“When I was a young man, I was told success had to come in my youth. I found this to be a myth. My experiences have taught me that if you deeply believe in what you are doing, success can come at any age.”
– Abe Vigoda
celebrity
Alan Rickman (1946-2016)
StandardThe news is still breaking so I apologize for not having a link for the obituary. If you google, there should be several to choose from.
This has been a very sad and difficult week to see people who were such inspirations throughout my life pass away. Those of us who grew up listening to David Bowie and watching Alan Rickman, it’s been extraordinarily hard, which is to say nothing of their families and friends. One of the reasons for these feelings is how much they both transcended genres and decades, exhibiting their talents for all to admire and emulate. Like David Bowie, Alan Rickman could be a chameleon, blending into the background with his subtlety or facial expressions or taking the lead with his huge presence, always looking as though he were snapping a long jacket behind him; for two examples of that, look to his Sheriff of Nottingham and Professor Severus Snape.
Like Bowie, Alan Rickman was 69 (he would have been 70 on February 21st) and he died too early from cancer.
In my twenties, I went through a spell of watching everything done by a couple of actors. Harrison Ford was one, and Alan Rickman was the other. (Norman Reedus is becoming a current one.) I tried to find all of his movies and watch them one after the other. This was probably after Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He was one of my favorites in that movie. That movie was one of my favorites. In fact, the theme was my wedding song. I could recite his lines verbatim for an annoyingly long period of time, especially threatening to ‘cut your heart out with a spoon!’
I was thrilled when he was set to play Professor Snape in the Harry Potter movies. I couldn’t think of a better choice for the range of that character. Having read the books, I knew what was coming in book/movie seven and Alan Rickman is perfect from sadistic bastard to regretful antihero with the emotion and humor and everything else that his brilliance could come up with for each of his roles.
That journey through Alan Rickman’s filmography brought me to a few gems that I might not have found otherwise. I’ve included those two here along with some others that I’ve seen and would highly recommend, although choosing anything from his imdb or Wikipedia filmography lists would be well worth your time.
The January Man – Ed
Closet Land – The Interrogator
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Judge Turpin
Die Hard – Hans Gruber
Quigley Down Under – Elliott Marston
Galaxy Quest – Alexander Dane
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (voice of Marvin)
Portraits in Dramatic Time – this is the brilliance equivalent of Patrick Stewart reading a grocery list. (See video below)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler – President Ronald Reagan
And of course, the aforementioned Harry Potter Movies Series (as Professor Severus Snape), and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (as the Sheriff of Nottingham)
We Can Be Heroes
StandardDavid Bowie (8 Jan 1947 – 10 Jan 2016)
My first David Bowie song is probably still my favorite, Space Oddity, which I still call Major Tom. I think it attracted me in my adolescent wonder of space and Kennedy Space Center and moon landings and Tom Seaver and Star Trek. It calls to me with its haunting melody and the loss of home but also the ‘there’s more out there to see’ calling as well.
I sit on my bed listening to Blackstar, David Bowie’s newest and sadly last new music, and I try to remember a time in my life without David Bowie from his silver suit and glam hair to his platform shoes. Every time you think you’ve outgrown him, he brings a new generation into the fold.
Ziggy Stardust
Thin White Duke
Glam
Little Drummer Boy
Iman
His collaborations
His adaptions
And adaptations
His innovation
His creativity
His genius
And his inspiration to stand out, to be yourself, to try new things; songs for every mood – ashes to ashes, under pressure, changes, 1984 (the year Igraduated high school), let’s dance, dancing in the street, supermen, rebel rebel, we can be heroes.
A virtual road map for us all to follow on our own paths to dreams blazing our way.
Wayne Rogers, Trapper John on ‘MASH,’ dies at 82 – LA Times
Standardhttp://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-wayne-rogers-20151231-story.html
Maybe my childhood will get a respite in 2016. Wayne Rogers was a big part of my growing up. Earlier in the year, we watched the entirety of the MASH series with the kids. They really enjoyed it. Trapper was a part of their childhood too. Rest in peace, Trap. Say hi to Henry.
Maureen O’Hara (1920-2015)
StandardMaureen O’Hara, who I know from one of my favorite movies from my childhood, The Parent Trap has died today.
Without her, I wouldn’t know how to fend off bears in the woods. 😉
It’s Not Over Til It’s Over – Yogi Berra (1925-2015)
StandardJack Larsen (1928-2015)
StandardHe (as Jimmy Olsen) was probably one of my first exposures to writers writing for a living, and one of my childhood dreams – a journalist for a newspaper. It doesn’t seem that long ago even though it’s a million miles away.
A life well lived deserves a rest.
Rest in peace, Jack.
