Art Devlin, 81; Former Olympic Ski Jumper and Sports Broadcaster

Art Devlin, 81, a former U.S. Olympic ski jumper and sports broadcaster, died of cancer Thursday night at his home in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Devlin qualified for Olympic teams from 1940 to 1960 and competed in two Winter Games. He finished 15th in the 90-meter jump in 1952 in Oslo, Norway, and 21st four years later in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

In 1960, he became a TV sports commentator for CBS. Two years later, Devlin joined ABC-TV, where he was a commentator for 21 years.

He was vice president of the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee for the 1980 Winter Games.

Devlin grew up in Lake Placid and joined the military in World War II.

He flew 50 combat missions and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart.

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Thomas Barrett III, 75; Was Authority on Classic Automobiles

Thomas Barrett III, 75, considered an elder statesman of car collectors who co-founded and built the prestigious Barrett-Jackson Auction Co., died Tuesday of a heart attack at his home in Paradise Valley, Ariz.

Barrett and fellow classic car enthusiast Russell Jackson formed the auction in 1971 in Scottsdale, Ariz., earning international fame when Barrett’s Mercedes 777 Phaeton sold for $153,000.

The event became known as the World’s Greatest Classic Car Auction. Barrett retired after Jackson died in 1993, turning the operation over to Jackson’s sons. The 2004 auction in January took in $38.5 million.

A native of Oak Park, Ill., Barrett moved to Arizona in 1960 to deal in real estate.

But his passion for classic cars prompted him to develop a network of collectors throughout the U.S. He became an authority on collectible automobiles and traveled the world searching out the rarest and most valuable, including a Duesenberg owned by actor Clark Gable and two of Adolf Hitler’s parade cars. The Barrett estate became an elite used-car lot, showcasing thousands of rare automotive masterpieces available for purchase.

Barrett sponsored cars in the Indianapolis 500 for several years and contributed generously to the Classic Car Club of America.

In 1989 the organization named its restored two-story antique car barn in Kalamazoo, Mich., for Barrett.