Category: RIP

R.I.P. Roger Ebert

Posted on by

Roger Ebert, arguably the most popular movie reviewer of our time, and unarguably the first film critic to win a Pulitzer prize, passed away today after a long battle with cancer.

Just two days ago Mr. Ebert had posted that he was taking a Leave of Presence from his role as film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.  While Mr. Ebert was stepping away due to his health and treatments for the cancer that had returned, he was far from retiring.  Mr. Ebert spoke about more movie reviews and writing he planned to do, a redesigned website, and digital presence as well a Roger Ebert video game or app.

So it was a surprise to learn that today Roger Ebert passed on.

Of course it wouldn’t have surprised him.  As Mr. Ebert wrote in his piece, I Do Not Fear Death:

I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear…

R.I.P. Roger Ebert.

R.I.P. – R.B. Greaves

Posted on by

I just learned that R.B. Greaves passed away on September 27, 2012 at the age of 67. 

R.B. Greaves was best known for his million selling hit, “Take a Letter Maria” which was released in 1969.  He followed up a year later with a cover of “Always Something There to Remind Me” which peaked at 27 on Billboard’s Hot 100.  His cover of “A Whiter Shade of Pale” reached 87 the same year. 

“Take a Letter Maria” ended up selling over 2 million copies and was the first 45 I ever bought.  I loved that song (and still do) and every time I hear it, it takes me back to my childhood.

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



R.I.P. Neil Armstrong

Posted on by

Neil Armstrong, the first human to step foot on the moon, died today at the age of 82 from “complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.”  In a statement released by his family, Mr. Armstrong was described “as a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend, and also as “a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job.”

Neil Armstrong was part of the historic three man crew [Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins] that took humans to the moon for the first time.  On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first to step foot on the moon saying it was “a small step for man, a giant leap for mankind.”  Despite the opportunity that being the first person to accomplish such a historic feat provided, Mr. Armstrong remained humble and rarely stepped into the public spotlight.

Most times that you come by this blog, you’ll find me writing about fictional heroes.  Today’s post is about a true hero.

Rest in Peace, Neil Armstrong.

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

RIP Tony Scott

Posted on by

Tony Scott died yesterday at the age of 68.  It has been reported that Mr. Scott had inoperable brain cancer and that was the reason he committed suicide by jumping from a bridge.

Tony Scott became a name director with Top Gun and then went on to direct hit after hit including: Beverly Hills Cop II, Revenge [under-rated!], Days of Thunder, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide and Man on Fire.

RIP Tony Scott.  Our thoughts and prayers are with your family, friends and fans.


Sage Stallone – Rest in Peace

Posted on by

Sage Stallone has died. At this point the cause is unclear. Sage was 36.

Sage made his movie debut acting with Sly in Rocky V. Six years later they appeared together on screen in Daylight. Sage was an actor, director, producer, business man and musician. Long time StalloneZone readers know that Sage would contact us from time to time and even shared a personal photo of his mom and dad taken in 1971.

Sage appreciated his fans and was always kind and gracious in our interactions.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans. Rest in Peace, Sage.


Andy Griffith – R.I.P.

Posted on by

Andy Griffith passed away this morning at the age of 86.

Most of us know Mr. Griffith from his role as Andy Taylor, the sheriff of the fictional town of Mayberry.  The classic series was of course, “The Andy Griffith Show,” one of only three shows [along with “I Love Lucy” and “Seinfeld”]  to ever end their run while on top.

I can’t tell you how many I hours I spent watching “The Andy Griffith Show” … my guess is that you can’t either.  (Well, if you can, tell me, how many hours did I spend watching it?)

What was always refreshing to hear was that Andy Griffith was just as nice in real life as he was on tv.  Mark Evanier wrote a great tribute which confirmed that Andy Griffith was just as caring and smart and nice as Andy Taylor.  Seems fitting, doesn’t it?

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

Donna Summer R.I.P.

Posted on by

Donna Summer passed away today after an extended battle with lung cancer.  Ms. Summer was 63. 

Donna Summer was known as the Queen of Disco and rightly so.  She rose to fame in the 1970’s and helped lead a generation into the disco craze.  In 1975, she co-wrote and performed her first hit, Love to Love You Baby which shot up the charts.  Hit after hit followed. 

Ms. Summer had 19 number one hits on the dance charts.  She was the first female singer to have four number one singles in a 13 month period, had three consecutive double LPs to hit #1 on the charts, and she won five Grammys. Donna Summer’s music helped define the Disco era.

