The Michigan Daily-Friday, July 17, 1981-Page 3
Harry Chapin dead at 38
From AP and UPI
NEW YORK-Harry Chapin, the singer-composer who
broke onto recording charts nearly a decade ago with the
song "Taxi," was killed yesterday in an automobile accident
on the Long Island Expressway. He was 38.
Chapin, known for his narrative ballad style and work to
end world hunger, was driving alone when he tried to switch
lanes in front of a truck at about 12:27 p.m. on the westbound
expressway near Jericho, 15 miles east of New York City.
CHAPIN WAS DRIVING to New York City on business
from his Long Island house, said Guy Thomas, a publicist for
his management company.
Police said the driver of the truck that struck Chapin,
Robert Eggleton of Plainfield, N.J., and another truck driver
cut the seatbelt that was keeping Chapin in the driver's seat
and pulled him from the burning vehicle. Police said
Eggleton would not be charged in the accident.
Chapin struck it big in 1972 with "Taxi," a plaintive ballad
about a taxi driver's chance encounter with an old
sweetheart, and came back again last year with a follow-up
titled simply "Sequel."
The songs that intervened were never as popular, although
"Cat's in the Cradle" went gold in 1974. That tune was written
to a poem by Chapin's wife which chided him about neglec-
ting his family.
THE CONTEMPORARY Music Almanac lists Chapin as a
co-founder of the World Hunger Year project, an Oscar
nominee for his 1969 documentary film, "Legendary Cham-
pions" and a 1975 Tony Award nominee for his multi-media
Broadway show, "The Night That Made America Famous."
Chapin's songs always told stories. In an Associated Press
interview February, Chapin said: "Nobody during the past
decade so consistently has used the extended narrative form.
For stories of ordinary people and cosmic moments in their
noncosmic lives, you have to turn back to Harry Chapin."
He added, "And I think I've had the most social and
political involvement of any singer-songwriter in America."
Last fall, Chapin campaigned for five Republicans and 19
Democrats for Congress "who were good on hunger issues,"
he said.
Chapin was declared dead shortly afterwards at Nassau
County Medical Center, where he was taken by a police
helicopter. No cause of death has been determined, pending
an autopsy.
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Americans
approve of
O'Connor
pick
NEW YORK (AP)-By an overwhelming margin,
Americans approve of President Reagan's choice of
Sandra O'Connor to be the first female justice of the
U.S. Supreme Court, an Associated Press-NBC News
Poll says.
Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conser-
vatives, those who support abortion and those who
oppose it all approve of the choice of the Arizona ap-
peals court judge for the high court.
THE MAJOR opposition to Mrs. O'Connor's
nomination has come from the leaders of conser-
vative groups that are anti-abortion and anti-ERA.
They say Mrs. O'Connor's record in the Arizona state
legislature shows she supports abortion on demand
and the ERA. Mrs. O'Connor has not officially stated
her views on either issue since her nomination.
The poll did not question the respondents on
whether they knew Mrs. O'Connor's position on ERA
or on abortion, nor did it link either issue to her
nomination.
Nearly two-thirds of those questioned-65 per-
cent-said they approved of Reagan's choice of Mrs.
O'Connor to fill the vacancy on the nation's highest
court created by the retirement of former Justice
Potter Stewart. Only 6 percent said they opposed the
nomination. Twenty-nine percent of the 1,599 adults
interviewed nationwide by telephone Monday and
Tuesday were not sure.
EVEN THOSE Protestants who say they are "born
again"-a major segment of support claimed by con-
servative political groups opposed to the
nomination-backed Mrs. O'Connor. Sixty percent of
the born-again Protestants approved of Reagan's
choice, while only 7 percent were opposed.
Mrs. O'Connor's nomination must be passed on by
the Senate, with the hearing expected in September.
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Student hurt in
S. Forest fire
By ANN MARIE FAZIO
Daily staff writer
A fire in the first floor of a two-story
apartment on S. Forest Wednesday
night left one of the residents, a Univer-
sity student, in serious condition with
burns over 20 percent of her body, ac-
cording to Ann Arbor Police Sgt. Harold
Tinsey.
Valerie Vener, 20, of 524 S. Forest,
was taken to University Hospital's
Emergency Room after firefighters
found her sleeping in the second floor of
the burning apartment, Tinsey said.
DEPUTY FIRE Marshall Wesley
Prater reported that she had second
degree burns on both arms and her face
and suffered carbon monoxide
poisoning due to smoke inhalation.
The fire department received the call
at about 11:30 p.m., according to
Assistant Fire Chief Henry Mallory.
Firemen had the fire extinguished by
11:49 p.m., he said.
The burning building was a two-
family unit. Eighteen firefighters and
six trucks were called to the scene,
which is the usual number called for a
house fire, he said.
THREE FIRE fighters, Robert
Lechdanski, John Schnur and John
Wood, found Vener, removed her and
gave her oxygen and administered first
aid, he added, before taking her to the
hospital.
The other two residents, Carole Mc-
Collister and Cathi Smith, both Univer-
sity students, were not in the house at
the time of the fire.
DEPUTY FIRE Marshal Prater said
the fire was a "delayed alarm" fire
which had been burning for a while
before it was discovered. The fire,
which he believes started in the first
floor living room, completely destroyed
the floor.
The Fire Investigation Bureau is still
investigating the incident, but Prater
said although they still do not have a
cause, arson has been ruled out.
Prater said the other apartment in
the house was undamaged except for
some minor smoke damage.
Daily Photo by KIM HILL
WEDNESDAY NIGHT'S FIRE gutted the first floor of this S. Forest apar-
tment. Chairs and the sofa, seen here on the lawn, were almost totally burnt.
A student was sleeping upstairs when firemen rescued her. She received
second degree burns on 20 percent of her body.