Gone With or Without fanfare

[MissGoddess]

I just looked again to the online NY Times to refer to Carlin's obit. The original headline describing him as "splenetic" has been changed to "irreverent." And what would George have had to say about the dumbing down of the New York Times, I wonder?

That's incredible. I can imagine what he would have commented on something like that.

[mrsl]

I so agree with Klondike on this one! I always kept an eye out to see his latest stand up on HBO. You have to see his shows 2 or 3 times to catch it all because you're usually laughing so hard you miss a lot. What a way with words and phrases. Any man who can keep your interest in his patter about the phrase "See You Later," or "Call Me," for 5 or 10 minutes, gets my vote for good entertainment. Talk about us being numbed by the language and images we see today, watching his older stuff, you wonder why anyone was so enraged about him.

I am as saddened by this news as I was when some of my favorite Classic movie stars passed away, ready to mourn as if he were an old friend.

RIP George!

Anne

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi,

I just learned that Dody Goodman has died today at age 93....

She lived at the New Jersey home for retired actors and had been ill for several months.

It doubly sad when a funny & humourous person dies. It takes a little more mirth out of the Earth; and we can't afford to lose any more...

R.I.P. dear Dody.

Larry

[moira finnie]

Oh, Larry! What awful news. Dody Goodman's gentle, off kilter humor enlivened everything from Jack Paar to Grease to David Letterman. Marlon Brando, when he was young and around NYC at the time when Dody was slaying 'em on Broadway in On the Town and Call Me Madam was said to be quite enamored with her; mentioning that her fey manner and that slight cast in her eye was "kinda sexy"...indeed. She was a unique comic sprite. The world needs such people now more than ever.

Wish I could've caught her in the show, Nunsense. She was said to have been killing as one of the dotty Sisters of Hoboken. I believe she played "Sister Mary Amnesia" in her usual brilliantly foggy manner.

[jdb1]

Oh, we've lost another one. However, 93 ain't bad. I just loved Dody - especially the way she talked. The NY Times obit says:

Miss Goodman combined a dancer’s grace, a strawberry blond mane and exquisitely timed scatter-brained humor . . . .

Yes. She did.


[Sigh. You know the rules. They'll be another one very soon.]

[srowley75]

Hi,

I just learned that Dody Goodman has died today at age 93....

Very sad...I was an MH2 fan and thought her Martha Shumway was certainly one of the highlights of the series. I would've loved to have met her.

-Stephen

[jdb1]

The news reports today that the glamorous model Dorian Leigh has passed away at 91. She was one of the first of the haute couture and print models whose name was known by the public, and she and her equally fabulous younger sister, Suzy Parker (who predeceased her), were the top models of their day.

Supposedly, Audrey Hepburn's character in Funny Face is based in part on Suzy Parker, who was something of a bohemian dilettante. And the poses Hepburn strikes while modeling in Paris are almost straight copies of Dorian Leigh photographs.

When I was a little girl, these were the women we hoped to grow up to look like. Maybe some of us did, but I missed the mark by a country mile.

Gorgeous Dorian Leigh


Equally gorgeous Suzy Parker

[knitwit45]

The second picture doesn't look like who I remembered as Suzy Parker. I thought she was a redhead, and quite tall. Didn't she do the opening credits in Funny Face? I wanted to look like the models, too, but short and skinny grew up to be short and not skinny....sigh.....

[mrsl]

Is this the same Suzy Parker who played the young girlfriend to Gary Cooper in 10 North Frederick and the doomed actress in The Best of Everything? She was also a model before switching to acting, and she was definitely tall, slim, and a gorgeous redhead with long flowing hair well down half of her back.

She wasn't the greatest of actresses (kind of on a par with Rita Hayworth), but certainly livened up any scene she was in (also like Rita - real eye candy for the guys).

Anne

[jdb1]

The second picture doesn't look like who I remembered as Suzy Parker. I thought she was a redhead, and quite tall. Didn't she do the opening credits in Funny Face? I wanted to look like the models, too, but short and skinny grew up to be short and not skinny....sigh.....

Yeah, Nancy, who was that? That's not the photo I intended - don't know how it got there -- must be the old Internet switch. I replaced it with one, in color, that is definitely Suzy.

And you are right, Anne, it's the same Suzy Parker who went nuts in Best of Everything and threw herself off a fire escape because her caddish lover got bored with her. I think I've mentioned here once before that "Cue" magazine, a precursor to "New York Magazine," used to assign yearly, silly awards to the movie industry, and Parker won "Most Beautiful Bad Actress" more than once.

