1996 deaths

Marco_Antonio_Campos

Marco Antonio Campos (9 September 1919 – 19 February 1996) was a Mexican comedian, actor, and singer best known as Viruta in the double act Viruta y Capulina with Gaspar Henaine. His best known role is as the straight man in the comic duo Viruta y Capulina along with Gaspar Henaine. Campos and Henaine worked together in 95 comedy films and one television series until they separated over work issues in 1969. He died in 1996 from an aortic aneurysm.

César_Mendoza

General César Leonidas Mendoza Durán (September 11, 1918 – September 13, 1996) was a member of the Government Junta which ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, representing the country-wide police force, the Carabineros de Chile.
Mendoza was born in Santiago, the youngest of the eleven children of Atilio Mendoza Valdebenito, a science teacher and first mayor of La Cisterna, and Amalia Durán, a pianist. In 1938, young César Mendoza began his compulsory military service. In 1940, he matriculated at the Carabineros' School, from which he graduated as a second lieutenant the following year. Mendoza worked in different cities during his police career, starting in 1942 as a lieutenant at Molina, Talca, and the Carabineros' School. He was promoted to captain in 1953, to major in 1959, to lieutenant colonel in 1965, to colonel in 1968, to general in 1970, and to general inspector in 1972. On 10 September 1973 Mendoza was the eighth in rank in the Chilean Police Corps, a professional military body which could have stood up to the army in defense of the Allende government. He agreed to join the coup leaders who promoted him to General Director. In this position, he eventually formed part of the Government Junta that came into power in the September 11 1973 coup d'état (which coincidentally happened on Mendoza's birthday). Of the four members of the Junta (who represented the Chilean Army, Air Force, Navy and Carabineros or National Police), Mendoza was widely considered the one who held the least amount of power and influence, even being derisively referred to as Mendocita.
Mendoza served in the Government Junta until August 2, 1985, where the public outcry from Caso Degollados led to his forced resignation. He was replaced by Rodolfo Stange Oelckers.
A noted horseman, Mendoza won a silver medal in the XV Olympic Games of 1952 at Helsinki as a member of the show jumping team.

Oreste_Plath

César Octavio Müller Leiva (13 August 1907 – 24 July 1996),, mostly known under the pseudonym Oreste Plath, was a Chilean writer and folklorist. In 1942, he began studying folklore, making trips to neighboring countries like Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina. In 1982, he was elected to the Academia Chilena de la Lengua.

Shearn_Moody,_Jr.

Shearn Moody Jr. (May 23, 1933 – June 25, 1996) was an American financier, entrepreneur, and philanthropist from Galveston, Texas. He was heir to a financial empire as well as a convicted felon and originator of the Moody Gardens resort complex.
Moody was also the grandson of insurance and financial tycoon William Lewis Moody Jr.

Roland_Varno

Roland Varno (March 15, 1908 – May 24, 1996) was an American character actor from Utrecht, Netherlands.Varno's father was a tea planter, Martin Fredrick Vuerhard, and his mother was a concert pianist. Although they hoped for him to have a military career, he began acting when he was 16 years old, the youngest member of the royal Dutch theater at that time. After he graduated from college in Leyden, he traveled and continued to study dramatics. He went to Hollywood after a talent scout for MGM saw him in a German film in 1931.Varno worked in vaudeville, performing and designing scenery.He appeared in dozens of films in the 1930s and 1940s. During World War II, Varno served in the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency.Varno also appeared on TV series including Space Patrol, the Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok and 77 Sunset Strip.
Born Jacob Frederik Vuerhard, he was the father of Martin Varno, author of the 1958 science fiction film Night of the Blood Beast. He was married to Elizabeth Alderson. They also had a daughter, Jillian Mariana.Varno died on May 24, 1996, in Lancaster, California.

Luke_Walter_Jr.

Luk Renneboog, better known as Luke Walter Jr. (22 November 1947 – New York City, 18 June 1996), was a Belgian blues singer and musician.
In 1986, he founded the group Blue Blot with Albert Szukalski. With the second album 'Bridge to your heart', the group made a breakthrough to the general public.
In 1993, they discovered that he had leukemia. Just before his death, he made the solo album Back To Normal.

Alfredo_Varelli

Alfredo Varelli (born Alfredo Ciavarella, 31 August 1914 – 18 August 1996) was an Italian film actor whose career spanned more than six decades. Varelli was born Alfredo Ciavarella and debuted in Alessandro Blasetti's 1934 film Vecchia guardia. He emerged during the Fascist era, but most of his work was post-Second World War. He played a leading role in the 1942 historical drama The Jester's Supper. Varelli is also known for playing "Lucan" in Quo Vadis (1951). His last role was in the film Roseanna's Grave, released posthumously in 1997.
Varelli died in Rome on 18 August 1996, at the age of 81.

Czesław_Centkiewicz

Czesław Jacek Centkiewicz (October 18, 1904 – July 10, 1996) was a Polish engineer, explorer, writer and journalist. He is best known for a number of books he authored (or co-authored with his wife Alina Centkiewicz) on history of exploration of polar areas and the daily life of Inuit.