Dave "Snaker" Ray,59, an influential figure of the folk-blues scene of the 1960s who won quiet renown for his virtuoso guitar work, died Thursday in Minneapolis. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in May.
Mr. Ray, longtime band partner "Spider" John Koerner and harmonica player Tony "Little Sun" Glover formed the acoustic trio Koerner, Ray & Glover in 1962, and the next year released the landmark Blues, Rags and Hollers album.
Recording several albums and performing at folk festivals around the country, the trio never achieved more than cult status. But they influenced performers such as the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt and Beck.
They parted ways in the late 1960s, but periodically reunited over the years and also recorded individual albums. Mr. Ray also engineered Raitt's first album and carved out a solo career with a cult following.
George Barrie, 90, a two-time Academy Award nominee and creator of the Brut line of men's cologne, died of pneumonia Nov. 16 in Aventura, Fla.
Mr. Barrie was considered to be a pioneer in the area of celebrity endorsements, as he wooed stars such as Joe Namath, Roger Moore, Muhammad Ali and Margaux Hemingway to pitch company products.
Born in New York City and raised in Pittsfield, Mass., he trained to be a musician. But in need of steady work, Mr. Barrie took a job as a salesman with the hair products company Rayette during the 1930s. Rayette and Mr. Barrie purchased the perfume and hair-care company Faberge for $26 million in 1964, and the Brut line began achieving international success soon after.
He and Sammy Cahn were nominated for the 1973 Oscar for best original song for All That Love Went To Waste, and in 1975 for Now That We're In Love."
Mr. Barrie retired after McGregor Corp. bought Faberge in 1984.
Daniel Gelin, 81, whose 60-year career in French theater, television and movies included playing a mysterious murder victim in Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much, died Friday in Paris.
The actor was known for his eclectic choice of roles, from Napoleon in a 1955 film to a grumpy husband in the French television series Les Saintes Cheries.
English-language audiences knew him best for Hitchcock's 1956 film, in which Mr. Gelin played a Frenchman.
Verne Winchell, 87, founder of a nationwide doughnut franchise business and former chairman of Denny's Restaurants who later became a horse breeder and owner, died Tuesday in Las Vegas of cardiac arrest.
Before starting Winchell's Donut Houses, he tried selling jukeboxes and used cars in the 1950s. A friend suggested opening a doughnut store because there was a high profit margin. Mr. Winchell took a $27,000 stake and turned property he owned into his first store.
He sold the business to Denny's in 1968 in exchange for stock, and two yeas later became chairman of Denny's Restaurants. He left Denny's 14 years later, selling his stock for a reported $600 million.
John Milton Tassie, 86, a former Lenox executive who helped build the company into an international source of fine china, crystal and sterling, died Monday in Princeton, N.J.
Mr. Tassie spent 35 years with the Lawrenceville, N.J.-based company, serving as president and chief executive from 1959 to 1977. During his tenure, the company went public and broadened its sights through market research and advertising.
A 1939 graduate of Princeton University, Mr. Tassie joined Lenox as an assistant plant manager in 1942. He was named general manager the following year and became executive vice president in 1948. He retired in 1977, but continued to serve as a director and chairman of Lenox's finance committee until 1980.
Edwin L. Mechem, 90, New Mexico's only four-term governor, and former U.S. senator and federal judge, died Wednesday at his home in Albuquerque.
Mr. Mechem, a Republican known as "Big Ed" in his office-seeking days, served as a judge for more than 30 years and continued to work at home until his death. His family said he had a heart condition that had gotten worse recently.
New Mexico governors were elected to two-year terms when Mr. Mechem served, from 1951- 1954, 1957-1958 and 1961-1962.
An Alamogordo native, Mr. Mechem graduated from New Mexico A&M;, now New Mexico State University, and earned a law degree from the University of Arkansas. He went into practice with his father and then joined the FBI during World War II. He returned to his law practice after the war and tried his hand at politics at a time when the state's GOP had difficulty even finding candidates.
In 1950, he upset Democrat John Miles to become New Mexico's first Republican governor in 20 years. He resigned as governor in Nov. 1962 to complete the U.S. Senate term of Democrat Dennis Chavez, who had died, but lost his bid to retain the seat in 1964.
Robert William Straub, 82, Oregon's Democratic governor from 1975 to 1979, died Wednesday at a long-term care facility in Springfield. He had had battled Alzheimer's disease for three years.
As governor, Mr. Straub was credited with reducing Oregon's unemployment rate and hiring more women, minority and disabled people in top government positions than any of his predecessors. He also rechanneled freeway money into mass transit, jump-starting Portland's light-rail system.