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Post by EdoBosnar on Jun 30, 2023 9:57:11 GMT -5
Aw, darn. I really liked Arkin.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jun 30, 2023 10:27:39 GMT -5
He was pretty good, in a relatively mediocre Pink Panther film, Inspector Clouseau, replacing Peter Sellers. The script is all over the place; but he elevated the weak stuff and went to town on the good parts and made it at least mildly entertaining.
Love The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming and I especially loved his role as the nice detective chief, in So I Married An Axe Murderer.
Arkin was also one of the early members of Second City, which evolved from the Compass Players, the first Improvisational Theater group in America.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jun 30, 2023 20:43:03 GMT -5
RIP to former NFL and CFL player and ex-WWE wrestler Darren Drzdov, aka Droz.  He played 3 seasons in the NFL (1993-1995), for the New York Jets, Phil;adelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos; plus one season in the CFL for the Montreal Alouettes. he became infamous in the NFL for vomiting on the field, live, during a Monday Night Football broadcast. In 1997, he tried pro wrestling, starting on the indie circuit, before being signed to the WWF. He was featured in the Barry Blaustein documentary film, Beyond The Mat, meeting with Vince McMahon, who told him that they had hit upon a name, based on his penchant for vomiting, calling him Puke, then having Drozdov demonstrating he could do it on command, by vomiting into a trash can, in McMahon's office. He was then put through training in their development system (not sure if it was one of Dory Funk's "Funkin' Dojos" or with Tom Pritchard, or both). He debuted as a third member of the Road Warriors, as Puke, where they eventually did an angle where Hawk, who legit had severe drug addiction issues, acted like he was suicidal and stood atop the Titantron video display (where entrance videos were shown in arenas) and Puke seemed to push him off (they faked a fall by having a board drop behind a curtain, implying that it was Hawk). He then turned heel on the other two, before it was quickly ended. Drozdov was a participant in the ill-fated Brawl For All, where wrestlers fought legit toughman-style boxing matches, to win a cash prize, which resulted in multiple injuries and loss of talent from the roster. The intent of the tournament was to showcase Dr Death Steve Williams, who had a reputation for being legit tough, but the tournament wasn't worked and he was knocked out by Bart Gunn (Mike Polchlopek), who ultimately won. On October 5, 1999, at the Nassau Colusseum, he was in a match with D'Lo Brown. They did a spot where Brown was to use his running sit-out power bomb, a move where the opponent if dropped headfirst to the mat (actually shoulder and back, with the head tucked); but, Brown had trouble controlling Droz (the name he was using, as a solo), due to a loose shirt he wore, in the ring, and brought him down on his head and neck, resulting in paralysis. Droz never regained neural functions below the neck and spent the rest of his life confined to a wheel chair. He later used an armored wheel chair, built for him by Under Armour founder Kevin Plank. For a time, he was married to WWE seamstress Julie Youngberg, but they divorced in 2005. He wrote columns and contributed to on-air discussions for various WWE videos and network content and also participated in interviews for Vice TV's Dark Side of the Ring documentary series, contributing to episodes related to the Road Warriors and the WWE Brawl For All. He was 54.  |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 12, 2023 8:00:46 GMT -5
Czech writer and political dissident Milan Kundera passed away at the age of 94. I think that his very first novel, The Joke, is as efficient as Orwell's 1984 or Animal Farm in its description of the totalitarian mindset. His reflections on mandatory speech and proper thinking, in particular, still resonate today.
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Post by foxley on Jul 12, 2023 8:08:52 GMT -5
Czech writer and political dissident Milan Kundera passed away at the age of 94. I think that his very first novel, The Joke, is as efficient as Orwell's 1984 or Animal Farm in its description of the totalitarian mindset. His reflections on mandatory speech and proper thinking, in particular, still resonate today. is one of those books I've always intended to read, but never got round to it. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 12, 2023 11:30:35 GMT -5
Of course, Kundera's most notable work, internationally, was The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jul 12, 2023 14:47:34 GMT -5
Hmm, Kundera's passing is another case of someone I didn't realize was still alive until this point.
