The only thing more terrifying than being stuck on a roller coaster, is being stuck at the highest part of the ride. And the only thing more terrifying than that is if it happens to be one of those coasters where you’re hanging down from a harness, leaving nothing but 98-feet of free-fall space between you and the ground.
Read the rest here.
Posted in News
For those of you who learned math, grammar, history and civic on the ABC Saturday morning program “Schoolhouse Rock!”, you can thank Bob Dorough. Bob passed away April 23, 2018 at the age of 94. I guess he was ready.
My personal favorite:
https://youtu.be/n3pb73onvK8
Thanks, Bob!
Posted in Because I Can, News
Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018)
Actor R. Lee Ermey has passed away at the age of 74 after battling pneumonia. His manager Bill Rogin made the announcement on the actor’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
It is with deep sadness that I regret to inform you all that R. Lee Ermey (“The Gunny”) passed away this morning from complications of pneumonia. He will be greatly missed by all of us. It is a terrible loss that nobody was prepared for. He has meant so much to so many people. And, it is extremely difficult to truly quantify all of the great things this man has selflessly done for, and on behalf of, our many men and women in uniform. He has also contributed many iconic and indelible characters on film that will live on forever. Gunnery Sergeant Hartman of Full Metal Jacket fame was a hard and principled man. The real R. Lee Ermey was a family man, and a kind and gentle soul. He was generous to everyone around him. And, he especially cared deeply for others in need.
There is a quote made famous in Full Metal Jacket. It’s actually the Riflemen’s Creed. “This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.”
There are many Gunny’s, but this one was OURS. And, we will honor his memory with hope and kindness. Please support your men and women in uniform. That’s what he wanted most of all.
Semper Fi, Gunny. Godspeed.
The Kansas native was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his memorable performance in “Full Metal Jacket,” immortalizing lines like “What is your major malfunction?” He also voiced the little green army man Sarge in the “Toy Story” films and played a helicopter pilot in “Apocalypse Now,” among many other roles.
Rogin says that while his characters were often hard and principled, the real Ermey was a family man and a kind and gentle soul who supported the men and women who serve.
Ermey, who was well known for his acting roles as characters in the U.S. military, served in the United States Marine Corps for 11 years. The actor rose to Staff Sargeant and was given honorary rank by the Marine Corps as Gunnery Sergeant, according to IMDb.
“The Gunny” served in Vietnam and Japan, committing to 14 months during the Vietnam War. Most recently, he was a voice actor in the videogame “Disney Magic Kingdown” in 2016 as well as “The Simpsons” in 2015. IMDb says he has over 120 credits as an actor of some capacity.
The Hollywood Reporter says Ermey took acting classes in order to learn his craft. After taking the courses, he starred as a pilot in the 1979 movie “Apocalypse Now” before landing the 1987 well-known movie “Full Metal Jacket.” He was originally brought on to advise the eventual actor on the movie but was given the role himself because of his performance.
“I’d say fifty percent of Lee’s dialogue, specifically the insult stuff, came from Lee. You see, in the course of hiring the marine recruits, we interviewed hundreds of guys,” director Stanley Kubrick said in a 1987 interview with Rolling Stone. “We lined them all up and did an improvisation of the first meeting with the drill instructor. They didn’t know what he was going to say, and we could see how they reacted. Lee came up with, I don’t know, 150 pages of insults.”
Posted in News, The Big Screen
Harry Anderson (October 14, 1952 – April 16, 2018)
Harry Laverne Anderson (October 14, 1952 – April 16, 2018) was an American actor and magician. He is best known for the role of Judge Harry Stone on the 1984–92 television series Night Court. In addition to eight appearances on Saturday Night Live between 1981 and 1985, Anderson had a recurring guest role as con man Harry “The Hat” Gittes on Cheers, toured extensively as a magician, and did several magic/comedy shows for broadcast, including Harry Anderson’s Sideshow (1987).
Posted in News, The Little Screen (Television)
Stephen Hawking (January 8, 1942 – March 14, 2018)
Stephen William Hawking CH CBE FRS FRSA was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge. His scientific works included a collaboration with Roger Penrose on gravitational singularity theorems in the framework of general relativity and the theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation, often called Hawking radiation. Hawking was the first to set out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He was a vigorous supporter of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.
Hawking was an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. In 2002, Hawking was ranked number 25 in the BBC’s poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. He was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge between 1979 and 2009 and achieved commercial success with works of popular science in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general. His book, A Brief History of Time, appeared on the British Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.
Hawking had a rare early-onset slow-progressing form of motor neurone disease (also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Lou Gehrig’s disease), that gradually paralysed him over the decades. Even after the loss of his speech, he was still able to communicate through a speech-generating device, initially through use of a hand-held switch, and eventually by using a single cheek muscle. He died on 14 March 2018 at the age of 76.
Posted in Because I Can, News
Mort Walker, creator of “Beetle Bailey” has passed away at age 94. Comics Kingdom has a great write up on Mort here.
