Walter Norris, American jazz pianist, died he was 79.

Walter Norris was an American pianist and composer died he was 79. ^[1]

(December 27, 1931 – October 29, 2011)

Early life & career

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on December 27, 1931, Norris first studied piano at home with his mother, then with John Summers, a local church organist. His first professional performances were with the Howard Williams Band in and around Little Rock during his junior high and high school years. After graduating from high school, Norris played briefly with Mose Allison, then did a two-year tour in the US Air Force. After his time in the Air Force, Norris played with Jimmy Ford in Houston, Texas, then moved to Los Angeles where he became an integral part of the West Coast Jazz scene. While in Los Angeles, he played on Jack Sheldon's first album and on Ornette Coleman's first album, Something Else! The Music of Ornette Coleman (1958) for Contemporary Records.
In 1960, Norris relocated to New York City and formed a trio with guitarist Billy Bean and bassist Hal Gaylor, and the group made one album. Norris took a job at the New York City Playboy Club in 1963 and in time became the club's Director of Entertainment, remaining there until 1970. Between 1970 and 1974, Norris was a free-lance performer and taught in the New York area. In 1974, he replaced Roland Hanna in the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Band. After a tour of Scandinavia, he remained in Europe to record a duo album with double bass player George Mraz, titled Drifting.
Returning to the states, Norris joined the Charles Mingus Quintet in 1976. In the dressing room prior to a performance, according to Norris, he made the mistake of calling the temperamental Mingus "Charlie" instead of "Charles," which angered Mingus. At that moment, the stage manager entered the room and told the musicians they were needed onstage immediately, which provided a temporary escape from confrontation. Norris quit the band and accepted a job in Berlin, Germany, as pianist with the Sender Freies Berlin-Orchestra. He moved to Berlin in January 1977 and lived there from that point. He insisted that his fear of Mingus was the primary cause of the move to Europe.

Later career

In 1990, Norris signed a five-album contract with Concord Records. The resulting recordings were all significant, but especially Sunburst (with saxophonist Joe Henderson), Hues of Blues (with George Mraz), and the Live at Maybeck Recital Hall solo piano album. In 1998, without a record contract, Norris self-financed the album From Another Star, made in New York with bassist Mike Richmond, pressing 1,000 copies.
A documentary film directed by Chuck Dodson, Walter Norris, a documentary, was completed in 2010.^[2] In 2005 an autobiography, "In Search of Musical Perfection" and method book "Essentials for Pianist Improvisers" were released. In July 2006, Norris recorded at his home in Berlin with Los Angeles bassist Putter Smith.
He died on October 29, 2011 at his home in Berlin, Germany, and is survived by his wife, Kirsten. His other descendants were two daughters from his previous marriage to Mandy, Dinah and Delia (deceased), and two granddaughters, Emily and Holly.

Discography

As leader

• The Trio (Riverside)
• Drifting (Enja, 1978) with George Mraz, Aladar Page
• Synchronicity (Enja, 1978) with Aladár Pege
• Stepping on Cracks (Progressive, 1978) with George Mraz, Ronnie Bedford
• Winter Rose (Enja, 1908) with Aladar Pege
• Lush Life (Concord Jazz) with Neil Swainson, Harold Jones
• Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 4 (Concord, 1990)
• Sunburst (Concord, 1991) with Joe Henderson, Larry Grenadier, Mike Heyman
• Love Every Moment (Concord, 1992) with Putter Smith, Larance Marable
• Hues of Blues (Concord, 1995)
• From Another Star (Sunburst, 1998) Mike Richmond

As sideman

WIth The Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra

• New Life (1975)

With Ornette Coleman

• Something Else!!!! (1958)

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Robert Lamoureux, French comedian and film director, died he was 91.

