AP Obits--3/7
ObitsMan
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Obituaries in the News
Fri Mar 7, 7:17 PM ET
LONDON - Ninian Brodie, the Scottish chief who split his aristocratic clan when
he sold their castle to a conservation group, died Monday. He was 90.
Brodie was chief of clan Brodie and 25th laird, a Scottish dignitary title,
descended from a Scottish nobleman who was granted lands in the Elgin area by
King Malcolm IV in the 12th century.
Born in Brodie Castle near Inverness in eastern Scotland, Brodie inherited the
title after his two older brothers died. Brodie's formal Scottish title was
Brodie of that Ilk.
The Brodie family — whose motto was "Unite'" — lived at Brodie for almost
eight centuries until the 25th laird sold the crumbling castle and more than
170 acres in 1978 to the National Trust for Scotland for $208,000.
Educated at the prestigious Eton College and later at the Webber Douglas
Academy of Dramatic Art, Brodie worked for Scotland's Perth Repertory Theatre.
In 1939, he married the Welsh actress Helena Budgeon.
After World War II, Brodie, who served in the Royal Artillery, returned home to
help his recently widowed mother run the estate until her death.
Brodie, who continued acting, was known locally for reciting risque limericks
and breeding daffodils, as his father had.
Worried that he lacked the resources to keep the dilapidated castle open to the
public, he decided to sell it. After restoration, the castle reopened in 1980.
Sir George Edwards
LONDON (AP) — Sir George Edwards, who designed the four-engined Viscount
turbo-prop airliner and was a leading figure in the development of the
supersonic Concorde, died Monday. He was 94.
In the 1970s, Edwards persuaded politicians and aircraft engineers in both
Britain and France that the Concorde project should go ahead. The plane was a
technical triumph but a commercial disappointment — only 20 were ever built.
Edwards began as an engineer, but developed into a deft salesman and leading
businessman; his skills helped to build the British aircraft industry in the
economically difficult years after World War II.
His turbo-prop engines bridged the gap between piston-engines and pure jet
aircraft.
After a stint in engineering workshops, he joined the design office of aircraft
engine maker Vickers-Armstrongs in 1935. During World War II he was promoted to
the post of experimental works manager.
Edwards designed the Viking, an airliner developed from the Wellington bomber;
the Valetta and the Varsity, which were military versions of the Viking; and
the Viscount and the Valiant, the first of the Royal Air Force's three types of
nuclear bombers.
He was appointed managing director of Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) in 1953,
and of its successor, the British Aircraft Corporation, in 1955.
Edwards was knighted in 1957.
Fred Freiberger
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fred Freiberger, who wrote for such Golden Age of
Television shows as "Zane Grey" and "Fireside Theatre" but was perhaps best
remembered for producing the cult film classic "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms,"
died Sunday. He was 88.
Freiberger's TV writing credits also included "Bonanza," "Have Gun, Will
Travel," "Wanted: Dead or Alive" and "Rawhide."
The New York native, who spent 22 months as a German prisoner of war during
World War II, moved to Hollywood after the war and took a job as a movie
publicist.
He began writing for television in the 1940s and continued well into the 1980s,
working on such shows as "The Big Valley," "Ben Casey," "Starsky and Hutch" and
"The Dukes of Hazzard." He was executive story editor for "Cagney and Lacey" in
the 1980s.
He also produced and wrote for the popular 1960s Western "The Wild, Wild West"
and produced the 1968-69 season of "Star Trek."
One of his first turns as a producer was for the 1953 film "The Beast From
20,000 Fathoms." Based on a Ray Bradbury story, with special effects from
legendary animator Ray Harryhausen, it told the story of a frozen prehistoric
dinosaur that goes on a rampage after it is thawed by a nuclear explosion.
Hannah Zemer
JERUSALEM (AP) — Hannah Zemer, an Israeli journalist who served as the first
female editor of a major Hebrew publication, and hired one of the first female
military correspondents, died Thursday. She was 78.
Zemer moved up the ranks to become editor-in-chief of the Davar daily, which no
longer exists. She filled the post from 1970 to 1990, and is credited with
opening the door to other female journalists in Israel.
Born in Bratislava, Slovakia, Zemer came to Israel in the early 1950s after
losing most of her family in the Holocaust.
Colleagues praised Zemer's influence and what they described as her keen
analytical mind.
Journalist Daniel Bloch, a colleague of Zemer's at Davar, said Zemer helped
advance other female reporters, including hiring the first female military
correspondent.
After resigning from Davar, Zemer lectured on journalism at the Bar Ilan
University. She also sat on the administrative board of a theater company and
the Israeli classical ballet company.
Two months ago Zemer was awarded the Hadassah Women's Organization's award for
outstanding women.
Richard Zoellner
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Nationally recognized artist Richard Zoellner, known
for his New Deal murals, abstract paintings and prints, died Thursday. He was
94.
The retired University of Alabama professor's paintings and sculpture-like
prints were known for their energy and vibrant application of color and
pattern. He served for 33 years on the university's art faculty, retiring in
1978.
A native of Portsmouth, Ohio, Zoellner graduated from the Cincinnati Art
Academy. He studied in New York City and Mexico as a recipient of a Louis
Comfort Tiffany Foundation scholarship.
From 1933 to 1942 he maintained his own studio in Cincinnati and received a
number of public and private commissions as part of the U.S. Treasury Section
of Fine Arts, part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal
administration.
In 1992, at 84, he exhibited 15 critically acclaimed new works of art inspired
by a trip to the Yucatan peninsula and the architecture of its Mayan ruins.