Gavin MacLeod passed away yesterday at the age of 90 after a few months of declining health, according to what his nephew told Variety.
The actor began his career in the late ’50s but did not get his big break until 1970. That was when he was cast as Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Show. He played that role throughout that sitcom’s 7-year run. When it ended, he immediately jumped ship to The Love Boat. He spent the decade as the Captain Stubing.
For 17 years, he was continuously on our televisions, and he is still on it nonstop. Thanks to those two shows that are still airing syndication. I know that because I record them every day on Decades and Me TV.
Today let’s honor him by laughing with him as he makes jokes about Ted Baxter or finding new ways to deal with his crew.
Olympia Dukakis passed away today at the age of 89 after suffering from declining health, according to NPR.
The actress had a long career that spanned six decades. However, the late ’80s were her time to shine. She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Moonstruck. She then followed it up by starring in the Look Who’s Talk franchise and Steel Magnolias.
Whatever she did before and after those movies, she always made an impression.
Today honor her by watching her in one of her many great roles.
(This is a playlist of his great words put to music)
Jim Steinman, the greatest lyricist of my lifetime, passed away yesterday at the age of 73, according to Variety.
You might know Jim Steinman’s name, his face, or his voice, but you know his words. That is because he wrote the lyrics to at least one song that you have belted out. His stories can be heard in all of the songs on the three Bat out of Hell albums for Meat Loaf, Total Eclipse of the Heart with Bonnie Tyler, two of the Rock ballads for the movie Street of Fire, and It’s All Coming Back to Me Now for Celine Dion to name a very few.
When I was in fifth grade, I remember the first time I heard Air Supply’s Making Love Out of Nothing At All. I said I want that to be my wedding song. I didn’t know what the lyrics meant, but that didn’t matter. They touched me, and they still touch me. And I still want that song to my first song at the wedding I am never going to have.
Years later, I would hear the coming of age song Paradise By the Dashboard Light sung by Meat Loaf. I dreamed of losing my virginity to it. I didn’t. In fact, I have never sung it in the bedroom. But I have belted it out with plenty of men at bars or in the woods with the help of some alcohol. What woman hasn’t asked a man, “Will you love me? Will you love me forever?…”
Then years later, we wanted to know what is that one thing that Steinman and Meat would not for love.
I loved Steinman’s words so much; I made them an answering machine greeting. I took Meat’s spoken words from the opening of You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth. He says, “On a hot summer would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?” I said seductively, “Will he leave me a message?” He says, “Yes!” “Will he leave me his name?” “Yes!” “Will he leave me his number?” “Yes! On a hot summer night would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?” “Yes!” “I bet you say that to all the boys!” I did!
He didn’t only work with Meat; he also recorded Total Eclipse of the Heart and Holding Out for a Hero with Bonnie Tyler. Let’s be honest; we have all sung Total Eclipse of the Heart with passion at least once. It is not an easy song to sing because Steinman wrote Rock Operas with each one of his songs. That is why Celine Dion’s It’s All Coming Back to Me is her most powerful tune. The movie Streets of Fire was really on fire with his two epic tunes Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young and Nowhere Fast.
You need a voice to sing one of his songs as he intended. It is not an easy thing to do but try today. Let our voices rise him up to heaven. Although, my neighbors have already threatened to call the police if I don’t stop singing his songs.
Steinman might not have children, but his songs are his babies, and we can enjoy them forever. So let’s enjoy them as they are meant to be enjoyed. However, my cat would like ear pods, so she doesn’t have to hear me singing anymore. My neighbors in a four-block radius agree with her.
Thank you, Jim Steinman, for your words. I will always hold them dear to my heart.
If you want to know more about the making of one of the best-selling albums of all time, you can watch the documentary of the making of Bat Out of Hell on Tubi TV. I have had it in my My List for over a year. Today, I am finally watching it.
Jessica Walter passed away in her sleep today at the age of 80. “It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of my beloved mom Jessica,” her daughter told Deadline. “A working actor for over six decades, her greatest pleasure was bringing joy to others through her storytelling both on-screen and off. While her legacy will live on through her body of work, she will also be remembered by many for her wit, class and overall joie de vivre.”
Walter began her career in 1960, and never stopped acting. Throughout most of her career, she guest-starred on some of the biggest shows of our time like Marcus Welby, M.D., Hawaii Five-0, Trapper John, M.D., Murder, She Wrote, The Big Bang Theory, and so many more. Then in 2003, she landed a role that finally made her a household name. Of course, that role was Lillith Bluth in Arrested Development. A role she reprised for the Netflix revival. However, that was not the only role she was doing at the time. She was also the voice of Mallory Archer on the FX animated show Archer.
Those are her two most infamous roles, but I always loved hearing her voice on Dinosaurs as the loving mom Fran Sinclair. However, a new generation will remember from 90210. Other people knew her from the movie Play Misty for Me. No matter what you knew her from, you always knew who she was. That is because she brought class to whatever role she took. She oozed it, and we are going to miss that about the actress.
She might no longer be with us, but we can still watch and enjoy her work from the last 60 years. Therefore, let’s all make some time to watch something she did to her beautiful light alive.
There is just one more thing I must add. She and George Segal played a married couple on the TV Land sitcom Retired at 35. It is crazy that they both retired to heaven within two days of each other. RIP to two legends.
George Segal passed away today at the age of 87. “The family is devastated to announce that this morning George Segal passed away due to complications from bypass surgery,” his wife Sonia said in a statement.
Segal started acting in front of the camera in 1960, and he never stopped. Six years into his career, he received an Oscar nomination for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. From then on, he starred in movies and shows like The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, Where’s Poppa, Fun with Dick and Jane, and the Look Who’s Talking franchise, Take Five, and Murphy’s Law.
However, his biggest roles came later on in life. In 1997, he landed the role of grumpy Jack Gallo in Just Shoot Me. Finally, in 2013, he was cast in his last role, one he played almost to the end. He starred as the lovable Pops on The Goldbergs. He was the type of grandfather that everyone wants to have as their own. That is why today, show creator Adam F. Goldberg said this about the man he cast to play his Pops, “Today we lost a legend. It was a true honor being a small part of George Segal’s amazing legacy. By pure fate, I ended up casting the perfect person to play Pops. Just like my grandfather, George was a kid at heart with a magical spark. I think these memories say it all…”
It is the perfect way to characterize the actor. Today, let’s keeps his magical spark alive by watching him in one of his many roles throughout his career.
He is survived by his wife Sonia and two daughters, Polly and Elizabeth, from his first marriage to Marion Sobel.
