|
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS & DAVE'S
COMMENTARY
2003 YEAR IN REVIEW
Top 5 Best Movies of 2003
(Based
exclusively on Dave's opinion)
1.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
3.
Cold Mountain
4.
Finding Nemo
5.
Matrix Revolution
Auld Lang Syne
We'll
always remember many celebrities and other famous and
infamous folks who died in 2003. We list below some memorable people grouped in the category in which we knew them best. They
are not in chronological order, nor are they ranked by what we perceive as their
relative importance in any respect.
World of Music
Johnny Cash, died four months after
wife June Carter Cash. The official cause of death was
noted as complications from diabetes, but those closest to
Johnny Cash are firmly convinced that this man surely died of a
broken heart. Known as the "Man in Black" Johnny Cash was
the voice of the common man who seemingly could dominate the Pop
and Country charts at will for over four decades. A
genuine original the likes of which we probably will not see
again in our lifetime. His weekly television show was a
favorite at our house and something everyone enjoyed. We
were sorry he gave up the TV show. It wasn't cancelled, he
just up and quit because ABC was cramping his style. He
was also an in demand actor appearing on screen in sixteen
motion pictures and TV dramas. He sang the theme to twenty
additional films and television shows beginning with "The Rebel"
TV show in 1959. The only other solo singer of our time to
whom you could honestly compare Johnny Cash's longevity, career
scope and impact on the collective society as a whole, would be
Frank Sinatra.
Sam Phillips, flamboyant
American music icon who was the founder of Sun Records.
"Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston is generally considered by many
to be the first Rock & Roll record and Sam Phillips was at the
controls. Later he discovered Elvis, Johnny Cash, B.B. King,
Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, Howlin'
Wolf, Rufus Thomas & many others. Considered to be the most
important non-performer in American music history. So
important in fact that he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall
of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock-A-Billy
Hall of Fame. Sam Phillips wasn't just present at the
birth of rock & roll, he was both the father and the midwife.
He sold Elvis Presley's contract to RCA for $35,000 but never
regretted it since he invested much of that windfall in Kemmons
Wilson's new start up company. Wilson was launching an
outfit called "Holiday Inn". That investment in the
fledgling motel chain made Phillips a millionaire many times
over. Even though Sun records produced more rock & roll
records than any other label of it's time, it never really made
that much money and he lost interest in running it and in 1969
Phillips sold Sun Records to producer Shelby Singleton. In
my view, the secret to his success is that Phillips did one
thing with his artists few producers or record company
executives then or now are willing to do. That one thing
is that he gave people the freedom to be themselves in the
studio. By taking that unique approach, Sam Phillips set
both his artists and their music free.
Maurice Gibb, of the Bee
Gees. (Pronounced "Morris".) He was "Mo" to his family and
friends and was the fraternal twin of Robin. Married
singer Lulu for a brief time. All of the Bee Gees are
great musicians, but it is safe to say Maurice was the lead
musician in the group since he was the primary arranger,
keyboardist and bassist for the Bee Gees works and sang the most
difficult to find second harmony notes. Immediately after
his death Barry Gibb told the BBC that the Bee Gees would carry
on. Then later Barry & Robin in a joint announcement
contradicted that statement. So it appears that if Barry
and Robin were actually serious the last time anyone heard from
them on the subject, the Bee Gees as such will never perform
again. Calling it quits on The Bee Gees makes sense to me because
Maurice's second harmony part would be next to impossible to
replace since it is doubtful anyone could ever blend so expertly.
When one considers that the Brothers Gibb had been singing
together their entire lives, it explains a lot about their
unique sound and why no other singer could take Mo's place and
yield the same sound. That intricate three part
harmony layer is crucial to the one of a kind Bee Gees sound.
