PASSINGS: Perry Moore, Don Peterman, Nancy Carr

Perry Moore

Executive producer on ‘Narnia’ series

Perry Moore, 39, an executive producer of “The Chronicles of Narnia” film series and the author of an award-winning novel about a gay teenager with superpowers, died Thursday at a New York hospital after being found unconscious in the bathroom of his home, police said.

The cause of death will be determined by the city’s medical examiner, but no foul play was suspected. His father, Bill Moore, told the New York Daily News that an initial autopsy was inconclusive.

Moore was an executive producer on the three hugely successful “Narnia” films and wrote a bestselling illustrated book for the first film, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

But it was his 2007 novel “Hero” about a superpowered teenager that seemed to focus his passions.

Moore, who was gay, combined the story of his father, a Vietnam veteran, with the world of superheroes, he told the New York Times in 2007. “Hero” won a Lambda Literary Award in 2008 as the best novel for gay and lesbian young adults.

He also wrote and directed with his life partner, Hunter Hill, the 2008 film “Lake City.”

Moore was born Nov. 4, 1971, in Richmond, Va., and majored in English at the University of Virginia. He started his career in television at MTV and VH1 and later joined Walden Media, the company that produced the films based on C.S. Lewis’ “Narnia” books.

Don Peterman

Oscar-nominated cinematographer

Don Peterman, 79, a cinematographer who was nominated for an Academy Award for 1983’s “Flashdance” and 1986’s “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,” died Feb. 5 at his home in Palos Verdes Estates of complications from myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disorder, said his wife, Sally.

“Flashdance,” directed by Adrian Lyne, starred Jennifer Beals as a welder who dances at a local bar and wants to study at a dance school. With its glitzy images and memorable music, “Flashdance” showed how “to turn a rock video into a feature film,” critic Leonard Maltin wrote in his “2006 Movie Guide.”

“Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” was the 1986 sequel in the long-running space saga starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, who also directed the film. Michael Wilmington, writing in The Times, said the film was aided by Peterman’s “gleaming cinematography.”

Peterman’s many film credits included “Splash” in 1984, “Cocoon” in 1985, “Point Break” in 1991 and “Get Shorty” in 1995.

Donald William Peterman was born Jan. 3, 1932, in Los Angeles and graduated from Redondo Beach Union High School. He served in the Army in the early 1950s, traveling the country working on an Army documentary, his wife said.

After the service, he started working at the Hal Roach Studios as a film loader. Peterman’s first feature film credit as director of photography was “When a Stranger Calls” in 1979.

Peterman was injured in 1997 during filming of “Mighty Joe Young” when a crane holding a platform 18 feet off the ground snapped, sending it crashing to the ground. Peterman, who was on the platform, suffered a broken leg, broken ribs and head injuries, his wife said. A camera operator also was injured.

Peterman’s last film was “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” in 2000.

Nancy Carr

Network television publicist

Nancy Carr, 50, a network television publicist who most recently worked for the Hallmark Channels, died Friday of complications from chemotherapy at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, said her husband, Ronnie Bradford. She’d had a brain tumor for 10 years, he said.

Carr had been senior vice president of corporate communications for the Hallmark Channels, which include the Hallmark Movie Channel and the Hallmark Channel. She was vice president of communications at CBS from 1999 to 2004 and worked at Fox from 1992 to 1993.

Carr was born Sept. 8, 1960, in La Cañada Flintridge and graduated from USC with bachelor’s degrees in international relations and journalism with an emphasis in public relations. She also was passionate about animal rescue, having spent several years taking in stray cats and finding homes for them.

Los Angeles Times staff and wire reports

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