The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California • B6

SATURDAY B6 THE FRESNO BEE-SOUTHTHE FRESNO BEE SOUTH 6 B6 Logical Page is THE FRESNO 22:57 By Verne Gay Newsday Calvert DeForest, one of the truly indelible character fig- ures of late-night TV and a stal- wart of David NBC and CBS shows, died Mon- day in West Islip, N.Y., after a long illness, announced Wednesday. He was 85 and had lived in Babylon since 2005. Best known and to many, known only as Larry Melman, Mr. DeForest first ap- peared on Night with David in 1982 and appeared dozens of times over the years. Once seen, Mr.

DeForest was never to be forgot- ten: Wearing glasses with Coke- bottle lenses, often walk out on stage, unannounced, then spout some inanity be followed by a double-take from a bemused Letterman (which in turn was al- ay lowed by a big laugh from the au- dience). were many other parts, too, includ- ing imperson- ations (of Roy Orbison), or as an abettor of a Letterman specialty. In one memorable bit, he gave out hot towels to passen- gers at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. But was only part-time work for Mr. DeForest, who appeared in a couple of dozen movies, TV shows and comedy series (in- cluding Night By Ben Sisario New York Times NEW YORK Walter J.

Turnbull, who founded the Boys Choir of Harlem, died Fri- day at Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan. He was 62. The cause was cancer, said his brother Horace, the former executive vice president. From modest beginnings in the basement of a church on 123rd Street, the choir went on to sing for presidents and popes. It has been celebrated around the world as much for its eclectic musical standards a typi- cal program included Handel, spirituals, jazz and pop as for being a symbol of boot- strap success in the ghetto, though the group has recently fallen on hard times after financial and managerial scandals.

Born to a poor family in rural Greenville, Mr. Turnbull won a music scholar- ship to Tougaloo College in Mississippi and, after graduation, moved to New York with dreams of being an operatic tenor. Cleaning toilets and driving cabs for a living, he also sang as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orches- tra. He was working to- ward a doctorate at the Manhattan School of Music when he started the choir as an after- school music program in the basement of the Ephe- sus Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1968. Incorporated as the Boys Choir of Harlem in 1975, the group, which usually included about 150 boys, eventually spawned a 600-student school, the Choir Academy of Harlem, which offered a full academic pro- gram in grades 4 through 12.

Ref lecting Mr. belief that musical training fo- cuses the mind and helps any child succeed in life, the school had a strict dress code, and the choirboys always appeared clean-cut and disciplined. Mr. Turnbull also founded the Girls Choir of Harlem in 1988. Mr.

Turnbull received the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton in 1997 and many other honors, including being named to the New York Black 100 by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Despite its renown, the choir and the school had chronic financial shortages, racking up as much as $5 million in debts in recent years. In 2001, a complaint from a 14-year-old academy student that he had been sexually abused by the chief counselor set in motion a chain of events that have dismantled the school and weak- ened the choir. In 2004, after a city investigation that criti- cized Mr. Turnbull for not reporting the ac- cusations of abuse, he was replaced as chief executive of the choir, though he was al- lowed to remain artistic director and his brother was forced to leave.

Two years later, citing the financial and manage- ment problems, the city evicted the choir and school from its building on Madison Av- enue and 127th Street, where it had received free space since 1993. The school is now closed, and the choir has only about 50 mem- bers and a minimal volunteer staff. Besides his brother Horace, of Nanuet, N.Y., Mr. Turnbull is survived by another brother, Sammy J. Turnbull, also of Nanuet, and a sister, Mary Webster of Atlanta.

Calvert DeForest Walter J. Turnbull By Dan Elliott Associated Press DENVER Actor Woody fa- ther, Charles Harrelson, died of a heart at- tack in the Supermax federal prison where he was serving two life sentences for the murder of a federal judge, of ficials said Wednesday. Charles Harrelson, 69, was found unre- sponsive in his cell on the morning of March 15, said Felicia Ponce, a Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman in Washington. Fremont County Coroner Dorothy Twell- man said an autopsy showed Mr. Harrelson had severe coronary artery disease.

She said he probably died in his sleep. ap- pears it was very Charles Harrelson was convicted of mur- der in the May 29, 1979, slaying of U.S. Dis- trict Judge John Wood Jr. outside his San Antonio home. Prosecutors said a drug dealer hired him to kill Wood because he did not want the judge to preside at his upcoming trial.