Brother Andy Gibb died of heart failure just after he turned 30
in 1988, but he was never a member of the Bee Gees. In the
period just prior to his death, Maurice had developed a passion
for paint-ball battles. He was so enamored of the sport
that he opened his own paintball shop in North Miami Beach in
June of 2002 and he called his shop "Commander Mo's". All
of the Bee Gees lived on the same street in Miami from the early
1970's until 2002 when Maurice bought a bigger house which was
closer to his beloved paintball shop.
Bobby Hatfield, of the
Righteous Brothers. Together with Bill Medley, and aided
by Phil Spector's sweet mixing, Hatfield sang on several of the
rock era's greatest love ballads. The Righteous Brothers'
"Unchained Melody" is the most requested love song since I
started keeping records on that sort of thing in 1968.
Robert Palmer, British
rocker who was by no stretch of anyone's imagination a typical
rock singer. Palmer had a true sense of style and lived an
open, down to earth, clean and sober life. I always
considered him the James Bond of rock and roll. The
consummate professional who unlike most successful singers could
completely compartmentalize his personal and public personas and
never let the two interfere with one another. He never
let Robert Palmer the singing star take over Robert Palmer the
decent and often tender hearted human being. He was an
excellent business man and handled most production and business
details himself. When he was
working the most important thing to him was "the show" and it
indeed showed. Palmer had a knack for knowing what not
only sounded good but also what looked good. A Palmer show
would be fun to watch even if you were deaf. More
importantly, Robert Palmer was gifted with the all too rare
ability and confidence to create stunning effects with subtle
variations in phrasing which could jolt you or soothe you at his
whim. Palmer possessed an incredibly wide vocal range
which was never demonstrated on any of his hit records because
they were all upbeat dance numbers. You had to play his
albums or better yet, see him live. Few singers sound
better in person than on record, but he did. If a genie
should appear and offered to grant me a wish to be able to sing
exactly like anyone I wanted, I just might choose Robert Palmer.
About the best friend a rock song ever
had.
Hank Ballard, Bessemer
City, Alabama's Rock & Roll
Hall of Famer who in 1958 wrote and
first recorded "The Twist" which was released by King Records.
Unfortunately, King Records put "The Twist" on the "B" side of a
mournful blues ballad called "Teardrops on Your Letter" which
only did so-so on the R&B charts but didn't have a prayer of
crossing over to Top 40. After Chubby Checker sang his
Dick Clark Enterprises produced version of "The Twist" on
"American Bandstand", Hank's version with The Midnighters, was
flattened under the steamroller that was Dick Clark Enterprises.
DCE could make or break a record. (Clark, not just by
virtue of the TV show alone but through all various enterprises
combined was so powerful that he would find himself in the
center of a huge payola scandal which is now largely forgotten.
A nasty congressional investigation and well publicized hearings
resulted in Chuck Barris, who was DCE's music director, being
fired. Barris not only picked the music to play on
"American Bandstand", but also set up strict play-lists for a
legion of DCE employed DJ's who played hundreds of High School
Sock Hops under the "Dick Clark's American Bandstand" banner
across a large chunk of America. Barris is also rumored to
have been a CIA operative during his game show producer days and
I believe it just might be true.) Whoever at DCE actually
produced "The Twist" apparently crafted Chubby's version to
sound virtually identical to Ballard's! It was so
identical that when Ballard first heard Checker's version on the
radio he actually thought it was his recording that was being
played. While missing out on a number 1 Top 40
multi-million selling smash had to hurt, writing "The Twist" did
earn him a small fortune in composer royalties and perhaps more
importantly it opened doors for Ballard. The payoff came
soon when Ballard had three records in the Billboard Top 40 at
the same time, including a re-release of his own original
version of "The Twist" which in a stroke of startling brilliance
was released this time as the "A" side by King Records. It
was never played on "American Bandstand" though. It is
interesting to note that early members of the group that would
become The Midnighters included superstar of soul Jackie Wilson
and Levi Stubbs who would later anchor the Four Tops. The Midnighters were then
known as The Royals, but changed their name after another group
started gaining popularity under the very similar name of The
Five Royals. So, the just plain Royals became The
Midnighters, and later they added Hank Ballard. It was King
Records who would eventually put Ballard's name up front on one
of the records, but King didn't ask the band about it first and
hence the seeds of discontent were sown in the group which would
lead to extensive personnel changes in short order. Hank
Ballard and The Midnighters toured extensively with James Brown
& The Flames under numerous incarnations including an all female
version of The Midnighters backing up Hank. For a while he even performed solo.
