Jimmy Dean

Here's the sequel, The Cajun Queen, too.

I just wanted to acknowledge the passing of the great Jimmy Dean, the singer, not just the sausage magnate.

Al Williamson

Legendary illustrator Al Williamson passes away by Kevin Melrose.

As it says in that article, we're still waiting on official confirmation, but it's looking like that's just a matter of time. I just wanted to make a note here of my admiration for his body of amazing work.

Stephen Perry, RIP

R.I.P. Old Friend by Stephen Bissette.

I won't go into the known details of the apparent homicide of Steve Perry. I'll merely embed the first part of Safari Joe, an episode of the cartoon series Thundercats that he is the credited writer for.

Gary Coleman, RIP

Gary Coleman was three years older than me.

However, Arnold Jackson, his character on the hit series Diff'rent Strokes, was seven months younger than me.

So, in a weird way, he was the first TV character I remember think was contemporary to me.

I think the weird pre-tragedy of his life was already clear. His parents, Willie and Edmonia Coleman, were already clearly parasites.

I suspect Gary Coleman played some role in making the idea of becoming a child star less appealing to me. The years since have only made that impression since.

When it was reported that he was in critical condition yesterday, all I could think was, "I hope that poor son of a bitch gets to end his misery."

I guess I wasn't alone.

Now the media will weep crocodile tears over his corpse, after spending his lifetime showing him the worst kind of contempt and actively mocking his misfortunes.

Yeah, sometimes life really shoves in and twists it, doesn't it, Gary?

Godspeed.


UPDATE: Adding Gary As I Knew Him by Richard Rushfield, "Even in death, as we can see on twitter today, the joke of being Gary Coleman is what the world sees first.

"Rest in Peace, Gary. And hope that you’re now in a place where the road is for you and you alone to choose."

Frank Frazetta, RIP

R.I.P. Frank Frazetta, The Artist Of Our Fantasies by Charlie Jane Anders.

Goodbye, Frank by Al Harron.

Frank Frazetta, R.I.P. by Mark Evanier.

Painting Has Lost Its Flame - Frazetta R.I.P. by Timothy Bradstreet.

The King is Dead by David J. West.

Frank Frazetta Dead at 82? by Darius Whiteplume.

Frank Frazetta Passes by Rich Johnston.

I'm sure many more notices and tributes will come as the day and week continues. Some losses just hit hard, no matter what. No matter that we knew that he was not in the best of health. No matter that we knew the passing of his beloved Ellie would make the struggle to hang on more difficult.


I don't think anyone, in any field, inspired my imagination more, more often or during any more key points in my life than Frank Frazetta.

Other people my age started reading Conan the Barbarian comics because of Barry Windsor-Smith or John Buscema.

I started reading the Robert E. Howard collections - such as they existed at that time - because of the Frazetta covers... and then moved on to the comics... of course... although I always preferred The Savage Sword of Conan, because it felt more like the stories to me. The way the stories were in my head, deeply influenced by having read them with covers painted by Frazetta.

I stared for hours at The Fantastic Art of Frank Frazetta. I'm sure for some it comes down simply to the manly men and the beautiful women, but I always saw the colors and the subtle signs of deeper emotions etched onto the faces of the people he painted and drew.

Some major part of the fact that I've wanted to imagine, to create was born out of staring for long periods at Frazetta's work.

As I get older, there only continues to be more to see. Unlike too many of the pleasures of one's childhood, I only find more to enjoy in Frazetta's work.


You can see and read more at Frank Frazetta - Fantasy Artist, Frank Frazetta at American Art Archives and The Unofficial Frank Frazetta Fantasy Art Gallery.


My story isn't unique.

Frazetta just has that effect on people.

All I can really think to say at this moment is thank you, Frank.

Thank you for opening up my eyes and my imagination.

Cary Grant

Roger Ebert tweeted a link to In Memory: Cary Grant 1904-1986, in honor of today, which would have been Cary Grant's 106th birthday. It's a great obituary and I'll certainly not try to expand upon it.

