Deaths (Obituaries)

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      in Music

      JD Souther, Who Wrote Hits for the Eagles, Dies at 78

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      JD Souther, who crafted many of the biggest hits to come out of the Southern California country-rock scene of the 1970s, including for the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor, and who later played a wizened music industry veteran — in other words, a version of himself — on the hit television show “Nashville,” died on Tuesday at his home in Sandia Park, N.M., in the hills east of Albuquerque. He was 78.His death was announced on his website. A cause was not provided.Beginning in the late 1960s, Mr. Souther was part of a coterie of musicians around Los Angeles who found themselves circling the same sort of peaceful, easy, country-inflected rock sound. They played at the same venues — among them the Troubadour, the famous West Hollywood nightclub — and lived and partied in the same canyons in the Hollywood Hills.Mr. Souther played with or wrote for most of them. Though he was brought up on jazz and classical music, he easily mastered the country-rock vernacular on songs like “Faithless Love” and “White Rhythm and Blues,” for Ms. Ronstadt; “The Heart of the Matter,” which he wrote with Don Henley; and “Her Town Too,” a collaboration with Mr. Taylor that they sang as a duet.He also played a central role in the formation of the Eagles, encouraging Ms. Ronstadt, his girlfriend at the time, to hire his friend Glenn Frey as part of her backup band. After Mr. Henley joined, he and Mr. Frey decided to form their own group, along with two other members of Ms. Ronstadt’s ensemble, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner.Mr. Souther, third from left, onstage with the Eagles in San Diego in 1979. With him are, from left, Joe Vitale, Timothy B. Schmit, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Don Felder.George Rose/Getty ImagesMr. Souther was almost the fifth Eagle: He joined the quartet for an afternoon tryout at the Troubadour, but he decided that the band was already perfect, and that he’d rather write for them.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Television

      Valarie D’Elia, Travel Reporter on TV and Radio, Dies at 64

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      She steered vacationers and business travelers to choice destinations, talked about the best deals, and offered up savvy tips on how to avoid vexation.Valarie D’Elia, a travel reporter who visited 102 countries on all seven continents to advise her viewers and listeners on where to go, how to get there, what the best bargains were and what to pack, died on Sept. 10 in Manhattan. She was 64.The death, in a hospital, was caused by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the degenerative neurological disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, her husband, Ron Cucos, said.From 1998 to 2017, Ms. D’Elia appeared regularly in a segment called “Travel With Val” on the local cable TV station now known as Spectrum News NY1. She also hosted a syndicated radio program, “The Travel Show,” and wrote a blog, which included the trademark feature “D’Elia’s Deals.” (Her personal mantra was “Travel with VALue.”)Her viewers, listeners and readers might learn that ski resorts in the Canadian Rockies were opening in early November that year because of snow storms; that a hotel near London was offering complimentary honeymoon accommodations to couples who got married there; or that rare winter discounts were available at a resort in the Florida Keys timed to school vacations the first week of January in several Southern states.Her advice was coveted. (Her favorite was “Pack light, forget the blow-dryer — who wants to worry about all that stuff?”) Her wanderlust was celebrated. Her documentary “The Making of a Maestro: From Castelfranco to Carnegie Hall,” the story of the conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, won first place in the North American Travel Journalists Association’s competition for travel videos in 2018.From 1998 to 2017, Ms. D’Elia appeared regularly in a segment called “Travel With Val” on the cable channel now known as Spectrum News NY1.NY1We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      R. Peter Munves, Master Marketer of Classical Music, Dies at 97

