Mangesh Padgaonkar
* Iconic Marathi poet-and Padma Bhushan recipient Mangesh Keshav Padgaonkar passed away in Mumbai on December 30, 2015 at the age of 86.
* Sung by Arun Date, his songs Ya Janmawar, Ya Jaganyawar Shatada Prem Karawe. Bhatukalichya Khelamadhali and Shukratara Mand Wara are well known.
* In 1983-84, he penned University of Pune’s theme song Punyamayee De Amha Akshar Vardaan.
■ In 2012, he was honoured with Jeevan Sadhana Gaurav Puraskar by University of Pune for his contributions in the field of literature.
* He awarded with the Sahitya Academy Award in 1980 for his collection of poems Salam, the MP Literary Conference Award in 1956, and the Maharashtra State Award in 1953 and 1955. In 2008, Padgaonkar was awarded with Maharashtra Bhushan Award.
Haskell Wexler
■ Legendary cinema togra pher Haskell Wexler, best known for his work in films like ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and ‘American Graffiti’, has died on December 27, 2015 at the age of 93 years. •
» Haskell was known for his work on films like Jane Fonda’s anti-war classic ‘Coming Home’ and Sidney Poitier’s race drama ‘In the Heat of the Night’.
■ He was also recognised for his documentary work on the Emmy-winning Paul Jacobs arid the Nuclear Gang and 1970’s ‘Interviews with My Lai Veterans’, for which he won an Academy Award.
■ He scored his first Oscar for Elizabeth Taylor’s 1966 movie ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’, and struck gold again 10 years later for director Hal Ashby’s 1976 Woody Guthrie biopic ‘Bound for Glory’.
Current Affairs .com Sadhana Shivdasani
■ Veteran Bollywood actress Sadhana Shivdasani passed away 6n December 25, 2015 at the age of 75. More than her films, the actress is till date remembered for the legendary front bangs she sported, a hair cut which is now commonly referred to as the Sadhana cut.
• Sadhana Shivdasani was bom on September 2, 1941 at Karachi. Her debut film in Bollywood was Shree 420 as Chorus girl. Her fame to claim being Love in Shimla. She also appeared in popular films like Parakh, Hum Dono, Mere Mehboob, Waqt and Woh Kaun Thi.
• She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by UFA in 2002. She was renowned generally for his style statement and acting prowess in Bollywood in the 1960s and 70s.
Chatla Sriramulu
■ Noted writer and theatre artiste Chatla Sriramulu passed away at Secunderabad on December 18, 2015 at the age of 84. Sriramulu was awarded ‘Best Actor’ twice by Andhra Nataka Kala Parishad and was also a recipient of Central Government’s Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1982.
• He was a railway employee who hailed from Vijayawada city. He was the first artist from Andhra Pradesh to receive Emeritus Fellowship from the Human Resources Department of Government of India. He acted in and directed more than 100 plays and wrote several books on a wide range of subjects.
■ He was awarded the certificate of ‘Producer and Teacher’ by the British Drama League, London in 1970. Sriramulu was instrumental in the establishment of popular literary and cultural organisation Rasaranjani which dedicated to the field of theatre arts.
Peter Dickinson
■ Peter Dickinson, a prolific novelist for adults and children has died on December 18, 2015 at the age of 88. He had the distinction of being the first author to receive twice the prestigious Carnegie medal, awarded annually by librarians for the year’s outstanding new children’s book.
■ He won in consecutive years, in 1980 for Tulku and in 1981 for City of Gold and Other Stories from the Old Testament. His first novel for children ‘The Weathermonger’ was published in 1968.
VS Malimath
■ Former Chief Justice of Karnataka and Kerala High Courts VS Malimath died on December 24, 2015 at the age of 86. He was appointed as Judge of the High Court of Karnataka in 1970 and its Chief Justice in 1984. He was an International Observer to oversee the referendum in Sri Lanka.
■ Justice Malimath, a post-graduate diploma in Public International Law from University of London, commenced practice at the High Court of Bombay in 1952 and later shifted to Bengaluru where he went on to become Advocate General in 1968.
■ Justice Malimath had served as Chairman of the Central Administrative Tribunal and as a Member of the National Human Rights Commission.
■ He headed the Committee on Reform of Criminal Justice System in India, and was the UN representative to monitor human rights enforcement in Nigeria and Sri Lanka.
George Clayton Johnson
■ Science fiction novelist, TV scriptwriter and comic book creator best known for co-writing the 1967 novel Logan’s Run, George Clayton Johnson, died on December 25, 2015 at the age of 86. Novel Logan’s Run adapted into a 1976 film and was nominated for two Oscars.
■ Born in Cheyenne, WY, in 1929, Johnson dropped out of school in the ninth grade and spent his early adulthood as a draftsman following service in the US Army and a brief stint in college. He had penned the first Star Trek television episode that was broadcasted in 1966.
■ He broke into writing as a profession in 1959 penning the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode ‘I’ll Take Care of You’.
