Notable deaths last week; 'Happy Days' soda shop owner; ex-Chicago congressman

• Gus Savage, a civil rights activist and journalist who represented a South Side Chicago district for 12 years in the U.S. House, died on Saturday, a day after celebrating his 90th birthday.

His son Thomas Savage told The Associated Press the former Democratic congressman celebrated his birthday on Friday with family and friends. He went to sleep and was found unresponsive in his bed on Saturday morning.

Born in Detroit, Savage moved to Chicago with his family when he was age five. Savage served in a segregated unit of the U.S. Army during World War II.

He founded Citizen Newspapers, which became the largest black-owned chain of weekly community newspapers in the Midwest.

He sold the newspaper chain in 1980 and was elected that year to represent Illinois' 2nd Congressional District until January 1993.

A major achievement during his time in Congress was passage of a measure requiring the U.S. Defense Department to set aside lucrative military procurement contracts for minority-owned businesses, according to the U.S. House website.

• Al Molinaro, the loveable character actor with the hangdog face who was known to millions of TV viewers for playing Murray the cop on "The Odd Couple" and malt shop owner Al Delvecchio on "Happy Days," died Friday at Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale, his son Michael Molinaro said.

Molinaro, retired from acting since the 1990s, died of complications of gallstone problems, his son said. He was 96.

The Kenosha, Wisconsin, native was a journeyman performer well into middle age when a comedy improv class led to his breakthrough. Producer Garry Marshall heard about Molinaro and hired him for the part of police Officer Murray Greshler on "The Odd Couple," the TV version of Neil Simon's play about feuding roommates. It starred Tony Randall as photographer Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as sports writer Oscar Madison and featured Molinaro as one of their buddies, a simpleminded policeman who at times seemed as much a threat to his friends as he did to any crooks.

Molinaro built on his "Happy Days" success for years after he left the show. He brought the character of Al to "Joanie Loves Chachi," a short-lived "Happy Days" spinoff that aired from 1982-83. In 1987, he and Anson Williams, who played Potsie on "Happy Days," started Big Al's, a Midwestern diner chain.

He brought Al back for a brief appearance in "Buddy Holly," a 1995 music video for the group Weezer that was directed by Spike Jonze.

• Eric Allen, the former Michigan State star who set what at the time was an NCAA record with 350 yards rushing in a 1971 game against Purdue, has died at 66.

Allen finished 10th in the Heisman Trophy voting as a senior in 1971. In addition to his big game against Purdue, Allen rushed for 18 touchdowns that season and scored 110 points, becoming the first Big Ten player to crack the 100-point milestone.

• Mel Daniels, the Hall of Fame center who helped the Indiana Pacers win three American Basketball Association titles, has died at 71.

The Pacers said Daniels died in Sheridan, Indiana.

The ABA's MVP in 1968-69 and 1970-71, Daniels was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. The Pacers retired Daniels' No. 34 jersey in 1985.

"I am saddened by the news that Mel Daniels has passed away," said Larry Bird, the Pacers' president of basketball operations. "I have known him since I was in college and he was one of my coaches. His competitive attitude reflected his success on the floor with the Pacers and the ultimate recognition, a well-deserved induction into the Hall of Fame."

The 6-foot-9 former star at New Mexico was the ABA's Rookie of the Year in 1967-68 with the Minnesota Muskies. He was traded to Indiana the following season and played on championship squads in 1970, '72 and '73, teaming with Roger Brown, Freddie Lewis, Darnell Hillman, George McGinnis and Bob Netolicky under Hall of Fame coach Bobby "Slick" Leonard.

Daniels was an assistant coach at Indiana State - where he rejoined former New Mexico coach Bob King - during Bird's years at the school.

• Luther "Ticky" Burden, an All-America basketball guard at Utah, has died. He was 62.

Burden had ATTR amyloidosis, a disease that causes the body's immune system to produce abnormal forms of antibodies, and had been treated at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

• As a cardiologist in Los Angeles during the 1960s, Dr. Walter S. Graf became alarmed by the number of heart attack sufferers who died while en route to hospitals.

Inspired by an Irish physician who sent hospital doctors and nurses out into Belfast to treat cardiac patients, Graf in 1969 converted a white Chevy van into a "mobile critical care unit." He went on to outfit ambulances with defibrillators and technicians who knew how to use them, becoming one of a handful of doctors who created the modern paramedic emergency system.

Graf died while under home hospice care in Los Angeles, according to Dr. Baxter Larmon, a professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles. He was 98.

• Peter Dougherty, responsible for some of MTV's on-air look in its early days and creator of the program "Yo! MTV Raps," died earlier this month.

He died at age 59 of a heart attack on Oct. 12 at his home in the suburbs north of New York City, his brother Paul said on Wednesday.

Dougherty worked in the promotions department at MTV and, with colleague Ted Demme, suggested the rap show at a time the music network didn't pay much attention to the style, said David Cohn, a friend and former MTV executive. "Yo! MTV Raps" became an instant hit when it started in 1988.

• Dick Maugg, known for his role in 1980s advertisements for Bartles & Jaymes brand wine coolers, has died at the age of 83.

Maugg was best known for his role as silent sidekick Ed Jaymes to Frank Bartles in a series of industry-acclaimed advertisements known for their homey style.

• Philip French, the long-time film critic for the Guardian's Sunday edition, the Observer, has died at 82.