Looking back to last year, we once again had so many celebrity deaths of those we have fond memories of, those 20th century gems who faded from our view for the most part as the 21st century dawned.
I'm not celebrity obsessed, but rather someone who enjoyed seeing certain performers on TV and in the cinema. When these people were on, you had the feeling it was going to be a fun watch...or at least they'd probably be the best thing in what we were watching. If not on TV or in a movie, then they helped to define at least part of the times we have lived through. Here goes.
David Soul - A household name thanks to Starsky and Hutch. He was also the leader of a group of rogue cops in Magnum Force. Like David Hasselhoff and other acotrs, tried (thankfuly a brief try) to be a singer.
Joyce Randolph- best known as Trixie Norton in The Honeymooners.
Carl Weathers- that charismatic actor who brought the character Appollo Creed to life. He was also the cool cop Action Jackson, which I alwas thought was deserving of a sequel. I think Weathers could have even played Lando Calrissian convincingly.
Toby Keith- an awesome country singer. He will always occupy at least one of our playlists in this house.
Richard Lewis- a popular stand up comic of the 1980s who brought meaning to the word 'neurotic'.
Brian Mulroney- a former Canadian prime minister...I remember him being in charge when we studies Canada in 6th grade social studies.
Eric Carmen- a decent singer of the 1970s and 80s;
M. Emmet Walsh- a good character actor of many movies, particularly Fletch, Blade Runner, and The Jerk, among many others.
Louis Gossett Jr.- the famous drill sergeant in An Officer and a Gentleman. He played other cool characters in Iron Eagle and Diggstown.
O.J. Simpson- ok, I know his name was mud for his last 30 years, but at one time he protrayed cool and fun on screen, even if his personal life was nefarious.
Roger Corman- he gave us the original Little Shop of Horrors and other B-movie classics of the 60s and 70s.
Dabney Coleman- a classic actor of the 60s all the way into this century! I will always remember him playing obnoxious and snide characters whenever I saw him. 9 to 5, Tootsie, WarGames, and The Man With One Red Shoe made playing bad look fun.
Morgan Spurlock- the man who revealed what a fast food only diet could do to us by adhering to one himself in a grotesque experiment.
Willie Mays (not Willie Mays Hays)- damn cool baseball player!
Donald Sutherland- father of Kiefer, he was a fun presence in several films spanning from the late 60s into recent history. The original Hawkeye Pierce!
Martin Mull- a popular face on TV and some movies. Often obnoxious roles he had, but he made them memorable.
Shelley Duvall- The silver screen's Olive Oyl as well as the terrorized wife in The Shining, both in 1980.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer- her mainstream sex advice and widespread media appearances were a huge part of the 1980s!
Shannen Doherty- the breakout star of 90210 who became tabloid fodder...like many stars.
Richard Simmons- another 80s icon, who made the idea of aerobic exercise fun and flamboyant...just like life should always be!
James B. Sikking- "Judas H Priest, Frank!" was his TV-toned down exclamation on Hill Street Blues for 7 years. He also played Doogie Howser's dad and the humiliated captain of the USS Excelsior in Star Trek 3...among many roles.
Bob Newhart- along with George Carlin, my favorite comedian. He influenced a few of my blog posts with his one side of the conversation style. He was also a talented actor with his low-key self. He once told a producer who questioned his famous stammer that his stammer built him a home in Beverly Hills.
Wally Amos- cookies, 'nuff said!
Peter Marshall- actor, singer, and somewhat reluctant (at first) game show host who made playing the straight man to 9 wise-cracking panelists on The Hollywood Squares look almost effortless.
Phil Donahue- the man who made talk shows with a huge audience popular way before anyone heard the name Oprah. He tackled the funny, the serious, and the controversial with equal commitment. A class act.
John Amos- known as Kunta Kinte and James Evans Sr. on TV, often playing a force to be reckoned with...even when being defeated by John McClain in Die Hard 2.
James Earl Jones- probably will always be remembered for the cyborg voice of Darth Vader but his talents spanned decades.
John Ashton- probably best known for playing Taggart in the Beverly Hills Cop movies, he also had a minor but recurring role on Dallas in its second season and as rival bounty hunter Marvin in Midnight Run.
Maggie Smith- although being a household image to fantasy lovers in the Harry Potter films as Professor McGonagall, she achieved fame by 1969 in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
Kris Kristofferson- he was one of my mom's favorite singers when I was little...every time the 1976 version of A Star is Born was on, she was watching. He also made himself a decent actor.
Pete Rose-a damn great ballplayer, brought down by his own gambling addictions. A personal aside here: other athletes did way worse things than his gambling. I thought the powers-that-be's refusal to let him into the baseball Hall of Fame was too hard-assed.
Teri Garr- I loved seeing this woman on film. She was funny, classy, and damn sexy in whatever role she played, which were many!
Quincy Jones- he composed some of the best TV and film scores of all time!
Chuck Woolery- one of the best game show hosts out there. He never played it wild, but just cool. He got Wheel of Fortune off to a good 6 year start and made blind dates look fun on Love Connection.
Jimmy Carter- I already mentioned him in a previous post, but he proved that being a one term President doesn't define the soul inside. On the contrary, his humanitarian efforts proved what a real man he was.
Linda Lavin- a good actress and singer, immortalizing the TV version of a role created on film.
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