David Wheeler, American theatrical director, died he was 86.

David Findley Wheeler was an American theatrical director died he was 86..^[1][2] He was the founder and artistic director of the Theatre Company of Boston (TCB)^[3] from 1963 to 1975. Wheeler also taught directing and theatre at Harvard University, Boston University, and Brandeis University. He was an Associate Artist at the American Repertory Theater from 1982 until his death in January 2012.

(c. 1925 – January 4, 2012) 

Theatre

Broadway

Wheeler has directed twice on Broadway, staging David Rabe's Vietnam play The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (1977), for which Al Pacino won a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Actor, and Shakespeare's Richard III (1979), also with Pacino.^[4] Both productions originated at Theatre Company of Boston and were remounted on Broadway.

Theatre Company of Boston

In 1963, Wheeler founded the Theatre Company of Boston (TCB) with producer Naomi Thornton, and served as its Artistic Director until 1975.^[5]
During the 1960s, TCB was one of only two resident theatre companies in Boston, along with the Charles Playhouse. While the Charles produced well-known classics by authors such as Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, TCB produced adventurous new works by controversial playwrights such as Harold Pinter, Samuel Beckett, Sam Shepard, Edward Albee, Bertolt Brecht, Ed Bullins, Jeffrey Bush, John Hawkes, and Adrienne Kennedy. During his tenure at TCB, Wheeler directed over 80 of these productions (among them ten by Pinter, seven by Brecht, five by Albee, nine by Beckett, two by O’Neill).^[6]
Wheeler cast his plays out of Boston and New York, helping to launch the careers of then unknown, young actors including Paul Benedict, Hannah Brandon, Larry Bryggman, John Cazale, Stockard Channing, Blythe Danner, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Hector Elizondo, Spalding Gray, Paul Guilfoyle, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Jon Voight, Ralph Waite, and James Woods.^[6]

American Repertory Theater

Wheeler joined the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, Massachusetts as Resident Director in 1984, where he has directed over 20 productions, including Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming and The Caretaker; George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman, Heartbreak House, Misalliance, and The Doctor's Dilemma; Don DeLillo's Valparaiso (world premiere, with Will Patton) and The Day Room; Othello, How I Learned to Drive starring Debra Winger and Arliss Howard, Nobody Dies on Friday, Waiting For Godot (1995), Picasso at the Lapin Agile, What the Butler Saw, True West, Angel City, Cannibal Masque, Gillette, Two by Korder: Fun and Nobody, and David Mamet's adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (with Christopher Walken as Astrov and Lindsay Crouse).^[6]
At the A.R.T., he most recently directed Harold Pinter's No Man's Land in 2007,^[7][8] starring Paul Benedict and Max Wright,^[9] which won Elliot Norton Awards for Wheeler for Best Director and for Max Wright as Best Actor.^[10] No Man's Land was Wheeler's 14th Pinter production, which include the American premieres of The Dwarfs, A Slight Ache, and The Room.

Other regional theatres

Wheeler has directed at regional theatres including the Guthrie Theater, Alley Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Playhouse, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, Gloucester Stage, and the Théâtre Charles de Rochefort in Paris, where he directed the French premiere of Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story.^[6]
At Trinity Repertory Company, Wheeler directed seventeen productions (from 1982–1993), including the world premiere of Tom Griffin's The Boys Next Door (later remounted at the A.R.T.), Hurlyburly, Fool for Love (with Richard Jenkins), A Lie of the Mind, Burn This, and The House of Blue Leaves.^[11]

Good Will Hunting

Wheeler taught a theatre directing class at Harvard in which Matt Damon was a student. Damon brought in his friend Ben Affleck to perform scenes in class from a draft of what would become their 1997 film Good Will Hunting.^[12] Wheeler appears in the end credits of the movie in the "Thanks to" section.^[13] At a benefit in 2000 for the American Repertory Theater that Affleck, brother Casey Affleck and Damon attended – where all three performed scenes directed by Wheeler from playwrights David Mamet, Steve Martin and Christopher Durang) – Affleck said "David is why we're here. He was our acting coach."^[14]

Filmography

Director

• The Local Stigmatic (1990) (with Al Pacino) - released on DVD in 2008^[15]

Actor

• The Little Sister (1984) as Falcone - directed by former Theater Company of Boston (TCB) actor and assistant Jan Egleson^[16]

Awards and honors

Wheeler’s honors include:

• 2008 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director for No Man's Land at the A.R.T.^[10]
• 1998 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Production for Man and Superman at the A.R.T.^[17]
• Boston Theatre Critics Association Elliot Norton Award for Sustained Excellence (1992)^[18]
• St. Botolph Club Foundation's Distinguished Artist Award (Performing Arts) 1991^[19]
• Boston Theatre Critics Award for True West at A.R.T. (1982)
• Rodgers and Hammerstein Award, for "Having Done the Most in the Boston Area for the American Theatre," voted by the Committee of Presidents of Colleges in the Greater Boston Area (1963)^[6]

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Xaver Unsinn, German Olympic ice hockey player and coach, died he was 82.