I've only read two of his books, Unbearable Lightness of Being and The Farewell Party (also translated, more correctly, as Farewell Waltz), neither of which set my world on fire, although I'll acknowledge that both are thought-provoking at least.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 13, 2023 9:46:48 GMT -5
Barring a miracle, R.I.P. to Anchor Brewing in San Francisco. Founded in 1896 Anchor was, arguably, the original craft brewer until it was purchased by Sapporo, which is really when it died to me. I remember a time when Anchor was one of a few tiny oases in a vast desert of megabrewery swill. I'm pretty sure that Anchor Porter was the first true porter that I ever drank.  |
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Post by tartanphantom on Jul 13, 2023 9:52:35 GMT -5
Barring a miracle, R.I.P. to Anchor Brewing in San Francisco. Founded in 1896 Anchor was, arguably, the original craft brewer until it was purchased by Sapporo, which is really when it died to me. I remember a time when Anchor was one of a few tiny oases in a vast desert of megabrewery swill. I'm pretty sure that Anchor Porter was the first true porter that I ever drank. Anchor Porter was a great beer. I also loved their annual Christmas ales, which varied from year to year. A couple of times they brewed them with spruce needles, which was actually better than it sounds. I was also partial to the Old Foghorn barley wine. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 13, 2023 10:21:14 GMT -5
Barring a miracle, R.I.P. to Anchor Brewing in San Francisco. Founded in 1896 Anchor was, arguably, the original craft brewer until it was purchased by Sapporo, which is really when it died to me. I remember a time when Anchor was one of a few tiny oases in a vast desert of megabrewery swill. I'm pretty sure that Anchor Porter was the first true porter that I ever drank. Anchor Porter was a great beer. I also loved their annual Christmas ales, which varied from year to year. A couple of times they brewed them with spruce needles, which was actually better than it sounds. I was also partial to the Old Foghorn barley wine. They just did good solid beer for a lot of years. And that blue anchor was a beacon when the beer section of the store was 95% variations of Budweiser, Coors and Miller. I was pretty distressed then they sold out to Sapporo (same with Stone Brewing), but it was still comforting they were around. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 14, 2023 20:34:53 GMT -5
RIP to British actor and possible very distant relative John Nettleton, of Yes Minister fame...  Nettleton played Sir Arnold Robinson, the Cabinet Secretary, in Yes, Minister, then retires and made guest appearances in the series update, Yes, Prime Minister, as Sir Humphrey's mentor and head of the Campaign For Freedom of Information (how else to ensure that government information is not revealed to the public?). He was a character actor who made appearances in The Avengers, The Champions, The New Statesman, Upstairs, Downstairs; Doctor at Large, Longitude, Midsomer Murders and Doctor Who. On screen, he was seen in A Man For All Seasons, American Friends, and Some Will, Some Won't. We share the same surname; but, much like actress Lois Nettleton, I doubt we were related. The name is geographical and comes from the village of Nettleton, in Lincolnshire (though John Nettleton was born in Lewisham.) Still, you didn't often come across it, in film and tv credits. |
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Post by foxley on Jul 16, 2023 8:09:23 GMT -5
RIP to actress and singer Jane Birkin who has passed away at the age of 76.
Birkin is probably best known for her collaboration with her 2nd husband Serge Gainsbourg (her first husband was the James Bond composer John Barry), especially on the film Je t'aime moi non plus, and the accompanying song of the same title, which was considered so sexy that it was banned by many radio stations.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 21, 2023 8:05:51 GMT -5
Tony Bennet dead at 96
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 21, 2023 9:09:46 GMT -5
R. I. P. Bennett was a constant through not just my lifetime, but through most of my parents' lives as well. Mom absolutely loved his version of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." He was a master of phrasing and the type of showman we may never see again. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 21, 2023 10:15:43 GMT -5
Not everyone knew that Bennett had a connection to comic books: he was the only one of his circle of high school friends who didn't go on to become a comic book pro!
Cei-U! I lower the flag!
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