Robert Lamoureux ^[1] was a French actor, screenwriter and film director died he was 91. Lamourenx appeared in 37 films between 1951 and 1994. He starred in the film The Adventures of Arsène Lupin, which was entered into the 7th Berlin International Film Festival.^[2]

(4 January 1920 – 29 October 2011) 

Selected filmography

• Saluti e baci (1953)
• Papa, maman, la bonne et moi (1954)
• Papa, maman, ma femme et moi (1955)
• If Paris Were Told to Us (1956)
• The Adventures of Arsène Lupin (1957)
• La Vie à deux (1958)
• Mais où est donc passée la septième compagnie? (1973 - directed)

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Wilmer W. Tanner, American zoologist, died he was 101.

Wilmer Webster Tanner^[1] was an American zoologist died he was 101..^[2] He was associated with Brigham Young University (BYU) for much of his life and has published extensively on the snakes and salamanders of the Great Basin.

(December 17, 1909 – October 28, 2011)

Family

Tanner was born in Fairview, Utah,^[1] into a Mormon family.^[3] His paternal grandfather, David Dan Tanner, had immigrated to Utah in 1848.^[3] Tanner was the fourth of John and Lois Ann Tanner's five children. Vasco M., one of Tanner's brothers, was also a naturalist who taught at BYU.^[4]
On January 4, 1935, in the Salt Lake Temple Tanner married Helen Brown, with whom he had three children. Helen died in 1995, and Tanner married retired BYU instructor Ottella Watson on October 26, 1999. Ottella died November 21, 2003.^[1]

Education and career

In 1929, Tanner was a Mormon missionary to the Netherlands, where he learned Dutch.^[1] After his return in 1932,^[1] Tanner attended BYU, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1936.^[5] Tanner prepared a thesis about the snakes of Utah for his Master of Science in 1937. He then began a doctorate, but was delayed by World War II until 1946. At that time, Tanner was working as an assistant for Edward Harrison Taylor at Kansas University. Wilmer obtained his Ph.D. in 1948 with a thesis on comparative anatomy of salamanders of Mexico and Central America. In 1950, Tanner joined the BYU faculty.^[5]

Tanner (and Smith) classified the desert collared lizard as a new species in 1972.

In 1961 it was reported that Tanner, then an associate professor of zoology and entomology at BYU, was in the midst of a four-year study of the effect on Utah wildlife from exposure to higher natural radiation (from petrified trees which can concentrate radioactive minerals), resulting in areas with a 10 to 20 microcurie higher radiation level per hour than is typical of the surrounding geography.^[6]

Museum leadership

Tanner served as the curator of the BYU's Life Sciences Museum from 1972 to 1979. In the late 70s, he helped process a large donation of samples and convinced the donor to fund a new building for the museum. The Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum opened to the public in 1978 and over the ensuing years increased staff were hired, educational exhibits developed and scientific activities funded. Tanner felt this was the most important aspect of his career and devoted almost a quarter of his autobiography to discussing how the grant was won from Mr. Bean.^[1][5]

Study and work

Tanner's interest in herpetology was influenced by many people, primarily his brother Vasco Myron Tanner (a professor of zoology and entomology of Brigham Young University),^[7][8] Joseph Richard Slevin of the California Academy of Sciences, and Laurence Monroe Klauber (who gave Tanner access to his collection); Helen Thomson Gaige, Norman Edouard Hartweg, Clark Hubbs, and Albert Hazen Wright were also influential.
Tanner has published over 130 scientific articles, fifteen describing new species and genera.^[1]

A western garter snake, of which Tanner identified 5 new subspecies.

Tanner was a member of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was one-time president of the Herpetologists' League.^[9] He was the publisher of Herpetologica magazine for 18 years.^[1] He has also served as president of the Provo Energy Board.^[10]

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Héctor López, Mexican boxer, Olympic silver medal-winner (1984), died from a drug overdose he was 44.

Héctor López Colín ^[1] was a Mexican boxer who was the NABF and WBO NABO Light Welterweight Champion. He also won an Olympic Silver medal for Mexico in the Bantamweight division died from a drug overdose he was 44.