Now that's confidence, doing a solo act to open for James Brown.
Dick St. John, Dick of "Dick & Dee
Dee" who in addition to hits by the duo in the 60's wrote hits
for Lesley Gore, Quincy Jones, Jan & Dean, the Four Seasons, and
also wrote music for television shows. Fell either from a ladder
or off the roof of his Pacific Palisades CA home December 28th,
landing on the driveway and dying later that same day.
Arthur Conley, Atlanta born
protégé of Otis Redding who sang "Sweet
Soul Music". He moved to a tiny village in the
Netherlands called Ruurlo, opened his own music company called
"Art-Con Productions" and recorded his own material under the
name pseudonym of Lee Roberts. Strange but true.
Johnny Paycheck,
popularized the new genre of "outlaw country" and his song "Take
This Job and Shove It" inspired a movie. Usually you write
the theme song for a movie and not a movie for a theme song.
My personal favorite Paycheck track is "She's All I've Got", a
masterpiece of textbook country but not as big a seller as
"Shove It". Living up to his outlaw reputation in 1985 he
got into a barroom brawl in Ohio which ended with him shooting a
man. He went to prison for that and in prison, as so many
do, he found the Lord.
Warren Zevon, penned hits
for The Turtles and Nino Tempo & April Stevens early in his
career. Zevon also was the musical director for The Everly
Brothers for a while and appears uncredited on several Everly
recordings. His biggest Top 40 hit in the USA was
"Werewolves of London", but to his true fans, it was his
incredibly diverse albums that were the hits. The people
he was able to bring into the studio to work with him reads like
a "Who's Who" of pop and is evidence that the man has something
there. Here's the short list of some of the people who
have contributed to his album projects over the years:
Linda Ronstadt, Carl Wilson, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne,
Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman,
Neil Young, Don Henley, Jennifer Warnes & Brian Setzer. I
consider Warren Zevon an artist's artist. This is a man
who makes music that other musicians like to listen to and music
they like to be involved in making themselves. Maybe the
general public just never "got it" when it came to Warren
Zevon's music for some reason. It is reported by NPR radio
that Zevon toiled in severe pain, forgoing the narcotics which
would have eased his pain, just so he could finish his
final album while the cancer was eating him alive. He
managed to finish the final mix and pronounce the album wrapped
mere hours before he died. The new album is praised by
critics as his finest work ever. But it remains to be seen
if he will now achieve the commercial success that eluded him
all his life, or if it will only be the typical Zevon release,
appreciated primarily by other musicians who maintain that
Warren Zevon was a musical genius.
Little Eva, Bellhaven,
North Carolina born singer who was once Carole King & Gerry Goffin's babysitter. They wrote "The Locomotion" just for
her as a thank-you gift and it became her calling card. At
the time of her death Eva Narcissus Boyd was living in her
longtime home of Kinston NC. If you wanted people
to dance in the aisles at a concert, you just had to bring
Little Eva out and in no time flat the aisles were jammed with
people doing the locomotion moves up and down the aisles.
I saw that happen five or six times myself.
Nina Simone, Tryon,
North Carolina native who was a Julliard trained classical
pianist but became a talented
jazz vocal Diva. Hit in 1959 with
George Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy" and followed that up
through the 60's with "Gin House Blues", "Forbidden Fruit", "I
Put a Spell on You" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", which
was later covered by The Animals. Disenchanted with the
progress on racial issues in the US, she moved to Liberia in the
1970's. Then she moved a few more times to Switzerland,
the Netherlands and then ultimately settling in France where she
lived until her death. She became a Jazz Diva in
France where her success and her career thrived throughout her life. In
France, and Europe in general they love American Jazz, even when
they don't like America.
