* Kazuo Miyagawa; Cinematographer

Kazuo Miyagawa, 91, Japan’s foremost cinematographer, who shot Akira Kurosawa’s classic film “Rashomon” and other Japanese masterworks. A native of Kyoto, Miyagawa began studying film in the 1920s and was particularly impressed by German films of that period, with their high-contrast lighting. He joined Japan’s major film production company, Nikkatsu Corp., in 1926 after graduating from Kyoto Commercial School. He first distinguished himself with his work for director Hiroshi Inagaki on the film “Rickshaw Man,” by developing sophisticated tracking and crane techniques that were influenced by his study of traditional Japanese ink painting. Writing in the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Kyoto Hirano explained how in “Rashomon,” Miyagawa contributed a dynamic camera style: “Utilizing the light reflecting directly on a mirror, he captured in bright summer daylight the surging emotion of the [film’s] characters.” He established new methods for making documentary films with his hand-held camera work in “Tokyo Olympiad,” directed by Kon Ichikawa. Throughout his career, his work was characterized by balanced composition and unobtrusive camera handling. He received the Japanese Academy Award for “Banished Orin” in 1977 and “MacArthur’s Children” in 1984. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored him in 1981 with a tribute and retrospective screenings. On Saturday in a hospital in Kyoto of kidney failure.

* Herbert Wiere; Comedy Team Member

Herbert Wiere, 91, a member of “The Wiere Brothers” comedy team. Born in Vienna, Wiere and his two brothers, Harry and Sylvester, made up the comedy team that performed on stage, screen and television throughout the world from the 1930s through the 1970s. They moved to the West Coast in 1938 from Pennsylvania, where they had been living after emigrating from Austria during the rise of Nazism in Europe. They were in seven films, including “The Road to Rio” with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, “Swing Shift Mazie” with Ann Southern, and “Double Trouble” with Elvis Presley. In addition, the Wiere Brothers performed on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “The Perry Como Show” and “The Merv Griffin Show.” Their own series, “Oh Those Bells,” a situation comedy, lasted just two months on CBS in 1962. The act’s engagements started to decline after Sylvester’s death in 1970, although the surviving brothers performed sporadically for about 15 more years. Harry died in 1992. Herbert will be interned at Pierce Brothers Westwood Memorial Park with his two brothers. No service is planned.