Monday, May 5, 2008

The Associated Press: Mildred Loving, matriarch of interracial marriage, dies

Mildred Loving has died. The black woman whose challenge to Virginia's ban on interracial marriage led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling striking down such laws nationwide told The Washington Evening Star in 1965, "We loved each other and got married. We are not marrying the state. The law should allow a person to marry anyone he wants."

(Update: The New York Times obit; Andy Towle has Loving's 2007 statement on the 40th anniversary of the Loving v. Virginia ruling.)

Monday, January 21, 2008

Suzanne Pleshette

Oh Bob! Another classy broad gone to her rest. Actress Suzanne Pleshette has died at age 70. Of course, she was best known for playing smart and sassy Emily Hartley, Bob Newhart's wife on his eponymously-titled sitcom. But I and millions of others also fondly remember her as the frosty but fragile school teacher jilted by Rod Taylor in Hitchcock's The Birds, and for her many dishy and slightly ribald ripostes with Johnny Carson on the old Tonight Show. Comedy writer Ken Levine has a very nice remembrance of Pleshette.

I had just landed in Chicago Saturday morning when I heard the news of her death, thinking to myself it was somehow fitting that I raise a glass in her memory in the city that served as the setting for The Bob Newhart Show. Although there's a sub-zero chill outside, I might just have to make a pilgrimage to Navy Pier to visit Bob's statue and spend a few minutes with him remembering all those times he hurried Home to Emily.

I also encourage you to visit More Than Emily Hartley, the wonderful fan tribute site to the life and career of Suzanne Pleshette.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Farewell to a class act flack

There's probably a disparaging show biz joke somewhere that begins, "So a publicist dies and arrives at the Pearly Gates..."

Let me tell you something. When Marty Hendin got there, he was waved right on through. We've lost one of the genuine good guys.

Mr. Hendin, 59, had worked for the Cardinals since 1973, most recently as vice president of community relations after serving in the public relations and marketing departments. Among other accomplishments, Mr. Hendin is credited with the rapid rise of the popular Cardinals mascot, Fredbird, and for collecting all manner of Cardinals and major league memorabilia that virtually spilled out of his office, which became "Trinket City" at Busch Stadium.

I can only add to the chorus of voices quoted in the obituary and at what I'm sure are going to be numerous warm remembrances of Marty over the weeks to come. He was a hell of a guy, the hardest working man in sports publicity and a good, good man.

Somewhere right now, I'll bet Fredbird is lifting a frosty Busch and toasting his biggest fan.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

So long, Anita

Word circulated late yesterday that Anita Rowland has died after living with cancer for several years. She was 51.

Anita and I never met face to face, but she was an active participant in the early weblogging community, particularly as those pesky upstart weblogs and the more established online journaling world threatened to abrade against one another. Anita bridged that (narrow) gap easily, avoided acrimony and welcomed all. As both forms drifted toward what are now commonly thought of as "blogs", she kept right on doing what she'd always done, maintaining her "List of Links" weblog and her "Book of Days" journal. Both have been regular reads for me; I will miss her updates.

Anita was also well-known and loved in the science fiction fandom world and, of course, in Seattle, where she organized some of the earliest weblog/journal meetups and made everyone feel a part of a real community. I know it's tempting when a friend dies to say that a little light has left the world, but in fact I think the world is a far brighter place because Anita shared her light with so many folks and by example encouraged them to pass it along.

Her husband Jack has posted a small memorial for Anita on his own website and thoughts and recollections are being added to it from around the real and virtual worlds. My thoughts are with him and all of Anita's family and with everyone who had the great good fortune to be a part of her book of days.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

So long, Esmerelda

Man, this has not be a good past few months for the TV touchstones of my misspent youth. Actress Alice Ghostley has died.

Of course, I knew her mostly from Bewitched and, much later, Designing Women, always in daffy roles, always a study in frantic comic timing, and, of course, as a wicked stepsister opposite Kaye Ballard in the original TV Cinderella.

I had the pleasure several years ago of being introduced to her by a mutual friend in Los Angeles. We had a brief chat while we waited to be seated with our respective parties at dinner. I remember her as quite gracious, self-deprecating and—like Esmerelda—I had the distinct impression she was a bit abashed by my attention and might turn invisible at any second. We talked about our mutual Missouri roots, mostly; she hailed from little ol' Eve in the southwest part of the state.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Rest in ______

Brett Somers has died. She was 83 years old.

