Actress Lupe Ontiveros dies at 69

A former resident of Fulton, died Thursday of liver cancer in a hospital in Whittier, said his agent, Michael Greenwald. He was 69.

The veteran actress Lupe Ontiveros, Step daughter, born of Mexican immigrants, once estimated that he had acted as a servant more than 150 times during his career.

That is why the actress 4-foot-11 was so happy a decade ago, when director Miguel Arteta approached backstage after a theater show, and said he had a script for consideration.

"He said, 'Look at the Beverly'," Ontiveros recalled in an interview on National Public Radio in 2009. "I said, 'Beverly? You said Beverly? Her name is Beverly? And I said:' I would not care what the script is ready, because his name is Beverly.. Mary Guadalupe Conchita Esperanza was not the stereotype of America. "

Ontiveros role as employer mince words home theater in the 2000 movie "Chuck & Buck," said a part was written for a white actress, was a turning point moment.

His best known roles are former fan club that kills pop star Selena and her mother joined in the tradition of the 2002 film "Real Women Have Curves."

"Lupe Ontiveros was a gift," said actor Edward James Olmos, The Times on Friday. "He was part of the evolutionary process of Latin American art form of narrative in the last 30 years or more. It was one of the true pioneers of the art movement in Latin American theater, film and television."

Ontiveros Olmos has appeared with the original Los Angeles production in 1978 by Luis Valdez, "Zoot Suit", which played the mother. He has participated on Broadway in 1979 and played in the 1981 version of the film.

"Selena," starring Jennifer Lopez in the lead role, also featured Olmos.

"His performance was really exciting, because the truth that she was portrayed," he said. As Selena killer, "was so compelling and did an amazing job that the people were angry with her when she walked the streets."

For her role as Carmen Garcia, criticism of the East Los Angeles mother, who prefers to give his daughter to a young and ambitious university to meet with his work in a garment factory in "Real Women Have Curves" , Ontiveros shared a Special Jury Prize for dramatic performance at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival with co-star America Ferrera.

The film also won the audience award at the festival, "spoke to people because of their honesty," Ontiveros said the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2002. "No matter that it was the Romans because it was really all."

In his review of "Real Women Have Curves," Kevin wrote The Times' Thomas: "This is a wonderful role for an actress of ability and stature of Ontiveros, the heat is crucial in maintaining the Carmen innate humanity.

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Neil Reed Dies at 36

The cause was heart complications, said Shanda Herrera, director of Pioneer High School Santa Maria Valley, where Reed had worked since 2007, training of coaches football, basketball, golf and physical education.

Neil Reed, the former Indiana basketball, which was captured on tape choking coach Bob Knight in 1997, resulting in sanctions against Knight and strengthen its reputation as an evil genius, died Thursday after harvesting the pig house in Nipomo, California He was 36.

In March 2000, Reed accused Knight drowned in 1997 during a practice.

When the video of the practice of relying on the backup flotation Reed, Knight, Hall of Fame coach who was known for his tantrums as his success, was put on notice for zero tolerance, Dr. Myles Brand, then president university.

That September, Knight was fired after a student said he grabbed her arm.

Reed moved to southern Mississippi, shortly after the incident of choking and played there in the 1998-99 season.

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Painter Karl Benjamin dies at 86

Karl Benjamin, a painter of geometric abstractions beam that has established a national reputation in 1959 as one of four in Los Angeles, abstract classical and create a recognized body of work that celebrates the glories of color in all its variants, has died. He was 86 years.

Benjamin died Thursday of congestive heart failure at home in Claremont, said his daughter, Beth Marie Benjamin.

His work was exhibited last year in "Benjamin Karl and the evolution of abstraction, 1950-1980" at Galerie Louis Stern Fine Arts in West Hollywood, as part

Benjamin was a former resident of Claremont and a vital part of the university city of the arts community. After retiring from 20 years of teaching career in elementary and secondary public schools, he was professor and artist in residence at Pomona College 1979-1994 and has taught at Claremont Graduate University. For most of these years, he also pursued a lifelong interest in the orchestration of complex arrangements of color on the canvas.

Working with a full palette and vocabulary of stripes, squares, triangles, circles, rings and irregular shapes are created well balanced compositions that seem to glow, vibrate or explode in space.

His work became fashionable in the 1970 and '80, but made a comeback in recent years his pictures, when suddenly seemed fresh young artists and intelligent critics and curators.

