‘Andy Rooney, the “60 Minutes” commentator known to generations for his wry, humorous and contentious television essays – a unique genre he is credited with inventing – died Friday night in a hospital in New York City of complications following minor surgery. He was 92, and had homes in New York City, Rensselaerville, N.Y. and Rowayton, Conn.’
His last appearance on 60 Minutes was on October 2—just one month ago.
Here’s a nice writeup from his hometown of Albany, New York.
No, it’s not from a film, it’s from last night. And the grandmother was Richard Branson’s grandmother:
Ow. Much beloved sax player for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band Clarence Clemons has died:
Clarence Clemons, the saxophonist in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, whose jovial onstage manner, soul-rooted style and brotherly relationship with Mr. Springsteen made him one of rock’s most beloved sidemen, died Saturday at a hospital in Palm Beach, Fla. He was 69.
The cause was complications from a stroke, which he suffered last Sunday, said a spokeswoman for Mr. Springsteen.
From the beginnings of the E Street Band in 1972, Mr. Clemons played a central part in Mr. Springsteen’s music, complementing the group’s electric guitar and driving rhythms in songs like “Born to Run” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” with muscular, melodic saxophone hooks that echoed doo-wop, soul and early rock ’n’ roll.
Play it, Big Man. (Legendary Clemons “Jungleland” solo starts at 4:20):
Sheriff Matt Dillon has ridden out of Dodge:
It takes a special kind of lawman to carry on for 20 years in the Wild West of TV.
Matt Dillon, the mythical marshal of Dodge City, stood tall – all 6 feet, 6 inches of him – on “Gunsmoke” from 1955 to 1975. He outlasted dozens of other Western heroes while making history on TV’s longest-running dramatic series, a record that held until NBC’s “Law & Order” tied the CBS Western’s record in 2010.
Through all those gunslinging years, James Arness, who died Friday, kept Marshal Dillon righteous, peace-seeking and, most of all, believable.
The one and only Elizabeth Taylor has passed away in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 79. From the website of her hometown newspaper in London, England:
Farewell Dame Liz
SCREEN icon Dame Elizabeth Taylor, who spent her formative years in Hampstead Garden Suburb, died yesterday aged 79. The double Oscar-winning actress, whose best known films include National Velvet and Cleopatra, was one of the 20th century’s biggest stars.
The Guardian says “Born to be Cleopatra.”
The funny man from the Northwest Territories has gone to that great Airplane in the sky.
“LOS ANGELES – Leslie Nielsen, who traded in his dramatic persona for inspired bumbling as a hapless doctor in “Airplane!” and the accident-prone detective Frank Drebin in “The Naked Gun” comedies, died on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 84.
The Canadian-born actor died from complications from pneumonia at a hospital near his home at 5:34 p.m., surrounded by his wife, Barbaree, and friends, his agent John S. Kelly said in a statement.”
A moment from Lieutenant Frank Drebin:
There’s a story on NPR today about the actor Eli Wallach, whom you probably know from several films, primarily Westerns, including Sergio Leone’s 1966 classic, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, with Clint Eastwood. Here’s an image of him from that film:
Mr. Wallach is receiving an honorary Oscar this Saturday, the story says, and congratulations to him. But now to the point of this post: In doing a little research on Wallach this morning, I found a photo of him on Wikimedia Commons, from the 1956 film Baby Doll.
Does he look like Gary Oldman in this photo, or what?
Actress Lynn Redgrave has passed away at age 67:
Our beloved mother Lynn Rachel passed away peacefully after a seven-year journey with breast cancer. She lived, loved and worked harder than ever before. The endless memories she created as a mother, grandmother, writer, actor and friend will sustain us for the rest of our lives. Our entire family asks for privacy through this difficult time.
