Lansing "Lansa" Vanwoert Brown Jr. (August 24, 1900 – February 16, 1962) was an American

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

. Brown is often recalled for an event on September 2, 1934, in which he accidentally shot and killed his friend, crooner

Russ Columbo Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolfo Colombo (January 14, 1908 – September 2, 1934), known as Russ Columbo, was an American baritone, songwriter, violinist, and actor. He is famous for romantic ballads such as his signature tune "You Call It Madne ...

, when an antique pistol discharged and the bullet ricocheted into Columbo's skull. After Columbo's death, Brown was cleared of all charges, but he remained deeply affected by the incident. Brown served in the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a photography instructor. He died of a stroke at the

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped ...

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

Hospital.

References

*Battaglia, Richard (October 29, 2004)
Preservation Notebook.
''Larchmont Chronicle'' 20th-century American photographers 1900 births 1962 deaths Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) American military personnel of World War II {{US-photographer-stub