2012 deaths

Lucia Mannucci (18 May 1920 – 6 March 2012) was an Italian singer, best known as one of the singers of Quartetto Cetra, an Italian vocal quartet.Born in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Mannucci relocated to Milan at a young age. She attended the Art of Movement school directed by Carla Strauss. She successfully auditioned for EIAR, the Italian national radio broadcasting company, and worked as a singer for various radio orchestras. She toured Italy for some years, working with such entertainers as Gorni Kramer, Natalino Otto, and the Quartetto Cetra.
On 19 August 1944, she married Virgilio Savona, one of the singers of the Quartetto Cetra. Three years later, she also joined the quartet, replacing Enrico De Angelis.
Mannucci was the only female member of Quartetto Cetra, but she also had a successful career as a solo singer. Besides working with Quartetto Cetra, Mannucci pursued a solo career as a singer, musical actress, and TV show hostess. She and her husband also did research on folk music.
Mannucci died in March 2012 in Milan, aged 91.

Maurice André Raymond Herzog (15 January 1919 – 13 December 2012) was a French mountaineer and administrator who was born in Lyon, France. He led the 1950 French Annapurna expedition that first climbed a peak over 8000m, Annapurna, in 1950, and reached the summit with Louis Lachenal. Upon his return, he wrote a best-selling book about the expedition, Annapurna.

Helen Gurley Brown (née Helen Marie Gurley; February 18, 1922 – August 13, 2012) was an American author, publisher, and businesswoman. She was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years.

Thierry José Roland (French pronunciation: [tjɛʁi ʒoze ʁɔˈlɑ̃]; 4 August 1937 – 16 June 2012) was a French sports commentator who was France's leading football commentator for 59 years. He began his career as a radio journalist for the ORTF when he was just 16 years old. Roland then became a television sports journalist at age 20. He commentated on more than 1,000 football matches, including thirteen World Cups (beginning with the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile) and nine UEFA European Championships. He was nicknamed La voix du football ("The voice of football").
Roland was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburban city just southwest of Paris. He died in the 15th arrondissement of Paris of a cerebrovascular event at age 74.

Rudi van Dantzig (4 August 1933 – 19 January 2012) was a Dutch choreographer, company director, and writer. He was a pivotal figure in the rise to world renown of Dutch ballet in the latter half of the twentieth century.