/ Stars that died in 2023

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Arthur Beetson, Australian rugby league footballer, first Indigenous Australian to captain a national team in any sport, heart attack.Arthur Beetson, 66, Australian rugby league footballer, first Indigenous Australian to captain a national team in any sport, died from a heart attack he was 66.

Arthur Henry "Artie" Beetson OAM  was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach died from a heart attack he was 66.. He represented Australia, NSW and Queensland from 1964 to 1981. His main position was at prop. Beetson became the first Indigenous Australian to captain his country in any sport [3] and is frequently cited as the best post-war forward in Australian rugby league history. He also had an extensive coaching career, spanning the 1970s to the 1990s, coaching Australia, Queensland, Eastern Suburbs, Redcliffe Dolphins and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. On 1 December 2011, Beetson died after a heart attack, aged 66.

(22 January 1945 – 1 December 2011[2])

Playing career

Beetson's mother was a member of the Stolen Generation.[4] His rugby league career began with Redcliffe in the Brisbane Rugby League competition between 1964 and 1965. After winning the club's player of the year award in 1965 as well as the Brisbane Rugby League premiership with them, he moved to Sydney to play in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership with the Balmain Tigers. In his first year with them, 1966, he played in the grand final against St. George and was also selected to make his representative debut for Australia against England and scored two tries. Beetson played with Balmain from then until 1970, with a spell in England with Hull Kingston Rovers in 1968.[5] He later joined the Eastern Suburbs club where he stayed from 1971 to 1978, where he captained the side to the 1974 and 1975 premierships. During the 1976 NSWRFL season, Beetson captained Eastern Suburbs to victory in their unofficial 1976 World Club Challenge match against British champions St. Helens in Sydney. This Easts team would go down as one of the greatest club sides in rugby league history. During this period Beetson also played with distinction for Australia and in 1974 he was named as Rugby League Week's player of the year.
He possessed great strength and toughness, a surprising turn of speed for a big man and was unequalled as a ball player. His skill as a footballer was matched only by his skill as an eater, earning nicknames such as 'Meat Pie Artie'. He is known and immortalised by his performance of eating 11 hot dogs before a gala dinner for the Australian team in 1973.
His big frame, pure speed and brilliant ball skills won countless games for all his teams. His off-loading and attacking workrate broke the mould for front rowers and changed the way they played the game.
After two years with Parramatta in 1979 and 1980, capped off with a man of the match performance in the Eels 8-5 Tooth Cup Final win over Balmain. Beetson achieved further immortality as captain of Queensland in the inaugural 1980 State of Origin game, won 20–10 by Queensland on 8 July. He returned to Queensland for one final year of playing with his old Redcliffe team in 1981. He also captained Queensland for the final 'traditional' interstate match in 1981 and at the end of the season the Dolphins were beaten in the final minute of the grand final by Southern Suburbs.
In 1987 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia "in recognition of service to the sport of Rugby League".

Post-playing

Beetson's coaching career began while still playing for Easts in 1977. He was captain-coach of Redcliffe in 1981 and that season was appointed coach of the Queensland State of Origin side, taking them to repeated series victories over New South Wales from 1981 to 1984 . He had a brief, but unsuccessful period, coaching Australia in 1983 before returning to coach his former club Eastern Suburbs, from 1985 to 1988, being named Coach of the Year in 1987 and Cronulla-Sutherland for the 1992 and 1993 seasons, where he enjoyed mixed success.
Beetson has also spent many years years as a recruitment officer for both Eastern Suburbs and Queensland.
In the post-1999 NRL season an Aboriginal side managed by Arthur Beetson defeated the Papua New Guinean national team. He then pushed, unsuccessfully, for an Australia Day match against the Australian national team.[6]

