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James Bacon, 96, the syndicated columnist who began covering Hollywood for Associated Press in 1948, went to the Herald Examiner from 1968-85, and has written several books on and with celebrities, many of whom he knew well. He has said that Marilyn Monroe gave him a firsthand account of her relationship with John F. Kennedy as early as the 1960 presidential campaign. He died today at home in Northridge. LAT, THR
Roderick Mann, 87, interviewed celebrities for a Los Angeles Times column for ten years starting in 1978. A Royal Air Force fighter pilot in World War II, Mann was the syndicated entertainment feature writer for London's Daily and Sunday Express from the 1950s through the '80s, overlapping his years with the Times. He also wrote four novels. Mann's wife said he had been battling dementia and the early stages of Alzheimer's and died of cardiopulmonary arrest at an assisted-living facility in Studio City. LAT
Wallace Turner, 89, was an investigative reporter who won a Pulitzer for uncovering corruption in Oregon and became a noted bureau chief for the New York Times in San Francisco and Seattle. He died Saturday in Oregon. LAT, Portland Orgeonian
Ronald P. Schafer, 53, was superintendent of the state parks' Angeles District. He had finished competing in a Malibu triathlon on Sept. 12 when he suffered a stroke, and he died Wednesday. LAT