The Associated Press

Wed, Jan 7, 2009 (7:03 p.m.)

Betty Freeman

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) _ Betty Freeman, patron to such contemporary musical masters as John Cage, Philip Glass and Pierre Boulez, died Saturday. She was 87.

Freeman died of pancreatic cancer at her Beverly Hills home, daughter Shelley Butler said Wednesday.

Over four decades, Freeman commissioned works from about 80 composers and underwrote performances and recordings. Her gifts ranged from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars.

John Adams' opera "Nixon in China" was dedicated to her.

The music Freeman supported frequently ran to minimalism and dissonance. Based on her personal taste, she backed artists who might be too avant-garde to win art committee or government grants.

Freeman also was a photographer, whose images of composers and musicians were displayed at Carnegie Hall.

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Gedalio Grinberg

PARAMUS, N.J. (AP) _ Gedalio Grinberg, founder and chairman of luxury watchmaker Movado Group Inc., died Sunday. He was 77.

Grinberg died of natural causes, a company spokeswoman said.

Born in 1931 in Cuba, Grinberg came to the U.S. in 1960 after Fidel Castro came to power.

He began building a career in the watch business at the helm of his North American Watch Co., which later took the Movado Group name after a series of acquisitions. He also become a devotee of art, and showed particular fondness for modern artwork, which he collected.

Today, his Paramus, N.J.-based company operates nine watch brands, among them: Movado, Concord, Ebel and ESQ. It also has licensing agreements with Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Lacoste and others.

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Robert Monagan

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) _ Robert Monagan, a former California Assembly Speaker, died Wednesday. He was 88.

Monagan, a moderate Republican who also served in the Nixon administration, died at a nursing home in Sacramento, according to his son, Mike.

Monagan spent 12 years in the California Assembly, becoming speaker after Republicans gained a narrow majority in 1968. He was replaced by a Democrat, Bob Moretti, after Democrats regained control of the house in 1970.

Monagan left the Legislature in 1973 to become assistant secretary of transportation under President Nixon. He returned to Sacramento in 1974 to become executive vice president of the California Manufacturers Association.