Obituaries: Leo Kirch, Roland Petit, Cal Montney, Lee Vines, Googie Withers, Frank Billerbeck

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A free-form sculptor, John Chamberlain crafted works from masses of crushed cars and automobile sheet metal. He was 84. Full obituary (Librado Romero / Associated Press)

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A former dissident playwright, Havel was the revered first president of Czechoslovakia after it overthrew Communist rule in 1989. His slogan: “May truth and love triumph over lies and hatred.” He was 75. Full obituary (Petr David Josek / Associated Press)

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Hubert Sumlin‘s snarling guitar helped define Howlin’ Wolf‘s sound. Though Sumlin never attained a fraction of the fame of his celebrated boss, he is revered by fellow blues musicians. He was 80. Full obituary

Notable music deaths of 2011 (Paul Hawthorne / Getty Images)

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The daughter of stars Loretta Young and Clark Gable, Lewis wrote tenderly about her only meeting with Gable at age 15. Young, an unmarried, staunch Catholic, faked an adoption of Lewis, who did not learn the truth about her parentage until she was an adult. She had careers as an actress and a psychotherapist. She was 76. Full obituary (Jill Connelly / Associated Press)

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Known as “Father Dollar Bill,” Father Maurice Chase handed out dollar bills on Los Angeles’ skid row, caring more about the gift of human love than about what his beneficiaries did with the money. He was 92. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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The Bruins point guard, who in 1964 helped John Wooden win his first national championship at UCLA, coached the team for four seasons. He was 69. Full obituary

Notable sports deaths of 2011 (Harold Matosian / Associated Press)

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The heavyweight champ had epic bouts with Muhammad Ali. In 1971 he became the first fighter to defeat Ali, then lost two rematches. In his 37 professional fights, “Smokin’ Joe” won 32 times. But he never accepted his 1-2 record against Ali. He was 67. Full obituary

Notable sports deaths of 2011 (AFP / Getty Image)

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Matty Alou won the National League batting title in 1966 while with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He and his brothers Felipe and Jesus became the only trio of brothers to play outfield together in a 1963 game. He was 72. Full obituary.

Notable sports deaths of 2011 (Diamond Images / Getty Images)

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A legendary producer, director and impresario of the Geffen Playhouse, Gil Cates restored the luster to the Academy Awards telecasts, recruiting hosts such as Billy Crystal and Steve Martin. He was 77. Full obituary

Notable film and television deaths of 2011 (Kevork Djansezian / Associated Press)

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Erratic and mercurial, the Libyan leader fancied himself a political philosopher, practiced an unorthodox, deadly diplomacy and cut an at times cartoonish figure in robes and sunglasses and surrounded by female guards. He was 69. Obituary | Full coverage of Kadafi’s death | Photos: Kadafi through the years

Notable deaths of 2010 (John Redman / Associated Press)

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The Native American activist was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that accused the federal government of cheating Native Americans in its management of Indian land, resulting in a record $3.4-billion settlement. She was 65. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Louis Sahagun / Los Angeles Times)

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The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner was killed in a 15-car wreck in the IndyCar series’ season-ending race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He was 33. Full obituary

Notable sports deaths of 2011 (Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images)

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Roger Williams was of the most popular instrumentalists of the mid-20th century and hit No. 1 on the pop charts in 1955 with his arpeggio-strewn “Autumn Leaves.” Between 1955 and 1972, he had 22 hit singles -- including “Born Free” -- and 38 hit albums. He was 87. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Lawrence Lucier / Steinway & Sons via Getty Images)

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The Scottish singer-guitarist influenced rock and folk greats including Neil Young, Jimmy Page, Paul Simon and Pete Townshend, who credit Jansch’s effect on their music and celebrate his virtuosic playing and evocative songwriting. He was 67. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Jim Dyson / Getty Images)

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Ralph Steinman died just days before the Nobel committee announced he had won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. His heirs will still receive his share of the award because the Nobel committee did not know of his death. He and two others were honored for their work with the immune system. He was 68. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Mike Groll / Associated Press)

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Robinson owned Sugar Hill Records. The label released “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang in 1979. It’s considered the first mainstream hip-hop hit. She also had a solo hit with “Pillow Talk” in 1973. She was 76. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)

