Kumar Pallana

Character actor Kumar Pallana

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kumar Pallana, an Indian character actor with small parts in movies such as "The Terminal" and "The Royal Tennenbaums," died suddenly Oct. 10 at the home he shared with his son in Oakland. He was 94.

"He lived life to the fullest," said his daughter Sandhya Pallana of Dallas, who confirmed the death to The Associated Press. "It was really wonderful how well he was received and how well he was liked and that people appreciated his unique and creative style."

Pallana was a yoga instructor living in Dallas when in the mid-1990s he met Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, who were working on their breakout movie "Bottle Rocket," the Los Angeles Times reported. They cast Pallana as a bumbling safe cracker.

His thick accent and diminutive stature combined to help him steal scenes and earned him parts in more films, including three more directed by Anderson and one by Steven Spielberg.


Stanford professor Daniel Garza

STANFORD, Calif. — Daniel Garza, a leading researcher in concussion and brain-related injuries at Stanford University and the medical director and team physician of the San Francisco 49ers, has died.

The university said in a news release Wednesday night that Garza died at his home in the San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday night. The cause of death and his age were not immediately available.

"The 49ers organization has been informed of a tragedy," the team said in a statement. "We were saddened to learn Dr. Dan Garza died unexpectedly Tuesday. Our sincerest thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this trying time."

Garza was an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery and emergency medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine. His primary research focused on the prevention of traumatic brain injury in athletes.