellow students' cars while attending college.^[3] He received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1955^[2] where he had been a tackle on the football team.^[3] He attended night classes^[3] and earned an MBA from Michigan State University in 1970^[2] and later received an honorary doctorate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.^[2]
Stempel was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Society of Automotive Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Engineering Society of Detroit.^[2] He was the first chairman of the American Quality Foundation, developed by the American Society for Quality Control.^[2] He was a member of the board of directors and chairman of the National Industrial Advisory Council to the Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America, Inc.; the National Minority Supplier Development Council; and the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association; the Highway Users Federation and the United Way of Southeastern Michigan. He was a member of Detroit's Conference Board, The Business Roundtable, and The Business Council and he was a trustee of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Detroit Renaissance, and New Detroit, Inc.^[2]
In November 1975, Stempel's son Timothy, 13, had been kidnapped. Stempel received a ransom demand of $150,000, which he paid. His son was later freed and kidnappers were apprehended and convicted.^[4]
Stempel enjoyed attending auto races and motorsports events, and working on his cars, including his l974 Corvette.^[2] He also enjoyed skiing and surf-casting.^[2] Prior to his death, the Stempels lived and raised horses in Loxahatchee, Florida and Oxford, Michigan.^[5]
Stempel died in West Palm Beach, Florida on May 7, 2011 at the age of 77.^[6] With his wife Pat (née Patricia Bachmann),^[2] he had three children,^[7] a daughter Barbara and sons Timothy and Peter.^[2]

GM career

After serving two years in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers^[2], Stempel joined GM's Oldsmobile Division as a senior detailer in the chassis design department in 1958, later serving as senior designer (1962); transmission design engineer (1964); motor engineer (1969); and assistant chief engineer (1972).^[2] Stempel subsequently worked on the team that developed the 1966 Toronado, the first modern American front-wheel-drive car. According to a GM biography, Stempel designed the Toronado’s front suspension and its engine and transmission mounting system.^[3]
Stempel joined the engineering department of the Chevrolet Division as chief engineer in 1974^[2] and was named Chevrolet's director of engineering in 1975.^[2] In 1978,^[2] Stempel was appointed general manager of the Pontiac Motor Division where he worked on the Fiero – which used a plastic-body/space frame technology that became integral to GM's subsequent minivans and the Saturn linenup. In 1980, he was moved into the Managing Director position at Adam Opel AG, the German subsidiary of GM. In 1982, he returned to Detroit as General Manager of Chevrolet.
In January 1984,^[2] he was promoted to the dual responsibility of Vice President and Group Executive in Charge of the Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac group. He was elected to the board of directors (February, 1986)^[2] and became CEO (August, 1990)^[2] where he served until he was voted out in 1992 – shortly after a recession when GM had closed a dozen plants, lost 74,000 jobs and lost a $7 billion.^[5]
Though he suffered a heart attack soon after leaving GM in 1992, Stempel continued to visit the North American International Auto Show and continued to maintain his interest and passion for automobiles and the automobile industry.^[7]

Later career

In 1993, Stempel joined Stanford Ovshinsky, founder of Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) as an adviser. Stempel was named chairman in 1995.
Shortly after Stempel became chairman, ECD partnered engineered and provided the nickel-metal hydride batteries powered the EV-1.^[8] In 1999, ECD partnered with Intel in a joint-venture called Ovonyx which developed nonsilicon-based memory for electronic devices for Intel, Samsung Electronics and BAE Systems.^[8] Subsequently ECD formed joint ventures with Texaco Energy Systems Inc., GE Plastics and Belgium-based N.V. Bekaert S.A. The promising technologies and met with losses.^[8] Before retiring in 2007, Stempel was chairman of Energy Conversion for almost 12 years.^[3]
Ovshinsky called Stempel "a visionary who saw the need for the U.S. to be independent of foreign oil."^[9] Before retiring in 2007, Stempel was chairman of Energy Conversion for almost 12 years.^[3]
At the time of his death, Stempel served on the board of directors of Envia Systems, a Newark, California-based company that provided GM's battery engineering team with access to advanced lithium-ion cathode technology delivering higher cell energy density and lower cost.^[1] In March 2010, he had joined the board of directors of Genesis Fluid Solutions Holdings, a water purification company in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

