PASSINGS

The Rev. Robert J. Cornell

Priest served in Congress

The Rev. Robert J. Cornell, 89, a Wisconsin Democrat who was one of only two Roman Catholic priests to serve as voting members of Congress, died Sunday at St. Norbert Abbey in De Pere, Wis.

A Norbertine priest, Cornell served two terms in the House of Representatives from Wisconsin’s 8th District. A Democrat, he was defeated for reelection in 1978. His plans to run again in 1980 ended when Pope John Paul II issued a ban on priests serving in elective office. The ban also ended the career of the Rev. Robert J. Drinan, a Massachusetts Democrat who served five terms in Congress.

In Congress, Cornell served on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the Education and Labor Committee. He worked to reform the welfare system and to provide additional benefits for veterans of the Vietnam War.

Cornell was born Dec. 16, 1919 in Gladstone, Mich. He earned his bachelor’s degree at St. Norbert College in De Pere and a master’s and doctorate at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He was ordained a priest in 1944.

After teaching at the high school level, Cornell became a history professor and dean of students at St. Norbert College. His writings include “The Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902,” a book that focused on President Theodore Roosevelt’s role in the historic labor action.

Last year, Wisconsin’s Green Bay Press-Gazette noted that Cornell was also a rock music promoter during his early years at St. Norbert College, bringing in talent for dances at the school. He also arranged big band concerts in Green Bay.

Julio Mazzei

Soccer coach for N.Y. Cosmos

Julio Mazzei, 78, who helped persuade soccer great Pelé to play in the United States and later coached the New York Cosmos, died Sunday at a clinic in Santos, Brazil, after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Pelé, a longtime friend, has always said Mazzei, who worked in Pelé’s sports marketing office in New York, was influential in his decision to join the Cosmos from 1975 to 1977.

A renowned physical trainer in his native Brazil, Mazzei was the Cosmos’ coach in 1979 and ’80 and again in 1982 and ‘83, leading the 1982 team that featured Giorgio Chinaglia to its fourth North American Soccer League title in six years. The league folded in 1984.

Mazzei was born in Guaicara, near the capital of Sao Paulo, in 1930. An injury ended his soccer career when he was 18, so he studied physical education, earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of Sao Paulo. He later took graduate courses at Michigan State University and wrote several books on physical fitness and soccer.

Mark Landon

Actor, son of Michael Landon

Mark Landon, 60, an actor and eldest son of “Little House on the Prairie” star Michael Landon, was found dead Monday at his home in West Hollywood. The cause of death was not immediately clear, but there was no evidence of foul play, said Sgt. David Infante of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Mark Landon, among Michael Landon’s nine children, appeared in three movies, including “Us” -- a CBS television movie written and directed by his father in 1991 just before he died of cancer at age 54. The film was a pilot intended to be another series for Michael Landon. It aired a few months after his death.

Michael Landon adopted Mark Landon after marrying his mother, Dodie Levy-Fraser, in 1956.

-- times staff and wire reports
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