Deaths of note from around the world:
Jeni LeGon, 96: Singer and tap dancer who hoofed her way from the South Side of Chicago to Hollywood, where she shared the screen with Bill “Bojangles" Robinson and Cab Calloway, and to Broadway, where she performed to the music of Fats Waller. LeGon wore pants rather than skirts when she performed, and, somewhat as a result, she developed an athletic, acrobatic style, employing mule kicks and flying splits, more in the manner of the male dancers of the time. Died Dec. 7 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Mary Griggs Burke, 96: Art collector who amassed the most comprehensive private collection of Japanese art outside Japan with a meticulousness, deliberation and incisive eye that befit her subject. Assembled over half a century and exhibited throughout the world, Burke’s collection comprises about a thousand artifacts, including paintings, prints, sculpture, textiles, lacquerware, ceramics and calligraphy. Died Dec. 8 at her home in New York City.
