• Chuck Williams, founder of the Williams-Sonoma retailing empire, died at his home in San Francisco. He was 100.
The Associated Press story notes that Williams "opened his first Williams-Sonoma store in Sonoma, Calif., in 1956 inspired by a trip to Paris three years earlier. A lover of cooking and entertaining, he wanted U.S. professional chefs and home cooks to have access to high-quality cookware and tools." He sold the company in 1979, but had remained involved with it.
• Robert Loggia, who played a series of gangsters and underworld figures in movies ranging from Scarface, Prizzi's Honor, Somebody Up There Likes Me and "The Sopranos," but was perhaps best and most affectionately known for playing the toy company owner in Big who danced with Tom Hanks as they played “Chopsticks” and “Heart and Soul” on a giant piano keyboard at FAO Schwarz, has passed away.
Loggia was 85, and had been battling Alzheimer's disease for the past five years.
The Associated Press story notes that Williams "opened his first Williams-Sonoma store in Sonoma, Calif., in 1956 inspired by a trip to Paris three years earlier. A lover of cooking and entertaining, he wanted U.S. professional chefs and home cooks to have access to high-quality cookware and tools." He sold the company in 1979, but had remained involved with it.
• Robert Loggia, who played a series of gangsters and underworld figures in movies ranging from Scarface, Prizzi's Honor, Somebody Up There Likes Me and "The Sopranos," but was perhaps best and most affectionately known for playing the toy company owner in Big who danced with Tom Hanks as they played “Chopsticks” and “Heart and Soul” on a giant piano keyboard at FAO Schwarz, has passed away.
Loggia was 85, and had been battling Alzheimer's disease for the past five years.
- KC's View:
