In great haste: last night was busy, and that’s continued well into today.
David Beaty is out as head coach of Kansas at the end of the season.
Archive for November, 2018
Firings watch.
Monday, November 5th, 2018Please to remember…
Monday, November 5th, 2018I don’t have a lot to add to what I’ve said previously, and I’m busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest, but:
I wanted to make sure, before it got too late in the day, to wish everyone (especially my peeps in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) a happy Guy Fawkes Day.
Please have fun, and try not to blow yourself up or get burned by flaming barrels of tar.
(I wish I knew somebody in the UK who could place an order from Ottery St. Mary for me. It doesn’t look like they will ship to the US. And it also looks like they don’t have the “You Are Here At Your Own Risk” pins any longer: I wanted to order a bunch of those and give them out as Christmas presents.)
Obit watch: November 3, 2018.
Saturday, November 3rd, 2018Obit watch: November 2, 2018.
Friday, November 2nd, 2018Bernard Bragg, actor.
He graduated from the New York School for the Deaf in 1947 and enrolled at what was then Gallaudet College, studying theater there and acting in school plays. Though he enjoyed performing, there was no obvious career path in show business for a deaf person; instead he took a teaching job at the California School for the Deaf in Berkeley, occasionally performing skits and directing small shows at conventions and clubs for the deaf. Then, in 1956, he made a life-changing trip to see Marceau perform in San Francisco.
Marceau’s ability to hold the crowd’s attention without words so struck Mr. Bragg that he sought Marceau out after the show and, with a note, introduced himself and asked where he could study mime. Marceau asked him to return the next day with a sample of his work, which he did: He performed two original sketches, one in which he played Noah and all the animals on the ark, the other in which he depicted all the instruments of an orchestra. Marceau invited him to study with him in France.
He spent the summer of 1956 doing just that, and when he returned to the United States he began performing in nightclubs, schools and universities in the San Francisco area. His routines were generally a mix of set pieces and improvisation.
He went on to become one of the founders of the National Theater of the Deaf.
Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman, SI writer. I really didn’t follow his work for the magazine, but I do have a copy of A Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football somewhere. (I’ve heard good things about it.)
Obit watch: November 1, 2018.
Thursday, November 1st, 2018Firings watch.
Thursday, November 1st, 2018DJ Durkin, University of Maryland football coach.
This is a long and complicated story that I’ve only been paying a little attention to. The short version is that one of Durkin’s players, Jordan McNair, died of heatstroke during a practice in late May. Durkin was suspended while the university conducted an investigation:
The university initially decided, earlier this week, to retain Durkin. But (as I read the coverage) this decision was made under pressure from alumni and boosters, and prompted a revolt among students and members of the football team.