(February 1, 1967 – October 25, 2011)

Amateur career

López, who was born in Mexico City, was a Mexican National Amateur Champion. During the 1984 Summer Olympics he won the Bantamweight Silver Medal, at seventeen years old Héctor was the youngest boxer in the whole Olympics.^[2]

Olympic results

• Defeated Johny Asadoma (Indonesia) KO 3
• Defeated Joe Orewa (Nigeria) points
• Defeated Ndaba Dube (Zimbabwe) points
• Defeated Dale Walters (Canada) points
• Lost to Maurizio Stecca (Italy) points

Pro career

Héctor began his professional career in 1985 as a Bantamweight but later moved up to Lightweight and defeated former champion Juan LaPorte.^[3] That fight would set a bout with the undefeated Mexican Miguel Ángel González for the WBC Lightweight Championship in 1993.^[4] López lost a twelve round unanimous decision and decided on moving up to Light Welterweight, losing to a young Kostya Tszyu in 1994. He later challenged Sammy Fuentes and Randall Bailey for the WBO World Light Welterweight Title but lost both bouts. López retired after beating veteran Jerry Rosenberg by T.K.O. in the third round.

Personal life

Héctor López was born in Mexico City but was raised in Glendale, California, United States, and even played American football at Glendale Hoover High School. He grew up and trained with Mexican American Olympic gold medalist Paul Gonzales.^[5]

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Ed Walker, American World War II veteran and writer, last surviving member of Castner's Cutthroats, died he was 94.

Ed Walker  was an American veteran of World War II, businessman, publisher and writer. Walker was the last surviving member of Castner's Cutthroats, a regiment consisting of just sixty-five men who performed reconnaissance missions in the Aleutian Islands during World War II.^[1][2] Castner's Cutthroats was the unofficial name of the 1st Alaskan Combat Intelligence Platoon.

(August 28, 1917 – October 28, 2011)

Early life

Ed Walker was born on August 28, 1917, in San Juan Bautista, California to Brayden Richards and Helga Martha Smith.^[1] He enlisted in the United States Army in 1937 and was stationed for three years in the Territory of Hawaii.^[1] He soon became interested in Alaska through reading a library book about the territory and an article published in The Saturday Evening Post.^[1] He reenlisted in the Army with the specific goal of being transferred to Alaska.^[1]

Castner's Cutthroats

The last three surviving members of Castner's Cutthroats - Ed Walker (left), Earl Acuff (center), and Billy Buck at the Anchorage Museum in 2008.

Walker was stationed with the Army infantry at Chilkoot Barracks, also known as Fort William H. Seward, which was the only U.S. military base in the Territory of Alaska at the time he arrived.^[1] Walker submitted several applications, before finally being transferred to Fort Richardson, now known as Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.^[1] There he joined a group of elite Alaskan Scouts called Castner's Cutthroats, named after Col. Lawrence Castner, an Army intelligence officer who formed the regiment.^[1] Walker trained with Castner's Cutthroats, who carried their provisions and lived off what they could find in the Alaskan wilderness, such as seafood.^[1] Walker was trained in surveying and Morse code.^[3] The sixty-five men served in reconnaissance throughout the Aleutian Islands during World War II, including the Battle of the Aleutian Islands.
The Japanese forces occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska the day before Walker's 25th birthday in 1942, beginning the Aleutian Islands Campaign.^[4] Walker and thirty-six of the scouts were stationed in Anchorage at the time, when they received erroneous reports of a Japanese attack on the city.^[4] The next morning, the members of Castner's Cutthroats sailed on a yacht from Anchorage to the Aleutian Islands.^[4] However, the United States Navy commandeered the yacht at Kodiak.^[4] Walker and twenty-one other Alaskan Scouts then boarded a submarine, which they used to make their first landing at Adak Island.^[4] Walker was armed with a Browning Automatic Rifle, which meant that he was among the first of the Cutthroats to make landfall at Adak and secure the surrounding beach.^[4] However, a two-man American boat next to their submarine exploded just offshore from Adak. Walker recalled the accident in a 2008 interview, "We got about 200 yards from the submarine, and the boat blew up. It put both of us in the drink...The boat was about to go to the bottom, and we didn't want to go with it. We managed to stay afloat, and luckily the submarine, rather than turning to the left and going back into the Pacific, it turned inland," Walker continued, explaining a line was thrown to the scouts as it passed because the submarine was unable to stop. I hung on to that, and of course we were at the fantail of the sub, and there's a series of welded pipes that protect the propeller and we each got a hold of one of them, and every time we went through a wave, we just stopped breathing and closed our eyes and came back up...They sent a man out, and they had to crawl because everything on the submarine was slippery. They crawled out and helped us to get our gear, because we still had our packs and we went on in to the sub."^[4]