Accolades

Big Artie the autobiography.jpg
Beetson is often regarded as Australia's best ever forward, and in 2000 he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal, then in 2001 the Centenary Medal "for service to Australian society through the sport of rugby league". He was inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2003. In May 2004 his book, Big Artie: The Autobiography was published. Also that year he became the seventh selected post-war "Immortal" of the Australian game with Churchill, Raper, Gasnier, Fulton, Langlands and Wally Lewis.
In February 2008, Beetson was named in a list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.[7][8] Beetson went on to be named in the front-row in Australian rugby league's Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players.[9][10] Beetson chose to boycott the presentation ceremony, stating that he did not agree with the direction rugby league is taking.[11] In June 2008, he was chosen in the Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century at second-row.[12] In 2008, rugby league in Australia's centenary year, Beetson was named at second-row forward in the Toowoomba and South West Team of the Century.[13] He was made a life member of the Sydney Cricket Ground and a plaque in the Walk of Honour there commemorates his career. He is a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
As part of the Centenary of League celebrations in 2008, Beetson was retrospectively awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as Man of the Match in the 1974 Grand final.[14]

Death

On 1 December 2011, Beetson died following a heart attack while riding his bicycle at Paradise Point on the Gold Coast, Queensland. He was 66.[15]

Public memorial

The Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh announced that a bronze statue of Beetson is to be situated at Lang Park.[16] It was unveiled on 3 July 2012.[17]


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Eric Arnott, British eye surgeon, died he was 82.

Eric John Arnott FRCS[1][2] was a British ophthalmologist and surgeon who specialized in cataracts, a condition which in many parts of the world still remains the principal cause of blindness died he was 82.. He is known for inventing new surgical techniques for treatment of various ophthalmological disorders, and received professional awards for his contributions.

(12 June 1929 – 1 December 2011)

Career

Arnott was educated at Harrow School (Elmfield) and Trinity College, Dublin where he was awarded the Surgical Prize in 1952; BA (Hons) 1953 and MB (Hons), BCh(Hons)and BAO (Hons)1954. He gained his Diploma in Ophthalmology (DO) in 1956 and Fellowship to the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) in 1963.
Arnott's first ophthalmic appointment was as Houseman at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin, following which he held early appointments at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, and University College Hospital London, where he trained under Sir Stewart Duke-Elder and Henry Stallard.
Whilst at Moorfields he worked with Sir Harold Ridley, the inventor of the intraocular lens; Arnott was inspired by Ridley’s work on the intraocular lens and they later became lifelong friends.
After completing training at University College Hospital, Arnott was appointed as consultant initially to the Royal Eye Hospital and later, in 1965, to Charing Cross Hospital; then still in the Strand. In 1973 the hospital moved to its current site in Fulham, where Arnott was responsible for setting up the ophthalmic surgical services.
In 1974, Arnott and his wife Veronica organised the first Live International Ophthalmic Micro-Surgical Symposium in Charing Cross Hospital, where ten of the world’s top eye surgeons performed live surgery, relayed to over 300 international delegates, courtesy of the BBC. This novel concept in advanced surgical teaching set a standard for future surgical conferences. He later organised two other live symposia with Professor Emanuel Rosen, with the objective of bringing new ideas in cataract surgery to a wider audience.
Arnott was known for his pioneering work in ophthalmology and many of today’s top eye surgeons were trained by him whilst registrars at Charing Cross.
He retired from the NHS in 1994.

Phacoemulsification

In 1968, whilst Secretary of the Ophthalmic Society of the United Kingdom he invited Dr Charles Kelman MD, the inventor of phacoemulsification ("phaco"), to address the Society. Kelman had found a method of removing the cataract through an incision of 3.5mm compared to the 12mm required for most surgery at the time. This meant that patients no longer had to remain in bed for two weeks after surgery with all movement restricted.
In 1971, Arnott visited the USA to attend one of Kelman’s first courses. On his return, he privately raised the finance to buy the expensive equipment required for the procedure. When he started performing this new type of cataract operation, history indicates that it was not well received by his colleagues. Six years later Arnott was virtually alone in performing and teaching this procedure outside America.
Today, almost all cataract surgery is carried out using a variation of the technique that Arnott pioneered in the UK in the early seventies.

