Meat Loaf passed away yesterday at the age of 74. His family wrote on Facebook, “Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight surrounded by his wife Deborah, daughters Pearl and Amanda and close friends.”
Meat Loaf started his career on the stage in musicals like Hair and The Rocky Horror Show (and its the movie), and then he met Jim Steinman. It was a match made in Rock’n’Roll heaven that created one of the greatest selling albums of all time, Bat Out of Hell.
That album created such Rock Operatic songs like Bat Out of Hell, Paradise in the Dashboard Light, Two of out Three Ain’t Bad, and You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth. It went on to sell over 40 million copies worldwide since its release in 1977.
Meat toured the world with that album, but he was plagued with health issues throughout his career. However, in 1993, Meat and Steinman teamed up for a sequel to the top-selling album and produced hits like I’d Do Anything for Love, Rock’n’Roll Dreams Come True, and Wasted Youth.
Along with recording music and touring, he continued to act in movies and TV shows like Wayne’s Worl, Spice World, Fight Club, and Celebrity Apprentice, to name a few.
I can still remember the first time I heard Paradise when I was 12, and it felt like a rite of passage. So much so I ran out and bought the album, and I became a fan who followed him throughout his career. I met him a few times at fan and press events and tried to be cool around a man whose music I admired so much. However, when I saw him in concert, I went wild during Wasted Youth, and he looked at me like I was crazy. A few songs later, he told the audience, after two young girls tried to give him roses, that when he is singing, he can’t see or hear anything. That made me feel special. I know, but it did. And that concert remains one of my all-time favorites because he put on a show. I wish I saw him perform live again, but it was not meant to be.
We lost Steinman last April and losing Meat now takes a big chunk out of my formative years. Steinman’s lyrics with Meat’s voice is what the Gds of Rock’n’Roll dreamt of. And I assume that Steinman wrote Bat Out of Hell IV, so Gd needed Meat up in heaven to record it. And that is why we lost him.
Today, let’s remember Meat and belt out one of his tunes because that is the only way to sing time. Even his ballads were full of power! I can’t stop screaming (my poor neighbors) Modern Girl. It was one of his smaller hits that was not written by Steinman, but it speaks to me the loudest.
Bob Saget was found dead today at the age of 65. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida says there are “no signs of foul play or drug use in this case.”
Saget was known as America’s Dad because he played Danny Tanner on Full House. During that decade, he also hosted the G-rated America’s Funniest Videos. While he played wholesome on television, his comedy act was anything but that.
In fact, he got his start as Bosom Buddies’ Warm-up comedian and made his television debut on the sitcom that was produced by the people who did Full House. And the rest is showbiz history.
Besides making us laugh, he spent a lot of time as a philanthropist. His biggest cause was the Scleroderma Research Foundation. His sister, Gay, died from the autoimmune disease at 47. He spent 30 years working to get the word out about it and raising money for research for the debilitating disease that also killed my mother. For that, I am grateful to Saget. And I am grateful I was able to tell him that.
Saget would want to be remembered with laughter, so go ahead do it. Watch him do what he does best, whether it is safe for work or so not safe for work.
His final Instagram post said just that. To read it, then click here!
Betty White passed away today, just days before her 100th birthday on January 17th. Jeff Witjas, her agent and friend, said, “Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever… I don’t think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband, Allen Ludden.”
What more can someone say about America’s sweetheart, who everyone loved. Whether you got to her know her on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls, Hot In Cleveland, the game shows, the late night appearance, and everything else she did, you couldn’t help but to adore her.
I interviewed her, and she was just what you thought she would be. The actress was the nicest person you could meet, and she was also humble with all of the success she had throughout her career. One night, me and a friend went backstage and got to talk to her after a taping of Hot in Cleveland. She thanked us for laughing at all the right times. I thanked her for making us laugh.
And I thank her again for all of those laughs. So spend today watching her do just that and laugh with her. You can see her shows all over the TV. And if you want to make it even more special, you can check out her first two sitcoms, Life with Elizabeth and Date with the Angels, on Tubi, today.
I guess today was her day to have a date with the angels and be with her late husband and the love of her life Allen Ludden. Hopefully, she is being greeted by him at the Rainbow Bridge by all the animals she loved on her way to the Pearly Gates.
Michael Nesmith “passed away this morning in his home, surrounded by family, peacefully and of natural causes,” his family told Rolling Stone in a statement. He died just 20 days before his 79th birthday.
In 1963, the guitarist and singer began his recording career. However, three years later, he earned his greatest success with the made for TV band The Monkees that actually became a real one. One that continued touring on and off again up until last month. He and the now last surviving member Micky Dolenz played their planned final show in LA.
Nesmith led The Monkees to fight the producers so that they could create their own music and be considered a real band and not a fake one. It worked, but it was also the downfall for the show that had turned them into International stars overnight. They became almost as popular as another band at the time called The Beatles. The latter band were fans of the group’s music.
After the band parted ways in 1970, he went on to create his own music. He also dabbled as a film and TV producer with hits like Repo Man and PpoClips. The latter earned him a Grammy.
Today, let’s remember him by singing our favorite Monkees song. We all have one.
Eddie Mekka passed away on Saturday at the age of 69, according to his Facebook page.
Mekka was best known for playing the triple threat Carmine Ragusa on Laverne & Shirley throughout the sitcom’s entire run. Along with starring in that program, he also memorable parts in A League of the Their Own, Dreamgirls, and ER, to name a few of his many roles.
