In passing

Oscar-winning actor Sir John Mills, 97

London Actor Sir John Mills, the quintessential British officer in scores of films, died Saturday after an Oscar-winning career spanning more than 50 years that included roles in “Gandhi” and “Ryan’s Daughter.” He was 97.

Mills died at home in Denham, west of London, after a short illness, a statement from his trustees said. Details of the illness were not given.

Mills’ roles ranged from Pip in David Lean’s “Great Expectations” to the village idiot in Lean’s “Ryan’s Daughter,” for which he won his Academy Award as best supporting actor in 1971.

But he took his place in film history as soldier, sailor, airman and commanding officer, embodying the decency, humility and coolness under pressure so cherished in the British hero.

Former Hitler Youth leader Alfons Heck, 76

Los Angeles Alfons Heck, whose experiences as a member of the Hitler Youth organization in Nazi Germany were the basis of two memoirs and an HBO documentary, has died. He was 76.

Heck died Tuesday of heart failure at Scripps Mercy Hospital in La Jolla, Calif., according to his wife, June.

In his books “A Child of Hitler: Germany in the Days When God Wore a Swastika” and “The Burden of Hitler’s Legacy,” Heck recounted his fascination with National Socialism from the time he entered Hitler Youth in 1938. He also told of his postwar repudiation of Hitler and his eventual coming to terms with the Holocaust.

A 1991 HBO documentary based on his books, “Heil Hitler! Confessions of a Hitler Youth,” used archival footage and Heck’s narration to explain how several million children were swept into the ranks of the youth group that often is referred to as having the most fanatical of Hitler’s followers.

From 1939 to 1945, Heck made a rapid rise in Hitler Youth, becoming the youngest boy to attain the top ranking as a glider pilot in the organization’s air wing. He wanted to join the Luftwaffe as a fighter pilot but was made a major general in Hitler Youth instead. In that capacity, he directed the activities of several thousand boys and girls in his district.

Bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, 58

Los Angeles Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, the Danish bassist whose virtuosity and flawless sense of time made him a favorite accompanist for many of the leading names in jazz, most notably pianist Oscar Peterson, has died. He was 58.

Orsted Pedersen, known as NHOP for his lengthy name, died Tuesday at his home in Ishoj, south of Copenhagen, his manager told Danish media. The cause of death was not announced.

By his mid-teens, Orsted Pedersen was astonishingly proficient and was a fixture in the house band at Copenhagen’s legendary Montmartre jazz club.

Through the 1960s, he was a sought-after sideman for American jazzmen playing in Scandinavia. Before he was 20, he toured Europe with Bill Evans and recorded with Bud Powell. He would later play with Chet Baker, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. In the late 1960s, he started a collaboration with saxophonist Dexter Gordon that lasted into the mid-1970s.