The New York Times - USA (2020-12-01)

THE NEW YORK TIMES OBITUARIESTUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 N B11

David Maas, one half of a hus-

band-wife magic act who

achieved YouTube stardom, per-

formed on some of television’s big-

gest stages and kept basketball

fans nationwide nailed to their

seats at halftime with their light-

ning-fast costume changes, died

on Nov. 22 in Chicago. He was 57.

The cause was Covid-19, the

couple’s agency, Hoffman Enter-

tainment, said.

Mr. Maas and Dania Kaseeva

married in 1996, when the couple

first performed their “Quick

Change” routine. Garishly

dressed, they would dance

around, then cover each other for

mere seconds before emerging in

new garb, the old outfit nowhere

to be found. The illusion was per-

formed under the veil of a sheet, or

a toss of confetti.

It landed the duo on programs

like “The Oprah Winfrey Show,”

“Ellen” and a host of late-night

shows as well as the reality TV se-

ries “Big Brother.” They helped

the pop singer Katy Perry per-

form her own rapid costume

changes during concert perform-

ances of the song “Hot N Cold.”

Former President George H.W.

Bush requested their act three

times at his home in Maine, ac-

cording to the couple’s website.

They performed at magic shows

and festivals worldwide. And they

appeared on the NBC variety

show “America’s Got Talent,”

making it to the semifinals in

2006. One of their performances
      on the show became the third-
      most-watched video on YouTube
      in 2006.
      “Your act is one of a kind,” the
      actor David Hasselhoff, one of the
      show’s celebrity judges, told
      them. “We’re still sitting here with
      our mouths open.”
      The act was perhaps most rec-
      ognizable to basketball fans. The
      duo performed at all 30 N.B.A.
      arenas, the All-Star Game and 15
      W.N.B.A. arenas, according to the
      couple’s website. At least 76 uni-
      versities brought them to campus
      for halftime performances; they
      also performed at Big Ten basket-
      ball tournaments and during the
      N.C.A.A. Final Four games.

David Michael Maas was born

in Missouri on March 15, 1963 to

Jerry and Frances Maas. His fa-

ther was a music director for the

Circus Hall of Fame in Sarasota,

Fla.; his mother was a singer and

dancer. David began creating his

own illusions and performing as a

ringmaster as a teenager.

He met Ms. Kaseeva, who had

recently come to the United States

as part of the Moscow State Cir-

cus, at a show in 1995: He was the

ringmaster, and she performed a

Hula-Hoop act. After they began

dating, they decided to create a

two-person show, coming up with

their own twists on the quick-

change concept that had long fig-

ured into magic shows, if not so

elaborately.
“Our relationship couldn’t work
if I was on the road 200 days a
year,” Mr. Maas told ESPN in 2011.
To prepare, he lost weight and
trained in ballroom dancing, as
Ms. Kaseeva and a Russian seam-
stress scoured New York’s gar-
ment district to create their com-
plicated costumes. They appeared
on national TV for the first time in
2001, on ABC’s “Good Morning
America.”
Mr. Maas is survived by his
wife; his daughter, McKenzie Kel-
ler; and his mother, Frances
Mecham.
On “America’s Got Talent,” they
encountered one critic in the form
of Piers Morgan, who considered
the act to be too one-note. The
other two judges on the program
disagreed, and Mr. Maas stood up
to Mr. Morgan to defend the rou-
tine.
“You want to see an elephant or
a snowmobile on the stage? Take a
trip down to Las Vegas,” he said to
applause. “We’re the only act of its
kind. The concept has taken us all
David Maas, right with Dania Kaseeva in 2010, had Covid-19. over the world.”

GILBERT CARRASQUILLO/GETTY IMAGES

David Maas, 57, Half of One-of-a-Kind ‘Quick Change’ Act

By DANIEL VICTOR

Making lightning-fast

costume changes on

TV’s biggest stages.