Xaver Unsinn  was a German ice hockey player and coach died he was 82.. His greatest success was winning the bronze medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics as coach of the German national team.^[1] He also competed at the 1952 and 1960 Winter Olympics.^[2]

^{(29 November 1929 – 4 January 2012)}

Unsinn was coach of the German national team on three occasions, 1964, 1975 to 1977 and, again, from 1981 to 1990, coaching the team in 221 internationals.^[1]
As a player, he spent most of his career with the EV Füssen, which he won eight national German championships with. As a club coach he also won three German and one Swiss national championships with the Düsseldorfer EG, Berliner SC and SC Bern.^[3]
He is a member of the IIHF Hall of Fame and has also been awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.^[4]




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Rod Robbie, Canadian architect, died he was 83.

Roderick "Rod" George Robbie, OC was a Canadian architect and planner died he was 83.. He was known for his design of the Canadian Pavilion at Expo 67 and Toronto's Rogers Centre (SkyDome).^[2]

^{(September 15, 1928 – January 4, 2012)}

Born in Poole, England, Robbie was the Chairman Emeritus of Robbie Young + Wright / IBI Group Architects and was Partner-in-Charge on many of the firm’s largest and most complex projects. He achieved recognition as a result of his role as Architect of the Toronto SkyDome, now known as the Rogers Centre. He had expertise in programming and systems architecture combined with a detailed technical and practical understanding of high performance industrial and laboratory facilities. Educational facilities were a key component of his career with approximately 600 projects included in his extensive portfolio.
In 1989, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.
In 2001, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Dalhousie University.
In 2003, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada as "an architect known for his innovation."^{[2] [3]}
After studying architecture and town planning at Regent Street Polytechnic School in London (now known as the University of Westminster) in post-war England, Robbie began his professional career with British Rail in 1951. When he emigrated to Ottawa, Canada in 1956 with his wife and infant daughter he worked initially for the Federal Government at Public Works. He left public service just weeks after arrival to enter the private sector with the firm of Belcourt & Blair. In 1959 he became an associate at Peter Dickinson Associates leading such projects as the New Town at Frobisher Bay (now Iqaluit).
In the mid 1960s he collaborated in the design of the Canadian Government Pavilion at Expo '67 in Montreal. The distinctive main building in the complex was in the form of a large inverted pyramid called the Katimavik. It was designed by Robbie and future Toronto politician and broadcaster Colin Vaughan of the firm Ashworth, Robbie, Vaughan and Williams Architects and Planners, Paul Schoeler of Schoeler, Barkham and Heaton Architects and Planning Consultants, and Matt Stankiewicz of Z. Matthew Stankiewicz Architect, with consulting architects Evans St. Gelais and Arthur Erickson.
Expo chief architect Édouard Fiset had initially insisted the Canadian Pavilion be much smaller, confined to a single acre. Robbie felt strongly that Canada's pavilion had to have the largest site on the fair, demanding 11.5 acres. His vision was ultimately successful thanks to the support of federal minister Mitchell Sharp as well as Canadian Pavilion commissioner H. Leslie Brown.^[4]
In the early 1980s Robbie teamed with structural engineer Michael Allen of the firm Adjeleian, Allen Rubeli Ltd. and Bill Neish of NORR Architects and Planners to compete for the Ontario Stadium Project – which would later become known as SkyDome.^[5] Robbie and Allen’s patented^[6] winning design established the viability of multi-use retractable roofed stadiums worldwide and lead to a renaissance of the idea of the downtown stadium across North America. Now known as the Rogers Centre, the stadium continues to be an icon of the Toronto landscape hosting hundreds of events per year. Their retractable roof design has continued to function as designed, opening and closing under computer control in 20 minutes.
Later prominent projects included the Seymour Schulich Building at York University (opened in 2003). The building was designed by Siamak Hariri and Robbie/Young & Wright Architects Inc. and was awarded the Governor General's Medal in Architecture in 2006.^[7] In 2004 work was completed on the Sharp Centre for Design at OCAD University, designed by architect Will Alsop, and Robbie/Young + Wright Architects Inc.^[8][9] The striking expansion and redevelopment has received numerous awards, including the first-ever Royal Institute of British Architects Worldwide Award, the award of excellence in the "Building in Context" category at the Toronto Architecture and Urban Design Awards, and was deemed the most outstanding technical project overall in the 2005 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards.
Robbie was a founding member of the Construction Industry Development Council of the Government of Canada and spent many years as a member and chairing committees of the Canadian Standards Association on Systems and Industrialised Building and other professional and technical organisations.
Robbie served his UK National Service in the British Army, 42nd Survey Engineer Regiment of the Royal Engineers from 1947 to 1949 in the UK and Egypt.
Roderick and Enid Robbie (née Wheeler) participated during the period of 1956 to 1983 actively in the movements to ban the use of atomic weapons (1950s); the setting-up of the New Party Club, constituency work for the New Democratic Party in Ottawa (1960s); constituency work for the Liberal Party (1970s and 1980s) in Toronto. Since the early 1980s they were politically inactive and concentrated on scholarship. Enid died on their 49th wedding anniversary, December 20, 2001. They had three daughters (Karen, Nicola, and Caroline), a son (Angus), and four grandchildren.
Rod Robbie died on January 4, 2012. He was admitted to St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto on December 25, 2011 for treatment of gastrointestinal illness. The cause of death was ischemic colitis (the restriction of blood flow to his small intestine).

