How Gunsmoke Gunned Down Gilligan's Island

There can be no argument that Gilligan's Island was one of the most successful television series of all time. The show has been translated into over a dozen languages and aired in 74 countries. It even managed what seemed impossible, surpassing I Love Lucy in syndication. What might surprise many of the show's loyal viewers, at least those unaware of its history, is that Gilligan's Island only ran three seasons. Many might conclude that it was simply cancelled due to poor ratings. After all, this is why the vast majority of shows are cancelled. In truth, however, Gilligan's Island had respectable ratings until the very end. Its cancellation came about not due to low ratings, but the feelings at the upper reaches of CBS about the show and about another legendary show called Gunsmoke.

The seeds for Gilligan's Island were sown even as it debuted on CBS on September 24, 1964. Even today Gilligan's Island is sometimes cited as an example of bad television, but the reviews which came in from critics in the wake of its premiere were ever worse. Gilligan's Island was firmly trounced by critics at the time. Not only were the notices bad on the whole, but many critics cited it as one of the worst shows ever made.This did not sit well with the head of CBS William S. Paley, who always prided himself on the quality of programming on the network.


Unfortunately for Mr. Paley, Gilligan's Island proved to be a hit. Not only did it routinely win its time slot, but for the 1964-1965 season it ranked #18 in Nielsen's top twenty five shows. At the time CBS had a policy in scheduling to keep successful shows in the same time slot; however, an exception would be made for Gilligan's Island, which had proven to be an embarrassment to the network. The series was then moved from its 8:30 PM Eastern Saturday time slot to 8:00 PM Eastern Thursday for for the 1965-1966 season. The change in time slot hurt Gilligan's Island very little in the ratings. The show came in 22nd n Nielsen's top twenty five shows. For its third season Gilligan's Island was moved once more, this time to 7:30 PM Eastern Monday. While the show fell out of the top twenty five shows according to Nielsen for the season, its ratings were still respectable and it consistently won its time slot. CBS not only renewed Gilligan's Island, but decided to keep it in the same time slot. It would be followed by a new situation comedy entitled Doc, starring Eldon Quick as a young physician hired by an older physician played by John McIntire.

While Gilligan's Island was set to return in the same time slot for the 1967-1968 season, a television stalwart was set to go off the air. Gunsmoke was one of three Westerns to debut in the fall of 1955 (the others were The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and Cheyenne) and spurred the phenomenally huge cycle towards Westerns in the late Fifties. From 1957 to 1961 it was the number one show on television. Unfortunately, after Gunsmoke was expanded from a half hour to an hour, it experienced a catastrophic slide in the ratings. It was then in the 1966/1967 that the programmers at CBS decided to cancel Gunsmoke at the end of its twelfth season.

The outcry was immediate. Critics and viewers alike were outraged. Senate Robert Byrd even criticised the network's decision on the Senate floor. Even with such outcry, it is quite possible that CBS would not have given Gunsmoke a reprieve had it not been for one thing. Quite simply, Gunsmoke was among the favourite shows of both William S. Paley and his wife Babe. When he saw that Gunsmoke was not on the fall 1967-1968 schedule, he immediately called CBS vice president Mike Dann and demanded that the show be renewed. With visions of losing their jobs, CBS' programmers then rushed to find a solution to their scheduling dilemma. Unfortunately their solution would not be one that would be pleasing to the cast and crew of Gilligan's Island.

As mentioned above, Gilligan's Island had received atrocious notices upon its debut. This had won it no love from Wlliam S. Paley, who wanted programming on CBS to be high in quality. At the same time CBS' affiliates had shown an extreme dislike for the new sitcom Doc, which was set to follow Gilligan's Island. It was then decided that Gilligan's Island, which had always been a bit of an embarrassment to Mr. Paley, and Doc, which was not popular with the affiliates, would be cancelled and Gunsmoke would be return in the 7:30 PM Eastern Monday time slot.

The repercussions of the reprieve Gunsmoke was given would not end with the cancellation of Gilligan's Island. In its new time slot, Gunsmoke made a miraculous recovery. It jumped from the bottom of the ratings to the top ten for the 1967-1968 season. With such phenomenal ratings, the shows on NBC and ABC could not compete. On NBC The Monkees, which was directly against the first half hour of Gunsmoke, saw a drop in its ratings. The Man From U.N.C.L.E, whose first half hour aired against the second half hour of Gunsmoke, had already seen a drop in its ratings in its third season. In its fourth season its ratings dropped even more. As to the new series on ABC, Cowboy in Africa, it never had a chance. In the end, Gunsmoke would run another eight years. As to Gilligan's Island, it went onto become a sensation in syndication.

It was William S. Paley and his wife's love of Gunsmoke that would ultimately be the reason that Gilligan's Island ran only three seasons. What is more, the return of Gunsmoke would take down three other shows on the competing networks, two of which (The Monkees and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) are counted as classics in many quarters. While no one can say how things would have unfolded had Gunsmoke not been renewed and moved to Monday night, one can probably guess that things would have unfolded very differently.

(Credit Where Credit is Due Department: In addition to the usual news archives and IMDB, I relied a good deal on Inside Gilligan's Island by Sherwood Schwartz. This book is not only useful for anyone curious about the history of that series, but for anyone who wants an inside view on the inner workings of television series and broadcast networks in the Sixties).

The Late Great Dick Giordano

Comic book artist and editor Dick Giordano passed today at the age of 77. The cause was complications from pneumonia.

Richard Giordano was born on July 10, 1932 in Manhattan. He was still very young when he was introduced to comic books by one of the first true comic books to exist: Famous Funnies. He would go onto become a huge fan of the character Batman. He was particularly impressed by Batman #1, spring 1940, which featured the first appearance of The Joker, a character who frightened the young Mr. Giordano. It also convinced him he want to work in the field of comic books. He also enjoyed the characters of Blackhawk and Captain America. He was an avid fan of radio shows, in particular The Lone Ranger, Inner Sanctum, and Jack Armstrong, the All American Boy. He started drawing while very young, encouraged a good deal by his parents. It was his eighth grade art teacher who advised he enrol at New York's School of Industrial Arts. He did so when he was fourteen.

Dick Giordano graduated from the School of Industrial Arts in 1950. He then looked for a job within the comic book industry. In 1951, after months of rejections, Mr. Giordano went to what he thought was the office of a comic book company, only to find out it had moved. Only one person remained, a man who claimed to be a comic book writer. He looked over Mr. Giordano's portfolio and told him he should visit comics packager Jerry Iger. The Iger Studio was a firm which was hired by comic book companies to letter and ink comic book panels. During the Golden Age they had worked for Quality Comics, Fox Comics, and others. By the Fifties they created content for Fiction House, the publisher of the popular Sheena, Queen of the Jungle (created by Will Eisner and Jerry Iger himself). Mr. Giordano started out more or less as an errand boy in the Iger Studio office, before finally graduating to inking. Among the comic books he inked was Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.

Dick Giordano's next job would come as the result of his father, a cab driver. One of his father's fellow cab drivers, Harold Philips, was brother in law to Charlton Comics editor Al Fago, creator of such funny animal characters as Atomic Mouse. Philips invited both Mr. Giordano and Fago to his New Year's Party, knowing Mr. Giordano was a comic book artist. Fago was impressed by Mr. Giordano's work and promised to start assigning him freelance work. He received enough work from Charlton Comics to quit his job at Iger Studio. At Charlton Mr. Giordano worked on such comic books as Racket Squad in Action,  Space Adventures, and  Hot Rods and Racing Cars. In 1955 Charlton Comics was restructured, at which point he ceased to be a freelancer and became one of Charlton's staff. During this period Mr. Giordano worked on such titles as Scotland Yard and Wyatt Earp, as well the company's brief 1955 revival of The Blue Beetle. After Al Fago left Charlton over a disagreement with management, Dick Giordano was made the assistant to new editor Pat Masulli. After a year in the position Mr. Giordano was unhappy, so Masulli offered him a deal whereby he could freelance for Charlton under various pseudonyms (this was done because Charlton's management would not have liked such an arrangement).

In the early Sixties, without Charlton's management knowing, Dick Giordano also accepted freelance work from Stan Lee of Atlas Comics (soon to be renamed Marvel Comics) and other companies. With his brother in law Sal Trapiani, Mr. Giordano did freelance work for Dell, DC, and the American Comics Group. He worked on such titles as Dr. Who, Hogan's Heroes, Get Smart, and the little known Beatles comic book published by Dell. He did his first work for DC at this time, on The Brave and the Bold #65, May 1965, which teamed up The Flash and The Doom Patrol. By 1965 Mr. Giordano was the managing editor at Charlton Comics. It while he was editor that he introduced Charlton Comics' "Action Hero" line, which included such characters as a new version of The Blue Beetle, Sarge Steel, The Question, Peacemaker, Judomaster,  and Peter Cannon...Thunderbolt.

It was in 1968 that Mr. Giordano became part of DC Comics' staff. Initially he worked on such titles at DC as Aquaman, The Secret Six, The Creeper, The Teen Titans, and Young Love, among others. He would later ink a few issues of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams' groundbreaking Green Lantern/Green Arrow. in 1971 Dick Giordano left DC Comics to found Continuity Associates with Neal Adams. Continuity Associates was a packager which provided storyboards for movies and advertising art, but also provided content for Charlton Comics and Marvel Comics. During this period Dick Giordano would work for DC on Batman and Wonder Woman. He also provided the Sons of the Tiger feature for Marvel's black and white magazine The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu.

