Memorandum 2009

Not to sound too morose at the beginning of 2010, but 2009 was a tough year for people who made their living somewhere in the spotlight. I remember the big ones such as Farah Faucet, James Witmore, Karl Malden & Patrick Swayze but was saddened to hear of Roy Disney’s passing and then there were the surprises that just floored me. When did Michael Jackson die? I didn’t see anything about it in the news.

...Sorry.

Click here: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/video?id=7196799 for Channel 6 WPVI’s segment on those who are no longer with us here at the beginning of the second decade of the twenty-first century. I apologize for the advertisement that they force you to watch and for the content on this, the first blog of the New Year.

Here’s hopin’ that 2010 proves to be a better time to be a celebrity and a better time for real everyday folks like us, too.

Happy New Year, Gentle Reader!

Enter 2010

What can one say about the first decade of the twenty-first century that has not already been said? The only thing that I can come up with at such short notice is Happy New Year, Gentle Reader. It’s time for another trip around the sun!

“God bless us, everyone.” – T. Tim

“You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat.”

Roy Scheider has passed. He was 75. Here is Yahoo’s story from the Associated Press; http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080211/ap_en_mo/obit_scheider_19.

Chief Martin Brody from “Jaws” is an anchor to American cinema in my mind. Mr. Scheider along with Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw along with a young director named Spielberg struck a nerve in the world’s collective unconscious. The movies were never the same after – the blockbuster was born.

I loved his portrayal of Dr. Heywood Floyd in “2010 – The Year We Make Contact” too. I loved Arthur C. Clarke’s book “2010: Odyssey Two” and watching Mr. Scheider and Keir Dullea in their scenes together was worth the price of admission alone.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family. He was an icon of an American actor and he will be missed.