Barry White, ex-con who
really "got it together"! Barry White's Love Unlimited
Orchestra was a thing of beauty. His voice was like iron
silk, strong and smooth. Arrested and jailed in his late
teens for stealing some automobile wheels, he never was arrested
again. This king size crooner proved that a guy
didn't have to be skinny to be sexy. White dominated Top-40, R&B
and the newly created Dance charts during the early disco era
and every record he released got instant airplay. Barry was enjoying a
resurge in popularity at the time of his death. His
first hit, while a number 1 smash, gave no clue of the
multi-platinum vocal performances to come. It was the
instrumental, "Love's Theme" by the Love Unlimited Orchestra
which he arranged and conducted.
Don Gibson, Shelby NC
native & Country Music Hall of Famer
singer-songwriter. He said, "I'm a songwriter who sings,
rather that a singer who writes songs." The songs he wrote
were gems that are called "evergreens" in the trade.
Evergreens are timeless classics that have endured, and are
always welcomed by audiences whether live or recorded.
Among his most recorded songs are "Sweet Dreams", "I Can't Stop
Loving You" and "Oh, Lonesome Me". But there are many,
many more. Don Gibson was also voted into the Nashville
Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973.
Michael Kamen, wrote film scores,
X-Men, Brazil.
Herbie Mann, a jazz player
who just so happened to play flute. This broke the mold of
formula jazz and opened up jazz to all
sorts of possibilities nobody had thought of before. Prior to
Herbie Mann, the standard jazz instruments were drum, bass,
guitar, piano, organ, vibes, sax, clarinet, trombone, trumpet
and that was that. Mann's flute sound changed all that,
opening up jazz to all sorts of possibilities. I think
that his biggest contribution was broadening the scope of jazz
which ultimately led to the New Age sound. At the very
least Herbie mann was at least partly responsible for a rekindling of
interest in jazz in America in the
1970's. America had been under-appreciating their most
popular international music export for far too long.
Mann's was the sweetest flute this side of heaven, but he
could also play it hotter than.....well you know.
Vestal Goodman, mama in the
long time Southern Gospel group "The Happy Goodman Family".
Found out just weeks before her December 27th death that she was
being inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. There's
another happy angel singing in that heavenly choir.
Celia Cruz, Cuban born
Salsa music Diva. That isn't strong enough, so let me put
it this way. What Aretha Franklin is to American music,
Celia Cruz was the same to Cuban, Mexican, African, Bahamian &
Spanish music. Wherever salsa music is relished, she
was the relish of choice. The "Queen of Salsa",
Ms. Cruz was the most influential woman ever in Afro-Cuban music.
She was a stunner who bluffed her way out of Castro's Cuba on
the pretense of going on "just another music tour" to Mexico
shortly after the Cuban Revolution. She never went back.
Since abandoning her Cuban home in 1960, Queen Celia might have made
her home in New Jersey, but the Queen's kingdom was the entire
realm of Salsa.
Sheb Wooley,
actor/songwriter/singer. Remember him as Pete Nolan on
"Rawhide"? Hard to believe that he also wrote and sang
"Purple People Eater" isn't it? He also did some very
successful comedy/novelty recordings as a singing drunk under
the name Ben Colder. Now remember, this is the same man
that played the killer trying to gun down Gary Cooper in
High Noon. Wow, he was all over the place.
In 1969 he signed on to a new hayseed show called "HEE-HAW" and
they had him write the theme. (If you are over 30 I bet
you can sing that song. "Hee-Hee-Hee, Haw-Haw, Hee-Hee-Hee,
Haw-Haw, Hee-Hee, Haw-Haw-Haw", that last "Haw" made the tune
for me.) Legend has it that when he was growing up
on the farm in rural Oklahoma that his dad traded a shotgun to
get Sheb a second hand guitar. Now that's a great story,
and a great dad. Consider that if his dad had not traded that
shotgun for Sheb's guitar that we never would have had those
touching "Hee-Haw" lyrics. His real name was Shelby Wooley
and he certainly had a varied and successful life. I've
really dug around to find somewhere that he messed up. But, as far as
I can tell, he didn't.
