Back-to-back obituaries again. Obits are taking up a large percentage of wmtc real estate these days, yet another indication of how little I’m writing. The passing of Thomas Erdelyi this…
Two obituary posts in a row, and I didn’t even mention Tony Gwynn. My favourite cartoonist, Charles Barsotti, has died from cancer at the age of 80. My favourite Barsotti…
Ruby Dee was a towering figure in the American theatre. She was a great actor, a poet, playwright, and screenwriter, and a steadfast voice for equality. Along with the actor…
Shirley Temple and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson Growing up watching old movies, I was a big fan of Shirley Temple, whose dimples, singing, and tap-dancing charmed my parents’ generation. Temple danced…
If you care about independent film, you’ve been following the career of Philip Seymour Hoffman since the early 1990s. For a while, he was nearly ubiquitous, appearing in one brilliant…
Pete Seeger, 1919-2014Musician, Activist, Environmentalist. Socialist.
“The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices – submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not…
Lou Reed, 1942-2013Songwriter, Musician, New Yorker “One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you’re into jazz.” – Lou Reed “The first Velvet Underground album only…
A journalist, a pioneer, a feminist. An asker of questions. New York Times obituary here.
She was a great actor, a brilliant comedian, and the warm heart of one of the most memorable television shows of all time. “All in the Family” was a pioneering…
Canada lost a true hero today, someone who spent the better part of his life defending the rights and freedoms of others. From the celebration of the 25th anniversary of…
Who would have thought a movie critic could be so loved, and so missed? Of course, Roger Ebert was so much more than a critic. He was a model for…
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, July 28, 1954 – March 5, 2013.From Derrick O’Keefe at Rabble: Hugo Chavez has died — undefeated. Yes, undefeated. Chavez, no matter how many times the…
As the title says, here are some things I thought about while I was taking a blogging break.● Marvin Miller died. Miller should be a hero of both the labour…
I’ve been looking for some fitting tribute to Gore Vidal, who died last week at age 86, to post here. The internet is full of Vidal’s aphorisms and his cutting…
I’ve just learned of the untimely passing of a very funny man. Those of us old enough to remember the brilliant and subversive “The Franken and Davis Show” bits on…
A grande dame of American acting died earlier this week. Celeste Holm, New York born and bred, was best known for her Academy Award-winning performance in Gentleman’s Agreement*, her memorable…
Bluegrass legend Doc Watson is dead at age 89. He was simply a great musician, with a great gusto for life. I saw him perform at several festivals in my…
Jean Craighead George, author of some classics of children’s literature, died a few days ago. In one of those eerie coincidences that seem to happen so often, I was just…
Maurice Sendak. He will be missed, and he will always be with us.
