48 March 7 • 2019 jn soul of blessed memory continued from page 47 FELICE NADINE SHECTER, 83, of Farmington Hills, died Feb. 27, 2019. She is survived by her beloved husband, Harry Shecter; son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Concepcion Shecter; daughters and son-in-law, Jacqueline Shecter- Leitson and Marc Leitson, Pamela Shecter; brother and sister-in-law, Barry and Carol Sandrow; sisters and brother-in-law, Sara and David Neyers, Roberta Scull; grandchil- dren, Jessica (Justin) Trotter, Erica (Aron) Staege, Jordan Leitson, Harper (Maddie) Shecter, Nikki Bowen; great-grandchildren, Jace, Jet, Juliet, Finn. She is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, other family members and friends. Contributions can be made to Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network. Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel. Oscar-Winning Jewish Composer Dies at 89 Andre Previn, pianist, composer and conductor whose broad reach took in the worlds of Hollywood, jazz and classical music, died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. He was 89. According to an Associated Press story, his ex-wife Mia Farrow tweet- ed Thursday, “See you in the Morning beloved Friend. May you rest in glorious symphonies. ” Previn and Farrow, his third wife, had three children and adopt- ed three others during their marriage. Previn married five times. All ended in divorce, Previn was born Andreas Ludwig Prewin in 1929 into a wealthy Jewish family in Berlin. A child prodigy, he was sent to study classical music. But the family was forced to flee Nazi Germany in 1938, moving briefly to Paris before traveling to the United States. Previn soon found work composing for films in Hollywood, where he was eventually nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won four, for My Fair Lady, Gigi, Porgy and Bess, and Irma La Douce. Previn abandoned Hollywood for a career as a classical conductor. He was named musical director of the Houston Symphony in 1967 and went on to lead such renowned orchestras as the Los Angeles Philharmonic and London’ s Royal Philharmonic. In 1998, his opera based on A Streetcar Named Desire pre- miered at the San Francisco Opera. In 1958, he won the first of his numer- ous Grammys for the sound track for Gigi. In 1960 he was awarded a Grammy for best jazz performance for selec- tions from West Side Story. In 1998, he received the Kennedy Center’ s lifetime achievement award. Director of Singin’ In The Rain Dies at 94 (JTA) — Stanley Donen, the filmmaker and choreographer best known for the 1952 musical Singin’ in the Rain, died Feb. 28 from heart failure in New York City. He was 94. As a child in Columbia, S.C., Donen faced anti-Se- mitic bullying and used the movies as an escape from the tensions of being one of the few Jews in his community, the Associated Press report- ed. He became an atheist as a youth. The movies turned him on to the world of dancing and acting. He met Gene Kelly when they worked on the original Broadway production of Rodgers and Hart’ s Pal Joey, when Donen, then 16, was in the chorus and Kelly was cast in the lead. They met again in Hollywood and began working together, first with Donen as Kelly’ s assis- tant, choreographer and later as co- director. Donen also worked with actors Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire. Some of his other notable films include On the Town (1949), Royal Wedding (1951), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Funny Face (1957), Indiscreet (1958) and Charade (1963). Though his movies are well-known and beloved, the director never received an Academy Award nomination. In 1998, he was given an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement. Steven Spielberg told the AP that Donen was a “friend and early mentor. His generosity in giving over so many of his weekends in the late 60s to film students like me to learn about telling stories and placing lenses and directing actors is a time I will never forget. ” Donen was married five times and is survived by three of his four children. STEVE BOWBRICK, FLICKR.COM ADAM SCHARTOFF, WIKIPEDIA.COM