NOTEWORTHY DEATHS

— Snakes on a Plane director Ellis, 60

JOHANNESBURG - David Ellis, the director of 2006’s Snakes on a Plane, has died.

Ellis, 60, was found dead in the bathroom of his hotel room in the upscale neighborhood of Sandton in Johannesburg.

Police said Tuesday that the hotel manager discovered Ellis’ body about 1 p.m. Monday. Ellis was last seen Saturday in a restaurant by a friend, reported the South African Press Association.

“Nothing was found to be missing from his room, and no foul play is being suspected at this stage,” said Lt. Col. Lungelo Dlamini, a police spokesman, told the news agency.

“The U.S. Embassy has been informed and are believed to be making necessary arrangementsfor the body to be taken to his own country,” Dlamini said.

The South African Press Association said an autopsy was conducted Tuesday morning, but the cause of death was still unknown.

Ellis was in Johannesburg working on Kite, a remake of the 1998 Japanese anime film that was to have starred Snakes star Samuel L. Jackson, who Tweeted his condolences after hearing of the director’s death.

Ellis’ directing credits include Shark Night 3D, The Final Destination, Cellular and Final Destination 2.

Ellis began his Hollywood career as an actor in the 1970s before moving into stunts and directing.

He is survived by his wife and three children.

CEO successor of McDonald’s founder

Fred Turner, an early Mc-Donald’s Corp. employee who created its distinctive Hamburger University and succeeded founder Ray Kroc as chief executive officer, has died. He was 80.

He died Monday after entering hospice care in Deerfield, Ill., said his daughter, Paula Turner. The cause was complications from pneumonia.

He was honorary chairman of the board of directors of what is today the world’s largest restaurant company.

Turner founded Hamburger University in the basement of a McDonald’s restaurant in Elk Grove Village, Ill., in 1961, according to a company history.The first class, 15 students, graduated in February of that year. Since then, more than 80,000 restaurant managers, midmanagers and owner-operators have gone through the program, which hosts more than 5,000 students each year.

During his tenure as CEO,Turner oversaw the introduction of the Egg McMuffin in 1975, Happy Meals in 1979 and Chicken McNuggets in 1983.

Frederick Leo Turner was born on Jan. 6, 1933, in Des Moines, Iowa. He attended Drake University in Des Moines from 1951-53.

In 1956, he became one of the first employees hired by Kroc, founder of McDonald’s.

Turner became operations vice president in 1958, an executive vice president in 1967 and, in 1968, president and chief administrative officer. He was named president and chief executive in 1974 and chairman and CEO in 1977. He was CEO until 1987 and chairman until 1990.

He was senior chairman until his retirement in 2004, when McDonald’s had had about 31,500 stores in more than 100 countries and revenue of $19.1 billion.

He is survived by three daughters and eight grandchildren. His wife, Patty, died in 2000.

Arkansas, Pages 10 on 01/09/2013

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