Charles Harrelson de- nied the killing, saying he was in Dallas, 270 miles away, at the time. Wood, known as for the sentences he gave in drug cases, was the first federal judge to be killed in the 20th century. Charles Harrelson was transferred to Su- permax, the highest-security federal pris- on, after attempting to break out of an Atlan- ta federal prison in 1995. Other inmates at Supermax, about 90 miles south of Denver, include Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski, Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols and Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph. His son got his start in acting as Woody the bartender on in 1985 and went on to star in films including Born Men and People vs.

Larry Woody publicist did not im- mediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday. The actor was just 7 when his father was first sent to prison, for murdering a Texas businessman. He was in college when his father was convicted of the assassi- nation. Charles Harrelson By Louis Galvan The Fresno Bee A Fresno man was arrested on suspicion of shooting three people during a domestic dis- turbance late Thursday at an apartment complex in south- east Fresno, police reported Friday. The shooting was reported at 11:48 p.m.

at the Silver Lake apartments at 5445 E. Belmont Ave. Detective Brian Valles of the street violence bureau said Ivory Downs, 25, was ar- rested about two hours after the incident when he showed up at a home at Ashlan and West avenues in west-central Fresno. He was arrested on suspi- cion of three counts of assault with a deadly weapon. Valles said the investiga- tion revealed that Downs had gotten into a domestic distur- bance with a 25-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man, Justin Downs.

Police did not explain the relationship be- tween the suspect and the vic- tims. Valles said the suspect pulled out a handgun and shot the unidentified woman, Jus- tin Downs and a third person, Sofia Chandler, 22. The victims were taken to University Medical Center with non-life-threatening wounds. The 25-year-old woman was shot in the right arm, Justin Downs was shot in the but- tocks and Chandler was shot in the abdomen. Valles said Ivory Downs was gone when officers ar- rived at the apartment com- plex, but police set up a sur- veillance team at the home of his mother-in-law when they learned he had allegedly threatened to go shoot her, too.

The suspect was taken into custody without incident when he arrived. Valles said information pro- vided by the suspect led offic- ers to the recovery of a gun be- lieved to have been used in the shootings. The reporter can be reached at com or (559) 441-6139. Associated Press SANTA MONICA Milton Wexler, a prominent Hollywood psychoanalyst whose efforts to find a cure for the disease that killed his wife led scientists to pinpoint the gene, has died. He was 98.

Mr. Wexler died of respiratory failure March 16 at his home, his daughters said. Though trained in law and psychology, Mr. Wexler spent much of the past three decades unlocking the mysteries of Hun- disease, a rare, incur- able genetic disorder that slow- ly killed his wife, her father and three brothers. Mr.

Wexler launched what is now known as the Hereditary Disease Foundation in 1968, when his wife, Leonore Wexler, got the diagnosis. The daughters, Alice and Nancy, had a risk of in- heriting the disease. In the early 1970s, Mr. Wexler began to recruit young scien- tists to help find a cure. The free- wheeling workshops, inspired by his therapeutic sessions with artists, stressed brainstorming and were innovative in biomedi- cal research.

In 1983, the scientists nur- tured by Mr. Wexler and later also by Nancy, a clinical psychol- ogist found the genetic mark- er for In 1993, they located the gene itself. search for the Hunting- gene became the paradigm for all such gene said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the government-supported Nation- al Human Genome Research In- stitute in Bethesda, Md. all came out of that wonderful in- tellectual ferment that Milton and Nancy IN BRIEF Bee news services OBITUARIES Vera I.

Bailey, 69, of Hanford Brian Ross Baldrica, 44, of Madera Ernest B. Childress, 67, of Clovis Salomon Albert Contreras, 71, of Fresno Clarence E. Douty, 79, of Fresno Moses Botello Esqueda, 80, of Sanger Marjorie Ann Gonsalves, 59, of Fowler Xai Lu Her, 66, of Fresno Julio Hidalgo, 81, of Fresno Dale E. Hitchman, 58, of Hanford Gladys Jacobs, 92, of Fresno James A. Luis, 58, of Tulare Myrtle McMahon, 84, of Hanford Rosa Maxudian Miars, 82, of Fresno Dr.

Robert Murray, 87, of Visalia Maria Dolores Olono, 81, of Chowchilla Richard Lee Owen, 64, of Springville Hermenegildo Pena, 43, of Lindsay Consuelo R. Rodriguez, 76, of Lindsay Jose D. Sanchez, 84, of Porterville Maria Hernandez Sierra, 74, of Fresno Tony B. Souza, 85, of Merced Shigeko Yoshida, 92, of Fowler BAILEY, VERA I. Graveside services for Vera I.