Leonard Kamsler, a photojour-
nalist whose award-winning pic-
tures of professional golf for
nearly 50 years pushed the envel-
ope of sports strobe photography
as he amassed a trove of more
than 200,000 images on the PGA
Tour, died on Nov. 18 in Bethel,
N.Y. He was 85.
His husband and only immedi-
ate survivor, Stephen Lyles, said
the cause was organ failure. Mr.
Kamsler had homes in Bethel and
Manhattan.
Jim Richerson, president of the
PGA of America, called Mr. Kam-
sler “the undisputed dean of golf
photography.” Last month, Mr.
Kamsler became the first recipi-
ent of the organization’s Lifetime
Achievement Award in Photojour-
nalism.
Practically half of that lifetime
was spent on the golf course,
though lugging a camera instead
of clubs. Beginning in 1963, he cov-
ered 40 consecutive Masters tour-
naments, 17 P.G.A. championships

and 22 U.S. Opens, freezing mo-
ments of action in indelible im-
ages.
“His ability to take the perfect
picture at the perfect time was un-
surpassed by anyone in the busi-
ness,” the champion golfer Tom
Watson said in a videotaped trib-
ute when Mr. Kamsler received
the lifetime achievement award.
Mr. Kamsler’s technical innova-
tions in high-speed strobe photog-
raphy broke down the complete
arc of a golf swing from beginning
to end in stop-motion exposures
— from address to backswing to
contact to follow-through — each
position of the hands, arms, feet,
legs, torso, head and club con-
tained in a single sequential im-
age suggestive of a pinwheel.
George Peper, his editor at Golf
Magazine for 25 of Mr. Kamsler’s
60 years associated with the publi-
cation, said it was Mr. Kamsler
who “created the swing-sequence

in golf without question.”

Mr. Kamsler, he said, “learned

at Edgerton’s knee,” referring to

Harold Edgerton, a professor at

the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology who pioneered stro-

boscopic technology. Mr. Kamsler

began consulting with Mr. Edger-

ton in 1957.

He also developed a close rela-

tionship with Charles Hulcher,

who had developed a specialty

camera to record slow-motion

studies of rocket launches.

Mr. Kamsler’s primary instru-

ment was a hulking Hulcher high-

speed 35-millimeter camera, orig-

inally designed to shoot at some

70 frames per second. He was able

to push the limit to 100, and then

200, frames per second — mean-

ing that in less than three seconds

of lightning-fast exposures he

could dissect an entire golf swing.

Mr. Kamsler’s first sequential

stop-motion study, of Arnold

Palmer’s technique and clubhead

dynamics, “created a sensation,”

Mr. Peper said, adding that as a

teaching tool “it was posted on ev-

ery golf instructor’s wall in Amer-

ica.”

Mr. Kamsler documented more

than 400 golf-swing sequences of

other champion golfers, including

Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Kathy

Whitworth and Tiger Woods.

During a tournament he could

be innovative in capturing the ac-

tion. One risky technique was to

flatten himself on the ground with

his camera and have the best golf-

ers in the world hit past his head.

During one practice-tee setup, he

positioned Mr. Nicklaus so close to

him that the golfer’s explosive

shot just missed destroying Mr.

Kamsler’s lens.

According to the P.G.A., Mr.

Kamsler was the first photogra-

pher to set up remote-control

cameras behind the notoriously

challenging holes 12 and 15 at Au-

gusta National Golf Club, where

the Masters is played.

Some golfers abhorred being

photographed up close during

competition, so Mr. Kamsler

would resort to subterfuge. He

once hid himself in a garbage bag

to snap the camera-shy Austral-

ian Bruce Crampton.

Starting in the 1970s, Mr. Kam-

sler widened his field to profile

performers in Nashville, includ-

ing Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton,

Waylon Jennings, Tammy

Wynette and Loretta Lynn. Many

of his pictures became the covers

of record albums.

His collection of music images

was recently purchased by the

Country Music Hall of Fame and

Museum in Nashville, where

many are on view. More than 20 of

his photos were shown in “Coun-

try Music,” the 2019 documentary

series by Ken Burns for PBS.

Mr. Kamsler’s strobe-lighting

work also reached beyond golf. He

devised one complex strobe sys-

tem to capture the first attempt at

a quintuple somersault by the Fly-

ing Cranes aerial troupe of the

Moscow Circus. The picture ran in

The New York Times Magazine on

Dec. 30, 1990, with a cover article

about the troupe.

A circus aficionado, he also pho-

tographed performances of the

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bai-

ley Circus, the animal trainer

Gunther Gebel-Williams and the

magicians Siegfried & Roy’s stage

act using tigers.

As a PGA Tour fixture, Mr. Kam-

sler could hardly be ignored. For

years he arrived at events in his

candy-apple-red, tail-finned Cad-

illac Eldorado convertible, his six-

foot frame of ample girth garbed

in a golf shirt tucked into polyes-

ter slacks held up by a pair of sus-

penders.

His primary sports outlet was

Golf Magazine, where he was a

contract photographer from 1959

through 2019. His photos also ap-

peared in many books.

Golfer pushback was part of the

job of photographing players sen-

sitive to any distraction during

play. Mr. Kamsler “got the shark

bite occasionally,” said Greg Nor-

man, the Hall of Famer whose

nickname was the Shark.

