Obituaries - Feb. 15, 1999
Victor G. Bloede; Advertising Executive
Victor G. Bloede, 79, who coined “good to the last drop” and other advertising slogans. Bloede spent 33 years with Benton & Bowles Advertising, rising from copywriter to chairman and chief executive of the international agency. During his long tenure, he helped introduce the Maxwell House coffee adage “good to the last drop,” Conoco Oil’s slogan “the hottest brand going,” and Procter & Gamble’s “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin.” Bloede also was instrumental in helping, through his advertising and promotion campaign, to make Crest a leading toothpaste. Long after Bloede’s retirement in 1983, Benton & Bowles merged with D’Arcy, Masius to become D’Arcy, Masius, Benton & Bowles. On Wednesday in Boynton Beach, Fla.
Andrew Figge; Engineer, Owner of Tower Technology
Andrew H. Figge, 48, engineer who owned Signal Hill-based Tower Technology. Born in Berea, Ohio, Figge grew up in Downey and earned his engineering degree from Cal Poly Pomona. He attended the Coast Guard Academy and held the rank of lieutenant commander in inactive reserves. An Eagle Scout with a Bronze Palm, Figge was active in the Boy Scouts and Explorers for 40 years. He was active in the Long Beach community, serving on the organizing committee of the Long Beach Marathon and singing in the choir of the California Heights United Methodist Church there. His company erected, demolished, maintained and repaired electrical and other towers across the country. On Wednesday in Huntsville, Ala., in an accident while working on a tower.
E. Phillip Lyon; Co-Developer of Beverly Center
E. Phillip Lyon, 97, regional shopping center pioneer and co-developer of Beverly Center. For many years, Lyon operated as a tenant-leasing broker for retailers in urban shopping areas, and after World War II, in neighborhood shopping centers. In the 1960s, he became a developer, creating such shopping centers as College Grove in San Diego and Valley Plaza in North Hollywood. In partnership with Sheldon M. Gordon, Lyon developed Beverly Center at La Cienega and Beverly boulevards in Los Angeles, Vallco Fashion Park in Cupertino, Country Club Plaza in Sacramento, and the Pearlridge Shopping Center, Kahala Mall and Kamehameha Shopping Center in Honolulu. In recent years he rehabilitated the Eastport Plaza Shopping Center in Portland, Ore. A philanthropist, Lyon endowed chairs in laser research and molecular cardiology at Cedars-Sinai Hospital and an art gallery and social hall at Wilshire Boulevard Temple. He was a generous donor to City of Hope. On Friday in Los Angeles.
Henry McCutcheon; Engineer Built Freeway Bridges
Henry E. McCutcheon, 74, civil engineer who built about 75 Southern California freeway bridges. Born in Los Angeles, McCutcheon served in the Navy during World War II and then earned a civil engineering degree at USC. He began his career with the state Department of Transportation and worked for private freeway builders. In 1963, he founded McCutcheon Construction Inc. based in Ontario, which he owned and operated until 1997. His projects included bridges on the San Diego Freeway between Long Beach and Santa Monica and numerous other California freeways. McCutcheon, along with engineer Randy Moore, pioneered a pipe and cable method for high bridge construction on an Ontario freeway interchange that has replaced wood frames to become a staple of the industry. McCutcheon served as president of the statewide Engineering and Grading Contractors Assn. in 1973 and was active in the national Associated General Contractors. On Feb. 4 in Scottsdale, Ariz., of heart failure.
Prasit Kanchanawat; Political Leader in Thailand
Prasit Kanchanawat, 84, political leader during upheavals in Thailand in the 1970s. A commoner who served in both military and civilian governments, Prasit was a lawyer and banker before becoming a member of parliament in 1952. In 1972, he was commerce minister under the premiership of Field Marshal Thanom Kittakchorn, whose government was overthrown in a mass uprising against military rule in 1973. A fragile experiment with democracy began. Prasit was speaker of the first--but short-lived--elected parliament in 1975. New elections in April 1976 led to Seni Pramoj, leader of Thai resistance against Japanese occupation in World War II, becoming prime minister. Prasit was justice minister in Seni’s government, which fell in October 1976 as the military and right-wing extremists massacred leftist students and staged a coup. That coup ended Prasit’s political career. He later served on the board of Bangkok Bank, his country’s largest financial institution. On Sunday in Bangkok of cancer.
Irwin Watson; Television and Nightclub Comedian
Irwin C. “Watty” Watson, 70, television and nightclub comedian and musician. Familiar in clubs around New York and the Catskills, Watson played saxophone, trumpet, violin, piano and clarinet. He was a comedy star along with David Frost on television’s “That Was the Week That Was,” a satirical mid-1960s forerunner to “Saturday Night Live.” Watson also appeared regularly on variety shows hosted by Johnny Carson, Ed Sullivan, Steve Allen, Virginia Graham and Mike Douglas. In clubs, the comedian was a popular warmup act for such entertainers as Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis Jr., Andy Williams, Jack Jones, Paul Anka, Patti LaBelle, the Fifth Dimension, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Duke Ellington and Aretha Franklin. For the past 15 years, he had been entertaining on cruise ships. On Feb. 1 in Orlando, Fla., of a heart attack.
