Just this weekend I was happily devouring episodes of The Rockford Files, Series 2, which I had remembered as having enjoyed, but conveniently so long ago that the stories were now as fresh as if they were new to me and the character created by Stephen J. Cannell (and brilliantly portrayed by James Garner) still exactly as I remembered when first encountering him as a much younger version of my old cynical self - pragmatic, funny and wise, indeed one of the first exposures I had to the truth that moral and law abiding are not necessarily the same thing at all (now one of my most treasured mantras). Coincidentally news emerged today that Garner has died.

From the Tao of Jim Rockford:

"If it looks like shit, tastes like shit and smells like shit, then it's most likely shit.
If it looks like roses, tastes like roses and smells like roses, then it's even more likely to be shit."

The world cannot afford to lose mavericks, even fictional ones.

Another good old good one gone though that happens more as one ages.  His daughter, Jennifer, is a good actress too though I was surprised to read a couple of years ago of plans to cast her as Miss Marple.  Jennifer Garner is much too glamorous to play Miss Marple and the irony of the little old lady solving the cases would be lost.  Mind you, I've read nothing about that since.  The idea was supposed to be to make Miss Marple appeal to the younger generation.  I've ranted often enough elsewhere about the modern tendency to want to change things - not always for the better - when adapting books to the small or silver screen so I'll hold my peace...Getting back to the late James Garner, I always thought the Rockford Files as a series had a believable grittiness to it (I can't remember the name but there was a series at around about the same time where the P.I. parked his - very posh - car in his living space).  That was too silly for words - think of the stink of petrol.  The Rockford Files was quirky but I for one could willingly suspend disbelief while watching the show.

One of my favourite scenes from one of my favourite films:

I was going to mention that one too, it's a favourite of mine. Like so many of his roles, as well as being hilarious, it has an essential decency that is sp appealing. And he was definitely one of the most fanciable men in an era of very fanciable men.
So soon after Efrem Zimbalist jr. as well, another candidate.

Another of The Great Escape actors, Richard Attenborough, has died now as well

James Bond villain Richard Kiel (Jaws) dies aged 74;

I never realised just how tall Richard Kiel really was until today, on BBC news, I saw this photo of him with his 2nd wife and their two children at Cannes in 1978 - I rather assumed in the films it was all down to camera angles and built-up shoes etc, but no he really was very, very tall:



According to wiki: "In his prime, Kiel stood 7 feet 1.5 inches (217 cm) tall".

Indeed, Meles, RK had a lot of roles as a giant, monster, robot etc in various films and tv shows before the Bond films. Including an alien in the "it's a cookbook" episode of the Twilight Zone.

........................................................................

News today that Shakespearean actor, Sir Donald Sinden has died aged 90. Looking up his wiki entry, Sir DS was one of only two people to attend the funeral of Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas.

Sinden in The Cruel Sea

Another "Great Escape" actor gone; Angus Lennie dies aged 84;

Oh dear, poor Lynsey, suspected brain haemorrhage at age 64;

She was younger than me - not that much but still younger.  I quite liked her - and Twinkle who I think is still in the land of the living.  I looked Twinkle up on Wikipedia and apparently she was at school with the Duchess I call Cami-Knickers (a former work colleague thought it up; I can't claim the credit).

Anita Ekberg has died. 



Only the other week I was watching War and Peace (1956) in which she played the role of Helene Kuragina. And was wondering whether or not English-language voices were dubbed over some of the continental actors featured in King Vidor's epic.

He's gone to pick a pocket or two. Ron Moody dies aged 91. Try as I might, I cannot think of him any role apart from this;

And this man, at 93:

I gather he'd like to be remembered from something other than Dracula.  But I don't suppose you can pick your memorial always.

By the way, would be possible to change the title of this thread to something more general.  Poor old James Garner has had to die a dozen times already!  I don't remember Ron Moody in anything else either.  I was reminded of him recently when reading Terry Pratchett's Dodger though - I presume the character of Solomon in this was at least in some way reminiscent of him.  But I remember a criticism of John Malkovich once which said people could only think of three of his movies - I really struggle with almost any actor to think of more than three of their films, so that didn't seem to be as damning a comment as it was intended to be in my eyes. Could I actually manage any more than 4 or 5 of Johnny Depp's? (Not counting sequels.)

I'd struggle top name any more J Depp films than I have actually watched - a grand total of zero.

nordmann wrote:

And this man, at 93:

Every newspaper in Britain had an image of Count Dracula......except the Mirror.

I'll get my coat.

Brilliant!

Patrick Macnee of The Avengers dies aged 93;

The Telegraph has a good obituary:

The Telegraph : Obituary Patrick Macnee

With some interesting anecdotes, such as that his father had been expelled from India, "for urinating off a balcony on to the heads of the Raj’s elite" and that Macnee himself had been "expelled from Eton for running a pornography and bookmaking empire".

