Showbits

The spotlight has dimmed on two staples of early Seventies sitcoms.

Suzanne Pleshette, co-star of The Bob Newhart Show, passed away on Saturday at the age of 70 from respiratory failure. It's been more than a decade since I last saw the show for which Ms. Pleshette was most famous, but I grew up on The Bob Newhart Show and loved the balance she gave to the zany and dry characters she found herself surrounded by. Knowing she was in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds gives me renewed reason to finally seek it out.

Overshadowed by this passing is the loss of Allan Melvin, whose roles are better known than he was. Mr. Melvin played Alice the housekeeper's butcher boyfriend Sam on The Brady Bunch, which wasn't a stretch from his former role as another kind-hearted lug — Magilla Gorilla. He passed away Wednesday at 85 after a long fight with cancer.

Thank you, both. Though you never worked together, you shared the hearts of many fans.

Cinematographer László Kovács, born in 1933 in Budapest, died this past July 21st. Excerpted from This Is True's Honorary Unsubscribe:

… in 1969, he filmed his breakout movie: Easy Rider, putting his own stamp on the motorcycle trip film based on his own bus ride from New Jersey to the west coast. Other seminal films included Five Easy Pieces, What's Up, Doc?, Paper Moon, Ghost Busters, Shattered, My Best Friend's Wedding — more than 70 in all. "He was one of the great wave of cinematographers in the 1970s who basically changed the way movies had looked up until that time," said Richard Crudo, a former president of the American Society of Cinematographers.

Actors are well-known, and some directors and producers achieve similar fame. It's a shame talent such as Mr. Kovács' does not also earn the popular recognition it deserves.

UPDATE: I may need to take back that statement… Mr. Kovács credits also include The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!

Tonight, 119 parties in 32 countries will celebrate "Yuri's Night" — the 46th anniversary of mankind's first escape from Earth's atmosphere.

It seems a timely opportunity to ensure that those of you in or around New Mexico know of the upcoming opportunity to attend James Doohan's send-off. On April 27th, a memorial will be held for the actor who played Scotty on Star Trek: The Original Series, followed the next day by the liftoff of the Legacy Flight module and its payload of Mr. Doohan's ashes into outer space. Mr. Doohan's widow, Wende, has extended an invitation to any and all Star Trek fans to attend these special events.

This launch has been delayed many times since Doohan's passing on July 20th, 2005 — the anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek's creator, died in 1991 and entered space in 1997. Finally, with Scotty beaming up to where he belongs, they will be in good company.

I recently confused someone when I used the word "clothesline" as a verb. I had to explain its wrestling etymology and how my knowledge of such came from a youth spent watching Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Junkyard Dog, and more.

I was surprised today to come across another name I hadn't thought of in a long time: Bam Bam Bigelow, who died yesterday at the age of 45. [Read his obituary]

His cause of death is yet undetermined, but I imagine the stress athletes' bodies endure — both from the nature of their profession, and from less scrupulous means of achieving an advantage — causes many such performers to be old before their time.

I've only ever attended one live wrestling event, and I found the commentary and close-ups provided by at-home television viewing to offer a superior experience. In that medium, wrestling can be very entertaining and dramatic, more so than daily soap operas, though still less refined and more predictable than some dramas.  I enjoyed the alliances, rivalries, and betrayals that wrestling portrayed in a physical, non-metaphorical fashion even my developing mind could grasp (even if some of them now constitute the annals of wrestling shame). Thanks, Bam Bam, for being a part of it.

Mike Evans died from cancer on 14-Dec-06 at the age of 57. He played one of two Lionel Jeffersons on The Jeffersons. [Story continues]

Joseph Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon team, creators of Yogi Bear, Tom & Jerry, Huckleberry Hound, the Flintstones, and others, died today. He was 95. [Story continues]

Not only a creator, Mr. Barbera was also producer of several shows, such as The Smurfs, Richie Rich, and Pac-Man. See his IMDb filmography for the complete list.

It's an odd mix of feelings when someone with such a legendary portfolio passes away. On one hand, the world has lost an irreplaceable genius. OTOH, it is not an untapped talent that is gone; Joseph Barbera and the world got the most out of each other, and his passing doesn't change that. It was a veritable smorgasboard of entertainment.

I appreciate the impact he's had on my and countless others' childhoods. If not for Mr. Barbera, who knows how many little siblings would not have been whacked with rubber mallets in emulation of our animated idols?