Deaths: Elmer Gross, former Penn State coach

Elmer Gross

Elmer Gross, who coached Penn State's basketball team to the 1954 Final Four and reached the NCAA tournament as both a player and coach, has died. He was 90.

Gross died June 29 in Chandler, Ariz., near his home in Sun City, a Penn State athletics spokesman said Wednesday.

He played three seasons at Penn State, and was the Nittany Lions' leading scorer in his final season in 1942. Penn State finished 18-3 that year and made its first NCAA appearance.

Gross returned to Penn State in 1945 to begin his coaching career as an assistant under John Lawther. He took over as head coach in 1950, guiding Penn State to the NCAAs in 1952 and 1954 before retiring after five seasons. Earning a reputation for his use of the full-court press, Gross finished with an 80-40 coaching record. According to Penn State, he was the first person to reach the NCAA tournament as both a player and coach.

Gross was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army during World War II, served in France and Germany and participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Gross received a Bronze Star and Purple Heart after being wounded during a 1944 battle.

He later earned a doctorate of education at Penn State, where he retired as a professor of physical education in 1978.

-- Associated Press

Melville "Mel" Shavelson

Melville "Mel" Shavelson, who wrote, directed and produced dozens of films with such stars as Lucille Ball, Jimmy Cagney and Frank Sinatra and was twice nominated for Academy Awards, died Wednesday. He was 90.

Shavelson died at his Studio City, Calif. home of natural causes, family spokesman Warren Cowan told The Associated Press.

He worked as a gag writer for Bob Hope's radio show in the 1930s before going on to write or co-write more than 35 movies and direct a dozen.

He was nominated for best screenplay Oscars for "The Seven Little Foys," the 1956 film that starred Hope as legendary vaudevillian Eddie Foy, and for the 1958 romantic comedy "Houseboat." He also directed both films.

Shavelson wrote and directed "Cast a Giant Shadow," "The Five Pennies," "It Started in Naples," "On the Double," "A New Kind of Love," and "The War Between Men and Women."

He served three terms as president of the Writers Guild of America, West, and was on the writing-program faculty at the University of Southern California. He also wrote two novels and four nonfiction books. His autobiography, "How to Succeed in Hollywood Without Really Trying, P.S. -- You Can't!" was published on April 1, his 90th birthday.

-- Associated Press