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He invented the first practical implantable pacemaker. The electrical engineer’s handmade device was named by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1983 as one of the 10 greatest engineering contributions to society in the previous 50 years. He was 92. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Bill Sikes / Associated Press)

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The NFL Hall of Famer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers teamed with his brothers to create a dominant defensive front and led Oklahoma to back-to-back national college championships. He was 56. (J. Meric / Getty Images)

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The Chicago bluesman, the son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave, performed with the founders of the art form: Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, Son House, Tommy McLennan, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Joe Williams. He was the last of the bluesmen from his generation. He was 96. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Joe Brier / McClatchy-Tribune)

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June Wayne founded the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles in the 1960s, where leading artists collaborated with professional printers to create high-quality prints. She was also a prolific artist in her own right. She was 93. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)

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Marshall Grant, who worked as Johnny Cash‘s road manager and played bass for him for more than two decades, helped create the singer’s famous sound. He was 83. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Wayne Risher / Associated Press)

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Bernadine Healy, a cardiologist and educator, was the first woman to head the National Institutes of Health. She led the Red Cross relief efforts after 9/11. She was 67. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Rick Bowmer / Associated Press)

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The NFL player, who was the No. 1 draft pick from Michigan State in 1967, played for the Baltimore Colts, the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Oilers. Later, he appeared in popular beer commercials and acted in films and on TV. He was 66. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (John Gwillim / Associated Press)

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The Oscar-nominated art director was best known for her work on “The Last Picture Show” and “Paper Moon,” both directed by former husband Peter Bogdanovich. She also was an executive in filmmaker James L. Brooks’ company. She was 72. Full obituary

Notable film and television deaths of 2010 (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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He became the first foreign-born chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and guided military and humanitarian efforts in the post-Cold War era of the 1990s. He was 75. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Rick Bowmer / Associated Press)

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The British painter, whose works are highly prized by collectors, created subjects in anguished, anti-erotic poses. He used impasto, a technique involving the thick application of paint, to create his highly textured portraits. He was 88. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Stephan Agostini / AFP/Getty Images)

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Lillian Mobley, a tireless South Los Angeles activist, fought to establish the King/Drew hospital and its related medical school. Above, Mobley, right, looks on as Dr. George Locke greets Rep. Maxine Waters at King/Drew in 2004. She was 81. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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The comedy writer and producer created “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Brady Bunch. “ He also wrote the memorable theme-song lyrics for both the wacky tale of a shipwrecked “three-hour tour” and the story of the marriage between a “lovely lady” with three daughters and “a man named Brady” with three sons. Above, Schwartz in 2008 receives kisses from Florence Henderson, who played Mrs. Brady, and Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on “Gilligan’s Island.” He was 94. Full obituary

Notable film and television deaths of 2011 (Nick Ut / Associated Press)

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The former first lady captivated the nation with her unabashed candor and forthright discussion of her personal battles with breast cancer, prescription drug addiction and alcoholism. She founded the widely emulated Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for the treatment of chemical dependencies. She was 93. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Anna Moore Butzner / Grand Rapids Press)

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The internationally renowned American artist, whose work blurred the boundaries of painting, drawing and handwritten poetry, was recognized with Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg as one of the three most important American artists to emerge in the 1950s. Above, the artist at the Louvre, where he designed and painted the ceiling of a large gallery of bronze sculptures last year. He was 83. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Christophe Ena / Associated Press)

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The saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen‘s E Street Band put his stamp on such Springsteen classics as “Born to Run” and “Rosalita.” He was known both for his full-throttle tenor sax work and his larger-than-life onstage persona as “the Big Man.” He was 69. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Hillery Smith Garrison / Associated Press)

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Pratt was a former Black Panther whose 1972 murder conviction was overturned after he spent 27 years behind bars for a crime he said he did not commit. He was 63. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

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The singer gained fame with her 1974 hit, “Poetry Man.” She received wide acclaim for her self-titled album, which showed off her multi-octave range and musical versatility. She had suffered a brain hemorrhage in January 2010. She was 60. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)

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He was considered a living god by millions of Hindus. After declaring himself the reincarnation of a Hindu saint in 1940, he built a loyal following, including politicians and celebrities, despite allegations of sexual abuse. He leaves a trust worth billions of dollars. He was 84. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Mustafa Quraishi / Associated Press)