"I can not think of any other artist's paintings radiate the joy and pleasure of being an artist with more intensity than Karl Benjamin, or any other artist's long teaching career is not out of any failure of cynicism in their practice," critical Dave Hickey wrote in the catalog of a 2007 survey of paintings by Benjamin Louis Stern Fine Arts. "It was always the kid in a candy store, the man with the rock in his pocket to draw, showing and exclaimed: 'Hey, check it out." "

Times art critic Christopher Knight, has praised the Claremont Museum of Art for "the right choice for its inaugural exhibition" in its review of a study of 42 years of work by the artist, the 2007. "Benjamin emerges as a colorist of great intelligence and ingenuity," he wrote.

Born December 29, 1925, in Chicago, Benjamin began his undergraduate studies at Northwestern University in 1943, but left that year to enlist in theU.S. Navy.

At the end of his military service in 1946, moved to California and resumed his studies in what is now the University of Redlands.

Three years later, he graduated, he married Beverly Jean Paschke and taught at an elementary school in San Bernardino County city of Bloomington. After two years he moved to a place of teaching Chinese in public schools. He and his young family moved to Claremont in 1952.

Benjamin's career began in 1951 when he was asked to add a component of the curriculum of his art students. Initially working with cakes, was fascinated with the color options and understand the effect of putting one color next to one. Color, in itself, soon became their object.

At home, he began experimenting with oils and eventually took classes at the Claremont Graduate School (now Claremont Graduate University), obtaining a master's degree in 1960. He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1983 and 1989.

In a 1986 essay, Benjamin writes: "I am an intuitive painter, everything looks clean and my paintings, and are fascinated by the infinite range of expression inherent in the relationships of color." Although often create a structure based on levels of numerical progressions, sequences or modular buildings at random, came up with surprising results.

He has shown his work in 1954 at the Pasadena Art Museum in 1958 and the Long Beach Museum of Art, but shot to fame in 1959-60 with the "Four abstract classicists." The reference sample, even with the work values ??Feitelson, Frederick Hammersley and John McLaughlin - giving fresh LA artists, hard-edge abstractions as an alternative to abstract emotional relationship of the east coast. After appearing in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the show in London and Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Benjamin then showed his work and has been widely displayed in museums as important as "geometric abstractions in the United States" in the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York in 1962, issues 30 and 35 of the "Biennial of Painting American "in the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC, in 1967 and 1977, and" Painting and Sculpture in California: The Modern Era "at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the National Collection of Fine Arts in Washington, DC in 1976.

Cal State Northridge has organized an exhibition of his work in 1989, and Pomona College, presents a retrospective in 1994, when he became professor emeritus. Benjamin has played a leading role in "Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design and Culture in the middle of the century," a traveling exhibition organized by the 2007-09 National Art Museum of Orange County

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Philanthropist Dennis Avery dies at 71

Dennis Avery, who used part of a family fortune to fund philanthropic efforts worldwide and the Artistic Committee of replicas of prehistoric animals of an original sculpture garden in the desert of Borrego Springs, died. He was 71 years.

Avery died Monday at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego. No cause of death was given.

Avery was an heir to the fortune of Avery Dennison Corp., which launched what is considered the first commercially viable marketing of self-adhesive, removable labels, the type of supplies are now essential for offices, schools and domestic use .

His father, R. Stanton Avery, a classic rags to riches success story American, founded the company in 1935 after a $ 100 loan to build a machine for making labels for spare parts.

When he died in 1997 at 90 years, his company based in Pasadena, which had merged in 1990 with Dennison Manufacturing in Framingham, Massachusetts, has 16,000 employees and annual sales of U.S. $ 3.2 billion.

Dennis Avery was born in Los Angeles October 23, 1940. After graduating from Cambridge University in England, graduating in law from California Western School of Law in San Diego, where he served as associate dean in 1980.

In 1970 he worked for the prosecutor's office of the City of San Diego and was one of the earliest advocates of consumer fraud.

His colleagues remember him as passionate about protecting consumers and not only interested in living their inherited wealth.

"He loved the law and his Harley Davidson motorcycle," said John Kaheny, who also worked in the office.

Avery and his wife lived for years in Borrego Springs, drawn from the open space and small town atmosphere of 90 miles of San Diego community.

