My friend in Michigan would probably disagree. In fact, he would scold me . . . call me a young whipper snapper . . . and remind me that I am not that old. Clif is in his 90s and is as sharp as ever, though his body might disagree. But as I write this, I feel old.
I probably should not have read the newspaper this morning. The Billings Gazette is doing what most newspapers do the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day—they are running articles highlighting the events and people of the past year. Today’s paper shared a list of names of those who have died in 2023. Only the names of those people deemed famous or important. Being curious, I read the list. Man, I feel old. There were a lot of people on that list that I knew and admired—some more than others.
There were so many I had to break them down into groups. The groups I came up with were entertainers, musicians/singers, sports, and everyone else. Each person sparked some sort of reaction or memory. I guess I am fairly normal in thinking that my favorite stars, performers, and athletes would never age . . . actually never die. That they will live forever. That’s stupid. Everyone dies. Death is the great equalizer.
Entertainers
Lisa Marie Presley. Daughter of Elvis and Priscella Presley—a direct connection to the “King”. She lived an entertaining and interesting life including a stint as the spouse of Michael Jackson. The Evis myth dies hard.
Raquel Welch. One of my prepubescence crushes. Not the most talented individual, but beautiful. She made me long for the Stone Age after watching One Million Years B.C. I admired her, especially how she maximized her assets and beauty to become an icon.
Jerry Springer. Mudslinger extraordinaire before slinging mud was commonplace and monetized. He was the first to bring humanity into the gutter at the expense of others. It was like watching the news from the trailer park. I guess he was good for killing an hour or so. I still wonder where he found his guests.
Paul Reubens . . . Pee Wee Herman. He struck it big while cashing in on his quirky weirdness as a popular entertainer for children. I didn’t quite get it and found him immature . . . which was great if you were drunk or high. Of which I was not most of the time. Then he got in trouble at an adult theater for an incident while watching porn. The famous fall hard.
Bob Barker. I am not sure how this became a star. I guess you can tell I was not a fan of his. I cringed whenever I saw him on television. He reminded me of that creepy guy down the street who thought too highly about himself and liked hitting on women. At least he wasn’t like Richard Dawson who would grope the female contestants and ask them for a smooch on Family Feud. The price was never right for me with Bob Barker.
Suzanne Somers. Another crush in the beginning of her career. She was another who made the most of her beauty and stereotypical “dumb blonde” looks. Turns out she wasn’t so dumb and made millions on her assets, especially wearing spandex and hawking her exercise videos and the infamous Thigh Master (“I must, I must, I must develop my bust!”) I liked her best when she was the innocent preacher’s daughter from the sticks on Three’s Company.
Ryan O’Neal. Not much of an actor, but somehow got famous. Better known as Tatum O’Neal’s father. I thought he was such a wimp in Love Story. I do wonder how he ended up married to Farah Fawcett. Always did regret never having her poster hanging up in my college dorm room. Sorry, Ryan . . . I didn’t love you.
Alan Arkin. The guy had a sense of humor of I appreciate and love—dry and sarcastic. Wonderful actor. Enjoyed him and his performance with Michael Douglas in The Kominsky Method. Watch the series if you have not seen it . . . it is worth it.
Norman Lear . . . what can I say? All in the Family. Never missed it. It was the reality of my teen years in America.
Sports
Bobby Hull. Hockey royalty even though he played most of his career for the wrong team—the Chicago Blackhawks. Even though I have been a life-long Boston Bruins fan, I admired him as one of the all-time greatest.
Dick Fosbury. If you don’t know track and field, you probably don’t know who this guy is. He revolutionized the high jump when he went against tradition and started “flopping” over the bar. Instead of doing the usual “scissors” jump, he rolled over with the “flop”. He was the laughingstock of the world of track and field . . . but he had the last laugh. Changed high jumping forever. Everyone “flops” now. I loved this guy even though I never high jumped. My best jumping is to conclusions.
Jim Brown. Tough football player who went on to act. Big civil rights activist. He played football better than he acted . . . actually is in the National Football League Hall of Fame as one of the greatest. Never got an Oscar. My favorite movie? The Dirty Dozen.
Dick Butkus. The only thing about Butkus is that played on the wrong team—the Chicago Bears. But he was an Illinois kid. Being a Minnesota Vikings fan, that bothered me, but he was my favorite linebacker. Loved his game attitude. It was simple . . . he would declare that he had a “good” game if he sent one player on the opposing team off the field on a stretcher. I loved him as Mongo in Blazing Saddles.
