Obituaries

Richard CarlsonAuthor

Richard Carlson, 45, author of the best-selling "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff," died Dec. 13 on a flight from San Francisco to New York after an apparent heart attack.

A Walnut Creek, Calif., resident, he was scheduled to make two TV appearances to promote his latest book, "Don't Get Scrooged: How to Thrive in a World Full of Obnoxious, Incompetent, Arrogant and Downright Mean-Spirited People."

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

Duina Zacchini NormanHuman Cannonball

Duina Zacchini Norman, 82, a member of a famed circus family who joined the human cannonball act when her brothers were drafted, died Dec. 13 in Nashville. No cause of death was reported.

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 & Bailey Circus when she was 12, she had been training for two years to become a trapeze artist.

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

Anton BalasinghamTamil Tiger Negotiator

Anton Balasingham, 68, the chief negotiator for Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels, died Dec. 14 of cancer in London, where he lived.

Mr. Balasingham was associated with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam from its inception more than 30 years ago and had been a political adviser to reclusive rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, the TamilNet Web site said.

Mr. Balasingham has represented the rebel group in peace talks with successive Sri Lankan governments since 1985, after a violent separatist war flared up in 1983. Until his death, he played a key role in the peace process initiated after Norway brokered a cease-fire between the government and the group in 2002.

Bernard KleimanSteelworkers Negotiator

Bernard Kleiman, 78, a labor lawyer and longtime chief negotiator for the United Steelworkers, died Dec. 13 in Pittsburgh after a heart attack.

During a 46-year career with the United Steelworkers, Mr. Kleiman was a close adviser to five international presidents and served as general counsel from 1965 through 1997.

Mr. Kleiman established the union's legal department in 1965 and played a key role in bringing the steel industry into compliance with the Civil Rights Act, which opened steel mill jobs to blacks and women.