When there is talk of people's favourite ever television series, the first one that comes to mind for me is always The Avengers.  I didn't see it when it had Honor Blackman, but watched it with Diana Rigg.  I heard that Patrick MacNee said they were just lucky that someone had the idea of using a woman when his first (male) sidekick left and it came just as the Women's Lib movement gained traction (and some notoriety), and fitted the national (and international) zeitgeist. I did also hear where MacNee, after his time in the war, disliked guns and didn't want to carry one in the series, and when asked what he would carry said an umbrella.  I don't know if that is accurate or aprocryphal.

And yet another good one has gone, has anyone ever made a better entrance?




edit: snap or should I say "grand slam"?

Omar Sharif, star of Dr Zhivago has died aged 83;

ferval wrote:

edit: snap or should I say "grand slam"?

Indeed, Ferval. He was a keen Bridge player;

I heard today he also was a keen (overkeen) gambler, and lost most of his earnings that way.  I am not sure that I can think of another movie that had quite the impact of Dr Zhivago in its day for adult audiences anyway. Those snowy scenes still seem to resonate.

Just discovered that Lou Reed died;

And his passing was marked on these hallowed boards, Trike, even by you.

I had forgotten all about it.

Saw a notice on the MSN site and jumped in without checking the dates.

No excuse

Losing the plot.

Lou Reed is worth commemorating twice anyway in my view ...



We'll take the opportunity to wish Gaile Zappa well on her astral voyaging since last Tuesday to meet up with hubby Frank somewhere out in that voiceless void ...

Colin Welland of Z cars, and screen writer of Chariots of Fire has died today aged 81;

Welland in Kes;

Tom Graveney, one of the most elegant batsmen ever (certainly the most elegant I've ever had the pleasure of watching) had died today aged 88. His elder brother, also a captain of Gloucestershire, died recently aged 90.

Cyntia Payne has died at the ripe old age of 82. Now there was a woman who added greatly to the gaiety of the nation.

In her memory, wear this:

Warren Mitchell, best known for playing Alf Garnett in Till Death Us Do Part , died on Saturday the 14th, at the age of 89;

All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu has died aged 40;

"Of your charity pray for the soul of the most high and mighty prince, our late sovereign lord King Henry the Eighth."



Australian actor Keith Michell died yesterday.

Keith's definitive career moment must surely have been this ...

Well, that was a bit of a shock;

DB's first major hit, back in 1969;

The poor presenter, Shay, on Irish radio's Risin' Time this morning was audibly shaken by the news as it broke on his watch.

My own favourite (well, one of many) ...

It seems he was battling cancer for the last 18 months, but had kept it quiet.

In the meantime http://newsthump.com/2016/01/11/music-fans-in-mourning-as-justin-bieber-tragically-confirmed-alive-and-well/

Good one, ID.

Some unfortunate newsreader on Heart FM apparently accidentally announced the death of David Cameron today too. I assume the national groan could be heard even by Bowie himself wherever he is now when she corrected herself.

Triceratops wrote:

Well, that was a bit of a shock;

DB's first major hit, back in 1969;

And this transformation by 1973, possibly my favourite Bowie track of all time

And mine.

And this




Oh I can't decide on which one now

Has the reporting - non-stop on the BBC News yesterday - been excessive? Bowie was a huge influence on us all and a great performer, but is the "mourning after" getting Diana-like?

I sent this to Priscilla this morning:

I have posted a comment about the Diana-like mourning on the RIP thread. A rather large, middle-aged woman – heavily tattooed (with Bowie images) - was on BBC Breakfast this morning. She was at the DB “shrine” in Brixton, sobbing out her grief to the cameras, declaring that her "life would never be the same again”. Can’t be doing with such “fat sighings”, as Jane Austen, in one of her crueller moments, put it. Not that weight - or tattoos - have anything to do with genuine pain, of course, but she (the distraught fan, not Jane Austen) was half-naked, presumably the better to display the art-work on her back. Just struck me as a tad undignified in the circumstances. She must have been very cold...

But judge not, which is, of course, exactly what I am doing...

We all have our adolescent moments - I certainly have them rather too often; but the grief for Bowie is really grief for our own lost youth - and fear for our own mortality. However, in this, as ever, Bowie speaks for a generation.

PS I still think the Lazarus track is brilliant.

Oh don't get me started on the fake mourning/mass hysterical breast beating and wrenching of hair in the town square Temp. One can be sad that a person one has never known has died but one cannot be in mourning or gutted or ..er devestated. And if I read one more person saying 'I feel like a part of my childhood has died' I think I shall scream. What a load of cliched bollocks, the only connection most of us had with Bowie is through his music and that will always live on, it didn't die with him so how can a part of a childhood (i.e those Bowie songs from that particular era) have died too?

Sorry, rant over.

And why does every public figure: Cameron, Corbyn, Milliband, Osborne, Archbish' Welby, and all the twittering vacuuous "celebs"... feel the need to Tweet (ghastly term) some hackneyed, insincere, cliché ? ... Do I really care what the PM's press office thinks is a suitable 20-word comment? Does anyone really think the PM believes the guff his staff have written on his behalf? ... Have all these important people really got nothing better to do?

Merely the bleatings of empty headed sheep looking for their second in the sun I tell ya MM!



Even though Camoron looks more like a stuffed pigeon than a sheep.