Obituaries - Feb. 11, 1995

* Bill Boyd; Executive Director of Academy of Country Music

Bill Boyd, 64, executive director of the Academy of Country Music. Before assuming the directorship in 1981, Boyd had served as the academy’s president and chairman of the board. He began his career as a disc jockey spinning country records on the Armed Forces Radio Network. The native of Jackson, Tenn., conducted more than 1,000 on-air interviews with country stars during his broadcasting career. He later served as a talent executive or consultant for about 50 television specials on country music, including Willie Nelson’s “Farm Aid,” the annual “Academy of Country Music Awards” and the NBC series “Hot Country Nights.” Boyd also produced several shows, including “Hank Williams Jr. Live” and “Ernest Tubb--An American Original.” He organized the academy’s “Fanfest” last year, encouraging contact among country stars and fans. That annual gathering will now be dedicated to Boyd. On Tuesday in Burbank of a heart attack.

* Leonard S. Gruenberg; Independent Film Distributor and Producer

Leonard S. Gruenberg, 83, an independent film distributor and producer for more than six decades. Gruenberg began his career as a salesman for RKO in Minneapolis and was soon promoted to a position in New York. He later founded Gamma III, which distributed such films as “Dear John” and “Closely Watched Trains.” After producing his own Broadway play, “Compulsion,” he started the production and distribution company Sigma III. The new company produced “Sounder II,” “Birch Interval” and Roger Vadim’s “Lady With Red Boots.” Gruenberg was also instrumental in organizing the financing for the films “Flashdance” and “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.” He was a commander in the Navy during World War II. On Jan. 28 in Los Angeles.

* Fred Morales; Chief of Gabrielino Indian Tribe

Fred Morales, 82, chief of the Gabrielino Indian Tribe in San Gabriel for the past 50 years. He became chief in the early 1940s, acting as an unofficial archeologist and environmentalist on behalf of his tribe. At the request of the Native American Heritage Commission, Morales often examined archeological sites to verify whether they were Gabrielino burial grounds. He also worked to protect areas sacred to the tribe and to preserve open sagebrush areas. Morales also lectured about the Gabrielinos at local schools and colleges. On Monday in San Gabriel of complications of a stroke.

* Lyda R. Nagel; Play Producer and Director, Poet, Teacher

Lyda R. Nagel, 81, a Renaissance woman who wrote poetry, produced and directed plays, gave travelogues and taught abroad. Mrs. Nagel earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in French at USC, and spoke French, German, Italian and Spanish as well as English. She taught for two years in Quito, Ecuador, and lectured widely on her travels to South America, Asia and Europe. A supporter of ballet and theater, she co-founded the Ventura Group Theater, where she directed and produced plays. She also frequently directed plays at the Albuquerque Summerhouse theater. A licensed pilot, Mrs. Nagel was also a major supporter of the St. Labre Indian School in Ashland, Mont. On Jan. 18 in Santa Monica.

* Helen Ruth Neufeld; Arts Patron and a MOCA Founder

Helen Ruth Neufeld, 63, a patron of the arts, a founder of the Museum of Contemporary Art and a past president of the Los Angeles Filmex Society. A graduate of Bryn Mawr College, she worked for NBC television on “The Kate Smith Show” and briefly at Sotheby’s in New York. As the wife of producer Mace Neufeld, she became a textile artist and devoted herself to the arts at many levels. She was a trustee of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art, a member of the advisory board of the New York Folk Art Museum, a trustee of the Los Angeles Craft and Folk Art Museum and a founding member of the American Film Institute Associates, and was active in the Los Angeles Blue Ribbon, which helped create and support the Los Angeles County Music Center. She also served as president of the Los Angeles Bryn Mawr Alumnae Assn. and of the Seven Sisters College Conference. On Sunday in Los Angeles of cancer.

* John E. Sawyer; Led Mellon Foundation, Williams College

John E. Sawyer, 77, former president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and of Williams College. As head of Williams from 1961 to 1973, he eliminated fraternities, moved the college into coeducation and recruited African Americans. Under his leadership, the Mellon Foundation expanded its annual grants from $39.8 million in 1975 to $69.8 million in 1987. In his honor, the foundation recently established the John Sawyer Seminars in the Comparative Study of Cultures at several leading universities. A native of Worcester, Mass., Sawyer graduated with honors from Williams, earned his master’s and doctoral degrees at Harvard and served as a Navy lieutenant with the Office of Strategic Services in Washington, Algiers and Paris during World War II. He worked for the State Department’s intelligence office and taught at Harvard and Yale before returning to Williams. On Tuesday in Woods Hole, Mass., of cancer.

* Rachel Thomas; Welsh Character Actress

Rachel Thomas, 90, the Welsh actress who starred with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in the film version of Dylan Thomas’s verse play “Under Milk Wood.” Ms. Thomas, a character actress who made her name playing fiery Welsh mother figures, made her film debut in the classic 1940 film “Proud Valley” which starred American actor-singer Paul Robeson. Her other films include “The Halfway House” (1943), “Blue Scar” (1949) and “Tiger Bay” (1959). In Cardiff, Wales, on Thursday.