William Claxton

LOS ANGELES—William Claxton, a photographer who snapped such entertainers as Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra and who helped establish the organization that runs the Grammy Awards, has died. He was 80.

Claxton died Saturday at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications stemming from congestive heart failure, his son Christopher said.

He was best known for his soulful portraits of jazz artists such as Chet Baker, and he went on to photograph Dylan and other musicians such as Joni Mitchell and Tom Jones. His images graced the covers of numerous albums.

He also worked with Sinatra, Steve McQueen and Rebecca De Mornay, and his photographs regularly appeared in Life, Paris Match and Vogue.



Allan Spear

MINNEAPOLIS—Allan H. Spear, a former Minnesota state senator who was one of the nation’s first openly gay legislators, has died. He was 71.

He died Saturday of complications after heart surgery performed Thursday, said longtime friend Don Jorovsky.

Spear, a member of the Demo-cratic-Farmer-Labor Party —Minn-esota’s version of the Democratic Party—was first elected in 1972 and was state Senate president from 1993 to 2000, when he retired.