In passing

John Detlie, 96; Architect, set designer

Westlake Village, Calif. John Stewart Detlie, the Hollywood set designer, artist and architect who led the effort to camouflage the Boeing airplane factory during World War II, died from lung cancer Wednesday in Westlake Village, Calif. He was 96.

He left the Pacific Northwest in the 1960s after designing a number of landmark Seattle buildings including Children’s Orthopedic Hospital, several University of Washington buildings and Temple De Hirsch. Detlie went on to become a noted architect in Los Angeles, Baltimore and Honolulu before retiring near Palm Springs 30 years ago.

After graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, Detlie moved to Hollywood to work in the movie industry in the 1930s. In 1940, he was nominated for an Oscar for his work as production designer on the film, “Bitter Sweet.” Among his art director credits were “A Christmas Carol” and “Captains Courageous.”

Detlie, whose first wife was movie star Veronica Lake, left Hollywood’s Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in 1942 to manage the camouflage project as a member of the Army Corps of Engineers.

To confuse enemy bombers, Boeing Aircraft camouflaged nearly 26 acres of the plant in Seattle, where the B-17 and the B-29 were built. Boeing’s Plant 2 was covered with a three-dimensional wire, plywood and canvas structure that was made to look like a town, including trees, houses and schools, instead of a wartime airplane factory.

After the war, Detlie joined the architecture firm that hired him to do the camouflage project and eventually became a partner.

Detlie is survived by his wife of 59 years, Virginia, and by three children.

Thomas Dawber, 92; Director of heart study

Framingham, Mass. Thomas Royle Dawber, who transformed the medical world’s understanding of heart disease as director of the Framingham Heart Study, one of the most important research projects of the 20th century, has died at 92.

Dawber died Nov. 23 in Florida after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, his daughter, Nancy Dawber, said Wednesday.

He led the Framingham Heart Study for two decades beginning in 1949, a year after it was founded by the U.S. Public Health Service to help discover the causes of heart disease and find ways to prevent it.

At the time, the study was considered little more than a “fool’s errand,” current director Daniel Levy said.

Shortly after Dawber’s arrival, Framingham recruited a sample group of 5,209 volunteers to identify the causes of cardiovascular disease. Since then, the study has tracked the volunteers – and now their children – throughout their lives, conducting detailed physical examinations and lab tests every two years.

Framingham researchers have published 1,300 scientific papers unlocking the mysteries of heart disease and strokes.

A key finding came in 1961, when researchers linked cholesterol levels and blood pressure to an increased risk of heart disease. A 1988 report associated heart disease with “type A” behavior, characterized by tenseness and aggression.

Wendie Jo Sperber; Actress, cancer activist

Los Angeles Actress Wendie Jo Sperber, who starred opposite Tom Hanks on TV’s “Bosom Buddies” and who in his words became “a walking inspiration” after she contracted cancer, has died. She was in her 40s.

Sperber died at home Tuesday after an eight-year battle with breast cancer, publicist Jo-Ann Geffen said Wednesday.

A Los Angeles native, Sperber appeared in dozens of television shows and movies, including two of the “Back to the Future” films.

Sperber also had roles in Steven Spielberg’s “1941,” Robert Zemeckis’ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” and Neal Israel’s “Moving Violations” and “Bachelor Party.” Her television credits include “Murphy Brown,” “Private Benjamin,” “Will & Grace” and “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.”

After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, the actress became an advocate for cancer care. In 2001, she founded the weSPARK Cancer Support Center, which provides free emotional support, information and social activities for individuals and families affected by cancer.

Sperber is survived by a son and daughter, her parents, two sisters and a brother.