'Curious George' co-author found dead in Boynton Beach driveway

[DoYouEverWonder]

Feb 8, 2006

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The bloodied body of a collaborator on "Curious George" books and films was found covered in garbage bags in the driveway of his home.

Alan Shalleck's body was there for at least a day while neighbors passed by, assuming it was a heap of trash, before a maintenance man discovered it Tuesday. Police were treating the case as a possible homicide, spokeswoman Sgt. Gladys Cannon said, but she wouldn't disclose details about how he died.

Shalleck, 76, was the writer and director of more than 100 short episodes of "Curious George," which aired on the Disney Channel, and co-wrote a series of books with Margret Rey, who created the mischievous monkey with her husband more than 60 years ago.

A trail of blood stained the terra cotta driveway in front of Shalleck's mobile home, where the man's outstretched body lay behind a blue Honda Civic parked under a carport. Maintenance supervisor Burt Venturelli, 62, found the body early Tuesday.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_WRITER_DEAD_FLOL-?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT