John Prine Is In His Heaven

John Prine hit the road yesterday.

During the news of his hospitalization, there was a moment when he stabilized. I know I felt like maybe he could recover and one day resume his career, as he had heroically done a few times in the past, after bouts with cancer. But he succumbed to complications from COVID-19 and passed on April 7th, in Nashville. He was 73.

(Links to:)

- An obituary at Rolling Stone.

- A John Prine tribute at Esquire.com

So now we can wish him bon voyage, and stop worrying about his health. 

Prine himself worked to set our minds at ease on that score. 

Having had ample opportunity to face his own mortality, that wily John Prine had already crafted his plan. He shared it with us in his song 'When I Get To Heaven'...

➚ Via YouTube, John Prine performing 'When I Get To Heaven', from an episode of Austin City Limits that premiered  in October of 2018.

The studio version of the song was released on his final album, 'The Tree of Forgiveness' in April of 2018.

Thanks for sharing, John!
Thanks for all the music and light.
I know I'll miss knowing you're around, but I'm happy to know that you're out there enjoying yourself.






All of us are given the opportunity to build our own versions of heaven.
Whatever heaven each of us chooses.
We don't have to wait until our deaths to start enjoying it.
Have you started building yours? Look again.
Maybe you have and didn't realize - -?

"When I Get To Heaven"

When I get to heaven, I'm gonna shake God's hand

Thank him for more blessings than one man can stand

Then I'm gonna get a guitar and start a rock-n-roll band

Check into a swell hotel, ain't the afterlife grand?

And then I'm gonna get a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale

Yeah, I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long

I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl

'Cause this old man is goin' to town

Then as God as my witness, I'm gettin' back into show business

I'm gonna open up a nightclub called "The Tree of Forgiveness"

And forgive everybody ever done me any harm

Well, I might even invite a few choice critics, those syph'litic parasitics

Buy 'em a pint of Smithwick's and smother 'em with my charm

'Cause then I'm gonna get a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale

Yeah I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long

I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl

Yeah this old man is goin' to town

Yeah when I get to heaven, I'm gonna take that wristwatch off my arm

What are you gonna do with time after you've bought the farm?

And then I'm gonna go find my mom and dad, and good old brother Doug

Well I bet him and cousin Jackie are still cuttin' up a rug

I wanna see all my mama's sisters, 'cause that's where all the love starts

I miss 'em all like crazy, bless their little hearts

And I always will remember these words my daddy said

He said, "Buddy, when you're dead, you're a dead pecker-head"

I hope to prove him wrong... that is, when I get to heaven

'Cause I'm gonna have a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale

Yeah I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long

I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl

Yeah this old man is goin' to town

Yeah this old man is goin' to town

Source: AZLyrics
Songwriters: John E. Prine
When I Get to Heaven lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing

No More Maury Chaykin (1949 - 2010)

Character actor Maury Chaykin passes away on his birthday, in Toronto, at age 61.

- Read his obituary at CBC News.













Bye-Bye, 'That Guy'...

It was a pleasure to have drawn a bead on you over the course of many years and many memorable film and TV roles.

Your performances were so often beautifully larger-than-life,
even if the part was small.

- - Or perhaps, especially.

So sorry to see it cut short. Darn.








- Learn more about
Maury Chaykin at Wikipedia and IMDb.

Arnold Stang, 1918 - 2009

Upon the recent news of his death at age 91, a moment please to celebrate the life and career of character actor and voice artist Arnold Stang.

A small round-up of links from the web:

- A New York Times obituary.

- A wonderful, rambling profile posted in 2007 at WFMU's Beware of the Blog.

- A remembrance, showbiz anecdotes and an old 'Herman and Katnip' cartoon at
Mark Evanier's News From Me.

- Click over to Flickr for
LORAC!'s Arnold Stang photoset.
Publicity shots, advertising, record covers, etc. A great collection.

- Mr. Stang's screen credits listed at IMDb.

- An entry at TV Party includes a RealPlayer clip from an unsold late-'50s TV pilot for 'The Arnold Stang Show'.


