Stubby Kaye, 79, cherubic comic actor-singer who was Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the original “Guys and Dolls,” on Broadway (1950) and on the screen (1955), and who joined Nat King Cole as an on-screen banjo chorus crooning the ballad of Cat Ballou (1965); though he had a long career in vaudeville, television, stage and films, he was best known as the first man to belt out “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” a show-stopper from “Guys and Dolls”; Dec. 14, in Rancho Mirage, Calif., of cancer.
Lillian Disney, 98, widow of Walt Disney and a prominent patron of the arts; she had been married to the famed Chicago-born animator and studio chief for 41 years when he died in 1966; she was credited with rejecting the name Mortimer for a character her husband had invented and instead suggesting Mickey; a decade ago, she donated $50 million to kick off a drive to raise funds to build the Disney Concert Hall (scheduled to open in 2001), which is to be the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Dec. 16, in her West Los Angeles home.
William J. Weisz, 70, who retired last January as chairman of Motorola Inc., the Chicago area communications giant for whom he worked 50 years; he became president in 1970 and was part of the chief executive office that led Motorola’s transformation from a relatively small electronics company into a global leader in high-tech communications; Dec. 17, in his Phoenix home.
Loretta Hall Morgan, 61, former prosecutor and Cook County Circuit Court judge who was sworn in as a member of the bench in 1988; she also was an artist and former writer and editor; Dec. 12, in her Beverly home.
Robert J. Collins, 86, retired judge whose legal career included defending Japanese soldiers who faced war-crimes charges after World War II, working in the office of the Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago and 16 years on the bench of the Criminal Division of the Cook County Circuit Court; Dec. 13, in the Illinois Veterans Home in Manteno.
Arthur W. “Bud” Woelfle, 77, former president and CEO of Kraft Inc. in Chicago who previously had been an executive with the food firm’s European and specialty foods subsidiaries and divisions; Dec. 13, in his home in Victoria, British Columbia.
Tamara Geva, 91, Russian-born dancer and actress who was the first wife of the choreographer George Balanchine; as a performer with a touring revue featuring Russian emigres, she introduced Balanchine’s choreography to New York in 1927 by dancing two brief solos by him; in 1936, she and Ray Bolger created a Broadway sensation in the Rodgers and Hart musical “On Your Toes”; Dec. 9, in New York.
Sister Mary Bonita Willow, 85, a member of the Felician Sisters and president emeritus of Montay (formerly Felician) College who was known for her innovations at the school; Dec. 17, in Columbus Hospital.
Ralph Fasanella, 83, self-taught artist whose paintings of city life won critical praise across the country; he was best known for depictions of ethnic neighborhoods; Dec. 16, in Yonkers, N.Y.
Carole Joyner Gourley, 59, who wrote the lyrics for the pop hit “Young Love” (1957) with her guitar-playing sweetheart, Ric Cartey, when she was 18 and in high school; Dec. 7 (announced Monday), in Atlanta, of cancer.
David Rousset, 85, former French communist militant, author, World War II Resistance fighter and concentration camp survivor who was among the first French intellectuals to denounce the horrors of the gulag; Dec. 13, in Paris.
Edna Flannery Kelly, 91, former U.S. Democratic representative who was the first woman to serve Brooklyn in Congress (1949-69); Dec. 14, in Alexandria, Va.
Nicolette Larson, 45, recording artist who lifted Neil Young’s pop hit “Lotta Love” to the top of the charts in the 1970s; in her long career, she had performed with Jimmy Buffett, The Beach Boys and Willie Nelson and had such other hits as “Rumba Girl,” “Fool Me Again” and “That’s How You Know Love’s Right”; Dec. 16, in Los Angeles, of a cerebral edema, brain swelling caused by fluid accumulation.
Don E. Fehrenbacher, 77, expert on 19th Century American history and a former Stanford University history professor (1953-84) who won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for his study of the Dred Scott case; Dec. 13, in Palo Alto, Calif.
Roger Brown, 72, Harvard psychologist whose 1960s study on how children learn language broke new ground in the field; during an academic career that spanned more than four decades, he applied sophisticated analytical skills to intriguing subjects; he founded the specialty of developmental psycholinguistics, and he wrote two standard psychology textbooks; Dec. 11, in Cambridge, Mass.
Paul William Tomasello, 72, retired public school teacher and an actor noted for his patriarchal beard and flamboyant style; he taught for more than 20 years at Ellen Mitchell Elementary School and performed in theaters throughout the area, including at the Ivanhoe and Goodman;; Dec. 14, in his Portage Park home.
Janet Annenberg Hooker, 93, philanthropist who gave millions of dollars to support cultural organizations and government institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution; Dec. 13, in New York.
