Passages

[colinr0380]

Uggie, the canine star of The Artist

[hearthesilence]

Uggie and the dream sequence were pretty much the only things I liked about that schmaltzy pastiche.

[neilist]

Stephen Lewis, UK television actor, best known for roles in 'On the Buses' and 'Last of the Summer Wine'.

[sir_luke]

Herbert Wise

[hearthesilence]

Bob Johnston, best known for producing some landmark albums with Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash.

[hearthesilence]

Civil rights leader Julian Bond.

Once hosted SNL, starring in this classic sketch.

[flyonthewall2983]

Bud Yorkin

[dx23]

Yvonne Craig

[PfR73]

David A. Prior, director of Deadly Prey & Sledgehammer

[Minkin]

Melody Patterson

Sad week for campy 60s shows.

[Drucker]

Darryl Dawkins

[der_Artur]

Peter Kern (the only english one I could find is a terrible translation, where Kern is renamed "core"...)

[Polybius]

Many people disdain the pre-Bird & Magic '70's NBA but I loved it and Chocolate Thunder was a big reason why.

[Numero Trois]

Oliver Sacks. Very sad news.

[hearthesilence]

Yes, very sad. But out of everyone in this thread, he probably had the "best" death, if you could call it that. He saw it coming and had much time to prepare, to think about and live out his final months in what he and many would believe was the best way possible. It's the one saving grace of terminal illness, to be given that opportunity.

[Lemmy Caution]

Many people disdain the pre-Bird & Magic '70's NBA but I loved it and Chocolate Thunder was a big reason why.

There were definitely colorful characters in the late 70's NBA, such as Chocolate Thunder, Artis Gilmore, Dr. J, World B. Free, etc. I once saw SuperJohn Williamson shoot a long fadeaway jumper while falling into the bench ... and this was a couple years before the NBA 3-point line. I guess ABA habits died hard.

One problem was that many of the big scorers were out West -- David Thompson, Walter Davis, George Gervin, Kareem, Dantley. And the NBA's low exposure and small TV deal meant that these all-stars weren't seen much in the major East coast markets. Memorably, Thompson went out and scored 73 points in the final game of the 77-78 season, only to have Gervin in his last game put up 63 to wrestle away the scoring title.

They often talk about the NBA being small time back then by citing that the Finals were shown on tape delay. My personal measure: starting in I believe 1977, the ABA-refugee Nets joined the NBA, but they didn't have a stadium in NJ, so they played at the then brand new Rutgers Athletic Center (the RAC). We used to buy $2 student tickets up in the rafters but often were able to move way down. The RAC only holds 8,000 and was usually only half full for those late 70's NBA games. But the Nets games weren't even available on local TV, so I became a Knick fan, as I could watch their home games. So $2 discount tickets while an NBA team played at the local university. That's small-time. College hoops was arguably as big as the pro game.

The three years before Magic and Bird took over saw Portland, the Washington Bullets, and Seattle win.
And 5 different champions in 5 years. Injuries to Walton derailed Portland. Wash was tough but aging with Unseld and the Big E(lvin Hayes). But there were no really dominant teams until Magic and Bird took over. They also offered up a positive and sports focused rivalry, while a number of very talented players -- David Thompson, Michael Ray Richardson, etc -- succumbed to drugs. The mid to late 70's NBA was a transitional period, with a golden era or two just over the horizon.

[Ribs]

Wes Craven

[Professor Wagstaff]

Wayne Dyer

[Yakushima]

Russian actor Michail Svetin, who played in over a hundred films, including works by Georgiy Daneliya and Mark Zakharov, passed away at 85. Often cast in small comical roles, Svetin's charcters has always been memorable. http://www.gazeta.ru/culture/2015/08/30/a_7729235.shtml

[flyonthewall2983]

Dean Jones. The Love Bug movies were my favorite Disney movies as a kid, the one set in Monte Carlo was my favorite.

[bearcuborg]

Dean Jones. The Love Bug movies were my favorite Disney movies as a kid, the one set in Monte Carlo was my favorite.

I bet I saw That Darn Cat 100xs as a kid.

[doh286]

Martin Milner

[FrauBlucher]

The 'sock it to me' girl....Judy Carne

[Polybius]

Martin Milner

A childhood hero because of Adam-12.

We all know how terrific he is in Sweet Smell of Success ("When he dies, do you think he'll go to the dog and cat heaven?" is one of my favorite lines in that script) and after watching most of the full run of Route 66 last summer, I can recommend that very highly.

[colinr0380]

The 'sock it to me' girl....Judy Carne

She was also particularly good as the wife in Gerry O'Hara's film All The Right Noises.