Obituaries

T. Gordon McMahon Investment Banker

T. Gordon McMahon, 56, a Washington native who became an investment banker with Goldman Sachs in New York, died Oct. 20 in New York of multiple myeloma, a form of cancer.

Mr. McMahon was a 1970 graduate of Archbishop Carroll High School in the District and was a major donor to his alma mater. The school's theater was recently named in his honor.

Mr. McMahon was a graduate of Yale University and received a master's degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.

After opening an ice cream business in California, he became an investment banker with Goldman Sachs. He retired at 39 and worked as an entrepreneur and investor until his death.

Lou Jacobi Actor

Lou Jacobi, 95, an actor who was known for comic roles and won praise in dramatic ones over a long career in the theater and movies, died Oct. 23 at his home in New York. No cause of death was reported.

The Canadian-born Mr. Jacobi made his Broadway debut in 1955 in "The Diary of Anne Frank," playing one of the occupants of the Amsterdam attic where the Franks were hiding. He played the same role in the 1959 film version.

He was in nine other Broadway plays, including Paddy Chayefsky's "Tenth Man" in 1959 and Neil Simon's "Come Blow Your Horn" in 1961.

Mr. Jacobi was in about two dozen other movies, including the Dudley Moore comedy "Arthur," Woody Allen's "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex" and Barry Levinson's "Avalon." His last movie was "I.Q." in 1994. He played the logician Kurt Godel, one of Albert Einstein's professor friends at Princeton.

He also appeared in many TV shows, including "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." and "That Girl." He was a regular on "The Dean Martin Show" on NBC for two seasons in the early 1970s.

Frederick K. Biebel GOP leader

Frederick K. Biebel, 83, a longtime Republican activist in Connecticut and veteran of 14 national GOP conventions, died Oct. 27 at a hospital in Bridgeport, Conn. No cause of death was reported.

Mr. Biebel served the state and national Republican Party in many capacities, including volunteer, campaign manager, executive director of the party and state chairman from 1975 to 1979. Mr. Biebel also served as national co-chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Troy N. Smith Restaurant Chain Founder

Troy N. Smith, 87, the founder of a drive-in chain that became Sonic restaurants, died Oct. 26 at a hospital in Oklahoma City. No cause of death was reported.

Mr. Smith started the Top Hat root beer stand in Shawnee, Okla., in 1953 and later converted it into a drive-in restaurant where customers used an intercom speaker system to place orders from their cars. He eventually changed the name to Sonic Drive-In. There are nearly 3,600 restaurants in 42 states.

-- From News Services and Staff Reports