In Memoriam

Les Crystal ’56, ’57 MS, Manhattan, N.Y., June 24, 2020, age 85. Known as a kind and reassuring leader, Crystal oversaw network news at both NBC and PBS. After college he began writing for TV and radio station KDAL in Duluth, Minn., then joined NBC’s Chicago affiliate in 1963 as a producer for its nightly news program and Dateline Chicago documentary series. He served as executive producer for NBC Nightly News from 1973 to 1976 and as president of the network’s news division from 1977 to 1979. One of his most influential roles began in 1983 when he took over as executive producer of what became known as The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, guiding its efforts to deliver in-depth reporting as the country’s first hourlong newscast. Crystal led the program for more than 20 years, before becoming president of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions in 2005. He retired in 2010. Crystal is survived by his wife, Toby Lee; three children, Bradley, Alan and Elizabeth; three grandchildren; and a sister, Elaine.

Photo: Courtesy of PBS NewsHour Productions

Michael Heuer ’56 DDS, Naperville, Ill., June 4, age 88. As dean of the Northwestern University Dental School from 1993 to 1998, Heuer restructured its curriculum and added programs in oral pathology, general dentistry and geriatric dentistry. After beginning his career in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps, Heuer returned to his dental school alma mater in 1960 as an assistant professor. Following a stint on the Loyola University Chicago faculty, he rejoined Northwestern as chair of endodontics. He went on to become associate dean of academic affairs in 1983 and senior associate dean in 1988 before serving as the dental school’s pen- ultimate dean. In that role Heuer was tasked with announcing the school’s closure, which occurred in 2001, the same year he was honored with the Northwestern Alumni Association’s Alumni Merit Award. He is survived by two daughters, Kristan and Katrina; seven grandchildren; and two sisters.

Ray Farley ’51, ’62 CERT, Racine, Wis., May 2, 2020, age 95. Awarded a Bronze Star for heroism on the Italian front in World War II, he went on to play football at Northwestern. After graduation he joined the sales staff at S.C. Johnson & Son, beginning a 39-year career that culminated in his 1988–90 tenure as president and CEO. He was only the second CEO in the company’s history from outside its namesake family. Elected director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1984, Farley chaired its Spirit of Enterprise Fund capital campaign and was a U.S. chair of its Canada-U.S. Relations Committee. For his alma mater, Farley endowed the S.C. Johnson & Son Chair in International Marketing, served on the Kellogg Graduate School of Management Advisory Council and was a life trustee on the University’s Board of Trustees. In 2007 he received the Northwestern Alumni Medal. Farley is survived by his sister, Helen; daughter, Gwen; son-in-law, Jason; and two grandchildren. 

Photo: Mark Hertzberg, (Racine, Wis.) Journal Times file photo

Lee Phillip Bell ’50, Beverly Hills, Calif., Feb. 25, 2020, at age 91. Co-creator of The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, Bell expanded opportunities for women in broadcasting and revolutionized daytime television. For more than 30 years she hosted The Lee Phillip Show in Chicago, tackling rarely considered social problems, including the lives of prisoners, the struggles of runaways and the challenges of breast cancer. She also produced the groundbreaking documentary The Rape of Paulette. Bell and her husband, screenwriter William J. Bell, created The Young and the Restless by drawing storylines from topics discussed on her talk show. She received the Daytime Emmy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. A member of the University’s Board of Trustees, Bell received the Alumnae Award in 1976 and a Northwestern Alumni Association Merit Award in 1961. She is survived by her children, William, Bradley and Lauralee; and eight grandchildren, including Caroline Bell ’18.

Robert Rechnitz ’54, Middletown, N.J., Oct. 12, at age 89. A lifelong theater lover, Rechnitz co-founded Two River Theater with his wife, Joan, in 1994. It is now one of the most prominent companies in New Jersey. He taught literature and directed student productions at Monmouth University for 35 years. Rechnitz, Two River Theater’s executive producer, was also a director and playwright. In 2016 the theater produced the world premiere of his playwriting debut, Lives of Reason, which he co-wrote. Rechnitz studied under the legendary Alvina Krause ’28 ’33 MA/MS at Northwestern and appeared in the 1954 Waa-Mu Show, See Here, with George Furth ’54. Rechnitz and his wife had generously donated to support the arts, education, environmental stewardship and medical research. In addition to his wife, Rechnitz is survived by their children, Emily, Adam and Joshua; and three grandchildren.

Sander Vanocur ’50, Montecito, Calif., Aug. 16, at age 91. A prominent reporter for NBC, Vanocur covered civil rights, assassinations and the Vietnam War. He was one of the panelists on the first televised presidential debate in 1960 between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. (See “TV Debates: The Heart of the Presidential Race,” fall 2012.) Vanocur went on to cover the Kennedy White House. He also conducted one of the last interviews with Sen. Robert Kennedy before his assassination and sat down with Martin Luther King Jr. less than a year before his death. In 1984 Vanocur moderated the vice presidential debate between George H.W. Bush and Geraldine Ferraro. Vanocur served in the U.S. Army after graduating from Northwestern. He had planned to attend law school until a piece that he wrote appeared in a London publication and he saw his name in print — an experience that changed his life. Vanocur is survived by his wife, Virginia Backus; his son, Christopher Vanocur ’82; his stepdaughter, Daphne Wood Hicks; and two grandchildren. Photo courtesy of University Archives

Robert LeBuhn ’54, Snowmass Village, Colo., and Murray Hill, N.J., Aug. 9, at age 87. An expert in investment management, LeBuhn became managing director at Rothschild Inc. and then president and chairman of Investor International Inc. He served on the board of US Airways for more than 37 years, helping to guide the airline during a period of growth, deregulation and consolidation in the industry. For a decade he chaired the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. A member of the Northwestern men’s basketball team in the early 1950s, LeBuhn played in the first game at McGaw Hall in December 1952. He returned in 2018 for the dedication of the newly remodeled Welsh-Ryan Arena. LeBuhn, a lieutenant, represented the Navy on the gold medal–winning U.S. men’s team at the 1955 Pan American Games in Mexico City. He is survived by his wife, Elaine; children Anne, Ellen, Robert, Richard and Jason; 10 grandchildren; and a brother, David.