Lens implantation

In 1974, influenced by Sir Harold Ridley's work on lens implantation, Arnott designed the Little-Arnott lens, which was manufactured by Rayners. This was one of the first intraocular lenses to be positioned behind the iris, the normal position of the natural lens. Previously, lenses were implanted in front of the iris, and many of them caused severe ocular problems.[3] Arnott followed this up with several other designs before inventing “the totally encircling loop” lens [3] which was manufactured under license by Alcon, Pharmacia and Smith & Nephew and others. Clinical data demonstrated that this lens maintained an excellent position within the eye and over 2 million were implanted worldwide during the 1980s and 1990s.[4]
During the seventies, all of the lenses designed by Arnott were made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). In 1981, Arnott and Richard Packard, his then senior registrar at Charing Cross Hospital, were the first to describe the use of a soft lens material, which could be folded to go through a small incision.[5] In 1988 Arnott was the first surgeon to insert a bi-focal lens implant in Europe.
Following cataract removal, it used to be common for patients to require thick pebble glasses to be able to see. Nowadays, virtually all patients receive a lens implant following cataract surgery, avoiding the need for glasses.

Other contributions

Arnott was also responsible for introducing other surgical techniques.
In 1966 he was amongst the first surgeons in the world to follow Dermot Pearce’s use of the surgical microscope.[6]
In 1967 he and Paddy Condon, his then senior registrar, used the first silicone implant for retinal detachment surgery.
In 1968 he modified the final approach to glaucoma surgery by making the opening into the anterior chamber through the clear cornea, as opposed to the previous dialysis approach.
In 1976 he and Jared Emery of Houston, Texas, invented the diamond tipped “spear headed” surgical knife for making the phaco incision and in 1978 he was the first surgeon to perform a combined phaco cataract and glaucoma operation.
Arnott was very early in recognising the new trend of laser refractive surgery to correct myopia (shortsightedness). He acquired one of the first excimer lasers, which he located in Cromwell Hospital in 1991, where his private practice was based. In 1992 he was the first person in the UK to perform LASIK.[7]
In 2000 Arnott received an award from the International Intra-Ocular Implant Club - the IIIC Medal, at the Club's annual autumn meeting in Brussels, Belgium.

Charity work

In 1982 he reduced his work in the NHS (from maximum part time) to four sessions a week and began concentrating on charitable work at the Royal Masonic Hospital, London, (where he remained an honouree consultant until 1994) and international teaching commitments.
Over the course of his career, Arnott lectured and performed live surgery throughout the world, paying particular attention to the Asian and African continents where cataracts are most prevalent.
In 1984 he was one of the first surgeons to demonstrate phaco surgery and lens implantation in India and in 1991 he received a special award from the Asian branch of the Royal National Institute for the Blind for “outstanding support“ to blind Asians in London and India. The same award was presented a year later to his son Stephen,[8] who managed Arnott's private practice. In 1996, Arnott was invited to officially open the first meeting of the Indian Academy of Ophthalmology, and in 1998 he was made an honorary visiting Professor at Indore University.
After Arnott’s retirement in 1999, with the help of his wife Veronica[8] and son Stephen, he raised funds to fund and equip a mobile operating theatre to perform modern eye surgery in remote Indian villages. This project was undertaken in conjunction with the Sathya Sai Institute.[9]
Along with Dr G Chandra, he established the charity organisation 'Balrampur Hospital Foundation UK' in 2007 and served as a Trustee and its President.

Medical societies

Arnott was a member of many international ophthalmic societies and was the founder President of the European Society for Phaco and Laser Surgery (1986–89), Secretary of the Ophthalmic Society of the United Kingdom (1967 – 1968), President of the Chelsea Clinical Society (1985) and President of the International Association of Ocular Surgeons (1983).
He was also one of the original founder members of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.
In 2007 Arnott received the Honoured Guest award from the ASCRS for his services to ophthalmology.[10]

