Category: RIP

RIP – Denny O’Neil

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Denny O’Neil died yesterday at his home after a long illness.  Mr. O’Neil was 81.  Denny O’Neil was a comic book writer, editor, teacher, novelist and screenwriter for television and movie projects. 

Mr. O’Neil is often credited with steering Batman from the cartoonish character of earlier comics and the television series to a more serious creature of the night.  It was also O’Neil who wrote the classic, award-winning Green Lantern / Green Arrow issues that proved comics could shine a spotlight on issues of the day and still entertain.  He revitalized The Question for DC comics.  He served as a mentor and editor to Frank Miller on Daredevil.  He wrote the famous Superman vs Muhammad Ali comic.  He did all of these things and so much more.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Denny O’Neil’s family, friends and fans.

RIP: Jerry Stiller

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Jerry Stiller died today from natural causes.  He was 92.  Most folks know Jerry Stiller as the father of either Ben Stiller, George Costanza .  Ben is, of course, Mr. Stiller’s real-life son and George was his son on Seinfeld.  Others may recognize Jerry Stiller as Arthur Spooner, Carrie Heffernan’s dad on The King of Queens.

I first knew Jerry Stiller as one half of the comedy team Stiller and Meara.  You’ve probably figured out that he made up the Stiller half of the duo, but did you know his wife, Ann Meara, made up the other 50%?  I can’t tell you how many times I saw them turn up on The Ed Sullivan Show and other variety series.  I enjoyed their humorous routines. It was (and still is) unusual to see a husband and wife comedy team.  Especially one that lasts over 60 years.

Mr. Stiller’s resume contains 115 acting credits but it was his roles on Seinfeld and The King of Queens that I’ll remember best.  Often Jerry Stiller got the biggest laughs and considering the talent involved that’s saying a lot.  From all accounts Jerry Stiller was a humble, giving man and one that made everything he appeared in better.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.

RIP: Robert Conrad

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Robert Conrad died today at age 84.  Conrad best known for acting was also a singer, writer and director.  Although he starred in feature films, it was Conrad’s television roles that made him a star.  First with Hawaiian Eye, then his biggest hit, The Wild, Wild West and later The D.A., Black Sheep Squadron, A Man Called Sloane and High Mountain Rangers.

But it was The Wild, Wild West that Conrad’s fans loved the most.  Perfectly cast as James West who partnered with Artemus Gordon (played by Ross Martin, also perfectly cast) as spies in the old west.  The show ran for four seasons and was still doing well in the ratings when it was cancelled by CBS in an effort to reduce network violence.  The Wild, Wild West was so popular in re-runs that two tv movies were made over a decade later.

Conrad was a member of the Stuntman’s Hall of Fame and winner of the Distinguished Service Award in Broadcasting.

On a personal note, the death of Robert Conrad is heartbreaking.   I can’t tell you how many times I pretended to be James West as a kid or how many times I’ve watched each episode of The Wild, Wild West.  It’s still set to be recorded daily on my dvr (and I own the complete series on dvd).  A huge piece of my childhood died with him.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Robert Conrad’s family, friends and fans.

RIP: Kevin Conway

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Kevin Conway, the multi-talented actor who appeared in movies, on television and the stage died Wednesday, February 5th of a heart attack.

I first became aware of Mr. Conway when I saw him in back-to-back Sylvester Stallone films.  First up was FIST where Conway played Vince Doyle, a local mobster who provides Johnny Kovak (Stallone) with some “muscle” against the trucking company’s strike breakers.  A few months later Conway and Stallone appeared together again, this time in Paradise Alley.  Conway was a small town gangster but this time he and Stallone were adversaries.

What I didn’t know at the time was that Conway had already made appearances on Broadway, television and films!  Conway was still acting in movies and television as well as doing voice work for commercials, trailers and documentaries up until his death at age 77.   Some of Conway’s best known roles include his work in Mystic River, The Quick and the Dead, 13 Days and Gettysburg.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Kevin Conway’s family, friends and fans.

RIP – Kirk Douglas

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Kirk Douglas died today at the age of 103.  His son, Michael Douglas posted (in part):

“It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103,” son Michael Douglas wrote on his Instagram account. “To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the Golden Age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to.”

Kirk Douglas was an actor, a director, a producer and writer.  He was always the coolest guy in the room.  Douglas made movies that he believed in, not always taking the roles that paid the most or had the best chance for box-office appeal.  It didn’t matter if Douglas played a hero or villain, he had audience appeal.  Douglas was a three-time Oscar nominee for Best Actor and received an Honorary Oscar in 1996.

Some of my favorite Kirk Douglas movies include: Spartacus; Out of the Past; Detective Story; Along the Great Divide; The War Wagon (thanks to memories of watching it with my Grandpa) and Oscar (with Sly Stallone.  Years earlier, Douglas was set to star as Col. Troutman in First Blood but it didn’t work out.).

