Amy Winehouse Dead at 27.

Twenty-seven years old.  Wow.

Yes, I know and I'm fully aware that I've never mentioned anything about her before.  Oh, I could have, to be sure.  I could have made some disparaging remarks about all the drugs and the booze and the carousing and what all this had done to her body and how she became the shell of what she once was.  I could have...but I didn't.

Because I knew that something like this was going to happen.

The same thing that happened to Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and other such singers who were just allowed to destroy themselves without any thought or restraint.  THEN people look back and say, "oh what a tragic loss"?  Like it was something that was inevitable - something that could never have been stopped?

I could use some expletives right now and explain that no death like this is non-preventable, but that's like screaming after the train after it crashes into a car that's been sitting on the tracks for years.

I don't know about you, but I've listened to a couple of Amy's songs and thought they were good, and have you heard her "comeback" album "Rehab"?  You ought to.

As far as the rest of this post goes, let me leave you with two things: the inevitable video:



And something else: this picture:

 

Just as a reminder of what used to be.

Rest in peace, Amy.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Elizabeth Taylor Dead At 79.

Grace and elegance has left us.

While it is sad that we have lost a legend of stage and screen, it is also even sadder that the world has lost a woman who has, more than Oscars, won the hearts and souls of viewers with some movies that would be most at home on a blog such as mine.

Don't get me wrong: Elizabeth Taylor has been in some fantastic films like Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, National Velvet, A Place In The Sun, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and others. But she has also been in films life Cleopatra, Hammersmith Is Out!, Reflections In A Golden Eye, Ash Wednesday and The Only Game In Town, again, among others. And it is these films which are highest on my own personal list of memorable viewing for this fine lady.

And it's not a matter of me not liking her - not at all. I loved Elizabeth with all my heart and have watched her in lots of things - even the Carrie Fisher-penned TV Movie "These Old Broads" - which also featured Carrie's mom Debbie Reynolds.

Awkward.

But in honor of the lady, here is a clip from a fave of mine - and a perfect way to remember Elizabeth Taylor. With double-hubby Richard Burton. In the movie Boom! Yes: Boom!



Rest in peace, Lady Liz.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Michael Gough Dies At 94.

Sometimes we realize that it comes but that doesn't make it any easier when someone who was as good an actor as this one dies.

It's easy enough to remember Gough in butler suit, glasses and dour expression as Alfred Pennyworth, manservant to Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney in the early round of Batman movies. But I will always remember him as playing the serious scientific villain who is wreaking havoc with his creations and discoveries, so memorable in Hammer films like the 1962 redux of The Phantom Of The Opera and Horror of Dracula, Amicus films like The Skull and They Came From Beyond Space, even a couple of latter-day Joan Crawford chillers like Berserk and Trog.

Of course he, like any good actor, had a renaissance later in life and would come to be featured in films later on like The Boys From Brazil, Venom, The Dresser, Top Secret!, The Serpent And The Rainbow, Sleepy Hollow and even provided voices for characters in two more major Tim Burton projects The Corpse Bride and his re-imagining of Alice In Wonderland.

Is it any wonder he became a respected actor?

His special qualities of elegance, deep resonant voice and sharp demeanor will be missed, and very quickly - what does it tell you that it took Michael Caine to replace him in the new Batman movies? Yeah.

I leave you now with the best way to remember a talent like Michael Gough's: as a madman. here's Horrors Of The Black Museum.



Rest in peace, Michael.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Kenneth Mars Dead At 74.

This "death" thing is really getting old really fast, Death.

Easily one of the funniest men on the planet, Mars made me laugh effortlessly many times in movies such as The Producers (1968), Young Frankenstein, What's Up Doc?, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, Radio Days, For Keeps?, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege and I'm sure there are plenty more that will come to me as soon as I finish this posting....

And he even had the chance to provide dozens (if not hundreds) of voices for many a cartoon series and animated film - not the least of which was as his majesty King Triton in both Walt Disney's The Little Mermaid AND its subsequent TV series of the same name. He even did the voice for Grandpa Longneck in The Land Before Time series of videos. So it's not like he was never busy or at a loss of something to do with his time, that's for sure.

