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LATIMES.COM AA5 PierceVillageMemorialPark (760)767-3360pp WestwoodMemorialParkCouch BITUARY NOTICES Honoralife gotolatimes.com/placeobituary LosAngeles 1-800-286-6789 CremationServices OBITUARIES John Buchanan Director of S.F. art museums John Buchanan, 58, who brought popular shows to the Fine Arts Museums of San Fran- ciscothat raised membership and attendance but also drew criticism for pandering to lowbrow tastes, died Friday of cancer, the museums announced. Buchanan ran the Portland Art Museum for 11years before leaving in 2006 to became director of the Fine Arts Museums, made upof the DeYoung Museum and theLegion of Honor. During his six-year tenure in San Francisco, he procuredsuch crowd- pleasing exhibits as and the Golden Age of the and St. for the city.

Critics accused Buchanan of damaging the reputations by importing spectacles from elsewhere instead of promoting the projects and scholarship of the curators. San Francisco Chronicle art critic Kenneth Baker wrote not long after Buchanan arrived that some inthe art community wonderedwhether he was more interested in than fine arts. a populist, and not afraid to say he told the Chronicle. Buchanan also mounted exhibits of renowned Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings from the Musee in Paris, including worksbyPablo Picasso. Buchanan was born in Nashville in 1953 and educated at University of the South and Vanderbilt University, where he earneda in art history in 1979.

staff and wire reports news.obits@latimes.com PASSINGS erry Dimitman, a retired professor of plant pathology at Cal Poly Pomona who regularly caused an uproar when he showed up to sell his exotic fruit at the Alhambra farmers market, died Dec. 14 of a stroke at his home overlooking the San Gabriel Valley. He was 91. Such was the mystique that he cultivated, along with some of the oldest, largest and rarest exotic Asian fruit trees, that he and his family always insisted that his location remain unspecified to deter intrusions by overzealous fruit lovers. Many of his crops, such as ly- chees, longans, pummelosand mandarins, are available commercially, often from imports, but Dimitman offered ultrafresh, locally grown fruits at a modest price.

Some were special varieties cherished in Asia but unknown or rare here, such as his huge, pear-shaped Wong and Chong pummelos, aromatic ponkan mandarins, and wam- pees, from a citrus relative with small, tan, tangy fruits. Eventually he and his children sought the assistance of Chinese friends who helped to conduct farmers market sales and maintain order among the long lines of customers who feared that he would sell out. loved the Chinese people, he loved the fruit he was selling, and he loved that they loved what he was said his fourth wife, Emma Urueta-Ruiz of Fallbrook, where they planted a second orchard together. His son Robert, who lived with him at the original grove, said he intends to continue selling his fruits at the Alhambra farmers market, including his prized pummelos on the Sundays leading up to Chinese New Year on Jan. 23.

Dimitman bought his property in 1953, after carefully investigating the suitability of its microclimate for growing Asian fruits. In addition to tending the grove with great skill, he often waited decades for slow-growing exotic trees to mature into majestic specimens loaded with fruit. Just as important, he established close connections with members of his Asian American community, who gave him some of his prized varieties, and by whom he was regarded with something close to reverence. Jerome Eugene Dimitman was born Sept. 24, 1920, in New York City to Isaac Irving Dimitman, a dry cleaner and artist, and the former Rose Moss, a masseuse.

As a child, he enjoyed tending plants on the balcony of his apartment. In 1938 he moved to Southern California after his sister, who lived in Hollywood, won money in a lottery. He worked in orchards in Hemet and attended Los Angeles City College, where he met his future wife, Priscilla Wheat, in 1939. They married in 1944, and had three children, Steven of Chatsworth, Susan Purdy of Santa Monica, and Robert, all of whom survive him. His first wife died in 1971.

He is also survived by his sister, Elaine Hemley of Seattle, and Urue- ta-Ruiz, whom he married in 1985. In World War II Dimitman enlisted in the Navy and commanded tenders in the Pacific, where he became fascinated with the culture, and particularly the fruits, of Eastern Asia. He earned a degree in botany from UC Berkeley in 1943, a from the school in 1949 and adoctorate in plant pathology and biochemistry from UC Riverside in 1958. In 1949 he began teaching at the Voorhis Unit of California Polytechnic College in San Dimas, which later became Cal Poly Pomona. Dimitman was chairman of the department of biological sciences for 12 years.

He occasionally affected a gruff persona but was known as an engaging teacher and mentor. He retired in 1983 but continued to teach until 1990. He spent many years abroad as a consultant in plant pathology and education in Greece, Guatemala, Yemen and other countries, where he became known for his habit of suddenly driving his car off the road to investigate plants that caught his eye. From 1987 to 2009 he also evalu- ated scientific projects for the California Citrus Research Board, which named a Riverside facility the Jerry Dimitman Laboratory in 2010. He took great joy in growing and selling fruit sought by Asian Americans but that no one else in the area offered, especially the Chong and Wong pummelos, named after his late friends Chong Lew and Ben Wong; the Sutter pummelo, small but very juicy, which he said was brought to the California gold fields by Chinese miners in the 1860s; and the Sarawak pummelo, which has juicy green flesh with an intense lemon-lime flavor.

