AP Obits--12/27/06
Obitsman
Obituaries in the news
By The Associated Press
Wed Dec 27, 10:53 PM ET
Chris Brown
HOUSTON (AP) ‹ Chris Brown, an All-Star third baseman who played six
seasons in the majors in the 1980s, died Tuesday. He was 45.
Brown died at Memorial Hermann Hospital nearly a month after he was
burned Nov. 30 in a fire at his home outside Houston. An autopsy has
been performed but the cause of death is still pending, said Beverly
Begay, a spokeswoman for the Harris County medical examiner's office.
Authorities say they are investigating the circumstances surrounding the
fire and how Brown was burned. Doug Adolph, a spokesman for the Sugar
Land police and fire departments, said arson is suspected.
Brown who played with Darryl Strawberry at Crenshaw High School in Los
Angeles, played with the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and
Detroit Tigers. He debuted in the majors in 1984 and made the All-Rookie
team in 1985 after batting .271 with 16 home runs and 61 RBIs. Brown
made the NL All-Star team in 1986, when he hit .317 with seven homers
and 49 RBIs for San Francisco.
He underwent shoulder surgery after the '86 season and his statistics
tapered off. The Giants traded Brown during the 1987 season to the
Padres, who dealt him to Detroit the following year. He appeared in only
17 games with the Tigers in 1989 and batted .193 before he was released.
He never returned to baseball.
Brown finished his big league career with a .269 average, 38 home runs
and 184 RBIs.
___
Pierre Delanoe
PARIS (AP) ‹ Pierre Delanoe, who wrote the lyrics for more than 5,000
songs for French artists from Edith Piaf to Johnny Hallyday, died
Wednesday. He was 88.
Delanoe died of heart failure, the French federation of authors,
composers and publishers said. He was known for writing some of France's
best-loved tunes, many with singer-songwriter Gilbert Becaud.
One was "Et maintenant," which was translated into English to become
"What Now My Love," and was covered by artists including Elvis Presley,
Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, The Supremes and The Temptations.
Another of their famous hits was "Je t'appartiens," which became "Let It
Be Me," covered by The Everly Brothers, Tom Jones, Bob Dylan, Willie
Nelson and Nina Simone.
Delanoe also wrote lyrics for the 1960s and 1970s pop singer Joe Dassin,
including "Les Champs-Elysees" about Paris' most famous avenue.
A former tax inspector, Delanoe was also president of France's Sacem,
the federation of artists, composers and publishers, from 1984 et 1994.
___
Ivar Formo
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) ‹ Ivar Formo, a cross-country gold medalist at
the 1976 Winter Olympics, died earlier this week. He was 55.
Formo drowned in a lake in Norway, police said.
He was believed to have fallen through the ice Tuesday while skating on
Lake Sandungen near the Norwegian capital, Oslo police spokeswoman
Catrina Kveseth said.
Formo won the 50K at the 1976 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria, where
he also won a silver medal with Norway in the 4x10K relay.
Formo also won silver and bronze medals at the 1972 Winter Olympics in
Sapporo, Japan.
___
Lord Marmaduke Hussey
LONDON (AP) ‹ Lord Marmaduke Hussey, who spent a decade as chairman of
the BBC, positioning it for the digital era, died Wednesday. He was 83.
His death was announced by the BBC Corp. where he served as the chairman
of its board of directors from 1986-96.
Hussey served with the Grenadier Guards in World War II and lost a leg
in combat in Italy. Afterward, he joined Associated Newspapers, rising
to editor of the Daily Mail.
He later became chief executive of Times Newspapers from 1971 to 1982,
and waged a bitter dispute with print unions about modernizing
technology that kept the company's flagship Times and Sunday Times
papers off the streets for nearly a year.
He became chairman of the BBC after the death of Stuart Young.
___
Ralph Stebbins
ARCADIA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) ‹ Ralph Stebbins, who won a $208 million
Mega Millions lottery jackpot with his wife in April 2005 died Saturday.
He was 43.
Stebbins died at his home in Arcadia Township near Lapeer, Sheriff's
Sgt. Andy Engster told the Times Herald of Port Huron. Family spokesman
Robert Kolt said he suffered a heart attack.
Ralph and his wife, Mary, elected to take a lump-sum payment of $124.7
million, less taxes. They could have chosen to spread $208 million in
payments over 26 years.
The couple used part of their winnings to buy a recreational vehicle and
said they planned to buy a cow, pay off bills and build a garage to
house a 1963 Corvette.
Kolt said he was not aware that Stebbins had a history of heart problems
or that he was feeling ill.
Stebbins had previously worked for a well-digging company in Port Huron,
where the couple formerly lived, while Mary Stebbins was a $7-per-hour
retail sales clerk at a general merchandise store. Both quit their jobs
after winning the jackpot and planned to help several other family
members retire.