NOTEWORTHY DEATHS

Shaw, co-founder of Hong Kong studio

Hong Kong film magnate Run Run Shaw, who built the Shaw Brothers Studio into the largest in Asia in the 1960s and ’70s, popularized the kung fu genre around the world and later became a philanthropist, died Tuesday at 106.

Shaw’s studio - which he ran with his brother, Runme - churned out more than 1,000 films over more than five decades, from romances and musicals to action pictures. He even co-produced American films, including Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. The legacy of Shaw Brothers films can be seen in the works of contemporary filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino, John Woo and Ang Lee.

Emulating the style of Hollywood studios in the 1930s, the Shaws set out to build an elaborate studio in a then-remote part of Hong Kong. At its opening in 1961, it was said to be the largest private film studio in the world, with more than 1,000 employees, more than a dozen stages and state-of-the art equipment.

The Shaw Brothers logo, with the initials SB over a shield, looked much like that of Warner Bros.; viewers of Tarantino’s film Kill Bill Vol. 1 may recall seeing the SB logo in the opening credit sequence, accompanied by the words “Shaw Scope” and a cheesy trumpet fanfare.

By the early 1960s, the Shaw Brothers were the kings of regional film making, producing the most popular movies in Asia.

The Shaws, however, did not work with Bruce Lee, who turned down what he considered a low-paying offer from the Shaws.

1940s pilot fought foe under Eiffel Tower

ROANOKE, Va. - World War II fighter pilot William Overstreet Jr., who gained fame for flying beneath the Eiffel Tower’s arches in pursuit of a German aircraft, has died. He was 92.

According to Oakley’s Funeral Home, Overstreet died Dec. 29 at a Roanoke hospital.

Overstreet’s famous flight in Nazi-occupied Paris has been credited with lifting the spirits of French Resistance troops on the ground. In a 2009 ceremony at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, the French ambassador to the United States presented Overstreet with France’s Legion of Honor.

According to his obituary on the funeral home website, Overstreet worked as an accountant until retiring at age 65, then worked with numerous charities and veterans groups.