One variety, which he long sought, eluded but continued to inspire him. He named his hilltop orchard Kwa Luk Gardens, after the Hanging Green lychee, which in imperial China was legendary for its flavor and fragrance, reserved exclusively for the emperor and his court, and protected against thieves by multiple fences and nets. news.obits@latimes.com JERRY DIMITMAN, 1920-2011 Cal Poly Pomona professor cultivated prized Asian fruit David Karp David Karp For The Times FRUITS OF LABOR Jerry Dimitman grew crops cherished in Asia such as pear-shaped Wong and Chong pummelos, aromatic ponkan mandarins and wampees and sold them at the Alhambra farmers market. park, which once drew thousands to gawk at the mementos from second-biggest box office film of all time. Now, movie fever may be building again.

Cameras began rolling this summer on the first feature filmed in years at the studio. The movie, World War II-era film set in a Northern California fishing town, drew Academy Award-nominated actors, put local movie crews to work and signaled the ability to still lure major productions south of the border. Casting the film was a challenge as some actors shied away because they feared local crime, said Eduardo producer. But the 12-week shoot went off without a hitch for a cast that eventually included Kevin Wilkinson and Emily Watson. lived there for a while and were having a great time, and loving the Verastegui said.

an amazing studio and you save a lot of money at the same Built in 1996 by 20th Century Fox, Baja Studios has four sound stages and outdoor water tanks that are among the biggest in the world. Other pluses: Local film crews are cheaper than their Hollywood counterparts and the location just south of Rosarito Beach is a few from Southern California. The trip is even shorter for peopleusing the heliport. Over the years, all or part of about nine films were produced there. In 2005, one of the stages hosted rehearsals for the rock group U2 ahead of the Vertigo world tour.

In 2007, 20th Century Fox sold the studio to a group of local investors who hoped to make it a job growth engine in the region. But in 2008, during pre- production work for the of Narnia: Prince drug war flared in Rosarito Beach. Seven cops were killed in one month, and the studio moved the production to New Zealand. Security concerns were only part of the reason for the switch, according to Kurt Tijuana- based businessman who is part of an group that owns the studio. With facilities elsewhere offering aggressive incentive packages, Baja Studios, as well as the broader Mexican film industry, had lost its competitive edge, he said.

The Mexican government responded by establishing incentive packages offering up to 17.5%cash rebates and tax breaks for the costs of movies shot in Mexico. President Felipe Calderon announced the incentives program at the studio in March2010, saying he wanted Mexico to become movie U.S. and international locales continue rolling out ever-more enticing incentive packages, so ability to attract film shoots faces serious challenges. Some observers say that incentives still match other aggressive offerings. And negative perceptions about drug violence persist, even though crime in Baja California has declined significantly in the lasttwo years.

Mexican investors and government officials are hoping that the track record for turning out blockbusters will provide an edge. With a deep pool of local film crew professionals, many of whom have worked in Hollywood, the studio is a said Ricardo Alvarez, the head of innovation at Pro Mex, the government agency that promotes the film industry. have the people, we have the resources, we have the facilities and we have the supply he said. one of the advantages of being so close to Hollywood. Lots of our talent has experience working in Hollywood productions.

That is really helpful. It allows you to solidify your For Rosarito Beach, the movie dollars and big- spending studio executives and stars nourish all levels of an economy struggling from acollapse in tourism. During film shoots, actors and pro- duction crews fill dozens of hotel rooms and oceanfront homes. Residents still remember the sight of Russell Crowe jogging from his hotel to the studio every morning, and photos of Leonardo Di- Caprio line the walls at a nearby Marriott Hotel. For years, eateries offering Titanic-themed burgers and seafood did brisk business, and hundreds of extras would be shuttled from downtown Rosarito Beach.

Honold said everyone from hotel maids to highly skilled camera technicians benefit from a film production, as well as businesses across the border in San people often make big-item purchases like cars. every penny spent in Mexico, goes back to the U.S.,” Honold said. Little production provided a taste of past windfalls, pumping about $14 million into the local economy, according to Honold. Crews constructed a Norman Rockwell-esque town overlooking the ocean, and long-vacant production offices and dressing rooms still bearing the name of Peter Weir, the director of and once again buzzing with activity. Verastegui, the executive producer, said filming in Baja California sliced the budget, without sacrificing quality.

Some cast members agreed. think that if people knew about this facility this good, with people around here that are this be flocking down here in Wilkinson, the actor, said in an interview with filmmakers. richard.marosi Studio hopes contributes to its comeback Studio, from Source: ESRI Khang Nguyen Los Angeles Time 1D 1 5 805 Baja Studios 5 MILES Tijuana Rosarito Pacific Ocean MEXICO CALIF. Los Angeles Times AREPLICA OF THE TITANIC, shown in 1997, was built at Baja Studios for the movie. The studio later all but shut down over competition and fears of drug wars.

have the people, we have the resources, we have the facilities and we have the supply Alvarez, an executive at film industry promotion agency CMYK.