Kirk Douglas was indeed a living legend.  103 years is a long life and Douglas lived it to the fullest.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, his friends and his fans.

RIP – Shawn Surface

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I just learned that my buddy Shawn Surface has died of a massive heart attack.  Shawn’s brother Paul posted the news on Facebook a few hours ago.  I’m saddened and surprised.  Shawn had been in poor health for a few years, but his recent posts had been positive and it seemed Shawn was doing better.

Comic fans in Florida will probably remember Shawn from his appearances at conventions throughout the state.  Shawn was always smiling and upbeat.  He was a fun guy to talk with and his art always had a joy to it.  Shawn is probably best known for his art on Bubba the Redneck Werewolf, a comic series turned into a low-budget film.  Surface was also planning a creator-owned series of his own called Mandi.

Over the years I commissioned Shawn to do pieces for my Stallone-themed sketch collection.  You can see several of them here if you’re inclined to do so.

Shawn died way too young.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to Shawn’s family, friends and fans.

RIP – Robert Forster

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Robert Forster, the actor best known for his Academy Award nominated role in Jackie Brown has passed away at the age of 78 from brain cancer.

Forster was one of those rare actors who made everything in was in better.  I first became aware of Forster in the tv series Banyon.  I liked him better than the show and often that seemed to be the case.  The same could be said for his appearances in Reflections in a Golden Eye; The Black Hole; Alligator; The Delta Force; and so many more.

Forster was quoted in a 2018 interview with the Chicago Tribune…

“My career went like this for five years and then like that for 27. Every time it reached a lower level I thought I could tolerate, it dropped some more, and then some more. Near the end I had no agent, no manager, no lawyer, no nothing. I was taking whatever fell through the cracks.”

But Forster hung in taking whatever parts he could that would pay the bills.

Quentin Tarantino was a fan and had Forster audition for Reservoir Dogs. Ultimately Tarantino gave the part to Lawrence Tierney, but had another idea for Forster.  And that was the male lead in Jackie Brown.  Forster was nominated for an Academy Award and that restarted his career.  Better roles continued, and Forster worked until his death — having two films, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Story and Phil coming out in 2019.

I loved Forster’s acting and his attitude about life.  As he told this interviewer…

“You gotta be ready… Accept all things that give you a good attitude.  Deliver excellence right now… And never quit. You can win it in the late innings if you don’t quit.”

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Robert Forster’s family, friends and fans.

Eddie Money – RIP

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Eddie Money has passed away at age 70.  Money was a singer/songwriter best known for his hits Baby Hold On, Two Tickets to Paradise, Shakin’, Think I’m in Love,  Take Me Home Tonight and my personal favorite, Maybe I’m a Fool.  His hits bring back great memories of good times.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.

RIP – Franco Columbu

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Franco Columbu died yesterday of an unspecified illness.  He was 78.

Columbu was a boxer, weightlifter, bodybuilding champion, actor and chiropractor.  Franco met Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1960s and they became lifelong friends, with Columbu serving as Arnold’s best man when he married Maria Shriver in 1986.  Columbu is a two-time Mr. Olympia Bodybuilding Champion.  He also appeared in Stay Hungry, Pumping Iron, The Terminator, Conan the Barbarian, The Running Man, Big Top Pee-wee, as well as other movies and television shows.  In addition, Franco trained many celebrities (including helping Sly Stallone get in shape for Rambo and other films).

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Franco Columbu’s family, friends and fans.

RIP – Rutger Hauer

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It was announced that Rutger Hauer died on July 19th at his home in Beetsterzwaag  in the Netherlands after a short undisclosed illness. Hauer was 75.

Hauer has well over 150 acting credits.  He got his start co-starring in Nighthawks, playing a terrorist opposite Sylvester Stallone.  Hauer is best known for his role as the android hunted by Harrison Ford in Blade Runner.  Rutger also had memorable roles in Ladyhawke, The Hitcher, Sin City and so many other films/tv series.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ruger Hauer’s family, friends and fans. 

RIP – Stephen Verona

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Stephen Verona died on Saturday after a year and a half long battle with lung cancer.  Readers of this site probably know Verona best as the Producer, Co-Writer and Director of Lords of Flatbush, but Verona was much more than that.

Verona got his start creating commercials.  He met and became friends with John Lennon which led to Verona getting to animate the Beatles song I Feel Fine.  Next came a music short with Barbara Streisand.  He went on to work with Natalie Cole, Chicago, Simon & Garfunkel and many others.

Verona was a screenwriter, an award-winning  director of feature films, television episodes and specials, an  an award-winning painter and photographer.  A renaissance man, indeed.