- The 1960 kiddie record 'Arnold Stang's Waggish Tales' found him telling the tales of Peter and The Wolf and Ferdinand the Bull with orchestral accompaniment.

As of this writing, the LP may be heard via
Do You Speak English ?

A World Without Lou Jacobi?!? (1913 - 2009)

Another obit.

Actor Lou Jacobi has left this world, at age 95.

That's a good long run.

- Follow link to his obituary from The New York Times.

Five decades spent in showbiz.
Numerous appearances on stage, screen, TV - - and I'll wager that there is not one production among them that was not greatly improved by his presence.

Even just the sound of his distinctive voice - - I have fond memories of hearing him in the ensemble cast of some of Booker & Foster's silly comedy albums, like 'When You're In Love, The Whole World Is Jewish', or in the role of band leader Al Tijuana. ▶

- Click over to the 'Tijuana Brass Sound' box set post at WFMU's Beware of The Blog and you'll find numerous Al Tijuana cuts sprinkled throughout the available mp3s.

(At the very least, take a listen to the adaptation of
'Peter Gunn'.)

So:
A World Without Lou Jacobi In It?

Impossible to contemplate.

No thank you, I reject the notion.

His listing at IMDb tells me that it has been fifteen years since Lou Jacobi's last film credit, but I've enjoyed watching him on several occasions during that time.

I also see in that long list at IMDb that there are still many of his performances waiting for me in films I've not yet seen.

Thank you for everything Mr. Jacobi, I look forward to seeing you again soon.

- A YouTube clip embedded below: ▼

From 1971, a juicy Jacobi scene from Jules Feiffer's 'Little Murders', directed by Alan Arkin.

Jacobi plays the judge, reacting to news from engaged couple Marcia Rodd & Elliott Gould that they plan to omit God from their wedding vows...

This week's Double Bummer; Ricardo's gone, McGoohan too.

It's sad to have lost two charismatic fan-favorite actors this week.

It's sad and it's a shame that it's been their fate to have news of their passings lumped together more often than not, but that seems to be the way these things always go.

You can also be pretty sure that the headline in each of their obituaries will more often than not attempt to 'sum up' a long career with a catch-phrase or reference to just one of many roles they played in long and varied careers. Another shame.

The good news is that both of these actors leave behind ample evidence of a body of work that we all can enjoy for years to come. There's still much to revisit and to discover.

Thank you gentlemen, each of you, for a job well done.



















Ricardo Montalbán, 1920 - 2009.

- An obituary. (follow links)



















































- Ricardo sings!
Click over to YouTube for a 'tribute' video that includes Mr. Montalbán performing
'Chihuahua Choo Choo' as its soundtrack.

Originally the song had been featured in a 1955 stage revue, 'That's Life'.
It was written by the Oscar-winning songwriting team of composer Jay Livingston and
lyricist Ray Evans, whose credits included 'Mona Lisa', 'Buttons And Bows', 'Silver Bells', 'Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)', and others.
Ricardo's recording first appeared on a 1957 LP, 'Premiere: The Top Motion Picture Stars of Hollywood Make Their Record Debut', arranged by Bob Thompson.



















Patrick McGoohan, 1928 - 2009.

- An obituary (follow links)































- Follow link to YouTube for a film trailer to the 1962 drama 'All Night Long', an 'Othello' update featuring
Patrick McGoohan as a scheming
Jazz drummer...

Let's remember Eartha Kitt (1927 - 2008)

Today's news of Eartha Kitt's passing has helped to put a bit of a damper on this Christmas, except that it gives an opportunity to look over a few highlights of the career of this charismatic singer/actress.

Thanks Ms. Kitt, for all that you gave us.

She was 81, and remained busy through most of her long career.

Her final performance was just last month, and according to an obituary in The Independent, that Chicago appearance was taped for a PBS special about Kitt's career that is scheduled to air this upcoming Februrary.





Reading obituaries and online bios and her Wikipedia entry will give you a general overview of
Eartha Kitt's life, so what I've rounded up here are just a few additional links and images that are worth noting...