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The architect incorporated aerodynamic designs into his whimsical midcentury “Googie” coffee shops, including the original Norms on La Cienega Boulevard in L.A. and Pann’s in Westchester, to attract passing motorists. He was 94. Full obituary | Photos: “Googie” architecture

Notable deaths of 2010 (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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The developer of the Kendall-Jackson wine brand was a San Francisco lawyer who became a skilled wine merchant and titan of the industry. In recent years, Jackson owned winning racehorses, including Rachel Alexandra. He was 81. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Karen Tapia-Andersen / Los Angeles Times)

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The legendary Norwegian runner became the face of the New York City Marathon, winning the race nine times. She also set four marathon world records. She was 57. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Roald Berit / AFP/Getty Images)

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The biochemist won the 1976 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for discovering the hepatitis B virus, which causes severe liver disease and cancer. He later developed the vaccine that protects against it. He was 85. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Eddie Adams / Associated Press)

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A prolific thinker and creator, he is credited with innovations in cable modems, interactive TV, airport metal detectors and the “packet switching” technology that helped lead to the Internet. Above, Baran receives the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Bush in 2008. He was 84. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press)

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The political reporter and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist wrote more than four decades for the Washington Post, where he mentored countless colleagues. He appeared on “Meet the Press” some 400 times. He was 81. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Frank Buckles, the last American veteran of World War I, drove ambulances in France and later spent years in an internment camp after Japan’s invasion of the Philippines in WWII. He was 110. Full obituary

Notable deaths of 2010 (Karen Bleier, AFP/Getty Images)

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The composer won five Oscars for films such as “Born Free” and “Out of Africa” and scored Bond films including “Goldfinger,” “Diamonds Are Forever” and “From Russia With Love.” His work on the Bond franchise put him in the forefront of music composers. He was 77. Full obituary

Notable film and television deaths of 2010 (Dave Hogan / Getty Images)

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Grannis photographs documented California surf culture of the 1960s and ‘70s. His images helped popularize and immortalize the sport -- and the life behind it -- at a crucial point in its history. “His photos captured the real thing,” wrote surfing journalist Steve Barilotti. He was 93. Full obituary (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

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The relatively unknown photographer documented L.A.’s beat culture and emerging arts scene, the civil rights movement, the Black Panthers and antiwar protests. He was 82. Full obituary (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Sargent Shriver, a lawyer and Kennedy in-law, worked for JFK’s and Lyndon Johnson’s administrations. He launched social programs including the Peace Corps, Head Start and the Job Corps and led the “war on poverty.” Programs he created “still change people’s lives,” says daughter Maria Shriver. Above, with his wife Eunice in 1968. He was 95. Full obituary (Charles Harrity / Associated Press)

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The British director earned Academy Award nominations for “Breaking Away” and “The Dresser.” “Bullitt” was Yates’ American directing debut. It starred Steve McQueen as a detective and featured a memorable car chase on the streets of San Francisco with McQueen at the wheel of a Mustang. He was 81. Full obituary

Notable film and television deaths of 2010 (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

July 18, 2011 1:15 PM PT

Leo Kirch

German media mogul

Leo Kirch, 84, who turned his one-man film distribution company into Germany’s second-biggest media business before losing control of it after a gamble on pay television, died Thursday in Munich. His family did not give the cause, but Kirch had suffered from diabetes and near-blindness for several years.

At its height, Kirch’s media group was valued at $5 billion. It held Germany’s biggest film-licensing library, the nation’s only pay-television channel and rights to two World Cup soccer tournaments. When Kirch resigned, his companies were under court protection from creditors, the biggest bankruptcy filing in Germany since World War II.

The son of a Bavarian grape grower, Kirch took time off from teaching economics at Munich University in 1956. He drove to Italy in search of filmmakers and found Federico Fellini, who had just directed “La Strada.” Kirch bought the German rights to distribute the movie, borrowing the money from his wife, Ruth.

It was a gamble that paid off. “La Strada” was popular with German audiences and ultimately considered a classic, so royalties rolled in for years. Kirch kept buying until he had the largest film library outside the United States, including the Buster Keaton library, the Laurel and Hardy library, and the Howard Hughes/RKO library with “King Kong” and “Citizen Kane.”

