Helga Vlahović, Croatian journalist, producer and television personality,died from uterine cancer she was 67

Helga Vlahović  was a Croatianjournalist, producer, and television personality, whose career spanned five decades in both SFR Yugoslavia and later Croatia. She was one of the most popular television presenters in the 1980s.^[1]

Throughout her career, she was also credited as Helga Vlahović Pea and Helga Vlahović Brnobić during the times she was married.

(28 January 1945 – 27 February 2012)

Born in Zagreb to Hungarian father Kalman Vlahovics and Austrian mother Vera, Helga grew up speaking German with her mother while also learning English.^[2]

Vlahović started working at Zagreb Radio and Television (part of  Yugoslav Radio Television network) in 1964, while studying German, English, and art history at the University of Zagreb; with her newfound job, she left the studies and ended up not completing her degrees.^[2] By 1966, she became an anchorwoman of various entertainment and musical TV shows, putting her in charge of such popular programs as TV Magazin and musical television shows.^[2]

the

In 1968, she was selected to run the Sopot International Song Festival in Poland, and in 1971 she ran the song festival in Scheveningen, Netherlands.^[2] She was then placed in charge of the morning talk show Good Day, Yugoslavia (which she hosted) in 1972,^[2] as well as the music variety show Svjetla pozornice (Stage Lights) in 1977 and 1978.^[2] From 1978 to 1980, she organized the Jadranski susreti (Adriatic Reunion, a Yugoslav version of Jeux Sans Frontières).^[2]

In 1984 and 1988, Vlahović organized the programs Beč pozdravlja Zagreb, Zagreb pozdravlja Beč (Vienna Salutes Zagreb, Zagreb Salutes Vienna) and Dubrovnik-Stuttgart, which were musical and travelogue series broadcast between JRT, ORF, and ARD, respectively, geared at Yugoslav guest workers who wanted to "see home" but could not afford to make a trip there.^[2] Due to her extensive musical programming experience, as well as her proficiency in English, she was picked, along with Oliver Mlakar, to host the Eurovision Song Contest 1990 in Zagreb following Yugoslavia's win in 1989.^[3][4][5]

With the fall of Yugoslavia in 1991 and the onset of the Croatian War of Independence, Vlahović was quickly put in charge of informational television series relating to the war on the newly formed HRT channel for the independent nation of Croatia.^[2] She was head of "war information programming" until the end of war in 1995. In 1996, she started her own television series, Govorimo o zdravlju (We Talk About Health), which covered many health and wellness topics.^[2] After 42 years of working at JRT and HRT, Vlahović retired in 2006.^[2]

Vlahović had two daughters, Renee Pea (born 1975), from her ten-year marriage to Franc Pea, and Karla Brnobić (born 1982), from her marriage to neurosurgeon Miljenko Brnobić, who died in 1997.^[2] It was his influence which inspired her to start the program Govorimo o zdravlju.

In 2009 Vlahović was diagnosed with melanoma. In early 2012 it was reported her condition has worsened and she was hospitalised. She died on 27 February 2012.

To see more of who died in 2012 click here

Tina Strobos, Dutch psychiatrist and humanitarian, protected Jewish refugees during World War II, died from cancer she was 91

Tina Strobos ) was a Dutch physician and child psychiatrist who, while a medical student during World War II living in Amsterdam, helped shelter more than 100 Jewish refugees as part of the Dutch resistance during the Nazioccupation of The Netherlands died from cancer she was  91. In 2009, Strobos was honored for her work by the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center of New York City.^[1]

^{(19 May 1920 – 27 February 2012}

Background

Born Tineke Buchter, she came from a family of socialist atheists who took in Belgianand Austrian refugees during and after World War I. Strobos was well-educated and fluent in  Abraham Pais, whom she did not marry and who went on to become a particle physicist.^[2]

German, French, and English, with proficiency in Hebrew and Greek. At one time she had a Jewish fiance,

Holocaust

Strobos, together with her mother and grandmother, sheltered over 100 Jewish refugees—four or five at a time—at their boarding house at 282 Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, only a ten-minute walk from Anne Frank's house at 263 Prinsengracht, Amsterdam. The refugees stayed on the upper floors and attic of the family's boarding house, where there was also a secret compartment for hiding two or three people.^[3]

She hid an Orthodox Jewish couple with five children, and helped others, including artist Martin Monnickendam (1874–1943)^[4] She carried news and ration stamps to Jews hiding on farms outside the city, as well as radios and firearms for the Dutch resistance. She was seized or questioned nine times by the Gestapo.^[1]

Her grandmother had a radio transmitter hidden in the house which was used to send clandestine messages from the underground to Britain. After the war, she emigrated to the United States.^[5] Strobos said of her grandmother, "She is the only person I know who scared the Gestapo."^[6]

In a 2009 interview Strobos said "It's just the right thing to do. I believe in heroism, and when you're young, you want to do dangerous things." In recent decades, she has spoken out against the torture of terrorists, which she said was ineffective as well as cruel.^[1]

She and her mother, Marie Schotte, were awarded the Righteous Among the Nations Award by Yad Vashem in 1989.^[7]

Tina Strobos died in Rye, New York of cancer, aged 91, on 27 February 2012. She was surrounded by her three children.^[2]

To see more of who died in 2012 click here

Armand Penverne, French football player died he was 85

Armand Penverne was a French international defender and coach. He played the majority of his professional career for the club Stade de Reims winning four French championships and appearing in one European Cup final. After retiring as a player, Penverne severed as coach of Olympique de Marseille from July to December 1962 before becoming the technical director of the local club La Ciotat during the 1963–64 season. On 28 February 2012, he died at the age of 85.^[1]