(Click on images to ENLARGE in a new window)

Lots of Eartha's music can be heard at Last.fm, including most if not all the tracks from the albums 'Miss Kitt to You', and '...in Person at the Plaza, and 'The Best of Eartha Kitt. (Follow links)

Likewise, a wealth of Eartha Kitt video clips are available at YouTube:
- Performing 'My Heart Belongs To Daddy', one of several excerpts from a 1957 live TV appearance on Nat King Cole's show.

- Film excerpts of Eartha and co-star
Sammy Davis, Jr. in the movie trailer and 'mambo fantasy' sequence from 1959's
'Anna Lucasta'.

- An odd bit of British newsreel footage from 1960; 'Eartha Kitt Keeps Fit'- - A work-out in preparation for 'Talk Of The Town', her successful London stage revue that year.




Below ▼, from Swedish television in 1962, reprising 'I Want To Be Evil', one of her biggest mid-1950's hit songs.



Like the several other 1962 clips from Sweden's 'Kaskad' program, any disconcerting elements via the in-studio lip-synching are more than made up for by creative camera angles and Ms. Kitt's stage presence.

- An infamous bit of controversy surrounded Eartha Kitt in
January, 1968 when she was one of many women invited to the White House by Lady Bird Johnson to discuss the problems of juvenile delinquency in America.

Kitt caused a stir when she spoke up and declared that American youth was rebelling against the war in Vietnam.

It was the first time that anyone had spoken out against the war at a White House function.

It upset the First Lady, and brought Eartha Kitt lots of bad press and the wrath of LBJ.

She was effectively blacklisted in the US for several years, during which time she performed abroad.

There's a good accounting of the events in a posting at the blog Undercover Black Man.
(Follow link)







Below ▼, a 1970 TV performance of 'Let's Do It'...



More video...
- A 1981 TV interview with concert footage.

- A more recent cable TV interview on the Skip E. Lowe Show, and performing
'Here's To Life' in 1992 on 'The Whoopi Goldberg Show'.

...and two text pieces:
- A 2001 interview with OutSmart magazine, and 'Still in the Limelight, on Her Own Terms', a 2006 interview from The New York Times.

Below ▼, as a club diva in 1986. The video for 'This Is My Life' includes several pieces of vintage footage from earlier in Eartha's career...

Forrest J Ackerman is still dead

(Reposted from 'Brief Window')






Dang it.

Legendary science-fiction fan and memorabilia collector Forrest J Ackerman passed away a few weeks back, but I didn't find out about it until now!

I knew that Ackerman had been ill and not expected to recover, but somehow I feel bad that I missed hearing of his death on December 4th, at the age of 92.

Our beloved 'Uncle Forry' was a pioneer in the world of sci-fi fandom.
Among other achievements, he 'discovered' author Ray Bradbury and coined the phrase
'sci-fi'.

The magazine he founded, 'Famous Monsters of Filmland', figured prominently in the 'perfectly maladjusted' upbringing of many happy nerds of my generation, and the tales of his guided tours of the vast collection of cool stuff in his 'Ackermansion' in L.A. totally rocked.

Forrest J Ackerman is gone. He was unique, and he will be missed.

- Follow links to to a couple of obits; at the
Los Angeles Times, and Time magazine.

- Check out a gallery of 'Famous Monsters' magazine covers at Mad-Monsters.Com

Goodbye to Bettie Page (1923 - 2008)

(Reposted from 'Video Cabinet in Limbo')

1950s pin-up queen Bettie Page died yesterday, December 12th, at the age of 85.

There are plenty of places to see her racy photos and read about her career and her mystique, and I urge you to click around the web and take a peek
- - especially if you're not that familiar with her.

There's also much that's been written about her that tries to define her particular allure.

I think the vintage 'dance' footage below typifies the quality she had for transmitting a sex appeal that wasn't lascivious, but wasn't really about innocence, either.
Maybe just the joy of 'pretend' or 'play'?

In these 'striptease' films, Bettie looks gorgeous, but her dance moves are just downright silly (Was she self-taught?), and for the most part seem to have very little correlation to sexiness - - and maybe that's what makes them - - and her - - so fascinating.