I guess I'll always remember him as that hyperactive Nazi-loving writer and lyricist Franz Liebkind, the man with the perpetual Stormtrooper helmet and wonky German accent. I loved The Producers (1968 version, thank you very much) and Kenneth Mars is one of the many great parts of it, God bless him.

So in memoriam, here is one of his best parts in one of his best movies ever....



Rest in peace, Kenneth.

Dope out.

- TGWD

David Friedman Dead at 87.

The man who came to embody exploitation AND over-the-top promotion has went the way of the blood feast.

Herschell Gordon Lewis' favorite producer/collaborator and the promotional genius behind what would become the "Gore" film was someone who could have kindly been called "bigger than life" when it came to how he lived, how he hawked his wares and the style of film-making he gave the world.

Of course, Lewis was the writing and directing genius who gave us such classic blood-and-guts fests as Blood Feast, Two Thousand Maniacs and Color Me Blood Red, but it was thanks to his working partner Friedman that such works found a voice and a face in the drive-in world where they became the bread and butter of the industry and laid the foundation for what would later to give the world Friday the 13ths, Halloweens, Nightmare on Elm Streets and gore flicks galore.

Friedman would move on to produce and release nudie cuties, as they were called for the ever-burgeoning sleaze market and Trader Hornee, The Erotic Adventures of Zorro and The Adult Version of Jekyll & Hyde could only benefit from his participation in them.

Surely no one could say that Friedman wasn't a showman; anyone who had the career he had doing something that not only he loved doing but was loved so much by others was a successful man in every sense of the word. We are all richer for having witnessed his effect on the movie world and poorer now for having lost him.

No better way to remember his donations to the world than to watch the original trailer for his(and fellow film-maker Herschell Gordon Lewis') biggest hit, Blood Feast.


Blood.Feast.[trailer]
Uploaded by soulpatrol. - Watch feature films and entire TV shows.

Rest in peace, David. May you huckster your way up to Heaven.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Don Kirshner Dead at 76.

You better believe God's gonna have some groovy concerts in Heaven, now that he has THE promoter to organize them now.

I remember seeing "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" way back when during the days when I was young, foolish and stayed up past my bedtime to find out what was so cool about this monotone guy and how he had the power to get all of the coolest rocking-est sounds on his show time and again.

Of course, with groups the likes of KISS, Foghat, Molly Hatchet, Black Sabbath, The Allman Brothers and others, every big act of the day wanted to be on his show and be a par of the Kirshner Experience, as it were. Not that I blame them.

But did you know that Kirshner got his big start by working in a little place called The Brill Building in New York? Up until then, he had worked with pre-stardom Bobby Darin and Connie Francis and, after that, moved into the Brill and almost immediately got involved with such names as Neil Sedaka, Carole King, created the Aldon Records label, signed on more up-and-coming names like Jan and Dean and even got involved with The Monkees. That period moved on but Kirshner became a titan as a music producer and was soon nicknamed The Man With The Golden Ear.

In spite of all his fame, he is quoted here, as concerns his Brill Building years:

"I believe that after I'm gone, my grandchildren will be whistling these tunes. Whether they know that I published them or not - they will be whistling these tunes the same as they do songs from My Fair Lady and Camelot, and these tunes will be part of American culture - they'll be used in movies and so on. Of all the legacies that I have given, personally to me it's very important that I was able to come out of the streets of Harlem, out of my dad's tailor shop, and have the ability to create an environment where this sound will be part of American and international culture forever."

Well said.

And so what better way to remember the man than with one of those acts as they performed (live, as opposed to pre-recorded like most shows usually do) on the "Rock Concert" - ladies and gentlemen, Kool and the Gang.


Kool & The Gang .Jungle Boogie [Live at Don Kirshner's]
Uploaded by capitainfunkk. - News videos hot off the press.

Rest in peace, Don.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Susannah York Dies at 72.

Proof that even Superman's mom isn't prone.

After a long battle with cancer, Susannah York has passed on, taking with her a legacy of classic films, not the least of them her role of Lara in Superman: The Movie.