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      As an executive at Columbia and RCA Records, he popularized the classics for mass audiences by applying the same techniques used to sell pop music.R. Peter Munves, a record company executive who revolutionized the marketing of classical music, died on Aug. 19 in Glen Cove, N.Y. He was 97.His death, in a nursing home, was confirmed by his son Ben.Mr. Munves carved out a moneymaking niche in what for much of its history has been a low-margin, struggling industry, selling classical music to mass audiences by applying the techniques of pop music marketing.In the 1960s, while at Columbia Records, he created a series called “Classical Greatest Hits” that packaged bits of Brahms, Mozart, Bach and other composers onto single LPs. In 1968 he signed the electronic musician Wendy Carlos to record “Switched-On Bach” — pieces by Bach on the Moog synthesizer.Both ideas were big hits, commercially if not with the critics. Time magazine reported in a 1971 profile of Mr. Munves that the “Greatest Hits” series “scored a solid bull’s-eye in the market and rang up $1,000,000” in revenues. The “Switched-On Bach” album, Time said, was Columbia’s “all-time best classical seller.”In 1968, Mr. Munves signed the electronic musician Wendy Carlos to record an album of Bach compositions on the Moog synthesizer. It was said to be Columbia’s best-selling classical album of all time.Columbia/CBSIn 1981 Mr. Munves produced an album that compiled 222 well-known themes from classical music. One critic called it a “marketing masterpiece.”Columbia/CBSMr. Munves went on to produce an album called “Themefinder” — a compilation of 222 well-known themes from classical music that the New York Times music critic Edward Rothstein called a “marketing masterpiece” upon its release in 1981, adding that Mr. Munves was “an inspired producer.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Herbie Flowers, ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ Bassist, Dies at 86

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      A celebrated session musician who appeared on a host of classic rock albums, he made his most lasting mark with his contribution to Lou Reed’s most famous song.Herbie Flowers, a prolific British session musician who rode a handful of notes to rock immortality with his indelible bass line on Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” — just one of the many landmark recordings on which he supported a constellation of rock stars — died on Sept. 5. He was 86.Family members announced his death on social media. The family did not say where he died or cite a cause.Mr. Flowers, a bassist who also occasionally played tuba, began his career as a session musician in the late 1960s. He carved out his sliver of rock glory by playing on more than 500 hit albums by the end of the 1970s, according to the BBC.The classic albums Mr. Flowers played on could have filled a dorm room shelf in the 1970s and ’80s. Among them were Elton John’s “Madman Across the Water” and Harry Nilsson’s “Nilsson Schmilsson,” both from 1971; Cat Stevens’s “Foreigner” (1973); and David Bowie’s “Diamond Dogs” (1974).He joined forces with three-quarters of rock’s equivalent of the royal family, recording with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. He also recorded with Dusty Springfield, Serge Gainsbourg and David Essex, whom he joined on the sinewy 1973 hit “Rock On.”Despite his proximity to fame, Mr. Flowers described himself as little more than a hired hand.As a studio musician, he once told Bass Player magazine, “they play you the song or sling you a chord chart, and you come up with what you think are fancy bass lines.” You “get your job done as quickly as you can,” he added, “and as soon as they say ‘Thanks very much,’ get the hell out of there.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Screamin’ Scott Simon, Longtime Sha Na Na Keyboardist, Dies at 75

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      A mainstay of the rock ’n’ roll nostalgia band, he also wrote the lyrics to “Sandy,” a song heard in the hit film “Grease.”Screamin’ Scott Simon, who as the dynamic keyboardist for the rock ’n’ roll revival act Sha Na Na regularly paid homage to Jerry Lee Lewis with electrifying versions of “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” — and who also played a vital behind-the-scenes role as the band’s managing partner — died on Sept. 5 in Ojai, Calif. He was 75.His daughter Nina Simon said he died of sinus cancer while in hospice care.Mr. Simon joined Sha Na Na in 1970, a year after the group was formed, and stayed until the group’s final performance, shortly before the coronavirus lockdown in 2020.As both a pianist and a singer, he brought his own theatricality to a group dedicated to turning doo-wop and early rock ’n’ roll songs into dramatic versions of the originals.Wearing brightly colored shirts festooned with images of piano keys and musical notes, he played the piano on “Great Balls of Fire” partly from his knees, sometimes from his bench and occasionally with his feet. He sang the Bobby Darin hit “Splish Splash” in a bathtub, wearing a sleeveless T-shirt, boxer shorts and a towel while plinking a toy piano.Mr. Simon (standing, second from left) with the other members of Sha Na Na in an undated publicity photo. He joined the band in 1970 and remained for 50 years.via PhotofestDuring the group’s accelerated version of Danny and the Juniors’ “At the Hop,” he never stopped jumping or doing the twist as he sang.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Movies

