Lino Lacedelli, one of the first two climbers to reach the summit of K2 -- at 28,250 feet the world's second-highest peak and among the most treacherous -- died Nov. 20 after a heart operation. He was 83.
Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni reached the summit July 31, 1954, and neither would say who was first. Compagnoni died in May at age 94.
Lacedelli died in the house where he had lived since his birth, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. He began climbing at age 14, when he slipped away from his father and followed a mountain guide and his client up a clustering of steep rock formations near his home.
Jan Leighton, an actor who conjured a career by dressing up as historical figures -- appearing in so many commercials, print ads and industrial films as George Washington, William Shakespeare and Christopher Columbus that he was ubiquitous and anonymous -- died Nov. 16 of complications from a stroke in New York City. He was 87.
Leighton, who was listed in the 1985 Guinness World Records as the actor who had played the most roles (2,407), began his professional career as a legitimate actor, appearing on live TV dramas and at least once on Broadway, in the 1960 Cy Coleman musical, "Wildcat."
