* Marv Johnson, 54, the baritone singer credited with creating the Motown sound with Berry Gordy Jr., died yesterday at a hospital in Columbia, S.C. He had performed Friday and collapsed backstage at a 40th anniversary concert for Bill Pinckney, a native of Sumter, S.C., and the original Drifters. While working in a Detroit record store, Mr. Johnson met Mr. Gordy. In 1959, Mr. Johnson recorded "Come to Me," which was leased to the United Artists label. Although the record was only a modest hit -- No. 30 on the pop chart -- it was the first of the new Motown songs. Mr. Gordy paired Johnson's gospel background with a churchy female chorus and a male bass. The result was a new sound with black roots that also appealed to white listeners. By 1960, the duo had made two top 10 hits, "You Got What It Takes" and "I Love the Way You Love."
* Wolfgang Lotz, 73, a spy who uncovered Egyptian military secrets while disguised as an ex-Nazi horse trainer and playboy, died of heart trouble Thursday in Munich, Germany. Known as the "Champagne spy" for his well-heeled lifestyle, was born in Mannheim, Germany, and taken to British-ruled Palestine by his Jewish mother after the Nazi rise to power in 1933. He served in the British army in World War II and with Israel's underground militia in its fight for independence. Later, he was a major in the Israeli army. He was recruited by Israel's Mossad spy agency because his blond hair, blue eyes and fluent German would allow him to infiltrate the former Nazi scientists working for Egypt. He returned to Germany in 1959 to create his cover as a wealthy playboy. He operated in Egypt between 1961 and 1965, training horses and partying with the Egyptian elite. He uncovered secrets that aided Israel's victory in the 1967 Middle East war. He learned which air fields were real and which contained fake planes to fool attackers, setting up Israel's destruction of Egypt's air force on the first day of the war. Egyptian authorities exposed him and his wife in 1965 and sentenced them to life in prison. They were released in 1968 in a prisoner exchange.