She was “Harriet Conklin” in “Our Miss Brooks”, a series I hate to say was before my time. Other credits are pretty limited: she appeared in the “Centennial” mini-series, Michael Ritchie’s “Smile”, and some TV guest shots.
Archive for the ‘Obits’ Category
Obit watch: January 25, 2022.
Tuesday, January 25th, 2022Obit watch: January 23, 2022.
Sunday, January 23rd, 2022I think a lot of people (outside of firefighting) have forgotten that name, but Report from Engine Co. 82 was a huge deal back in the day.
The book sold some three million copies, ennobled Mr. Smith as a champion of his profession and inspired countless men and women to become firefighters.
“The author’s pride clearly derives not from his writing, but from his job as a firefighter — the most hazardous job of all, according to the National Safety Council,” Anatole Broyard wrote in his Times book review. “The risk one takes in, writing a book — and there are those who will tell you that this is the most hazardous occupation — must seem comparatively small to him. One hopes he will go on taking it.”
I read it at an inappropriately young age. I won’t say how old I was, but “Emergency” was on first-run network television at the time. The thing that sticks with me all these years later is how much abuse Smith and his colleagues took from the people they were trying to help.
Mr. Smith was a Renaissance firefighter.
He played eight musical instruments; founded Firehouse magazine in 1976 (and sold it in 1991 and made $7 million); was the founding chairman of the New York City Fire Museum and was instrumental in converting the Engine Company 30 firehouse in SoHo as its site; was president and chairman of the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club, which moved from Manhattan to the South Bronx; and was a chairman of the New York Academy of Art.
He was the first chairman of the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Near Miss task force, focused on preventing firefighter injuries and deaths, and won awards from the Congressional Fire Services Institute and the National Fire Academy, and the New York Fire Department.
Any man who tries to prevent deaths and injuries in his chosen occupation, no matter what that is, deserves mad props in my opinion.
In a Times opinion essay in 1971, Mr. Smith recalled his ebullience at the prospect of becoming a firefighter: “I would play to the cheers of excited hordes — climbing ladders, pulling hose, and saving children from the waltz of the hot masked devil. I paused and fed the fires of my ego — tearful mothers would kiss me, editorial writers would extol me in lofty phrases, and mayors would pin ribbons to my breast.”
After eight years, he wrote, the romantic visions had faded.
“I have climbed a thousand ladders, and crawled Indian fashion down as many halls into a deadly nightshade of smoke, a whirling darkness of black poison, knowing all the while that the ceiling may fall, or the floor collapse, or a hidden explosive ignite,” Mr. Smith added. “I have watched friends die, and I have carried death in my hands. With good reason have Christians chosen fire as the metaphor of hell.”
“There is no excitement, no romance, in being this close to death,” he wrote, later adding: “Yet, I know that I could not do anything else with such a great sense of accomplishment.”
I’ve gone back and forth for a few days about whether I should include the obit for Ann Arensberg. There was finally one thing that tipped me over the edge.
That wasn’t the tipping point. This was:
I’m sorry to laugh at someone’s obit, but “As You Like It” with seals kicks over my giggle box. Indeed, it has me thinking about a whole line of Shakespeare productions with animals. An all-racoon production of “Macbeth”?
Obit watch: January 22, 2022.
Saturday, January 22nd, 2022Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk. Tricycle:
Known to his thousands of followers worldwide as Thây—Vietnamese for teacher—Nhat Hanh was widely considered among Buddhists as second only to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in the scope of his global influence. The author of some 100 books—75 in English—he founded nine monasteries and dozens of affiliated practice centers, and inspired the creation of thousands of local mindfulness communities. Nhat Hanh is credited with popularizing mindfulness and “engaged Buddhism” (he coined the term), teachings that not only are central to contemporary Buddhist practice but also have penetrated the mainstream. For many years, Thich Nhat Hanh has been a familiar sight the world over, leading long lines of people in silent “mindful” walking meditation.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of Thich Nhat Hanh’s role in the development of Buddhism in the West, particularly in the United States. He was arguably the most significant catalyst for the Buddhist community’s engagement with social, political, and environmental concerns. Today, this aspect of Western Buddhism is widely accepted, but when Nhat Hanh began teaching regularly in North America, activism was highly controversial in Buddhist circles, frowned upon by most Buddhist leaders, who considered it a distraction from the focus on awakening. At a time when Western Buddhism was notably parochial, Nhat Hanh’s nonsectarian view motivated many teachers to reach out and build bonds with other dharma communities and traditions. It would not be an exaggeration to say that his inclusive vision laid the groundwork for the flourishing of Buddhist publications, including Tricycle, over the past 35 years.