Post-war career

Walker settled permanently in southern Alaska following World War II. He and another man, Con Frank, co-founded the Arctic Block Construction Co. in 1947.^[1] Together, Walker and Frank constructed most of the first permanent buildings at Eielson Air Force Base and Ladd Army Airfield during the bases' early years.^[1] He also worked in Good News Bay at a mining facility.^[1] Walker was a proponent of Alaskan statehood during the 1940s and 1950s.^[1]
In 1960, Walker moved to Valdez, Alaska, where he worked as a home builder.^[2] Once the 1964 Alaska earthquake struck the area, Walker switched his focus to the reconstruction of the city. He was elected to the Valdez city council during the rebuilding efforts and the construction of the Trans-Alaska pipeline through the region.^[2] His last major Valdez construction project was the former Village Inn Motel, which is now the Mountain Sky Hotel and Suites.^[2]
Walker published his own newspaper, called Walker's Weekly, while living in Delta Junction, Alaska.^[1] He authored several books, including writings on his experiences with Castner's Cutthroats. He was interviewed by writer Jim Rearden, who included Walker in his book, Castner’s Cutthroats: Saga of the Alaska Scouts.^[1] Walker also wrote an eclectic mix of books concentrating on his other life experiences. He wrote the nonfiction historical book, Twenty Women Who Made America Great, following the death of his longtime wife, Frances.^[1] A hip replacement patient, Walker wrote Hip-Hip Hooray! on life before and after the procedure.^[1]
In 2008 and 2009, photos and quotes from Walker and other members of the regiment appeared in an exhibit, Castner’s Cutthroats: Forgotten Warriors, which opened at the Anchorage Museum.^[1][4] The last three surviving members of Castner’s Cutthroats - Walker, retired Brig. Gen. Earl Acuff, and William "Billy" Buck - gathered at the opening of the exhibition on September 28, 2008.^[4][3] Walker was also interviewed for a documentary on the Alaskan Scouts, which aired on the History Channel.^[1]

Personal life

Walker met his future wife, Frances P. Walker;, while she was employed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who were constructing the Alaska Highway at the time.^[2] The couple married at a ceremony in Fort Richardson on April 29, 1944.^[2] They had four children - Bob, Suzy, Kathleen and Bill. The family moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, after World War II.^[2] Frances Walker worked as a writer for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.^[2] They moved to Valdez, Alaska, in 1960.^[2]
Walker resided at the Alaska Veterans and Pioneers Home in Palmer, Alaska, for most of the last quarter century of his life.^[1] He died at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska, on October 28, 2011, at the age of 94.^[1] He was survived by three of his children, Bob Walker, Suzy Walker and Bill Walker.^[2]

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Sri Lal Sukla, Indian writer, died from a long illness he was 85.

Shrilal Shukla  was a Hindi writer, notable for his satire. He worked as a Provincial Civil Services (PCS) officer for the state government of Uttar Pradesh, later inducted into the IAS. He has written over 25 books,^[2] including Makaan, Sooni Ghaati Ka Sooraj, Pehla Padaav and Bisrampur Ka Sant.
Shukla has highlighted the falling moral values in the Indian society in the post independence era through his novels. His writings expose the negative aspects of life in rural and urban India in a satirical manner. His best known work Raag Darbari has been translated into English and 15 Indian languages. A television serial based on this continued for several months on the national network in the 1980s. It is a little known fact that he also wrote a detective novel entitled Aadmi Ka Zahar which was serialised in the weekly magazine 'Hindustan'.