      Bob Weatherwax, Trainer of Lassie and Other Celebrity Dogs, Dies at 83

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      Like his father, who taught him the interdisciplinary roles needed for the job, he bred and coached the collies who played the heroic star of television and movies.Bob Weatherwax, a Hollywood dog trainer who carried on his father’s legacy of breeding and coaching collies to play Lassie, the resourceful and heroic canine who crossed flooded rivers, faced down bears and leaped into the hearts of countless children, died on Aug. 15 in Scranton, Pa. He was 83.His family said his death, at a Department of Veterans Affairs facility, was caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Mr. Weatherwax took over as Lassie’s primary trainer in 1985 after the death of his father, Rudd Weatherwax, whose collie Pal starred alongside Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowall in the hit 1943 film “Lassie Come Home,” as well as several other movies and the “Lassie” television show, seen on CBS and in syndication from 1954 to 1973.As his father’s apprentice, Mr. Weatherwax learned the interdisciplinary roles — talent agent, pooch geneticist and acting coach — that were necessary for managing the Lassie brand.Treating Lassie, a rough collie, as a genuine Hollywood star was a high priority. That standard was originally set by Louis B. Mayer, a founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the studio that released “Lassie Come Home.” After the film’s premiere, Mr. Mayer called his friend Howard Hughes, who owned Trans World Airlines, to request that Lassie be permitted to fly with passengers, not in the cargo section. Lassie flew in first class.Mr. Weatherwax embraced his talent-manager role. He also embraced the perks of traveling with a celebrity.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Frankie Beverly, Frontman of the Soul Group Maze, Is Dead at 77

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      A consistent hitmaker on the R&B charts for almost 50 years, he had announced just this year that he would be retiring.Frankie Beverly, the lead singer and songwriter of the soul and funk band Maze, whose songs, including “Golden Time of Day,” “Joy and Pain” and “Happy Feelin’s,” provided the soundtrack to countless summer cookouts and family reunions for more than five decades, died on Tuesday. He was 77.His death was announced in a statement by his family on his Instagram account. The statement did not say where he died or cite a cause.“He lived his life with pure soul, as one would say, and for us, no one did it better,” the statement said. “He lived for his music, family and friends.”Mr. Beverly had announced a farewell tour this year with a handful of dates. He had said that he would retire after going on the road one last time.Mr. Beverly with Maze in 2023. He announced this year that he would retire after a brief tour.Gary Miller/Getty Images“Thank you so much for the support given to me for over 50 years as I pass on the lead vocalist torch to Tony Lindsay,” Mr. Beverly said in a statement to Billboard at the time. “The band will continue on as Maze Honoring Frankie Beverly. It’s been a great ride through the decades. Let the music of my legacy continue.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Movies

      Edward Johnson, C.I.A. Hero in Iran Hostage Crisis, Dies at 81

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      He was a secret partner who helped rescue six American diplomats in 1980 by passing them off as a film crew. The caper inspired the movie “Argo.”Edward B. Johnson, who as an anonymous C.I.A. officer in 1980 helped rescue six American diplomats during the Iran hostage crisis by casting them as a Hollywood crew scouting a Mideast location — an audacious escape that itself became grist for an Oscar-winning movie — died on Aug. 27 at his home in Fairfax, Va. He was 81.The cause was complications of pneumonia, his son Harold said.Documents detailing the Iran rescue were declassified by the Central Intelligence Agency in 1997, and another C.I.A. officer, Antonio J. Mendez, who had masterminded the scheme and recruited Mr. Johnson, wrote a book about the episode, “The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the C.I.A.” (1999).The caper became the basis of “Argo,” a film directed by and starring Ben Affleck (as Mr. Mendez), which won the 2013 Academy Award for best picture.Mr. Mendez died in 2019 without ever revealing his colleague’s name. Mr. Johnson was identified in the book only by his cover name, Julio, and wasn’t referenced in the film at all. And even at C.I.A. headquarters in Langley, Va., in a painting depicting the two C.I.A. officers forging visas for the diplomats, Mr. Johnson remained faceless, seen from behind.“Argo: Rescue of the Canadian Six,” a 2012 oil painting on canvas by a C.I.A. artist, Deborah Dismuke. It depicts the C.I.A. officers Antonio Mendez, top, and Mr. Johnson forging fake visas for six American diplomats who were trapped in Tehran during the hostage crisis in Iran. Mr. Johnson’s role in the escapade was not disclosed publicly until last year.Deborah Dismuke/C.I.A, via Associated PressNot until a year ago, in the season finale of “The Langley Files,” an official agency podcast, was Mr. Johnson’s pivotal role revealed publicly.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More