I always liked Donna Summer’s music.  I can remember being in Camelot Music the first time I heard her sing, Love to Love You, Baby.  The song came on and she started singing and I was hooked… along with a generation of music lovers.

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



Davy Jones: R.I.P.

Posted on by

Davy Jones died today from an apparent heart attack at the age of 66.

Davy Jones was, of course, a member of The Monkees.  Davy was the first Monkee to be chosen due to his years of showbiz experience. It’s a little known fact that Davy Jones appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show the same night as The Beatles made their historic appearance… Davy was there performing with the Broadway cast of Oliver!

The Monkees [Davy Jones, along with Mickey Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork] 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 and like many kids my age [7], Davy was my favorite Monkee.  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.  I was always happy to see Davy pop up on tv [“Love American Style”, “The Brady Bunch”, etc.] or in a stage production or on one of the many reunion tours The Monkees did over the years.  Sadly, I never got to see them perform live.

I recently watched two Biography specials.  One was on The Monkees and the other focused on Davy Jones.  Davy seemed happy with his life and ever-grateful for his fans.  Not too long ago Mark Evanier posted a piece that supported Davy’s kindness and appreciation to his fans.  Davy Jones was that rare entertainer who could sing, dance, and act… and who never took his talents or his fans for granted.

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

RIP: Whitney Houston

Posted on by

Last night, at a little after 7pm est, as my wife and I were watching The Double on Netflix, our son, Chris, texted us that Whitney Houston had died.  Like most of the rest of the world, we were saddened and surprised, but not shocked.

Whitney Houston was a superstar.  A singer beyond compare.  She was the first female to have an album debut at #1.  She was the first and only recording artist to have 7 straight number one hits.  These are only two of her many recording records.  Whitney  Houston was also an actress appearing in several films, the best known being The Bodyguard and Waiting to Exhale.

Ms. Houston married singer, Bobby Brown, in 1992. Many blame him for Whitney’s descent into drug addiction.  Houston and Brown were married for 16 years and had one daughter, Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown.  Sadly, as the years passed, Whitney made fewer and fewer albums or movies and her appearances in the press were usually something drug-related.  Ms. Houston made at least three attempts at rehab and talked openly about her struggles with drugs in a famous interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009.  Fans hoped that Whitney had kicked the drugs and things looked promising in 2010 when she began her “Nothing But Love” world tour.  Although drugs had a taken a toll on her, Whitney was back on stage and touring and things seemed to be headed in the right direction.  Whitney Houston was set to appear on the Grammy awards tonight.  It would have been a wonderful step in her comeback.  Unfortunately that was not to be.  Instead the Grammy’s will feature a tribute to the once-reigning queen of pop.

Rest in Peace, Whitney Houston.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, friends and fans.

RIP: Smokin’ Joe Frazier

Posted on by

Last night the world lost one of the greatest fighters to ever enter a boxing ring.  Smokin’ Joe Frazier passed away at the age of 67 from liver cancer.

Joe Frazier only lost 4 times [twice to Muhammad Ali and twice to George Foreman] in his career which saw him crowned the heavyweight champion of the world.   Joe Frazier will forever be remembered as the first man to beat Muhammad Ali.

Although he fought Ali two more times [losing by decision in the first rematch], it is their third meeting, The Thrilla in Manilla that many consider to be the greatest boxing match ever.   After the fourteenth round, with Joe’s eyes swelling shut, his trainer, Eddie Futch called the fight.  Futch then said to Joe, “Sit down, son. “It’s all over. Nobody will ever forget what you did here today.”

And we won’t.

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

RIP: Andy Rooney

Posted on by

Andy Rooney, the long time [1978 – 2011] closing commentator for CBS’ 60 Minutes, died yesterday after complications following an undisclosed minor surgery.  Mr. Rooney was 92.

Although best known for his “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney” segment on 60 Minutes, Mr. Rooney actually started working in television right after World War II.  Mr. Rooney worked as a writer for Arthur Godfrey, Garry Moore, Victor Borge, and others.   Yet it was Mr. Rooney’s commentaries on 60 Minutes that made him a household name.  We came to know his likes likes [football, books, shined shoes, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Christmas, etc.] and dislikes [ads in magazines, roadmaps that you can’t fold back, people who ask for autographs, etc.].  Mr. Rooney said what we thought and came to feel like a friend of the family.

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

Remembering 9-11

Posted on by

It’s hard for me to believe that the 9/11 attacks took place ten years ago. The images, the shock and the horror are still all too clear.  My oldest son had just started high school… now he’s a second year teacher.  My youngest son was just starting sixth grade… now he’s well into college.  I was an assistant principal… at the school where I am now the principal.