The Hollywood Reporter posted that “When Stallone learned that Verona was ill, he sent him an email saying that his career would not have been the same without him.”  The same could be said for many other celebrities.

Had Stephen Verona only been known as the talent behind Lords of Flatbush, it would have been worth noting here, but I hope fans know he was so much more.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Stephen Verona’s family, friends and fans.

RIP – Bart Starr

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Bart Starr, the Hall of Fame quarterback has died at the age of 85.  Mr. Starr had been in failing health since 2014 when he suffered a heart attack and two strokes. 

Starr was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 1977 after playing for 16 years as a Green Bay Packer, leading them to five NFL Championships and victories in the first two Super Bowls.  Personal awards include being picked four times for Pro-Bowl, two times as an All Pro, being selected as the 1966 NFL Most Valuable Player, the Most Valuable Player for the first two Super Bowls and selected to the All Decade Team for the 1960s.  The NFL also named an award after him.  The Bart Starr Award is given out annually to a player of outstanding character.  The Green Bay Packers retired Starr’s jersey in 1973 (as just the third player to ever receive that honor).  What a legacy!

I have always been a Chicago Bears fan, but also a Bart Starr fan.  I can remember watching Starr dive into the end zone for the winning touchdown with just seconds remaining in the NFL Championship game in 1967!  When we played football, all of the kids wanted to be Bart Starr when quarterbacking (myself included — even if he wasn’t a Bear).  And could there have been a cooler name for a NFL quarterback than Bart Starr?

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Starr’s family, friends and fans.

Larry Cohen – RIP

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Larry Cohen, the writer – director – producer who made his mark in television and feature films, has died at the age of 77.

I first became aware of Mr. Cohen when he wrote and directed the low-budget horror cult classic It’s Alive.  After that I saw Cohen’s name pop-up from time to time but it wasn’t until Cohen’s adaption of Mickey Spillane’s I, the Jury that I really began to take notice.

Cohen’s I, the Jury, directed by Richard T. Heffron starred Armand Assante as Mike Hammer.  That film really hit a sweet-spot for me.  As I learned more about the people behind the making of the film I discovered that Cohen had created two television series that I loved as a kid: Branded and The Invaders!

Cohen broke into the business writing for television creating scripts for The Fugitive, The Rat Patrol, Custer (3 shows I loved as a kid) and many other series.  He went on to create Branded and The Invaders.  Cohen’s tv work led to theatrical films where he wrote and directed Black Caesar, Hell Up in Harlem, Q and others.

Had Cohen just been known for Branded or The Invaders or I, the Jury, his impact on my youth would have warranted a mention here, but to think that he did those and so much more…

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Larry Cohen’s family, friends and fans.

Jan-Michael Vincent: RIP

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It was reported today that Jan-Michael Vincent died on February 10th of cardiac arrest in Asheville, North Carolina.  Vincent was 74 and hadn’t acted in nearly two decades due to battles with drugs and alcohol and the results of two car crashes (1996 and 2008) that left him with damaged vocal cords and an amputated leg.  It was a sad end to a career that started with such promise.

I first took notice of Jan-Michael Vincent when he appeared as Link in the Danger Island segments of The Banana Splits.  Vincent then had the starring role in the TV movie The Tribe.  A couple of years later Vincent co-starred with Charles Bronson in the theatrical release The Mechanic.  He followed that up with a starring role as The World’s Greatest Athlete from Disney.

With his good looks and easy manner, Vincent was on the verge of a long career starring in theatrical films.  Sadly, it just wasn’t to be.  Still Vincent had a strong presence and starred or co-starred in films such as Baby Blue Marine, White Line Fever, Big Wednesday and Hooper (with Burt Reynolds).  His best known television projects included The Winds of War mini-series and a starring role in the tv series Airwolfe.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jan-Michael Vincent’s family, friends and fans.

Peter Tork – R.I.P.

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Peter Tork died today after a long battle with cancer at the age of 77.

Born Peter Thorkelson on February 13, 1942, Peter was, of course, better known as Peter Tork a member of The Monkees.

The Monkees [Peter, along with Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz, and Michael Nesmith] took the world by storm in 1966.  The group was hand-picked by Screen Gems in an effort to create a tv show about a group of young musicians.  Lightning struck and the group not only had a hit tv series but became one of the biggest selling bands of the 60’s.  In 1967, The Monkees sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined.  The Monkees even appeared in a feature film called Head that was co-written by Jack Nicholson!

I was a huge Monkees fan like many kids my age [7].  I collected their albums, trading cards, comic books and magazines.  I had a model of The Monkeemobile.  I even followed The Monkees after Peter, then later Mike, quit the band.  Sadly, I never got to see them perform live when they reunited for several reunion tours.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Peter’s family, friends and fans.