Contents 1 Education and professional awards 2 Experience 3 Memberships 4 Major architectural competitions won and/or built 5 Works 6 References

Education and professional awards

• Diploma in Architecture - Honours, Regent Street Polytechnic (University of Westminster), London, England, 1950
• Diploma in Town Planning, Regent Street Polytechnic (University of Westminster), London, England, July 1954
• Engineering News Record - Construction Man of The Year, 1969
• Royal Canadian Institute for the Toronto SkyDome, Life Member, 1989
• Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in the Art of Architecture, Academician, February 13, 1990
• Quaternario 90: International Award for Innovative Technology in Architecture, SkyDome, 1990
• Tau Sigma Delta, Kent State University for Outstanding Professional Achievement in Architecture, Silver Medal Award, March 15, 1993
• Ryerson University Fellowship for Exemplary Achievements in Architectural Design, Fellow, June 22, 1995
• Dalhousie University, May 2001, Doctor of Laws honoris causa
• The Order of da Vinci of the Ontario Association of Architects (for exceptional leadership in the profession, education and/ or service to the profession and community), May 10, 2003

Experience

• 2008-2012 - Robbie Young + Wright/ IBI Group Architects, Toronto, ON, Chairman Emeritus
• 2004-2008 - Robbie/ Young + Wright Architects Inc., Toronto, ON, Chairman Emeritus
• 1987-2004 - Robbie/ Young + Wright Architects Inc., Toronto, ON, President
• 1987-2008 - RAN International Architects & Engineers, Toronto and Ottawa, ON, President
• 1993-2004 - Robbie/ Sane Architects Inc., Toronto, ON, President
• 1985-1993 - Robbie Architects Inc., Toronto, ON, President
• 1991-1992 - Robbie Sane/ Lambur Scott Architects in Joint Venture, Toronto, ON, Partner
• 1980-1985 - Robbie Architects Planners, Toronto, ON, President
• 1977-1980 - Robbie Williams Kassum Partnership; Architects and Planners, Toronto, ON, Partner
• 1974-1977 - Robbie Williams Kassum Young Partnership; Architects and Planners, Toronto, ON, Partner
• 1972-1974 - Robbie Williams Partnership; Architects and Planners, Toronto, ON, Partner
• 1965-1972 - Robbie Vaughan & Williams, Toronto, ON, Partner
• 1961-1965 - Ashworth Robbie Vaughan & Williams, Toronto, ON, Partner
• 1959-1961 - Peter Dickinson Associates, Ottawa, ON, Associate
• 1956-1959 - Belcourt & Blair, Architects & Town Planners, Ottawa, ON, Junior Partner
• 1951-1956 - Parnell + Robbie, Chartered Architects, London, England, Partner
• 1950-1956 - British Railways, London, England, Junior to Senior Assistant Architect