Publications

He wrote over 40 published scientific articles for British and foreign ophthalmic journals on strabismus surgery, congenital abnormalities, cataract extraction, Phaco-emulsification and intra-ocular lenses.[11]
Between 1992 and 1997 he wrote a regular chapter on the latest ophthalmic advances for the annual Royal College of General Practitioners Reference Book[12]
Arnott was co-author of the 1983 textbook Extra-capsular Cataract Surgery and contributed specialist chapters to many other medical books including Emergency Surgery by H Dudley, Intra-ocular Lens Implantation by Rosen et al., Current Perspectives in Ophthalmic Surgery by Easty et al., and a Colour Atlas of Lens Implantation by Percival.[13]
Arnott, with assistance from his son Stephen, wrote and published “A New Beginning in Sight” in September 2006, chronicling the development of modern cataract and refractive surgery.[14]

Personal life

Arnott was born in Sunningdale, Berkshire, the second son of Sir Robert Arnott Bt.[8] and Cynthia Amelia (née James) . His family were notable Anglo-Irish philanthropists who owned, amongst other things, Arnotts department store, the Irish Times, and the Phoenix Park Racecourse.
He was married to Veronica (née Langué) from 1960 until her death in 2011 and had two sons, Stephen John 1962, Robert Laureston John 1971 and one daughter Tatiana Amelia 1963.[8]
Until 2001 he remained fit by swimming a mile every morning and in 1974 he successfully completed a challenge to swim from the infamous Alcatraz Island to the shore of San Francisco.
When Arnott finally retired at the age of 70 years, he bought a retirement cottage in Cornwall in Mounts Bay overlooking the Atlantic Ocean from where he wrote his memoirs “A New Beginning in Sight” before his death 1 December 2011.


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Shingo Araki, Japanese animation artist and character designer, died he was 72.

Shingo Araki [1][2] was a Japanese animation artist and character designer died he was 72..[3][4]

(荒木 伸吾 Araki Shingo?, January 1, 1939 – December 1, 2011)


Career

He developed an interest for drawing at age five.[1] He graduated in Aichi Prefecture. In 1955, at age eighteen, he debuted as a cartoonist in the "Machi" magazine. He then joined Mushi Production as animator in 1965 and later founded Studio Jaguar in 1966. In 1970, he debuted as animation director in the Mushi TV Series "Joe of Tomorrow", and later worked on the anime adaptations of several of Go Nagai's manga, including Devilman (1972), Cutie Honey (1973), and UFO Robo Grendizer (1975), serving as a character designer on the latter two. With his work on Cutie Honey as well as Mahō no Mako-chan, Mahou Tsukai Chappy, Majokko Megu-chan, and Hana no Ko Lunlun, Araki was an important figure in Toei Animation's early magical girl anime series of the 1970s.
He usually collaborated with animation director Michi Himeno, whom he met in 1973. They formed Araki Production in 1975. He worked as animation director in 1978's "Goodbye Battleship Yamato: Warriors of Love". He, with Himeno, have been celebrated for their success. The Araki-Himeno duo collaborated on TV series and animated films such as "Saint Seiya" (1986–89), "Saint Seiya Overture" from 2004.
Some of his successes are Majokko Megu-chan (1974), Lupin III (1977), Mugen Kido SSX (Captain Harlock, 1978), Versailles no Bara (Lady Oscar, 1979), Hana no Ko Lunlun (Angel, 1979, which featured character designs by Michi Himeno and animation by Araki), Uchû Densetsu Ulysses 31 (Ulises 31, produced 1980, released 1981), and the versions for OVA of Fuma no Kojirô (1991). International accreditation came with Saint Seiya (Knights of the Zodiac, 1986), for his dynamic drawing style along with the elegant drawings styles of Michi. This Dynamic Duel, as they are known, have been instrumental in the success of the series.
Working for Toei Animation and Tokyo Movie Shinshia, Araki was also an animator on several American productions which outsourced animation work to Japan, including Inspector Gadget (Season 1, 1983–84, animation), Mighty Orbots (1984, key animation), The Adventures of the American Rabbit (1986) and G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987).

Works

Anime television series

Movies

Original Video Animations

Video Games


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Bill Waller, American politician, Governor of Mississippi (1972–1976), died from heart failure he was 85.