(31 December 1925 – 28 October 2011^[1])

Awards

Shukla received the Sahitya Akademi Award, the highest Indian literary award, for his novel Raag Darbari in 1969. He received the Vyas Samman award in 1999 for the novel Bisrampur ka Sant.^[2][3] In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan ^[4] by the President of India for his contribution to Indian literature and culture. On his 80th birthday in December 2005, his friends, peers, family and fans organised a literary and cultural event in New Delhi. To mark the occasion, a volume titled Shrilal Shukla - Jeevan Hi Jeevan was issued about him which contains the writings of eminent literary personalities such as Dr. Naamvar Singh, Rajendra Yadav, Ashok Bajpai, Doodhnath Singh, Nirmala Jain, Leeladhar Jagudi, Gillian Wright, Kunwar Narayan and Raghuvir Sahay among others. His friends, family and fans also contributed to the book. He also received the Jnanpith Award for 2009^[5]], which is one of India's highest literary awards.

Personal account

• 1925 - Born in village Atrauli in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh
• 1947 - Graduated from Allahabad University
• 1949 - Entry into the Civil Service
• 1957 - First novel Sooni Ghaati Ka Sooraj published
• 1958 - First collection of satire Angad Ka Paanv published
• 1970 - Awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for Raag Darbari (for 1969)
• 1978 - Awarded the Madhya Pradesh Hindi Sahitya Parishad Award for Makaan
• 1979-80 - Served as Director of the Bhartendu Natya Academy, Uttar Pradesh
• 1981 - Represented India at the International Writers' Meet in Belgrade
• 1982-86 - Member of the Advisory Board of the Sahitya Akademi
• 1983 - Retirement from the Indian Administrative Service
• 1987-90 - Awarded the Emeritus Fellowship by the ICCR, Government of India
• 1988 - Given the Sahitya Bhushan Award by Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthaan
• 1991 - Awarded the Goyal Sahitya Puraskaar by Kurukshetra University
• 1994 - Awarded the Lohia Sammaan by Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthaan
• 1996 - Awarded the Sharad Joshi Sammaan by the Madhya Pradesh Government
• 1997 - Awarded the Maithili Sharan Gupta Sammaan by the Madhya Pradesh Government
• 1999 - Awarded the Vyas Sammaan by the Birla Foundation
• 2005 - Awarded the Yash Bharati Sammaan by the Uttar Pradesh Government
• 2008 - Awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India
• 2011 - Awarded the Jnanpith Award for year 2009.

Literary works

Novels

• Sooni Ghaati Ka Sooraj - 1957
• Agyaatvaas - 1962
• Raag Darbari (novel) - 1968 - original is in Hindi; an English translation was published under the same title in 1993 by Penguin Books; also translated and published by National Book Trust, India in 15 Indian languages.
• Aadmi Ka Zahar - 1972
• Seemayein Tootati Hain - 1973
• Makaan - 1976 - original is in Hindi; a Bengali translation was published in the late 1970s.
• Pehla Padaav - 1987 - original is in Hindi; an English translation was published as Opening Moves by Penguin International in 1993.
• Bisrampur Ka Sant - 1998
• Babbar Singh Aur Uske Saathi - 1999 - original is in Hindi; an English translation was published as Babbar Singh And his Friends in 2000 by Scholastic Inc. New York.
• Raag Viraag - 2001

Satires

• Angad Ka Paanv - 1958
• Yahaan Se Vahaan - 1970
• Meri Shreshtha Vyangya Rachnayein - 1979
• Umraaonagar Mein Kuchh Din - 1986
• Kuchh Zameen Mein Kuchh Hava Mein - 1990
• Aao Baith Lein Kuchh Der - 1995
• Agli Shataabdi Ka Sheher - 1996
• Jahaalat Ke Pachaas Saal - 2003
• Khabron Ki Jugaali - 2005

Short Story Collections

• Yeh Ghar Mera Nahin - 1979
• Suraksha Tatha Anya Kahaaniyan - 1991
• Iss Umra Mein - 2003
• Dus Pratinidhi Kahaaniyan - 2003

Memoirs

• Mere Saakshaatkaar - 2002
• Kuchh Saahitya Charcha Bhi - 2008

Literary Critique

• Bhagwati Charan Varma - 1989
• Amritlal Naagar - 1994
• Agyeya: Kuchh Rang Kuchh Raag - 1999

Edited Works

• Hindi Haasya Vyangya Sankalan - 2000

Literary travels

He has visited Yugoslavia, Germany, UK, Poland, Surinam for various literary seminars, conferences and to receive awards. He has also headed a delegation of writers sent by the Government of India to China.

