Passages

[hearthesilence]

Anthony Geary, who played one of the most famous characters in daytime soap operas (Luke Spencer on General Hospital) but I'll always remember him as Philo, Channel 62's station engineer in UHF.

[Aunt Peg]

Actor Gil Gerard, 82: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv ... 236452804/

[hearthesilence]

Joe Ely, the great singer/songwriter from Texas who formed the Flatlanders with Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock (check out their debut album which was released in various configurations under different album titles) and had a great distinguished career himself, particularly with his first two solo albums.

[MichaelB]

Humphrey Burton, one of the towering figures in British classical music broadcasting—and, more relevantly to this board, one of the key figures in getting Ken Russell's career off the ground in its embryonic stages; amongst other things, Burton was the producer of the groundbreaking Elgar in 1962.

[okcmaxk]

Prop collector/historian Bob Burns

[thirtyframesasecond]

Actor Gil Gerard, 82: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv ... 236452804/

I only remember one thing about Buck Rogers. He got The Beatles and The Who mixed up in one episode.

[MichaelB]

Easy mistake to make from the perspective of the 25th century.

[Aunt Peg]

Director Rosa von Praunheim, 83 https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/d ... es-aged-83

One of my all time favourite directors.

He was part of the new Wave of German filmmakers to emerge during the late 1960's into the 1970's and over the decades has directed a great mixture of narrative features and documentaries.

I have long considered Fassbinder/Kluge/von Praunheim to be the holy trinity of new German cinema from that era.

Shattered by his passing having only recently seen one of his more recent films Rex Gildo: The Last Dance (2022) and an earlier work that I stumbled upon on Amazon Prime of all places City of Lost Souls (1983).

A true original and unique talent.

Anyone who also goes to the Blu Ray Forum site will have noticed that I have long had on on wish list of films of complete works of Rosa von Praunheim.

[hearthesilence]

It seems 2025 is certainly a year of character actors passing on, between Katt, Greene (both particularly synonymous with 90s independent cinema), and Kier (contemplating if we'll see another one pass before this year ends)

I just noticed Greene and Kier were both set to appear in an independent film called Mascots starring Mickey Rourke and Mekhi Phifer. No idea if they filmed their parts already, but it was supposed to begin shooting in the fall so it's possible.

[colinr0380]

Actor Gil Gerard, 82: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv ... 236452804/

I only remember one thing about Buck Rogers. He got The Beatles and The Who mixed up in one episode.

The opening titles from the original film / pilot remain indelible, whilst mixing up influences of Bond and Star Wars! (and slightly sexier than the regular titles for the show itself!)

[Roger Ryan]

Actor Gil Gerard, 82: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv ... 236452804/

I only remember one thing about Buck Rogers. He got The Beatles and The Who mixed up in one episode.

The opening titles from the original film / pilot remain indelible, whilst mixing up influences of Bond and Star Wars! (and slightly sexier than the regular titles for the show itself!)

I'm convinced the theatrical title sequence was a deliberate ploy to garner a "PG" rating for a decidedly "G"-rated TV movie in order to make the release seem like it was intended for theaters. The fact that this "feature film" aired as the TV series pilot just six months after premiering in cinemas felt like a rip-off in 1979. With the ever-shortening window between theatrical release and streaming premiere these days, that supposed rip-off feels very quaint. Of course, I was a dedicated viewer at the time due of my age and the fact that we didn't have cable yet. As poor as Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was, it sufficiently passed the time in an entertaining way at the time, so thanks for the memories Mr. Gerard.

[flyonthewall2983]

NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, and reportedly members of his immediate family, perished in a plane crash.

[GaryC]

Australian TV and stage director Amanda Brotchie, from cancer, age not advised. She was active in both Australia and the UK, with episodes of Doctor Who and Riot Women broadcast this year.

[DimitriL]

I'm convinced the theatrical title sequence was a deliberate ploy to garner a "PG" rating for a decidedly "G"-rated TV movie in order to make the release seem like it was intended for theaters. The fact that this "feature film" aired as the TV series pilot just six months after premiering in cinemas felt like a rip-off in 1979. With the ever-shortening window between theatrical release and streaming premiere these days, that supposed rip-off feels very quaint. Of course, I was a dedicated viewer at the time due of my age and the fact that we didn't have cable yet. As poor as Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was, it sufficiently passed the time in an entertaining way at the time, so thanks for the memories Mr. Gerard.

Not a complete rip-off. Like the theatrical version of the Galactica pilot, it did have Sensurround, which was a surprisingly effective tactic to get kids like me in theaters at the time.

[Feego]

TCM Remembers, one of the best they’ve done in years, with no irrelevant filler between clips and no obnoxious filters over the clips.

[hearthesilence]

Painful to see several big '70s icons in there. I can still remember when critics would list how many from Hollywood's Studio Era were still around, and now we've already run through the first wave of Method actors and gone deep into the New Hollywood.

[MichaelB]

Polish jazz legend Michał Urbaniak.

Obviously far more famous for his music, but he also scored several films, of which the most distinguished is probably Krzysztof Krauze's The Debt (1999).

[Never Cursed]

Wire fan accounts on social media, and, of all people, fascist asshole Gavin McInnes, are saying that James Ransone has committed suicide. Has anyone seen a news report of this? I can’t find one.

[domino harvey]

Confirmed

[Never Cursed]

Fuck, was hoping it wasn’t true. Awful news, especially knowing what he had been thru as a child

[FrauBlucher]

TCM Remembers

[cantinflas]

Austrian artist Arnulf Rainer

[bearcuborg]

I found James Ransone to be a wonderfully quirky actor, I was really delighted to see Spike let him shine in Inside Man. Tough month for Hollywood.

[ynwa]

only just found out that Karin Lesch, played the Queen in Tři oříšky pro Popelku (1973), died last March

[domino harvey]

Pat Finn, from the Middle and Ed, among others, at 60