On A Pale Horse

I wasn’t a huge 60 Minutes fan. Probably because of Andy Rooney or possibly because it was the only thing on Sunday nights that my Grandpa would watch and at the time they only had the one television set and I just didn't care about the news back then. Later on in life I occasionally listened to it…some AM station broadcast it on Sunday nights, and for the life of me I can’t remember why, but I used to drive some insane amount on Sundays, to and from somewhere. Probably for some asshat I was dating at the time that didn’t have a car or who knew that I’d be willing to haul my derrière out to his place at the drop of a hat rather then wasting any of his time because I was just waiting for his call. I seem to attract these guys but that’s probably because of some deep seated attention hungry neurosis that I have from childhood. I’m trying to break this habit but so far I’m doing a piss poor job of it. And NO I’m not taking applications for this position!

ANYWAY

The long & the short of it is that one of the anchors I ending up liking was Ed Bradley. He spent 25 seasons on the long running Sunday news show starting during the 1981 – 1982 season. His career was deep seated at CBS, he started out there in 1976 as a White House correspondent. I supposed one thing that I appreciated was that he was a little different then the rest; I never quite understood the earring but hey I have my one ear pierced 13 times a lot of people don’t seem to understand that either. He did win a bunch of news broadcasting awards including a Peabody Award, three Emmy's, a Lifetime Achievement Emmy, as well as many others. I know that I, along with many others, think that he did an incredible job of interviewing Howard Stern without making Howard seem like a total deranged, perverted loser. That's worth something.

Mr Bradley passed away from complications of leukemia.

June 22, 1941 – November 9, 2006

RIP

Labels: 1941 births, 2006 November deaths, leukemia, news, television

I'm not a big crocodile fan. In fact during those 'fun' field trips to the Detroit Zoo the Holden Museum of Living Reptiles was my least favorite attraction. Those things are just a bit too squirmy for my taste. In fact the only time I touched a snake was during my freshmen year in high school when I was trying to impress a guy that I had a crush on. So not worth it - we ended up dating for about a day & a half. Seems as though his mother wasn't impressed with my musical tastes and smashed my Suicidal Tendencies tape that I leant him. But I'm going way off the subject at hand, aren't I? (Big Flipping Surprise there, huh?)

Steve Irwin was, should I say, in love with the whole the crocodile thing. His parents started the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park which Steve took over in 1991. His love for these creatures and his on air presence during guest spots on shows like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno seg wayed into his own show on Animal Plant. He just had recently decided that the ocean would be his new frontier.

Irwin was killed when he swam over a string ray and it's venomous barbs shot up to his heart. It has been determined that it was the actual puncture wound that killed Irwin rather then the venom. His death was actually caught on camera and per his daredevil mentality his family believes that the footage of his death should be made available to the public.

February 22, 1962 - September 4, 2006

RIP

Labels: 1962 births, 2006 September deaths, accident, television

I moved out of my parents house when I was 19. For a few years there I worked at a bakery so my diet consisted of bagels, donuts, left over soup and an occasional sandwich. I got HUGE. I finally wised up and quit that job and it was ramin, rice and frozen veggies there out. The Jolly Green Giant was a fixture in my freezer for a long time. It was cheap, reasonably healthy and didn't require a lot of thought when it came to meal preparation. My freezer so packed with bags and bags of frozen veggies that I swore I heard that damn "Ho Ho Ho Green Giant" jingle each and every time that I opened the door.

The guy that was the voice of the Jolly Green Giant passed away. His career didn't just involve voice work for cartoon pitchmen but he also was a singer that toured in various stage shows and showed worked on variety shows until his retirement in 1991.

Mr. Dresslar passed away from cancer.

1925 - October 25, 2005
RIP

Labels: 1925 births, 2005 October deaths, cancer, television

I was 7 years old when ‘The Muppet Movie’ was released. It was summertime, so guess where I was, when my dad called up and said he was taking me to the movies; not only was it a weeknight but my dad was coming over to see me!!! I ran over to my Aunts house, who was on the opposite side of the block screamed that I was going to the movies and that I would say ‘hi’ to the Swedish Chef, because he was my Uncles favorite Muppet. Daddy picked me up and we drove down to the theatre across the street from Eastland Mall only to purchase tickets to Superman. I sulked through the whole movie. I wanted Fozzie Bear not Kal-El.

Jim Henson was not the only man responsible for creating the Muppet empire. Jerry Juhl joined the Jim Henson Company in 1961 and was a writer for Kermit, Gonzo, et. al. from Sesame Street & Fraggle Rock right up to 1999’s ‘Muppets From Space” and won two Emmy Awards for his work.

Mr. Juhl passed away September 27th from complications from pancreatic cancer.

