Obit watch: November 9, 2021.

Dean Stockwell. He was 85.

204 credits in IMDB, dating back to 1945. The man worked, and had been working since he was a child.

Yes, “Quantum Leap” and “Blue Velvet” and the Lynch “Dune”. Also the “Battlestar Galactica” revival, the original “Twilight Zone”, one episode of a spinoff of a minor 1960s SF TV show, “Beverly Hills Cop II”, “To Live and Die in L.A.”, “Paris, Texas”, “Wagon Train”, and the list goes on. He was no slouch when it came to movies, and if it was a TV series, he was almost certainly in it at some point.

And that includes “Mannix”. (“A Step in Time”, season 5, episode 3. He was “Chris Townsend”.)

Those close to the artist describe him as a rebel who loved to act, laugh, smoke cigars and play golf, Deadline reported.

Lawrence sent over a nice obit from National Review for Gerald Russello, NR contributor and editor of the University Bookman.

Edited to add: NYT obit for Dean Stockwell.

Max Cleland, former Senator from Georgia.

Stipulated: he was a liberal (according to the NYT, too liberal for Georgia), and we probably would have disagreed on many issues.

But: he also served honorably in Vietnam.

On April 8, 1968, just days before his tour was to end, Capt. Cleland was on a rescue mission in the village of Khe Sanh when he noticed a hand grenade on the ground. He picked it up and it detonated, instantly severing his right leg and right arm; his left leg was amputated within the hour. He was later awarded the Bronze Star and a Silver Star for meritorious service.
For three decades, Mr. Cleland blamed himself for his injuries, thinking the grenade had fallen off his own belt. But he later learned from a Marine who had witnessed the explosion that it had been dropped by an unnamed private who had manipulated the pins in a misguided attempt to make the grenade easier to use in combat.

Edited to add 2: THR obit for Dean Stockwell.

3 Responses to “Obit watch: November 9, 2021.”

  1. Mike-SMO says:

    “Making it Easier” will get you every time. Some things just have to take a bit of effort and concentration (intent).

    That grenade story is worrisome. Either the thing was about to explode anyway or it had a “zero” fuse that fired as soon as the “spoon” released. Curious……. “Zero” time fuses have uses in booby traps but were otherwise deadly since it couldn’t be thrown far enough to escape the frags beforer it detonated. [Maybe a 100 MPH “fast ball” v supersonic grenade bits.] ?Short fuse and slow reactions?

  2. stainles says:

    ‘Making it easier’ will get you every time.”

    That should be written over the portals of every church, every school, every courthouse, and every legislative body in the United States.

    Right next to “I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken.”

    Yes, I did steal this from Learned Hand. Still true.

  3. pigpen51 says:

    Dean Stockwell was a good one, and will be missed. As for Max Clelend, I never knew he had served in Vietnam, nor had been an amputee. But I did know of him.
    It is sort of fitting that tomorrow we celebrate Veteran’s day, and remember his loss today. Obviously the grenades made today are much more reliable than they were during the Vietnam days. It is pure speculation, but it could be that the grenade he picked up was faulty, and had a preliminary explosion, due to a faulty timer fuse.