Henry Heimlich, of famed manoeuvre, dies at 96

New York

IT IS called the Heimlich manoeuvre - saving a choking victim with a bear hug and abdominal thrusts to eject a throat obstruction - and since its inception in 1974 it has become a national safety icon in the United States, taught in schools, portrayed in movies, displayed on restaurant posters and endorsed by medical authorities.

It is also the stuff of breathless, brink-of-death tales, told over the years by Ronald Reagan, Elizabeth Taylor, Goldie Hawn, Cher, Walter Matthau, Halle Berry, Carrie Fisher, Jack Lemmon, sportscaster Dick Vitale, television newsman John Chancellor and many others.