Memberships

• Appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, May 3, 2003
• The American Institute of Architects - Member, October 8, 2002
• Certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards - August 5, 1998 (Retired)
• The University of the State of New York, Licensee, 1996
• Canadian Institute of Planners, Member, May 13, 1974
• SEF: Metropolitan Toronto School Board, Study of Education Facilities, Technical Director, 1966 - 1969
• Royal Architectural Institute of Canada - Fellow, June 23, 1989 (Member September 21, 1962) (Life Member)
• Town Planning Institute of Canada, Member, January 12, 1961
• Ontario Association of Architects - Member, 1957 (Retired Life Member)
• Architects Registration Board (UK) - Registrant, 1951 (Retired)
• Royal Institute of British Architects - Member, July 3, 1951 (Retired Charter Life Member)
• SEF Advisory Committee and SEF Consultant on Systems Building, Past Member
• Construction Industry Development, Council of the Government of Canada Past and Founding Member
• CSA Standards Steering Committee on Industrialized Building Construction, Past Chairman
• CSA Advisory Committee on Systems Building, Past Chairman
• Canadian Construction Industry Research Board, Past Member
• Ontario Professional Planners Institute - Member (Retired), 23 February 1995

Major architectural competitions won and/or built

• Canadian Government Pavilion Expo '67, Montreal, Quebec, Canada with Paul Schoeler and Matthew Stankiewicz (ARVW), 1963
• Metropolitan Toronto School Board's Study of Educational Facilities, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (SEF) (RVW), 1966
• Public Works Canada and Energy, Mines and Resources, National Low Energy Building Design Awards Competition. Large Buildings Category, with Arun Sane. First Prize (RVWKP), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 1980
• Ontario Stadium Project (SkyDome), Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with Michael Allen (RSA), 1985
• Industrial Research & Development Institute, Midland, Ontario, Canada (RSA), 1996
• Toronto Island Public/ Natural Science School, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (RSA), 1996
• Taipei City Sports Dome, Taipei, Taiwan (RAN), 1996
• NY Mets, New Shea Stadium, New York USA (RAN), 1996
• Weldstation, Frankfurt, Germany (RAN) 1995
• King Fahd International Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (RAN), 1992
• NYC 2008 & 2012 Olympic Stadiums, New York USA (RAN), 2001 and 2004

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Carmen Naranjo, Costa Rican novelist, poet and essayist, died from cancer she was 83.

Carmen Naranjo Coto was a Costa Rican novelist, poet and essayist  died from cancer she was 83..

(January 30, 1928 – January 4, 2012) 

Naranjo was born in Cartago, the capital city of the Cartago Province. She received her primary education there at the Escuela República de Perú and her secondary at the Colegio Superior de Señoritas.
She received her licenciatura in Philology from the University of Costa Rica and pursued post-graduate studies at the Universidad Autónoma de México and the University of Iowa.
Naranjo served as Costa Rica's ambassador to Israel in the 1970s and also as the country's minister of culture.^[1] She was the author of the Costa Rican system of social security.^[2]

Bibliography

• Cancion de la ternura, 1964
• Misa a oscuras, 1964
• Hacia tu isla, 1966
• Los perros no ladraron, 1966
• Memorias de un hombre palabra, 1968
• Diario de una multitud, 1974
• Cinco temas en busca de un pensador, 1977
• Mi guerrilla, 1977
• El caso 117.720, 1987
• En partes, 1994
• Más allá del Parismina, 2001
• En esta tierra redonda y plana, 2001
• Marina Jiménez de Bolandi: recordándola, 2002
• El Truco Florido,

Translations of her short stories into English include:

• Rosario Santos (ed.), And We Sold the Rain: Contemporary Fiction from Central America (title story in the collection), Seven Stories Press, (2nd edition 1996); ISBN 1-888363-03-7
• Barbara Ras (ed.), Costa Rica: A Traveler's Literary Companion, Whereabouts Press (1993); ISBN 1-883513-00-6

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Kalpana Mohan, Indian actress, died she was 65.

Kalpana, born Archana Mohan , was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi cinema in the 1960s died she was 65.. She appeared with Shammi Kapoor in the 1962 film Professor, with Dev Anand in Teen Devian, with Pradeep Kumar in Saheli and with Feroz Khan in Tasveer and Teesra Kaun. Daughter of a revolutionary, Avani Mohan, she was also an accomplished Kathak dancer trained under Pandit Shambhu Maharaj. She lived in Pune with her family.^[1] She died early on the morning of 4 January 2012 at the Pune Hospital and Research Centre.^[2]

 

^{(18 July 1946 – January 2012)}

 

Filmography

^[3]

• Naughty Boy (1962)
• Professor (1962)
• Saheli (1965)
• Teen Devian (1965)
• Teesra Kaun (1965)
• Tasveer (1966)
• Pyar Kiye Jaa (1966)
• Nawab Sirajuddaula (1967)

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Kerry McGregor, British singer and reality contestant (The X Factor), died from bladder cancer she was 37.