Bailey, 69, of Hanford will be at 11 a.m. Mon- day at Calvary Cemetery. Ms. Bailey, a certified nursing assis- tant, died Wednesday. Arrange- ments are by Funeral Chapel.

BALDRICA, BRIAN ROSS Me- morial services for Brian Ross Baldrica, 44, of Madera will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Jay Chapel. Mr. Baldrica, a farm consultant for Steinauer Farms, died Wednesday. CHILDRESS, ERNEST B.

Pri- vate cremation services for Ernest B. Childress, 67, of Clov- is were by Boice Funeral Home. Mr. Childress, a heavy-equip- ment operator for a quarry for 10 years, died Wednesday. CONTRERAS, SALOMON AL- BERT Graveside services for Salomon Albert Contreras, 71, of Fresno will be at 10 a.m.

Mon- day at Fresno Memorial Gar- dens. Mr. Contreras, a self-em- ployed truck driver for 35 years, died Wednesday. Visitation will be from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at Tinkler Funeral Chapel Cre- matory.

DOUTY, CLARENCE E. Grave- side services for Clarence E. Douty, 79, of Fresno will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Belmont Me- morial Park. Mr.

Douty, a retired plumbing contractor, died Thursday. Visitation will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday at Chap- el of the Light Funeral Home. ESQUEDA, MOSES BOTELLO A rosary for Moses Botello Es- queda, 80, of Sanger will be recit- ed at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Sanger Funeral Home.

Mass will be celebrated at 9 a.m. Mon- day at St. Catholic Church on St. Mr. Esqueda, a farm laborer for Olson Olson, died Wednesday.

Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. GONSALVES, MARJORIE ANN Services for Marjorie Ann Gonsalves, 59, of Fowler will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, 2370 Burnham St. in Selma.

Mrs. Gonsalves, an Inter- nal Revenue Service supervisor, died Tuesday. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at Page Funeral Chapel in Selma. Re- membrances may be sent to NAMI Fresno, P.O.

Box 5438, Fresno, CA 93755-4538; or to the favorite charity. HER, XAI LU Graveside ser- vices for Xai Lu Her, 66, of Fres- no will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Mountain View Cemetery. Mr. Her, a retired U.S.

Army soldier, died Monday. Visitation will be from 8 a.m. today to 8 a.m. Mon- day at Central Valley Communi- ty Center. Arrangements are by Funeraria La Paz.

HIDALGO, JULIO Arrange- ments for Julio Hidalgo, 81, of Fresno are by Cremation Soci- ety of Central California. Mr. Hidalgo, a helper, died Thursday. HITCHMAN, DALE E. Servic- es for Dale E.

Hitchman, 58, of Hanford will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Whitehurst-Mc- Namara Funeral Service. Mr. Hitchman died Wednesday. Visi- tation will be from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday at the funeral ser- vice. JACOBS, GLADYS Grave- side services for Gladys Jacobs, 92, of Fresno will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Ararat Cemetery. Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Pilgrim Armenian Congregational Church.

Mrs. Jacobs, a home- maker, died Friday. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Yost Webb Funeral Home. Remembrances may be sent to California Armenian Home, 6720 E.

Kings Canyon Road, Fres- no, CA 93727. LUIS, JAMES A. A rosary and Mass for James A. Luis, 58, of Tulare will be said at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St.

Aloysius Catholic Church. Mr. Luis, a ground maintenance worker, died Tues- day. Visitation will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Monday at Tulare Funeral Home.

Remembrances may be sent to Sons of Italy Roma Lodge Scholarship Fund, in care of Frances Della, 17383 Avenue 184, Strathmore, CA 93267-9520. McMAHON, MYRTLE Memo- rial services for Myrtle McMa- hon, 84, of Hanford will be at 3 p.m. today at Calvary Chris- tian Church of Hanford. Mrs. Mc- Mahon died Tuesday.

Arrange- ments are by Funeral Chapel. MIARS, ROSA MAXUDIAN Services for Rosa Maxudian Miars, 82, of Fresno will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Holy Trinity Armenian Church. Mrs. Miars, a retired manager for Knitting Mill, died Wednesday.

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at Yost Webb Funeral Home. Remembrances may be sent to Holy Trinity Armenian Church, 2226 Ventura Fres- no, CA 93721; or Hinds Hospice Home, 1416 W. Twain Fres- no, CA 93711. MURRAY, DR.

ROBERT Graveside services for Dr. Rob- ert Murray, 87, of Visalia will be at 11:30 a.m. Friday at Visalia District Cemetery. Dr. Murray, an orthodontist, died March 17.