But it reminded me that two of the saddest quotes I know are both by Cary Grant.

The first is the story of him being told how much the other person wished to be Cary Grant and he replied, "So would I."

Now, I'm sure that was said in a perfectly charming way, with a Cary Grant smile and wink, but it's impossible for me not to hear a sadness underneath that's somehow almost heartbreaking for me.

The other is recounted by Ebert, "His parents were unhappily married, and the key psychological event in his life occurred when he was 9, and came home from school one day to find that his mother was no longer there. At first he was told she had gone on holiday, and then that she had gone somewhere on a long visit.

"Only 20 years later did he learn that she had been committed to a mental institution, 'by which time,' he once said, 'my name was changed and I was a full-grown man living in America, known to most people of the world by sight and by name, yet not to my mother.'"

But I didn't jump in here to make everyone weep. I just read that and thought that Cary Grant is one of those talents whose importance and charm are so evident to any movie lover that sometimes we forget to stop and celebrate them.

The king of pop

The video for The Way You Make Me Feel is not available for embedding, which explains why its not embedded here. I posted it to my Facebook and wrote, "As a brief moment after a couple of anti-tribute moment, I'll post this, since I'm not attempting to deny the man's talent. Is this the only Michael Jackson song (or at least hit) that's really about, y'know, doin' it? I can't think of another offhand. So, I guess it should be no surprise that it's my favorite... by far my favorite of his songs."

I've seen a number of references in the last day or whatever to Michael Jackson as the Elvis of my generation. Certainly in iconic terms that's accurate.

Unfortunately it just makes me depressed. Not that Michael Jackson didn't have the talent or the presence or any of that. And frankly both clearly lost it at some point, even if they did stop by here and there to remind the world they still had skills.

But I still prefer the previous generation's Elvis. Y'know, Elvis.


Elvis didn't have the occasional song about fucking. He had songs and songs about fucking, and through most of his career even the songs he sang that weren't about fucking kinda sound like he was thinking about fucking while he was singing it. The sexual revolution was born of the mighty cock of Elvis.

My generation gets a guy of ambiguous sexuality who is alleged to be a pedophile and whose most famous song is about a chick that he didn't fuck. What the hell kind of deal is that?

I'd like to trade Michael in for Prince, please. He knew how to sing about fucking, and he also has that weird sex vs. religion thing going on. I mean, he's clearly gone nutso too, even if only slightly less dramatically than the other two guys.

Please!

I'm really not trying to diminish Michael as an artist. You can give him all the credit in the world. It just makes me weep for my generation to think of him as our Elvis. He can be our Paul Anka or something.

Goodbye, Armando!

Fantasy Island star Ricardo Montalban dead.

There are a multitude of roles he leaves behind, and will be remembered for. This is the one closest to my heart.

And anyone not feeling enough of a loss over this, and even those who are, are encouraged to read Ricardo Montalban, R.I.P. by Mark Evanier for a perfectly charming anecdote.

Donald Westlake, RIP

I'm sure whatever I could say wouldn't be better than My Three Favorite Mystery Writers Have Died by William Martell, either the whole post or just the sentiment.

Deep

I bet someone noticed before me, but I haven't seen it noted that Gerard Damiano and Mark Felt died within two months of one another.

Bettie Page, RIP

I'm sure everyone has already read about the passing of Bettie Page, but I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge her here, as she was a beautiful iconic figure and someone I've known of and enjoyed for decades.

Forrest J Ackerman, RIP

I first saw the news at Forrest J Ackerman, R.I.P. by Mark Evanier. Ok, technically, I first saw it in a link to that post.

I'm assuming, as everyone seems to be doing, that the weekend will bring a lot of informative and/or poignant tributes. As it goes, I may have to bow to the knowledge and experience of those people. My memories of Famous Monsters of Filmland are sadly gray and foggy.