 

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Kate Swift, American writer, died from stomach cancer she was , 87

Kate Swift was a feminist American writer and editor who, along with her lover Casey Miller, wrote influential books and articles decrying sexism in the English language and suggesting how English could be spoken and written in a non-sexist way died from stomach cancer she was , 87.



(1923 – May 7, 2011 CE)

She was born in 1923 in Yonkers, New York, and was officially named Barbara Peabody Swift, but known as Kate Swift.^[1] In 1944 she graduated from the University of North Carolina with a degree in Journalism. She worked as a copy runner in the NBC newsroom, and later joined the Women’s Army Corps as a writer and editor for the Army’s information and education department.^[1] She also worked as an editorial assistant at Time, a news writer for the Girl Scouts of America's public relations department, and a writer for the Port of New Orleans.^[1] Then in 1954 she joined the public-affairs staff of the Museum of Natural History in New York as a science writer; she was the press liaison for the Hayden Planetarium.^[1] In 1965 she became the director of the news bureau of the school of medicine at Yale.^[1]
In 1970 she and Casey Miller formed a professional editing partnership, and they were soon hired to copy-edit a sex education manual for junior high school students. ^[2] Although the author intended to promote mutual respect between women and men in his manual, Casey Miller and Kate Swift came to realize that sexist language usage was preventing this point from getting made. ^[3] Swift said, "We suddenly realized what was keeping his message – his good message – from getting across, and it hit us like a bombshell. It was the pronouns! They were overwhelmingly masculine gendered. We turned in the manuscript with our suggestions such as putting singular sexist pronouns into plural gender-free ones, avoiding pronouns wherever possible, and changing word order so that girls or women sometimes preceded rather than always followed boys or men. The publisher accepted some suggestions and not others as always happens. But we had been revolutionized." ^[4] Soon after, Swift and Miller wrote an article about sexist pronoun usage called "Desexing the Language"; it was published in the first stand-alone issue of Ms. Magazine in 1972. ^[5] They also wrote an article for the New York Times Magazine on feminists' concerns with language, titled "One Small Step for Genkind"; "genkind" was their suggested gender-neutral alternative to "mankind". ^[6] Their editor for that article, Glenn Collins, suggested they claim to be writing a book on the subject in their description of themselves for the article, which they did.^[7] Many inquiries about the supposed book followed, and Miller and Swift were able to hire Ginger Barber as their literary agent. ^[8] Loretta Barrett at Anchor Books, Doubleday, became their editor, and it was she who persuaded them to include the book's epilogue. ^[9] The book, titled "Words and Women: A New Language in New Times", was published in 1976 and received a favorable review in the New York Times Book Review; an updated version of the book was published in 1991. ^{[10] [11]} Some of Miller and Swift's suggestions in that book have become mainstream practice, such as avoiding "fireman" and "stewardess" in favor of "firefighter" and "flight attendant"; however, other suggestions such as "genkind" as a replacement for "mankind," and "tey," "ter" and "tem" as sex-neutral substitutes for "he/she," "his/her" and "him/her," have not been successful. ^[12]. In 1981 Miller and Swift's how-to book for non-sexist language, "The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing", was published by The Women's Press. ^[13] Their new editor, Carol Cohen at T.Y. Crowell, had encouraged them to write a handbook modeled on "The Elements of Style". ^[14]
Kate Swift died of stomach cancer in 2011; Casey Swift had previously died in 1997. ^[15].

 

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John Walker, American musician (The Walker Brothers), died from liver cancer he was 67.