It was in 1980 that new publisher Jeanette Kahn brought Dick Giordano back to DC Comics. Initially he edited the Batman line of comic books. In 1981 he was made managing editor at DC and in 1983 Vice President/Executive Editor. With editor Paul Levitz and Jeanette Kahn, Giordano remade DC Comics by reenvigorating such features as Batman, Justice League of America, Superman, Teen Titans, and Wonder Woman. By 1993 Mr. Giordano, Levitz, and Kahn would launch the Vertigo imprint. Mr. Giordano continued to ink, including work on Crisis on Infinite Earths and The Man of Steel miniseries. By the mid-Eighties Mr. Giordano became a outspoken champion for creator's rights.

In 1993 Dick Giordano went into semi-retirement. He inked the Modesty Blaise graphic novel for DC in 1994, issues of Birds of Prey, Catwoman and Batman: Gotham Knights, and The Power of Shazam graphic novel. He drew several issues of The Phantom published in Europe and Austrailia, and helped Bob Layton launch Future Comics in 2002. He wrote the book Drawing Comics with Dick Giordano, outlining his artistic techniques.

Dick Giordano is rightfully called a comic book legend. As an editor he encouraged the careers of Denny O'Neil, Jim Aparo, John Byrne, Steve Skeates, and many others.  As an inker he was among the best in the business. His style would influence such artists as Terry Austin, Bob Layton, Mike DeCarlo, Joe Rubenstein, and others. Mike Gold even referred to him as the "..the godfather of modern inking style." Dick Giordano also always maintained a strong connection with the fans, through the letters columns of the various comic books he edited over the years and his monthly "Meanwhile..." column in DC titles during his tenure as managing editor and later Executive Editor there. From the testimony of his fellow artists and writers in the comic book industry and fans alike, he was also one of the kindest, most considerate gentlemen one could ever hope to meet. Quite simply Dick Giordano was not just a great artist and great editor, he was also a great human being.

Actor James Mitchell R.I.P.

Actor James Mitchell, a star of Broadway and a regular on All My Children, passed on Januaary 22 at the age of 89. The cause was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated by pneumonia.

James Mitchell was born on 29 February, 1920  in Sacramento, Washington to English immigrants. His mother returned to England in 1923 with his brother and sister, and Mitchell had no further contact with her. Having difficulty making ends meet, his father fostered him to vaudevillians Gene and Katherine King. He returned to his father after he remarried. When he was 17 he moved to Los Angeles, where he resumed contact with the Kings. It was while at Los Angeles College that he took an interest in dance, and enrolled at the school of choreographer Lester Horton. After receiving his associates degree, he joined Horton's company, where he remained for four years.

It was in 1944 that Horton went to New York with the intention of founding a new dance company, taking James Mitchell with him. Unfortunately, the company soon collapsed. Mitchell would not remain out of work long, as he successfully auditioned for choreographer Agnes de Mille. de Mille offered Mitchell the positions of principal dancer and assistant choreographer. It was then in 1944 that James Mitchell made his debut on Broadway in the musical Bloomer Girl. Mitchell then embarked on a successful Broadway career, often collaborating with de Mille. He appeared in Billion Dollar Baby (1945), Brigadoon (1947), Paint Your Wagon (1951), Livin' the Life (1957), a revival of Carousel (1957), and First Impressions (1959).

While Mitchell was appearing on Broadway, he also had a career on film. He made his debut as one of the dancers in Moonlight in Havana in 1942. For many years Mitchell appeared in movies as a dancer or in bit parts. His first significant role in a movie was in the Western Colorado Territory in 1949. The Fifties saw Mitchell appear in such films as The Toast of New Orleans, The Band Wagon (in which he played Paul Byrd), Oklahoma, and The Peacemaker. He made his television debut on an episode of Gruen Guild Playhouse in 1952. Throughout the Fifties he appeared on such shows as Producer's Showcase, Casablanca, and Decoy.

The Sixties saw James Mitchell appear on Broadway again, in the plays Carnival and The Deputy. On television he appeared in the shows The Edge of Night, Blue Light, and Hawk. He was a regular on the series Where the Heart Is. He appeared in the film A Touch of Magic. From 1967 to 1969 he was part of Jerome Robbins' American Theatre Laboratory. The Seventies saw James Mitchell appear on Broadway in Mack & Mabel. He appeared in the film The Turning Point. On television he appeared on Charlie's Angels and Lou Grant, as well as the TV movies The Silence and  Women at West Point. It was in 1979 that he joined the cast of All My Children, as Palmer Cortlandt Sr. He remained with the show until 2008.

Although best known for his role in All My Children, James Mitchell should perhaps be best known as a song and dance man. He was possessed of a great and a natural talent for dance that showed every time he performed. He was also a very good actor. He more than held his own as choreographer Paul Byrd alongside such talents as Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, and Oscar Levant. Although many might remember him as Palmer Cortlandt Sr., he should perhaps best be remembered as the talented singer and dancer he was.

Joan Bennett's 100th Birthday

Perhaps no actor ever had as diverse a career as Joan Bennett. It was not simply that she saw success on stage, in movies, and on television, although she did. It was more a case that she played a large variety of roles, often very different from each other, and did so very well. She started out playing blonde ing�nues (blonde being her natural colour) before playing brunette femme fatales. Towards the end of her career she often played the mother figure. In between she played an enormous array of different parts, everything from a naive blonde to a dangerous seductress to a caring mother to the head of a witch's coven. And in every case she did so with a sincerity and conviction of which only few actors are capable.

Joan Bennett was born 100 years ago today, on February 27, 1910. It could literally be said that she had acting in her blood. Her father was Richard Bennett, star of the stage and a matinee idol of the early Silent Era. Her mother was Adrienne Morrison, an actress on stage and in early silents. Her maternal grandfather was stage actor Lewis Morrison. Her maternal grandmother was actress Rose Wood, whose lineage in acting reached all the way back to 18th century England. Before her, her older sisters also became actresses. Constance starred in such films as Topper and Two Faced Woman. Barbara met with less success, appearing in a few silents. Miss Bennett attended St. Margaret's, a private school in Waterbury, Connecticut and later L'Hermitage in Versailles, France. She married for the first time when she was only sixteen. She divorced her husband, John Marion Fox, later saying that he was a drunkard and a playboy, when she was only 18.

Joan Bennett made her film debut when she was only six, alongside her parents in the film Valley of Decision, released in 1916. She also appeared in a small part in The Eternal City when she was only 13. Despite this, she had no intention of going into the family business. At age 18, however, she found herself divorced with an infant daughter. In need of work, she accepted a role in her father's play Jarnegan, making her Broadway debut in the process. The novice actress received good notices and Miss Bennett's acting career officially began. She played small parts in Power (1928) and The Divnie Lady (1929) before being cast as the female lead in Bulldog Drummond. Under contract to Fox, Miss Bennett generally played blonde ing�nues, such as the love interest in the 1930 version of Moby Dick, although there were exceptions.  In The Trial of Vivienee Ware she played the acccused murderer of the title. In Me and My Gal she gave one of the best perfromances of her early career, as a wisecracking waitress. A shift in her career would occur when she made Little Women at RKO, released in 1933. Miss Bennett's performance in the film attracted the attention of independent filmmaker William Wanger. Wanger not only signed her to a contract, but also acted as her manager as well.

Under contract to Wanger, Miss  Bennett no longer played blonde ing�nues,  but more substantial roles. In 1935 she played a psychiatrist's young wife who was experiencing a psychotic break in Private Worlds. In Big Brown Eyes, released in 1936, she played a reporter helping her police officer boyfriend (Cary Grant) on a case involving jewel thieves. Joan Bennett was one of the actresses in the running for the role of Scarlet O'Hara. For a short time she was one of the front runners for the part, but lost it in favour of Paulette Goddard and Vivien Leigh (who was ultimately cast in the role).

It would be in 1938 that Miss Bennett's career would take a major change. It was that year that Walter Wagner had a hit with Algiers, which introducing the United States to dark haired beauty Hedy Lamarr. Thinking to capitalised on Miss Lamarr's mystique, Wanger and director Tay Garnett convinced the naturally blonde Miss Bennett to go brunette for the part of Kay Kerrigan. in Trade Winds.  With her newly dark locks, Joan Bennett soon found herself cast in new roles. She appeared in the crime drama The House Across the Bay in 1940 and the political melodrama The Man I Married in 1940. It would be 1941 that would establish Joan Bennett in the sort of roles for which she is now best known, as a film noir femme fatale.


It was in 1941 that Miss Bennett played Cockney prostitute Jerry Stokes in Fritz Lang's Man Hunt. She nad Lang would work together again in 1944's The Woman in the Window, playing mystery woman Alice Reed. They worked together in arguably their best film, 1945's Scarlet Street, in which she played blackmailer Kitty March. Joan Bennett also appeared in Lang's 1948 film noir fairtyale Secret Beyond the Door. She appeared in films noir directed by other directors as well, including Jean Renoir's The Woman on the Beach (1947) and  Max Oph�ls' The Reckless Moment (1949). In between these films Miss Bennett appeared in such movies as Nob Hill and Colonel Effingham's Raid. In 1950 Joan Bennett's career would change again, as she played the mother in the films Father of the Bride (1950) and Father's Little Dividend (1951).

Sadly, just as William Wanger had helped spur Joan Bennett's career, he would also bring it nearly to a halt. The two had married in 1940.  It was in 1950 that Wanger shot her agent of twelve years, Jennings Lang, claiming that the two were having an affair. Both Lang and Miss Bennett strenuously denied that they had an affair and stated that their relationship was only one of business. Miss Bennett blamed Wanger's actions on stress brought on by their financial woes. Wanger's attorney pleaded temporary insanity and he served a three month sentence at a minimum security prison farm. Unfortunately, the damage was done and Miss Bennett's career would never be the same.