Ursula K. Le Guin died today at 88. The author of the Earthsea novels, The Left Hand of Darkness and many others, she was and remains among the brightest stars in the sky of fantasy literature.
Ray Thomas, a founding member of British rock group The Moody Blues, has died at 76, months before the band is due to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Jerry McCord Van Dyke (July 27, 1931 – January 5, 2018)
Jerry Van Dyke was an American comedian and actor, as well as the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke.
He made his television acting debut on The Dick Van Dyke Show with several guest appearances as Rob Petrie’s brother, Stacey. Later in his career from 1989 to 1997, he portrayed Luther Van Dam on the ABC sitcom Coach.
Posted in Humor, News, The Little Screen (Television)
Rose Marie Mazetta (August 15, 1923 – December 28, 2017)
Rose Marie, best known for her role as Sally Rogers on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” who had a nine-decade career in show business, died Thursday in Van Nuys, Calif. She was 94.
Publicist Harlan Boll confirmed her death.
Rose Marie was Emmy nominated three times for her work on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” in which she played part of the writing team, led by Van Dyke’s Rob Petrie, for the fictional “Alan Brady Show.” The actress began a five-season stint as Sally Rogers in 1960.
The recent documentary “Wait For Your Laugh” by director Jason Wise chronicled her long career. Late in life she enjoyed communicating with her fans on social media. Her official account tweeted just a few hours before her death about playing the Flamingo in Las Vegas.
Decades earlier, she had been a child singing star under the name Baby Rose Marie. She began her career at 3, starring in her own show on NBC radio by the age of 5, cutting records and appearing in vaudeville, in shorts including 1929’s “Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder” and in Paramount’s 1933 feature “International House” with W.C. Fields.
Variety founder Sime Silverman himself mentioned Rose Marie in its pages for “The Child Wonder,” writing, “Though but a kidlet, she seemed to have an idea of her own.”
Later, as a teenager, she became a nightclub singer before returning to radio as a comedienne.
In the early 1950s Rose Marie appeared on television variety shows as a singer and dancer, and she returned to the bigscreen in 1954, starring opposite Phil Silvers in “Top Banana,” an adaptation of Silvers’ Broadway show about a TV comedian.
The actress recurred on “The Bob Cummings Show” as Martha in 1958-59, and she was a series regular on a brief TV adaptation of “My Sister Eileen.” After “The Dick Van Dyke Show” she guested on a variety of TV shows, including “The Monkees” and “My Three Sons,” and she recurred on “The Doris Day Show.”
During the 1960s she also appeared onstage in “Bye Bye Birdie” and in a pair of features, starring opposite her “Van Dyke” co-star Morey Amsterdam in “Don’t Worry, We’ll Think of a Title,” and appearing in “Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round,” starring James Coburn.
Rose Marie made a steady stream of TV appearances from the early 1970s until the early 2000s, appearing, for example, on “Adam-12” and “Kojak”; recurring as Hilda the sandwich delivery lady on “S.W.A.T.”; appearing repeatedly in different roles on “The Love Boat”; guesting on “Cagney and Lacey” and “Murphy Brown”; appearing as a series regular on the brief 1994 sports comedy “Hardball”; and guesting on “Caroline in the City” (with Amsterdam), “Wings” and “Suddenly, Susan.” She was also a semi-regular on “Hollywood Squares” in the 1980s and ’90s.
Onstage, she starred with Rosemary Clooney, Helen O’Connell and Margaret Whiting in the musical revue “4 Girls 4,” which toured the U.S. and made television appearances for several years beginning in 1977.
In the 2000s she appeared in another comedienne’s HBO special, “Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales,” and returned to the “Van Dyke” fold for Carl Reiner’s animated “The Alan Brady Show” and for 2004’s “The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited.”
Rose Marie Mazetta was born in New York City. She was married to trumpeter Bobby Guy from 1946 until his death in 1964.
She is survived by a daughter, Georgiana Marie “Noopy” and her son-in-law Steven Rodrigues. Donations may be made to Thrive and Heaven Helper’s Rescue.
Posted in Because I Can, News, The Big Screen, The Little Screen (Television)
AC/DC co-founder and guitarist Malcolm Young has died after battling dementia for several years, the band announced Saturday. He was 64.
Young died at home with his family at this bedside, the band said in a statement.
Young, along with his brother Angus, founded the legendary rock band in 1975 in Australia.
“Renowned for his musical prowess Malcolm was a songwriter, guitarist, performer, producer and visionary who inspired many,” the statement said. “From the outset, he knew what he wanted to achieve and, along with his younger brother, took to the world stage giving their all at every show. Nothing less would do for their fans.”
Young played rhythm guitar to Angus’ lead, and his driving riffs and mop-top hair were signatures of the band’s sound and image for decades.
