Entries Tagged 'People' ↓

Comedian Dick Martin, one half of the popular late-1960’s television comedy show “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, has died. He was 86.

To baby boomers, Laugh-In was a marked departure from the staid variety shows favored by our parents. It was a run and shoot offensive assault of gags, one-liners and short skits with a young cast and a counter-culture bent that appealed to younger audiences, changed the television landscape and gave rise to later shows like Saturday Night Live.

Martin, the funny man, and his straight man sidekick Dan Rowan were ringmasters of the circus, that aired on NBC for four seasons. Following the show’s cancellation, Martin began a 30 year career as a director of television sitcoms, including two of friend Bob Newhart’s series.

Actor Tristan Wilds, who captivated television audiences as street tough yet compassionate Michael Lee on seasons four and five of the hit HBO series, The Wire, has landed the male lead in the CW’s “Beverly Hills, 90210″ spinoff.

The show centers on the Mills, a three-generation Beverly Hills family whose teen kids, daughter Annie (Shenae Grimes) and adopted son Dixon (Wilds) attend West Beverly Hills High.

Also joining the cast is Michael Steger (The Winner), who will play Navid, producer of the school’s closed-circuit newscast and a consummate student politician.

Since wrapping production on The Wire early this year, Wilds, a 19-year-old Staten Island, New York native, has appeared in two films yet to be released, Indelible and The Secret Life of Bees.

Related article: West Baltimore vs. West Beverly, Newark Star-Ledger

Barack Obama’s national address on the state of race relations in America was a shrewd move to undercut the backlash stemming from comments made by his minister Jeremiah Wright, but also seems to have taken the wind out of the sails of the Hillary Clinton campaign, which has repeatedly injected racial (if not downright racist) undertones to their criticism of him. The question I have is, when will Hillary give her address on race issues? Why was it necessary for Obama to repudiate Rev. Wright when Hillary has so reluctantly distanced herself from racist statements coming from her camp? Why is it Black people always have to take on the responsibility of educating the rest of society on race?

And if we’re going to have a real discussion about race relations in this country, why don’t we begin with the arrival of Europeans in North America. The White man killed off Indians by the thousands, stole their land, put whomever was left on reservations, and created a system of laws and governments to justify it all. If we aren’t capable of talking about the basic injustices relevant to the formation of this country, then any other conversation on race is just an academic exercise.

New York’s state government seems to be settling down after a week and a half of sex-tinged controversy. First, former Governor Eliot Spitzer resigns in shame after his involvement in a high-end prostitution came to light. Now this week, his replacement, the new Governor David Paterson and his wife Michelle Paige Paterson both admit to having had extramarital affairs during a rocky period in their marriage. While some people want to get their noses out of joint over the mere suggestion of sexual impropriety, let me say first the latter scenario is nothing like the former.

Eliot Spitzer’s greatest offense was hypocrisy and infidelity. The self-proclaimed corruption fighter who was going to clean up Albany, forgot to start with his own closet. But the Patersons had a difficult phase in their relationship, which they’ve both acknowledged to one another. Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce and one of the top reasons is sexual incompatibility. Someone isn’t satisfied and starts looking outside the marriage. To their credit, David and Michelle Paterson are working to address the problems in their relationship. To our knowledge, Spitzer never told his wife Silda he was paying for callgirls.

In theatre news, a revival of August Wilson’s Fences is headed for Broadway. The play won four Tonys and a Pulitzer Prize during its original 1987 run. While it is great to see Wilson’s work get more exposure, is he destined to be, even in death, the only Black playwright able to get produced on Broadway? Producers need to know there are other Black writers out there.

As I like to do at the end of every year, here are some of the people we said goodbye to in 2007. (With great appreciation to the New York Times for the comprehensive list.)

January

Vincent Sardi Jr., 91, famed Broadway restaurateur, owner of the landmark theater district hangout bearing his name.

Yvonne De Carlo, 84, played Lily on “The Munsters.”

Carlo Ponti, 94, film producer.

Alice Coltrane, 69, jazz pianist, spiritual leader and wife of John Coltrane.

Michael Brecker, 57, prolific jazz saxophonist.

Art Buchwald, 81, newspaper humorist.

Denny Doherty, 66, Mamas and Papas singer.

E. Howard Hunt, 88, agent who organized Watergate break-in during the Nixon administration.

Father Robert Drinan, 86, anti-war Congressman.

February

Molly Ivins, 62, Texas political columnist.

Sidney Sheldon, 89, stage and screenwriter, author of steamy novels, producer of “I Dream of Jeannie.”

Barbara McNair, 72, actress, singer and television personality.

Anna Nicole Smith, 39, famous for being famous.

Hank Bauer, 84, World Series star.

Ray Evans, 92, lyricist of hit songs from movies.

Joseph E. Gallo, 87, winemaker who left the family empire to build his own cheese business.

Dennis Johnson, 52, N.B.A. defensive wizard who played 14 seasons with three teams and took two to championships.

March

Arthur Schlesinger, 89, historian of power.

Thomas F. Eagleton, 77, George McGovern’s running mate for 18 days.

Betty Hutton, 86, film star of ’40s and ’50s.

Ernie Ladd, 68, hall of famer in football and pro wrestling.

Bowie Kuhn, 80, former baseball commissioner, during the onset of the free agent era.

Calvert DeForest, 85, Larry (Bud) Melman on “Letterman.”

