Archive for January, 2019

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Obit watch: January 31, 2019.

Thursday, January 31st, 2019

Lawrence sent me the “Variety” obit for character actor Dick Miller.

He was hella prolific. Among his credits: the pawn shop guy in “The Terminator”, the sleezy land developer in the original “Piranha”, “Gremlins”, “Chopping Mall”, “Twilight Zone: The Movie”…

…and a lot of TV guest shots, including “Police Squad!” (“In Color!”), “Dragnet 1967”, and, yes, “Mannix” (“Falling Star”, “The Cost of a Vacation”).

He also appeared in “W*A*L*T*E*R”, which is one of those curious side notes in television history.

Speaking of curious side notes, Meshulam Riklis passed away a few days ago at the age of 95. He was a prominent financier, but became somewhat famous in the 1980s for what happened after he married his second wife…

…Pia Zadora.

His devotion to Ms. Zadora included inviting Golden Globe Awards voters to private screenings of “Butterfly” (1982), a film he produced for her, and promoted her candidacy in a media campaign — all for someone considered a lightweight competing with the likes of Kathleen Turner, Howard E. Rollins Jr. and Elizabeth McGovern for best new star of the year in a motion picture.
When Ms. Zadora won the award — a shock in Hollywood and beyond — it was assumed that Mr. Riklis had somehow engineered her victory, although he and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which runs the Golden Globes, denied the accusation.

Posted in 1970s, Mannix, Movies, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Obit watch: January 24, 2019.

Thursday, January 24th, 2019

Mary Boyd Higgins, trustee of the Wilhelm Reich estate and legacy.

When she was appointed trustee, in March 1959, Ms. Higgins had her work cut out for her.
She quickly discovered that most of Dr. Reich’s personal papers, which he had wanted sealed for 50 years before anyone could see them, had been stolen; she had to start litigation to retrieve them. He wanted his Maine property turned into a museum; she would need to become an expert in museum design. She also studied copyright law in seeking to have his books republished.

I wasn’t originally going to post this, but then it occurred to me that this obit gives me a flimsy excuse to embed this video:

Posted in Law, Music, Obits | Comments Closed

Obit watch: January 23, 2019.

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019

Russell Baker, Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist for the NYT.

Kaye Ballard, noted actress.

I apologize for giving these short shrift, but Ms. Ballard was before my time.

I also want to call out this one, not out of any malice or ill will, but because when you read the details in the obit, it’s kind of disturbing: Brandon Truaxe, “the founder of the disruptive Canadian cosmetics company Deciem”.

If you need help, please don’t be ashamed to ask for it. Anyone who would shame you for needing help…well, their opinions don’t matter.

Posted in Media, Planes, Theatre, TV | Comments Closed

Firings watch.

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019

Bob Sutton out as defensive coordinator for Kansas City.

To steal a riff from Tuesday Morning Quarterback, “Sure, you got us to the AFC championship game and into overtime against New England. But what have you done for us lately?”

To steal a riff from TMQ Watch: “Gave up two touchdowns at the end of regulation and failed to stop New England in overtime.”

The Chiefs defense ranked among the worst in the NFL this season. They finished 31st in the regular season in yards allowed (405.5), 24th in yards per play (5.85), and 24th in points per game (26.3).

Posted in Firings, NFL, Sports | Comments Closed

Obit watch: January 22, 2019.

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019

Tony Mendez, legendary CIA officer.

A technical operations officer, he specialized in creating counterfeit documents as well as counterfeit people, perfecting tricks used by Hollywood, con men and magicians. He was an expert in “exfiltration,” the art of spiriting people out of hostile situations. (The last C.I.A. cable he received before the rescue mission said, “See you later, exfiltrator.”) And he was a master of disguises.

He was most famous for his role in smuggling six US diplomats out of Iran during the hostage crisis.