[mrsl]

I just wanted to poke in here with a comment. I'm almost afraid to check into this particular thread sometimes, because there are so few left, and you know they will appear here sooner or later, and mostly sooner.

I will however, continue checking in and having my eyes water whether a little or a lot depending on who is mentioned. Old friends come and go, but these old friends, unlike our personal buddies, are at least available to revisit on occasion, to laugh with, or cry with or just enjoy seeing.

Anne

[jdb1]

I agree. Sometimes it's people we haven't thought about in a long time, and they do bear remembering.

[Vecchiolarry]

Hello Ladies,

Please do keep us up-to-date on those who've passed. We don't always hear about all our old favourites, who've given us so much in memories, laughs and tears too.....
Even the Academy doesn't honour everybody as they should and so it's up to us - the real fans - to educate and remember them all...

I once saw Dorian Leigh in Rome in the early 50's. In fact, that picture of her looks like it was taken on the east facade of the Borghese Palace in Rome (where Pauline Bonapart once lived!).....

R.I.P. Dorian.

Larry

[jdb1]

Sidebar: Did you know that the actress Parker Posey is named for Suzy Parker? I sure wish my mother had named me for her as well (although I think Suzy Parker's actual first name was Cecilia. That's not bad, either).

[Lzcutter]

Henry Beckman, a wonderful character actor with a craggy face, has passed away. He was 86.

He is probably best known for his role as Captain Clancy opposite the wonderful Joan Blondell on Here Come the Brides.

From the LAt Times:

BECKMAN, Henry 1921-2008. Henry How Beckman, 86, died June 17, 2008 in
Barcelona, Spain.

He was born November 26, 1921 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Recently retired from almost a half-century as a well-known character
actor, Henry appeared in hundreds of television shows, films, and
commercials in the United States and in Canada.

His stints in Canada brought two Canadian "Oscar" film awards, the
"Genie", in best-supporting actor category, the last in 1978 for
"Blood and Guts". His best-remembered Hollywood television roles
include running parts as Detective Briggs in "The X-Files", Colonel
Harridan in "McHale's Navy", George Anderson in the infamous "Peyton
Place"; but the fans of "Here Come the Brides" have special places in
their hearts, as their "Captain Clancy", in the
well-remembered-series, brought the vessels of brides each week to the
Seattle wilderness of the 19th century.

Much was filmed in the Seattle area, and later Henry and his family
moved to Deming, Washington, where they had fabulous wilderness views
and country living.

Going back to other popular appearances, some were in "Twilight Zone,"
"Welcome Back Kotter," "Rockford Files," "Happy Days," "Gunsmoke,"
"Quincy," "Ironside," "Marcus Welby," "Mannix," "Columbo,"
"Bewitched," "Monkees," and back to the 50's: "Flash Gordon," "Peter
Gunn," all those early "Playhouse" and "Studio One's".

Films included "The Man Upstairs" starring Katherine Hepburn in 1992.
Henry was the sheriff in one of his best portrayals. Later films
include "Niagara," "My Husband's Secret Life," "Lion of Oz," "Shadow
of a Doubt," "Deadly Justice", "Last P.O.W." , "Blood River," etc. He
usually played "heavies," with a great talent for languages and
accents.

He wrote many film scripts, was a member of the Writer's Guild of
Canada, and Screen Writers Guild of America. His last script was "Hide
and Go Kill". He belonged to SAG, AFTRA, ACTRA and Union of B.C.
Players in Canada, and Director's Guild of Canada.

Along the way, he became Sir Henry Beckman as he was invested as a
member of the "Knights Of Malta", The Order of Saint John of Jerusalem
of the Americas and Europe, a centuries-old military order. His sons
were also admitted.

He entered the Canadian military service, by changing his birth date,
before he was 18; served from 1939-1945; and was among the 7%
survivors of the Normandy invasion.

His theatrical career began soon after. He had been living his later
years in the warm climates of Mallorca and Barcelona, and passed away
quietly, with his beloved Hillary, as they watched the ocean in the
distance, from his window, starting his last long voyage across the
well traveled waters.

He is survived by his family, loving relatives and friends, the
faithful fan club of Here Come The Brides, and His fellow Knights of
Malta. Inurnment will be in the family plot at St. Peter's Catholic
Cemetery near Sumas, Washington.


___

I was good friends with his younger son, Stuart so I got to meet Henry and his wonderful wife years ago. They had a house on Nichols Canyon and I spent a lot of time up there talking with Henry about films and the roles he played.

After his wife died, he moved to Washington. We lost Stuart to illness a few years back and Henry took his death hard.

I will miss him very much but treasure the memories of him and his family on Nichols Canyon.