Berenice Abbott, 93, a pioneer of modern American photography, died Monday of congestive heart failure at her cabin in Monson, Maine. She started her career as a darkroom assistant for Man Ray in Paris. She soon opened a portrait studio, where she made penetrating portraits of such artists and writers as James Joyce, Janet Flanner and Jean Cocteau. She was best known for her black-and-white photographs of New York City in the 1930s, in which she used the tools of modernist photographic style, including dynamically framed compositions, flattened pictorial space, high angles and detail.
Headman Tshabalala, 44, a founder of the Grammy-winning vocal group that gained fame for its harmonies on Paul Simon's "Graceland" album, was shot and killed after a roadside argument Tuesday in Durban, South Africa, police said yesterday. Mr. Tshabalala was one of four brothers in the 10-member Ladysmith Black Mambazo group. Ladysmith Black Mambazo, formed 30 years ago, almost always performs songs a cappella and in Zulu, often about day-to-day life in black South Africa. They have sold millions of records under South African labels. Ladysmith Black Mambazo won its own Grammy, for best traditional folk album, for "Shaka Zulu" in 1987.
Stewart F. Alexander, 77, who helped save hundreds of soldiers gassed in World War II, died Friday in Park Ridge, N.J. While in the Army from 1940 to 1945, Dr. Alexander evaluated instances of suspected chemical weapons use. Sent to Bari, Italy, after a German bombing in 1943, Dr. Alexander found 600 Allied soldiers dying of an unknown ailment. He diagnosed the cause as exposure to poisonous mustard gas seeping from an Allied ship. He wasn't recognized by the Army for his life-saving role until 1988.
Buck Clayton, 80, a jazz trumpeter who accompanied blues singer Billie Holiday and was a leading soloist for Count Basie's band, died Sunday at his New York home of unspecified natural causes. Mr. Clayton was known for an attractive, burnished tone, a feeling for melodic improvisation, good technique and sensitivity. He was considered an ideal accompanist for singers.
Bert Goodrich, 84, a bodybuilder, stuntman and the first Mr. America, died Friday.
Artur Lundkvist, 85, who wrote 70 books and thousands of articles despite only six years of formal education died early yesterday. He was a member of the Nobel literature prize-awarding Swedish Academy.
Herb Jaffe, 70, a one-time literary agent who represented Philip Roth and a United Artists producer during the making of "Midnight Cowboy" and "Last Tango In Paris," died of cancer Saturday in Beverly Hills, Calif.