 John Joseph Maus known professionally as John Walker, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the founder of The Walker Brothers, who had their greatest success in the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom died from liver cancer he was  67..

 (November 12, 1943 - May 7, 2011),

Early life and career

John Maus was born in New York City, the son of John Joseph Maus Sr., who was of German extraction, and his wife Regina. With his parents and his older sister, Judith, he moved to California in 1947, at first settling in Redondo Beach and later in Hermosa Beach. He began learning saxophone, clarinet and guitar as a child, and by the age of 11 also began acting and appearing in TV talent shows. He had a role in a regular sitcom, Hello Mom, and small uncredited parts in the movies The Eddy Duchin Story (1956) and The Missouri Traveler (1958). He became a friend of Ritchie Valens, and was an honorary pallbearer at Valens' funeral. In 1959 the family moved again, to Inglewood, where he made the acquaintance of David Marks and Dennis and Carl Wilson, helping to teach them guitar.^[2] He began using the name John Walker at the age of 17, because he was unhappy at how people pronounced his real name.^[3][4]
From 1957 onwards, he worked as singer and guitarist with his sister, as the duo John and Judy. They recorded several singles for the Aladdin, Dore, Arvee and Eldo labels between 1958 and 1962. In 1961, they formed a backing band and performed as John, Judy and the Newports, until the band split up after an engagement in Hawaii. They then met Scott Engel, who had been playing bass in The Routers, and, with drummer "Spider" Webb, formed a new band, Judy and the Gents. Maus obtained an ID card in the name of John Walker, in order to perform in clubs around Los Angeles while under the legal age to do so. In 1963, Walker and Engel, with two other musicians, toured the Midwest as "The Surfaris", although the group included none of the musicians who played on the Surfaris' records. Walker also released his first solo record, "What a Thrill", on the Almo label, with The Blossoms as backing singers.^[3]

The Walker Brothers

He formed The Walker Brothers (originally The Walker Brothers Trio) in 1964, with himself as lead vocalist and guitarist, Engel on bass and harmony vocals, and Al "Tiny" Schneider on drums. Walker and Engel were signed as a duo by Mercury Records, and recorded their first single, "Pretty Girls Everywhere" in Los Angeles. There they became a leading attraction at Gazzari's nightclub, and appeared on the Shindig! TV show developed by Jack Good, and then on a weekly TV show, Ninth Street A Go Go. Late in 1964, they met drummer Gary Leeds, previously of The Standells, who had recently toured the UK with singer P.J. Proby, and who persuaded them that they would have greater success in England. Before leaving, they recorded their second single, "Love Her", overseen by Nick Venet and arranger Jack Nitzsche, with Scott Engel taking the lead vocal part for the first time. With financial backing from Leeds' stepfather, Walker, Engel and Leeds travelled to the UK in February 1965 for an exploratory visit.^[2][3]
In the UK, "Love Her" was released on the Philips label, an affiliate of Mercury, and reached # 20 on the UK singles chart.^[5] Walker and Engel signed a new recording contract, and, with Leeds, began performing live in England, to considerable press attention and with growing numbers of - predominantly female teenage - fans. Their next record, a version of the Bacharach and David song "Make It Easy On Yourself", produced like their other British recordings by Johnny Franz, reached # 1 in the UK chart in September 1965.^[5] Over the next two years the Walker Brothers became - with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones - one of the most popular groups in the country. Their second British number one, "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" in 1966, was also their biggest hit in the US, where it made # 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
During this period, The Walker Brothers played some performances with The Yardbirds; John eventually sold guitarist Jeff Beck the 1954 Fender Esquire used on many of the Yardbirds' most famous recordings from Spring 1965 to early 1966. Walker had modified the guitar, carving a Stratocaster-type contour in the picking arm area.^{[citation needed]}
John Walker wrote in his autobiographical The Walker Brothers: No Regrets - Our Story:^[3]
"I was always the leader of the band. I was the one who said, 'Let's do this, let's do that.' I spent a great deal of time making sure that the group would make incredible music. Most people don't realise that it was I who chose the songs that would become The Walker Brothers' biggest-selling singles..... I was aware that things had changed a lot: Scott had become the lead singer of the group... Now that he was singing lead, I enjoyed the opportunity to create some unusual harmonies, something I had never done before. We knew that we each had an important role, and felt responsible to each other, with one goal in mind, which was to make good records that were unique for the time."

