Obituaries - Dec. 25, 1998

* Mark Chatfield; Co-Founder of Musica Angelica

Mark Chatfield, 45, one of the founders of the Los Angeles-based period-instrument ensemble Musica Angelica and a former member of Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra. Chatfield was principal cello of the latter group from 1986 to 1992 and participated in its European tour in 1991. He was also a professional singer. A countertenor, he sang for 19 years at St. Cyril of Jerusalem Church in Encino, where he also was composer in residence. In the early 1980s, Chatfield founded Musica Angelica with lutenist Michael Eagen. In recent seasons, that group has become highly visible, running a series at All Saints’ Church in Pasadena, playing in the pit for the Los Angeles Opera and collaborating with the Paulist Boy Choristers in annual “Messiah” performances. Chatfield was also a swimmer who set an Olympic record in the 100-meter breaststroke in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. On Wednesday of lymphoma.

* Andre Dewavrin; Leader With Free French

Andre Dewavrin, 88, known by the code name “Col. Passy” in the French resistance during World War II. One of Gen. Charles de Gaulle’s closest collaborators, Dewavrin was among the first French soldiers to join De Gaulle in London after France fell to the Germans in June 1940. With De Gaulle’s Free French forces, he set up the intelligence operation that formed the basis of France’s postwar security forces. After the war, Dewavrin wrote several books on his secret missions and received some of his country’s highest honors, including the Legion of Honor and the Military Cross. Educated at the University of Paris and the Ecole Polytechnique, he was a professor of fortifications at the military academy at St. Cyr in Paris and participated in the ill-fated effort to resist the German invasion. On Sunday in Paris.

* David Manners; Played Opposite Lugosi

David Manners, 98, who played opposite Katharine Hepburn in her first motion picture and opposite Bela Lugosi in the 1931 classic “Dracula.” Manners, who retired from films in the ‘30s, portrayed leading man John Harker in “Dracula.” He reportedly earned $2,000 a week during the filming, to Lugosi’s $500. In Santa Barbara on Wednesday.

* Michelle Thomas;

Actress on ‘Cosby Show’

Michelle Thomas, 29, who had television roles in “The Young & the Restless,” “The Cosby Show” and “Family Matters.” She was Cally on the CBS soap opera “The Young & the Restless.” On “Family Matters” she was Myra, girlfriend of Steve Urkel. She was Justine, Theo’s girlfriend, on “The Cosby Show.” She also made guest appearances on a number of other TV shows, including “Roseanne,” and performed in music videos, Los Angeles theater productions and several movies, including “Hangin’ With the Homeboys.” She had recently received an NAACP Image Award nomination for outstanding actress in a daytime drama series. Thomas studied at the Broadway Dance Center in New York and was crowned Miss International Queen as a teenager in 1985. “We are terribly shocked and deeply saddened by Michelle’s death and our thoughts and prayers are with her family,” said William J. Bell, co-creator and senior executive producer of “The Young & the Restless.” “Michelle was a great talent with a bright future ahead of her. She will be missed by all of us.” In New York City on Tuesday of cancer.