ACCIDENTS
A fire broke out at Arizona's Tucson Convention Center Dec. 10 during filming of the ABC miniseries Desperation, based on a Stephen King novel, and as fans began to arrive for a Keith Urban concert in another part of the arena. Five people were injured. No cause for the fire has been determined.
DEATHS
Lead guitarist of heavy metal band Damageplan and former member of Pantera, ''Dimebag'' Darrell Abbott, 38, was shot to death Dec. 8 while performing at the Alrosa Villa concert hall in Columbus, Ohio. Police say he was killed by Nathan Gale, 25, of Marysville, Ohio, who climbed on stage during the show and shot Abbott numerous times at close range. Also shot and killed were Jeffrey ''Mayhem'' Thompson, the band's security head, Erin Halk, an employee of the club, and Nathan Bray, a member of the audience. John ''Kat'' Brooks, the band's drum tech, and Chris Paluska, their tour manager, were also seriously wounded in the incident. Gale was shot dead by a police officer who arrived at the club after the shooting began. Abbott's brother and Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul said in a statement, ''With all his greatness and accomplishments on the guitar, Dime will be missed more for his giving personality, charisma, caring for others, love and, most of all, his heart!!''... North Carolina blues musician Richard ''Big Boy'' Henry, 83, of unspecified causes, Dec. 5, in Beaufort, N.C.... Author Francess Lantz, 52, creator of the Luna Bay surfer girl books, of ovarian cancer, Nov. 22, in Santa Barbara, Calif.... Larry Buchanan, 81, director of cult movies such as 1967's Mars Needs Women, of complications from a collapsed lung, Dec. 2, in Tucson, Ariz.