When German Chancellor Helmut Kohl ushered in private television in the 1980s, Kirch moved to assemble television properties. In 1996, Kirch began pouring money into a new venture: pay TV. In four years he spent more than $3 billion building Premiere World, his flagship pay-TV channel.

The endeavor didn’t pay off. German viewers who already had a wide choice of channels, many free, didn’t feel the need to pay for what Premiere World had to offer.

Roland Petit

French choreographer had Hollywood stint

Roland Petit, 87, an acclaimed choreographer whose creations dazzled audiences from Paris to Hollywood, died July 10 in Geneva, according to the Paris National Opera. The cause was not given.

Born in 1924 in Villemomble, France, Petit took his first dance steps at 9 at the Paris Opera’s School of Dance.

While opening several ballet companies in Paris after its liberation from the Nazis, as well as the Marseille ballet house, Petit maintained ties with Paris Opera, offering 11 creations, including “Notre Dame de Paris.”

His reputation grew well beyond France in the 1950s during a four-year stint in Hollywood, collaborating with Orson Welles on the 1953 ballet “The Lady in the Ice” and choreographing such film classics as 1952’s “Hans Christian Andersen” with Danny Kaye, 1955’s “Daddy Long Legs” with Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron, and 1956’s “Anything Goes” with Bing Crosby and Petit’s wife, Zizi Jeanmaire.

Petit choreographed for Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, among other great dancers, during an eclectic career with the Paris Opera, Casino de Paris and what is now known as National Ballet of Marseille-Roland Petit.

In 1998, he began traveling the world to create new ballets or mount old works with the likes of the San Francisco Ballet, the Bolshoi in Moscow, La Scala in Milan, the Asami Maki Ballet of Tokyo and the National Ballet of China.

Cal Montney

Longtime L.A. Times photographer

Cal Montney, 91, a longtime staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times whose assignments included the Watts riots, died July 4 of congestive heart failure at his home in San Jacinto, said his granddaughter Patricia Borrero.

Montney spent more than 30 years at The Times and worked before that at the Los Angeles Mirror.

“He had a full range of talents,” said former Times photographer Rick Meyer. “He could shoot a fire one day and visit British royalty the next.”

Calvin Montney was born May 27, 1920, in Walker, Minn., and became interested in photography in high school. He came to California with his wife and daughter in 1940, then served in the Navy in Texas and Florida from 1944 to 1946.

Lee Vines

Veteran television announcer

Lee Vines, 92, a veteran television announcer for “What’s My Line?” and other game shows, died July 9 at a North Hollywood convalescent hospital of complications from a fall and pneumonia, said his wife, Catherine.

Besides appearing on “What’s My Line?” in the 1950s, he also was the announcer for “Hallmark Hall of Fame,” “The Name’s the Same,” “Password All-Stars” and other TV programs. He had occasional acting roles on TV including on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

Born in Brantford, Canada, on April 11, 1919, Vines enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943. He served in Europe during World War II, his family said.

Googie Withers

British actress known for ‘The Lady Vanishes’

Googie Withers, 94, a British actress best known for her role in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lady Vanishes,” died Friday at her home in Sydney, Australia.

Born Georgette Lizette Withers in what was then British India, she was given her nickname by her Indian nanny.

Her family moved back to Britain, where she began acting at age 12. She was a dancer in a West End production in London when she was offered work in 1935 as a film extra in “The Girl in the Crowd.”

Withers appeared in dozens of films in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s, including her role as Blanche in “The Lady Vanishes” playing opposite Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Among her other films were “On Approval,” “It Always Rains on Sunday” and “Night and the City.”

In 1958, Withers moved to Australia with her husband, Australian actor John McCallum.

Her last role was in the 1996 Australian movie “Shine.”

NOTABLE

Frank Billerbeck, a character actor who took the stage name of Billy Beck and appeared in such movies as Billy Wilder’s “Irma la Douce” and “The Fortune Cookie” in the 1960s and 2005’s “Just Like Heaven” with Reese Witherspoon and a slew of TV roles from the 1950s to the 2000s, died of congestive heart failure June 29 at a Glendale nursing home. The longtime Silver Lake resident was 91.

Los Angeles Times staff and wire reports

news.obits@latimes.com