Increasingly, Joan Bennett's appearances were on television. She made her television debut on Nash Airflyte Theatre in 1951. Throughout the decade of the Fifties, she appeared on such shows as General Electric Theatre, Climax, Playhouse 90, and Pursuit. In 1959 she played the mother in the short lived series Too Young to Go Steady. She also appeared often on stage, and toured in such plays as Susan and God, Bell, Book and Candle, Once More With Feeling, The Pleasure of His Company, and Never Too Late.Sadly, her movie career was nearly at non-existent. From 1951 to 1960 she appeared only in Highway Dragnet, We're No Angels, There's Always Tomorrow, and Desire in the Dust.

The Sixties saw Joan Bennett appear both on television and the stage, but in only one film (and that one was linked to a television series). She guest starred on an episode of Mr. Broadeway in 1964 and on Burke's Law in 1965. In 1966 she was cast as matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard on the Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. In the course of the series she not only played Elizabeth, but three other members of the Collins clan in the show's various time travel story arcs. In the end she was only one of three actors who appeared in the series from its beginning to the end. She also appeared in the feature film aon the series, House of Dark Shadows, released in 1970.

Following Dark Shadows Miss Bennett appeared in the telefilms Gidget Gets Married (1972), The Eyes of Charlie Sand (1972), Suddenly Love (1978), This House Possessed (1981), and Divorce Wars: A Love Story. She guest starred in an episode of the short lived show Dr. Simon Locke. Her last big  screen appearance was in the cult horror film Suspira, released in 1977. She died on December 7, 1990.

Joan Bennett was one of those few classic actors I first encountered not in their movies, but on a television series. That series was Dark Shadows, the Gothic serial that was a phenomenon for a time and the only soap opera I ever loyally watched. Miss Bennett's talents as a dramatic chameleon were put to good use on the show, as she not only played the matriarch of the Collins clan in the Sixties and early Seventies, but other members of the Collins family throughout the ages. Perhaps no other actress could have accomplished this with such finesse. Later I discovered her classic films, Scarlet Street, Man Hunt, Father of the Bride, Little Women, and so on. If I had not known better, it would have been hard to believe that it was the same actress playing those various roles. Indeed, while Joan Bennett's transformation from ing�nue to femme fatale to a change in hair colour, I think she could have accomplished it with her natural blonde locks. After all, Miss Bennett was of such talent that she could easily play an innocent one film and a seductress in the next. Few other actresses in the history of film were ever that versatile.

Johnny Maestro R.I.P.

Johnny Maestro, the lead vocalist of The Crests and later  The Brooklyn Bridge, passed on March 24 at the age of 70. The cause was cancer.

Johnny Maestro was born on May 7, 1939 in Brooklyn. He grew up on the lower east side of Manhattan. In 1956 The Crests, founded by J. T. Carter, chose Maestro as their lead vocalist. The Crest would sign with Joyce and had a minor hit with "Sweetest One" in 1957. The Crests later moved to the Coed label, where they achieved their biggest hit, "Sixteen Candles," in 1958. The Crests would have further hits with "A Year Ago Tonight," "Trouble in Paradise," "Six Nights a Week," "Step By Step," and "The Angels Listened In."

It was in 1960 that Johnny Maestro went go solo, adopting the name "Johnny Maestro." He had a few hits such as "Model Girl" and "What a Surprise." In 1967 Johnny Maestro joined The Del-Satins as their new lead vocalist. It was in 1968 that The Del-Satins met a seven piece brass ensemble called The Rhythm Method. The two groups decided to merge. The group then became known as The Brooklyn Bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge would have a hit with "The Worst That Could Happen," which went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968. Unfortunately, they never repeated the success of their debut single. They released six more singles, among them "Blessed Is The Rain," "Welcome My Love," and "Your Husband, My Wife." The Brooklyn Bridge released four albums before being dropped by the Buddha label. Although the group no longer had a recording contract, they continued to perform. In 1989 they released a holiday album entitled Christmas Is... From 1993 to 2007 they released five more albums.

I always enjoyed The Crests' songs with Johnny Maestro as their lead vocalist. And while I have never heard very many of The Brooklyn Bridge's songs, I always liked "The Worst That Could Happen." Johnny Maestro was a very good singer, with a remarkable range. More importantly, he was capable of endowing songs with emotion in a way only a few singers can. By way of example, "The Worst That Could Happen" was originally recorded by The Fifth Dimension, but their version is inferior to the one recorded by The Brooklyn Bridge, precisely because it lacks the feeling Johnny Maestro put into the song. When it came to doo wop, he was one of the best.

Actor Pernell Roberts Passes On

Pernell Roberts, the actor best known for playing introspective, eldest son Adam Cartwright on the TV series Bonanza, passed Sunday at the age of 81. The cause was pancreatic cancer.

Pernell Roberts was born on May 18, 1928 in Waycross, Georgia. He attended Georgia Tech for a short time, before he joined the Marines. He was assigned to the Marine Corps Band due to his ability to play baritone horn, sousaphone, tuba and percussion. Following his service in the Marines, Roberts attended the University of Maryland for a time. It was there that he developed an interest in acting. He left school to work at the brand new Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

It was in 1952 that Pernell Roberts moved to New York City to pursue acting. He appeared in various off Broadway plays before making his debut on Broadway in Tonight in Samarkand in 1955. Over the next few years he appeared in several Broadway plays, including The Lovers (1956), A Clearing in the Woods (1957), a revival of The Taming of the Shrew, and The Duchess of Malfi (1957). He won a Drama Desk award for his performance in an off-Broadway revival of Macbeth in 1958.

In 1957 Pernell Roberts made his television debut in a guest appearance on Sugarfoot. The next few years he would guest star on Whirlybirds, Trackdown, Have Gun Will Travel, Northwest Passage, and General Electric Theatre. He his film debut in Desire Under the Elms in 1958. He also appeared in the films The Sheepman and Ride Lonesome (directed by Budd Boetticher).

It was in 1959 that Pernell Roberts was cast as Adam, Ben Cartwright's eldest son, on Bonanza. While the series would become one of the most successful shows of all time, Robert's tenure on Bonanza did not always run smoothly. He fought with producers to include more minority actors on the show and more minorities in the crew as well. He also complained about the quality of the scripts on the show, even referring to the show as "Junk TV." After six years with Bonanza, Roberts left the show. Adam was written out of the show as having left the Ponderosa. While the door was always left open for Adam's return, Pernell Roberts never returned to the show.

While Bonanza was still on the air, Pernell Roberts continued to appear elsewhere. He guest starred on The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor and appeared as himself in the movie The Errand Boy. After he have left the show, Roberts made several guest appearances, on such shows as The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, Gunsmoke, The Big Valley, The Name of the Game, Hawaii Five-O, The Virginian, Alias Smith and Jones, Night Gallery, The Odd Couple, Mission: Impossible, The Odd Couple, Ironside, Baretta, The Rockford Files, The Man From Atlantis, and The Paper Chase. He also returned to the stage. He appeared on Broadway in the play Captain Brassbound's Conversion in 1972, Rhett Butler in a Los Angeles stage production of Scarlett, and in Welcome Home in Chicago. It was in 1979 that Pernell Roberts was cast in the title role in the M*A*S*H spinoff Trapper John M.D.  The series proved to be a hit, running seven years.

Following Trapper John M.D., Pernell Roberts appeared in the mini-series Around the World in 80 Days. He guest starred in the shows The Young Riders and Diagnosis Murder. He also appeared in the television movies Desperado, Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin, Night Train to Kathmandu, and Donor. He appeared in the film Checkered Flag.

Pernell Roberts was well known for his activism. Not only did he pressure the producers of Bonanza to hire more minorities, he also participated in the civil rights marches in both Selma and Montgomery.

Growing up I regularly watched Bonanza and it remains one of my favourite shows to this day. I must say that is much of the reason that Pernell Roberts' passing pains me so. Not only did he play Adam on the show, but he was the very last member of the cast to die. Not only are the actors who played the Cartwrights all gone now, but so are Hop Sing (Victor Sen Yung), Sheriff Roy Coffee (Ray Teal), and Deputy Clem Foster (Bing Russell, Kurt Russell's father). While I obviously disagree with Pernell Roberts' assessment of Bonanza, I still had enormous respect for the man. Although best known as Adam Cartwright, he was capable of playing a wide variety of roles. He was convincing as shady gunman Sam Boone in Ride Lonesome, and did very well playing  a heavy in many Westerns. Pernell Roberts was also a man who believed in his convictions. He fought with the producers of Bonanza over the lack of minorities in that show's cast and crew, and participated in civil rights marches. Pernell Roberts was not simply a remarkable actor, he was also a remarkable man.

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The Late Great Robert Culp

Robert Culp, best known for his role in Sixties spy series I Spy, passed this morning following a fall at his home. He was 79 years old.

Robert Culp was born on August 16, 1930 in Oakland, California. He attended the College of the Pacific, Washington University in St. Louis, San Francisco State College, and the University of Washington drama school, but never graduated. Mr. Culp moved to New York and appeared in off Broadway productions. He debuted on television in 1953 on You Are There. He guest starred on Robert Montgomery Presents, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and The United States Steel Hour.

It was in 1957 that Robert Culp guest starred on Zane Grey Theatre in the episode "Badge of Honour," playing the role of Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman. Robert Culp as Hoby Gilman was spun off into his own series, Trackdown, that fall Gilman was the only law in the town of Potter, Texas, although his job often took him abroad. Various episodes were directed by both Sam Peckinpah and Richard Donner. Mr. Culp wrote his first television series episode for Trackdown, "Back to Crawford," in 1959.  The character of Josh Randall, played by Steve McQueen, first appeared on Trackdown in 1957 and was spun off into the series Wanted: Dead or Alive the following season. Trackdown ran for two seasons and 70 episodes.