I am not a Buddhist, and I am spectacularly bad at Zen. But I enjoy reading about Zen, and I was familiar with him from my reading.
Thich Nhat Hanh dismissed the idea of death. “Birth and death are only notions,” he wrote in his book “No Death, No Fear.” “They are not real.”
He added: “The Buddha taught that there is no birth; there is no death; there is no coming; there is no going; there is no same; there is no different; there is no permanent self; there is no annihilation. We only think there is.”
“Nhat Hanh is my Brother” by Thomas Merton.
Breck Denny, writer and actor. He was only 34: according to his family, he died of a “rare spontaneous splenic artery rupture”.
Obit watch: January 21, 2022.
Friday, January 21st, 2022Marvin Lee Aday, also known as “Meat Loaf”. THR. NYPost. IMDB.
(I can’t confirm it now, but I remember a legend that the NYT did a story about Meat Loaf…and, as is their custom on second and subsequent reference, referred to him as “Mr. Loaf”.)
Edited to add 1/22: Since I posted this obit, the NYT has added a note to their coverage discussing the “Mr. Loaf” story. They assert it is not true. And apparently he preferred to be called “Meat”:
A Hollywood Meatloaf story on the day of his departure.
So, in the early naught years I managed a softball team named The Big Walrus (just because) and on said team was friend, actor and musician @WEarlBrown.
He played first base for us.
Well, one day… (1of3)
— Jeffrey Lieber (@JeffLieber) January 21, 2022
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Sort of a firings watch.
Thursday, January 20th, 2022I covered the firing of Kevin Ollie as men’s basketball coach at the University of Connecticut when it happened.
Now…
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Irvings ruled that Ollie is due $11,157,032.95 within next 10 business days, Parenteau said.
Interestingly, though, those recruiting violations did pan out:
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Parenteau and co-counsel William Madsen had argued that UConn failed to meet its burden under an agreement between the school and the American Association of University Professors, of which Ollie is a member. That agreement required a showing of serious misconduct in order to fire an employee for “just cause” and also affords Ollie other union protections.
The school had argued that Ollie’s transgressions were serious and that his individual contract superseded those union protections.
Obit watch: January 20, 2022.
Thursday, January 20th, 2022Hardy Kruger (also billed as Hardy Krüger). Sloppy obit from THR.
His character in “The Flight of the Phoenix” was not a German solider or a Nazi baddie, and that movie came out in 1965, not 1975. But he was excellent in it. (Noted: Criterion is releasing it on blu-ray in March. Affiliate link.)
Edited to add: THR corrected their obit shortly after I posted this. It no longer refers to Kruger’s character in “Phoenix” as a German solider, and has the correct date for the movie.
Edited to add 2: NYT obit, which was not up when I first posted.
He was also good in “Barry Lyndon”. I’ve seen “The Wild Geese”, but cut up for TV a long time ago, and I’d like to watch it again.
Carol Speed. Credits include “The Mack” and “Disco Godfather”.
Ron Franklin, fomer ESPN announcer.
Obit watch: January 19, 2022.
Wednesday, January 19th, 2022Other than “Weena” in the 1960 “The Time Machine” and “Where the Boys Are”, credits include “Jackson County Jail”, “The Black Hole”, “Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell”, “Diamond Head” (opposite Cheston!) and a “doomed surfer” in “Dr. Kildare”.
Gaspard Ulliel. He was the young Hannibal in “Hannibal Rising”, and is in the coming Marvel series “Moon Knight”. He was only 37, and died as a result of a skiing accident.
Obit watch: January 17, 2022.
Monday, January 17th, 2022Brigadier General Charles E. McGee (USAF – ret) has passed away at the age of 102.
Gen. McGee was one of the Tuskegee Airman. He was promoted to brigadier general by President Trump in 2020.
He remained in the military after the war and served with the Air Force flying P-51s in Korea (100 combat missions) and “172 combat missions in McDonnell RF-4 photo-reconnaissance aircraft” over Vietnam.
I am having trouble determining how many of the airmen are left. The NYT obit says there were nine living (counting Gen. McGee) as of February of 2020. Wikipedia states there were 11 living as of 2019, but does not mention any deaths since then.
John Connolly, “investigative journalist”. He wrote some for “Spy” and various other magazines. He also wrote a book (“with James Patterson”), Filthy Rich: The Shocking True Story of Jeffrey Epstein – The Billionaire’s Sex Scandal (affiliate link).
I hope this is completed, as I’d actually like to read that book.
NYT obits for Ralph Emery and Dallas Frazier.