With the eyes of his father for a good deal, Avery buy land where prices have plummeted because of the savings and loan debacle of 1980 and '90.

Although he chose not to follow his father into the business world, has followed his example of the use of wealth on behalf of public education, artistic and otherwise.

His father was a protector of what we might call the artistic creation of Southern California: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Huntington Library, Art Collections and the Arts Council of Los Angeles County Music Center, among others.

Artistic interest of the child leaned toward the more populist and unusual. The artwork he bought and set up was not in museums, but open to what he calls the Cookie Meadows estate in Borrego Springs.

Since he was owner of the property through Borrego Springs, sculptures dot the landscape of almost every corner. It soon became a tourist attraction, with great joy Avery.

Although it was a serious student of prehistory, has ignored the criticism that some of the creatures do not seem to comply with what scientists think they seemed.

For Avery, art should be both educational and entertaining. Sometimes delighted visitors to the garden of sculptures, giving his interpretation of the sounds produced by prehistoric animals.

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President of Ghana John Atta Mills dies at 68

The president of Ghana, John Atta Mills, who promised that the oil reserves of the country used for the good of the people, died Tuesday shortly after you get sick, officials said.

Mills, who turned 68 on Saturday, had planned to apply for a second term as president in December.

According to reports from Ghana, Mills complained of pain on Monday and Tuesday has died in a military hospital in the capital, Accra.

No details were given, but was told he suffered from throat cancer.

Vice President John Dramani Mahamat, who was sworn in as president after Mills is now dead, said the country was "devastated" by death.

The people shouted in the streets of Accra, to know the news, the Associated Press.

Ghana, which has experienced strong growth in recent years, is seen as a beacon of democracy in West Africa.

Main export is cocoa in Ghana, but the country has started oil production two years ago.

President Obama has visited in 2009, six months after Mills took office.

When Obama has received the Oval Office in March, the President praised 'record' Mills as a leader.

Mills's predecessor, John Kufuor, has submitted his resignation after two presidential terms. Mills had run twice unsuccessfully for president against Kufuor first to capture power in 2008 after a vote that was the closest in history. Mills ran on a platform of change.

Born in 1944 in western Ghana, Mills had a degree in Law from the University of Ghana.

He received his doctorate from the London School of Oriental and African Studies before studying at Stanford University, Fulbright scholar.

Mills has been teaching at the University of Ghana for many years before entering politics. He also served as vice president of the military leader of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, 1997 and 2001.

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US swimmer Ann Curtis dies at 86

Ann Curtis , the swimmer from San Francisco, which has been denied the chance to win two gold medals in the Olympics due to World War II, died June 26 at home in San Rafael. He was 86 years.

Curtis died June 26 at home in San Rafael, north of San Francisco, ofAlzheimer complications from Alzheimer's, said his daughter Carrie Cuneo.

Born in San Francisco who was trained by the famous swimming coach Charlie Sava, Curtis has established a record by winning 34 championships in Amateur Athletic Union national during his career 1943-1948.

"The world has never seen a girl like that swimmer," said Sava, the 1943 national championship in Indianapolis.

In 1944, the swimmer 5-foot-10, of 160 pounds became the first woman and the first swimmer to receive the James E. Sullivan, which is delivered by the outstanding amateur athlete in the country.

Curtis, who was enrolled as a freshman at UC Berkeley this year, was also named female athlete of the year by an Associated Press poll of sports editors in the country.

Because the Olympics were suspended during World War II, he was able to compete in 1944.

At the time the Games were resumed in London in 1948, Curtis had broken numerous world and national records.

In the 100 meters freestyle, the player 22 years old, slipped a little, "as he plunged into the water and won a silver medal that came from two tenths of a second behind the winner.

However, Curtis established an Olympic record and won the gold medal in the 400 meters freestyle. He won his second gold medal in a swimming installed coming from behind victory over the U.S. 4 x 100 meters freestyle.

Back in San Francisco, Curtis and his Olympic teammates were given a triumphal parade for Market Street.

"It was always exciting!" recalled in an interview in 2008 with the San Francisco Chronicle. "I was lucky to resume the game at a time when I was competing. There were very good swimmers before my time, and it was too late for them."

During its heyday, 1940, Curtis has appeared on the cover of Collier, Newsweek and other national magazines. It also rejected an offer from MGM.