After Trackdown left the air, Robert Culp guest starred on such shows as The Dupont Show with June Allyson, General Electric Theatre, Tate, Johnny Ringo, Outlaws, The Westerner, Rawhide, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, The 87th Precinct, Death Valley Days, The Outer Limits, Bonanza, Combat, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. He appeared in the films PT 109, Sunday in New York, The Raiders, and Rhino. Mr. Culp wrote episodes of Cain's Hundred and The Rifleman.  He was considered for the role of Napoleon Solo on The Man From U.N.C.L.E., but had to decline the offer because he was committed to another project. He would make a guest appearance on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in 1964, however, as well as The Outer Limits, Gunsmoke, and Mr. Novak.

While Robert Culp missed the chance to play superspy Napoleon Solo, he would play a superspy in another major, Sixties spy drama. Robert Culp was cast as Kelly Robinson, a spy working undercover as an international tennis pro, in the series I Spy. Comedian Bill Cosby was cast as Robinson's partner, Alexander Scott, a spy whose over was that of Robinson's trainer and coach. In casting Bill Cosby, I Spy became a ground breaking series. It was the first drama to feature an African American in a lead role. The relationship between Scott and Robinson was as revolutionary as the casting of Bill Cosby. Not only were the two men equals, with neither one subservient to the other, but they were also extremely close. This reflected the real life relationship between Messrs. Cosby and Culp. The two men would become best friends in a relationship that spanned nearly forty years. Indeed, Bill Cosby said of Mr. Culp, "The first-born in every family is always dreaming for an imaginary older brother or sister who will look out for them. Bob was the answer to my dreams."

I Spy was set apart from other spy series, such as The Avengers, The Wild Wild West, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., in its emphasis on realism. The show featured no advanced gadgetry, no Bondian villains, and no plots to take over the world.  In fact, I Spy sometimes focused on the darker side of the spy game and dealt with such serious subjects as heroin addiction, the Vietnam War, nuclear weapons, and so on. Despite this, I Spy had a good deal of humour, particularly stemming from the relationship between Scott and Robinson. The series also had its fair share of comedic episodes, including one in which Boris Karloff played a scientist who thinks he's Don Quixote and another in which Jeanette Nolan played a scrappy government official whom Robinson and Scott must kidnap. The series was unique in that it was actually filmed on location in exotic places ranging from Athens to Mexico.

Mr. Culp made his directorial debut directing an episode of I Spy. He also wrote eight episodes for the series, one of which he was nominated for an Emmy. I Spy proved very popular, running for three seasons, from 1965 to 1968. It ended its run only as a result of a disagreement producer Sheldon Leonard had with NBC regarding the show's time slot.

During the run of  I Spy Mr. Culp guest starred in an episode of Get Smart parodying I Spy entitled Get Smart. Following the series he had a starring role in the movie Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice in 1969. He appeared in the film Hannie Caulder in 1971. He directed and starred in the film Hickey and Boggs in 1972, once more playing opposite Bill Cosby. Throughout the Seventies he appeared in such films as A Name for Evil (1973), The Castaway Cowboy (1974), Inside Out (1975), Sky Riders (1976), Breaking Point (1976), The Great Scout and Cathouse Thurscay (1976), Cry for Justice (1977), and Goldengirl (1979). He guest starred on the TV shows Columbo, Shaft, Mrs. Columbo, and Police Story. He appeared in several TV movies, including playing the lead in the unsold pilot Spectre.

In the Eighties Robert Culp was a regular on the TV series The Greatest American Hero, playing FBI agent Bob Maxwell. The series ran for five years from 1981 to 1986. He guest starred on the shows Murder She Wrote, Hotel, Matlock, Who's the Boss, The Cosby Show, and The Golden Girls, as well as appeared in several TV movies. He appeared in the films National Lampoon's Movie Madness (1982), Turk 182 (1985), and Big Bad Mama II. From the Nineties into the Naughts Mr. Culp appeared in the films Timebomb (1991), The Pelican Brief (1993), Panther (1995), Spy Hard (1996), Uncondiational Love (1999), Wanted (1999), Dark Sumer (2000), and The Assignment (his last appearance on screen, set to be released later this year). He was a semi-regular on Everybody Loves Raymond, playing Ray's father in law. He guest starred on the shows Jake and the Fatman, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Lonesome Dove: the Series, The Nanny, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Cosby, Burkes Law, Spy Game, and Cosby  He returned to the role of Kelly Robinson, playing opposite Alexander Scott, in the TV movie I Spy Returns in 1994.

Robert Culp was truly a triple threat. He could act, write, and direct, and did all three well. As an actor he was extremely versatile. In Trackdown he played the somewhat serious gunslinger and Texas Ranger Hoby Gillman. In I Spy he played Kelly Robinson, a playboy who often acted rather than thinking things out. In Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice he played the sexually adventurous documentary filmmaker Bob Sanders. Mr. Culp cold play heroes such as Hoby Gillman and Kelly Robinson, and he could play villains such as Captain Shark in his guest appearance on Man From U.N.C.L.E. with equal ease. As a writer for television he was extremely talented, writing some of the best episodes of Trackdown, The Rifleman, and I Spy. Robert Culp was also a consummate professional. Every time he lost the Emmy for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series to Bill Cosby, he expressed pride rather than envy. Among television actors and movie actors, Robert Culp was a talent with which to be reckoned. Few were ever his equal.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police

With the possible exception of the London Metropolitan Police (better known as Scotland Yard) and the Texas Rangers, perhaps no police force is as well known as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (often abbreviated RCMP). The Mounties have been heroes in novels, comic books, movies, and TV shows. They have been spoofed in cartoons, parodied on skit comedy shows, and even sang in musicals. Dressed in their distinctive Red Serge, they are arguably the most recognisable police force in the world, even more so than other famous police forces such as Scotland Yard and the Texas Rangers.  The RCMP hve are referred to as both Mounties and as The Horsemen, and as everyone knows, they always get their man.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police emerged as the result of two earlier Canadian police forces. The Dominion Police was created in 1868 following the assassination of journalist, poet, and politician Thomas D'Arcy McGee. In many ways they were the equivalent of the United States' Secret Service. The Dominion Police guarded the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, served as bodyguards for politicians, and even functioned as an intelligence service (they infiltrated the Fenian Brotherhood in Canada). In 1911 they would assume responsibility for guarding the naval yards at Esquimalt and Hallifax, as well as the national fingerprint bureau.  During the First World War they also coordinated the efforts of Canadian security and police agencies to enforce the War Measures Act. The Dominion Police's jurisdiction only extended to the eastern provinces of Canada.

The other, in many ways direct ancestor of the RCMP was the Northwest Mounted Police. The Northwest Mounted Police was founded in 1873 in an effort to tame the Northwest Territories. In the 1870's the Northwest Territories were very much a part of the Wild West. In particular, an illegal whiskey trade had arisen in the Northwest, which not only resulted in violence among he white settlers, but problems with the Native population. The whiskey trade would lead directly to the Cypress Hills massacre, in which wolfers and whiskey  traders, fueled by illegally purchased alcohol, attacked a Nakoda camp, resulting in the deaths of 23 Nakoda and one wolfer. Because of the massacre, Canada moved to form a police force for the Northwest Territories. Originally to be called the Northwest Mounted Rifles, Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald signed the new force into law as the less militaristic sounding "Northwest Mounted Police."

The Northwest Mounted Police was modelled to some degree after the Royal Irish Constabulary, one of the first national police forces. And although a police force, it was organised after British cavalry units, complete with red uniforms. The Red Serge of RCMP originated with the Northwest Mounted Police. The classic red uniform (not actually worn in the field, but worn for ceremonial purposes) was not the only thing the RCMP inherited from the Northwest Mounted Police. The phrase "The Mounties always get their man" originated because of the Northwest Mounted Police. The phrase goes back to a story in the Fort Benton Record (out of Montana) in April 1877, only four years after the police force was formed.

The Northwest Mounted Police was only meant to be temporary, but as time passed it became a permanent fixture. In fact, by 1903 their jurisdiction included the Yukon and extended to the Arctic coast. It was in June 1904 that King Edward VII officially recognised the police force, making them the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. In 1905 their jurisdiction was expanded to include the new provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

It was in 1919 that the Canadian Parliament passed legislation by which the Royal Northwest Mounted Police would absorb the Dominion Police to become a national police force. It was then on February 1, 1920 that the two police forces were merged to become the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police would be responsible for enforcing federal laws across all of Canada. Throughout the 1930's the RCMP would assume more responsibilities, including including fingerprints, a photograph section, a forensics laboratory, and firearms registration. From the Fifties until the Canadian Security Intelligence Service was created in 1984, the RCMP handled a good deal of Canada's security and intelligence operations.

As mentioned earlier, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police inherited their distinctive red uniform from the Northwest Mounted Police. Contrary to many Hollywood movies and TV shows, however, it must be pointed out that the Red Serge is not worn as part of the Mounties' everyday dress while on duty. Instead the Red Serge is reserved for ceremonial occasions, such as the musical rides (for which the Mounties are well known), ceremonial parades, national and civic ceremonies, and such events as funerals and weddings. The only time while on duty a Horseman might wear the Red Serge is while providing security at a special event. Surprisingly, the famous Stetson, wide and flat brimmed "Mountie hat" for which the RCMP are known was not a part of the original Northwest Mounted Police uniform. Originally the pith helmet, was the official headgear of the Mounted. The pith helmet being impractical for the Canadian West, however, most Mounties wore cowboy hats or the famous Stetson Mountie hat while on duty. Indeed, at Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, the contingent of Mounties wore the unofficial Stetson rather than the official pith helmet. It was around 1904 that the Stetson was made the official headgear of the Northwest Mounted Police.

