Stan Lee R.I.P.

A chapter of the Marvel Universe came to rest today when Stan Lee died - at the too young age of 95!

I've been a fan of Marvel comics practically my entire life.  Some of my earliest memories are of going to the candy store with my little brother to by comics - and the bulk of those selections were Marvel titles. 

I won't go into a long history of Stan Lee's impact on not just comics, but American society in general.  I will add a link to the NY Times obituary of this fantastic human - just one of dozens that will be out over the next few days.

I'll simply conclude with his catchphrase of the last few decades --

Excelsior!

roughly translated as "ever upward" - as he has undoubtedly already achieved the heavens :D

R.I.P. - Bill Daily

This morning I learned that Bill Daily passed away - he was 91 years old.  His family released the news that he died on September 4th. 

For people of my generation, he will always be associated with "I Dream of Jeannie" and "The Bob Newhart Show" - though his career spanned a few more decades! He played two of my favorite characters on T.V. sitcoms.

Here is his obituary from the Hollywood Reporter.

As recently as last weekend, "The Bob Newhart Show" reruns were available here on the Decades TV channel.  In a truly unfortunate coincidence - as of September 3, that channel was no longer available on my cable system - argh. 

Be that as it may, I will make it a point to find some episodes to watch in his memory!

R.I.P. - Tom Perry

Tom Petty died of cardiac arrest yesterday - a few weeks shy of his 67th birthday (October 20).  Petty was way too young to go.  I've written about Tom Petty numerous times on this blog -  "Live Anthology," "Mojo," and "Running Down a Dream" to name just a few.  I was a huge fan of his music with the Heartbreakers, with the Traveling Wilburys, and his solo stuff.   It's hard to overstate how much his sound was a part of my 70's and 80's world (as can be said of millions of similar souls of my age).


Here is his obituary from the NY Times.


Will be listening to a lot of his music today, and in the coming week.  We will miss Tom Petty!

R.I.P. - Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis, a Comedic Force of Nature, died this morning in Las Vegas.  He was 91 years old.  I've written about Jerry a few times on this blog - about the Academy finally recognizing him with a Special Oscar (way, way overdue!) and a brief review of his "Dean & Me (A Love Story)" when it was released almost a decade ago. 

Needless to add, his death is a sad moment.  For those interested, here is a link to Vanity Fair's Obituary.

Who knows, now maybe he can spend some time w/his old partner Dean - as they kick back in Heaven :D

R.I.P. - Glenn Frey

Glenn Frey died here in New York City today - he was just 67 years old.  One of the founding members of the iconic Eagles - pioneers of that ubiquitous Southern Califoria sound that served as a soundtrack for most of the 1970's ("Hotel California" was one of the defining albums of the decade).

I was a huge fan of not just the Eagles, but Glenn Frey's solo career in the 1980's (and Don Henley's as well).  His "Solo Collection" and "Live" CD's have been staples on my ITunes for decades!  The band members reunited in the mid-1990's for the "Hell Freezes Over" tour - and they kept playing together ever since (well into the new millennium). 

It's even sadder that this news comes a week after David Bowie's death.

Read his full obituary here in the NY Times.

Rest in Peace Glenn Frey

R.I.P. - David Bowie

David Bowie died yesterday, after an 18 month long battle with cancer.  He was just 69 years old.  It would be an understatement to say he was a rock icon because his influence on our society was so deep, so pervasive.  In a strange coincidence, I watched bits of "Ziggy Stardust" documentary last week, as it was on cable.

One of my favorite images of Bowie was in from 1985's Live Aid - and the duet video he did with Mick Jagger of "Dancing in the Streets."  He played the video at the end of his Live set.

Another favorite image I have of Bowie is from a decade later, mid-1990's - when he shook up the financial world with the issuance of "Bowie" bonds (in some sense the prototype of a certain class of asset backed securities).  He successfully borrowed money against the future stream of royalties from his music.

Read his full obituary from the New York Times.

Rest in Peace David Bowie

R.I.P. - Yogi Berra

Yogi Berra died last night, at the age of 90.  He was legend - that long ago transcended baseball - and become a cultural icon.  Most people have probably use a few of his Yogi- isms (or variations of them) a week.  I can't count the number of times I've said "It ain't over till it's over" or "It's deja' vu all ever again" (probably my favorite).

You couldn't grow up a Yankee fan in the 70's and 80's without having the "feud" become a touchstone of your view of Steinbrenner (and management in general).  And wait for the inevitable reconciliation, so late in coming, in 1999 to bring the Yankee family back together.  The same day (for Yogi), both Berra and Larson were in the Stadium and watch Dave Cone throw a perfect game!  That was some kind of baseball miracle - "deja vu all over again" - writ large?!