"He was very modest, and dodged any praise," said his daughter. "If someone was to congratulate her swimming, she said:" I had a great coach. ""

Born in San Francisco March 6, 1926, Curtis will be taught to swim in a boarding Ursulines nuns in Santa Rosa and began swimming competitively at age 11.

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Star of TV's 'The Jeffersons' Sherman Hemsley dies at 74

Sherman Hemsley, who was rooted in the minds of millions of viewers as the next boom black Archie Bunker, George Jefferson in "All in the Family" and then as the star of the comedy LP "The Jefferson" has died. He was 74.

The actor, who owned a house in El Paso, was found dead Tuesday by the Sheriff's Department Pas, his agent, Frank Todd, told the Times. No cause of death was given.

Hemsley time in relative obscurity as an actor in New York for the first time celebrity in 1973 when producer Norman Lear chose to "All in the Family", the controversial comedy starring Carroll O'Connor as the patriarch fan a working class family in Queens.


Like George Jefferson, Hemsley was a burr in the side of Archie, who loved to annoy your neighbors of their prejudices. It appeared in the hit program from 1973 until 1975, when he left to star in the spin-off of The Jefferson Lear Sanford "Elizabeth, who played his wife, Louise.

"The Jefferson" ran for 11 seasons on CBS, so Hemsley one of the most viewed black actors of the environment.

"Sherman was one of the most generous co-stars I've worked," said Marla Gibbs, who played the smart-mouth cleaning Jefferson ", Florence Johnston." He made me so happy that I to win, and I did the same for him. I miss him deeply. "

In 1970, Lear was looking for talents to Broadway when he saw Hemsley, who was playing the role of Gitlow in "Purlie," a musical set in the segregated South. Hemsley audition for the producer the next day, but was not hired.

George Jefferson, quoted in "All in the Family" as Edith Bunker's husband, friend, Louise Jefferson (played by Sanford), but does not appear until 1973, when Lear finally brought the show Hemsley.

"The energy of the man believed he was totally in sync with the image we have created behind the scenes of George," said Lear Albany Times Union in 1999.

When George Jefferson returned a small dry cleaning in a string of successes, moved from Queens to the Manhattan luxury skyscraper to another. His entry into the ranks of the nouveau riche, provided the starting point for "The Jefferson".

"I loved the character, because he knew that people like," Hemsley said in an interview with George Jefferson in 2003 for the Archive of American Television.

Hemsley was born February 1, 1938, in Philadelphia and grew up along the drive south of the city. He was raised by a single mother who worked long hours in a factory.

In his teens he joined a gang and became a "High School begins." After leaving school he worked for four years, the Air Force in Japan and Korea, before returning to his hometown, where he worked as a mail sorter in a post office.

His day job has allowed him to pursue a childhood dream of acting, which was caused by her portrayal of a fire in a school of design for fire prevention week.

"I was at home on stage immediately clear that he brings up and threw water on the floor and rolled said..! Frustrated again," he told the Associated Press 1986.

In Philadelphia, he joined a theater company where he gained experience in a variety of roles, including the son of Willy Loman, Happy in "Death of a Salesman" Archibald and Jean Genet "blacks".

In 1967, he moved to a post office in New York, trying to act to work in their spare time. He joined the Advanced performance workshops Negro Ensemble Company and studied with Lloyd Richards, who directed Lorraine Hansberry "A Raisin in the Sun" on Broadway.

His career in television through four decades, with appearances on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Family Matters".

In late 1990, he began dividing his time between Los Angeles and El Paso. Information about survivors was not immediately available.

After "The Jefferson" was canceled in 1985, he played Ernest Frye, a deacon of the church Saint-that-you and a lawyer in the sitcom "Amen", which worked on NBC 1986-1991.

He expressed the character B.P. Richfield in "Dinosaurs," a comedy about a family of puppet animals domesticated by prehistoric aired on ABC from 1991 to 1994. From 1996 to 1997 he starred in the short-lived UPN series "Goode Behavior", the former fascinating game with Willie Goode.

None of these characters had the appeal of George Jefferson. Years after the program ended, fans Hemsley often asked him to rebuild the famous George amount of the opening credits of the show. Hemsley, said he was inspired Slopes Philadelphia, a dance that he learned as a child in Philadelphia.

But he insisted that in most other ways, he and his character was very different. "I do not close the doors in the faces of people, and I'm not a fanatic," he told USA Today in 1999. "I'm just an old hippie. You know, peace and love."

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