She was in our production of Happy Ending back in the 1980s, but will, of course, probably be best remembered for the Match Game. I hope she's gone to be with Charles Nelson Reilly in that great _______ in the sky.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Clearing the Cache: July 13, 2007

• Iconfactory : Freeware : TARDIS In Trouble
  Nice desktop wallpaper, also available in iPhone format.
  (tags: doctorwho desktop wallpaper)
• The horror of blimps
  A classic.
  (tags: humor schadenfreude blimps)
• Why a giant duck? This summer, why not?
  Ducky!!
  (tags: rubberduck)
• How to Travel the World with 10 Pounds or Less (Plus: How to Negotiate Convertibles and Luxury Treehouses)
  "Practice in 30-plus countries has taught me that packing minimalism can be an art."
  (tags: travel)
• Rob Cole, 76; gay journalist helped make the Advocate a national paper - Los Angeles Times
  "Rob Cole, a pioneering gay journalist whose efforts helped create a national readership for the Advocate, the long-running gay publication, died June 30 at his home in North Hills. He was 76."
  (tags: obit gay gaymedia)

Lady Bird Johnson

Lady Bird Johnson died Wednesday at age 94. Political activist David Mixner shares his memories of her:

...her memorial will be Spring time in Washington. Every Spring, this country will be reminded of the Lady from Texas. As trees bloom and flowers carpet our nation’s capital, Lady Bird Johnson will be remembered. Only Lady Bird Johnson could with her vision of a beautiful America, lay claim to Spring as her memorial.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

In memoriam

I just received the following from my alma mater:

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Sister Mary Mangan on July 3, 2007. She had been living in the Loretto Motherhouse in Kentucky. A memorial service will be held in Kentucky.

Sr. Mary led a remarkable life dedicated to the Catholic faith, progressive political activism, and academic pursuits. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University (wearing full habit) at a time when there were virtually no women in the discipline. She was continually involved with numerous political activities, from the civil rights movement to the League of Women Voters. As a longtime faculty member in the Department of History/Political Science, Sr. Mary served as department chair as well as chair of the university faculty. She was awarded the status of Professor Emeritus in the 1980s, but continued to be an active teacher and departmental member for another decade.

Those of you who knew Sr. Mary will certainly never forget her wry sense of humor, thirst for knowledge, and commitment to high ideals. She represented the best of the Webster tradition.

To which I can only add "amen". Sr. Mary was the professor and adviser who most challenged me during my undergraduate years. She set very, very high expectations for all of her students and inspired them to meet them. She took me on as an already voracious reader and encouraged me to read even more, particularly about public policy and international politics. And she did have a wicked sense of humor, delivered with a wink; if you could make her smile or laugh, you really felt you had accomplished something for the day. And she had a particular vocal tic that sometimes made even the direst subject amusing; after posing a question to you, she would seemingly involuntarily add "mmm-hmm" with a slight lilt. I confess now that we often gently mimicked her during post-class discussions in the halls of the Administration Building.

Until she moved to Kentucky, I would frequently see her around campus or when I was passing the convent. She always had time for a chat. I found myself thinking of her often in recent years, usually when reading the New York Times or Christian Science Monitor, wondering what she'd have to say about this story or that. I more than occasionally wondered if she ever thought of me since one of the things that most amazed me about Sr. Mary was her uncanny recall of nearly every student she'd ever taught, where they were, what job (or, often, elected position) they held and other, minute details of their lives.

I hope those many connections around the globe and her faith were of comfort to her. Knowing she was in the world, still learning, teaching and speaking truth to power, was something of a comfort to me, particularly in recent years. She'll be missed, mmm-hmm.

Tuesday, July 17, 2001

Katherine Graham

Katherine Graham, 1917-2001. What an incredible woman. Her autobiography is a remarkably readable account of a woman thrown into the deep end and thriving with pluck, grace and uncommon intelligence. (We're not related, by the way.)

Lileks: "Sometimes I think I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly just to keep up on things I've neither the time nor the interest to keep up on. It's like reading a paper from a city where I lived for a few years. This week, for example, the cover tells of a Backstreet Boy who 'Breaks Down,' and from the pictures inside I can see why he drank too much: only under prolonged and constant intoxication could one accept the fact that you had stupider facial hair than Prince."