Rolling Obituary Thread: 2020

One thing I learned (or was reminded of) when looking for a Fernwood 2 Night clip to post on Facebook: the scope of acceptable parody was broader for some things then than now. Couldn't find a clip I felt comfortable posting.

― clemenza, Saturday, May 16, 2020 6:39 PM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Same, clemenza.

― Louder Than Bach's Bottom (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, May 16, 2020 6:49 PM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Like what

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdx4EBgtA2I

I met Fred Willard backstage at a TV show. He said to me, "Dan let me teach you something I learned in showbiz. I'm gonna throw my shoe at you and if you catch it in time you can keep it. Not now, when you least expect it. Be ready." Then he walked away and I never saw him again.

— Dan Telfer (@dantelfer) May 16, 2020

goat

That Fernwood clip above is fine. I was thinking more of "Talk to a Jew," or the clip I looked at where they talked about two women or two men raising a child together.

Well I just looked up “Talk to a Jew” and laughed my head off so as a Jew I endorse it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCsnTxjRNPA

“What tribe are you from?”

w/out watching I remember the "beanie with the propeller" joke

yall a bunch of PC mofos

I'm a fan of Mull and Willard's clueless white guy shtick. Also love the fact that Tom Waits was a regular guest on Fernwood.

that telfer anecdote is gold

I'm in awe

I thought "Talk to a Jew" was very funny and that the intent was clear. But there's a gap between what I might think and posting it on Facebook. I mean, I've posted stuff here where I thought the intent was clear and gotten grief. It's guesswork, and guessing wrong means 15 minutes explaining yourself.

It’s no Ronaldinho bottle opener, at least.

never explain

Pull out his ice
Apologize

reiterating Never explain & also never respond to critics

French actor Michel Piccoli has died at the age of 94. He appeared in Le Doulos, Le Mépris, Belle de Jour and Les Choses de la Vie, among many other films.

https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/medias-people/deces-de-michel-piccoli-un-comedien-hors-norme-1508329595

:(

RIP

People you though were dead, RIP Michel, what a CV!

RIP, such an impressive filmography.

Loved this guy, RIP. So great in so many things. A chill when up my spine when I was watching That Obscure Object of Desire and I realized it was his voice dubbing Fernando Rey. Highly recommend this video essay about Contempt and his character's look, in part: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzyZKBQDDLg

RIP. Saw him introduce the London Film Festival screening of Rivette's La Belle Noiseuse. in which he's great, of course.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9379513/bluesman-lucky-peterson-obit

Bluesman Lucky Peterson at 55

Eddie Haskell!

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ken-osmond-dead-mischievous-eddie-haskell-leave-it-beaver-was-76-1246683

I wish I were 17 right now, so I could go over to a friend's house and be really fake-polite to his mother.

RIP

:(

If he was 76, I'd bet his mom's been dead for years.

Oh, you said any friend's house.

He was kind of one of the original characters one/you/I love(s) to hate.

those albums he made as Alice Cooper were ok too

Eddie was such an archetype. You'd sometimes encounter Eddie Haskells as a teacher--usually boys, but not always. I'd say "He's such an Eddie Haskell" to another teacher, and usually, because I was older, have to explain who Eddie Haskell was.

Maybe they let you explain it because they were being patronizingly polite to you.

No, I'm pretty sure that if they were born in 1985 or so, it was that they didn't know who Eddie Haskell was.

Right. He was a recognizable type I don't think appeared elsewhere in the culture. Actually I didn't even notice that type as kid when I was watching LItB, only later in life.

those albums he made as Alice Cooper were ok too

― Muswell Hillbilly Elegy (President Keyes)

Always got Alice Cooper mixed up with the son of Mr. Green Jeans.

That was Zappa (and/or Ted Nugent)!

A university roommate got me onto Leave It to Beaver, then in syndication, and I watched a lot of it for a couple of years. Haven't seen it for ages, so you never know it'll be as good as you remember it, but my recollection is that, while seeming to be the very definition of 1950s conformity and complacency--dad in a jacket and mom in a dress at the dinner table--it actually pushed against the tenor of the times in sly and smart ways. I can't remember it ever dealt directly with race or anything like that.

There are two "if"s missing from that post. Apparently I have a thing against "if."

A fantastic piece of writing from several years back that does (among other things) some debunking of LitB's squeaky-clean image:

https://www.filmfreakcentral.net/ffc/2012/05/leave-it-to-beaver-the-complete-first-season.html

Good piece, thanks. "There isn't a sitcom on the air today with the humanity of 'Leave It To Beaver,' let alone its moral or visual sophistication." I have a clear memory of my roommate saying something to the effect that the show always made him aware of falling short of the person he wanted to be.

I didn't get this part: "(through Ward, 'Leave It To Beaver' is haunted by spectres of child abuse, a big reason why I've never doubted the sincerity of its hope for better tomorrows)," even in the context of the episode he describes--he's equating Ward's father making him feel lousy with child abuse? Am I misreading that?

Don't want to derail thread, but forgot that Richard Deacon was on LItB: https://www.metv.com/stories/from-fred-rutherford-to-mel-cooley-richard-deacon-was-perfectly-suited-for-his-memorable-tv-roles

I think brownnosers are a fairly common stereotype

Feel like he is a more specific type than just a generalized brownnoser.

I would say so too--very specific to cozying up to a friends' parent, and then doing whatever you can to stir things up the minute you're out of view. (Which is where the teaching comparison comes in--there are students like that.)

Right. There seems to be a lot more malice aforethought involved in a case like this, rather than simpler, almost reflexive response to the pheromones of power structure.

Annie Glenn (1920-2020): pic.twitter.com/qBeQbJvFJ5

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) May 19, 2020

Soundtrack and library music composer Peter Thomas (Sound Orchester, Raumpatrouille, Orion 2000 etc)

Wow. I had no idea he was alive. I know him from that Pulp track.

Yeah, I was surprised he was still alive, 94 though!

Salah Stétié, francophone Lebanese poet, 91. RIP.