“He understood what that

shark bite meant,” Mr. Norman

added, in the video tribute, “that I

was intense — and I was into my

moment.”

Once, shooting an “18 holes

with” celebrity-golfing feature in

Miami with the actor Jack Nich-

olson, Mr. Kamsler reached over

to push up the bill of Mr. Nich-

olson’s hat because it was hiding

his eyes. “Nobody touches Jake’s

hat!,” Mr. Nicholson barked.

Leonard Macon Kamsler was

born on Oct. 18, 1935, in Raleigh,

N.C., to Morton and Helen

(Strother) Kamsler. His father

owned a retail store, and his

mother was a homemaker. His fa-

ther gave Leonard his first cam-

era at age 12. He graduated from

Broughton High School in Raleigh

and then from Duke University, in

1957. Moving to Manhattan, he be-
      came a $32-a-week assistant to
      the celebrity photographer Milton
      H. Greene. One of his first assign-
      ments was to photograph Marilyn
      Monroe.
      Following a stint in the Army,
      Mr. Kamsler returned to Manhat-
      tan and began getting jobs as a
      freelance photographer.
      His passion for strobe photog-
      raphy led him to golf — for the op-
      portunities it afforded him “to cap-
      ture motion,” Mr. Lyles, his hus-
      band, said, adding, “He began
      knocking on doors until they
      would look at his pictures.”
      Mr. Kamsler sold his library of
      more than 200,000 images to Pop-
      perfoto, a partnership with Getty
      Images, in 2018.
      For all his involvement with
      golf, the game itself never beck-
      oned to more than his shutter fin-
      ger. After a lifetime of tournament
      trudging, Mr. Kamsler was proud
      to say, “I never played a single
      game of golf.”

Leonard Kamsler, 85,

Golf Photo Maven, Dies

By GLENN COLLINS

LEONARD KAMSLER/POPPERFOTO, VIA GETTY IMAGES

VIA PGA OF AMERICA

He shot Jack Nicklaus, right,

and Arnold Palmer in 1968.

LEONARD KAMSLER/POPPERFOTO, VIA GETTY

Using a high-speed

camera to capture the

full arc of a swing.

Leonard Kamsler, left in the

1970s with Dolly Parton, used

an innovative stop-motion

strobe technique to photo-

graph over 400 pro golfers.

School, where he later served

as a Director of the Alumni

Association for many years,

and from which he received

Castell, George

Ellenberger, Jack

Furst, Violet

Gendelman, Seymour

Greason, Edward

Guttman, Jean

Haag, Ray

Johnson, Bernice

Leland, Sara

Margulis, Melvin

Messina, Carla

Milston, Martin

Wolfensohn, James

theSchool'sGoldenRam

Award. Ed was a Knight of St.

Patrick, a member of the

Westhampton Country Club,

New York Athletic Club, and

Huckleberry Indians, where

he was very proud to be the

oldest person initiated into

the organization. Visiting at

Frank E. Campbell Funeral

Chapel, 1076 Madison

Avenue, on Tuesday, Decem-

ber 1st, from 4-8pm. Funeral

mass will be held at 1:30pm

on December 2nd at St Vin-

cent Ferrer Church, Lexing-

ton Ave. and 65th St., New

York City. In lieu of flowers,

donations may be made to

the Feerick Center for Social

Justice atFordhamLaw

School; the Kamen Brain Tu-

mor Foundation; or Mary T.

Greason Scholarship Fund at

Marymount Manhattan Col-

lege.

GUTTMAN—

Jean Lewinson,

98, died November 23, 2020 in

Newton, MA. Married in 1943

to the late Allan Guttman.

Mother of Judith Greenberg

(Kenneth),EricaJacobson

(Thomas), and Joshua

Guttman (Kalpana). Grand-

mother of Laura Greenberg-

Chao,EllenSheedy,Amy

Ward, Karen Jacobson, Nath-

an Guttman, Lisa Greenberg,

and Maya Guttman. “Grand-

ma Jean” to many more.

Educated at Fieldston High

School, CornellUniversity

(B.A. 1943) and Bank Street

College of Education. Long-

time preschool teacher and

volunteer in children's pro-

grams and libraries. Dona-

tions in her memory may be

made to Family Access of

Newton or your local Habitat

for Humanity. For a tribute

to her life, visit:

http://www.brezniakfuneral

directors.com.