Felice Bryant, with husband Boudleaux
Bryant wrote over 1,500 songs which have sold in excess of
300 million records. This staggering
figure
makes them the top songwriting team in history at this time, and
probably the most successful husband/wife team for all time.
It also made them extremely wealthy. Their
sales record is not likely to ever be broken unless it is by
Lennon-McCartney who at present stand at 225 million records.
I can't list 1,500 songs, but a few of the more notable ones include Every Brothers hits "Wake Up Little
Susie", "Bye-Bye Love" and "Bird Dog". Jim Reeves' "Blue
Boy" and of course the all-time champ of classic folk-county songs, "Rocky Top".
Virginia
Beach - Bill Deal of Bill Deal & the Rhondels died of an
apparent massive heart attack at age 59, his family confirmed
Wednesday December 10. Deal and his eight-member group, the
Rhondels had five chart hits in 1969 and 1970, including "May
I", "I've Been Hurt" and "What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am".
They were hugely successful in the Carolina "beach" music scene,
where their tunes are still immensely popular. On September 8th,
Bill Deal and the Rhondels were inducted into Norfolk,
Virginia's "Legends of Music Awards Walk of Fame." Born in
Portsmouth, Virginia, Deal first gained attention as the
organist on Jimmy Soul's hit "If You Wanna Be Happy.''
Sports Legends
Warren Spahn, Hall of Fame
pitcher who is still the winningest lefty in Major League
history. Holds the National league record for innings
pitched as well. Also holds the record for most career
home runs hit by a major league pitcher with 35 long balls.
A decorated WWII hero awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star
for heroism. Also played for the Mets and Giants, but is
primarily remembered for his many years wearing the Braves
Tomahawk in Boston and Milwaukee because all but 7 of his 363
career wins came as a Brave.
Althea Gibson, first black woman
to win at Wimbledon.
Bobby Bonds, All-Star outfielder,
father of Barry Bonds.
Bill "Willie" Shoemaker, famed
jockey.
World Famed People
Michael Anderson, Columbia
Astronaut.
David Brown, Columbia Astronaut.
Kalpana Chawla, Columbia Astronaut.
Laurel Clark, Columbia Astronaut.
Rick Husband, Columbia Astronaut.
William McCool, Columbia Astronaut.
Ilan Ramon, first Israeli in
space, Columbia Astronaut.
Maynard Jackson, first black mayor
of Atlanta GA.
Lester Maddox, former governor of
Georgia and segregation activist made infamous for his practice
of savagely beating black people away from his Atlanta fried
chicken restaurants with axe handles. He was somewhat the
"Anti-Colonel Sanders". Later, Maddox sold autographed axe
handles as souvenirs at his restaurants and at his gift shop in
Underground Atlanta. Campaigned for votes by riding his
bicycle backwards. A very colorful personality.
Madame Chiang Kai-shek, heroic,
beautiful, well educated and extremely influential wife of the
famed Free Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek who fended off both
Imperial Japan and Red China. Educated in the US at top
private schools, Madame's counsel was sought on political
matters right up until the time of her death. Perhaps the
most intelligent, insightful and skilled woman who ever lived
regarding affairs of state and interpersonal relationships
between world leaders.
Dr. Edward Teller, "father" of the
A-bomb.
Idi Amin, former "President for
Life" of Uganda.
Strom Thurmond, SC Senator.
Dr. Robert C. Atkins, the diet
guru.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan, longtime
US senator for NY.
Joseph Coors, brew-master and
philanthropist.