However, we cannot forget that she was one of the leading ladies in British films the likes of A Man for All Seasons, Tom Jones, There Was A Crooked Man, Oh! What A Lovely War, X Y and Zee and, for the purposes of the blog, The Awakening and Yellowbeard.

Of course, it's always said that people die too soon, and it's certainly true of a woman who has had something around 100 or so roles to her credit in movies and TV. For her, however, Susannah had a luminous face, a rich voice and a talent that transcended normal acting: she WAS her roles. true enough she was never mentioned in the same breath as Meryl Streep or Helen Mirren or even Vanessa Redgrave - it's all in the breaks, I suppose. But Susannah deserved far more.

I leave you not with the clips from Superman that everyone expects, but with something a little more indicative of the talent Susannah had - the trailer for A Man For All Seasons.



Rest in peace, dear lady.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Juan Piquer Simon Dies at 74.

The greatest director of all time has been taken from us.

I absolutely and unequivocally loved and adored this man for the longest time because he was, dear reader, one of the most incredible directors ever who directed some of my absolute favorite films.

You've head me babble endlessly about Supersonic Man and its resolute perfection. I have also reviewed Slugs and found it to be above average for a flesh-eating invertebrate movie. I have yet to review Pieces (believe me, that review's coming) but you can rest assured that it will be a favorable review.

Why do I love the work of the late-lamented Mister Simon? Because he was someone who was in a class all by himself; he was a man who wasn't afraid to make his films and the people in them look as if they were hung out to dry in service to the story he was to tell. There were actors who may have looked silly; there were special effects that seemed under-achieving (or OVER-achieving in Slugs' case); there were moments in all fo his films that just screamed in the face of common sense. But I loved every one of the films I've seen helmed by Juan P. because he was a man who loved what he did and gave his all.

And I loved him for it. As did anyone who truly appreciated him.

Now, as a final tribute to the man, I present to you the absolute greatest three-plus minutes of your life: the trailer for Supersonic Man:



Here is to you, Juan Piquer Simon. May your tortured artistic soul rest in peace for eternity, forever free from the scrutiny of people who prefer all that Spielberg carpola.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Pete Postlethwaite dies at 64.

Not a good way to start the year, Death.

I remember seeing him first in James and the Giant Peach, and thought he did a wonderful job there.

Then I caught him as the big game hunter in Jurassic Park: The Lost World, not to mention as a traveling priest in Dragonheart. Good stuff.

Enough that Steven Spielberg called him the best actor in the world - what more a compliment can you get from a director than that?

It's to my own shame that I hadn't caught him in more projects than that - I am aware that he has been in such important films as In The Name of the Father and so on, but for someone as expressive and as apparently important an actor as Pete, it's all just part of a great career that ended too soon, as do all great careers.

And so, what better way to remember the man than as how any great actor should be remembered - as King Lear.



Rest in peace, Pete.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Steve Landesberg Dies at 65.

Detective Dietrich has left the precinct.

Steve Landesberg was not only one of the most unusually funny actors on the greatly funny TV series "Barney Miller", but also proved himself the real article on other shows like "The Rockford Files", "When Things Were Rotten", "On The Rocks" - all shows from my foolish misspent youth.

I even remember him doing a special on either HBO or Showtime where he played in several different blackout skits and was funny simply by the virtue of never straying too far from playing himself (even when he supposed to be Abraham Lincoln at one point).

Which makes this particular obituary a hard one to take; not only is too close to the end of the year, and not only have we lost yet another funny man, but we are now coming dangerously close to losing all of the subtle comics this world has ever had or ever will know. In fact, I think it was because of Steve Landesberg in the cast that I watched most of "Barney Miller" growing up. Not that Hal Linden or Max Gail weren't enough of a comedy powerhouse, but Landesberg was a perfect addition. Period.

Let us then remember Steve the way he was supposed to be remembered: funny.



Rest in peace, Steve.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Blake Edwards Dies at 88.

Okay, Death and I are going to have a few words on this one.