NY Times Article
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I’d like to share this tribute from actor, writer, playwright, and overall super human being, Jim Beaver:
I’ve been working on a biography of actor George Reeves for decades now. It’s what brought me to Hollywood, and it has been both an albatross about my neck and an enormous blessing, lo, these many years.
Chief among the blessings have been the people I met in the course of my research who became friends. And most certainly, chief among those friends was Jack Larson. Jack played Jimmy Olsen on Reeves’s SUPERMAN TV series in the 1950s, and it is for that iconic role that he will always be remembered. But he was much, much more than that. He was a playwright, the first ever to be given a Rockefeller Foundation grant. He was a librettist, creating the text to the great Virgil Thompson’s last opera, LORD BYRON. He knew EVERYBODY. His bosom friends and lovers included Montgomery Clift, Leslie Caron, James Dean, John Houseman, Christopher Isherwood, Salka Viertel, and Libby Holman, and, especially, director James Bridges, with whom Jack shared a life for 35 years. They lived in a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Brentwood, where they were neighbors of mine for many years. I would see Jack walking his beloved dogs daily, and we often stopped to chat.
I got to know Jack because he was a figure in the story of the subject of my book project, but when I think of him, I think of him as a friend. I had interviewed him once or twice without any particular connection arising, but the combined subsequent facts that I had plays produced at Actors Theatre of Louisville and had a fling with a staffer he knew well there (he was the Rockefeller Foundation’s scout for interesting playwrights at the time) led him to feel close to me. Indeed, for the next 35 years, he never failed to ask me how that girl from Louisville was, though I hadn’t seen her in years. I was enamored of him and fiercely envious of his style, his grace, his congeniality and his place among brilliant, thoughtful, fascinating people. Most of all, I appreciated his friendship and his abiding friendliness and good nature. I loved him. Not because he was Jimmy Olsen on my favorite childhood show. Indeed, I rather rarely think of him in that way. I loved him because he was everything a man ought to be – smart, kind, gentle, gracious, giving, talented, funny, and just damned nice.
I will miss him forever.
Jack Larson (1928-2015)
A Tribute to Yvonne Craig (1937-2015)
Standard
It’s taken me all day to be able to sit down and try to put my thoughts to paper, as it were. Growing up I think I was pretty typical in that I wanted to be EVERYTHING: doctor, lawyer, Indian chief as the saying went back then; nurse, cowboy, librarian, space explorer, writer, journalist, astronaut, superhero.
The 1970s were a time of change and women were moving into the forefront of jobs and careers, taking on more mainstream male oriented jobs, getting involved in politics and becoming more seen and heard. In Queens, where I grew up, we had Liz Holtzman and Bella Abzug and Geraldine Ferrarro.
Being born in 1966, as with Star Trek, I wasn’t able to watch the original airings of Batman, but I lived through their reruns.
I loved Batman and Robin but I especially loved Batgirl. Quiet, mild-mannered librarian, pull a lever or push a button, her vanity rotates and she’s Batgirl, fighting crime alongside the guys. In fact, sometimes, a lot of the time saving their bacon in the nick of time.
Last week for gishwhes, I cosplayed as Batgirl. She was the only one who could get me into a costume in public. I’m so glad I was able to do that before she passed away.
Yvonne Craig was gorgeous, and she was not only a pretty face. She rode the motorcycle on and off screen and did her own stunts. I would hazard to say she didn’t get paid extra for that either.
She began in ballet, and shared the screen in two films with Elvis Presley. After television and movies, she had other very successful careers, one as a real estate broker and another in the prepaid phone card business among other ventures. She spent time attending conventions and wrote a memoir, From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond. Most recently before her illness, she was the voice of Olivia’s grandmother on the animated children’s series of the same name.
She was a hero of mine. Her hair was dark and short like mine. She played with the boys like I did. She was kind and smart and thoughtful and she was the perfect role model to look up to.
I am so sad to see her passing.
I’d like to share some links and videos that I remember from my childhood. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Rest in peace, Yvonne.
You will truly be missed and remembered.
Her PSA for Equal Pay, 1974
The Secret Origins of Batgirl
Yvonne Craig’s Official Website
Her family’s statement
Her official obituary
CNN’s Story about Yvonne’s Passing
[All pictures are not mine. I will add copyright info to my new Photo Credits Page when time permits]
Theodore Bikel (1924-2015)
StandardI don’t know what’s going on today but this is such a loss for stage and screen.
George Coe (1929-2015)
StandardAnother “What was he in, Everything” actors has died. Just like Alex Rocco, as soon as I saw his picture I could hear his voice narrating his obituary. Very distinctive. He will be sorely missed.
He was also in the Supernatural family.
See where you recognize him from: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0168642/
I knew him from a dozen old shows but especially from Supernatural, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and The West Wing.
Griffins and Ginger Snaps 