Yogi is one of my all-time favorite Yankees (and baseball players, in general).  He's right alongside Thurman Munson (fellow catcher), Phil Rizzuto (fellow legend), and Don Mattingly - to mention a few, in no particular order.

Read his full obituary from the NY Times.

Rest in Peace Yogi Berra

r.i.p. - theodore bikel

theodore bikel died today at the age of 91.  while his body of work as an actor - and activist - is enormous, i first encountered him in the role of bando, in "my side of the mountain," where he played a wandering folk singer - basically himself.  "my side of the mountain" is my all-time favorite movie - and that's saying a lot since there are a lot of movies i really love!

i also associate bikel with two t.v. roles, one especially memorable, where he butts heads with columbo ("bye-bye sky high i.q. murder case").  there he played a murdering mensa-member accountant who tried to cover up his embezzlements by killing his partner.  he also played worf's adoptive father on "star trek: the next generation."

so that's my favorite movie, favorite t.v. detective series, and favorite t.v. sci-fi franchise!  not a bad trifecta of acting roles in my book :D

for the full bio - and all his serious stage, screen and activist credits - check out the n.y. times obituary.

rest in peace theodore bikel

r.i.p. leonard nimoy

leonard nimoy - a/k/a mr.spock - died today at the age of 83.  i've been a fan of his for decades.  during law school i would literally end my days with the midnight episodes of star trek!  and then there were the big screen versions - one of the best was "the search for spock".  but there was so much more to him than mr. spock (although that was his definitive role). 

another of my favorite classic t.v. programs was columbo.  in season one, only a couple of years after star trek ended, nimoy guest starred as a diabolical heart surgeon who planned to kill his victim with dissolving thread to stitch up patient's heart.  this was a decidedly non-spock character and he immersed himself in the evil of that wicked soul.

to get a sense of the his life beyond acting (and directing) read his obituary in the ny times.

"live long and prosper" in heaven mr. spock :D

r.i.p. joe cocker

we i heard joe cocker died today at the age of 70, it saddened me to think one more performer from woodstock is no longer with us.  his iconic performance of  "with a little help from my friends" 45 years ago helped define not only woodstock the event, but became part of the fabric of woodstock imagery that helped define the generation.  but he was much more than a writhing presence on stage in 1969 - his career and music was much more than that one off performance.  probably no greater tribute came via joe belushi's performance as joe cocker on aturday night live less than a decade later.  not only an iconic performance by belushi, but also a defining snl moment.

i was lucky enough to see joe cocker perform at radio city music hall (in a double bill with steve miller) back in 2008.  it was a fantastic concert and he still had the musical chops almost 40 years after woodstock!

take a look - and listen - to him at Woodstock



rest in peace joe cocker.

jack kerouac died 45 years ago today :(

jack kerouac died 45 years ago today, at the tragically young age of 47.  five years ago, on the 40th anniversary of his death from the ravages of alcoholism, i posted a short piece that included a clip of kerouac reading from "october in the railroad earth" - an intensly appropriate work to remember him by.  looking at that post now, the youtube clip has been deleted.  so i'll take this opportunity to repost a similar clip:



i won't repeat the comments i posted 5 years ago (easy enough to read, if you're interested).  but i will repeat that kerouac is easily my favorite writer - across any genre.

here's remembering my favorite fellaheen writer... still safe in heaven, 45 years and counting :D

r.i.p. robin williams

when i heard last night that robin williams was dead, at the age of 63 - and that he took his own life, it was tragic news indeed.  what went through my mind was how difficult it was to reconcile the image of the legendary comic and actor and the inner demons that tormented him so much that he felt suicide was the only way out.  the image of him intoning "carpe diem" to his students as they looked at the sepia prints of students then long gone played in mind.

two of my all-time favorite films, "the world according to garp" and "dead poets society" are robin william classics.  given my age, i'll always view him from the perspective of the 1980's - but his work spanned more than 3 decades - from "mork and mindy" to the small role he played in "the face of love" (which i watched on the way home from kuala lumpur on saturday).

the world lost a beautiful soul yesterday.

rest in peace robin williams.

r.i.p. dennis farina :(

dennis farina died of a blog clot in his lung this morning - he was only 69 years old.  i've been a fan of his since the 1980's - when i first saw "crime story" where he played lt. mike torello.  that role wasn't too much of a stretch from his former career as a chicago cop.  he cross over to the crime side as mobster ray "bones" barboni in "get shorty" the 1990's classic crime comedy. then back to the cop side of the street when played detective joe fontana on "law and order" for two seasons, following the death of jerry orbach.

