Stark Raving Sad

[starkravingsad]

Barbara Hale

Certainly Barbara Hale was more than just Della Street (great name) on Perry Mason. But she encapsulated that character to a tee. So much so, that people probably thought she and Della were one in the same. And isn’t that the definition of a fine actor? Someone who is so good at what they do, the world cannot differentiate the two? 

Personally I have been struggling with my outward identity. If something were to happen in the world and CNN had to talk to an expert in whatever field, why would they call me? Because I am an authority in ____________.

Hale didn’t seem to have that problem. She owned her persona as Della when other actors might feel trapped by that one role. That’s admirable.

Plus she was the mother of The Greatest American Hero so there’s that too!

[starkravingsad]

Mike Connors

Mike Connors, and Joe Mannix for that matter, has an emotional style that was unique for TV detectives in the late sixties and early seventies. Mannix wasn’t a Joe-Friday ‘Just-the-facts-Ma’am’ kind of show. Mannix had morals. Empathy. Oh, and a lot of cool cars!

Connors played Mannix as a sensitive tough guy... always wearing a shirt and tie... and interestingly, always getting shot and beat-up. You didn’t see a lot of that on TV then... where the star of the show became the underdog and got hurt. And Mike Connors had the ability to play that well. 

But he could have done more. That’s what he said in an interview a few years ago. The quiet Connors started talking about what show biz used to be like and how easy it was to get typecast as a certain kind of character in a certain type of role. That’s just what happened to Connors... and he always wished he could have been a song and dance man... or starred in a sitcom like ‘Everybody Loves Raymond.’

It’s sad that he might have died harbouring regrets. Joe Mannix would have just driven away in his 1969 Dodge Dart GTS 340 convertible (customized by George Barris of Batmobile-fame of course.)

[starkravingsad]

Gil Ray

Drummer/Guitarist/Singer/Songwriter Gil Ray passed away after a long fight with cancer. But it’s hard to find anything about this online. 

Here is a man who contributed to the underground heart of alternative-eighties jangle-pop playing with the likes of Game Theory, The Loud Family, Rain Parade and others including some solo work. And I wonder if the fans who lived through that sweet musical time 30-plus years ago know that he is gone. 

Ray might never have hit superstardom — but I have to hope that he was generally... happy. I need to imagine that he was living the life that he wanted to live. Hell, he was a musician in the eighties — arguably the best and most diverse musical decade of modern pop culture. 

And I hope... all of that was enough for him. 

[starkravingsad]

Mary Tyler Moore

I think I had a bigger crush on Laura Petrie than I did on Mary Richards. I don’t know. That’s too close to call. But a crush is a crush.

Hearing that Mary Tyler Moore died was a sad ‘Ahhh’ moment. It’s the kind of feeling and sound that escapes from you when you realize a little bit of you is now gone too.

Mary Tyler Moore was a big part of so many people’s lives for so long... and odds are you don’t even realize it.

Of course, there was The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary as the mother wife that everybody wanted. Despite (or because of) a wildly talented and extroverted cast, Mary stood out as “Rob’s” equal. 

Of course there was The Mary Tyler Moore Show about a strong independant women who would definitely ‘make it after all.’ TV has never really seen anything like that before. And thanks to Mary, more strong women followed: Rhoda, Phyllis, Betty White... and a strong man too... Lou Grant. Pretty much everyone on that show had incredible careers after WJM shut down. And Mary herself proved it was the little things that would make her most memorable... like her worbling “Oh Mister Graaaant!”

And then there was MTM Enterprises and the meowing kitty in the closing credits of shows like The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart, WKRP (one of my favourite shows of all time and an important one since it played an integral part for me deciding to follow a career in radio) and Hill Street Blues. Heck, even Carlton the Doorman had his own show for a season! The list was long and many of the shows proved to be landmarks in television history. Most interesting is that you were more than likely to sit through the closing credits just to get to the kitty.

She was a crusader, an innovator, a rebel, an intelligent voice that stood for so many things — and I think my crush lives on.

[starkravingsad]

Butch Trucks

I do not have a musical bone in my body. But I always wished I did. I remember in grade school playing the glockenspiel for a Christmas concert. I practiced but ultimately I sucked more than everybody else’s attempt to sing ‘Silver Bells.’ 

Maybe that’s why I love music so much. I have an appreciation for those who do because I can’t. And I have a greater appreciation for those who do it their own way. 

So what made the drummer and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band such an innovator? Butch Trucks helped take this southern rock outfit to new levels by having two drummers. Butch’s role in this was to be the big steady beat throughout the song achieving a bigger fuller sound than anyone else. 

Oh, and there’s the name. A.J. is not a rock name. Butch? That’s rock! 

