Richard Carlson

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) _ Richard Carlson, author of the best-selling "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff," died Wednesday. He was 45.

Carlson died after falling ill while on his way to New York as part of a tour to promote his new book, "Don't Get Scrooged," said Julie Mitchell, spokeswoman for HarperSanFrancisco, Carlson's publisher.

A psychologist, Carlson advocated tackling life with good humor, positive thinking and perspective.

Born and raised in the east San Francisco Bay area, Carlson earned a bachelor's degree from Pepperdine University and a doctorate in psychology from Sierra University.

His book, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff," was on best-seller lists for two years. He wrote 20 books in all, including "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff in Love," co-written with Kris Carlson, his wife of 25 years. His latest book, "Don't Get Scrooged," was about handling holiday stress.

___

(Story continues below)

William Cole

CONWAY, Ark. (AP) _ William Cole, a foreign correspondent for CBS news and the network's Moscow bureau chief during the 1960s, died Monday. He was 84.

Cole died in Tennessee, according to his daughter, Tatine Darker.

She said Cole was expelled from the Soviet Union for conducting clandestine interviews with Russian intellectual dissidents. Nevertheless, he returned to the United States with short films of his interviews and was the subject of a CBS special, "Voices From the Russian Underground," that aired in July 1970.

Cole's work as a journalist also took him to New York, the Middle East, France and other locations overseas.

He probably developed his interest in journalism while serving in World War II and shooting photographs in the Philippines, Darker said. His first job after the war was as cultural attache to Israel.

___

Duina Zacchini Norman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Duina Zacchini Norman, a member of a famed circus family who joined the human cannonball act when her brothers were drafted, died Wednesday. She was 82.

Norman died in Nashville, where she had lived after a circus career that began on the trapeze when she was 16, according to Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home.

The Flying Zacchinis had traveled Africa and Europe during the 1920s and '30s performing a cannonball routine perfected by her father, Edmundo Zacchini. By the time they moved to Tampa, Fla., and joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baily Circus when Norman was 12, she had been training for two years to become a trapeze artist.

But when Norman's brothers went off to fight in World War II, her father trained his two daughters to take their place as human projectiles in the cannonball show.

Norman continued with the cannonball act for more than 20 years and was featured on a Life magazine cover, in some movies and on Ed Sullivan's TV variety show, her family said.

___

Severino Dias de Oliveira

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) _ Severino Dias de Oliveira, the white-maned accordionist and composer known as Sivuca, died Thursday. He was 76.

Sivuca died of throat cancer, hospital officials said.

Rooted in the accordion-driven "forro" style of Brazil's northeast, Sivuca played with a wide range of musicians around the world, including jazz star Toots Thielmans and South African singer Miriam Makeba. He was widely credited with arranging her most famous recording, "Pata Pata."

Sivuca was born to a farm family in Itabaiana. An albino who had to avoid the sun, he was allowed to spend less time on farm chores and more working on his music.

He began playing accordion at fairs and parties at age 9, and at 15 he began playing on the radio in the northeastern city of Recife.

He recorded his first record in 1950, which included the hit "Adeus Maria Fulo."

Sivuca later moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he worked in radio and television, and lived in Lisbon and Paris for a number of years before moving in 1964 to New York City, where he played with Makeba, playing guitar, until 1969.

He also worked with Thielmans, Airto Moreira and Hermeto Pascoal and later played with several Scandinavian jazz musicians.

___

Flint "Scotty" Schulhofer

NEW YORK (AP) _ Hall of Fame trainer Flint "Scotty" Schulhofer, who saddled two Belmont Stakes winners during a 40-year career, died Thursday. He was 80.

Schulhofer died of cancer at a hospital in South Florida, according to the New York Racing Association.

Inducted into racing's Hall of Fame in 1992, Schulhofer won the 1993 Belmont with Colonial Affair _ Julie Krone was aboard and became the first female rider to win a Triple Crown race. Six years later, he sent out Lemon Drop Kid to win the '99 Belmont _ the race in which Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Charismatic finished third, and suffered a broken bone in his leg during the stretch run.

Schulhofer sent out his first winner in 1962 at Aqueduct. He retired in 2001 with 1,119 victories from 7,157 starters, and his horses earned purses totaling more than $52 million.

Among the champions trained by Schulhofer were Lemon Drop Kid (2000 older male), Fly So Free, Mac Diarmida, Rubiano and Smile. Fly So Free was a 2-year-old male champion in 1990, Rubiano and Smile were sprint champions in 1986 and 1992, respectively, and Mac Diarmida was the 1978 turf male champion.

During World War II, Schulhofer was in the infantry on the front lines in Germany. He began his training career after riding as a steeplechase jockey from 1950-62.

___

Clarence Smith

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) _ Clarence "Del" Smith, a World War II pilot who later ferried three California governors aboard the official state airplane, died Dec. 9. He was 86.

Smith died of natural causes in Roseville, the governor's office said.

He was a pilot for California One, the official state plane used by governors Earl Warren, Goodwin Knight and Edmund G. "Pat" Brown.

Smith was a decorated Army Air Corps pilot who flew C-47 troop transport planes during WWII. He joined the National Guard when the war ended.

One day he happened to be at Van Nuys Airport near Los Angeles when governor Warren needed a flight back to Sacramento. Smith became Warren's personal pilot afterward, flying a converted cargo plane nicknamed "The Grizzly" for the California bear painted on the nose, according to media accounts.

Smith was appointed assistant adjutant general in 1965, briefly overseeing the National Guard's deployment in Los Angeles during the Watts riots that year. He retired as a brigadier general in 1968.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.