Kerry McGregor was a Scottish singer-songwriter and actress from West Lothian died from bladder cancer she was 37..^[2] McGregor climbed to national fame after appearing on the third UK series of The X Factor, where she was mentored by Sharon Osbourne.^[3] McGregor died on 4 January 2012 of complications from bladder cancer, a disease she had suffered from for years.

(30 October 1974^[1] – 4 January 2012)

Career

After studying music and drama at Jewel and Esk Valley College, Edinburgh, she co-formed the dance band Nexus in 1993. She then joined QFX, whose album Freedom reached Number 21 in the UK charts.^[4]
Talent spotted by Kenny MacDonald, manager of The Proclaimers,^[4] in 1997 McGregor participated in The Great British Song Contest, the UK selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Yodel in the Canyon of Love". The song came second, behind Katrina and the Waves' "Love Shine a Light", which went on to win the competition that year.^[3] Polygram later signed McGregor to a solo deal, and released "Yodel in the Canyon of Love" as a single.
McGregor had appeared in a number of stage and television shows including the Channel 4 comedy The Book Group playing Kenny's love-interest Carol Ann,^[5] and the BBC1 Children's drama series Grange Hill.^[6]
In 2006, McGregor was a finalist in the third UK series of TV talent show The X Factor.^[7][8] McGregor was mentored on the show by Sharon Osbourne.^[3] She was eliminated in the third week of the live shows along with Dionne Mitchell.
McGregor appeared at sell-out summer shows in Blackpool in 2007 and performed for the National Lottery Live, before taking a break to concentrate on her song-writing. In 2008, she recorded and toured with singer-songwriter Jay Brown appearing on his album, "Take What You Need" and worked with producer and musician Calais Brown. McGregor also performed at the 2010 Edinburgh International Festival, singing in concert with classical Tenor, Martin Aelred.
In 2011, McGregor was appointed Ambassador to UK charity, Action on Bladder Cancer (ABC).

Personal life

McGregor was born in 1974 in Pumpherston, West Lothian, Scotland.^[9] Her grandfather was Bobby McKerracher, known as "the Scottish Bing Crosby". After her father died in a car crash when she was aged five, she was raised by her mother, who was also a talented singer.^[4]
Joining West Calder High School, McGregor showed promise as a gymnast until aged 13, when she fell out of a tree and broke her back. Thereafter she was a wheelchair user, but in six weeks she learnt to walk again using crutches, earning a Child of Achievement Award.^[4]
McGregor lived in West Lothian near Edinburgh, with her property developer partner and their son Joshua.^[4] In 2007, McGregor helped to launch the WheelieChix-Chic clothing brand at London Fashion Week.^[10] McGregor was involved with a number of charities that work with and for women, children and the disabled.

Death

After two years of complaining of stomach pains, in September 2010 McGregor was diagnosed with bladder cancer. After undergoing three months of chemotherapy, she revealed her diagnosis in an interview with The Sun in April 2011.^[11] On 4 January 2012 it was announced by McGregor's management on her Facebook page that she had died earlier that day from the disease.^[2][3][4][6] 400 people attended her funeral.^[12]

Discography

Singles

Year	Title	UK Chart Position	Album
1997	"Yodel in the Canyon of Love"	—	Eurovision 1997
1997	"Freedom" (as part of the band QFX)	#21	Freedom

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Patricia Mather, Australian zoologist, died she was 88.

Patricia Mather (née Kott) was an Australian zoologist known for her research into sea squirts died she was 88.. ^[1]She was born and educated in Western Australia.^[2]

^{(12 December 1925 – 4 January 2012)} 

She became a leader in Australian marine science and internationally achieved status through her work on the taxonomy of the Ascidiacea. She has published (under her maiden name, Patricia Kott) more than 150 papers including her major monograph on the "Australian Ascidiacea" (in four parts between 1985 and 2001).

Partial listing of publications

• Kott, P. 1985: The Australian Ascidiacea Part I, Phlebobranchia and Stolidobranchia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 23: 1–438.

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