[starkravingsad]

Pete Overend Watts

Mott the Hoople. Its a band name that I am sure any music uber-fan recognizes — especially for one song... but you begin to question if you should know the band for any other reason.

The fact is that the above reason is all you really need to know to appreciate what these guys had to offer in the late sixties and early seventies. 

Bassist Pete Overend Watts was one of the founding members of Mott the Hoople that almost broke up before they broke through with the David Bowie penned “All the Young Dudes.” (Bowie was a fan and gave them the song that would keep the band together for a few more years.)

Their success was more cult than commercial and you might even be more familier with cover-versions of their hit by the likes of Bruce Dickinson and World Party from the ‘Clueless’ movie soundtrack. But in the end, it was their rock/progressive/glam version of the song that remains a classic.

[starkravingsad]

William Margold

I don’t know anything about Bill Margold except what I learned today online. 

I do know he was a porn star and is a member of the Hall of Fame. I do know that he once said he would ‘perform’ with his own daughter. And I do know that he starred as:

Dummy in ‘The Goddaughter’

Fleeing Citizen in ‘Flesh Gordon.’

Professer Flinch in “Young Hot ‘n’ Nasty Teenage Cruisers.’

Mister Big in ‘Girl From S.E.X.’

and as The Pool Man in ‘Pleasure Dome.’ (Because everyone has to play the pool man or the pizza delivery guy at least once in their acting career.)

Bill was also in: 

‘Flesh and Laces’ AND ‘Flesh and Laces Part II.’

‘Flesh Pond’

‘Stiff Competition.’

‘Nudes at Eleven.’

‘Leave it to Cleavage.’

‘Butts Motel 3.’

‘Butt Watch.’

‘Butt Watch 3.’

‘Punk Ass.’

And ‘The Sopornos 4, 6, 5, 8, and 7.’

Needless to say, Bill had a... long career.

[starkravingsad]

Miguel Ferrer

I liked Miguel Ferrer.

I even liked Bob Morton.

Bob was the weaselly OCP executive who by-passed Dick Jones and created the Peter Weller Robocop initiative. He was such a good bad guy. 

I always thought it was interesting that Miguel never seemed to rely on his family to get work — and he worked a lot! His family of course included his father Jose, his mother Rosemary Clooney and his cousin George... Clooney.

He was an actor’s actor.

And I don’t think he ever got enough credit for his voice. It was Ian McShane good. 

So here’s to Bob Morton who was eventually done in by hookers and blow and blown up by Red from The 70s Show. 

And here’s to Miguel — NCIS: Los Angeles and Twin Peaks will miss you. 

[starkravingsad]

Loalwa Braz

Oh, you know the song. You might not know how to dance the Lambada but you know the music. It might be one of the most ear-wormable sounds of all time. That’s steady Latin beat and that accordian that sounded unique and fresh in the beginning but was killed off by radio and weddings years later.

There was no denying the power and success of ‘Lambada.’ It was a huge hit in the eighties crossing all borders — especially in France where it was used in advertising too. Immediately the song has the ability to make you feel... sexy. And alive. And it will live on forever.

[starkravingsad]

Steve Wright

There would have been no Greg Kihn Band as we would come to know it without bassist Steve Wright. 

And without Steve, there would be no ‘The Breakup Song’ or ‘Jeopardy’ — the band’s two biggest hits.

There was something harmless about The Greg Kihn Band’s blend of rock and roll... not that there was ever anything wrong with that. The music did have a tendency to bleed into the landscape of everything else happening in the seventies and the eighties. But these two songs were different.

Of course, ‘Jeopardy’ had a fun video, something extremely important for the time... along with a Weird Al parody to back-up and solidify it’s fame.

But ‘The Breakup Song’ was different. It had teeth. It was angry and joyous all at the same time with a killer riff as good as Tommy Tutone could push out. 

Were they greatest band of all time? Sadly, no.

Were they a great band for their time. Absolutely. And thank goodness they had their time. 

[starkravingsad]

Om Puri

308.

That’s how many acting credits Om Puri has on iMDB. And sadly (or fortunately if you look at this from the POV that I have thankfully seen one of his films) I can only remember him as ‘Papa’ in “The Hundred Foot Journey.’

See — here is a man... an actor... who stood steadfast and strong in the shoes of his character and his belief.  And of course, there was that voice.

There was never a doubt who Papa was. And in the midst of this uncomplicated role, you only saw Papa... not Om Puri. 

That’s what a real actor is capable of doing. 

[starkravingsad]

Buddy Greco

He was from a different time with a timeless talent. There is something special about the ‘crooners’ of the 40s, 50s, 60s, and so on. Crooner... it sometimes seems like a bad word. It shouldn’t. 