Paul Simon, former US Senator and
presidential candidate from Illinois who kept the bow-tie
industry alive. Started out as a newspaperman.
Gertrude Ederle, first woman to
swim the English Channel.
Ron Ziegler, former Nixon White House
Press Secretary.
John Paul Getty, Jr.,
billionaire oil heir. Death comes to the rich and poor
alike.
Stage,
Screen, Radio, TV & Media
Bob Hope, certainly
beloved, became one of the richest celebrities in Hollywood.
Not just because he made a lot of cash in show business, but because
he invested a large portion of what he made in real estate.
Gregory Peck, superstar of
film. Consistently ranks at the top of the greatest
American film actors of all time.
Katharine Hepburn, grand
dame of American Film.
Mr. Fred Rogers, put PBS on
the television map. Prior to Mr. Rogers, PBS existed, but
nobody ever watched.
Gregory Hines, America's
foremost tap dancer & also an actor. Carried the fine tradition of
American Tap to future dance stars.
Buddy Hackett, lifelong
funny man and frequent guest on the old "Tonight Show" with
Johnny Carson. His acting career included a role in
Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.
Art Carney, Oscar winner & real
life D-Day invasion hero whose Ed Norton character often stole
the show from Jackie Gleason on Gleason's own show, "The
Honeymooners".
Hume Cronyn, Canadian-born actor,
screenwriter and
husband of actress Jessica Tandy for 52 years until 1994 when
she preceded him in death. As evidence of their idyllic
union, they worked together often, once as father and daughter
in the 1946 drama
The Green Years.
And they teamed up successfully on many theater stages.
They both also appeared in 1985's Cocoon and
Cocoon: The Return in 1988. Married to Susan
Cooper in 1996. He was a favorite of director Alfred Hitchcock
who used him on-screen in Shadow of a Doubt and
Lifeboat. Hitchcock hired him to co-write the
screen adaptations for Rope and Under
Capricorn. Oscar nominated in his role as a Nazi
concentration camp escapee in The Seventh Cross.
Equally at ease on a film set, on a stage or in the
screenwriter's seat. Was a boxer in his youth.
Nell Carter, a Broadway
favorite with an amazing singing voice she was best known for
her television work. But it was not unusual to look around
while she was singing to see people with dropped jaws, their
mouths agape at the voice with which she was gifted. She
never sang on her TV shows, and people just couldn't believe it.
"Spine tingling" was how one critic described her singing.
He couldn't believe it.
Michael Jeter, Tony & Emmy
winning character actor
who worked right up until his sudden death in major films like Open
Range and the yet to be released Polar Express
produced by Tom Hanks. Was also Mr. Noodle on "Sesame
Street".
Rod Roddy of LA Radio who later
replaced Johnny Olson as announcer in a plethora of flashy
jackets on "The Price is Right". Also did the
opening show narration on every episode of the prime time soap opera spoof
"SOAP". Worked on TPIR until weeks before his
death.
John Ritter, actor and son
of country-western music legend Tex Ritter. John Ritter's death
was followed by his former
actress mom Dorothy Fay Ritter's death less than two months later.
Ritter had a new hit show and collapsed in his dressing room
just off stage.
Lana Clarkston, Fast Times
at Ridgemont High actress, struggling as a waitress at
the time of her death. Famed record producer Phil Spector is
currently charged in her mysterious shooting death.
Trevor Goddard, of
Pirates of the Caribbean and TV's "Jag".
Jonathan Brandis, child
star of TV's "SeaQuest
DSV".
Donald O'Connor, famed song
and dance man considered the "Clown Prince of American Dance".
One of the very few male dancers who could keep up with the likes of Gene Kelly
and at times even surpass him in verve.
Hope Lange, the best thing
about Peyton Place.
