GREENFIELD, Ind. (AP) – Dale Baird, the winningest thoroughbred trainer with more than 9,400 victories, died in a crash along an icy highway when he lost control of his pickup truck while hauling a livestock trailer. He was 72.
Baird was killed Sunday on Interstate 70 along with two teenagers whose car broadsided the truck about 20 miles east of Indianapolis, police said.
Hancock County police say strong winds and a slick road most likely contributed to the crash, which happened after Baird’s truck crossed a median and slid into oncoming traffic. Baird was heading to Martinsville, Ill., to spend Christmas with his mother and family, his ex-wife said.
Baird trained in West Virginia since the 1960s.
Baird was born in Martinsville and lived in Newell, W.Va. In his early years, he was dubbed the Wizard of Waterford when the track was known as Waterford. He was granted a Special Eclipse Award from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association in 2004.
—
Jeanne Carmen
IRVINE, Calif. (AP) – Jeanne Carmen, a 1950s pinup girl, B-movie actress and trick-shot golfer who hobnobbed with Frank Sinatra and other stars, has died. She was 77.
Carmen died of lymphoma on Thursday at her Orange County home, her son said.
Born in 1930, in Arkansas, Carmen picked cotton with her family before running away at 13.
The small-town girl with measurements of 36-26-36 was still a teenager when she came to New York. Despite having no show business experience, she immediately became a dancer in a Broadway show called “Burlesque,” with comic Burt Lahr.
She later went into modeling, gaining a measure of success with a series of cheesecake shots in men’s magazines. One gig turned into a new career as a trick golfer. On tour with golfer Jack Redmond, she would perform stunts such as hitting a ball out of a man’s mouth.
Carmen claimed that she later hustled golfers with Las Vegas mobster Johnny Roselli.
She came to Hollywood while still in her 20s, where she appeared in low-budget movies with names such as “Guns Don’t Argue” and “The Monster of Piedras Blancas.”
Carmen also claimed to have had affairs with Sinatra and other celebrities.
—
Comments are no longer available on this story