And Buddy greco was one of the best. Was he as famous as his fellow friends and performers — guys like Frank and Dean and Sammy? 

No.

But they looked at him as a singer’s singer. As a musician’s musician. That’s right. He wasn’t just a voice. He was an incredible jazz pianist who was equally comfortable playing Vegas puting together TV specials with his pals. 

There was an ease to Buddy. Don’t just listen to him sing. Watch him since. It was effortless. Natural.Timeless.

[starkravingsad]

Gene Cernan

I have to admit that, until today, if you walked up to me in the street and offered me a gazillion dollars to tell you who was the last man to walk on the moon, I would be the poorer for it. 

So here you go — the last man to walk on the moon has passed away. 

I know that astronauts literally had to have the ‘right stuff.’ They were heros all. But I think if you were an astronaut in the 50s and 60s, you had to have a certain look too. And Gene Cernan had that look. An old but not old look. A handsome but not too handsome look. Maybe it was just that they looked brave... fearless... focused... daring.

Is that what that looks like?

There is not a lot of that today. Sometimes it seems like there is not a lot of need for that today. I refuse to believe that that is true but I am just putting it out there. Where have all the brave and fearless explorers gone? Oh, they’re out there. You know they are. 

I don’t know if I could ever be that fearless. Not in a last-man-on-the-moon kind of way. I certainly don’t have the look. And I don’t think I will ever be a cool trivia question either. But I’ve got time. 

[starkravingsad]

Dick Gautier

I didn’t realize this. Hymie only appeared on ‘Get Smart’ 6-times over the 4-seasons of the show.  That’s amazing... because for as much as everything about that show stood out and was incredibly memorable, so was the deadpan robot that Dick Gautier played on the Buck Henry/Mel Brooks series. 

That says a lot about the show and even more about the actor. 

I must admit that I am a little surprised that Gautier didn’t attain an even higher level of fame in his career. He seemed to have those classic leading man good looks. But that didn’t mean that he wasn’t busy. There were other shows (’When Things Were Rotten’ — another Mel Brooks show) and movies (including Canada’s ‘Copper Mountain’ starring a youngish Alan Thicke and an even younger Jim Carrey) and lots of voiceover work. ‘Richard’ was actually busier in the 80s and 90s than ‘Dick’ was in the 60s and 70s. 

Oh. And he was an artist. He ever wrote several books on how to draw charactures and cartoons. 

Talent comes in many different forms. And Dick Gautier could do a little bit of everything. 

[starkravingsad]

Larry Steinbachek

Bronski Beat was an important band in the 1980s for a lot of different reasons and for a lot of different people. Of course there's the ideas and the politics the song and the video for “Smalltown Boy” shared.

And then there was the music. 

I was never really into anything too danceable and with too much of a synthesizer sound. But it was the 80s and, to be honest, there were a lot of synthesizers.

But the energy of the song was one of the things that drew you to it.

I remember it bothered a lot of people that the song addressed the gay lifestyle. Growing up in small town in northeastern Ontario (Canada) left me feeling somewhat naive at that time so I had no real opinion or problem with that part of the story.

But the message of bullying and not allowing someone to express their ideas or live the life that they wanted to live was something everyone could relate too.

Still, in the end, it was all about the music.

And "Smalltown Boy" was a good song.

And there was something even more important that came from the release of that song... and that was the distinct sound of this band.

One of the things I fault a lot of the indie bands coming out with new music in 2017 for is that many of them have the same sound and a lot of them sound the same. (That's two different things by the way.)

But the minute you hear the quiet open chords of "Smalltown Boy," it stands out. And I think the song does have a timeless quality to it — even in 2017 — just like the stories the song shared.

[starkravingsad]

Tony Rosato

It’s a shame that a lot of people might not remember Tony Rosato. I do. Tony was part of my seminal years growing up and watching/absorbing comedy. From Second City and SCTV to Saturday Night Live, I guess I can’t blame you for possibily forgetting that Tony was part of one of the most important SNL casts featuring Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo. But he was only there for a year or two.

Tony had some rough times after that. But life in the last couple of years was better. And that makes it even more sad to lose such sweet talented soul. 

[starkravingsad]

Francine York

I loved Batman as a kid. I love Batman now. 

A couple of months ago, while my wife and daughter were out shopping, I stole the opportunity to re-watch ‘Batman - The Movie’ on Netflix. So good, it’s bad... So bad, it’s good. 

Unfortunately I can’t recall the episode(s) featuring The Bookworm. But seeing the show now reminds me of a simpler time. It makes me feel safe. 

And I loved the fact that, as a kid, I remember seeing a shot of the Batmobile’s speedometer and it only went up to 120 MPH while my Dad’s 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix could go 150.