Obituary News

Bruce Conner San Francisco Artist with 1950s Beat Roots Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
July 10, 2008

Bruce Conner, an artist internationally admired for his haunting, surrealistic sculptures and groundbreaking avant-garde films, died on Monday at his home in San Francisco. He was 74.

A key figure in the San Francisco Beat scene in the late 1950s, Mr. Conner first became known for his assemblages made from women's nylon stockings, parts of furniture, broken dolls, fur, costume jewelry, paint, photographs and candles. These works, created between 1957 and 1964, had the aggressive appearance of avant-garde sculpture but ...

Continue Reading

Appreciation of L.A. Weekly Co-Founder Pete Kameron

Source: All About Jazz
July 8, 2008

Goodnight Pete: An Appreciation of LA Weekly co-founder Pete Kameron

Former publisher Michael Sigman remembers tough love, Zen calm and a nice assist with forming the paper's “no-hitting" policy. Without Pete Kameron, LA Weekly probably wouldn't exist. And instead of spending 19 years at the paper, I might not have lasted three months. Over the course of a colorful 65-year career, Pete was involved in nearly every aspect of the entertainment business, including personal management (Modern Jazz Quartet with partner ...

Continue Reading

Pete Kameron L.A. Weekly Co-Founder Dies

Source: All About Jazz
July 8, 2008

Pete Kameron Co-founder of LA Weekly

Pete Kameron, 87, who helped found Track Records, the recording label of the British rock group the Who, and later co-founded LA Weekly, died June 29 at his home in Beverly Hills. The cause was cancer, according to Michael Sigman, a friend and former LA Weekly publisher. Kameron was a personal manager for a variety of popular musicians in the 1950s and '60s, including the Modern Jazz Quartet and folk group the Weavers. He ...

Continue Reading

Natasha Shneider Rock Musician Dies

Source: All About Jazz
July 5, 2008

Rock musician Natasha Shneider dies of cancer

Moscow native, singer/songwriter Natasha Shneider, who collaborated with former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell and rock band Queens of the Stone Age, died Tuesday of cancer.

Shneider, her husband Alain Johannes and Jack Irons formed the rock band Eleven in 1990 following the latter's departure from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It released five albums, the best known of which was a 1993 self-titled affair for Disney's Hollywood Records. A celebration of Natasha Shneider ...

Continue Reading

Angel Tavira Maldonado Violinist Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
July 5, 2008

Don Angel Tavira Maldonado, 83; violinist, actor, promoted son calentano music

Maldonado, a Mexican regional musician whose stirring debut acting performance in “El Violin" ("The Violin") moved audiences and won critical acclaim, including a best actor award at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, died Monday in a Mexico City hospital. He was 83. He died of kidney problems, a representative of the company that co-produced “El Violin" told the Associated Press. A violinist and composer of son calentano, a spry, ...

Continue Reading

Bozo Passes Away

Source: Michael Ricci
July 4, 2008

Larry Harmon, 83; entrepreneur made Bozo the Clown a star

Larry Harmon, the entrepreneur who brought Bozo the Clown to television as a children's show host in the late 1950s and spent the next 50 years promoting the flame-haired circus character, died Thursday. He was 83. Harmon, who suffered from heart disease, died at his home in Los Angeles, said his wife, Susan. “Bozo and Larry were one and the same," she told The Times on Thursday. “He's lived it ...

Continue Reading

Edgar Vincent Represented Leading Opera Singers

Source: Michael Ricci
July 1, 2008

Edgar Vincent, 90; publicist represented top-tier opera singers and conductors

Publicist and artists manager Edgar Vincent, who represented tenor Plcido Domingo, soprano Beverly Sills and dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov amid a host of A-list singers, conductors and instrumentalists, died Thursday at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. He was 90. Vincent died of a blood clot while recovering from hip replacement surgery, according to his longtime professional partner, Patrick Farrell. “There are no words to express the personal loss I feel, ...

Continue Reading

Daihachi Oguchi Ambassador of Japan's Taiko Drums to America

Source: Michael Ricci
July 1, 2008

Daihachi Oguchi, 84; drummer led spread of 'taiko' style in U.S. and Japan

Daihachi Oguchi, the Japanese master drummer who led the spread of the art of “taiko" drumming to the U.S. and throughout Japan, has died after being hit by a car in Tokyo, an official at his ensemble said. He was 84. Oguchi was crossing a street when he was struck by a car Thursday. He was rushed to a hospital but died of excessive bleeding early Friday, ...

Continue Reading