Buddy Ebsen, was originally
cast as the Tin Woodsman in The Wizard of Oz, but
had a near deadly allergic reaction to the aluminum in the
original makeup and was hospitalized indefinitely which
necessitated
MGM replacing him in the role. A gifted dancer of rare
grace for such a tall gent. Best known as TV's Jed Clampett
on "The Beverly Hillbillies" and in the title role on "Barnaby
Jones". A gentle soul gifted with tremendous humility who
was always crediting other people for his success.
Rand Brooks, Gone With the
Wind (Charles Hamilton) actor who put everything he had
into a failed film project in 1964. He had lost everything and
was in a real financial bind, yet started up an ambulance
service in Glendale, California in 1966. Brooks started
"Professional Ambulance Service" with only two second hand
ambulances and very limited resources which consisted primarily
of a credit card. Yet by 1977 his was the largest private
ambulance 9-1-1 paramedic provider in Los Angeles County.
Under his management "Professional Ambulance Service" became one
of the top paramedic services in the nation receiving countless
awards and honors due to their innovations in emergency medical
care. He sold his business in 1995. He appeared
also in the two-hour premier episode of the 1972 hit TV show
"Emergency", not as a paramedic but as a police officer.
Also, he was the former son-in-law of Stan Laurel, and appeared
at least a dozen times as Hop Along Cassidy's sidekick Lucky
Jenkins in the popular serial westerns.
Jeanne Crain, actress in 39
films including A Letter to Three Wives and the
1950 Cheaper by the Dozen.
Richard Crenna, from "The
Real McCoys" to Rambo he was popular to work with
and a fan favorite.
David Hemmings, had just
finished filming all his scenes for Samantha's Child
when he died suddenly. That film will be released in 2004.
He also appeared in 77 other films including 2003's League
of Extraordinary Gentlemen and his breakthrough role as
Thomas the photographer in 1966's Blowup.
He also directed some great TV episodes of top shows like
"Magnum P.I.", "The A-Team" and "Airwolf".
Penny Singleton, star of
the Blondie film series based on the comic strip & labor activist who organized the very first strike by
the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall in 1966.
Kelly Waymire, still seen
on
HBO's "Six Feet Under".
Laurence Tisch, former
president of CBS.
Sir Alan Bates, powerful British actor who
will be seen in the TV mini-series "Spartacus" in 2004.
Earl Hindman, donned a floppy hat
and hid behind the fence for years as Wilson on "Home
Improvement".
Gisele MacKenzie, star
vocalist on the early TV music show "Your Hit Parade".
N!xau, African Bushman and
unlikely star of the quirky docu-comedy smash hit The Gods Must Be Crazy.
Charles Bronson, B-29
bomber tail-gunner through WWII. Didn't get a big acting
break until his late 40's. He was 53 before he hit it
really big as a star in, Death Wish. I liked
him best in The Magnificent Seven.
Gene Anthony Ray, of both
TV's "Fame" and the original motion picture Fame
which spawned the TV show. When the show was
cancelled, he couldn't find another role and eventually resorted
to instructing dance and aerobics classes to pay his bills.
Gordon Jump, of "WKRP In
Cincinnati", played "Arthur The Big Guy Carlson".
But had a far longer run as "The
Maytag Repairman". Jump was always critical of the way "WKRP"
was handled both by MTM Productions and by CBS. Neither
MTM or CBS wanted much to do with the surprise counter-culture
hit show. In spite of the show's high ratings, CBS kept
moving it around and around and around until they succeeded in
killing it off because the audience couldn't find it. In one season the show was moved to four
different time slots on three different nights. Jump was
said to have been even more impressive on stage doing theater than on
television, and actually preferred theater where he usually got
better roles and plenty of standing ovations at curtain call.
Lynne Thigpen, of "The District" &
the Chief on "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?"
Elia Kazan, famed film director of
On the Waterfront & A Streetcar Named Desire
among other great films.
John Schlesinger, British born
film director of Midnight Cowboy.
George Plimpton, author,
publisher, actor, athlete, adventurer, you name it!
He lived an interesting life. I suspect his life story
would make a great television mini-series. You never knew
what he would try next. A genius who made his life into
one big reality show. He was the original "Pretender".