Later career

The Walker Brothers split up in early 1968, principally as a result of tensions between Walker and Engel, after a UK tour in late 1967 which also featured Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, and Engelbert Humperdinck, followed by a tour of Japan. John Walker then began performing solo with a backing band. He released a single, "Annabella", co-written by Graham Nash, which reached # 24 on the UK singles chart,^[6] and an album, If You Go Away. Later solo singles on Philips, and then on the Carnaby label owned by Mervyn Conn, were less successful, as was a 1969 album, This Is John Walker. In 1971, he recorded an album co-produced by Bill Wyman at the Château d'Hérouville in France, but it was never released. Two years later, he toured briefly with singer Jimmy Wilson and a backing group, as The New Walkers, before they split up.^[2][3]
Late in 1974, he agreed with Engel and Leeds to reform The Walker Brothers. In 1975, they released an album, No Regrets. The title track was taken off as a single and rose to # 7 on the UK chart in early 1976.^[5] They recorded two further albums together, Lines (1976) and Nite Flights (1978), which were less successful. They undertook some cabaret performances, although Engel (by now more usually known as Scott Walker) was reluctant to sing live; the group's contract with GTO Records ended and, according to Walker, the group "just drifted apart".^[2][3]
In 1986, he took part in a 1960s revival tour, before finally moving from England to San Diego. He took an electronics course, and became a technical consultant to manufacturing companies, while developing his own recording studio. He also began writing and composing material, mainly for other artists, and formed his own publishing company, Arena.^[1] In 2000, he set up his own record label and released a CD, You. He toured Britain again as part of a nostalgia package tour in 2004, and released an album, Silver Sixties Tour 2004, as well as resuming extensive touring in his own right. In 2007, he released two new CDs, Just For You, a collection of love songs, and Songs of Christmas and Inspiration. He toured the UK again in 2009, as part of an "oldies" package,^[2][3][1] and in 2010 with the Dakotas, whose original line-up backed Billy J. Kramer in the 1960s.^[7]
A dual autobiography, written by Walker and Gary Leeds, The Walker Brothers: No Regrets - Our Story, was published in 2009.^[2]

Personal life

Walker was married four times. He married American pop singer Kathy Young in 1965; they divorced in 1968. In 1971 he married Julie Parker-Cann; they divorced a few years later.^[when?] He married Brandy Nielsen in 1980; they divorced in 2003. In December 2003, he married Cynthia, who sang with him on tour. At the time of his 2009 book, Walker lived in California and had four children and three grandchildren.^[3]
In 2010, Walker was diagnosed with liver cancer. He died of the disease, at his Los Angeles home, on 7 May 2011.^[8]

Discography

 Singles

 John and Judy

"Bother Me Baby" / "Who's To Say" (Aladdin 3420, 1958)

"Hideout" / "Love Bug" (Dore 530, 1959)

"You Can't Have My Love" / "Tell Me" (Dore 540, 1960)

"This Feeling" / "Tell Me Why" (Dore 553, 1960)

"Live It Up" / "Oh No No" (Arvee 5025, 1961)

"I Love You So" / "Love Slave" (Eldo 118, 1961)

 Johnny Walker

"What A Thrill" / "Beginning of the End" (Almo 208, 1964)

The Walker Brothers

Further information: The Walker Brothers#Discography

John Walker

"Annabella" / "You Don't Understand Me" (Philips BF 1593, 1967) (UK # 24)^[6]

"If I Promise" / "I See Love In You" (Philips BF 1612, 1967)