However, to quote RIP Forrest Ackerman by Wil Wheaton, "all of us who enjoy or make a living from sci-fi (or both) owe him a moment of silence and remembrance."

Goodbye

There's no way that it should be stunning to read that an 83-year-old man with lung cancer died, and yet that's all I feel.

He was Paul Newman. It somehow doesn't make sense.

Blue Yodel No. 8

"Guitar Man" Jerry Reed 1937-2008 by Michael Corcoran.

I'll let it speak for itself.

News, memorials and worries

I haven't been keeping up, as I noted, but I felt the need to note a couple of recent passings and a continuing concern.


Addio, Diabolik and More on JPL by Tim Lucas offer tribute to John Phillip Law, who just passed away.

Will Elder, RIP by Mark Evanier pays tribute to Will Elder, who also just passed away.

I'm touched greatly by both of these losses and, while, I'm not sure I have any special insight, I wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge both them for this moment.

I also wanted to note that Gene Colan is in poor health. Gene Colan needs our help and the continually updated Let's help Gene Colan by Clifford Meth have more details.

I've paid tribute to Gene Colan before, Happy Birthday, Gene Colan, and many other have undoutedly written more eloquent tributes elsewhere, but I certainly hope this call for help through the Internet and the comic book industry will be a success.

Candice Rialson and recognition of past stars

As others have noted of theirs, my Candice Rialson tribute receives substantially more hits than my other posts, despite having nothing of substance there.

This week, both Thinking of Candice by Marty McKee and Faces I Love #10: The Candice Rialson Edition by Dennis Cozzalio respond in some manner to recent comments left by her brother, Scott Rialson, on their earlier tributes.

As noted elsewhere he wrote, "I don't think she ever knew of such following as she never became acclimated to computers and as such never had any access to find out."

But prior to the rather sizable outpouring of genuine affection that came after we all learned of her passing, what was there? Several references to her credits and sites that had posted topless vidcaps. Hardly the kind of warm memories and heartfelt tributes to her charm and genuine talent that we saw at the time that her untimely passing came to all of our attentions.

Perhaps if Code Red DVD had gotten in touch with her before, there would have been people involved in that contact who obviously appreciated her talents. Perhaps if she'd made an appearance on a Pets DVD, all of us would have expressed how seeing her back on camera reminded us of all our warm feelings for her.

But none of that happened... so I'm not sure that there was much the more computer savvy Candy could have found if she'd learned to Google herself. Not a lot of praise for her winning personality and acting talent, all of which stood out whether she was playing against the most seasoned veterans or the most wooden hack. Not a grand outpouring of wishes that she'd had a longer or more successful career.

Not until she was no longer around to find them herself or have any family, friends or acquaintances happen upon their message along.

I mention all of this, not to wallow in the sadness or to chastise us, as movie fans, for our failings.

But perhaps all of us could take this as a reminder that there are more of these people out there. People who are famous to us, as fans, but have for whatever reason slipped into obscurity without having gotten the kind of recognition they deserve. Perhaps it would be a good thing if more of us in the online community took the time to occasionally fill in the gaps; write glowing celebrations of people whose work we've admired but who seem to have fallen off the map.

I'm by no means suggesting this isn't done. There are a couple of fine blogs with regular features along those lines and several others that do similar things, from time to time. But it certainly is something to keep in mind, if only for myself, as something that could have more value than simply filling up blog space from time to time.

My Auntie Karen

I rarely write about personal issues in detail on this blog, but I feel compelled to write this.

My Auntie Karen passed away on Monday. She had been succumbing to brain cancer for some time, so it was not at all a surprise... and yet it was still a shock.

I couldn't begin to tell you how many of the little tidbits of memory I've thrown into my writings here relate almost directly to her. My recent Food of the Gods review told of me watching the movie as a child. That was at my Auntie Karen's house, with my dad and Uncle John. Watching movies at her house was a regular part of my life, including countless viewings of Grease and The Three and Four Musketeers, not to mention nights struggling to stay up late enough to see The First Nudie Musical, which I've still never found to live up to its potential.