Arrangements are by Miller Me- morial Chapel. OLONO, MARIA DOLORES A rosary for Maria Dolores Olono, 81, of Chowchilla will be recited at 7 p.m. Sunday at Smith Manor Grace Chapel in Madera. Funer- al services will be at 11 a.m. Mon- day at St.

Catholic Church in Madera. Ms. Olono died Tuesday. Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the chapel.

OWEN, RICHARD LEE Servic- es for Richard Lee Owen, 64, of Springville will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Page Funeral Chapel in Selma. Mr. Owen, owner of Renegade Welding Repair, died Wednesday. Visitation will be from 9 to 11 a.m.

Monday at the chapel. PENA, HERMENEGILDO A ro- sary for Hermenegildo Pena, 43, of Lindsay will be recited at 6 p.m. Monday and Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Mr.

Pena, a construction worker, died Monday. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday at the church. Arrangements are by Peers-Lorentzen Funeral Chap- el in Tulare. RODRIGUEZ, CONSUELO R.

Vigil services for Consuelo R. Rodriguez, 76, of Lindsay will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday and servic- es will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Ms.

Rodriguez, a care- giver, died Wednesday. Visita- tion will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Tues- day at the church. Arrange- ments are by Myers Funeral Ser- vice. SANCHEZ, JOSE D.

Services for Jose D. Sanchez, 84, of Por- terville will be in Mexico at a later date. Mr. Sanchez, a farm laborer, died Tuesday. Arrange- ments are by Myers Funeral Ser- vice Crematory.

SIERRA, MARIA HERNANDEZ A rosary for Maria Hernan- dez Sierra, 74, of Fresno will be recited at 7 p.m. Sunday at Fu- neraria La Paz. Mass will be cele- brated at 9 a.m. Monday at St. Cathedral.

Mrs. Sierra, a homemaker, died Monday. Visi- tation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. SOUZA, TONY B.

Mass for Tony B. Souza, 85, of Merced will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Fri- day at St. Catholic Church in Los Banos. Burial will be at 1 p.m.

Friday at San Joaquin Valley National Ceme- tery in Santa Nella. Mr. Souza, a truck driver for Los Banos Grav- el, died Wednesday. Arrange- ments are by Whitehurst Funer- al Chapel in Los Banos. YOSHIDA, SHIGEKO Private services for Shigeko Yoshida, 92, of Fowler were by Fow- ler Funeral Home.

Mrs. Yoshida, a homemaker, died Tuesday. Man arrested after 3 shot Domestic disturbance occurred at southeast Fresno apartments. Late-night TV figure Calvert DeForest dies Actor Woody father dies in Supermax New program to ight theft at L.A. airport LOS ANGELES A new program was announced Friday to fight theft at Los Angeles International Airport, where federal baggage screeners and others have been charged with stealing items from liers that included a $100,000 watch from Paris Hilton.

A dozen federal and local agencies will cooperate to investigate and prosecute crimes under the airport enhancement and a key compo- nent will be battling theft by workers, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo said. The city office on Thursday filed misde- meanor theft charges against five former employees of the Transportation Safety Administration, two employ- ees of an airport subcontrac- tor and a transient for allegedly stealing items from airline passenger luggage. Ex-prison guard must pay damages to inmate SAN DIEGO A former prison guard was ordered to pay $600,000 in damages to a male inmate he was accused of sexually assaulting in 2001. Kimberly Lewis pleaded guilty in April 2003 to a felony charge of having sexual contact with an inmate while on duty. He was sentenced to a year in jail and ordered to serve five probation.

Lewis was formerly a guard at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in Otay Mesa. The $600,000 award settled a civil suit filed against Lewis and more than 100 other prison workers that argued the defendants did not adequately protect the victim at the prison. Man pleads guilty to bilking investors OAKLAND A Danville man who shot himself in the chest after allegations first surfaced that he bilked investors of millions of dollars pleaded guilty Friday to charges of money launder- ing and fraud charges, according to the U.S. Attor- Office.

William Frances Reimers pleaded guilty in federal court to six counts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering, spokes- man Luke Macaulay said. elaborate scam involved diverting funds from investors to himself and other businesses he owned, after promising to place the money in mutual funds, authorities said. He used the money to pay his mortgage and buy luxury cars and vacations, Macaul- ay said. Boys Choir of Harlem founder dies Walter Turnbull started group that became world renowned. Psychoanalyst Milton Wexler dies at age 98 page B6 the fresno bee saturday, march 24, 2007 fresnobee.com.