Liz Myers of Trivers/Myers Music, Manhattan Beach, Calif., has been elected president of the Association of Music Producers’ (AMP) West Coast chapter. VP is Tom Seufert of Visual Music, Woodland Hills, Calif. Second VP is Peter Donald of 2beat Productions, Santa Monica. Secretary/treasurer is Judy Santi of Team Services, Burbank, Calif….Director/cameraman Richard Reens, formerly of Mirella Films, Hollywood, has joined Motel Films, Hollywood….Director Charlie Carlson, formerly of Compulsive Pictures, New York, has come aboard Big Apple-based Highway 61 for U.S. representation….Animation director Paul Griffin has come aboard CafeFX, the Santa Maria, Calif.-headquartered house with a studio in Santa Monica….Adam Isidore has joined New York-based Charlex as VP/executive producer. He was formerly VP/executive producer at BBDO New York….Amy Kindred, formerly executive producer at Charlex, has joined bicoastal Sideshow Creative, as executive producer of its commercial division….Moneyshots, Santa Monica, has named Paula Arnett its executive producer….Creative editing house Swell, Chicago, has hired Mike Czerniuk as creative director of its graphics division, Bazooka….Peter McHugh is leaving his post as partner/executive creative director at 180, Amsterdam, to join Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis, as managing partner/chief creative officer….Harvey Marco has been named executive creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi LA, Torrance, Calif. He will work alongside chief creative officer Steve Rabosky on all creative initiatives for client Toyota Motor Sales….Rob Kaplan has joined agency production company Driver, New York, as in-house music producer….Mark Barasch has re-opened SoundImage NY, which was formerly known as SoundImage at Photomag. The new shop launches in the former space of Liebert Audio Post, with that company’s owner, Bob Liebert, joining SoundImage as mixer/ sound designer. Other staffers include mixers P. Dennis Mitchell and Chris Sherwin….Fred Koenekamp, ASC, will receive the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award next February at the 2005 ASC Awards. Koenekamp’s credits include The Towering Inferno, for which he earned an Academy Award…. Hollywood-headquartered Deluxe Laboratories has gone from minority to sole owner of digital film lab EFILM, Hollywood. Deluxe, which had a 20 percent stake in EFILM, bought the 80 percent balance from Panavision, Woodland Hills….Avid Technology (NASDAQ: AVID), Tewksbury, Mass., has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Midiman, doing business as M-Audio—a leading provider of digital audio and MIDI solutions for electronic musicians and audio professionals—in a deal valued at roughly $80 million. Under terms of the agreement, M-Audio will become a business unit of Avid’s Digidesign….
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More