As important as both the Northwest Mounted Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have been in Canadian history, it should be no surprise that they would figure prominently in Anglophonic pop culture. Indeed, the Mounties would often be the heroes of books, comic strips, movies, and television shows. Indeed, little more than twenty years had passed when short stories and novels featuring the Northwest Mounted Police began to appear. Roger Pocock, who served in the Northwest Mounted Police, wrote one of the earliest short stories to involve the Mounties, "Lean Man," published in 1887. His novel, The Cheeful Blackguard, also centred on the NWMP.

While Popock wrote one of the earliest Mountie stories, it was arguably John Mackie the author who invented Northwestern "Mountie fiction." Mackie had served in the Northwest Mounted Police  from 1888 to 1893, and he used his experiences in his works. Mounties take centre stage or at least occupy a prominent place in such novels by Macke as The Devil's Playground (1894),  Sinners Twain (1895), The Heart of the Prarie (1899), The Prodigal's Brother (1899), The Rising of the Red Man (1904), and Canadian Jack (1913).

Almost concurrently with Mackie's career was that of another writer who included Mounties in some of his stories and novels, although they did not occupy centre stage. Jack London was an American who went to the Klondike during its gold rush. Those experiences would provide fodder for many of his stories and even novels.  Mounties figure in such stories as "To the Man on the Trail (1899)" and "The 'Fuzziness' of Hoockla-Heen (1902)," and the mounted also figure in his novels White Fang and Call of the Wild. Ralph Connor, Bernard W. Sinclair and Gilbert Parker were other writers who wrote early works featuring the Mounties, well before the NWMP gave way to the RCMP.

By the Thirties the Northwestern or Canadian Western was well established as a genre, so much so that there were even pulp magazines dedicated to it. North-West Stories was published from 1925 to 1952 by Fiction House was perhaps the most popular. Its success inspired other Northwestern magazines which featured Mounties as heroes, including Complete Northwest Novel Magazine and Real Northwest Stories. It was not unusual for standard Western pulp magazine, such as Street and Smith's Western Stories, to include stories featuring the NWMP and RCMP.

By the Thirties the Mounties were popular enough to produce multi-media successes. The book Renfrew of the Royal Mounted by Laurie York Erskine was published in 1922. It spawned  successful series of books, ten in all, as well as seventeen short stories Erskine wrote for The American Boy magazine. From 1936 to 1940  there was a Renfrew of the Mounted radio show. Six Renfrew of the Royal Mounted movies were produced between 1937 and 1940, in which Renfrew sang not unlike a singing cowboy. These films were later edited into a television series in 1953, with some additional material added.

Another fictional Mountie would also become a multi-media success. Stephen Slesinger created the character of Dave King of the RCMP, and licensed the Zane Grey byline for King of the Royal Mounted. King of the Royal Mounted debuted on Februay 17, 1935 as a Sunday comic strip. By March 1936 King of the Royal Mounted went daily. The comic strip ran until 1955. In 1936 the first of five Big Little Books was published. From 1937 to 1958  King of the Royal Mounted appeared in various comic books, including his own title from 1952 to 1958. Dave King of the RCMP appeared in the feature film King of the Royal Mounted in 1935, and in the serials King of the Royal Mounted, (1940),The Yukon Patrol (1942), and King of the Mounties (1942).

That King of the Royal Mounted should provide fodder for one feature film and several serials should prove no surprise, as Mounties appeared in the movies even before Mountie fiction had fully coalesced as a genre. The first movie featuring the NWMP was Rider of the Plains, produced in 1910 by the Edison Moving Picture Company. Cameron of the North West Mounted Police, based on Ralph Connor's novel, was an early Canadian film produced in 1912 by film pioneer Ernest Shipman. It proved immensely popular. Another early film about the Mounties was O'Malley of the Mounted, made in 1921 and starring the legendary William S. Hart. The film was remade in 1936 starring George O'Brien in the title role

At the moment Hollywood alone has produced over 200 movies featuring the NWMP or RCMP. For the most part these have been action movies or dramas, such as Cecil B. DeMille's 1940 North West Mounted Police, starring Gary Cooper. Strangely enough, the Mounties have figured in other genres of film. Rose Marie originated as an operetta on Broadway in 1924. It was filmed twice in 1928 alone and again in 1954, although the best known film version remains the 1936 version starring Jeanette MacDonald as Marie and Nelson Eddy as Sgt. Bruce of the Mounties. Sadly, Nelson Eddy singing "Indian Love Call" remains one of the most popular images of the Mounties. Even Shirley Temple appeared in a movie about the NWMP, Susannah of the Mounties, based on the book by Muriel Dennison.

Radio would produced what may have been one of the most successful fictional Mounties. Challenge of the Yukon debuted on the home of radio shows The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet, WXYZ in Detroit, on February 3, 1938. The series centred on Sgt. William Preston and his lead sled dog Yukon King in the Yukon of the 1890s. In November 1951 the title of the radio show officially became Sgt. Preston of the Yukon. The radio show ran until June 1955. From 1951 to 1955 Dell Comics published a comic book, entitled Sgt. Preston of the Yukon. A television adaptation of the radio show debuted in 1955 and ran until 1958. There were also trading cards.

Sgt. Preston of the Yukon and Renfrew of the Mounted would not be the only television shows featuring Mounties. Debuting in 1959, R.C.M.P. was a drama centred on the Horsemen that ran for a single season on the CBC, BBC, and the Australian Broadcasting Company. Sadly, it failed in American syndication. A more successful show about a Mountie was Due South.  The series grew out of a telefilm of that title which aired on CTV in Canada and on CBS in the United States. Receiving good ratings in both countries, Due South debuted as a TV series in 1994. It aired from 1994 to 1995, at which point CBS cancelled the still popular series. Making enough of a profit in Canada and the UK to do so, another eighteen episode season was made to air in the 1995-1996 season. After a hiatus of one year, CTV brought Due South back in 1997 for one last, 26 episode season. It aired in syndication in the United States. Centred on a Mountie in Chicago, the show became known for its sensitive handling of characters and remains a cult show to this day.

Portrayed so often in Anglophonic pop culture, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have been parodied from time to time. For the most part this has been in animated cartoons, the most famous of which may well be Dudley Do-Right. Well before Dudley made his first ride, there were animated parodies of the Mounties. In 1942 the struggle between Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd was transferred to the Canadian North in the short "Fresh Hare," in which Elmer was a Mountie pursuing Bugs. In Tex Avery directed the short  "Northwest Hounded Police," featuring Droopy as a Mountie pursuing Avery's Wolf character.

Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties made its first appearance as a segment of The Bullwinkle Show in 1961. The concept actually dated back to 1948, conceived by Alex Anderson (along with Rocky and Bullwinkle) when Jay Ward was about to enter television animation. The series centred on Dudley Do-Right, a none too bright Mountie who often defeated his archenemy Snidely Whiplash in spite of himself. Although in love with his commanding officer Inspector Fenwick's daughter Nell, she hardly acknowledged Dudley, much preferring his horse named, well, "Horse."

 In all, 38 Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties  were made. The Dudley Do-Right segments were popular enough to be reran as the Saturday morning series The Dudley Do-Right Show in 1969 and later syndicated. In 1999 a live action film based on the carton was released. At least in the States, Dudley Do-Right may be the most famous fictional Mountie of them all.

Dudley Do-Right was not the only Mountie to figure in American animation of the Sixties. Klondike Kat was a segment which debuted in 1963 on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales. Klondike Kat was an anthropomorphic cat and a Mountie who was in constant battle with an anthropomorphic mouse and apparently a Qu�b�cois (from his accent anyway) Savoir Faire (whose catchphrase was "Savoir Faire is everywhere!"). Like Dudley Do-Right, Klondike Kat was none too bright, and more often defeated Savoir Faire out of sheer luck. The Klondike Kat segments would reappear on Underdog after that series moved to CBS in 1966. In 1968 when the Underdog segment Go Go Gophers received its own series, Klondike Kat was one of the segments of that show.

The RCMP would also figure in one of the most famous skits from Monty Python's Flying Circus. "The Lumberjack Song" included a chorus of Mounties. The Mounties become confused and disturbed as the lumberjack's lyrics become more, well, outr�. In the film ...And Now for Something Completely Different they eventually pelt the lumberjack with rotten eggs.

"The Lumberjack Song" would not be the only song to involve the RCMP. On their self titled debut album,  Blue �yster Cult included a song entitled "I'm on the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep," which portrays an outlaw fleeing the RCMP across the frozen north. The band remade the song as "The Red and The Black" on their second album, Tyranny and Mutation. A Native group called North End Connections recorded their song about being pursued by the Mounties entitled "The RCMP Always Chases Me."

This is only a very small sampling of the NWMP and the RCMP in pop culture. As mentioned earlier, Hollywood has made over 200 movies featuring Mounties and the Canadian film industry many more. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have existed for over eighty years now, while the Northwest Mounted Police existed for nearly fifty years before that. In real life they continue to be one of the most famous police forces in the world and an important of Canadian law enforcement. It is safe to say that even more Horsemen will appear in books, movies, and TV shows in the next eighty years.

Actress Caroline McWilliams R.I.P.

Actress Caroline McWilliams, who was a regular on Soap and Benson, passed on February 11 at the age of 64. The cause was complications from multiple myeloma.

