Obituaries - March 19, 1999

Marvin Krieger; Judge at Nuremberg War Crimes Trials

Marvin G. Krieger, 78, a judge at the Nuremberg war crimes trials. During World War II, Krieger fought in the Army Air Corps unit that dropped the first glider personnel into Normandy before the beachhead landings, winning a Bronze Star while his unit received a Presidential Unit Citation. He also served in the Ardennes, the Netherlands and Central Europe, earning five more battle ribbons, and helped evacuate wounded soldiers from Germany. After the war, he joined the judge advocate general as a military prosecutor and defense attorney. U.S. Army officials chose him for the Nuremberg tribunal because they thought that Krieger was a German name. But, according to his son-in-law Tom Adametz of San Diego, Krieger was Jewish, born into an Orthodox family in Pittsburgh. Krieger retired from the Army in 1971 as a colonel and taught law at the University of San Diego School of Law until 1983. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Jean, of San Diego, daughters Harriet Adametz and Barbara Frant, also of San Diego, brother Arnold Krieger of Burlington, Vt., and two grandsons. On Friday in San Diego of complications after heart surgery.

Wei Lung-hau; Performer Famed for Joke-Telling

Wei Lung-hau, 70, a Taiwan performer beloved for his mastery of a Chinese art form called xiang sheng. Wei was among hundreds of performers who were brought to Taiwan in 1949 after the Communists expelled Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist forces from China. Wei, with his longtime partner Wu Chao-nan, was famous for his mastery of the rapid-fire exchange of jokes known as xiang sheng. The two would spar in a thick Beijing patois while singing songs and telling humorous stories. Although Wu survives him, Wei’s death effectively ends an era of Chinese arts and culture in Taiwan. He was mourned at his funeral by Wu and hundreds of tearful fans. On March 7 of prostate cancer in Taipei.

Ray Russell; Writer, Former Playboy Editor

Ray Russell, 74, a writer and anthologist who was also the executive editor of Playboy magazine for several years in the 1950s. Russell, who once described himself as looking like a short Orson Welles, was born in Chicago and studied at the Chicago Conservatory of Music and the Goodman Theater. His writing career began with a sale to Esquire magazine in 1953. He once described his experience with Playboy, where he was first an associate editor and then the executive editor, “a delightful detour from the main highway of my life, writing.” He moved to Beverly Hills in 1961 and became a contributing editor to Playboy in 1968. Over the years he contributed more than 50 short stories and essays to the publication. His best known work was believed to be “Sardonicus,” which Stephen King praised as “perhaps the finest example of modern gothic ever written.” He was also the author of several screenplays in the 1960s, including “Mr. Sardonicus,” “Chamber of Horrors,” The Premature Burial,” and “Zotz!” On Monday in Los Angeles of complications after a stroke.