William Lowe "Bill" Waller, Sr.  was an American politician. A Democrat, Waller served as the Governor of Mississippi from 1972 to 1976 died from heart failure he was 85.. During his military service he attained the rank of sergeant and was offered a commission in the Counter Intelligence Corps, but he declined being discharged on November 30, 1953. He returned to Jackson, Mississippi, to active Army Reserve duty under Colonel Purser Hewitt, and resumed his legal career.[1]

(October 21, 1926 – November 30, 2011)

 As a local prosecutor, he unsuccessfully prosecuted Byron De La Beckwith in the murder of civil rights advocate Medgar Evers (the first two murder trials of De La Beckwith both in 1964 ended in hung juries and subsequently because De La Beckwith was never acquitted in these trials, he was later eligible to be prosecuted again). In 1994, De La Beckwith was found guilty of the murder.
In 1971, Waller defeated Lieutenant Governor Charles L. Sullivan in the Democratic primary run-off. His main opponent in the general election was Evers' brother, James Charles Evers, then the mayor of Fayette, who ran as an independent. Waller handily prevailed, 601,222 (77 percent) to Evers' 172,762 (22.1 percent).
Waller is credited with winning elections without using racially charged or racially offensive rhetoric. He organized working class white voters and African American voters separately and usually did not merge their election efforts until it was too late in the election cycle for internal conflicts to disrupt the campaign. Litigation in the Southern Mississippi federal court and in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans stripped the Regular Democrats of Mississippi of their official status and their 25 seats in the 1972 Democratic National Convention.[2] Prior to a national party policy conference in December of 1974, the Loyalist and Regular Democratic Party factions united when the subject and Aaron Henry were elected as co-chairmen of the Mississippi delegation to the Kansas City conference.[3] Waller effectively shut-down the segregationist Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission by vetoing its appropriation while he was governor. He appointed many blacks to positions in state government.
After leaving office, Waller lost the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate in 1978 and for governor again in 1987. He practiced law in Jackson for several years.
His son is the Hon. William L. Waller, Jr., Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court.[4]
On November 30, 2011, Waller died at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson of heart failure after being admitted the previous night. He was 85.[5][6]

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Benyamin Sönmez, German-born Turkish cellist, died he was 28.

Benyamin Sönmez  was a Turkish classical cellist died he was 28..[1]

(January 16, 1983 – November 30, 2011)


Early years and family

Benyamin was born to Turkish parents in Bremen, Germany. His father went in the 1970s to Germany as a tourist taking his musical instrument saz with him. He stayed there, formed a musical group and earned his life playing music at weddings. Later, his mother followed his father in Germany. As Benyamin was three years old, the family with two boys returned home.[2]
Benyamin spent his childhood in Akşehir, a town in Konya Province, where the alleged tomb of Nasreddin Hoca is located. During his primary school years, he contributed to family's budget by selling food and drinks at street.[2]
Benyamin Sönmez grew up in a family that performed music altogether at home. As his father played tambur and his mother sang, his elder brother Mehmet and he accompanied their parents by playing kanun and darbuka. He remembers that his childhood toys were musical instruments like kanun, oud, cümbüş, electronic organ, darbuka, tambur, saz, ney as well as guitar. His father, a talented musician without any musical education, made Benyamin love music and introduced him in playing various musical instruments.
As a child, he accompanied his father at his father's musical performances with his group on stage at weddings. Benyamin envied his father, and imitated him at home after their return. A member of his father's musical group became aware of his elder brother's musical talent and advised to send him to conservatory. His brother Mehmet Sönmez studied playing contrabass at Ankara State Conservatory. After winning an international prize, his brother went to Belgium to play with the Royal Orchestra. He is currently a member of the Turkish Presidential Symphony Orchestra.

