You can’t count on much in this world—but I always assumed you could count on the endless love between former ’70s pop giants Captain & Tennille. And yet? THEY’RE GETTING DIVORCED. From People: Toni Tennille, whose real name is Cathryn Antoinette Tennille, 73, filed for divorce on Jan. 16, the Prescott, Arizona City courthouse confirms […]
Deathwatch
Posted inDeathwatch
The Time Peter O’Toole Visited David Letterman on a Camel
The late, great Peter O’Toole was amazing in various ways, and he demonstrates this fact aptly in this interview with David Letterman from the mid-’90s. BUT! If you don’t watch anything else, do not miss the opening two minutes of this video where Peter enters the show on a camel, smoking a cigarette. It is […]
Posted inPolitics
Dissecting the Life of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford
Last week, Canadian courts released a 500-page dossier on Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, detailing all of his alleged illegal activities—including interviews with staff on his alleged drug use and his alleged offers/threats to eat out various women’s boxes, right down to more harmless stuff, like routinely pocket dialing his coworkers while pissing. Talking Points Memo, […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Rest in Peace, Karen Black
Cult film and TV actress Karen Black—best known for a multitude of roles in the ’60s and ’70s such as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, and Nashville—died yesterday at the age of 74 of ampullary cancer. From WOW: In her 50-year career, she also appeared in 1974′s The Great Gatsby, Portnoy’s Complaint, Airport 1975, Capricorn […]
Posted inTV
RIP Dennis Farina: A Crime Story Appreciation
Former Chicago cop turned actor Dennis Farina has passed away due to a blood clot on his lung. He was 69. While remembered most recently from his stint on Law & Order, and as Nick’s dad on New Girl, he also starred in one of my fave TV series of all time: Michael Mann’s Crime […]
Posted inMusic
Did Michael Jackson Not-Sleep Himself to Death?
No, but he came close. From CNN: Michael Jackson died while preparing to set a world record for the most successful concert run, but he unknowingly set another record that led to his death. Jackson may be the only human ever to go two months without REM—rapid eye movement—sleep, which is vital to keep the […]
Posted inBooks
Jack Vance
The beloved science fiction pioneer has died, Locus Magazine says: SF Grand Master Jack Vance, 96, died May 26, 2013 in Oakland CA. Vance was one of the most influential SF authors of the postwar period, and his visionary imagination and sophisticated, often playful use of language inspired countless SF writers, including Avram Davidson, Harlan […]
Posted inFood and Drink
Battening Down the Hatch
Per Eater, the Killer Burger team’s Tex-Mex-ish restaurant Hatch has closed, after not quite three months in business. Rather than go into a detailed post-mortem on a place I was just days from filing for review, I’ll say nothing ill of the dead except that I think the team has made a smart decision. The […]
Posted inDeathwatch
Rightwing Anti-Gay French Activist Commits Suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral
This is unfortunate: According to multiple sources, the iconic cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris was evacuated today after a far-right Catholic activist shot himself in the mouth in front of the altar in front of hundreds of tourists, in what appears to have been a protest against same-sex marriage…. Dominique Venner, age 78, was […]
Posted inMovies & TV
R.I.P. Ray Harryhausen
The special effects pioneer has died. He was 92. Digital effects in mainstream movies are a couple decades old now, and I’ve yet to see a digital monster that impresses me the way a good Harryhausen creature impresses me.
Posted inTV
R.I.P. Ann Romano (No, Not That “Ann Romano”)
From Deadline Hollywood: Bonnie Franklin, best known for a playing single mom to two teenage daughters on the long-running CBS sitcom One Day At A Time, died this morning. She was 69. Franklin perished after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, and will be remembered fondly… especially for the following role: In 1975 she landed […]