"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" / "Open The Door Homer" (Philips BF 1655, 1968)

"Kentucky Woman" / "I Cried All The Way Home" (Philips BF 1676, 1968)

"Woman" / "A Dream" (Philips BF 1724, 1968)

"Yesterday's Sunshine" / "Little One" (Philips BF 1758, 1968)

"Everywhere Under The Sun" / "Traces Of Tomorrow" (Carnaby CNS 4004, 1969)

"True Grit" / "Sun Comes Up" (Carnaby CNS 4009, 1969)

"Cottonfields" / "Jamie" (Carnaby CNS 4012, 1970)

"Over And Over Again" / "Sun Comes Up" (Carnaby CNS 4017, 1970)

"Huellas de Manana" / "Quienes Somos Nosotros" (Carnaby, 1970)

"Good Days" / "Midnight Morning" (1973)

Albums

If You Go Away (Philips BL 7829, 1967)

This Is John Walker (Carnaby CNLS 6001, 1969)

You (2000)

The Silver Sixties Tour 2004 (2004)

Just For You (2007)

Songs of Christmas and Inspiration (2007)

 

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George Webley, British broadcaster and music arranger died he was , 53.

 "Big" George Webley, was a British musician, composer, bandleader, and broadcaster died he was , 53.

(29 May 1957 – 7 May 2011)

Early life

Webley was born in Clapham, London. His aunt Vera was the fan club secretary for Frankie Laine, who attended Webley's baptism at Macaulay, in the Church of England, on 1 June 1957 as his godfather. His first introduction to music was when Donald Swann attended his primary school to play to all the pupils after the school's music teacher died.
Webley left school at the age of 14 to go on the road with a showband. He became Herbie Flowers' apprentice in his late teens and was a session bass player until the age of 30.

Music career

He became a musical director for EMI at 30 and produced dozens of chart records. In 1989, Webley became bandleader on Jameson Tonight with Derek Jameson and Shane Ritchie. He composed or arranged the theme music for the television programmes Have I Got News For You,^[2] The Office, Room 101, and Graham Norton.
Webley also composed numerous other themes for the National Theatre, Arts Theatre, ballet, and radio including Ian McMillan’s East Coast Girls, Emma Clarke's Share and Share Alike, and Neil Mossey’s Stockport So Good They Named It Once.

Broadcasting career

In 1999 Webley presented the BBC Two educational series Music File, which won the Prix La Basle award for educational excellence. He also won the 2002 Sony Gold for Music Broadcaster^[3] whilst on BBC Three Counties, where he launched "Cabbie Chat - The Rank Opinion", which ran every morning on his Milton Keynes Breakfast programme. The idea was to ask the cab drivers of Milton Keynes their opinions on the day's news. It lasted until Webley offended some of the drivers over a news item about taxi drivers.
He presented the Saturday late show on GLR for two years from 1994 until he suffered a heart attack on air. He finished the show and took the next three years off to fully recover.
He appeared as an expert musicologist on various TV and radio programmes, including The Big Breakfast, Esther, Kilroy, 5Live breakfast with Nicky Campbell, Radio 4's Today, John Peel's Home Truths, Moral Notes, and Landmark Places with Laurie Taylor. He wrote, presented and/or produced documentaries for Radio 4, including Playing Second Fiddle and Sense of Place.
He produced over three dozen parodies, songs and live performances for the Radio 1 Roadshow with Chris Moyles (who describes him in his book The Gospel According To Chris Moyles as “Composer and genius man. Honestly”).
He was also mentioned in Angie Bowie's biography Backstage Passes (Life on the Wildside with David Bowie) and in Bruce Thomas: The Big Wheel.

