"Sneaky" Pete Kleinow , RIP

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'Sneaky' Pete Kleinow -- film effects artist, Flying Burrito guitarist
- Jill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 16, 2007

"Sneaky" Pete Kleinow lived parallel lives over his seven decades, each with enviable success.
In one, he helped animate the green clay character Gumby and designed special effects for "Star Wars." In the other, he played guitar with John Lennon, Joni Mitchell and Billy Joel, to name a few, and opened for the Rolling Stones at Altamont as the guitarist for the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Mr. Kleinow, who brought country music's steel guitar into the rock 'n' roll arena while creating Hollywood's special effects, died Jan. 6 in Petaluma, of complications related to Alzheimer's. He was 72.
While Mr. Kleinow's movie-making talents earned him a 1983 Emmy for the "Winds of War" miniseries, he is best known for his music, which included sessions with some of the biggest names in the business.
He played what some called a psychedelic pedal steel guitar, catching the eye of the Byrds' Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman in Los Angeles, resulting in the creation of the Flying Burrito Brothers. They released their first album in 1969, wearing rhinestone-studded suits from Nudie's Rodeo Tailors.
Born on Aug. 20, 1934, in South Bend, Ind., Mr. Kleinow started playing steel guitar after high school. He moved to Los Angeles in 1963 to work on movie special effects, performing music at night.
Through much of the 1960s, he worked with Art Clokey Productions, helping with animation, design and puppets for the "Gumby" and "Davy & Goliath" cartoons. He worked separately on the television series "Outer Limits" and on stop-motion commercials that included the animated Pillsbury Doughboy and pancake syrup Mrs. Butterworth.
Mr. Kleinow put his special effects work largely on hold while he performed with the Flying Burrito Brothers in the early 1970s and with Joe Cocker, Frank Zappa, the Bee Gees, John Lennon and Fleetwood Mac, among others.
He returned to special effects in 1974, when he worked on the "Land of the Lost" television series. It was the same year he and the band Cold Steel released a self-titled album. He released a solo album in 1979, "Sneaky Pete."
In 1980, he worked with Industrial Light & Magic in San Rafael on "Star Wars: Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back," and later with Fantasy II Film Effects on "Gremlins," "Terminator" and "Dune."
All the while he continued to play music.
In 2001, he released a new album, "Meet Sneaky Pete," and then a year later formed the band Burrito Deluxe, which released two albums, the most recent in 2004.
His daughter, Anita Kleinow, said in a statement that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 18 months ago and "it hit him hard and fast."
"Sneaky Pete was and will always be one of the best of his kind, a great man, a talented artist and a great friend to all that knew him," said Gram Parsons' daughter, Polly Parsons. "He will be missed."
Mr. Kleinow is survived by his wife of 54 years, Ernestine Kleinow of San Francisco; daughter Anita of Twentynine Palms (San Bernardino County); and daughter Tammy Kleinow and sons Martin, Aaron and Cosmo Kleinow, all of San Francisco.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Hi-Desert Playhouse, 61231 29 Palms Highway, Joshua Tree (San Bernardino County). A jam session with several of Mr. Kleinow's musician friends will follow.
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URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/16/BAG9HNJ6CD1.DTL

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Topic - "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow , RIP - LWR 06:56:05 01/17/07 (10)

He was distributed by NorCal records, would you know what that stands for? - Duilawyer 07:45:30 01/17/07 (8)

Not sure why you resent a man who died - LWR 07:53:58 01/17/07 (7)

divert, deny., never respond.,... - Duilawyer 15:51:54 01/17/07 (6)

Caught doing what Dui? - dave c 16:39:54 01/17/07 (5)

Dui is an emotional cripple - LWR 18:27:05 01/17/07 (4)

"He's not the messiah, he's a naughty boy" - dave c 18:55:42 01/17/07 (3)

I like to fuck with his head - LWR 19:02:01 01/17/07 (2)

now we are getting somewhere... - dave c 13:37:31 01/18/07 (1)

Never - LWR 19:59:06 01/18/07 (0)

A huge talent - Quint 07:18:52 01/17/07 (0)

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