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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Jul 5, 2020 10:36:40 GMT -5
Hugh Downs, 99, longtime TV broadcaster, died Wednesday (July 1) of natural causes in his home at Scottsdale, Arizona.
Born in Akron Ohio, Downs started his broadcasting career in a Lima Ohio radio station but moved on to television, first as the announcer on the children's show "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" and then as Jack Paar's sidekick on NBC's "Tonight Show." I first saw him as the co-host with Barbara Walters on the "Today Show" in the '60s but he was also a game show host at the same time, on "Concentration." Later he and Walters co-hosts the ABC news show "20-20". His total career spanned 6 decades.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Jul 6, 2020 16:54:39 GMT -5
"The devil went down to Georgia
he was lookin' for a soul to steal
he was in a bind
'cause he was way behind
and he was willin' to make a deal. . ."
Charlie Daniels, country music legend, 83, died this morning of a stroke.
His best known hit was his 1979 song, "The Devil Went Down to Goergia," an uptempo bluegrass riff on a country boy making a deal with the devil over who could play the fiddle better. How did that come out?
"The devil bowed his head
because he knew that he'd been beat
and he laid that golden fiddle
on the ground at johnny's feet
Johnny said, devil just come on back
if you ever wanna try again
i done told you once you son of a b---
i'm the best that's ever been"
(radio versions rendered that line "son of a gun").
Charlie Daniels recorded many hits from the early 1970s up until just a few years ago. While by the late '70s he was a patriotic country singer, his early songs had a, well, different vibe, like his 1973 hit, "Uneasy Rider":
"I was taking a trip out to L.A
Tooling along in my Chevrolet
Taking on a number and digging on the radio
Just as I crossed the Mississippi line
I heard that highway start to whine
And I knew that left rear tire was about to blow
Well the spare was flat and I got uptight
Cause there wasn't a filling station in sight
So I just limped on down the shoulder on the rim
I went as far as I could and when I stopped the car
It was right in front of this little bar
Kind of a red-neck looking joint called the Dew Drop Inn. . "
Both of these songs are fun to listen to, "Devil" will have you tapping your toes and "Uneasy Rider" (although somewhat dated) will have you laughing out loud.
Charlie Daniels. RIP.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Jul 6, 2020 20:30:53 GMT -5
Oscar-winning movie score composer Ennio Morricone, 91, today, in Rome, in a hospital following a hip fracture.
Morricone was nominated for several Oscars, wining with his score for Quentin Tarantino's western The Hateful Eight. He has worked on many other movies, such as Brian de Palma's The Untouchables, and Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven.
But you know him best, for a trio of movies by Sergio Leone: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly -- the "spaghetti Westerns" starring a young actor named Clint Eastwood. Morricone's brooding, haunting scores contributed to the unique atmosphere of those movies.
Case in point: the theme for "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly":
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Jul 18, 2020 14:26:50 GMT -5
US Congressman and civil rights icon John R. Lewis, 80, died last night (July 17) from pancreatic cancer, in Atlanta Georgia.
The son of Alabama sharecroppers, Lewis was one of the organizers, along with Martin Luther King Jr, of the seminial 1963 "March on Washington". In the 1980s he was elected to Congress from Atlanta, serving for 17 terms. He was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2011.
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Post by SUVFan on Jul 25, 2020 16:45:18 GMT -5
Former University of North Carolina Wilmington Professor Mike Adams, a controversial columnist and huge F.I.R.E. supporter was found dead during a welfare check at his home on Thursday. Just 55, he was born on October 30, 1964. Other accounts seem to suggest his death may have been a suicide. I find that almost as likely as it was with Jeffery Epstein. I had not followed the tweet and it's aftermath that led to the settlement described at the link and am surprised he'd retire early. But a half million dollars would buy a lot of guns and cigars, both of which he enjoyed immensely. Back when he wrote at Townhall, I read his work often but he went somewhere else several years ago and I kind of lost track of him. Reading the "insensitive" tweet, I recognize that he was simply pointing out with his typical flair that with the way our elected officials have acted during this pandemic, our cherished personal freedom is under attack. I'll miss him. |
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Post by SUVFan on Jul 25, 2020 19:28:58 GMT -5
TV personality Regis Philbin passed away yesterday at the age of 88. He was best known for his roles on Live! with Regis and Kathy Lee, which after a 15 year run transitioned to Live! with Regis and Kelly. I never watched much of those shows (other than by accident) but I remember very well the game show he hosted, the original Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. |
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Jul 25, 2020 22:10:20 GMT -5
You beat me to it SUVFan!
Regis Philbin passed away of natural causes. RIP
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Post by SUVFan on Jul 27, 2020 10:29:20 GMT -5
Olivia de Havilland, a two-time Oscar winner and for decades the last surviving star of "Gone With the Wind," has died of natural causes at the age of 104.
De Havilland emerged as a star during the classic movie era -- first as a romantic partner for Errol Flynn in swashbucklers such as "Captain Blood" and "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and then as Melanie Hamilton Wilkes in "Gone With the Wind" (1939).
From CNN.
I wonder how sharp she was and if word that the cancel culture had targeted her great film? I'd guess that weighed on her if she knew.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Jul 30, 2020 13:22:43 GMT -5
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Post by SUVFan on Jul 31, 2020 9:46:44 GMT -5
Cain was a stage 4 colon cancer survivor and was thus doubly vulnerable to COVID-19. Still, he steadfastly refused to wear face gear, saying that God would decide. And so God did. I usually enjoyed Cain's talk show appearances. He was a straight shooter who got it. |
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Aug 2, 2020 21:31:44 GMT -5
Wilford Brimley, 85, character actor, on Saturday (August 1). Brimley died in a Utah hospital. his managed said he was on dialysis and had several ailments.
Originally a movie stunt rider, Brimley appeared in a number of movies, most notably, "Cocoon," "The Natural" and "The Firm". He was also known as a pitchman for Quaker Oats.
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Post by SUVFan on Aug 3, 2020 7:53:51 GMT -5
Wilford Brimley, 85, character actor, on Saturday (August 1). Brimley died in a Utah hospital. his managed said he was on dialysis and had several ailments.
Originally a movie stunt rider, Brimley appeared in a number of movies, most notably, "Cocoon," "The Natural" and "The Firm". He was also known as a pitchman for Quaker Oats. I really enjoyed Brimley! I thought one of his best roles (a fairly small part) was in Absence of Malice, with Sally Field and Paul Newman. He portrays US DOJ, Organized Crime Division, Assistant AG James J. Wells absolutely brilliantly in this clip: The entire scene is outstanding. My favorite part of it was Brimley's reaction to an attempt by an underling to dismiss various media comments as mere leaks: He was old way before his time. I didn't realize until now that he was just in his 40s when he turned in that role. I'd have thought he was 100 or older. RIP. |
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Aug 3, 2020 16:57:45 GMT -5
Yes I agree, SUVFan. Wilford Brimley looked like an old man without actually being old. That was part of what made him a "character actor," I suppose. I was surprised he was "only" 83.
I remember him best from this scene in "The Firm," where as the "security" head, he "debriefs" (aka, blackmails) Mitch McDeere:
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Aug 10, 2020 16:16:33 GMT -5
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Post by SUVFan on Aug 29, 2020 10:59:22 GMT -5
42 was an outstanding film. Boseman did an outstanding job of playing Jackie Robinson.  |
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