DeForest Kelley, 79, "Star Trek" Star
DeForest Kelley, the actor who played Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy on "Star Trek," died Fri., June 11 at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in L.A. He was 79, and had been confined for the past three months for a lingering illness. Kelley started acting in 1947 in "Fear in the Night," and played supporting roles in "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, and in "Raintree County" with Elizabeth Taylor. Kelley did make a guest appearance on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," where his character had been promoted to Admiral. He is survived by his wife of nearly 55 years, Carolyn.
Ron Link, 58, Experimental Theatre Director
Ron Link, who directed experimental theatre on both coasts in the 1970s and '80s, died June 7 in L.A., of cardiac failure following abdominal surgery. He was 58. The Columbus, Ohio native created some 22 productions at Caffe Cino and La MaMa E.T.C., and cast a young Robert De Niro in 10 roles in "Glamour, Glory, and Gold," and pre-"Rocky" Sylvester Stallone in a revival of Somerset Maugham's "Rain." Although Link directed more traditional fare, he is better known for work such as his 1974 prison spoof "Women Behind Bars," which he produced with the play's author, Tom Eyen.
Flower Hujer, 92, Modern Dance Choreographer
Flower Hujer, a modern dance choreographer who performed with her own troupe for four decades in small Manhattan theatres, died May 1, at her home in Queens. She was 92. Trained in ballet by Theodore Kosloff, Hujer danced on the West Coast and appeared in films before coming to New York in the 1940s, where she formed her own company in 1949, designing many of the performers' exotic costumes. Her dances were based on religious and nature themes, and her troupe, still headed by Hujer, continued to perform into the early 1990s.
Lonnie McNeil, 46,
Actor-Choreographer
Lonnie McNeil, who appeared in "Eubie," "Bubbling Brown Sugar," and "Black and Blue," among other musicals, died May 10, in Newark, N.J. He was 46. McNeil also taught dance and theatre, and was the artistic director of the Central Brooklyn Dance Co., as well as an artist-in-residence at Yale University, Williams College, and the University of Tel Aviv in Israel. He also directed tours of "Ain't Misbehavin' " and "Bubbling Brown Sugar," and was the co-creator, director, and choreographer of "Inappropriate," which debuted Off-Broadway last March.