Bobby Knight. The man everyone loved to hate when it came to basketball. He was a stick of dynamite with a short fuse. He had anger issues. He was mean and difficult towards his players, but the man could coach basketball. He got the most out of what he had. I will never forget him tossing a chair across the basketball court when he had a disagreement with a referee. Entertaining.
Music
Jeff Beck. A member of the Yardbirds, but more importantly was one of the greatest guitarists who helped change rock and roll. Introduced the masses to “world music” bringing in different cultural music into his songs.
David Crosby. Huge loss in my life. One of the best groups . . . Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (or other manifestations of the individual members). The man could sing . . . harmonize with the best of them . . . musical genius at times. He was also an adventurous and outspoken soul. I will miss him.
Burt Bacharach. Grew up listening to this music because my parents listened to this music. This was before I went to the dark side of rock and roll. The man wrote for himself and slew of others: The Drifters, The Sherelles, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton, Doris Day, Tom Jones, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Roberta Flack, Neil Diamond, and the Carpenters. He was a hit-making machine. He wrote the soundtrack of my childhood.
Gordon Lightfoot. Wasn’t really thrilled with him but I did appreciate some of the songs he sang. He wrote some great ones: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, If You Could Read My Mind, Carefree Highway, and Rainy Day People. He wasn’t bad for a Canadian.
Tina Turner. Great performer. Fell in love with her in eighth grade when I heard my first Ike and Tina Turner Revue album. Proud Mary is a classic and so was she despite her tumultuous life.
Tom Jones. Elvis created the hip thrust, but Jones perfected it and made a career out of it. Had too, he was an average singer. Plus, he couldn’t button up a shirt if his life depended on it. Always showing off his hairy chest. I never could understand why he could make the women swoon and throw panties on the stage. If I tried something like that I would get thrown off stage and into jail.
Jimmy Buffett. Yup, I have enjoyed a few brews listening to Jimmy. Free-spirited and enjoyed life. My favorites: Margaritaville and Cheeseburger in Paradise. Went to see the minor league baseball team he owned in Madison, Wisconsin . . . pure Buffett. The most fun I ever had at a minor league game.
Tommy Smothers. As a kid I could not wait to be allowed to stay up and watch the Smothers Brothers Show. Couldn’t wait to see how Tommy would mess with his brother, Dick. He was a funny guy with a conscious—stood up for things he believed in. Was an excellent singer and musician. Loved the show and he was my favorite Smothers brother. Helped me love folk music.
Harry Belafonte. A great man. Loved his voice . . . so elegant. Loved it when he sang calypso, especially Day-O and Jump in Line. Great civil rights activist who was always at the front pushing for equality.
Others
Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski. The “Unabomber” held everyone in his grip for years with his crazy manifest and sporadic bombings. Ended up being caught in Lincoln, Montana. No one there likes to talk about him . . . so don’t go asking about him.
Sandra Day O’Conner. First female justice in the United States of America Supreme Court. Tough lady for cracking the men’s club. She paved the way for other women to follow. I admired her.
Henry Kissinger. Well, he is definitely historical. One of the Richard Nixon cronies. Was a major player for many year. How could anyone miss this guy. He talked funny. Was not good-looking but always had a beautiful woman on his arm as he hobbed knobbed among the rich and famous. Wasn’t too fond of him or a lot of the history he made.
Rosalyn Carter. Classic southern lady. The rock of Jimmy Carter’s life before and after his presidency. Kind, gentle, and always classy. A big part of a great love story.
Pat Robertson. He discovered how to suck the money from the evangelical masses creating the CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network). I disdained the man who duped so many in the name of Jesus. Sold faith down the river and took a lot of fools with him.
So, there you have it . . . at least according to the list in the Billings Gazette. I’m sure there were others . . . politicians, scientists, medical experts, lawyers, inventors, industrialists, and other famous people I have never heard of. As I said, I shouldn’t have looked at this list. My past was fading with each obituary. Made me feel old. True, not as old as my friend Clif, but old none the less. Especially when I attempted to explain it to my children and grandchildren who had no idea what I was talking about.
Oh well, though gone, I will remember. These are the people who populate the memories of my mind . . . who are the soundtrack of my life. The people who inspired me or made me mad, provided me with wonderful memories, and laughter for the soul. They were and are a part of the fabric of my life. They will be missed but not forgotten. As Archie and Edith Bunker used to sing: “Those were the days!”
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