Ronald "Buster" Edwards, 62, one of the masterminds of Britain's "Great Train Robbery" of 1963, was found hanged on Nov. 29 in London, an apparent suicide. He was part of the gang which on Aug. 8, 1963, switched a track signal from green to red near Cheddington, Buckinghamshire, about 40 miles northwest of London. The train stopped, and the gang overwhelmed two crew members, stealing about $7 million in cash. It was the biggest train robbery in British history. He surrendered in 1966 and served nine years of a 15-year sentence. He then set up a flower stall near Waterloo train station.
John Fearnley, 80, a stage manager and director closely identified with the work of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, died of cancer Nov. 29 at his home in Manhattan. After a decade as casting director for Rodgers and Hammerstein, he moved into directing, staging more than 20 musicals for the New York City Light Opera at City Center, including revivals of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" "South Pacific," "The King and I," "Carousel" and "The Sound of Music," as well as "Kiss Me Kate" and "Brigadoon."