Michael Clarke Duncan passed away today at the way too young age of 54 according to The Chicago Sun Times. The actor suffered a massive heart attack back in July and he never recovered from it. The big guy with the bigger smile and heart made his mark in Hollywood in the movie The Green Mile back in 1999. To this day I say he was robbed of the Oscar for that role because he was just so amazing in it. There was something about him that just made you instantly fall in love with him. Even though he was the size of someone you should be afraid of, he was more inviting than scary.
Although he made us cry in The Green Mile, he made us laugh in The Whole Nine yards. He was versatile actor who started out in this town as a bodyguard, but became so much more in short time. So today honor him and watch one of his many great movies like Planet of the Apes, The Scorpion King and of course The Green Mile so we can keep his huge spirit alive.
I debated whether or not to use that clip from TGM, but then I said that is how we all felt when he heard he died. You can watch that interview from The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to remember him with a laugh, but the tears we shed for him should come from the role that made him a standout star in his first leading role.
Neil Armstrong passed away today at the age of 82. According to NBC News the man, who was the first person to walk on the moon, had open heart surgery three weeks ago. So today honor the man who had the greatest first in our lifetime, by looking up at the moon and saying “This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Phyllis Diller passed away today at the age of 95 according to The Hollywood Reporter. Before Joan Rivers, Kathy Griffin and Sarah Silverman, there was Phyllis Diller and she was hysterical. She opened the doors for other female comedians, and even though the door has closed on her life we can keep her legacy alive by watching some of her brilliant and funny television appearances on YouTube and such.
They don’t make comedians like her anymore and that is very sad thing. The world is a little funny today without Phyllis Diller in it.
The world is a little more quiet today because Ron Palillo passed away at the age of 63 from a heart attack according to WPTV and there is no one to scream out Oo Oo Oo Oo Mr Kotter the way he did. Palillo is best known for playing Arnold Horshack on the ’70s sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, the little guy with a huge heart. So today remember him with a smile as big as the one he gave us with all of his projects and watch him in the show that made him a household name.
Marvin Hamlisch passed away yesterday at the age of 68 after a brief illness according to TheWrap. Marvin Hamlisch was a singular sensation who composed some of the biggest movie scores of our generation. He also wrote music for Broadway and television and because of that he just one of 11 people who has won an Oscar(3), an Emmy(4), a Grammy(4) and a Tony. He is also only one of 5 people who can also add a Golden Globe along with the 4 biggies to their resume. And finally he is one of only two people who can include those 5 statuettes with a Pulitzer as life’s accomplishments. So today honor a man who made our days brighter with his music from Ragtime, The Sting and A Chorus Line to name a just a very few of his great works, and listen to his soundtrack of our lives.