There are many special events and tv shows/documentaries geared to help us remember that tragic day when the world seemed to stop and all eyes were glued to the tv dreading another announcement of an attack on freedom.  While many of these events will focus on the disasters the attacks caused, my hope is that somehow we can get back that feeling of patriotism and pulling together as a nation that took place after the shock of the events wore off.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of all impacted on that terrible day… which is basically all of us.

Photo credit: Naom Galai

RIP – Peter Falk

Posted on by

Peter Falk, best known as tv’s legendary Detective Columbo, died last night at the age of 83.

My first memory of Peter Falk is in his role as Maximilian Meen from The Great Race.  Truth be told, I’d probably seen Mr. Falk earlier in one of his guest appearances on tv shows like Have Gun Will Travel, Alfred Hitchcock Presents or The Twilight Zone.  I know that I saw him in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World before I ever saw The Great Race, but it was his role as Maximillian Meen that made the first big impact and brought him to my attention.  I would have been all of seven years old.

My next big memory of Peter Falk is in his role of Columbo.  He first appeared as Columbo in the tv movie Prescription Murder [1968].  Then from 1971 to 2003, Mr. Falk reprised the role in 68 more tv movies.  Peter Falk was perfect in the role and fans loved him.  I can remember watching the movies with mom or my grandfather.  They enjoyed the series as much as me… maybe more.

In 1979, my girlfriend [later to be my wife] and I went to movies every week.  One of the films we decided to see was The In-Laws.  I thought it would be okay.  I was wrong.  The In-Laws turned out to be a comedy classic.  We left the theater talking about how great it was and laughing about it long after the film was over.

Peter Falk appears in another of my favorite films, The Princess Bride which we [my wife and I] watched with our sons when they were young.  It’s pretty cool that I was able to enjoy Mr. Falk’s movies with the significant people throughout my life.  I guess that’s the sign of a true star, he/she is able to continue to find good roles throughout their lives.  Mr. Falk was such a star.

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

RIP – James Arness

Posted on by

I was sad to hear that James Arness died on Friday, June 5, 2011, at the age of 88 of natural causes.  Most fans know Mr. Arness as Marshall Matt Dillon from the long-running tv series Gunsmoke which aired from 1955 to 1975 and then returned in the form of five made-for-television movies.  If Matt Dillon was the only role that James Arness was known for, it’d still be enough reason to post about his passing.  I spent many hours watching Gunsmoke with my grandfather and those are memories I’ll always treasure.   [It was my grandfather who informed me that James Arness and Peter Graves [Mission Impossible] were brothers.  LOL.  The things that we remember.]

James Arness was also an important part of my childhood because he played roles in two of my favorite monster movies.  Mr. Arness was the thing in the classic The Thing from Another Planet.  He also played the romantic lead in another sci-fi classic, Them! You can also find James Arness in the John Wayne classic, Hondo!    One of my favorite James Arness‘ roles was as the mountain man Zeb McCahan [a role that he played in a made-for-tv movie and two mini-series].

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and fans of James Arness.

RIP – Randall Poffo aka Randy “Macho Man” Savage

Posted on by

Randall Poffo aka Randy “Macho Man” Savage, a true professional wrestling superstar, died today following a car accident.  TMZ reported that, according to Lanny Poffo [Savage’s brother and a former wrestling superstar in his own right], Savage had a heart attack that led to him losing control of his vehicle and crashing.  Savage’s wife, who was traveling with him survived with minor injuries.

Randall Poffo was a true athlete.  He almost had a career as a professional baseball player, but luckily for fans of professional wrestling, opted to follow in his father, Angelo Poffo’s footsteps.  Rather than use his father’s famous name, Randall opted to take on the persona of Randy “Macho Man” Savage.  His success is evidenced by the fact that both professional wrestling fans and those who hate the sport, all know The Macho Man.  Randall was one of the first superstars to cross-over to the main media and could be seen in movies, tv shows and commercials.

I had the great fortune to meet and spend some time with his brother, Lanny Poffo [a professional wrestling superstar in his own right],  Lanny shared some stories and history with me, but what I remember most from talking with him (other than what a truly decent human being he is) was his love for his father and brother.  Lanny made sure to tell me what a great man he thought Randall was and not because of the things that he did in the ring, but more importantly because of the things that Randall did outside of the ring that no one knew about.   I was truly touched.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and fans of Randy “Macho Man” Savage and Lanny Poffo.