Before their rescue, the six had managed to escape from a building near the American Embassy. They were sheltered and protected for two months by Canadian diplomats, including the country’s ambassador to Iran, Kenneth D. Taylor, who helped engineer their rescue.
Canadian and American officials were trying to figure out how to get them out when Mr. Mendez devised the elaborate plan that would carry the day. He had them pose as a Canadian film crew scouting for a place in Tehran to shoot a movie. He supplied them with fake Canadian identities and instructed them in the proper mind-set to pass through armed Iranian security; and he led the way, pretending to be the crew’s production manager.

As I’m sure everyone knows, this became the basis for the movie “Argo“. He also wrote several books (the only one I’ve read is “Argo”) and has another one forthcoming.

Some of the six State Department employees whom Mr. Mendez had escorted to safety, euphemistically called “houseguests,” said in emails to his wife that he was the bravest man they had ever known.
“Not a surprise that Tony slipped away quietly,” two of them, Mark Lijek and Cora Amburn-Lijek, wrote. “What else would you expect from the master of disguise?”

Posted in Heroism, History, Obits | Comments Closed

Quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore (#5 in a series).

Saturday, January 19th, 2019

I’m not going to do a full Lawrence here, but I want to mention a couple of interesting things I’ve found at Half-Price Books recently:

Not much to say about this one: anybody who knows me well, or even regularly reads this blog, understands why I had to pick this one up.

Spoiler: that “bizarre menace” is…LSD.

I actually already have, and have read, The Ravens, and rather liked it. (Christoper Robbins also wrote Air America, which the Robert Downey Jr./Mel Gibson movie was based on.) But prices on this seem to be all over the place, and I thought it might be worth taking a flyer on for $7.99…

…and then I took a look at the title page:

If you can’t read it, this appears to have been signed to somebody named “Chris” by multiple former Ravens. I think this is kind of nifty, and will probably hang onto this copy. (I might flip the other one.) I don’t think the “Chris” in question is the author, as he died in London in 2012, and his bio doesn’t say anything about military service. I suspect there’s a sad story behind this ending up at HPB that I don’t really want to think about, but I hope wherever “Chris” is, he knows that someone values his book.

Also, just to drive one or two of my friends crazy: I picked up some more Jack O’Connor. The two volume Hunting on Three Continents, which I found for $14.99 (minus 20% because it was after Christmas), and the Jim Casada edited The Lost Classics of Jack O’Connor. which I probably overpaid for. But both are in mint shape. I actually do not remember if I already have Lost Classics, but if I find it in one of the boxes I’ll flip it. I know I didn’t have Three Continents previously: that was a real find.

Probably the next thing I’m going to curl up with, though, is Drinking with the Saints: The Sinner’s Guide to a Holy Happy Hour which was a Christmas gift from my beloved and indulgent sister.

Posted in Books, Guns, History, Mixology, TV | Comments Closed

Obit watch: January 16, 2019.

Wednesday, January 16th, 2019

I wanted to give the Carol Channing obit a chance to shake out before posting it. I’m kind of glad I did: now they’re leading off the obit with the Hirschfeld drawing, which fills me with delight down to the bottom of my coal black heart.

By the time she returned to the role on Broadway in October 1995, Ms. Channing had played Dolly more than 4,500 times, missing only one performance — in June of that year, when she left the show for a day to fly to New York from San Diego to accept a Tony Award for lifetime achievement. She had appeared onstage in a cast, a neck brace and a wheelchair, and with viruses that would have felled anyone with lesser determination. (By her own count, she went on to surpass the 5,000 mark.)

…

Ms. Channing’s own motion picture career never really took off, although she received an Academy Award nomination and won a Golden Globe for her performance in “Thoroughly Modern Millie” (1967). She did enjoy some success on television, and in her later years she did a lot of cartoon voice-over work. But the theater was her natural home.

As Lawrence pointed out to me yesterday, she was also in “Skidoo“. (Honest to Ghu, I thought that had been released on Criterion, but apparently not.)

This one goes out to my friend Todd: Alan R. Pearlman, synthesizer pioneer and founder of ARP Instruments.