HAAG—Ray Allen, MD,

November 25, 1924 - Novem-

ber 29, 2020, of Bay Shore,

NY. Graduate of Cornell

MedicalCollege,1948.For

further details, please visit

http://www.chapeyfamily.com

JOHNSON—Bernice.

July 19, 1933, died November

16,2020.Former.Principal

P.S. 144M. See

https://qrco.de/BJ

LELAND—Sara.

The New York City Ballet fa-

mily mourns the passing of

Sara Leland, a longtime

memberoftheCompany

who joined NYCB in 1960 at

the invitation of George Ba-

lanchine. Mentored by both

Balanchine and Jerome Rob-

bins during 23 years as a dan-

cer with NYCB, Sally, as she

was known to friends and col-

leagues, created leading roles

in such masterpieces as Ba-

lanchine's “Emeralds,” “Sym-

phony in Three Movements,”

“Union Jack,” and “Vienna

Waltzes;” and Robbins' “Dan-

ces at a Gathering” and “The

Goldberg Variations.” Upon

her retirement from dancing

in 1983, Sally continued to

share her vast knowledge of

NYCB's repertory with gener-

ations of artists as a ballet

master.Passionate,funny,

and always encouraging dan-

cers to give it their all, Sally

will be deeply missed. We ex-

tend our heartfelt condolen-

ces to her niece Mary Sue

O'Donnell and many friends.

LELAND—Sara.

Sallyhad an exceptional

career as a dancer working

with George Balanchine and

Jerome Robbins at the New

York City Ballet. Her second

career was staging and re-

hearsing numerous works by

both choreographers. Com-

panies and dancers asked for

her to stage and coach ballets

and were rewarded by her in-

sights to many works. Sally

will always be remembered

by those who had the privi-

lege to work with her.

The George Balanchine Trust

MARGULIS—Melvin.

Optometrist, died November

28. He is survived by children
    Caryn Coran, Shari Lifson,
    Beth Margulis; sister Anita
    Miller; 5 grandchildren: Jessi-
    ca and Lianna Lifson, Ezra,
    Osger and Meia Frantzen.

MESSINA—Carla.

September 29, 1950 - October

31, 2020. Beloved sister, aunt,

cherished friend to all who

knew her. Scenic artist and

SAG member. A memorial

and celebration of her glori-

ous life will be announced at a

post Covid date.

MILSTON—Martin.

Martin J. Milston, 89, died on

November 29 after a long ill-

ness. He is survived by his

wife Mendelle, daughter

Roberta(SamuelKramer),

son Arthur (Rachel Milston)

and grandsons Max, Jesse

and Harris. A private service

and shiva will be observed by

the family. Contributions can

be made to The Trustees of

Columbia University/Dr. Ni-

coleLamanna'sCLLRe-

search and mailed to Colum-

bia University Irving Medical

Center, 516 West 168th Street,

3rdFloor,NewYork,NY

10032, Attn: Dawn De Leon

WOLFENSOHN—Sir James.

UJA-Federation of New York

mourns the passing of Sir

James Wolfensohn, beloved

husband of the late Elaine. Sir

James' wisdom and commit-

ment to supporting those in

need,especiallyHolocaust

survivors, helped make our

work possible. We extend our

heartfelt condolences to his

children Naomi (Jascha

Preuss), Sara (Neil Mayle),

and Adam (Jennifer Small),

and the entire family.

Amy A. B. Bressman,

President;

David L. Moore,

Chair of the Board;

Eric S. Goldstein, CEO

WOLFENSOHN—James.

The Board of Directors and

Staff of The Jerusalem Foun-

dation, Inc., mourn the pass-

ing of James Wolfensohn, es-

teemed Past Chair of our

Board. Jim, together with his

wife Elaine(z'l),supported

and endorsed the work of the

Foundation in truly exempla-

ry ways and for many years,

helping to build Jerusalem

as a global model for diversi-

ty, inclusion, and cross-

communal engagement. We

extend our deepest and most

heartfelt sympathies to his

family.

Alan G. Hassenfeld,

Chairman of the Board

James S. Snyder,

Executive Chairman

WOLFENSOHN—James D.

The members of The Lotos

Club mourn the loss of their

distinguished colleague and

longtimefriend,JamesD.

Wolfensohn, and send con-

dolences to his family.

HOLLEMAN—Julia.

Dec. 1, 1982- May 31, 2018.

Shenanigans. Theater.

Same thing.

Forever.

From all of us.

With all our love.

Always.

CASTELL—George C.

