October 23, 2000
Jean Peters, 73, an actress who appeared in films with Marlon Brando, Ray Milland and Spencer Tracy before marrying billionaire Howard Hughes, died Oct. 13 of leukemia in La Jolla, Calif.
Originally from Canton, Ohio, she appeared in 19 films, beginning with the 1947 movie "Captain from Castile" opposite Tyrone Power, and including "It Happens Every Spring" (1949) with Mr. Milland, "Viva Zapata!" (1952) with Mr. Brando, "Niagara" (1953) with Marilyn Monroe, "Apache" (1954) with Burt Lancaster and "Broken Lance" (1954) with Mr. Tracy.
After a one-year marriage to Texas oil executive Stuart Cramer III, Miss Peters met Mr. Hughes, who was 21 years her senior. They married in 1957 in a secret ceremony in Nevada, and she gave up her career. She lived a reclusive existence with the eccentric billionaire and was rarely seen in public.
In 1970, she filed for divorce.
She married 20th Century Fox executive Stanley Hough in 1971.
Gwen Verdon, 75, Broadway's premier female dancer who was the seductive Lola in "Damn Yankees" and the saucy, love-struck Charity in "Sweet Charity," died Wednesday in her sleep at the home of her daughter in Woodstock, Vt., said her agent, Sam Cohen.
The lithe redhead did her best work with director and choreographer Bob Fosse, whom she married in 1960. The dancer worked with Mr. Fosse not only in "Damn Yankees" (1955) and "Sweet Charity" (1966), but in "New Girl in Town" (1957), "Redhead" (1960) and "Chicago" (1975).
She won four Tony Awards, beginning with "Can-Can," the 1953 Cole Porter musical.
Julie London, 74, the smoky-voiced "Cry Me A River" nightclub singer who played TV nurse Dixie McCall on the old "Emergency!" series, died Wednesday in Los Angeles.
She was married to "Dragnet" star Jack Webb for five years. Her second husband, Bobby Troup, was the composer, jazz musician and actor who penned the classic song "Route 66." He died of heart failure last year at 80.
Arthur Goldberg, 58, president and chief executive officer of Park Place Entertainment, died Thursday in Las Vegas from complications due to bone marrow failure.
A leader in the industry as head of the world's largest gaming company, he divided his time between Las Vegas and New Jersey. Park Place owns, manages or has an interest in 28 gambling properties that include more than 28,000 hotel rooms. Park Place properties include Caesars resorts in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J., as well as Paris/Ballys and the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas.
Walter Shenson, 81, a film producer whose credits included the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!" died Tuesday in Los Angeles from complications from a stroke.