BBC London 94.9 (2006 - 2011)

Webley joined BBC London 94.9 in August 2006.^[4] He hosted his radio show on BBC London 94.9 for four years. He first presented the 2 am until 6 am slot, Monday to Friday until 2 January 2009. From 5 January 2009 until January 2010 he presented the same type of madcap/serious phone-in show at the earlier time of 10 pm until 2 am, Monday to Friday. In January 2010, he returned to overnight shows on Tuesdays to Saturdays. On his radio show, the show's topics were usually concerned with issues to do with London and the day's news stories. He was known to be witty, enthusiastic about music and to have a fantastic general knowledge. Occasionally he and a listener used to have a little sing-along and have a banter. Webley was known to get a regular pop quiz from some of his callers on a wide range of issues, mainly to do with music. The show attracted a substantial amount of listeners outside of the United Kingdom.
He was also a regular contributor on Network BBC radio programmes including the Today Programme, Simon Mayo, Paul Gambaccini, and 5Live Breakfast with Nicky Campbell.
He presented the BBC London 94.9 over night show from August 2006, at the time of his death occupying the 2 am until 6 am slot Monday to Saturday. One of the features of the show was the 'moan in', where listeners were given the opportunity to vent their frustrations about various issues. Topics of discussion were generally those dealt with by tabloid newspapers. The format was very much akin to American talk radio.

Live band

His band The G Spot (featuring Happy Dave on drums and Jez on guitar) played their first gig on 28 Aug 2010 for Natalie Cassidy of Eastenders fame at the National Theatre, South Bank, London. The performance was filmed for a reality show to be shown later that year on E4.
Their residency at The Mortimer Arms in Tottenham Court Road in September 2010 was a sell out. Their album was released on CD, vinyl and download and contains a song entitled Have I Got Nudes For You which is a direct copy of the theme to Have I Got News For You.

Family

He was married to Sheila and had two sons Harry, and Twig, two daughters Natalie Jayne and Clare and three grandchildren, Daniel, Eve and Lois.

Death

Webley died on 7 May 2011, aged 53.^[3] His personal website reports that Webley collapsed at his family home in Milton Keynes and that the cause of his death is unknown and awaiting the coroners report.^[5]

 

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Doric Wilson, American playwright and gay activist died he was , 72

Doric Wilson was an American playwright, director, producer, critic and gay rights activist died he was , 72.

(February 24, 1939 – May 7, 2011)

He was born Alan Doric Wilson in Los Angeles, California, where his family was temporarily located. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, he was raised on his grandfather's ranch at Plymouth, Washington on the Columbia River. He wrote his first play at Kennewick High School, but was accused of plagiarism when a teacher informed him that no student of hers would ever be able to write such a play. ^[1]

Training

Wilson received his early theater training under Lorraine Larson, apprenticed with Dorothy Seeburger and the Richland Players, and studied briefly at the Drama Department of the University of Washington until he was forced to leave after he initiated a one person protest against anti-gay sniper attacks at a nearby park.^{[citation needed]}

New York career

Wilson moved to NYC in 1959 where he had a brief acting career playing such roles as Valère to the Mariane of Dawn Wells (later Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island) in Molière's Tartuffe and Older Patrick to Nancy Wilder's Auntie Mame in various stock productions. In 1961, he became one of the first resident playwrights at NYC's legendary Caffe Cino, his comedy, And He Made a Her, opened there with Jane Lowry and Larry Neil Clayton leading the cast and Paxton Whitehead directing.
The success of his four plays at Caffe Cino helped, in the words of playwright Robert Patrick, "establish the Cino as a venue for new plays, and materially contributed to the then-emerging concept of Off-Off-Broadway." His Now She Dances!, a fantasia on the trial of Oscar Wilde, was the first Off-Off-Broadway play to deal positively with gay people (1961).
Under the mentorship of producer Richard Barr, Wilson became a pioneer of the alternative theatre movement, dedicating his career to writing, directing, producing and/or designing hundreds productions. He was one of the first playwrights invited to join the Barr/Wilder/Albee Playwright's Unit and later became a founding member of Circle Repertory Company.^{[citation needed]}

