Obituaries - July 14, 1999

* Igor Belsky; Ballet Choreographer

Igor Belsky, 74, former choreographer of Russia’s Kirov Ballet. Belsky graduated from the Leningrad Ballet School when the city was under siege by Nazi forces in 1943. He went on to become a leading dancer with the Kirov, performing with the company for 20 years. He gained fame for his roles as Shurale in Leonid Jacobson’s “Ali-Batyr” in 1951 and as Nurali in Rostislav Zakharov’s “Fountain of the Bakhchisarai.” He left the Kirov in 1962 to become the choreographer of the Leningrad Maly Theater, but returned to his original company as choreographer in 1973 and remained for four years. In 1992, Belsky was named director of his former school, renamed Vaganova Academy. On July 3 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Edward C. Carterette; UCLA Professor

Edward C. Carterette, 78, longtime UCLA professor of psychology and acousticology. Born in Mt. Tabor, N.C., Carterette served eight years in the Army, including World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago, a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Harvard and a doctorate in experimental and mathematical psychology from Indiana University. Carterette taught at UCLA from 1956 until his retirement in 1991 and made important research contributions in perception and cognition, psychoacoustics and the psychology of music. In addition to teaching cognitive psychology, he taught ethnomusicology and systematic musicology and was a member of the university’s Brain Research Institute. Carterette co-edited the 11-volume Handbook of Perception and contributed dozens of articles about speech and communication to professional books and journals. He was a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science and the American Psychological Assn. On July 7 in Los Angeles.

Everett Greenbaum; Early TV Writer

Everett Greenbaum, 79, part of a respected early TV writing team who first earned success with Wally Cox’s “Mr. Peepers.” Born in Buffalo, N.Y., Greenbaum studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Sorbonne in Paris. During World War II, he was a Navy pilot and flight instructor in the Marshall Islands, and continued to fly throughout his life. After the war, he wrote, produced and starred in a Boston radio show called “Greenbaum’s Gallery.” In 1952, Talent Associates teamed Greenbaum with Jim Fritzell to write “Mr. Peepers.” Their long collaboration, which ended with Fritzell’s death in 1979, earned them a Peabody Award, four Emmy nominations, three Writers Guild comedy awards and the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award. Their teamwork produced 32 episodes of television’s “The Real McCoys,” 24 episodes of “The Andy Griffith Show” and 35 half-hour shows for “MASH.” They also co-wrote three TV specials and eight feature films, including “Good Neighbor Sam” and “The Shakiest Gun in the West.” Independently of Fritzell, Greenbaum worked on “The George Gobel Show,” wrote two books, including his memoirs, titled, “The Goldenberg Who Couldn’t Dance,” and created whimsical kinetic sculptures. He had brief acting roles on Griffith’s “Matlock” series and other programs. On Sunday in Encino of brain cancer.

Angus MacDonald; Leading Bagpiper

Angus MacDonald, 60, a pipe major in the British army who was considered by many authorities to be the finest bagpiper of this century. A native Scotsman, MacDonald was educated at the Queen Victoria School, Dunblane, where he was introduced to bagpipes. He enlisted as a piper in the Scots Guards in 1953 and took his instrument to such places as Borneo, Kenya, France, Malaysia and Northern Ireland. By 1965 his reputation as a player and a teacher had grown steadily and he was promoted to pipe major and appointed household piper to the queen. MacDonald went on to win the title Piobaire Os Cionn Chairch, or “piper above all others,” in the Falkirk Tryst Bicentenary Piping Competition in 1981, an event commemorating the first competition held by the Highland Society of London in 1781. He retired from his regiment and the army in 1983. He went on to teach in Oman and the United States before becoming the senior instructor at the piping center in Glasgow, Scotland, one of the foremost piping institutions in the world. On June 25 in Edinburgh, Scotland, of cancer.

Hal Polaire; Film Production Executive

Hal W. Polaire, 81, who worked in film production and directing for nearly four decades. A native of Kansas City, Mo., Polaire was an entertainment liaison with the Army Special Services during World War II and later worked in radio and early live television in New York and Chicago. After arriving in Los Angeles in 1955, Polaire was an assistant director on such films as “St. Louis Blues,” “Hole in the Head” and “Anatomy of a Murder.” In the early 1960s, he worked with director Billy Wilder on three highly successful Jack Lemmon films, “Some Like It Hot,” “The Apartment” and “Irma la Douce.” By 1966, Polaire was moving into production and was assistant to the producer for the landmark Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor film “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Polaire was production manager for “Rough Night in Jericho,” unit production manager for “The Ballad of Josie” and in 1989 the executive producer of “Music Box.” He was president of worldwide production at ABC Pictures in 1969 and 1970, and for the next 18 years was president of production at Chartoff-Winkler Productions. On Sunday in Honduras of heart failure.

Samuel Sanders; Piano Accompanist

Samuel Sanders, 62, accompanist with such classical musicians as Itzhak Perlman and Mstislav Rostropovich. Sanders regarded accompanying instrumentalists and singers very seriously and insisted that his name be listed in all advertisements for concerts in which he performed. Other accompanists followed his example. In 1963, Sanders joined the faculty of New York’s Juilliard School and subsequently persuaded school officials to establish a master’s program for accompanists. He made his recital debut at the age of 13, and by 16 was performing as soloist with the New York Philharmonic. His work with Perlman earned him two Grammy awards for performance. In 1980, Sanders established the Cape and Islands Chamber Music Festival on Cape Cod, Mass. On Friday in New York City of liver failure.

Larry D. Stewart; Attorney, Actor

Larry D. Stewart, 62, actor, model and attorney for such entertainers as the late Natalie Wood. A swimming instructor and lifeguard during his summers growing up in Whittier, Stewart later became a champion water polo player while studying psychology at UC Berkeley. He earned his law degree at Boalt Hall and established his law practice in Encino. Stewart served as an Army captain and in 1966, shortly after earning his law degree, was named an Outstanding Young Man of America and an Outstanding Civic Leader of America. As a model, Stewart graced many billboards and printed advertisements throughout Southern California. As a television actor, he had major roles on such soap operas as “General Hospital” and “The Young and the Restless” and appeared on such prime-times series as “The A-Team” and “Moonlighting.” Stewart was a popular leading man in small theater productions of such plays as “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” “Arsenic and Old Lace,” “Death Takes a Holiday,” “The Lion in Winter” and “Barefoot in the Park.” On July 8 in Los Angeles of a heart attack.

Stanley Wainer; Led Wyle Laboratories

Stanley A. Wainer, 73, former head of Wyle Laboratories and executive for UCLA alumni organizations. Wainer was with the El Segundo-based Wyle from 1962 until 1997, moving from vice president of finance to president, chief executive and chairman of the board. He retired from the presidency in 1985, the CEO position in 1988, and chairman in 1991, serving as chairman of the executive committee until 1997, when the company was sold to VEBA AG. A UCLA graduate in business administration and trained in its graduate executive program, Wainer later served as president of the UCLA Alumni Assn., as a trustee of UCLA Foundation and on the board of visitors for the university campus as a whole and for its Graduate School of Management. He was named UCLA Alumnus of the Year in 1987 and won the UCLA Professional Achievement Award in 1985. Wainer served as a director of the Los Angeles and the California Chambers of Commerce and of the National Assn. of Corporate Directors. He was named a City of Hope Man of the Year in 1979. On Friday in Beverly Hills of prostate cancer.