Obituaries

Ray Kurtzman

Ray Kurtzman began his career in the entertainment industry in 1954
working in the legal department at Allied Artists Pictures. From
there, he worked as in-house counsel at Mirisch Corporation, as west
coast Head of Business Affairs at Columbia Pictures, and as a TV and
Motion Picture attorney and Business Affairs executive at William
Morris Agency before joining Creative Artists Agency in 1978. As Head
of Business Affairs at CAA, Kurtzman was one of the first 20 employees
and remained an important fixture for the agency for 22 years until
his retirement in 2001.

Kurtzman received his Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from the
UCLA College of Business Administration and his Law Degree from the
USC School of Law.

Kurtzman is a native of Los Angeles. He is survived by his wife,
Lynette Kurtzman; their children, Rick (and wife Wendy) Kurtzman,
Howard (and wife Robin) Kurtzman, Janet (and husband David) Lonner;
and ten grandchildren.

Throughout his career, Kurtzman served on the boards of Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, the Jewish
Community Foundation, Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the Motion Picture
and Television Fund, the USC Casden Institute for the Study of the
Jewish Role in American Life, the Executive Branch of the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and as President of the Southwest
Region of the American Committee of the Weizmann Institute of Science,
among others. He was also a long-time member of the Hillcrest Country
Club.

Kurtzman died of complications from Alzheimer’s on April 23, 2007 with
his family by his side in Beverly Hills. His memorial service will be
held on Thursday, April 26, 2007 at 9am at Hillside Memorial Park
(6001 Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90045). In lieu of flowers,
contributions can be made to the Motion Picture Television Fund (MPTF
Foundation, 22212 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 300, Woodland Hills, CA
91364) or the Creative Artists Agency Foundation (2000 Ave. of the
Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067).

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Estelle Lee Abrams died March 22 at 90. She is survived by her daughter, Carol Lee (Demetri) Tauber; son, Richard Jacob; three grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Sion Davood Ahdoot died March 27 at 82. He is survived by his brothers, Massis, Jacob, Habibi, Bahran, Manouchehr, Arastoo and Khosrow; and sisters, Tooba and Batoul. Groman

Henry Isaac Alcouloumre died March 23 at 80. He is survived by his son, Dr. Eric (Annee Della Donna); daughters, Jeanne (Rory Rodriguez) and Debbie (Terry Caldwell); five grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter. Malinow and Silverman

Edward Baker died March 23 at 89. He is survived by his wife, Georgina; son, Paul (Mani); daughter, Rosalie (Richard) Glasser; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Cecille Barton died March 25 at 84. She is survived by her children, Donna Ayres and Bruce (Geri); and sister, Bertha (Ronald) Rich. Mount Sinai

Leo Behar died March 26 at 80. He is survived by his wife, Sally; daughter, Debbie; and sister, Susan Hoffman. Groman

Helen Bregman died March 22. She is survived by her husabnd, Eli; son, Adam; stepchild, Leslie Smith; and grandchildren, Blake and Danielle. Hillside.

Lillian Brooks died March 22 at 90. She is survived by her sister, Evelyn Epstein; nieces, Paula (Bany) Petrossi, Barbara Muller and Leslie Rosen; and nephew, Jeremy (Jodi) Rosen. Mount Sinai

Joseph Bucher died March 29 at 74. He is survived by his wife, Bertha; sons, Steven and Max; daughters, Sara Shebroe and Rosa; four grandchildren; and brother, Howard. Groman

Norma Merar Chelst died March 25 at 92. She is survived by children Renee Geffen, Alex and Annette Merar; five grandchildren; and nieces. Groman/Eden

Arlene Cobin died March 23. She is survived by her children, Lee and Susan; (Randall Roorda); grandson, Marshall Roorda; and brother, Jay (Trudy) Goldberg. Hillside

Faye Feldman died March 24 at 85. She is survived by her husband, Nat; daughter, Monica (Henry) Kasher; and grandchildren, Gabrielle and Miranda. Mount Sinai

Dorothy Fischer died March 22 at 69. She is survived by her sons, Andrew and Jeffrey (Susan); daughter, Pamela (Christopher) Phillips; grandchildren, Benjamin and Shannon; and brother, Robert (Maxine) Yelin. Mount Sinai

Mildred Friedlander died March 26 at 85. She is survived by her son, Steve. Groman

Beverly Friedman died March 24 at 74. She is survived by her husband, Wallace; son, Richard (Andrea Sprague); grandchild, Nicole, stepgranddaughter to be, Ashlyn; sister Gloria (Phillip) Furst; and brother, Dr Leonard (Fern) Feinman. Mount Sinai

Dorothy Goldsmith died March 31 at 95. She is survived by her nephew, Stanley (Bonnie) Widre. Mount Sinai

Sylvia Gertzkin died March 29 at 90. She is survived by her daughters, Iris (Kenneth) Slater and Deanna Levitt; son, Samuel (Yemima); six grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and brother, Jack Harrison. Mount Sinai

Rose Goldberg died March 27 at 83. She is survivedby her husband, Gus; son, David; daughters, Deborah Bodenstein and Eileen Blunin; nine grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and sister, Hazel Vaughn. Groman

Dr. Howard Goldstein died March 30 at 73. He is survived by his wife, Phyllis; daughter, Jenete; son, Jeffrey; and five grandchildren. Hillside

Mildred Greenberg died March 27 at 85. She is survived by her son, Jeffrey (Sylvia); two grandchildren; and nephew, Ronald (MiryAnn). Mount Sinai

Ira Gribin died March 24, at 86. He is survived by his wife, Kathy; children, Susan, Steven (Sandie) and David (Linda); six grandchildren; and brother, Mickey. Mount Sinai

William Hancock died March 30 at 77. He is survived by his wife, Lorraine. Mount Sinai

Betty Heisler died March 29 at 80. She is survived by her spouse, Dan; sons, Trey and Stanley; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Groman

Rita Jacobs died March 26 at 90. She is survived by her sons, Harvey (Sue) and Steven; daughter, Judith Jacobs-Firestone; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Isadore Kalman died March 29 at 83. He is survived by his sons, Alan and Mark; daughter, Sheri (Misha) Frumkin; grandchild, Natasha; and sister, Fay Winner. Mount Sinai