Posted in Because I Can, Music, News
Lonnie Melvin “Mel” Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017)
Country Music Hall of Fame member Mel Tillis died on Sunday (Nov. 19) at the Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala, Florida. He was 85. The suspected cause of death is respiratory failure, according to his publicist, Don Murry Grubbs.
Despite his many distinctions as a performer, songwriter, actor and music publisher, Tillis was most identified with his stuttering, a speech impediment from childhood that he transformed into a comic bonanza.
Lonnie Melvin Tillis was born Aug. 8, 1932, in Tampa. By his account, he began stuttering when he was 3 years old, following a bout with malaria. His early attraction to music led him to learn to play guitar and violin while still a teenager. He also played drums in his high school band. While serving in the Air Force from 1951 to 1955, he played in a country band called the Westerners.
In 1956, Tillis made his first pilgrimage to Nashville, hoping to secure a recording contract. When that effort failed, he returned briefly to Florida and turned his attention to songwriting. Here success came quicker. Webb Pierce scored a No. 3 single in 1957 with “I’m Tired,” a song Tillis co-wrote with Buck Peddy and Ray Price.
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Tillis
Posted in Because I Can, Music, News
Antoine “Fats” Domino, Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017)
“You made me cry / When you said goodbye,” he sang in the opening line of “Ain’t That A Shame,” his 1955 hit that spent 11 weeks at the top of Billboard’s R&B charts, and went to No. 10 on the Hot 100 pop chart. “Ain’t that a shame / My tears fell like rain.”
Although the words were downhearted, the spirit of the song was undeniably up. The implicit message: He may have experienced heartbreak, but he wasn’t about to let that take him down.
Like Chuck Berry, who was born a little more than a year before Fats came into the world on Feb. 26, 1928, Domino was nearly a decade older than Presley and Lewis and several other first-generation rockers. That meant that to many teens of the ’50s, he came across more like a genial uncle than a peer or an object of romantic infatuation.
But “Fats” was among the first acts inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and was reportedly only second to Presley in record sales thanks to a titanic string of 11 top 10 hits between 1955 and 1960.
Rocker Tom Petty died Monday after being rushed to a Los Angeles hospital, according to Tony Dimitriades, longtime manager of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Dimitriades confirmed Petty’s death on behalf of the performer’s family.
He was 66.
“He suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived. He died peacefully at 8:40pm PT surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends,” Dimitriades said in a statement.
Tom Petty (October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017)
With his nasally voice and chiming guitar, Petty and his longtime band, the Heartbreakers, churned out an instantly recognizable brand of sturdy, heartland rock that made them a classic-radio staple for decades. Petty, along with the band, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
Monty Hall (August 25, 1921 – September 30, 2017)
Monty Hall, best known as the cheerful and friendly host of the game show ‘Let’s Make a Deal,’ died Saturday morning in Los Angeles, his daughter Sharon Hall said.
Posted in Gaming, News, The Little Screen (Television)
What needs to be said?
Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017)
Hefner died at his home in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, on September 27, 2017, at the age of 91. His ashes will be buried in the crypt beside Marilyn Monroe. “Spending eternity next to Marilyn is an opportunity too sweet to pass up,” Hefner told the Los Angeles Times in 2009.
Posted in Because I Can, News
Eddy Montgomery (L)and Troy Gentry (R), of Montgomery Gentry
Troy Gentry, of the country duo Montgomery Gentry, was killed in a New Jersey helicopter crash Friday just before the group was set to perform. He was 50.
Posted in Because I Can, Music, News
Don Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017)
Don Williams, the Country Music Hall of Fame member whose imposing height and warm, reassuring voice earned him the nickname “Gentle Giant,” died Friday, September 8th after a short illness. An internationally popular country star, Williams recorded dozens of hit songs, including “Tulsa Time,” “Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good” and “It Must Be Love.” He was 78.
Posted in Because I Can, Music, News
Adam West (September 19, 1928 – June 9, 2017)
Adam West, (born William West Anderson) the ardent actor who managed to keep his tongue in cheek while wearing the iconic cowl of the Caped Crusader on the classic 1960s series Batman, has died. He was 88.
West, who was at the pinnacle of pop culture after Batman debuted in January 1966, only to see his career fall victim to typecasting after the ABC show flamed out, died Friday night in Los Angeles after a short battle with leukemia, a family spokesperson said.
West died peacefully surrounded by his family and is survived by his wife Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Batman debuted at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 12, 1966, a Wednesday. The cliffhanger episode would be resolved the very next night — Same Bat-time! Same Bat-channel!
The series, filmed in eye-popping bright colors in an era of black-and-white and featuring a revolving set of villains like the Riddler (Frank Gorshin), Joker (Cesar Romero), Penguin (Burgess Meredith) and Catwoman (Julie Newmar), was an immediate hit; the Thursday installment was No. 5 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1965-66 season, and the Wednesday edition was No. 10.
Posted in Because I Can, News, The Big Screen, The Little Screen (Television)
Don Rickles
(May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017)
Posted in Because I Can, News, The Big Screen, The Little Screen (Television)