This is a tragedy for someone so funny. Blake Edwards created some of the most outstandingly funny movies ever (of which I own many), and even if they didn't do so well in terms of money, they always did gangbusters in terms of funny.

We're talking about movies like Breakfast at Tiffany's, 10, Micki + Maude, The Man Who Loved Women, Skin Deep, The Party, Victor/Victoria, The Great Race, Operation: Petticoat, S.O.B. and the always-dependable Pink Panther series.

Even A Fine Mess gave me a few laughs in spite of the fact that the rest of the world seemed to ignore it in droves. Shame on you, world - A Fine Mess was funny.

And through it all, Blake enjoyed a legacy of being a director who, in spite of highs and lows, always plugged away, doing what he loved to do. THAT'S the mark of a professional, people. Learn from that.

And it helped that he had the love of a good woman - Julie Andrews was there by his side for his last days.

But rather than mourn his passing, I choose to remember the good he did - such as in the following more-than-explanatory scenes:



Rest in Peace, Blake.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Leslie Nielsen Dead At 84.

Now this one is more difficult to take than the others this year.

For one thing, Leslie Nielsen was a living icon not only of acting from a bygone age but also for modern-day comedy, for which he has been duly noted both here and elsewhere.

The most telling thing, however, was that Nielsen made a career for himself no less than TWICE in Hollywood; once as a serious actor and yet again as the master farceur we all knew and loved in Airplane!, TV's "Police Squad!", The Naked Gun series of films, and other lesser efforts like Spy Hard, 2001: A Space Travesty, Superhero Movie and the Scary Movie sequels.

Suffice it to say, Leslie kept busy for a long time.

He will definitely be missed, and more than anything we will never see another man who could make the ridiculous plausible or the stupid funny.

And when it comes to piloting the Poseidon into eternity, there was no better a Captain than he.

So let us not remember the man in a scene from his classic, almost-forgotten, movie Project: Kill. It's a serious film, but in light of his second career, it's a close call.



Rest in peace, Leslie.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Dino De Laurentiis Dead At 91.

One of the most prolific producers of modern times has passed on.

It's amazing because, love him or hate him, Dino did a lot to give us entertainment, both good and bad. For that fact alone we should be giving unending thanks.

Especially me, since it is from a semi-steady diet of Dino-produced flicks from which I have grown up into the nice, strong, cynical movie-lover I am today.

Let us then look at some trailers for the man's product and remember just what it was about Dino that made us all love him (if perhaps not the product itself).

Eet's about-a dis beeg monkey...



Eet's about-a dis beeg shark...



Eet's about-a dis beeg buffalo...



Eet's about-a dis beeg mishandled Frankie Herbert book...



And eet's about-a dis beeg cheen.



And that's only a few of what he's done. Dino did a lot more in his career but I'll remember all the big stuff, that's for sure.

Rest in peace, Dino.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Jill Clayburgh Dies at 66.

After a 21-year battle with leukemia.

I guess I never really appreciated what a good actress she was back in the days when she was lauded for such groundbreaking films as An Unmarried Woman, Starting Over and I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can. But she had an undeniable talent and a knack for lighting up the screen whenever she was on it.

You know what, I even liked her in Gable and Lombard where, even though she tried (and failed) to convince as Carole Lombard to James Brolin's Clark Gable, she was still likable enough to make us watch.

THAT is talent. And she had a bunch of it.

Even when she had to hold her own against Burt Reynolds. Twice.

Lest anyone forget Semi-Tough....



Rest in peace, Miss C.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Simon MacCorkindale Dies at 58.

Manimal has left us.

I know that I've gone a long while and not even acknowledged the inestimable losses that have come before today.

Certainly the passing of such talents as producer Tom Mankiewicz, musician Solomon Burke, director Roy Ward Baker, Heaven's Gate UA exec Andy Albeck, THE Tony Curtis, film editor Sally Menke, actress Gloria Stuart, actor/singer Eddie Fisher, character actors extraordinaire Harold Gould and Kevin McCarthy are felt by more than a few.

