  We present a model for gamma-ray bursts (GRB's) in which a stellar mass black
hole acquires a massive accretion disk by merging with the helium core of its
red giant companion. The black hole enters the helium core after it, or its
neutron star progenitor, first experiences a common envelope phase that carries
it inwards through the hydrogen envelope. Accretion of the last several solar
masses of helium occurs on a time scale of roughly a minute and provides a
neutrino luminosity of approximately 10^51 - 10^52 erg/s. Neutrino
annihilation, 0.01% to 0.1% efficient, along the rotational axis then gives a
baryon loaded fireball of electron-positron pairs and radiation (about
10$^{50}$ erg total) whose beaming and relativistic interaction with
circumstellar material makes the GRB (e.g., Rees & Meszaros 1992). The useful
energy can be greatly increased if energy can be extracted from the rotational
energy of the black hole by magnetic interaction with the disk. Such events
should occur at a rate comparable to that of merging neutron stars and black
hole neutron star pairs and may be responsible for long complex GRB's, but not
short hard ones.
