Obituaries - Jan. 13, 2000

* Roger Barr; Sculptor and Painter

Roger Barr, 78, a sculptor and painter whose works are represented in venues ranging from the Smithsonian Institution to a Santa Fe Springs median strip. Born in Milwaukee, Barr earned a bachelor’s degree from Pomona College and master of fine arts degree from the Claremont Colleges Graduate School. A fairly conservative painter at the time, he taught briefly at UCLA and then moved to San Francisco, where he taught at its Art Institute. There he increasingly livened his style, prompting a Times reviewer of new paintings shown in a Beverly Hills gallery to comment: “That here’s-how-I-feel-this-very-minute, slosh-it-on-big, San Francisco fever has got him at last.� Barr spent several years in Paris, studying, painting and teaching. When he went broke, he peddled small watercolors on the Paris streets. Moving gradually into sculpting, Barr spent much of his career in Northern California, where he taught at Cal State Hayward and Santa Rosa College. He illustrated several books, including two by Philip Roth, “Conversion of the Jews� and “Epstein.� In 1991, Barr created a 2-ton, polished steel sculpture titled “Sundance Springs� for a median at the entrance to a commercial development called Pacific Springs in Santa Fe Springs. Barr’s art also is represented in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and museums in Sweden and Brazil. On Friday in Joshua Tree, Calif., of complications of diabetes.

* Martha Krug; Entertainer,

Pepperdine Benefactor

Martha Delman Greene Krug, 92, singer and organist for Southern California radio programs and supper clubs who became a Pepperdine University benefactor. Born in Portland, Ore., the former Martha Delman moved to Los Angeles with her family in her teens and, already adept at piano, began taking organ lessons. She soon realized a childhood dream of becoming a theater organist for silent films, and, gowned in orange silk, was billed by the old 1,402-seat Ritz Theater at Wilshire and La Brea boulevards as “Martha Greene, the California Orange Girl.� After talkies ended that brief career, she began singing and playing at top supper clubs, including the El Rey Club on Wilshire Boulevard, with dance bands appearing at the Roosevelt Hotel and on radio stations KNX, KMTR and KMPC. During World War II, she entertained troops at USO shows, touring with Danny Thomas and Danny Kaye, and appeared at Hollywood canteens and local hospitals. In 1936, she married Milton A. Krug, attorney for university founder George Pepperdine. Afterward, Krug directed her musical talents largely to volunteer efforts, playing for fund-raisers of the Assistance League of Southern California and entertaining senior citizens. She was a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Los Angeles and active in many charitable organizations. Her husband predeceased her, and her estate will establish the Martha Delman and Milton Arthur Krug Endowed Law Scholarship at Pepperdine. On Monday in Los Angeles.

* Bob McFadden; ‘Ring Around the Collar’ Voice

Bob McFadden, 76, the snide voice of the parrot that cackled “Ring around the collar!� in 1970s television detergent commercials. A native of East Liverpool, Ohio, McFadden worked briefly in Pittsburgh steel mills. During World War II, he enlisted in the Navy, where he got hooked on show business by singing and doing impersonations in talent shows. After the war, he honed his act and worked 15 years on the nightclub circuit, singing impersonations of Frankie Laine, Billy Eckstine and the Ink Spots. McFadden also helped record several comedy albums over the years, including a spoof on the Kennedys titled “The First Family.� In the mid-1960s, McFadden turned to radio and television, doing voice-overs for commercials and the voices of cartoon characters in more than 500 animated programs. In addition to giving a squawking voice to the critical parrot in the Whisk detergent commercial, he was the elderly man in Pepperidge Farm ads, a dog in Crest commercials, and in one toy commercial the whishing sound of a jet plane. He performed on hundreds of children’s Saturday morning cartoons, and on prime-time holiday specials in such roles as the voice of Jingle Bells in “The Year Without a Santa Claus,� Boss Bunny in “The Berenstain Bears’ Easter Surprise� and Tingler in “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.� On Friday in Delray Beach, Fla., of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

* Bipin Singh; Calcutta Dancer, Choreographer

Bipin Singh, 82, a Calcutta dancer and choreographer who became an international pioneer in bringing the temple dance form of Manipuri to the popular stage. Until his death, the guru, or teacher, was director of Manipuri Nartanalaya, which he founded in 1972 in the Indian cities of Calcutta, Imphal and Bombay. His group toured the United States repeatedly, appearing at such sites as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Lincoln Center in New York City. Among his students is Sohini Ray, who teaches the dance form in UCLA’s dance/world arts and cultures department. Manipuri, named for the Indian region of Manipur, is one of six styles of classical Indian temple dancing and contains forms related to folk tradition and ritual. Its themes usually illustrate episodes in the life of Krishna, the pastoral god. Singh frequently narrated the descriptive works for performances of his troupe. Trained in dance and music from childhood, Singh became known for his solo compositions in the Manipuri dance form, in which solos are uncommon. Among his awards was the designation Hanjaba, the highest title given by the maharajah of Manipur. On Monday in Calcutta of a heart attack.