Caroline McWilliams was born in Seattle, Washington, but was raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh with a bachelor's degree. Her first appearance on television was a guest appearance on the short lived Western Dundee and the Culhane. In 1969 she joined the cast of the soap opera The Guiding Light, on which she appeared until 1975. In 1970 she made her Broadway debut in the play The Rothschilds. In 1974 she appeared on Broadway again in a revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. in 1975 she appeared in a revival of Boccacio. The next few years she guest starred on such shows as Kojak, Quincy M.E., Barney Miller, The Incredible Hulk, and Project U.F.O.

In 1978 Caroline McWilliams became a regular on Soap, playing Sally. When the character of Benson was spun off into his own self titled show in 1979, she joined the cast, playing Marcy Hill. After Benson went off the air in 1981, McWilliams guest starred on such shows as Hill Street Blues, Night Court, St. Elsewhere, The Comedy Factory, and Cagney and Lacey. She appeared in the films Jake's M.O. and White Water Summer. In 1989 she was a regular on the short lived show Nearly Departed.

In 1990 Caroline McWilliams appeared in the movie Mermaids. She guest starred on the show Sisters and had a brief recurring role on Beverly Hills 90120. She guest starred on Home Improvement, Lois and Clark: the New Adventures of Superman, and Murphy Brown. She had a brief recurring role on Judging Amy.

The Late, Great Jean Simmons

Actress Jean Simmons OBE passed yesterday evening at the age of 80. The cause was lung cancer. Her career spanned sixty five years.

Jean Simmons was born in Lower Holloway, London on 31 January, 1929. During Germany's air attacks on Great Britain during World War II, her family evacuated to Winscombe in Somerset. It was while her father taught at Sidcot School that she sometimes took to the village stage. When the family returned to London she was enrolled at the Aida Foster School of Dance. It was there, when she was 14, that director Val Guest discovered her. He cast her as Margaret Loockwood's sister in the 1944 film Give Us the Moon.

Jean Simmons' career was already well under way. In 1944 she also appeared in the films Sports Day and Mr. Emmanuel. The next several years would see her appear in major motion pictures. David Lean cast her as the young Estella in Great Expectations, while Michael Powell utilised her talents in Black Narcissus.  She played Ophelia opposite Laurence Olivier in his version of Hamlet, a role that earned her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. It was in 1950 that the Rank Organisation sold the last six months of her contract to Howard Hughes and RKO. Simmons sued Hughes and the studio, as he had claimed an oral agreement with the Rank Organisation would preclude her being loaned out to other studios. While the suit resulted in Simmons being under contract to RKO for three years, it also resulted in the studio having to pay Simmons' legal fees and it gained her the right to be loaned out to other studios.

The next few years saw Jean Simmons appear in  Hughes: Otto Preminger's Angel Face, The Robe, and The Egyptian. The late Fifties saw her appear in some of her best known roles: Sergeant Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls, Julie Maragon in The Big Country, Sister Sharon Falconer in Elmer Gantry, and Varinia in Spartacus. The Sixties saw her appear in such films as The Grass is Greener, Divorce American Style, and Rough Night in Jericho.  The Sixties also saw her appear on television for the first time,  in two episodes of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, an episode of Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the famous 1968 television movie adaptation of Heidi.

In the Seventies Jean Simmons' career changed course and she did more television and work on stage. On television she appeared in the telefilms Decisions! Decisions! and Beggarman, The Easter Promise, Thief. She guest starred on The Odd Couple, and Hawaii Five-O. She toured the United States in Stephen Sondheims's  A Little Night Music and later played it on the West End in London. Jean Simmons did appear in films, including Say Hello to Yesterday, Mr. Sycamore, and Dominique.

In the Eighties Jean Simmons appeared in the mini-series The Thornbirds (for which she won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special), North and South, North and South Book II, and Great Expectations. She guest starred on Hotel, the new version of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Murder She Wrote (for which she was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series). She appeared in the telefilms A Small Killing, December Flower, Perry Mason and the Case of the Lost Love, and Inherit the Wind. She appeared in the films The Dawning and Yellow Pages.

The Nineties saw Jean Simmons starring in the short lived remake of the TV series Dark Shadows. She guest starred on Star Trek: the Next Generation and In the Heat of the Night. She appeared in They Do It With Mirrors and other telfilms, as well as the movie How to Make an American Quilt. The Naughts saw Simmons do voice work for the animated feature films Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Hauru no ugoku shiro (Howl's Moving Castle), and Thru the Moebius Strip. She appeared in the telefilm Winter Solstice. Her last appearance on screen was last year as the star of Shadows of the Sun.

 If Jean Simmons had a remarkably long career, it is perhaps because she had a remarkable amount of talent. She was an amazingly versatile actress. In her long career she appeared in nearly every genre of film and TV show that exists, from film noir to musicals to sword and sandal movies. And she often played vastly different roles. In Angel Face she played a murderous femme fatale. In Elmer Gantry she played Sister Sharon Falconer, a none too honest revivalist obviously inspired by the real life Aimee Semple McPherson. In Spartacus Simmons played Spartacus' wife Varinia, whose quiet gentleness masks a hidden strength. Jean Simmons was capable of playing nearly any role she which she wished to. It is for that reason that her career lasted 65 years and for that reason she will be remembered as one of the greatest actresses of the silver screen.

Akira Kurosawa's 100th Birthday

It was on this day, 23 March, 1910, that director Akira Kurosawa was born in Shinagawa, Tokyo. He was a director, screenwriter, editor, and producer. In a career that spanned 57 years, he directed thirty movies. He was an assistant director or second unit director on twenty five more. Kurosawa is often counted as one of the greatest and most influential directors of all time. There are those, not few in number, who would count him as the greatest director of all time.

Akira Kurosawa was  born to Isamu and Shima Kurosawa, the youngest of eight children. His father was a veteran officer in the army who became an athletic advisor, descended from a long line of samurai. His mother was a member of an Osaka merchant family. His father was drawn to the culture of the west, incorporating it into his athletic programmes he ran at school. He also took his family to see movies from the west on a regular basis. Such family outings had a profound effect on the young Akira. As a teenager Akira Kurosawa learned calligraphy and studied painting. In the end, however, he would not find success as a painter. Kurosawa failed the entrance exam into art school and afterwards drifted from such jobs as contributing to a radical newspaper and working as a commercial artist. It was in 1936 that he learned of an apprenticeship programme for directors operated by the studio PCL (Photo Chemical Laboratory), one of the two companies that would become Toho. He became an assistant director and screenwriter to one of Japan's greatest directors of the time, Kajiro Yamamoto.

Under Yamamoto's tutelage Akira Kurosawa worked on twenty four movies as an assistant director or second unit director. His first stint in the director's chair would be for some scenes in Uma (1941). Deemed physically unfit, Kurosawa did not serve in the army during World War II. His first few movies were made under the supervision of the Japanese government and sometimes contained outright propaganda. He made his directorial debut with Sugata Sanshira in 1943. After the defeat of Japan, Akira Kurosawa broke with traditional Japanese cinema and made films much in the mould of the west. His first film after the war, Waga seishun ni kuinashi (1946) was openly critical of the former Japanese government. Yoidore tenshi (1948 Drunken Angel) would be his first of many collaborations with the great actor Toshiro Mifune. It is also the first film that is recognisably a movie by Akira Kurosawa, with most of the hallmarks of hies directorial style in place. Rashomon (1951) would not only be Kurosawa's first chanbara movie ("sword fight movie" or, in western parlance, "samurai movie), but the movie which introduced him to audiences in the west. In 1954 what may be the most famous chanbara movie of all time and a film many consider to be Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece (and in my humble opinion the single greatest movie of all time) Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai) was released. If Rashomon had not already done so, Shichinin no samurai established Akira Kurosawa has one of the greatest directors in the world. Since then it was not unusual for Kurosawa's films to be released in the west and to be very successful in the west as well.

Unlike many directors given the label, Akira Kurosawa was a true auteur. He not only directed his films, but wrote, edited, and produced them as well. Because of his autocratic command on the set he was nicknamed "Tenno (literally "Emperor"). He was well known for his perfectionism. Believing brand new costumes did not look realistic, he would make his actors wear their costumes on a daily basis weeks ahead of shooting. In Kumonosu-j� (1957 Throne of Blood) Kurosawa used real arrows fired by expert archers, some of which came within inches of lead actor Toshiro Mifune. While known for his dictatorial directing style, at the same time Akira Kurosawa was very loyal to his friends and collaborators. He often worked with the same group of actors, particularly Toshiro Mifune. Fumio Hayasaka composed the scores for most his early films. After Hayasaka's death, Masaru Sato scored most of his films. A sign of Kurosawa's loyalty can be seen in his friendship with Ishiro Honda (best known as the director of the Gojira/Godzilla movies). Working as an assistant director to Kurosawa early in his career, he returned to this position with Kagemusha (1980). Indeed, one of the sequences in Dreams (1990) is rumoured to have been directed by Honda.

During his long career, Akira Kurosawa developed a distinctive directorial style, one in which he most often looked at movie frames with a painter's eyes. He often used multiple camera to shoot action scenes from different angles. He also made extensive use of the telephoto lens for basically two reasons. The first is that he though the telephoto lens made for better looking frames. The second it that he though that by placing the cameras at some distance from the actors, this would produce better performances from them. He was well known for using the elements to heighten the mood of scenes, from the rain in the climactic battle of Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai) to the snow in Ikiru (1951).