Collegiate School mourns the

loss of our distinguished

alumnus George C. Castell

'54,whodemonstratedhis

steadfast dedication to Colle-

giate in his 20 years on the

Board of Trustees, including

five as President. He also

served as President of the

Alumni Association, was a

Life Member of the Alumni

Council, andreceivedthe

Alumni Volunteer Award in

2014. His energy, vision and
      leadership strengthened Col-
      legiate immeasurably. To
      Marian, William and Gregory,
      and to all his family and
      friends, we extend our deep-
      est condolences.
      Jonathan K. Youngwood '85
      President
      David S. Lourie
      Head of School

ELLENBERGER—Jack S.

Jack S. Ellenberger, one of

the most distinguished law li-

brariansofhisgeneration

and former President of the

American Association of Law

Libraries (AALL) died at his

home in Manhattan on No-

vember 21, 2020. He was 90.

Duringacareerspanning

more than forty years in law

librarianship, Jack Ellenber-

ger led, taught, and mentored

a generation of law librarians.

Jack was truly a Renaissance

gentleman - an avid global

traveler, patron of the Opera,

and an European cycling en-

thusiast. He famous for his

colorful and stylish bow ties,

which were matched only by

his cosmopolitan charm,

sharp wit and oratory style.

Jack was born in Colorado on

September 5, 1930, served in

the U.S. Air Force, obtained

his BSFS from Georgetown

University in 1957 and his

MSLS from Columbia Univer-

sity School of Library Science

in 1959. He began his career

as Law Librarian at the U.S.

Department of Health then

moving on to several law

firms including Carter Led-

yard & Milburn; Jones, Day,

Cockley & Reavis; Covington

& Burling; and finally as Di-

rector of Libraries at Shear-

man & Sterling in New York.

He also served as Librarian

at the District of Columbia

Bar Association and on the

Executive Board of Ameri-

can Association of Law Li-

braries (AALL) being elected

President of the Association

from 1976-77. Jack is also the

recipient of the Marian Gould

Gallagher Distinguished Ser-

vice Award in 1994 and a

member of the AALL Hall of

Fame. Jack loved law libra-

rianship and above all else he

provided sage counsel to the

Association, promoted their

efforts tirelessly, and often

sent personal handwritten

notes of encouragement to

many rising stars. These re-

markable efforts, along with

his celebrated wit and wis-

dom, left an lasting impres-

sion on all.

FURST—Violet.

TheBoard,Administration

and StaffoftheGurwin

Healthcare Systemmourn

the passing of Violet Furst,

longtime resident of Gurwin

and wife of the late Gerald

Furst, a foundingBoard

member and dedicated sup-

porter,mothertoPamela

Furst-Eysler, current Gurwin

Board member. Violet and

Gerald will long be remem-

bered for their commitment

to those we serve. We extend

sincere condolences to the

entire family.

Bert Brodsky, Chairman;

Stuart B. Almer, Pres. & CEO

GENDELMAN—

Seymour, MD.

It is with profound sadness

and a deep sense of loss that

we mourn the passing of our

dear friend and revered men-

tor, Seymour Gendelman,

MD. Dr. Gendelman was a

beloved neurologist, clinician,

and educator, having trained

generations of clinicians. He

embodied honesty and inte-

grity and led by example. He

was recognized with Mount

Sinai'shighesthonor,the

Jacobi Medallion. We extend

ourdeepest sympathyto

hiswife,Bernice,andhis

entire family.

The Mount Sinai

Alumni Association;

Eric Genden, MD,

President;

Talia H. Swartz, MD, PhD,

Vice President

GREASON—Edward

Walter,

of Manhattan and Quogue,

NY passed away peacefully

on November 28th, surround-

ed by loving family, after a

long illness. Ed was born No-

vember 25, 1930 in New York

City to Edward and Margaret

(nee Mylod) Greason. Ed was

a wonderful and loving hus-

band, father, grandfather,

and gentleman and friend to

all who met him. He has now

joined his wonderful Mary

Twomey, his wife of nearly 61

years, who died in 2016. He is

survived by his sons Edward

and his wife Marisa, William

and his wife Margaret, and

Michael, his granddaughter

Elizabeth, and brother

Robert, as well as nieces,

nephews and cousins. He re-

tired in 2001 as senior partner

of the law firm of Kenyon &

Kenyon LLP. In his career as

a patent attorney he repre-

sented clients including Toyo-

ta Motors, Nabisco, Hitachi,

Olympus Camera, Nippon

Steel, and Liggett & Myers.

After graduating from Notre

Dame (as the first of three

generations of Domers), he

attended Fordham Law

Deaths Deaths Deaths Deaths Deaths

In Memoriam

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