I mention all of this not to reduce her or my relationship with her to her cable, but merely to emphasize how strong a presence she is as figure in my life.

She was the oldest of six children, and I don't recall a time when she wasn't the de facto matriarch of the family, even during my childhood when my grandparents were alive and relatively well. I know she cast a mighty shadow over her siblings and feeling surrounding that issue that could often be complicated for them... and I'm sure this week those feeling are even more complicated than ever.

I know mine are.

But I think, as it goes, that's the idea. Once we're gone, we live on in the memories of those who knew us. I think part of the function of the rush of memories, good, bad and indifferent, that we get of people when they pass is so that who we actually were lives on. If all any of us are remembered as is something uncomplicatedly good or bad, then we are truly dead to the world.

However, my desire today, isn't necessarily to get into all of that. Merely to celebrate what she was to me. She was the person who taught me the basic rules of football, four downs, end zone, etc. She was a constant presence in my life for nearly my whole childhood. She was the person who showed the picture of me peeing on the driveway to my first girlfriend. She was always the person in the room who came across with the most dignity, and somehow that never went away even when she would do things like casually call her sons "B.M." as a nickname.

She was an active member of her community, in schools and politics, and filled with amusing anecdotes from them, as well as a treasure trove of family history, both in terms of the details as well as the human element.

In personal terms, any day that I gather the confidence to think I can make a mark in this world, whether making movies or just that my silly thoughts here are worth reading, it's in part because my Auntie thought I was somebody special. I know that her husband, my Uncle John, along with her children and grandchildren are having an even more difficult time than I, and my heart goes out to them.

Karen Elaine Baker

Charles B. Griffith

I'm going through a much more personal grief, so I'm not able to write anything about the passing of Charles B. Griffith, who I admired greatly, however I highly recommend everyone go to Remembering Charles B. Griffith by Tim Lucas as well as Charles B. Griffith (1930 - 2007) by Aaron W. Graham.

Bob Clark, RIP

For those of you who haven't heard, director Bob Clark, along with his 22-year-old son, was killed in an car crash yesterday.

Here are some good links. Bob Clark, 1941 - 2007 contains some good links and notes. Bad news has a short but poignant tribute. Bob Clark, R.I.P. explores a bit of the schizophrenic nature of his career and talent.

My suggestion for those now feeling nostalgic for this director whose greatest skill may well have been the invocation of nostalgia - Not only A Christmas Story, it's certainly the quality that set Porky's apart from a pack of similar movies - is to find something of his you've never seen or barely remember and give it a chance.

I intend to revisit Murder By Decree, which I haven't seen in many, many years. My suggestion to most would be Deathdream, a Vietnam horror movie, which is positively haunted by nostalgia.

Bill the Beerman, RIP

Bill Scott, 1949-2007: Beerman lifted everyone's spirits by Jim Moore.

A side of myself I don't often blog about is the sports geek in me. It probably comes down to a number of factors, now the least of which I think sports geekery is best done wholly or very little.

But I can't miss the moment to pay my respects to Bill "The Beerman" Scott.

I grew up going to Seahawks and Mariners games with my grandfather at the Kingdome. Back in those days, neither team had quite broken a stride, so it was often a rather small and tepid crowd. Bill the Beerman was always there making sure everyone cheered and shouted, whether they wanted to or not, or more accurately, whether they knew they wanted to or not.

30 years and a lot of ups and downs have passed since then. In the time since, Seattle has come to claim the loudest crowd of football fans, at least during the good times. I'm not sure how true that is, especially in the new outdoor stadiums, but to the extent it is true, it's in large part due to those early days when the Beerman made sure we all cheered as loud as we could and celebrated our teams, in fair weather and foul... something that, sadly, doesn't always come naturally to us here in the gray northwest.

Thanks, Bill, for making all of those games more fun. You will be missed.