Although best known for his chanbara movies such as Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai) and Ran (1985), Akira Kurosawa worked in a variety of genres. Nora inu (1949 Stray Dog) was an outright film noir, in which a detective (Toshiro Mifune) searches for his stolen Colt pistol. Yoidore tenshi (Drunken Angel) was a gangster movie. Hachi-gatsu no ky�shikyoku (Rhapsody in August) was a drama. Akira Kurosawa not only worked in a variety of genres, but he also adapted works that would be most unexpected for a Japanese director. Hakuchi (1951 The Idiot) was an adaptation of The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Donzoko (1957 The Lower Depths) was based on the play by Maxim Gorky). Akira Kurosawa sometimes turned to the Bard. Kumonosu-j� (Throne of Blood)was based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, while Ran was based on Shakespeare's King Lear.

Despite working in a wide variety of genres, certain themes appear in Kurosawa's films over and over again. The struggle between good and evil  lies at the heart of many of his films. Indeed, it is at the centre of his most famous work, Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai), in which samurai must defend a village against bandits. Many of his films also focused on man's efforts to realise self actualisation. This also lies at the heart of Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai), in which the samurai (particularly Toshiro Mifune's character Kikuchiyo)  must look deep inside themselves to become the heroes they were meant to be. The idea that reality can often mask the truth also occurs in his films. It is most obvious in Rashomon, in which four witness give vastly different accounts of a crime.  It also occurs in Yojimbo, in which Kuwabatake Sanjuro plays one crime lord against the other.

 Although Kurosawa dealt with often weighty themes and his films are quite rightfully called "epics," he never lost sight of realism in regards to his characters. Kurosawa's characters are often all too human, with flaws and weaknesses all their own. Indeed, one of the ways in which Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai) was revolutionary was its treatment of samurai. In previous chanbara films, the samurai were treated as idealised characters with no imperfections, much as cowboys once were in American Westerns. In Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai) the samurai are all too human. They even joke about hiding or running way in battle, things which were extremely dishonourable under the samurai code of bushido. Of course, in the end they fight and some of them die as heroes defending the village against the bandits.

Akira Kurosawa revolutionised chanbara movies in his treatment of the samurai in Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai), but he was an innovator in other ways as well. With Rashomon he introduced a new sort of plot to both eastern and western audiences, one in which audiences give vastly different accounts of a single event. Rashomon would be remade as The Outrage in 1964. The plot of Rashomon has since become one of the basic plots of movies and television, utilised in movies ranging from Vantage Point to One Night at McCool's, and TV shows ranging from All in the Family to Fraiser. The plot of Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai) would become one of the archetypal plots of films in both the east and the west. It was the first movie in which a group of heroes are gathered together for a single goal. It was remade as The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), and has influenced films ranging from The Dirty Dozen to The Professionals to A Bug's Life.

Not surprisingly given his influence, some of Akira Kurosawa's films have seen multiple remakes. Yojimbo would be unofficially remade as Fistful of Dollars, givinig rise to the spaghetti western in the process, and still later it would be remade as The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984), Inferno (1999),  and Last Man Standing (1996). Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (1958 The Hidden Fortress) would be a profound influence on Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and would be remade as Kakushi Toride no San-Akunin: The Last Princess (2008). Dodesukaden (1970) was loosley remade as Street Trash (1987).  As mentioned above, both Rashomon and Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai) have been officially remade a few times and unofficially remade (or plagiarised) many more times.

Akira Kurosawa would have an enormous influence of filmmakers. Both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have acknowledged their debt to him. Martin Scorsese once said of Kurosawa, "His influence on filmmakers throughout the entire world is so profound as to be almost incomparable." Hong Kong director John Woo acknowledged Kurosawa as "...one of my idols and one of the great masters." Perhaps only Hitchcock and Truffault can match Kurosawa in terms of his influence on modern cinema, and perhaps not even them.

Akira Kurosawa died on  6 September, 1998. He left behind an enormous legacy in the form of his films, which continue to be influential to this day. The Akira Kurosawa Foundation was founded in December 2003 to contirbute to the art of film. In commemoration of his 100th birthday, the AK100 Project was launched, with the goal of exposing young people to the great work of Akira Kurosawa. Last year Anaheim University opened the Anaheim University Akira Kurosawa School of Film. Today Google's logo was even redisgned in honour of Kurosawa's 100th birthday. Akira Kurosawa was most certainly one of the most influential directors of all time. And for some of us, he was simply the greatest director of all time.

Movies That Pick Me Up

 Evey: �Does it have a happy ending?�
V: �As only celluloid can deliver.�
(the movie V For Vendetta)

Not long ago Kate did a post on movies that instantly pick her up. It was such a fun post that I thought I would make my own list of movies that instantly cheer me up every time I see them. This list is by no means complete, as there are many movies that pick me up every time I see them, no matter how down I may feel (indeed, the above quoted V For Vendetta is among them); however, these are some of the films I like the best when I need a pick me up.

Arsenic and Old Lace(1944)

Short of It's a Wonderful Life, this is my favourite Frank Capra film of all time. I certainly think it is his funniest movie of them all. It is most certainly a black comedy, in which Mortimer Brewster's (Cary Grant) sweet natured aunts have a rather dark secret. It is almost one of the few American farces that works really well, with the situations set up in the first few minutes soon spiralling out of control. Of course, as with any good farce, everything turns out well in the end. The movie has a great cast, with Cary Grant in the lead, and Raymond Massey and Peter Lorre playing supporting roles. It also benefits from a brilliant script by the great Julius Epstein.

The Black Swan (1942)

This is quite simply the greatest pirate movie of all time. Set in Jamaica during the Golden Age of Piracy, the movie stars Tyrone Power as Captain Jamie Waring, a pirate who finds a crisis on his hands when England makes peace with its old enemy, Spain. The movie has plenty of derring do, with Power at his swashbuckling best. It also has what may be one of the greatest ship to ship battles of all time.

The Crimson Pirate

Quite possibly the second greatest pirate movie of all time, The Crimson Pirate is also a steampunk movie before there was steampunk. Burt Lancaster stars as Captain Vallo, the Crimson Pirate, who finds himself caught up in a rebellion. Along the way he receives some assistance from Professor Elihu Prudence (James Hayter), who has some decidedly advanced technology for the 18th century. Burt Lancaster had worked as a circus acrobat, and he puts his skills to good use in this film. The Crimson Pirate also features Christopher Lee in one of his earliest roles on film. Exciting, humorous, and filled with acrobatics and some technology far in advance of the 18th century, this movie is just plain fun.

Duck Soup (1933)

This is the Marx Brothers at their manic best. The film's plot centres on the small, bankrupt country of Freedonia, much in need of financial assistance and under threat from a takeover by neighbouring Sylvania. The comedy comes fast and furious in this film, with some of the Marx Brother's best bits, including the much imitated mirror scene. The movie clocks in only at 68 minutes, but it has enough plot and enough comedy for another three movies!

The Great Escape

Based on the true story of the mass escape from Stalag Luft III (although heavily fictionalised), The Great Escape boasts an all star cast and some of the greatest action scenes in the history of film. The Great Escape also boasts one of Steve McQueen's greatest performances, as Captain Virgil Hilts "the Cooler King." While not all of our heroes live in the end, the film is still inspiring in portraying one of the greatest moments in the history of World War II

A Hard Day's Night/Help!/Yellow Submarine

I list all of these films together because so often I watch them together, one after the other. Each one features the music of The Beatles, even if all of them do not feature The Beatles themselves in prominent roles (The Beatles did not provide their own voices in Yellow Submarine). A Hard Day's Night was the first Beatles movie, a virtually plotless film in which The Beatles travel from Liverpool to London for a TV show. The comedy is fast and frantic, with some truly hilarious lines and situations. It also features some of the best songs ever performed by The Beatles. Help! continued with the fast and furious comedy of its predecessor. It also served as a great parody of the spy films of the day, in which The Beatles must go on the run after Ringo is given the sacrificial ring of a cult parodying the Thugee. Not only are there some truly funny (and surreal situations), but Help! features one of the best soundtracks of all time. The Beatles' involvement in Yellow Submarine was minimal at best, but the film captures the spirit of The Beatles so well that is is often counted as a genuine Beatles movie. Indeed, Yellow Submarine even features the fast and frantic humour that worked so well in A Hard Day's Night and Help!, as well as some truly amazing visuals. The soundtrack could be one of the greatest of all time, featuring songs from Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Head

There is a line of thought that claims that Head is nothing like the TV series The Monkees, even though it stars The Monkees. As I see it, however, there are only two real differences between the two. The first is that Head has no plot whatsoever, while the average Monkees episodes did have plots. The second is that Head is often much darker than the average Monkees episode. Beyond these facts, however, Head is in many ways very much like The Monkees. Indeed, the nature of the comedy is very much the same, with jokes coming fast and furious, accompanied by non sequiturs, sight gags, breaking the fourth wall, surrealism, jump cuts, and often strange camera angles.Head also features parodies of various film genres, something which frequently appeared on the TV series. Head is a truly surreal film, with some very strange moments (the one that comes to mind are The Monkees romping through Victor Mature's hair). It is also a very funny film with some of the best songs The Monkees ever recorded.

Hot Enough For June

Hot Enough for June was one of the earliest spy parodies of the Sixties. It is also one of the best. Much of what makes this film so great is that it doesn't simply parody James Bond, as so many films of the era did, but instead takes a jab at the classic Hitchcock spy thrillers as well. Another thing which makes this film so great is the performance of Sir Dirk Bogarde as Nicholas Whistler. As Whistler, Bogarde reacts as most of us would if caught in the middle of the spy game--he is quite out of his depth and simply trying to get out of the whole thing alive. Whistler's efforts to stay alive and in one piece lead to some truly hilarious situations, making Hot Enough for June one of the funniest spy parodies ever made.

