I thought this day would have come a lot earlier.

Regardless, another icon of my youth is gone.

honestly, i thought zsa zsa garbor would be be gone way before dick clark.

Was he on anybodies list?

RIP

Oh no!!!! This is the first I've heard of it. I am so sorry to hear that. He was one of a kind; I'll never forget American Bandstand and how cool that was. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy. A real legend in his field. Real sorry to hear this.



TIS

Very surprised to read about Dick Clark's death because, as SC said, I thought it would have come a lot sooner - specifically, when he suffered that debilitating stroke several years ago. I thought he would then gracefully retire from public life; I admit, it got to be a bit painful watching him on the New Year's Eve shows, at times struggling to speak coherently. Very sad.

Like a number of others on the GBB, I'm old enough to remember American Bandstand. Lots of memories there. And that's how I'll always remember Dick Clark, aka "The World's Oldest Teenager."

R.I.P.

Signor V.

SV,

Remember the ol' Bandstand phrase when the kids rated songs (by percentage I think?) "I'll give it an 85 cause you can dance to it." Or "Because it had a good beat."


TIS

Absolutely!



Signor V.

Here's a sample of the "Rate-A-Record"



It looks so silly now.

Ha ha! I don't remember that first song they played but for some reason remember "Rango." Oh, and remember Herp Albert (they played at the end). He had his own string of hits.




TIS

Oh and SV, cool bananas.

Phantom of the Paradise is my favorite "cult" movie of all time. Finley did a REALLY good job in that film, probably better than the movie deserved. I liked his work a lot.

Good for nothing bad in bed
Nobody likes you you're better off dead goodbye
We've all come to say goodbye...
Though your music lingers on all of us are glad you're gone
If I had lived my life half as worthlessly as you I'm convinced I'd wind up burning too..



OBIT

Obit

Actor Jonathan Frid, 87, who played the vampire Barnabas Collins in the original 1960's TV soap opera Dark Shadows, died April 14 of natural causes in a Canadian hospital.

As the story goes, the soap's producers wanted to inject a supernatural element into the show to boost sagging ratings, and Frid only agreed to the part because it was supposed to be only two weeks work, then the character would be killed off. Ultimately, the blood-sucking Barnabas became so popular (particularly with female viewers) that Frid became the soap's star, and remained with it until its cancellation in April, 1971. (I remember cutting school that day to watch the series finale.)

Last year, Frid and fellow Dark Shadows alumni David Selby, Kathryn Leigh Scott and Lara Parker filmed cameos for Tim Burton's soon-to-be-released remake starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas (whose makeup looks like a drag queen, IMO).

The original Dark Shadows was a lot of fun - a guilty pleasure of its time, and I used to fondly look forward to each story arc and see which famous Gothic novel or horror movie would have its plot ripped off and recycled by the show's writers. So totally over-the-top and, at times, ridiculous - but always played with a straight face. Daytime television was never better back then.

R.I.P.

Signor V.

Bullshit. That's the day you went to the Kandi Barbour Porn Convention.

Ironic that he passed away with the new Johnny Depp version coming out in a few weeks.

Thirty years ago, I remember Ms. Barbour was a particular favorite of my best friend, but I have to say she never did a thing for me. I do wonder whatever happened to Anna Ventura, though (among others)...

A depressing, but inevitable sign of the times: while looking through Google Images at photos of Jonathan Frid, I came across several very recent pics of some Dark Shadows actresses. These were shot at the annual conventions, and I now had an opportunity to see what the ladies looked like today. Ages ranged from late '60s to mid-'70s, and while some of the women had aged amazingly well, it was still a bit startling, having remembered them when they were young and beautiful nearly 45 years ago.

Perhaps this is why (as Dracula said) I tend to dislike mirrors..

Signor V.

Bill Skowron, the famed first baseman of the late '50s/early 60s NY Yankees died yesterday at age 81. "Moose" Skowron was a decent hitting, good fielding player and a likeable guy.

R.I.P. Bill

He was sick for a very long time. I met him at a quasi-celebrity golf outing at Westchester Country Club about ten years ago and I believe he was sick even then.

RIP Moose.

Legendary NYC disc jockey and author Pete Fornatale, 66, died April 26 of complications from a stroke.

He was truly a radio legend in these parts.

R.I.P.

Signor V.

I know that name... he was on K-Rock! I haven't listened to terrestrial radio in years (have pretty much only been listening to O@A on XM satellite when I do listen to radio)... but damn, 66 is too young!

Skip Pitts, Guitarist on "Shaft" died

Fox reports that Junior Seau has comitted suicide.

I heard there was a shooting, but hadn't heard anything about suicide.

That news devastates me. I grew up watching him kickass for San Diego, definately a Hall of Famer.

But really, it's sad that pro football players seem to be dropping like flies more and more like pro wrestlers do.

"Officers found Seau in a bedroom with a gunshot wound to the chest, and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. Reports indicate that a gun was found by Seau's side."

He's the 8th member of the '95 Chargers SB team to die.

I think the link between long term steroid abuse and depression is incontrovertible.

damn...this is scary. rip to a true hall of famer.

I agree.

RIP Goober

George Lindsey, known as TV's Goober Pyle, dies

We're taking note of the day on which someone named "Goober" died?

May 6, 2012, 11:54 AM EST

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- George Lindsey, who spent nearly 30 years as the grinning Goober on "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Hee Haw," has died. Various sources reported his age at 83; his imdb.com profile lists the actor at age 76.