Larry Hovis, an unsung hero
of 60's television and a prolific show business journeyman born
on a Yakima Indian Reservation. You've heard it said that
someone has "show business in their blood", well Larry Hovis was
the most perfect example we are likely to see. He is probably best known as Sgt. Carter on
"Hogan's Heroes" but became a San Marcos University professor
late in his life. His TV career started out on "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."
and then "The Andy Griffith Show". Hovis was one of the
creators and he also wrote for and appeared as a semi-regular on
NBC's "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In". He appeared on "Laugh-In" at
the very same time that he was doing CBS's "Hogan's Heroes"
making him the only on-screen actor in history to collect a
steady paycheck from both CBS & NBC at the same time! A
creative dynamo who wrote, produced, directed, acted, sang and
danced. He
also did
standup comedy and theater. Largely forgotten in the USA
is that Larry Hovis had a music recording career before he even
tried TV. He possessed a
heavenly traditional singing
voice which went against the trend of the rock and
roll popular in the USA at the time. Yet Hovis's music is
still to this day adored by legions of fans in foreign nations
such as Chile and the Philippines
where he is considered to be one of the all-time great pop singers whose
acting skills are totally unknown. In the USA of course,
the exact reverse is true.
Leon Uris, screenwriter and author
of Trinity and Exodus among other
bestsellers. He flunked English three times and
could never finish high school. Yet, Uris's books were
translated into over 50 languages because of the international
demand for his powerful novels. Prior to becoming a
writer, he was a US Marine during WWII serving in the South
Pacific. He fought at Guadalcanal and Tarawa. His first
novel was turned down by every publisher, but a Hollywood studio
somehow got a copy of it and wanted to buy it for a screen play
treatment. The film was the emotional war movie
Battle Cry released in 1953. While in Hollywood to
watch the filming of Battle Cry he
saw how a screenplay was written and decided he could write a
better screenplay himself and in short order whipped out a
western script which was filmed one year later. This
western script became the classic Gunfight at the OK
Corral. Ok, so education apparently isn't everything.
Robert Stack, he got Al
Capone's stooge Frank Nitty on "The Untouchables and
smashed lots of wooden barrels full of beer in the process.
And of course, he later donned the trench coat for "Unsolved
Mysteries". Stack was an excellent and versatile
actor who played romantic leads in his younger days and also did
comedy work in the AIRPLANE films.
Richard Simmons, the actor
who played the title role in the early television serial
"Sergeant Preston of the Yukon." (Not the diet & exercise
guru! He's alive well and chronically happy.)
Florence Stanley, Mrs. Fish on
"Barney Miller".
William Steig, cartoonist turned
author, who penned award winning children's books including SHREK.
Sydney Omarr, astrologer to
the stars and syndicated astrology columnist.
David Bloom, NBC-TV "The Today
Show" journalist, died of natural causes in Iraq as a
reporter embedded with a motorized battalion.
Jack Elam, wild-eyed
character actor with a heart of gold who often played a bumbling villain
or ruthless outlaw.
Appeared
in at least 233 motion pictures and television shows.
That is a staggering volume of work. Was on "Gunsmoke"
as fourteen different characters over the years. Perhaps
the most popular character actor in motion picture history.
Fred Berry, played Rerun on
"What's Happening".
Keiko, the killer whale star of the
Free Willy films.
Last, we note the passing
of a true broadcast legend. Wilmington NC native son
newscaster/commentator David Brinkley. His
"This Week with David Brinkley" Sunday program on ABC will
always be considered a highpoint in television journalism
and was consistently the best news analysis show on any network.
Brinkley also was
half of the most famous sign-off of any television newscast
ever. In case you've forgotten, it went like this:
"Goodnight Chet."
"Goodnight David. And
goodnight from NBC News."
Brother Dave
Brother
Dave says,
"THANKS
so much for listening! See you next time!"
|