In passing
Actor Brian Kelly, of ‘Flipper’ fame, 73
Los Angeles Actor Brian Kelly, who starred as Porter Ricks in the popular 1960s’ NBC television series “Flipper,” has died. He was 73.
Kelly died Feb. 12 of pneumonia in Voorhees, N.J., according to a family friend.
Kelly was born Feb. 14, 1931, in Detroit, the son of former Gov. Harry F. Kelly, who was later chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. He began his acting career after serving in the Marines during the Korean War and attending the University of Michigan law school for a year.
In 1970, Kelly was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident that left his right arm and leg paralyzed. He later won a legal settlement and continued working in Hollywood, including serving as an executive producer on Ridley Scott’s 1982 film, “Blade Runner.”
Kelly is survived by a daughter, Hallie; a son, Devon; two brothers; two sisters; and a granddaughter.
Solomon Williams, early black train engineer, 101
Bradenton, Fla. Solomon Williams, who broke the color barrier on Florida’s railroads to become the state’s first black locomotive engineer, died Feb. 11. He was 101.
When Williams became an engineer in 1921, the sight of a black man driving a train so surprised some people that they offered money to take his picture, he once said.
Williams’ place in state history was confirmed by the Manatee County Historical Commission, which gave him an award in 2001.
Williams will be forever linked with Manatee County’s locomotive icon, Old Cabbage Head, which sits in the Manatee Village Historical Park. The high-profile job earned him 10 cents an hour.
Williams retired in 1951 along with the Old Cabbage Head, he said, because no one else around could drive it.
Marcello Viotti, La Fenice music director, 50
Berlin Marcello Viotti, the music director of Venice’s La Fenice Theater, died Wednesday at a German hospital. He was 50.
Viotti succumbed after being in a coma for several days at a clinic in Munich, Germany, his agent, Paul Steinhauser, said by telephone from Vienna, Austria.
Viotti, music director at La Fenice since 2002, conducted several renowned orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic and the English Chamber Orchestra.
He also conducted at opera houses around the world, including Milan’s La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He recently conducted a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Aida” at the Met.