Clarence E. Ross; Converted Old Desilu Studios to Tennis Courts

Clarence E. Ross, 79, who took over the old Desilu Studios at 846 N. Cahuenga Blvd. in the 1970s and converted them to indoor tennis courts. When he found that the courts were as much in demand for tennis-oriented commercials as they were by tennis players, he re-created the sound stages and film studios that had been there and called it Television Center. One of his early goals was to film some modest stage productions at Television Center and offer them to cable TV. To that end he built a 399-seat theater on Sound Stage 9 and staged such classic plays as “Gaslight.” A dispute over the lease ended his plans. A former publicist and developer in Denver and Los Angeles, Ross most recently refurbished the Technicolor Laboratories on Argyle Avenue in Hollywood and, with his son, Michael, converted them into film production facilities. In Los Angeles on May 8 of congestive heart failure.