obituarics

Obituaries from page 73

ESTHER
SINGER, 101,
of Tamarac, Fla.,
formerly of West
Bloomfield, died
Nov. 14, 2011.
Mrs. Singer
was a mem-
Singer
ber of Jewish
Women's International and
Congregation B'nai David and its
sisterhood.
She is survived by her sons and
daughter-in-law, Leonard and
Carol Singer of Coconut Creek,
Fla., Dr. Myron Singer of Tamarac,
Fla.; daughter, Ilene Singer of
Tamarac; brother, John Yunis of
Florida; sisters, Molly Benton of
West Bloomfield, Eleanor Brown
of West Bloomfield; grandchil-
dren, Dr. Robert and Amy Singer,
Brian and Donna Singer, Daniel
and Deborah Singer, Matthew
Singer, Sara Singer; great-grand-
children, Zachary, Jordyn and
Olivia Singer; many other loving
relatives and friends.
Mrs. Singer was the beloved
wife of the late Martin Singer;

loving mother-in-law of the late
Diane Singer; dear sister and
sister-in-law of the late Jack Yunis,
the late Bernard Benton, the late
Ben Brown, the late Charlotte and
the late Bernard Cohen, the late
Goldie and the late Irwin Meyers.
Contributions may be made to
Doctors Without Borders, P.O. Box
5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741-
5030. Services and interment
were held at Machpelah Cemetery
in Ferndale. Arrangements by
Hebrew Memorial Chapel.

Correction
• The obituary for Dr. Craig
Marshall Gastwirth (Nov. 17)
should have indicated that he
is survived by his brothers and
sisters-in-law, Dr. Glenn and Joy
Gastwirth of Potomac, Md., and
Dr. Bart and Gwen Gastwirth of
Buffalo Grove, Ill.

• The obituary for Ida Drasnin
(Nov. 17) should have indicated
that she is survived by her hus-
band of 51 years, Mayer Drasnin.

Hollywood Writer, Director

Alan D. Abbey

JTA

H

ollywood writer and director Hal
Kanter, who wrote for figures as var-
ied as Bob Hope and
Elvis Presley, and who created
a pioneering sitcom for a black
actress in the 1970s, died Nov. 6,
2011, at 92.
Kanter was known as a great
and witty quipster, who ended
his 1998 autobiography, So Far,
So Funny with this quote: "If
any of my work over the past 60
years has inspired, encouraged
or motivated any young per-
son to write comedy for radio,
Hal Kanter
motion pictures or television, I
apologize."
Kanter wrote or co-wrote The Road to Bali
(1952) for Hope and Bing Crosby, Pocketful of
Miracles (1961) for director Frank Capra and wrote
and directed Loving You (1957), Elvis Presley's sec-
ond movie and the first in which he starred.

In 1968, Kanter created Julia, starring Diahann
Carroll as a nurse who was raising a young son
alone after her husband was killed in Vietnam. It
was the first TV show to feature a black female lead
and won numerous awards over the years. "We all
felt we were really contributing to
the mores of society," Kanter said.
Kanter was born in Savannah,
Ga., where his mother's parents
lived. His father developed the
Classics Illustrated comic books.
In an oral history interview
Kanter joked, "I grew up in the
Deep South and moved to the
shallow North."
Kanter studied at the Art
Students League in New York,
and became a comedy writer
by 17. He served in the Army
during World War II and cov-
ered the Omaha Beach landings on D-Day for
Armed Forces Radio. After the war, he wrote
for Crosby, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Peggy
Lee and Dinah Shore, another Jewish south-
erner, among others. 1

FOUR GENERATIONS OF HELPING FAMILIES

For 70 years, there's one thing that has never stood in the way of The Ira Kaufman Chapel
working with a family that needs us - money.

During all of the ups and downs of Michigan's history, we have always maintained our
commitment to flexibility on costs. And we always will.

We don't believe in "extras" - we won't charge you for a Shomer, and we won't charge you
for Web streaming. But, we will always be fair, whenever you need us.

THE IRA KAUFMAN CHAPEL

Bringing Together

74 November

24 2011

Faith Community

Obituaries

18325 W. Nine Mile Road Southfield, Mt 48075

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