Gay activism

A veteran of the anti-war and civil rights demonstrations of the early 1960s-mid 1970s, Wilson was a participant in the Stonewall Riots (1969) and became active in the early days of the New York Gay Liberation movement as a member of GAA (Gay Activist Alliance). He supported his theatrical endeavors by becoming a "star" bartender and manager of the post-Stonewall gay bar scene, opening such landmark institutions as The Spike, TY's and Brothers & Sisters Cabaret. In 2004, Wilson was named a Grand Marshal of the 35th Anniversary Pride Day Parade in New York City. He was featured in the documentary Stonewall Uprising (2010) by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner.^{[citation needed]}

Gay theater

In 1974, Wilson (with Billy Blackwell, Peter del Valle and John McSpadden) formed TOSOS (The Other Side of Silence), the first professional theatre company to deal openly and honestly with the gay experience. The company featured new plays and revivals by such writers as Brendan Behan, Noël Coward, Christopher Hampton, Charles Jurrist, Joe Orton, Terrence McNally, Robert Patrick, Sandra Scoppettone, Martin Sherman and Lanford Wilson. In June, 2001, Wilson, and directors Mark Finley^[2] and Barry Childs resurrected the company as TOSOS II. The original TOSOS and its production of Doric Wilson's play The West Street Gang are featured in "Perform", the new permanent exhibit on theatre at The Museum of New York City.

Criticism

Over the years Wilson reviewed theater for Other Stages, The Villager in NYC and various publications in Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland, Oregon. Selected reviews are posted on the Purple Circuit.

Principal plays

• And He Made A Her (Caffe Cino, NYC, 1961)
• Babel Babel Little Tower (Caffe Cino, NYC, 1961)
• Now She Dances! (One act version: Caffe Cino, NYC, 1961; full-length version: Flexible Deadlock, Glasgow, Scotland, 2000)
• Pretty People (Caffe Cino, NYC, 1961)
• Some People Are (opera libretto for Walter Torgerson, 1966)
• In Absence (45th Street Playhouse, NYC, 1968)

• The West Street Gang (TOSOS, Spike Bar, NYC, 1977)
• A Perfect Relationship (The Glines, NYC, 1978)
• Turnabout (under pseudonym Howard Aldon)^{[citation needed]} (Richland Players, Washington, 1980)
• Forever After (The First Gay American Arts Festival, NYC, 1980)
• Street Theater (Theatre Rhinoceros, San Francisco, 1982; Meridian Theater, The Mineshaft, NYC, 1983)

Publishing

United Stages has published Now She Dances!; Street Theater; and And He Made a Her (which includes a CD of the original 1961 Caffe Cino performance). Earlier versions of Street Theater and A Perfect Relationship are published by TNT Press; Street Theater is also included in the Don Shewey edited anthology Out Front (Grove Press).

Awards and honors

• 2010 Honorary Golden Pineapple Award for Lifetime Achievement, presented by NY Artists Unlimited.
• 2010 PassionFruit Award for Enduring and Continuing Pioneer Work in LGBT Theater, Fresh Fruit Festival
• 2009 Elected a member of the National Theater Conference:
• 2009 ATHE (Association for Theatre in Higher Education) Career Achievement Award
• 2007 Mark Finley presented Wilson with the Artistic Achievement Award from the New York Innovative Theatre Awards. This honor was bestowed on Wilson on behalf of his peers and fellow artists of the Off-Off-Broadway community "in recognition of his visionary artistic contributions and unwavering dedication and character that helped shape the Off-Off-Broadway community." ^{[3] [4]}
• 1994 - The first Robert Chesley Award for Lifetime Achievement in Gay and Lesbian Playwrighting.
• Numerous "best play" honors, including: 1982: The Villager and the Chambers-Blackwell Best Play citations for Street Theater; 2002-3: oobr Award for A Perfect Relationship; 2007: nomination of the 2007 Lambda Award for the revival of And He Made a Her.

 

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