Demise

He died in Lucknow on 28 October 2011 at around 11.45 am after prolonged illness.
The legendary author of Hindi literature was intending to pen a novel on legal system in India for which he had done immense research, as confirmed by his historian nephew, Rajan Shukla to Times of India. However, his deteriorating health could not allow him to finish his work. The Hindi Literature lovers and Shukla's fans remain deprived of yet another piece of art. Nonetheless, Shukla's great body of work shall outlive the lives and times of the future proponents of Hindi Literature.


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Alvin Schwartz, American comic book writer, died from heart-related complications he was 94.

Alvin Schwartz was an American comic-book writer best known for his Batman and Superman stories. He was also a novelist, poet, and essayist.

(November 17, 1916 – October 28, 2011)

Early life and career

Alvin Schwartz debuted in comics with an issue of Fairy Tale Parade in 1939. He then wrote extensively for Sheldon Mayer at All-American Publications and then for National Comics, two of the three companies which merged to form DC Comics.

Golden Age of comics books

Schwartz wrote his first Batman story in 1942, expanding into the Batman newspaper comic strip in August 1944 and the Superman strip two months later. Through 1952, he scripted for most of the company's newspaper strips. For rival Fawcett Comics, he wrote stories for Superman's chief competitor Captain Marvel.

1950s

Until ending his association with DC in 1958, Schwartz contributed comic-book scripts for such superheroes as Aquaman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, the Newsboy Legion, Vigilante, Slam Bradley, and Tomahawk. He also wrote comic books such as A Date With Judy, Buzzy, and House of Mystery. Among Schwartz's contributions to Superman was writing the first tale of Bizarro, denizen of an opposite, interdimensional world where "hello" means "goodbye", and citizens do good by doing bad. He wrote World's Finest Comics #71 (July 1954), the issue which began featuring Superman and Batman in the same story together.^[1][2]

Corporate work

After leaving DC, Schwartz went into corporate market research and helped develop such techniques as psychographics and typological identification. As research director for Dr. Ernst Dichter's Institute for Motivational Research, he provided structural and marketing advice to corporations such as General Motors and General Foods. He later joined the advisory committee of the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

Other writing

Schwartz wrote three novels for Arco Press, one of which, the detective story Sword of Desire, won praise for its takeoff on Wilhelm Reich's orgone therapy, a popular psychotherapeutic technique used during the 1940s and 1950s. His novel The Blowtop was published by Dial Press in 1948. Under the title Le Cinglé, it became a best-seller in France.
In 1968, Schwartz moved to Canada, where he wrote documentaries and docudramas for the National Film Board of Canada for nearly 20 years, and created several economic and social studies for the Canadian government. Additionally, Schwartz wrote and lectured on superheroes, and received a Canada Council Grant for a study on religious symbolism in popular culture, using Superman as a springboard.

Later life and career

In 1997, Schwartz published an autobiography titled An Unlikely Prophet. In it, he wrote that Superman had attained the status of a tulpa, an entity that according to Buddhist beliefs attains reality solely by the act of imagination. Schwartz claimed he had actually met the superhero in a New York cab. In the mid-2000s, Schwartz wrote a weekly web column.
Schwartz and his wife lived in the rural village of Chesterville near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He died in 2011 of heart-related complications.^[3][4]

Awards

Schwartz and writer-editor Harvey Kurtzman were awarded the 2006 Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing.

Bibliography

• The Blowtop (1948) ISBN 1-58754-007-X
• Sword of Desire (Arco 1952) under pseudonym Robert W. Tracy
• An Unlikely Prophet (1997) ISBN 0-9659521-2-6
• A Gathering of Selves (2006) ISBN 1-59477-109-X

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