Obituaries in the news
Arthur C. Clarke
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Arthur C. Clarke, a visionary science fiction writer who co-wrote "2001: A Space Odyssey" and won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, died Wednesday, an aide said. He was 90.
Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s, died in his adopted home of Sri Lanka after breathing problems, aide Rohan De Silva said.
Co-author with Stanley Kubrick of Kubrick's film "2001: A Space Odyssey," Clarke was regarded as far more than a science fiction writer.
He was credited with the concept of communications satellites in 1945, decades before they became a reality. Geosynchronous orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position relative to the ground, are called Clarke orbits.
Born in Minehead, England, he was the son of a farmer. He worked as a clerk in Her Majesty's Exchequer and Audit Department in London, where he joined the British Interplanetary Society and wrote his first short stories and scientific articles on space travel.
After World War II, Clarke received a bachelor of science degree in physics and mathematics from King's College in London. In the wartime Royal Air Force, he was in charge of a new radar blind-landing system. In a 1945 RAF memo, he wrote about the possibility of using satellites to revolutionize communications -- an idea whose time had decidedly not come.
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Ivan Dixon
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Ivan Dixon, an actor, director and producer best known for his role as Kinchloe in the television series "Hogan's Heroes," died Sunday. He was 76.
Dixon died at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte hospital after suffering a hemorrhage and from complications from kidney failure, said his daughter, Doris Nomathande Dixon of Charlotte.
Dixon began his acting career on Broadway in plays that included "The Cave Dwellers" and "A Raisin in the Sun." On film, he appeared in "Something of Value," "A Raisin in the Sun," "A Patch of Blue," "Nothing But a Man" and the cult favorite, "Car Wash."
But he was probably best known for the role of U.S. Staff Sgt. James Kinchloe on "Hogan's Heroes," a satire set in a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. Kinchloe, in charge of electronic communications, could mimic German officers on the radio or phone.
Dixon also earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the CBS Playhouse special, "The Final War of Olly Winter."
In addition to acting on television, he also directed hundreds of episodic shows, including "The Waltons," "The Rockford Files," "Magnum, P.I." and "In the Heat of the Night."
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Morris Mendelson
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Morris Mendelson, a University of Pennsylvania professor who helped develop a plan to computerize the New York Stock Exchange, died Sunday. He was 85.
Mendelson died of cancer. The death was confirmed by the Joseph Levine & Sons Funeral Home in Broomall.
He and two colleagues formalized a plan in which computer transactions could replace shouting traders and mountains of paper records.
Mendelson -- along with securities consultant Junius Peake and computer finance whiz R.T. Williams Jr. -- presented the plan to the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1975.
Their idea took root in the 1980s, when the stock exchange began to computerize its operations, revolutionizing the industry.
Mendelson later became a consultant to the SEC, the Justice Department and several foreign exchanges.
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Anthony Minghella
LONDON (AP) -- Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella, who turned such literary works as "The English Patient," "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain" into acclaimed movies, died Tuesday of a hemorrhage following surgery. He was 54.
Minghella's publicist, Jonathan Rutter, said the filmmaker died at London's Charing Cross Hospital. Minghella was operated on last week for a growth in his neck, he said.
The 1996 World War II drama "The English Patient" won nine Academy Awards, including best picture, best director for Minghella and best supporting actress for Juliette Binoche. Minghella also was nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay for the movie and for his screenplay for "The Talented Mr. Ripley."
His 2003 "Cold Mountain," based on Charles Frazier's novel about the U.S. Civil War, earned a best supporting actress Oscar for Renee Zellweger.
Minghella also turned his talents to opera. In 2005, he directed a highly successful staging of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" at the English National Opera in London -- choreographed by Minghella's wife, Carolyn Choa. The following year, he staged it for the season opener of New York's Metropolitan Opera. It was the first performance of the Met's new era under general manager Peter Gelb.
Minghella was recently in Botswana filming an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency."
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Bob Purkey
BETHEL PARK, Pa. (AP) -- Bob Purkey, who pitched in three All-Star games and one World Series with the Cincinnati Reds, died Sunday. He was 78.
The death was confirmed by the Paul L. Henney Funeral Home, which did not release a cause of death.
Purkey had a 129-115 record and a 3.79 ERA over 13 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Reds, and St. Louis Cardinals, last appearing in a game in 1966.
He tossed a complete game in the Reds' 3-2 loss to the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the 1961 World Series. He was used in relief later in the series and had an ERA of 1.64 over 11 innings. The Yankees won the title in five games.
Purkey's best season was in 1962, when he went 23-5 with a 2.81 ERA and 18 complete games.
Purkey was 103-76 in 217 starts over seven seasons with Cincinnati (1958-64) and was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 1974.
Purkey was the starting pitcher for the National League in the 1961 All-Star game, opposing Detroit's Jim Bunning, now a U.S. senator from Kentucky.
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Vicki Van Meter
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Vicki Van Meter, who made headlines in the 1990s for piloting a plane across the country at age 11 and from the U.S. to Europe at age 12, died Saturday. She was 26.
Van Meter died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Crawford County coroner said. Her body was found in her Meadville home on Sunday.
Her brother said she battled depression, but her family thought she had been dealing with her problems.
Van Meter was celebrated in 1993 and 1994 when she made her cross-country and trans-Atlantic flights accompanied only by a flight instructor. Her instructors said she was at the controls during the entirety of both trips.
Later she earned a degree in criminal justice from Edinboro University in Pennsylvania and spent two years with the Peace Corps in the former Soviet republic of Moldova. She recently worked as an investigator for an insurance company. Her mother, Corinne Van Meter, said her daughter had begun applying to graduate schools and wanted to study psychology.
Van Meter was a sixth-grader in September 1993 when she flew from Augusta, Maine, to San Diego over five days. At the time, she was believed to be the youngest girl to fly across the United States. That record was broken by a 9-year-old girl in 1994.
Also in 1994, Van Meter flew from Augusta to Glasgow, Scotland, and was credited with being the youngest girl to make a trans-Atlantic flight.