but he was much more than a typecast  cop or gangster.  one of my favorite films where had played a small role was "bottle shock" - as an American expat wine lover in paris!  and he played a lt. col. in "saving private ryan."  the was a good actor.

here's a link to the obituary published in the ny times.

here's a clip from his early days as lt. torello - on "crime story" - and glimpse of the acting career that would follow:


you will be missed.

rest in peace dennis farina.

r.i.p. roger ebert :(

roger ebert passed away this morning.  he was 70 years old and had been battling cancer and related health problems since 2002.  just two days ago ebert announced that he would only review films that he wanted - leaving the rest to be reviewed by others.  instead of a leave of absence, he called it a "leave of presence."  was that merely prescient, or a coincident?

i've been a fan of ebert's for more than 25 years.  since the days of siskel & ebert.  in fact, it was more fun watching the two of them disagree over a film than when it got a pair of thumbs up.  i remember one memorable episode where siskel announce that he had purchase john travolta's white suit from "saturday night fever" - which ebert ridiculed as a lapse in judgement.  i think he got it for $18,000 - or some similar figure.  years later, when it was sold for multiple times that figure, ebert - true to form - admitted that he had been wrong and that his partner knew what he had been doing!

siskel died of brain cancer at the tragically young age of 53, in 1999.  ebert continued the program, renamed "ebert & roper" until 2006.  the battles with cancer lead to the removal of his lower jaw - replaced, partially be a prosthesis.  despite the health problems, ebert continued to review films and participate in public life - an active blogger and addicted to twitter as well.  ebert was the first film critic to be awarded a star on the hollywood walk of fame.  he was the only film critic to win the pulitzer prize!

your classic thumbs up/down take on films will be missed.

rest in peace roger ebert.

edward i. koch: r.i.p.

edward i. koch, the iconic mayor of new york city from 1978-1989 died from congestive heart disease this morning - he was 88 years old.  i became a big fan of mayor koch during my days as a student at pace university from 1980-84, which is directly across from city hall.  mayor koch was in every respect a larger than life personality - and did a tremendous job to  bring nyc back from the brink of bankruptcy in the late 1970s and into a significant growth cycle during the 1980s.  he was an outspoken, often polarizing character.  you either liked him or hated him, there was rarely a middle ground.

on the running front, koch almost single-handedly forced fred lebow to open the nyc marathon to handicapped participants.  lebow was originally against wheel-chair participants.  but he eventually (from a combination of litigation and political pressure) brought them into the race.  koch was also instrumental in getting lebow (the nyrr) to contribute some funds to subsidize the city's costs associated with staging the marathon.

koch was a pretty busy private citizen after he left the mayor's office.  he practiced law, had a radio show, wrote op-ed columns, books (both fiction and non-fiction), appeared in movies (as himself) and, over the last few years, wrote movie reviews!  he was constantly in motion - and, it seemed, always smiling.

rest in peace mayor koch!

jack klugman: r.i.p.

jack klugman died today - he was 90 years old.  for those of a certain generation he will forever be know as his t.v. alter ego - oscar madison - of the "odd couple" sitcom (and some may also see him as "quincy").  klugman's oscar madison, together with tony randall's felix unger, are ever present characters in the memories of my t.v. viewing past.

jack klugman's career was much bigger than the odd couple (though he did play oscar on stage before the t.v. series) - a role for which he won 2 of his 3 emmy awards.  he also had a long run with "quincy m.e." that ran from the late 70' into the early 1980's.  klugman had a pretty illustrious number of stage credits. there was also one non-comedic movie role he will forever be associated with - one of the "twelve angry men."  in fact, jack klugman was the last surviving actor of the 12 members of the jury from that film.

however you remember him, rest in peace jack klugman.

barney rosset, iconic publisher, dies at 89 years old

barney rosset, the publisher of grove press and evergreen review, died tuesday night at the age of 89. rosset, through his publications and actions, was at the forefront of the fight against censorship during the 1950's and 1960's. by way of a single example, rosset was instrumental in bringing henry miller's work to the american public. it was grove press that first published "tropic of cancer" in the united states, and then underwrote the legal fees incurred throughout the country to defend it against charges of obscenity - and culminated in a landmark legal victory in the supreme court.

rosset was the subject of a 2008 documentary, "obscene," - which did a fantastic job of capturing not only the man and his crusading zeal to push the limits of the first amendment, but also the people and institutions that sprung up around him.  in addition to "tropic of cancer," rosset and grove press led the fight to publish such diverse titles as "lady chatterley's lover" and "naked lunch."  evergreen review was instrumental in bringing the beats to print.  rosset not only republished "howl" in the pages of evergreen review - but the landmark ruling that held the poem was not obscene.