ARP’s analog synthesizers — particularly the compact, portable ARP Odyssey, introduced in 1972 — grew ubiquitous in pop and electronic music. By the mid-1970s, ARP was the leading synthesizer manufacturer, commanding 40 percent of the market and outselling its predecessors and competitors, Moog and Buchla.
ARP sounds were central to numerous songs, including Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein,” Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon,” Kraftwerk’s “The Robots,” Underworld’s “Rez,” Nine Inch Nails’ “The Hand That Feeds” and the early-1980s version of the theme to the television series “Doctor Who.”
The five-note signature motif of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was played on an ARP 2500 synthesizer, which is seen in the film. An ARP 2600, mixed with natural sounds, provided the voice of R2-D2 in the first “Star Wars” movie.

Posted in Geek, Movies, Music, Obits, Theatre | 1 Comment »

Obit watch: January 10, 2019.

Thursday, January 10th, 2019

Carlos Sánchez, best known as Juan Valdez in the commercials for Colombian coffee.

(Hattip on this to my beloved and indulgent sister-in-law.)

Posted in 1970s, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Tweet of the day.

Tuesday, January 8th, 2019

Mostly for this followup:

Posted in Food | Comments Closed

You’re going down in flames, you tax-fattened hyena! (#52 in a series)

Tuesday, January 8th, 2019

I don’t mean to seem lazy, but I can’t put it much better than Reason‘s “Hit and Run” did:

Chicago Alderman and Notorious Nanny-Stater Ed Burke Charged in Federal Corruption Scheme

I know: a corrupt Chicago alderman? Who’d thunk it? From the Tribune:

A federal criminal complaint unsealed Thursday charged Burke with attempted extortion for allegedly using his position as alderman to try to steer business to his private law firm from a company seeking to renovate a fast-food restaurant in his ward. The charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison on conviction.
The complaint also alleged Burke asked one of the company’s executives in December 2017 to attend an upcoming political fundraiser for “another politician.” Sources identified the politician as Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who is running for Chicago mayor.

I missed this story, but there was an FBI raid on Burke’s office a few weeks ago:

Prosecutors revealed during the 10-minute hearing that the FBI found 23 guns in the raids on Burke’s City Hall and ward offices in November. As a condition of his bond, Burke, a former Chicago police officer, was ordered to surrender the firearms and any others he may own within 48 hours of his release.

This is amusing: I can’t tell if Burke was a member of Crooked Mayors Against Self-Defense (or if he was even eligable, being an alderman) but he was a big time gun grabber:

But while he was trying to deny residents of one of America’s most violent cities the right to defend themselves and their property, he was protected day-and-night by a team of four Chicago police officers. Having personal bodyguards is not a typical perk of a city alderman, but it’s one Burke has enjoyed for decades, at taxpayer expense, due to threats made against him in the early 1980s.

Of course, innocent until proven guilty, yadda yadda, but: they caught him on the wire. I’m looking forward to Alderman Burke going to prison for a long, long time.

Posted in FBI, Guns, Law, Politics | Comments Closed

Obit watch: January 8, 2019.

Tuesday, January 8th, 2019

Rosenda Monteros, prominent Mexican actress.

She was perhaps most famous in the US as Petra, Chico’s romantic interest in the 1960 version of “The Magnificent Seven”.

Interesting side note from the obit:

“The Magnificent Seven” was shot in Mexico, where a government censor kept a close eye on the production to make sure that Mexicans were depicted positively. Mr. Sturges told The New York Times in 1960 that the censor was “an autocrat” who operated “on the theory that anything debatable should be stricken out.”
Mr. Sturges took note of one major change to the script: Instead of setting out to hire American fighters from the start, the farmers at first tried to buy guns for themselves.

Posted in Guns, Movies, Obits | Comments Closed

City Council updates.

Monday, January 7th, 2019

The new council members get sworn in later today.

However, the city hasn’t updated the contact information yet. For example, the page for District 1 has Natasha Harper-Madison’s name on it, with “Biographical information coming soon”, but the email form still says “Send email to Ora Houston”.

Point being, I’m not ignoring that the contact information pages need to be updated: I’m just waiting on the city of Austin, and Travis County, and Congress, to get their acts together.

Posted in Admin, Austin, Politics | Comments Closed

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