Born In Baltimore

Since we ran our last quiz about Baltimore's literary heritage, readers Rick Connor and Sally Lemmon suggested creating a more contemporary version. So here it is, with the caveat that some questions stray from Baltimore but stay within the state's border. 1. This author's heroine, often accompanied by a pet greyhound, is an expert at solving the city's mysteries. After naming the author, get bonus points for naming the heroine and greyhound. 2. He got his start at The Sun, became a well-known commentator for The New York Times and wrote a touching memoir about growing up here.

On July 15, 2008, MATILDA B. FRISCH. Born in Baltimore on May 23, 1923. Daughter of the late Fred and Freda Frisch. She leaves her last surviving sibling Robert; nieces, nephews and cousins. Family and friends are invited to attend her grave site service Saturday, October 18, 2 P.M. at St. Michael's Lutheran Church 9534 Belair Road, Baltimore.

When Boston-based playwright, poet and Simmons College English professor Afaa Michael Weaver returns home to Baltimore, he often can be found doing tai chi under the trees at Lake Montebello. The martial art, which he has practiced for 20 years, is representative of his life and work, which seamlessly bring together different worlds - Chinese culture, the African-American experience and poetry. Weaver's 10th collection of poetry, The Plum Flower Dance (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2007)

Elizabeth L. Morris, former executive secretary to the Baltimore County Council and a homemaker, died Saturday of throat cancer at her Ruxton home. She was 86. Elizabeth L. Kelly was born in Baltimore and raised in Towson. She was a 1939 graduate of Towson High School and married Walter J. Lears Jr. in 1941. Mr. Lears, a Baltimore County utilities inspector, died in 1975. From 1954 until retiring in 1984, Mrs. Morris was executive secretary to the County Council. Mrs. Morris, who lived on Ruxway Road, enjoyed gardening and playing bridge and Scrabble.

Dennis B. "Ding" Britton, a former distiller who later owned and operated a janitorial service, died of complications from a stroke at Mercy Medical Center. He was 74 and lived in Northwest Baltimore. Mr. Britton was born in Baltimore and attended Carver Vocational-Technical High School until enlisting in the Navy in 1952. After leaving the Navy in 1953, he went to work at the Joseph E. Seagram distillery in Relay until retiring in 1983. From 1983 to 1994, he was the owner of C and C Janitorial Services.

JAMES B. "Jim" NOCTOR, 63, of Delmar, formerly of Baltimore, died Monday, June 16, 2008, as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He was born in Baltimore on September 4, 1944, a son of the late James Matthew Noctor and Rosalia Mary (Trexler) Noctor. Jim grew up in the Irish Catholic Parish of St. John the Evangelist Church, a part of the Old 10th Ward. He proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam Era. He was a skilled carpenter and worked for various companies as a kitchen designer and installer and most recently as a furniture repair technician for Johnny Janosik's in Laurel.

S. Herbert Harris, a retired attorney, died of an infection at the North Oaks Retirement Community on May 23. The former Pikesville resident was 101. Known as Buck, he was born in Baltimore and raised in Fells Point. The oldest of nine children, he was a 1925 City College graduate. He earned a degree at the University of Maryland School of Law. He began his law practice with the St. Paul Insurance Co. and continued to practice law into his 90s. He was associated with the firm of Rollins, Smalkin & Richards in downtown Baltimore.

On May 29, 2008, at age 87, LORETTA "Rita" NORWOOD, (nee Faloni), died peacefully at her home in Chambersburg, PA. She was born in Baltimore, where she lived most of her life; survived by her loving family; two sons, Jack H. and John J.; a daughter Joyce R.; remembered by her grandchilren, Lisa M. Maring and Tony J. Norwood, and great-grandson Adam N. Maring. Services will be private. Prayers are welcome. Arrangements by Fogelsanger-Bricker Funeral Home, Shippensburg, PA.

Raymond C. Bryant, a retired Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. executive and former North Baltimore resident, died Tuesday of leukemia at the Fairhaven retirement community in Sykesville. He was 86. Mr. Bryant was born in Baltimore and raised near Wyman Park. He was a 1940 graduate of Polytechnic Institute and earned a bachelor's degree in business from Loyola College in 1943. He also studied economics at the Johns Hopkins University. During World War II, he served in the Navy in the Pacific and attained the rank of lieutenant commander.

The next time you're watching the noir classic Kiss of Death, take note of the woman Richard Widmark ties to a wheelchair and shoves down a flight of stairs -- and into film history. It's none other than Mildred Dunnock, a Baltimorean and member of the Goucher College Class of 1922. "Millie was a real pro and not above being tied to a wheelchair and sent to her death down a flight of stairs," said former Goucher President Rhoda M. Dorsey the other day. Widmark, who died last month, made his film debut as the giggling psychopath Tommy Udo in Henry Hathaway's Kiss of Death.