this man led a truly remarkable life - and a good portion of it was spend expanding the borders of our first amendment rights. 

rest in peace barney rosset.

here is his obituary in the new york times.

christopher hitchens, polemicist extraodinaire, dead at 62: rip

christopher hitchens died at the tragically young age of 62 last night. while the cause was pneumonia, it was a complication from the stage four esophageal cancer that he was diagnosed with in the summer of 2010. hitchens was a prolific writer and speaker - the ultimate contrarian in seemingly all things. in almost a characterture of the outlaw literary style (a barely tamer version of hunter s. thompson - basically sans pharmaceuticals) he was self-professed hard drinker and chain smoker. it was only in his later years that he tamed the drinking.   this is an extended quote form his memoir, "hitch-22" -

"I work at home, where there is indeed a bar-room, and can suit myself. But I don't. At about half past midday, a decent slug of Mr. Walker's amber restorative, cut with Perrier water (an ideal delivery system) and no ice. At luncheon, perhaps half a bottle of red wine: not always more but never less. Then back to the desk, and ready to repeat the treatment at the evening meal. No "after dinner drinks"—​most especially nothing sweet and never, ever any brandy. "Nightcaps" depend on how well the day went, but always the mixture as before. No mixing: no messing around with a gin here and a vodka there."

ironically, the book tour for "hitch-22" was cancelled because of the cancer diagnosis and the need to begin the chemotherapy.  eerily, the book - which i read during that summer of 2010 - opened with hitchen's recount of how he dealt with the false news of his death.  encountering your very own obituary is probably equal parts hilarious and bone-chilling!

i've been a huge fan of christopher hitchens for decades - easily since the late 1980's.  over the years i came to see him as a cross between the wordsmith william safire, erudite william f. buckley, and street fighter norman mailer.  i'm sure a few more literary strains could be teased out of him - not the least would be his own favorite, george orwell. 

but in a sense, hitchens life was practically the definition of orwellian - starting off at the fringes of the radical left and, in the last decade of his life, becoming the scurge of the left when he officially parted ways in the wake of the terrorist attacks of september 11th.  ironically - again that reoccurring motif - as recently as 2009 he was voted one of the 25 most influential liberals in u.s media (ranked 14th)!

but the breath of his ire was astonishing - having labeled henry kissinger a war criminal, bill clinton a rapist, mother teresa a fraud, ridiculed reagan, hillary clinton, and princess diana to highlight just a handfull.  but he saved his best for god himself, when he published "god is not great" in 2007.  hitchens proudly confronted  his impending death an unrepentant atheist.

it is a very sad day when we lose such a fascinating and engaging person.

rest in peace christopher hitchens.

george steinbrenner: r.i.p

george steinbrenner died early this morning, july 13, 2010. he had just celebrated his 80th birthday. the boss (not springsteen in this case, as yankee fans will point out) gave up day to day control over the team to his sons hank and hal, but he nevertheless remained a looming figure at yankee stadium. during his 37 years as principal owner, the team won 7 world championships, the most recent of which was last year. and it was his vision that brought into existance the brand new yankee stadium.

steinbrenner was the stuff of legend. he redefined notions of modern baseball when he ushered in the age of free agency during the 1970s by signing catfish hunter and reggie jackson steinbrenner was a controversial figure - even among yankee fans - for his constant interference with day to day game decisions (and his impetuous hiring and firing of managers). but it all served to make him part of popular culture - no less so than when a caricature of steinbrenner became part of the seinfeld universe during the late 1990s.

while he made few public appearances because of his declining health over the last few years, fans will ever forget his determination to win! or, as he often expressed it, "he hated to lose!"

rest in peace george steinbrenner.

howard zinn: r.i.p.

historian howard zinn died yesterday, january 27 - he was 87 years old. zinn, while not a household name, was the author of "a people's history of the united states" - among the 20+ books that he published during his lifetime. while zinn taugh at spelman college and boston university (retiring in 1988), he was born in brooklyn and attended n.y.u. and columbia - a true new yorker :D

i first encountered his "people's history" - a decidedly alternative view of the united states - in the early 1980's. but it was zinn's more traditional "laguardia in congress" that made me into a fan. then a couple of years later, it was zinn's memoir, "you can't be neutral on a moving train" that converted me into a lifelong admirer of the man.

"you can't be neutral on a moving train" was subsequently (2004) made into a documentary, with matt damon as the narrator. more recently, zinn had been in the news as "a peoples history" premiered last month on the history channel as the program "the people speak." zinn has had an enormous impact on popular culture.

rest in peace, howard zinn.