Tributes to Ron Goulart: “Great But Forgotten” on “The Morning Chex Press”, and Michael Swanwick on meeting Ron Goulart’s college roommate.
Obit watch: January 15, 2022.
Saturday, January 15th, 2022Eddie Basinski has passed away at the age of 99. He was the second oldest former major league baseball player.
Interestingly, Mr. Basinski was also a trained classical violin player.
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Saousoalii Siavii Jr., former defensive tackle with the Kansas City Chiefs. This is an odd one: he died in custody at Leavenworth.
Obit watch: January 14, 2022.
Friday, January 14th, 2022Terry Teachout, critic, blogger, playwright, cultural commentator, and biographer, passed away yesterday.
“About Last Night” blog. WSJ (through archive.is). National Review.
I wrote briefly about him and his blog when his wife died. I was still an irregular follower – I tried to check in once a week – but I knew he had found a new love and was excited about that. This seems especially unfair.
I never met Mr. Teachout, though I would have liked to. He seems like one of those good decent people whose passing leaves a void in the world.
Edited to add: tribute from Rod Dreher.
Obit watch: January 12, 2022.
Wednesday, January 12th, 2022Jean Ramirez, catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. He was 28.
Obit watch: January 11, 2022.
Tuesday, January 11th, 2022Lawrence sent this over for the “Burning In Hell watch”, but I have to say: I don’t have the strong feelings about Durst that I’ve had about other criminals who I hope are roasting. Durst was almost certainly nuttier than a Stuckey’s pecan log roll, and was probably guilty of the crimes he was convicted of.
Admittedly, I only followed the trials from the fringes, but it did seem to me that there was a lot of…stuff…that made me go “hmmmmmmm”. I wasn’t on any of the juries, I didn’t hear all the evidence, but I’m not sure there was enough there to convince me beyond a reasonable doubt.
At this point, it doesn’t matter: he knows, God knows, and that’s good enough.
Obit watch: January 10, 2022.
Monday, January 10th, 2022Playing catch-up from the weekend:
His most famous role was as the title character on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis”. Other roles included “Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis?”, “Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis”, “How to Stuff a Wild Bikini”, and “Sergeant Orkin” in “The Youth Killer” episode of “Kolchak: The Night Stalker”.
Marilyn Bergman. She and her husband Alan were Hollywood lyricists.
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NYT obit for Max Julien, for the record.
Lani Guinier, historical footnote. Bill Clinton nominated her for the post of “assistant attorney general for civil rights” in 1993, but was forced to withdraw her nomination after some of her views came to light.
(Hattip: Lawrence.)
Obit watch: January 7, 2022.
Friday, January 7th, 2022Very quick, because I have only a tiny bit of downtime between doctor’s appointments: Sidney Poitier. THR. Variety.
More later, maybe, depending on how long this second appointment takes and how long it takes to get more than breaking news obits.
Obit watch: January 6, 2022.
Thursday, January 6th, 2022Lawrence N. Brooks. He was 112 years old, and, at the time of his death, was the oldest surviving veteran of WWII.
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Mr. Brooks said he considered himself fortunate to have been spared combat duty when later in the war troop losses forced the military to send more African American troops to the front lines. In 1941, fewer than 4,000 African Americans were serving in the military; by 1945, that number had increased to more than 1.2 million.
“I got lucky,” he said. “I was saying to myself, ‘If I’m going to be shooting at somebody, somebody’s going to be shooting at me, and he might get lucky and hit.’”
By way of Lawrence: Willie Siros, noted Austin SF fan, book collector, book dealer, and a personal friend. (Apologies if that Facebook link is wonky: for some reason, I can view it on my phone, but I can’t view it on the big computer even in incognito mode. At least, not without logging into my non-existent Facebook account.)
Peter Bogdanovich. Ordinarily I would wait until tomorrow, but it looks like they had this one in the can. (And it has already been corrected once.) THR. Variety.
Before the end of the ’70s, however, Mr. Bogdanovich had been transformed from one of the most celebrated directors in Hollywood into one of the most ostracized. His career would be marred for years to come by critical and box-office failures, personal bankruptcies, the raking of his romantic life through the press and, as it all unspooled, an orgy of film-industry schadenfreude.
“It isn’t true that Hollywood is a bitter place, divided by hatred, greed and jealousy,” the director Billy Wilder once observed. “All it takes to bring the community together is a flop by Peter Bogdanovich.”
I wouldn’t mind seeing “Paper Moon”. I saw “What’s Up, Doc?” many many years ago, and would welcome seeing it again. And we’ve watched “Last Picture Show” recently. I’d also like to read those MoMA monographs.
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