Gone With or Without fanfare

[MikeBSG]

I never got into "Family Feud," but I always liked Dawson as Newkirk on "Hogan's Heroes."

A few years ago I saw Richard Dawson in an episode of the original "The Outer Limits." The episode was called "The Invisibles," and he played the devious servant of a guy who had been possessed by alien invaders.

[moirafinnie]

You can access all of Richard Dawson's interviews with the Archive of American Television at the link below:

http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews ... ard-dawson

[Sue Sue Applegate]

So sorry to read about all the folks passing today.

The "Greatest Generation" and early Baby Boomers are losing quite a few and at a much more rapid pace.

RIP, all.

[CineMaven]

Here is the very icon of classic songs, "SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES" sung by The Platters. I understand the last original member of this legendary group has just passed away.

[moirafinnie]

Ray Bradbury, one of the most creative writers of fiction and observers of the human condition in the 20th century, has died at age 91. Many of his stories and books were adapted to television and the movies (a medium he adored since boyhood, when he used to wait outside of the studios to catch a moment with a star such as Marlene Dietrich and others). You can see the obituary for this great American writer here on the LA Times.

Though he has been very ill in recent years, I am so sad to see him go and wish I could have met him--though I do feel as though I knew him through his brilliant fantasies and observant stories full of wonder and detail.

You can see Bradbury's contributions to film and television in detail here:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001969/

[RedRiver]

Wow! I'm not extremely familiar with Bradbury's work. But fans must feel the loss of a giant. Thoughts and prayers.

[feaito]

Here is the very icon of classic songs, "SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES" sung by The Platters. I understand the last original member of this legendary group has just passed away.

The Platters are/were scheduled to play in Chile this week. How sad.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

So sorry to hear about the last original member of The Platters. My folks loved that song, and always enjoyed dancing to it.

On another note, Patricia Ward Kelly posted the following on her facebook page:

A dear friend....Bradbury was inspired to write his novel Something Wicked This Way Comes after seeing Gene's movie Invitation to the Dance. His dedication in a recent edition of the book reads: "With love to the memory of GENE KELLY, whose performances influenced and changed my life."

Ray Bradbury, Master of Science Fiction, Dies at 91
http://www.nytimes.com
Mr. Bradbury’s lyrical evocations of the future reflected both the optimism and the anxieties of his own postwar America.

I never knew Gene Kelly had such an influence on Ray Bradbury.

[CineMaven]

So sorry to hear about the last original member of The Platters. My folks loved that song, and always enjoyed dancing to it.

It's a great song, isn't it. Love that last drum before the last note.

The Platters are/were scheduled to play in Chile this week. How sad.

I understand there are soooooo many groups out there that have used the name Feo, but I guess as long as they do justice to the original's great music.

Ray Bradbury gone? Whoa. Great sci-fi writer.

[feaito]

I understand there are soooooo many groups out there that have used the name Feo, but I guess as long as they do justice to the original's great music.

The current formation of the group that's visiting Chile as advertised here is: Gene Van Buren (First voice), Ron Howard (Tenor), Nimisha Wilson (Soprano) y B.J. Mitchel (Baritone).

[CineMaven]

Will you and your friends be checking it out?

[feaito]

Sadly no, because they will perform far away from where I live.

[MikeBSG]

Ray Bradbury was one of my heroes. I think he is one of the giants.

In film, Bradbury wrote the screenplay for John Huston's "Moby Dick." He was a frequent contributor to "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"/"Alfred Hitchcock Hour." "Special Delivery," a Norman Lloyd-directed episode about mushrooms taking over the world is a very chillling AHP episode, and "The Jar," also directed by Lloyd, is one of the most highly regarded AHH episodes.

[moirafinnie]

Ray Bradbury was one of my heroes. I think he is one of the giants.

In film, Bradbury wrote the screenplay for John Huston's "Moby Dick." He was a frequent contributor to "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"/"Alfred Hitchcock Hour." "Special Delivery," a Norman Lloyd-directed episode about mushrooms taking over the world is a very chillling AHP episode, and "The Jar," also directed by Lloyd, is one of the most highly regarded AHH episodes.

Mike, I have always thought that two of the best and most chilling of Ray Bradbury's tales that were produced on AHP were "The Life Work of Juan Dias" (1964-Norman Lloyd), which was one of the scariest ever and "And So Died Riabouchinska" (1956-Robert Stevenson) which featured Claude Rains in a brilliant acting turn. If interested these can be seen online below:

The Life Work of Juan Dias

And So Died Riabouchinska

Wouldn't it be wonderful if TCM could program a tribute evening with films inspired by him, such as It Came from Outer Space (1953), Moby Dick (1956), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), and Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)?

[MikeBSG]

Moira, you are right. Both of those are first rate. I think Bradbury wrote the script for "Juan Diaz" himself, and Norman Lloyd directed it.

"Riabouchinska" stays pretty close to a radio adaptation of the story for "Suspense" back in the Forties. But Claude Rains is absolutely masterful as the ventriloquist, and it gives you a rare chance to see Rains work with Charles Bronson. "Riabouchinska" was directed by Robert Stevenson, who directed "The Man Who Lived Again" in Britain in the Thirties, "Jane Eyre" in Hollywood in the Forties, and then moved to Disney where he directed "Mary Poppins" and "The Love Bug." A pretty unusual career.