July 27, 1938 – September 27, 2005

Labels: 1938 births, 2005 September deaths, cancer, television

I have a thing for schmarmy guys, you know, those guys that leave an oil slick behind them when they walk, the kind of man that is crafty but a bit on the stupid side. My dating history is filled with schmucks like this and it's no wonder that some of my favorite movies include guys like this. Charles Rocket played a great schmarmy guy in movies such as Dumb & Dumber, It's Pat(i), Earth Girls are Easy and one of my all time favorites How I Got Into College. His career started in the 1970's with a stint as a Colorado newsanchor and then got his big break as the second generation of castmembers on Saturday Night Live. His claim to fame on that show was dropping the 'f' bomb on live TV (video) he was fired shortly after this uh-oh.

Mr. Claverie took his own life on October 7th by cutting his throat.

August 27, 1949 - October 7, 2005
RIP

Labels: 1949 births, 2005 October deaths, comedian, suicide, television

Back in the late 70's when I was banished to Detroit (8 Mile & Groesbeck) during summer vacation. Most of my suburbinite friends spent summers on farms or at least in quiet subdivisions, I got sent to the city to play in my Grandparent itty bitty backyard. Since there wasn't much else to do I watched a lot of TV. Gilligans Island was one of the shows that played mid morning on channel 50...it's funny how seven stranded castaways in the 60's equaled situation comedy with no residuals but in the new century it's a reality series for average citizens to milk 15 minutes of fame.

Bob Denver was best known as Willy Gilligan but before his big break he stared as Maynard G. Krebs in 'The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis' - his beatnik personna persisted even until 1988 when he was arrested for receiving a package of marijuana at his West Virgina home.

Mr. Denver passed away on September 2nd due to complications of thoat cancer treatments

January 3, 1935 - September 2, 2005 RIP little buddy.

Labels: 1935 births, 2005 September deaths, cancer, television

What few times we sat around the dinner table together we were sure to have on our little 4" black & white T.V. not to miss Walter Cronkite and the CBS news. I loved that man it seemed like he genuianely cared about world events and happenings and telling this to countless, faceless Americans glued in front of the boob-tube. But all good things come to an end, Cronkite retired in March 1981 leaving us with the frumpy Roger Mudd. Evening news wasn't that interesting anymore. That was until Peter Jennings came on to the scene. He had a clear, calming voice that made me want to listen to every word that he uttered. The nightly world news became intriging again...I wanted to listen to what was going on outside our borders. Best of all, he always seemed to have a grin on his face like he was holding back on letting everyone else in on the joke. His humor came out during his interview on Stern as well as his March 2005 guest spot on 'The Daily Show'.
In April of this year he announced to the world that he had be diagnosed with lung cancer. Ten days after his 67 birthday he passed away My deepest sympathies for his wife and two children.

July 29, 1938 - August 7, 2005
RIP

Labels: 1938 births, 2005 August deaths, cancer, news, television

When I was a my parents both worked back then so I spent A LOT of time with my Grandparents and in the days before Cable TV or Channel 20's ON there was a whole hell of a lot of TV programs that we could chose from which meant I was at the mercy of their old school tastes. There was a ton of variety shows to choose from back then: The Osmonds, my favorite, the Sonny & Cher show, One of the programs that they absolutely loved was the Lawrence Welk show...god did I hate that shit. It was too hard on the eyes - the pastels the bubbles the damn polka music with the Lawrence Welk dancers. I would rather spend my time playing Monopoly solo...but I could hear that music down the hall of their East Detroit bungalo.
Myron Floren was the main guy on the Welk show, I don't remember him though. Something about accordians makes my ears bleed. But

RIP
November 5, 1919 - July 23, 2005

Labels: 1919 births, 2005 July deaths, musician, television, undisclosed causes

Ventriloquists always kind of spooked me out...maybe it was because of that creepy Anthony Hopkins flick "Magic" that I saw as a kid. But if I was into them this guy would be my all time favorite. The name may not be familiar but his voice was. Back in the early 80's kids would either be mesmorized by the Transformers or the Smurfs...it was like some sort of evil religion that took over the youth of America. I was a Smurf-aholic. I had the stickers, the backpack, the lunch box, millions of 1-1/2" high figurines!!! I was crazy about the smurfs - they were smurf-tacular. Back then I was secretly jealous of Smurfette, she didn't belong, she came in late in the game, she was created by Gargamel as a way to infiltrate the Smurf village. THEN she got all pretty because she became 'good' (bleech) and all the boys wanted her. There's more I could rant about but that would delve deep into my neurosis and be horribly off the subject.
We didn't know Paul Winchell but we did know his voice. On the Smurfs he was the voice of Gargamel & Baby Smurf (he needed a voice?), as well as other characters such as Dick Dastardly, Winnie the Pooh's own Tigger, and countless others.

Thanks for keeping me entertained on Saturdays.

For more about Paul Winchell check out this web site

RIP
December 21, 1922 - June 24, 2005

Labels: 1922 births, 2005 June deaths, natural causes, television