RIP Dolemite

Comedic actor Rudy Ray Moore (1927-2008), best known to blaxploitation fans as kung fu pimp "Dolemite", died Sunday at an Akron nursing home from complications of diabetes, according to media reports. He was 81. (link)

Wikipedia links:

• Rudy Ray Moore
• Dolemite
• The Human Tornado
  

RIP Kermit Love, aka Big Bird's Father

Kermit Love, the costume designer who helped puppeteer Jim Henson create Big Bird and other "Sesame Street" characters, has died. He was 91.

[Jim] Henson designed the original sketches of Big Bird, and Love then built the 8-foot, 2-inch yellow-feathered costume.

It was Love's idea to add a few feathers designed to fall off, to create a more realistic feel.

Love also helped design costumes and puppets for Mr. Snuffleupagus, Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster, among other characters. He even appeared on the show himself as Willy, the fantasy neighborhood's resident hot dog vendor.

But Love always insisted Henson's famous frog wasn't named for him, according to The New York Times. (link)

If life is a game, living to 91 and creating an American icon definitely meets my criteria for winning.

Rest In Peace, Kermit Love. And thanks.

RIP Jim McKay

Jim McKay, the longtime sportscaster for ABC, died today at age 86.

To me, Jim McKay was the voice of the Olympics. He covered 12 Games during his career and while I wasn't around for all of them, these are the ones I specifically remember:

• 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo
• 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles
• 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary

In addition, he was the voice of the Kentucky Derby and the Indianapolis 500 while I was growing up.

And he will probably best be remembered as the voice of ABC's Wide World of Sports, and the lines, "...the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat..." as Vinko Bogataj crashed off the end of that ski jump every Saturday afternoon.

Grr, this video was the best one there was, and now the link doesn't work.


30th Anniversary of Wide World of Sports. Volume on this video is extremely low, so you'll have to turn your speakers up to hear it. And no, this isn't a 7th grade joke to scare you. Geez.



Thanks Jim, for all the years of coverage and for showing us all about the "...human drama of athletic competition." RIP, you've earned your place in history.

RIP John McWethy

John McWethy, a fixture on ABC News, while I was growing up, died in a skiing accident today. With his distinctive voice, he was a skinny blonde guy who got to travel the world reporting news.

When it came to news, we grew up only watching Channel 7, WXYZ, the ABC affiliate in Detroit. That meant such fixtures as Bill Bonds, Diana Lewis, Doris Biscoe, Rich Fisher and the rest of the "Channel 7 Action News" team, gave us the local goings-on during dinner. And immediately after that, Peter Jennings' ABC World News Tonight let us know about everything else.

One of the earliest news stories I remember was the Iranian Hostage Crisis, which lasted 444 days, from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981. And reporters like "John McWethy...ABC News...Tehran", would bring information from half a world away right into our family room.

That's right, the big room in the back of the house where we watched TV was the "family room", that small one in the front, with the furniture we never used, that was the "living room".

Anyway, my education in international politics, terrorism, the Cold War, the tail end of the Space Race, and everything else which will seem like ancient history to my nieces, came from TV. It was our window to the world, and our only one, because this was before Al Gore "invented" the internet.

So, to John McWethy, and all those who stood around the world with an earpiece and a microphone to bring us the news, I say "Thank You."

To John's family and friends, I'm sorry for your loss.

"MrDolomite...BlogspotCommentary...Hockeytown, USA."

P.S. Oh, and in an odd coincidence, I have skiied at Keystone Resort, in Colorado.