April

Eddie Robinson, 88, legendary head football coach at Grambling for more than 55 years.

Barry Nelson, 86, Broadway and film actor.

Roscoe Lee Browne, 81, actor of stage and screen.

Kurt Vonnegut, 84, novelist who caught the imagination of his age.

Don Ho, 76, entertainer who defined the Hawaiian image.

Kitty Carlisle Hart, 96, actress, singer and arts advocate.

David Halberstam, 73, Vietnam reporter and author.

Boris N. Yeltsin, 76, first freely elected leader of Russia.

Jack Valenti, 85, confidant to presidents Kennedy and Johnson and head of the Motion Picture Association of America.

May

Tom Poston, 85, comic actor on stage, screen and television, famous for work on “The Steve Allen Show” and “Newhart.”

Tommy Newsom, 78, jazz saxophonist and arranger, member of Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” orchestra.

Walter M. Schirra Jr., 84, one of the Original 7 Mercury astronauts.

Jerry Falwell, 73, mixed religion and conservative politics.

Charles Nelson Reilly, 76, Tony-winning comic actor, later known for appearing on popular tv game shows. One of the first openly gay performers to grace the airwaves.

June

Clete Boyer, 70, Yankee third baseman on five consecutive pennant winning teams in the 1960’s.

Jim Clark, 84, segregationist sheriff in Selma, Alabama in the 1950’s and ‘60’s who violently defended Jim Crow laws.

Don Herbert, 89, television’s “Mr. Wizard” to science buffs.

Kurt Waldheim, 88, former U.N. chief.

Liz Claiborne, 78, designer who founded a fashion empire.

Joel Siegel, 63, longtime ABC movie critic.

July

Beverly Sills, 78, opera singer, arts administrator and all-American diva, she made opera accessible to the masses.

Lady Bird Johnson, 94, wife of President Lyndon Baines Johnson, who described her as “the brains and money of this family”.

Tammy Faye Bakker, 65, emotive televangelist, who along with husband Jim, was the original host of “The 700 Club”.

Ingmar Bergman, 89, Swedish filmmaker considered one of the greatest directors of all time.

Tom Snyder, 71, pioneer of late-night television.

Bill Walsh, 75, coached the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl Championships and invented the West Coast Offense.

August

Merv Griffin, 82, nightclub singer who became a television innovator and producer of “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune”.

Phil Rizzuto, 89, Hall of Fame Yankees shortstop turned broadcaster who spent 53 years with the organization. Beloved by New York sports fans.

Max Roach, 83, master of modern jazz, he reinvented drumming.

Carolyn Goodman, 91, civil rights champion and mother of Andrew Goodman, who along with James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi in 1964..

Michael Deaver, 69, shaped President Ronald Reagan’s image and worked the puppet strings throughout his administration.

Leona Helmsley, 87, hotel queen who gained notoriety for her nasty treatment of employees.

Butch van Breda Kolff, 84, fiery basketball coach.

Richard Jewell, 44, mistakenly accused in the Atlanta Olympic bombing in 1996, the episode would ruin his life.

September

Luciano Pavarotti, 71, leading operatic tenor of his generation.

Miyoshi Umeki, 78, first Asian performer to win an Oscar in her first Hollywood film “Sayonara” in 1957.

Jane Wyman, 90, star of film and TV, she was the first wife of President Ronald Reagan.

Joe Zawinul, 75, jazz fusion pioneer.

Marcel Marceau, 84, renowned mime.

October

Al Oerter, 71, Olympic discus champion.

George Grizzard, 79, actor noted for performing in the plays of Edward Albee.

Joey Bishop, 89, comedian and television performer, he was the last surviving member of Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack.

Adm. William Crowe, 82, led Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Reagan Administration.

Deborah Kerr, 86, actress of Hollywood’s golden age who’s sultry role in the film “From Here to Eternity” changed her on-screen persona.

Robert Goulet, 73, actor and singer, he played Lancelot in the original Broadway production of “Camelot.”

November

Paul W. Tibbets Jr., 92, pilot of Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in the final days of World War II.

Norman Mailer, 84, towering writer with matching ego who burst on the scene in 1948 with the book “The Naked and The Dead.”

Ian Smith, 88, defiant white leader of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) who once proclaimed white rule in Africa would endure 1,000 years.

Sean Taylor, 24, Washington Redskins safety, on his way to a Pro Bowl season before being murdered in his own home by burglars.

Bill Willis, 86, guard with the Cleveland Browns, who helped break the color barrier in pro football in 1946.

Henry J. Hyde, 83, powerful House Republican who led impeachment of Clinton.

Roger B. Smith, 82, led General Motors in turbulent times, subject of Michael Moore’s documentary “Roger & Me”.

Evel Knievel, 69, legendary daredevil and last of a breed of exhibitionists who performed seemingly for the shear thrill of it.

December

Ike Turner, 76, R&B singer and former husband of Tina Turner, whose talents as a musician were eclipsed by his reputation as an abusive spouse.

Dan Fogelberg, 56, soft-rock star in the 70s.

Michael Kidd, choreographer for Broadway and Hollywood.

Oscar Peterson, 82, jazz’s piano virtuoso. 

Benazir Bhutto, 54, former prime minister of Pakistan.

Oscar Peterson with Ella Fitzgerald singing “More Than You Know” in 1980.

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