Obituaries - May 17, 1999

Elfriede Fischinger; Early Costume Designer

Elfriede Fischinger, 88, early motion picture costume designer and expert on the animation art of her late husband Oskar Fischinger. Born in Geinhausen, Germany, she attended the College of Design in Offenbach and began her career designing abstract textiles, which were exhibited in Berlin. After marrying Oskar Fischinger in 1933, she assisted him on his animated films in Germany and from 1936 in Hollywood. During the 1940s, she was a fashion designer for Mascot Studios, Susie’s Sweaters and Andrea of Beverly Hills. After Oskar Fischinger’s death, she lectured on his paintings and animated films at film festivals around the world. She also earned a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to restore one of his unfinished films of the 1940s. On Thursday in Long Beach.

* Sir Ian Fraser; Penicillin Pioneer

Sir Ian Fraser, 98, a pioneer in the use of penicillin to treat battle wounds during World War II. Fraser was sent to Algiers with the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1942 to lead a research team in tests of a new drug to treat battlefield injuries. He began his studies in a hospital but soon shifted to the war front so that the drug’s effectiveness could be tested on fresh casualties. He also followed British troops ashore when they landed on Sicily’s beaches and operated aboard a ship for 48 hours straight, saving many lives. He left military service in 1946 and returned to his native Belfast, performing surgeries at the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. Knighted in 1963, he published his memoirs, “Blood, Sweat and Cheers,” in 1989. On Tuesday in Belfast.

* Charles Mapes Jr.; Owner of Landmark Casino

Charles W. Mapes Jr., 78, whose Reno hotel-casino attracted the rich and famous in the 1950s and 1960s. The Mapes Hotel was the first in the country to feature gambling, dining, entertainment and luxury accommodations under one roof and did much to turn Reno into a gambling and entertainment center. Among those performing at the Mapes were Sammy Davis Jr., Mae West, the Marx Brothers, Gypsy Rose Lee and Danny Thomas. The 12-story complex opened Dec. 17, 1947, and the glorious mountain views from atop its Sky Room once drew politicians, high rollers and Hollywood’s elite, including Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable and Shirley Temple. But it closed 35 years later on Dec. 17, 1982, and has stood shuttered along the banks of the Truckee River ever since. Last year, Reno officials unveiled a $46-million plan to spare the landmark from the wrecking ball and give it new life as time-share units and a retail center. The Art Deco hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Mapes himself was a third-generation Nevadan from a pioneering family. On Thursday in San Diego of complications after heart surgery.

* Leon Thomas; Singer Known for Yodeling Style

Leon Thomas, 61, jazz singer known for his wordless yodeling style. Born in East St. Louis, Ill., Thomas studied music at Tennessee State University, then moved to New York, where he appeared at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. Over the years, he worked with such jazz greats as Count Basie, Mary Lou Williams, Roland Kirk, Benny Powell, Tony Scott and Louis Armstrong. While working with Pharoah Sanders in the late 1960s, Thomas developed his glottal technique, which he called “soularphone.” The throat articulation was often compared to African Pygmy and American Indian singing. With Sanders, Thomas helped develop “kosmigroov,” a type of spiritual African-tinged soul-jazz exemplified in recordings like “The Creator Has a Master Plan” in 1969 and “Hum-Allah-Hum-Allah-Hum-Allah” in 1970. Thomas, who also called himself “Leone” as well as his given name, more recently worked with the band Santana and often sang at the Lenox Lounge in Harlem. On May 8 in New York City of complications of leukemia.