Education

Benyamin was a primary school pupil as his brother Mehmet studied at the conservatory in Ankara. Mehmet listened to classical music at home when he was on vacation. Once, Benyamin was very impressed by Shostakovich's music, his brother listened at home to. Mehmet, noticing his interest in classical music, took him to Ankara, where he, at the age of 13, took part at an admission test for the conservatory at the Hacettepe University. He failed the test and his brother was told by the jury that Benyamin was not talented for music.[2]
Returned home, Benyamin was eager to study music. He took the test the next year again. Passed the test, he was asked what musical instrument he liked to play. He replied violoncello, because its name sounded nice to him, even though he had never seen an example of it. The jury looked at his fingers and approved his choice. He saw the cello for the first time in the conservatory's string instruments workshop. He says he would not have complained if he had to study viola or violin instead of cello.[2]
In the first years in the conservatory, he surprised everyone by playing works that were actually reserved for higher classes. He used to start the day by playing Dvořák and finish with Elgar. Benyamin was very impressed by Rostropovich. Even he admired Heinrich Schiff, André Navarra, Pierre Fournier and Pablo Casals much, he used to try imitate Rostropovich.[2]
At the age of 17, he decided to take part at a cello contest at the Bilkent University, which had a different and heavier musical repertoire than at the conservatory. He practized four months long for this contest instead of preparing for the examination that was scheduled one day before it. Benyamin failed his examination indeed, however won the first prize the next day at the contest in front of a jury composed of an American cellist, Gürer Aykal and Doğan Cangal, who was a member of the examination commission the day before. Sönmez says by winning the first prize, he was able to save the honor of his cello teacher Nuray Eşen. From then on, he practiced much more seriously.[2]
For further studies, Benyamin was recommended to Natalia Gutman by Yuri Bashmet via pianist Gulmira Tokombaeva, a teacher from Kyrgyzstan at the Ankara conservatory. Between 2003 and 2007, he studied under Natalia Gutman, first at Stuttgart Hochschule für Musik in Germany and later at Moscow Conservatory in Russia. In Moscow, he was frequently invited to her home, where he had the opportunity to meet notable writers, artists and musicians including Yuri Bashmet, Viktor Tretiakov, Vasily Lobanov, Eliso Virsaladze, Mischa Maisky, Kurt Masur.[2]

Career

By the time, he was 17, having proved his superior musical skills, he came first in the national cello contest. He was given a place within BBC soloists in 2000. He won a special award at the International Young Concert Artists Contest organized in Leipzig, Germany in 2001.
Benyamin Sonmez became prize winner in the 2006 International Adam Cello Festival and Competition in New Zealand that was chaired by Rostropovich.
Sönmez, receiving great attention and admiration at each country he visited, had a rich repertoire from Bach to Sofia Gubaidulina. He also had master class performances with the great cellists like Rostropovich, David Geringas, Philippe Muller, Alexander Rudin, Stefan Popov, Frans Helmerson, Ruben Dobrovsky, Miklós Perényi and Yo-Yo Ma.
Sonmez has also studied authentic performance of the Cello Suites of Bach, together with the master of baroque cello Anner Bylsma. Of the important music festivals, he was invited to the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and Oleg Kagan International Music Festival in Germany, the International Adam Cello Festival & Competition in New Zealand, RNCM Manchester International Cello Festival in the United Kingdom and Istanbul International Music Festival in Turkey.
His last invitation was to the 80th birthday of M. Rostropovich in 2007. Sonmez, who has performed duo concerts with Oxana Yablonskaya, played his art at important musical centers such as Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam, Moscow, New York, Washington D.C. and Istanbul. He was living in istanbul, Turkey.
His repertoire included modern composers including Dmitri Shostakovich, Alfred Schnittke, Giya Kancheli, Sofia Gubaidulina, Ástor Piazzolla and Zoltán Kodály as well as the composers of Baroque and other eras.
He played an 18th-century Matteo Goffriller cello from Venice, Italy.

Death

Young cellist Benyamin Sonmez died on December 1, 2011, at the age of 28, after a heart attack in Ankara. Following a funeral ceremony at the Hacettepe University Conservatory, his body was transferred to Fethiye, Muğla Province, where he was laid to rest.[3][4]


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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 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.

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