Shichinin no Samurai (The Seven Samurai)

Not only the greatest action film ever made, but in my humble opinion the greatest film ever made, period. If the plot in which seven samurai protect a village of farmers against a band of marauders seems familiar, it is because it is also one of the most influential films of all time, having been imitated endlessly. Shichinin no Samurai is not a simple minded action film, but a very intellectual film in which the villagers are no mere victims and the heroes are not always perfect. It is also one of the most inspiring films of all time, in which the often very flawed samurai ultimately become the heroes they should be. No remake, no imitator, has ever matched Shichinin no Samurai in its sheer quality as a work of art.

Singin' in the Rain

Not only the greatest jukebox musical of all time, but quite possibly the greatest musical of all time as well. Singin' in the Rain has some truly great songs, drawing upon the catalogue of songwriters Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed. It also has some of the greatest dance sequence ever filmed (Donald O'Connor's "Make 'Em Laugh" sequence has to be seen to be believed). What makes Singin' in the Rain so great, however, is that it is also a very good comedy. Set in the period of transition from silent movies to talkies, Singin' in the Rain features some hilarious lines and some truly funny situations. Indeed, the script by Betty Comden and Arthur Green is so well written, that Singin' in the Rain would have been a great film without the songs and dance sequences!

Erich Segal R.I.P.

Erich Segal, the writer who co-wrote Yellow Submarine and and novels such as The Class and Doctors, passed on January 17 at the age of 72. The cause was a heart attack.

Eric Segal was born in Brooklyn on June 16, 1937. He earned a bachelor's degree at Harvard in 1958 and a master's degree a year later. He received a PhD in 1965. He taught the classics at the beginning of his career at Harvard, but moved onto Yale and taught at Princeton as well. While working towards his PhD, Segal wrote music and lyrics for revues. He also wrote musicals such as Voulez-Vous (which only lasted five nights) and Sing, Muse (which only lasted thirty nine nights). It was in 1967 that animated cartoon producer Al Brodax recruited Segal to write the bulk of the script on Yellow Submarine.

At the time Yellow Submarine was not the only screen play on which Segal was working. He had also written a screenplay that was essentially an old fashioned tearjerker. With the screenplay finished, he found it rejected by every single studio. Segal then rewrote the screenplay as the novel Love Story. Published in 1970, it proved to be a bestseller, although one that was raked over the coals by critics. The movie adaptation, released later that year, also proved to be a hit. Segal also wrote the screenplay  for R.PM. (also released in 1970) and the film adaptation of Robert L. Simons' Jennifer on My Mind (released in 1971).

Erich Segal would go onto write other works of fiction. including the children's book Fairy Tale, the sequel to Love Story (Oliver's Stoy), Man, Woman and Child (which was adapted as a movie in 1983). The Class, Doctors, and Prizes. He also wrote several scholarly works such as Roman laughter : the comedy of Plautus and The Death of Comedy. He edited Greek Tragedy: Modern Essays in Criticism, Oxford Readings in Aristophanes, and Oxford Readings in Menander, Plautus, and Terence.

Erich Segal was a very well respected professor in the classics. His book The Death of Comedy covered the genre from ancient Greece to modern times. As a writer there are many who are apt to think of Love Story, perhaps not the best book for which to be remembered (a book even Segal did not take seriously). That having been said, he also wrote the screenplay to Yellow Submarine, one of the greatest animated films ever made, and several other books that, if they did not sell as well as Love Story, were much better received. While many might remember Segal as the writer of Love Story, then, he should perhaps be remembered for much more.

Children's Author Sid Fleischman Passed On

Sid Fleischman, Newbury winning author of more than 50 children's books, passed on March 17. The cause was cancer. He was 90 years old.

Sid Fleischman was born on March 16, 1920 in Brooklyn, but grew up in San Diego, California. As a child he studied magic and by his teens he even performed on vaudeville. He published his first book, Between Cocktails, a collection of magic tricks written for his fellow magicians, when he was only 19. During World War II he served in the Naval Reserve aboard a destroyer escort. Following the war he graduated from San Diego State University in 1949. His first suspense novel, The Straw Donkey Case, was published in 1948. He continued to write mystery and suspense novels while working as a reporter at the San Diego Journal and later the editor of a small magazine. In 1951 he took up writing full time. His novel Blood Alley would be adapted as the 1955 movie of the same name. His novel Counterspy Express was adapted as the 1958 movie Spy in the Sky.

In all, Sid Fleischman would publish nine mystery and suspense novels and one Western for adults. It would be in 1962 that his career would change with the publication of his first children's novel Mr. Mysterious & Company in 1962. His second children's book, By the Great Horn Spoon, would be adapted as the 1967 Disney film The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin. His novel The Whipping Boy won the Newberry Medal. In all, Sid Fleischman wrote fifty children's books. He also wrote nonfiction works for juveniles, including biographies on Mark Twain and Houdini, as well as a book on magic for young people, Mr. Mysterious' s Secrets of Magic. His biography The Abracadabra Kid was published in 1996.

Death Does Not Take Holidays

Anyone who read this blog lately will have noticed that nearly every post was a eulogy of some sort. Indeed, since January the majority of posts have been eulogies for those with some impact on pop culture who have died. New York Magazine proclaimed the summer of 2009 "the Summer of Death," and I in turn proclaimed last year to be "the Year of Death," but now I fear I was wrong. Of the 37 posts I have written this year, 26 have been dedicated to individuals who have recently died. At  the rate things are going, I suspect more pop culture icons will died in 2010 than 2009.

Indeed, in writing this blog I concluded long ago that the idea that celebrities die in threes was erroneous. Sometimes only one celebrity will die, other times only two. This year it seems as if they are dying in droves. A Shroud of Thoughts seems to be proof of that, as it seems as if lately I cannot go without writing at least two, usually more, eulogies a week. And this is even considering I have ground rules as to whom I eulogise. First, they must have had some significant impact on pop culture (I exclude sports figures for the reason that I do not view sports as part of pop culture). Second, their sole claim to fame must not be that they were a political or religious figure. While certain political and religious figures do have an impact on pop culture, the fact that they tend to be controversial is the reason for their exclusion from this blog. Indeed, I will even avoid eulogising pop culture icons if they tend to be overly controversial (this is why I never eulogised Michael Jackson). Third, since this is my blog, they must have had a significant impact on myself. This is why I have never eulogised country music singers or many artists. They had no real impact on me. Of course, even given these criteria, it seems as if I have written many, many eulogies of late.

Of course, the question remains as to why I should eulogise pop culture icons at all. To answer this, I think we must look at the position pop culture icons occupy in our lives. I do disagree with those pop culture theorists who believe that celebrities are the gods of our day. With the exception of a few distraught individuals, I don't think any of us actually worship celebrities in the full sense of the term. Housewives do not offer sacrifices to George Clooney and rock fans do not pray to Pete Townshend. That having been said, I do think that our society's regard for celebrities is in some way analogous to ancient and not so ancient religions. Quite simply, while pop culture icons may not be the ��inn or Zeus of our day, they may be the Sigur�r or Herakles of our day. That is, we tend to view them as heroes, individuals touched by the gods, God, destiny, or what have you with talents beyond that of the average man. While modern day pop culture icons do not save the world or battle the forces of evil, they do have a large impact on the average person in the same way the heroes in the old stories did. They take our minds off the daily stress of our lives, cheer us up when we are sad, and in some instances may even influence an individual's choice in careers (an enormous number of NASA scientists became such because they read Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon as kids). When a pop culture icon dies, it is then much like losing a hero, an individual who has had an enormous impact on our lives.

While I do think we today tend to regard pop culture icons as people once did the heroes of old, I also think there is another dynamic at work that causes us to mourn celebrities when they died. This dynamic is a product of mass media, that of the illusion of familiarity. Mass media emerged with the invention of the printing press. The printing press allowed for the mass production of books, and in turn led to the development of the magazine and newspaper. Not only did this result in ideas and philosophies spreading much more swiftly than before, but it also created the cult of celebrity in its earliest form. Now individuals could read about their favourite writers, poets, musicians, artists, and so on, to the point that they almost felt as if they knew them. The development of new mass media, such as motion pictures, radio, and television would only increase this illusion of familiarity. The simple fact is that pop culture icons play such a large role in our everyday lives that we come to think that we know them, even when we do not. Indeed, the average person might never think of referring to his or her pastor as Parson Brown or his or her physician as Dr. Robert, but may well be inclined to refer to his or her favourite celebrities by their first name (just look at The Beatles, they are always John, Paul, George, and Ringo). When a beloved celebrity dies, then, it often feels as if one has lost a close friend, even though he or she might never have met that celebrity in his or her life.

The combination of these two dynamics, the hero worship bestowed on pop culture icons and the illusion of familiarity created by mass media, are the reasons we tend to mourn celebrities so. Using myself as an example, I must say that the past week was a very depressing one for me. It is not that my life itself was so bad, but simply that four of my favourite pop culture icons died within days of each other (Doug Fieger, Dale Hawkins, Kathryn Grayson, and Lionel Jeffries). I did not know any of these individuals personally, yet I mourned them as if I did. At the same time, it felt as if someone significant in my life had passed. Quite simply, my grief was brought on by a combination of hero worship and the illusion of familiarity.

My own personal hope for 2010 is that the number of celebrities dying does slow down. It is true that I do not know such individuals personally. And it is true that they do not exist on any higher plane than any of the rest of us. Regardless, like everyone else I will mourn their deaths and miss them terrible. Like everyone else in modern society, I do not want to see any more of my favourite celebrities die.