...And I know I'm missing some and I'm sorry, but my point (and question) is this: Why did I feel it necessary to chime in when it came to the loss of this particular actor?

Because this was no ordinary man. Anyone why could survive THIS and still enjoy an enviable career in entertainment of over 35 years, deserves respect with a capital "R".



Rest in peace, Simon.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Glenn Shadix Dies at 58.

Sad but true; he was a very funny fella.

Most anyone worth their salt will remember Glenn as Otho, the interior designer/medium from Beetlejuice, but that certainly wasn't the only part he'll be remembered for.

Along with other memorable turns in Tim Burton projects like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Planet of the Apes, he was also featured in the movies Heathers, Dunston Check In, Multiplicity and Demolition Man.

Not bad for a guy who made his film debut in the 1981 Jack Nicholson classic The Postman Always Rings Twice.

But for millions, he will always be remembered as the self-centered, Goth-clad, down-talking Otho, crawling through windows, sneering every line of dialogue, spray-painting the word "mauve" from room to room and standing up against the likes of a ghoulish, garish Michael Keaton.

And it will be this scene that everyone will have etched in their mind once all is said and done.



Rest in peace, Glenn.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Patricia Neal dies at 84.

A grand lady of stage and screen to be sure.

Everyone remembers her Oscar-winning turn in HUD, but she was in much more. The Subject was Roses, A Face in the Crowd, The Fountainhead, even 1981's gathering of greats known as Ghost Story.

But for the purposes of this blog, we shall remember her in a film that featured everything I love: good acting, great imagery and robots.

Ladies and gentlemen, join me in remembering Miss Neal in that classic film, The Day The Earth Stood Still.



Rest in peace, Ms. Neal.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Maury Chaykin Dead at 61.

One of Canada's boys, and also one of Canada's leading character actors.

He started a career in the mid-Seventies and from there had consistent work in movies as well as television, won awards and quickly became one of those "Oh Yeah, THAT Guy" guys whom you recognize from everything he'd been in but just couldn't place his name.

And why not; he'd not only been in dozens upon dozens of conspicuously Canadian productions (The Kidnapping of the President, Nothing Personal, Mrs. Soffel, Def-Con 4) and some rightfully-regarded "big" pictures (Dances with Wolves, Twins, WarGames, My Cousin Vinny) but also some very recognizable B-movies, too (Meatballs III, Curtains, Of Unknown Origin, Cutthroat Island). All in all, quite a resume'.

And the best way I can think of to pay homage to the man is from his scene in WarGames - the "Mr. Potato Head" scene.



Rest in peace, Maury.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Dennis Hopper Dies at 74.

Maverick.

Iconoclast.

Rebel.

He was all of that and more.

For as much as everyone wants to say that legends don't come around every day, here is a perfect example of that theorem.

He may have been the poster boy for illegal drug use in the 60s and 70s, had a personality as volatile as a volcano full of pit bulls and made everybody in Hollywood just the teensiest bit nervous whenever he entered the room, but Dennis also made some legendary films (Easy Rider, Out of the Blue, Colors and, yes, The Last Movie) and gave us some legendary performances in films like Apocalypse Now, Blue Velvet, Hoosiers and Speed.

He was the legend that doesn't come around every day. He lived rough, raced through life and made everybody know he was around, and we're better for it.

Come, remember with me. (NSFW)



Godspeed, Dennis.

Dope out.

- TGWD

Ronnie James Dio Dead at 67.

Talk about the world losing a legend.

Lead singer of Rainbow, latter-day leader of Black Sabbath and an even-later incarnation known simply as Heaven and Hell, Dio also had a fair history as a single act, he had classic songs the likes of "The Last in Line" and "Holy Diver".

And the never-ending debate as to who was the best singer Black Sabbath ever had will no doubt rage on even after his death, since his and Ozzy's fans are both vehement as to their loyalties.

Whether you liked him or not, though, you have to admit: the man had a voice. And an epic sense of song-writing to match.

As if anyone out there who ever heard hard rock needed to be reminded of Dio's talent, just listen to THIS:



Rest in Peace, Mister Dio.

Dope out.

- TGWD