Emmy-nominated, long-time TV comedy writer -- via the Hollywood Reporter. Here's a short list of some of the shows he wrote for" Red Skelton. "The Flintstones." Dick van Dyke. "I Spy." "Gomer Pyle." "Bewitched." "That Girl." Mary Tyler Moore. "The Odd Couple." "Remington Steele." "MacGuyver." 56 shows!!!
Interesting, overlooked, and significant obituaries from around the world, as they happen, emphasizing the positive achievements of those who have died. Member, Society of Professional Obituary Writers.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Saaed Saleh
Comic actor -- via the Bahrain News Agency. Got his start in the cast of the classic 1973 Egyptian comedy, "Madraset el-Moshaghbeen" (School of the Mischievious). It was adapted from the 1967 British film, "To Sir, with Love," and started many an Egyptian comedy career.
FRIDAY BOOK REVIEW: Backstage at the funeral home, and lookee-loo syndrome
By BRAD WEISMANN
Mortuary Confidential: Undertakers
Spill the Dirt
Kenneth McKenzie and Todd Harra
2010
Citadel Press
New York
“ . . . the dead don’t complain,
but their families sure can.”
We are fascinated by the
forbidden. Sex, graphic violence, personal secrets and indiscretions revealed all
put us off . . . but draw us in as well.
This is no truer than about the
subject of death – how we die, what happens to us, the repercussions for the
living – and all the possible misadventures our abandoned bodies can suffer. This
compulsion to slow down and gawk at tragedy, known to rush-hour commuters as
the “lookee-loo” syndrome, is part of the reason for this blog, and part of the
reason for the writing of “Mortuary Confidential.”
“Mortuary Confidential” is a book
of funerary anecdotes. It is an illuminating compendium, and it does go far
beyond what a reader might expect. It is not merely a grotesquely comic
retailing of death-ritual mishaps and bungles, although there are heavy handfuls
of them listed among the 50 stories given here. Wisely, the authors go over
many aspects of the profession, including dealing with the idiosyncratic
bereaved and uncomprehending officiants. There are also stories about patient
spouses who deal with the 24/7 demands of the trade, and poignant,
life-changing moments that funeral directors experience in the presence of
mourners, and much more.
If there is a flaw here, it is
that all the anecdotes have been written in one authorial voice. It’s as though
the authors compiled the raw data and then pressed out each story from the same
mold – the tone becomes monotonous after a while. And the most interesting
observations come in Harra’s introduction, when he notes that his profession is
a “hidden” one, not lauded or even thought of until necessity intervenes, that
it represents “a failure to our scientific/medical-oriented society.”
That we fixate on the morbid
details of life at times is indicative of our voyeuristic impulses. However,
our peering over the gates of the funeral home also demonstrates the seriousness
with which we invest it. Per Harra, “ . . . we, as a society, must uphold a
basic principle of humanity, the sanctity of life, through reverence for the
dead.” Well said.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Manny Roth
Founded and ran Cafe Wha?, one of the musical centers of the folk and rick scenes in New York City in the 1960s -- via Rolling Stone.
Dick Wagner
Guitarist and songwriter -- via Rolling Stone. Worked on such great albums as "Berlin" and "Welcome to My Nightmare"; wrote "Only Women Bleed."
Dick Smith
Master of makeup for film and television -- via Variety. Among his amazing projects: "Mark Twain Tonight!", "The Exorcist," "The Godfather," "Amadeus," "Death Becomes Her," "Altered States," "The Hunger," "Scanners," and "Little Big Man."
Martin Tahse
Producer on Broadway and on TV; the man behind the ABC Afterschool Specials -- via the New York Times.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Peter Marquardt
Actor and video game producer -- via Deadline Hollywood. Best known for playing El Moco in Robert Rodriguez's "El Mariachi" and "Desperado."
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Peter Marler
Animal behaviorist whose work on animal language led to spectacular advances in understanding -- via the New York Times.
WEEKLY READER: a compendium of stories on death, mourning and more
TOP STORIES
From Agence France-Presse: Who
counts the dead in Gaza?
On the Wellness Web, clinical psychologist Rosemary Stauber
talks about her own grief
and mourning
Stephen Cave in Aeon Magazine talks about the
momentousness – and insignificance – of death
DEATH
From Chez Oswell, Death
101: A Checklist
‘Death
and denial in the hot zone’: Attempts to fight Ebola lead to demonization of
and attacks on health workers – via Foreign Policy magazine
Anger
over an adventurous death from Darlene Ensor of the Mail Tribune
The
death of adventurer Harry Devert by Louise Stewart in Newsweek
In Scope, Jacqueline Genovese reports on physicians
discussing death and their patients
Ciara Kelly of the Irish Independent on opening
the dialogue about death
Kerrie Noonan of Mama Mia on talking
to kids about death
Harvesting
organs from the dead: Danielle McCrea reports for the Las Vegas Sun
Oldest
medical report of near-death experience found, from Bahar Gholipour in
Signs of the Times
From National Geographic, a new book about “the
stories and science of life after death”
MOURNING
Startup
intends to connect family, friends, and funeral services, according to
Chris Rauber of the San Francisco Business Times
Jewish
group recites the mourning prayer for all the victims in the Gaza conflict,
per Antonia Blumberg of the Huffington Post
An
exhibit of memorial art reported on by Elissa Barnard of the Halifax Herald
Gordon Boyd of Wave3 News reports on “Death
101: Courses in Coping”
A contestant in isolation on a reality TV show mourns
his grandfather on camera – from Hollywood Life
New
funeral museum opens in Virginia, per Susan Worley in the Chatham
Star-Tribune
In The Toast, Lindsey Palka writes about “Victorian
Hair Art and Mourning Traditions”
OBITS
From jimromanesko.com – How truthful should
any obituary be?
FUNERALS
From Alltop, a link to a Telegraph article about a new
service that will launch your remains into space
Funeral
home loses license again, six months after ‘leaky bodies’ complaints – via
Jesse McLean and Joel Eastwood in the Caledon Enterprise.
MISC
From Modest Money, “Planning
Ahead with Burial and Funeral Insurance”
Norman Leyden
Conductor, composer, arranger, and clarinetist -- via the Oregonian. Worked with Glenn Miller, Disney, Arthur Godfrey, and dozens of Golden Age vocalists. He co-wrote "I Sustain the Wings" with Miller.
Monday, July 28, 2014
James Shigeta
Actor -- via Variety. An exemplary leading man who could sing and dance, he did great work in a significant number of good films and with some great directors: Fuller's "The Crimson Kimono," "Flower Drum Song," Pollack's "The Yakuza," Vice Admiral Nagumo in "Midway," and of course Mr. Takagi in "Die Hard."
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Carlo Bergonzi
Tenor -- via the New York Times. While not often ranked with the Big Three tenors of the mid-20th century -- Corelli, di Stephano, and Del Monaco -- he was a supreme interpreter of Verdi.
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