^{(26 November 1926 – 27 February 2012)} 

Honour

• French championship winner: 1949, 1953, 1955, 1958 (and runner-up 1947 and 1954, in addition three times third and fourth the D1; only 1956 only 10th place for Reims)
• Coupe de France winner: 1950, 1958
• French Supercup (Trophée des Champions) winner: 1955, 1958
• European Cup finalist in 1956
• Latin Cup winner: 1953 (and finalist 1955)
• 39 caps for France, including seven times as captain.
•  

To see more of who died in 2012 click here

Sailen Manna, Indian Olympic footballer died he was , 87

Sailendra Nath Manna , known popularly as Sailen Manna, was an Indian International Footballer and is considered to be one of the best defenders India has ever produced.^[2] He has represented and  Olympics and Asian Games. He also has a record of playing for Mohun Bagan, one of the best clubs in India, for a continuous period of 19 years.^[3] He is the only Asian Footballer ever to be named among the 10 best Captains in the world by the English FA in 1953.^[4]

captained India in different international competitions including

^{(1 September 1924 – 27 February 2012)}

He graduated from the Surendranath College, an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta. He worked for the Geological Survey of India.^[5]

Manna started his playing career for Howrah Union, then a club in the 2nd Division Kolkata Football League, in 1940.^[3][6]After turning out for the club for a couple of seasons, he joined Mohun Bagan in 1942 and continued playing for the club for a period of 19 years, till his retirement in 1960. During this period, he was the Captain of Mohun Bagan from 1950 to 1955.^[3] It is to be noted that during his 19 years career in Mohun Bagan, he reportedly earned only Rs.19^[7] (roughly USD 0.5 based on existing exchange rates). As a defender, he was known for his anticipation, covering and a strong free kick.^[7]

Sailen Manna was a part of the Indian Football Team for the 1948 London Olympics, where Indian lost to France by a margin of 1-2.^[7] Under Manna's captaincy, India won the Gold Medal in the 1951 Asian Games and also won the Quandrangular Tournament for four consecutive years from 1952 to 1956.^[3] In 1953, the England Football Association rated him among the 10 best skippers of the world in its yearbook.^[4] Manna was also the captain of the Indian team in 1952 Olympics^[8] and a member of the 1954 Asian Games.

1. Included in the list of the 10 best Captains of the world by English FA in 1953.^[4]
2. Awarded the Padma Shri in 1971 by the Government of India.^[3]
3. Awarded the "Footballer of the Millennium" by All India Football Federation in 2000.^[9]
4. Awarded "Mohun Bagan Ratna" in 2001.^[10]

After being unwell for quite some time, Manna died at a private hospital in Kolkata on Monday, 27 February 2012. He was 87 years old and was survived by his wife and daughter.^[11]

To see more of who died in 2012 click here

Anders Kulläng, Swedish rally driver, died of drowning while on vacation in Huay Yang, he was 69

Anders Göran Kulläng  was a rally and rallycross driver died of drowning while on vacation in Huay Yang. His biggest success was to win the 1980 Swedish Rally.

(23 September 1943 – 28 February 2012)

Career[edit]

Kulläng began his rallying career in 1962.^[1] He competed in the first ever World Rally Championship round, the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally, in an Opel Ascona. He continued to compete on WRC rounds for Opel until 1981, including winning the 1980 Swedish Rally. During 1981, he became an official driver for Mitsubishi Ralliart.

Kulläng later ran his own rally school in Sweden. His pupils included Colin McRae and Sébastien Loeb.^[2]

WRC victories[edit]

#	Event	Season	Co-driver	Car
1	30th International Swedish Rally	1980	Bruno Berglund	Opel Ascona 400

Death[edit]

On 28 February 2012, Kulläng died of drowning while on vacation in Huay Yang, Thailand.^[3]

To see more of who died in 2012 click here

Vince Dantona, American ventriloquist.died he was 62

Vince Dantona was an American ventriloquist died he was  62

 (April 2, 1949 – February 27, 2012)

Dantona began his comedy career in Okinawa during his time Marine Corps, learning ventriloquism through a correspondence course by practicing in front of a mirror. Before long, Vince purchased a wooden dummy and dubbed him "George."

in the 

Vince began working on Long Island with other performers, including Eddie Murphy, Rob Bartlett, and Bob Nelson at Richard Dixon's White House Inn in North Massapequa, New York.^[1] At first, Vince had wanted to do stand-up, but found he did better with a ventriloquist act; Vince has called George his "safety net", saying, "He gets away with everything. Nobody ever gets mad at him."^[2]

Before finishing the course, he (along with George) hosted a two-hour children's program on Armed Forces television and radio. Vince was also the first $10,000 winner on ABC-TV's America's Funniest People in 1991.^[1][2][3]

Vince toured with the USO, entertaining United States troops. Vince and George appeared on numerous television shows, including Comedy Central, Good Morning America, The Joan Rivers Show, The Joe Franklin Show, and Comedy Tonight. On occasion they opened for Soupy Sales, Henny Youngman, Robert Klein, Tiny Tim, Jay and the Americans, Martina McBride, Judy Collins, Bobby Rydell, Bobby Vinton, Little Anthony and the Imperials, and Boyz II Men.^[3]

Vince regularly performed at such places as Pocono Palace in the Pocono mountains,^[4] Caesar's Resorts,^[5] and The Tropicana in Atlantic City.^[6]

Dantona died on February 27, 2012, at the age of 62.^[7]