I suppose that the video clips below are NSFW, but gosh, are they tame by today's standards...





(NOTE: Please leave a comment if you discover dead video links. Thanks.)

Paul Benedict (1938 - 2008)

(Reposted from 'Brief Window')

American character actor
Paul Benedict passed away last week at his home in Martha's Vineyard. He was 70.

Though best remembered for the role of Mr. Bentley, the wacky British neighbor on the TV sitcom
'The Jeffersons' in the 1970s and '80s, his career began in the early 1960's and took him from stage to film and television, sometimes as a director.

Looking back on 'Mr. Bentley', a point of interest was how little that role showed of Benedict's range in the choices he made throughout so much of his film career.

It's always a treat to see him show up in some small part in some curious old film. If Bentley is most of what you remember of Benedict, examples of other appearances are often surprising.

See also:
- An obituary from The Los Angeles Times.

- 'Goodbye Paul Benedict, and Thank You'; a nice remembrance posted at the Film Threat Blog, that includes video clips of Benedict's performance opposite Richard Dreyfuss in Neil Simon's
'The Goodbye Girl' in 1977.

Below, ▼ some examples of Paul Benedict's other best-remembered role (at least for certain folks of a certain age); a few video clips of the recurring 'Mad Painter' segments from 'Sesame Street'.

Many of them first aired around 1972, and several featured a young Stockard Channing as co-star to Benedict.

Reasons To Be Cheerful: week of 11/14/08

(This is a compiled repost of items culled from my soon-to-be-extinct subsidiary blog, 'Brief Window')

1. Celebrating the life of Miriam Makeba.






Miriam Makeba passed away this week,
at age 76.

The legendary South African singer / social activist collapsed suddenly, immediately after a concert performance in Southern Italy.

Follow links to obituaries for her from the
Associated Press and Times Online.

Click over to You Tube to see video of Miriam Makeba in performance, or to Last.fm
to hear some of her music.


2. Tony Dow sez: “Having something shown at the Louvre is about as good as you can get”

'Gee Wally, d'you really think so?'



Have you heard the exciting news?

Former child-star Tony Dow, now 63, the quintessential big brother of the classic TV sitcom 'Leave It To Beaver', has a sculpture that will be on display next month at the Louvre.

His abstract bronze figure,
'Unarmed Warrior' has been named as part of a juried group of pieces that will be shown in the historic Paris museum from December 11th - 14th as part of the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts exhibition.

- Read more about the details of this story from the Associated Press or at the Los Angeles Times site.

It's so very tempting to poke fun at this story - -
as in, 'Finally! The Louvre is getting smart about building a reputation for itself!'

- - But really, it seems like any light-hearted joking about
'Wally Cleaver, the bigshot artist' takes second-place to the simple thought;

'Think how excited Tony Dow must be right now'.

Dow has pursued many professional careers outside of acting in his life, and has been painting, woodworking, and sculpting for many years.

- You can see more of his bronze works at the website for the Karen Lynne Gallery in Beverly Hills.















3. Just now tumbled to
'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'

Okay, by now it's old news to many who are
up-to-date on just this sort of thing, but if
- - like me - - you've been cruising along unaware of the online musical super-hero film
'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog', you may want to click over now and check it out. Big fun!

'Buffy' auteur Joss Whedon is behind the
action-comedy-romance, initially intended for internet-only distribution.

Neil Patrick Harris is perfectly cast as an
'up & coming' super-villain out to prove himself, who is also harboring a secret crush on the girl he's seen at the laundromat.

The musical numbers are well suited to NPH's Stephen Sondheim credentials.

After a few months of advance promotion, the 43-minute film premiered online in July of 2008, initially serialized into three separate acts.

This charming little movie benefits from its low budget, and is also an interesting experiment in crafty distribution.

Follow the link to the Wikipedia entry to learn more of the story behind the movie, and about its creators and cast.

Currently it streams for free at Hulu. Go watch it!

You can also watch 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog' at the official website, where there's lots of other background material, links to soundtrack downloads, and info about the soon-to-be-released DVD edition, which is said to include lots of extras, including singing commentary - - ?