Leonard Cohen, 1934-2016, R.I.P.

Those of you who know me well probably think it's odd that I should be posting about Leonard Cohen 's death a few days after the fact. After all, I usually post a tribute to a celebrity within twenty-four hours of when I hear of his or her passing.

Well, instead of my usual type of tribute, in Mr. Cohen's case, I'm going to do something different.  I used the lyrics to one of his songs in a four-parter I wrote during the early days of this blog. I'm going to republish that story starting tomorrow, continuing through Friday, Monday, and the following Wednesday. I hope you come here  for all of it.

And as far as Mr. Cohen? We can still count on hearing his great song, "Hallelujah," whenever movies or TV have a dramatic moment....

Thanks for your time.

Robert Vaughn, 1932-2016, R.I.P.

Actor Robert Vaughn has died at the age of  eighty-three, eleven days short of his eighty-fourth birthday. An excellent obituary may be found here.

Vaughn was best known as Napoleon Solo, the "man" in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., NBC's mid-1960s spy program. Those who know me well know that I was and am a big fan of the show, having watched it in my youth. In fact, three of the first four comic book scripts I ever had published (one as writer, two as co-writer) were in Entertainment Publishing's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. comic book when we revived the series in 1987.

Even before U.N.C.L.E., Vaughn was a critically-acclaimed young actor. His second-best-known role is probably that of Lee, one of the seven in the original 1960 The Magnificent Seven.

Younger TV viewers may know Vaughn from his role of Albert Stroller in AMC's Hustle.

I often end these little tributes of mine saying that so-and-so "will be missed," but in my case that's more than true as it applies to Robert Vaughn.

Thanks for your time.

Bobby Vee, 1943-2016, R.I.P.

Pop singer Bobby Vee has died at the age of seventy-three, due to complications from Alzheimer's. He had thirty-eight Top 100 hits, and seven gold records.

Bobby Vee's career began at the age of fifteen, in early 1959, when he and his band The Shadows -- a last-minute naming -- filled in for the ill-fated Buddy Holly when Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and their pilot Roger Peterson died in a plane crash on their way to a concert. 

Vee's multiple hits -- included "Suzie Baby," "Devil or Angel," "Walkin' with My Angel," "Rubber Ball," "More Than I Can Say" (later recorded by Leo Sayer), "Take Good Care of My Baby," "Run to Him," "Sharing You," "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" (one of my personal favorites), and "Come Back When You Grow Up."

At one point, a pianist who called himself Elston Gunn (sometimes Elston Gunnn, with three Ns), toured with The Shadows. His real name was Robert Zimmerman; he later changed it to Bob Dylan. Dylan's autobiography mentions Bobby Vee and provides him with both personal and professional compliments.

And here's my favorite Bobby Vee song...

Thanks for your time.

Late to the Party

So, here I was, sitting at the computer on October 1st, wondering what I could post about.

Then I thought, what's bright and orange, and foremost in everyone's thoughts this time of year?

You guessed it...

Donald Trump's hair.

So, I wondered, has anyone else gotten the idea of making a jack o'lantern that looks like Donald Trump? And while I was typing "Trump" and "pumpkin" into the search bar, I thought "...and wouldn't it be funny to call it a Trumpkin?"

Well, great minds think alike. There were several "Trumpkins" found by doing a Google image search for "Trump" and "pumpkin," and some even used that same name.

Here are only some of the examples. Whether you're for the guy or against him, I hope you enjoy the photos.

Thanks for your time, and don't forget to vote!

John D. Loudermilk, 1934-2016, R.I.P.

If the face and/or the name don't look or sound familiar to you, I'm not really surprised. Even I didn't know how John D. Loudermilk looked until today... but I'd read his name on many a record label in my collection.

Loudermilk recorded under his own name, but he's primarily known as a songwriter for others.

In Loudermilk's long career, he not only wrote many songs, but he wrote quite a variety of songs. Some of the many hit songs he wrote were "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" (a hit for George Hamilton IV), "Ebony Eyes" (a hit for the Everly Brothers), "Indian Reservation" (most notably a hit by Paul Revere and the Raiders), "Norman," "Paper Tiger," and "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" (all hits for Sue Thompson), "Sittin' in the Balcony" (a hit for Eddie Cochran), "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" (a hit for The Casinos and Eddie Arnold), and "Tobacco Road" (a hit for the Nashville Teens)! Artists who recorded his songs included Johnny Cash, Boots Randolph, Chet Atkins, Roy Orbison, The Box Tops, Jerry Lee Lewis, Glen Campbell, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jimmy Dickens, Linda Ronstadt, Sandy Posey, Skeeter Davis, Johnny Tillotson, Tracey Ullman, Rare Earth, Dick and Dee Dee, the Blues Magoos, Lou Rawls...!!!

Loudermilk died at the age of 82. His contribution to music can't be overstated. 

Thanks for your time.

Just a Little Break...

Just a quick post to say that I'm not dead, just taking a bit of time off because I have nothing to say!

Thanks for your time!

Hugh O'Brian, 1925-2016, R.I.P.

I once posted saying that if celebrities kept dropping like flies, I should probably change the name of this blog to "Bring Out Your Dead." This year, I've posted so many tributes that that joke isn't very funny any more, if it ever was to begin with.

TV's original Wyatt Earp has died at the age of 91. Coincidentally,. I binge-watched a boxed set of selected episodes from his 1950s-1960s series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp just a few nights ago. Hugh O'Brian was terrific in the title role, in a series which was somewhat faithful to the life of the real Western lawman.

O'Brian was also responsible for the founding of HOBY (Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership), begun in 1958 and still running strong today. Its mission is "to inspire and develop our global community of youth and volunteers to a life dedicated to leadership, service and innovation." Nice to know he left us even more than a solid acting career.

Thanks for your time.