4/07/2008
Eulogies
I don't want to bring too much gravitas and sorrow to the internet (enough of that already), but it is worth pointing people toward a few recent death notices.
The popular urban myth is that celebrities die in "3s," but this recent wave, approximately over the last month, feels like a lot worse.
Goodbye to Anthony Minghella, Arthur C. Clarke, Jules Dassin (and an associated actor, Richard Widmark), "Frosty Freeze" (a pioneering B-Boy) and Buddy Miles, and a categorically special farewell to Charlton Heston. Ruminations of Heston, both loved and hated by many, can be found here, here, and here.
My favorite Heston roles were not the biggies, but rather his turn as Cardinal Richelieu in Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974) and his masterful portrayal of Long John Silver in a made-for-TNT epic of Treasure Island (1990), to this day the best telling of that famous story.
Hopefully these artists will be appropriately examined, with remembrances, articles, DVD-reissues and general revivals of their often neglected talents.
edit - Ironically, I just learned about the recent death of another musical hero of mine. Martin Fierro was a reedsman (mainly sax and flute) who played with the Sir Douglas Quintet, The Grateful Dead, Zero, and some of the more recent wave of jam bands. He was a main member of one of my all-time favorite bands, the Jerry Garcia/Merl Saunders Band, later known as Legion of Mary. His composition "La-La" is one of my favorite pieces of music ever. His contributions to that magic era of 1973-1974 pre-fusion/freejazzy/blues will not be forgotten. Obituary and link here to his brilliant interpretation of the music of Jodorowsky's El Topo. ¶ 6:38 PM
The popular urban myth is that celebrities die in "3s," but this recent wave, approximately over the last month, feels like a lot worse.
Goodbye to Anthony Minghella, Arthur C. Clarke, Jules Dassin (and an associated actor, Richard Widmark), "Frosty Freeze" (a pioneering B-Boy) and Buddy Miles, and a categorically special farewell to Charlton Heston. Ruminations of Heston, both loved and hated by many, can be found here, here, and here.
My favorite Heston roles were not the biggies, but rather his turn as Cardinal Richelieu in Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974) and his masterful portrayal of Long John Silver in a made-for-TNT epic of Treasure Island (1990), to this day the best telling of that famous story.
Hopefully these artists will be appropriately examined, with remembrances, articles, DVD-reissues and general revivals of their often neglected talents.
edit - Ironically, I just learned about the recent death of another musical hero of mine. Martin Fierro was a reedsman (mainly sax and flute) who played with the Sir Douglas Quintet, The Grateful Dead, Zero, and some of the more recent wave of jam bands. He was a main member of one of my all-time favorite bands, the Jerry Garcia/Merl Saunders Band, later known as Legion of Mary. His composition "La-La" is one of my favorite pieces of music ever. His contributions to that magic era of 1973-1974 pre-fusion/freejazzy/blues will not be forgotten. Obituary and link here to his brilliant interpretation of the music of Jodorowsky's El Topo. ¶ 6:38 PM
