Deaths Elsewhere | | Charlotte Observer

Sherman Rose, taught Tuskegee Airmen to fly

Sherman Rose, who served as a flight instructor for the Tuskegee Airmen, has died.

He was 88.

Rose died Wednesday at Southeast Alabama Medical Center, according to Sunset Funeral Home.

Rose was among the first African Americans to receive pilot training as part of the U.S. government's Civilian Pilot Training Program, which led directly to the formation of the Tuskegee Airmen.

The Tuskegee Airmen were part of an all-black unit trained at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Ala.

They helped break racial barriers while gaining fame escorting bombers in World War II.

Rose later worked as a flight instructor at Fort Rucker for 20 years, continuing to break down racial barriers.

A mural honoring Rose and the Tuskegee Airmen was completed in May 2001 in downtown Dothan. Associated Press

Leopoldo Serran, Brazilian screenwriter

Leopoldo Serran, the Brazilian screenwriter behind such 1970s art-house hits as “Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands,” and “Bye Bye Brazil,” has died.

He was 66.

Serran died Wednesday from liver cancer, the Ipanema Hospital said.

A native of Rio de Janeiro, he got his start by adapting Joao Felicio dos Santos' novel “Ganga Zumba,” along with screenwriter Rubem Rocha Filho and director Caca Diegues.

The 1963 film, which marked Diegues' directorial debut, is considered a classic of Brazil's Cinema Novo movement.

Serran also co-wrote the screenplay for the 1976 feature “Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands,” adapted from the Jorge Amado novel.

The film sold nearly 12 million tickets, making it Brazil's biggest box-office success ever.

Together with Diegues, Serran also wrote the 1979 feature “Bye Bye Brazil,” one of the few Brazilian films to make a splash abroad in the 1970s.

In the 1990s, Serran co-wrote the script for “O Quatrilho,” which was nominated for an Oscar in the best foreign film category in 1996.

Over the years, Serran also worked on a number of telenovelas and miniseries for the Globo TV network.

Last year, he published a novel, “Arara Carioca” or “Carioca Macaw.” Associated Press