The Curse of the 3 Strikes Again…
June 26, 2009 by Spotlight-On WM
Filed under FEATURED, MUSIC, TV SHOWS
Wow, what a tough week in Hollywood and for all those who grew up watching and listening to them: three icons gone before you could blink. And how sad is it that all three were going through some of the toughest times in their lives when they passed?
First Ed McMahon, he of the TONIGHT SHOW 2nd chair, STAR SEARCH and TV’s PRACTICAL JOKES AND BLOOPERS, passed at the age of 86. It appears that the bone cancer he had been suffering, among other health problems, may have contributed to his death. (No doubt the added stress of being in financial trouble and on the verge of losing his home didn’t help… Too bad he couldn’t have been enjoying his golden years instead of having to hawk Cash for Gold to make ends meet!)
Then, just when we were getting used to his being gone, Farrah Fawcett loses her battle with cancer at 62. (How weird is it that all of the original Angels ended up with cancer? I’d seriously want to check out where they were filming for nuclear waste products!!)
While I actually liked Jacklyn Smith the best of the three original Charlie’s Angels, the chemistry of the three leads together made for a fun show. Unfortunately, like many actors who leave successful shows before the storyline is really ready to let them go, Farrah’s career never really ever took off again. She ended up being known more for the men in her life and the best-selling (cheesecake) poster of all time and now for dying of a really embarrasing form of lower body cancer. How sad is that?
Then, before we all stop reeling, the biggest shock of the week happens. Ed McMahon was getting up there in years and Farrah had been battling cancer for a while, but Michael Jackson always seemed to go on and on no matter what bumps and bruises tossed his life. Then, he gets accidentally done in at only 50 by the doctor that’s supposed to be watching his fragile health? (That’s just one of the many rumors running rampant right now… Among the thousands that no doubt will spring up and grow and take on a life of their own as the days, weeks and months go by.)
I’m sorry to say I don’t really miss this Michael much. I miss the Michael of the earlier years, the one who hadn’t gotten twisted so much by either his father or all the money or just finally being unable to cope with all the fame and pressure. I miss the originality of his early music, the magic he seemed to have lost as he lost his own way, personally and financially, not quite seeming to live in the real world anymore. It’s too bad that it looked all downhill for him, no matter what he did.
RIP to all three. May they now have the peace and tranquility they seemed to have lost so late in their lives…
What a week…
From Taking Lives to Saving Lives
June 8, 2009 by Spotlight-On WM
Filed under FEATURED, TV SHOWS
How annoying is it to start watching a show, only to realize it’s already been cancelled? SCI FI Channel is one of my favorites, but they’re also one of the most frustrating in that they seem to pick up shows I never saw when they were first out, didn’t realize how great they were, only to find out that the 13 eps are all that there are and most likely ever will be. Read more
2009 Tony Awards
June 8, 2009 by Spotlight-On WM
Filed under ACTORS, FEATURED, Michael T Weiss
Last night’s Tony Awards show was a nice surprise. It seems they have finally taken a page from Hollywood and decided to provide "teaser trailers" to the nominated shows, whether it be through extended musical numbers by the original artists or through short film shots from the plays in question.
In this day and age of tight economics, people want an idea ahead of time of whether their money will be well spent. And given last night’s performances, I sure wish I had more money and could take the time off to go to Broadway! Read more
Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince Coming Jul 15th
June 7, 2009 by Spotlight-On WM
Filed under FEATURED, MOVIES
After an extra long wait (first due to the writer’s strike, then to Hollywood’s deciding to push it back some more), HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE is finally coming out July 15h. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Michael Gambon, this film also brings back such favorites as Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Tom Felton and Julie Walters, while adding some new actors to the mix: Jim Broadbent brings Professor Horace Slughorn to life, while Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (nephew to Ralph Fiennes) gives us insight into the young Tom Riddle aka Voldemort. Read more
Bill’s Been Killed? – David Carradine Dead in Bangkok
June 4, 2009 by Spotlight-On WM
Filed under ACTORS
Sadly, it appears that David Carradine has killed himself. According to news sources in Bangkok, he was found in his hotel room, possibly in the wardrobe, with a curtain cord around his neck. (They also mention the possibility of other cords wrapped on him, but have called this a suicide at this point – no details have been released to protect his family. However, the extra ropes make me wonder about accidental/autoerotic asphyxiation if they don’t think it’s a homicide, but that’s just a supposition on my part.)
Carradine had been in Bangkok filming a new movie when his body was found by a hotel maid on Thursday morning. According to people associated with the production, he had failed to show up for a dinner the night before, but no one had been concerned at that point. (According to reports, he had been dead for approx. 12 hours when he was finally discovered.) He was 72 at the time of his passing.
Even though Carradine had hundreds of movie and TV credits, he will no doubt be best known for his iconic role as Kwai Chang Caine in KUNG FU. And while the character of Caine was envisioned and created in the 1970s by Bruce Lee (who fully expected to play it, but Hollywood had other ideas), Carradine managed to pull off the half-Chinese, half-European West-wanderer for 3 years (and quite a few movies and a 2nd TV series based on the same character 20 years later.) Not bad for a man who had Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh, German, Spanish, Italian, Ukrainian and Cherokee ancestry, but not a drop of Asian, eh?
Carradine’s career then faded into a series of B, C (and sometimes Z level movies) and small parts on TV shows, mostly in the martial arts and horror genres. He could never quite capture that movie magic again, that is, until Quentin Tarantino made him "Bill" in 2003. (Even that part was to be someone else’s originally: Warren Beatty was supposedly tapped to play it as a "James Bondesque" assasin, but he bowed out, suggesting Carradine instead.) However, even with that hit, afterwards Carradine still was only offered parts in non-mainstream movies as martial arts villains or supporting roles. He just couldn’t seem to find the fame he sought.
Carradine told the AP in 2004, "There isn’t anything that Anthony Hopkins or Clint Eastwood or Sean Connery or any of those old guys are doing that I couldn’t do," he said. "All that was ever required was somebody with Quentin’s courage to take and put me in the spotlight."
I can’t say he was my favorite actor, but David Carradine was definitely a part of my TV-watching childhood, and I admit I thoroughly enjoyed KUNG FU, watching all the episodes (from both series), and he did Bill justice, not an easy thing to do.
May he rest in peace…
