Thursday, October 9, 2014

Jan Hooks

Comedian and actress -- via the New York Daily News.



From the archives: Norman Corwin and the beauty of radio

Originally published Oct, 19, 2011.

I've been curating the obituaries of significant and interesting lives for more than a year now. I haven't been moved to hold one life up to the light until now.

Norman Corwin died yesterday at the age of 101. Sixty years ago, he was one of the most celebrated voices in America. Ten years after that, the medium he made his name in was extinct.

The world of radio as mainstream entertainment for America lasted only from 1926 to 1962. It dominated the public consciousness, employed thousands, and broadcast millions of hours of drama, comedy, music, news, kids' shows, quiz shows and more. It anticipated all the genres found on TV and trained most fo that industry's first generation of talent. Television killed it -- although radio persists as a creative medium in many other countries, it died a quick death here.

Although radio spawned a recognizable flood of stars -- Jack Benny, Gene Autry, Jack Webb, William Conrad, George Burns, Orson Welles -- the list of writers, directors and producers behind them is often overlooked. Corwin was the most significant and one of the most skilled of them all.

Unlike other major figures such as Himan Brown, Arch Oboler, Elliott Lewis, William Spier, Gertrude Berg, Carlton E. Morse, Norman MacDonnell, Edward R. Murrow, Stan Freberg, Anne Hummert, Paul Rhymer, Irna Phillips, Lucille Fletcher and Don Quinn, Corwin became a household name because of his quick facility with language and the broad, sentimental, affirmative canvases he often painted. He started off as a reporter (excellent training for churning out words without the luxury of writer's block), moved on to reading news and creating original work for stations in Boston. His talent soon brought him to the network level at CBS, where he was given carte blanche to deliver such inventive limited series as "Norman Corwin's Words without Music," "26 by Corwin," "Columbia Presents Corwin" and others.

He was a booster of American ideals, and articulate so well and so vividly that he became the de facto voice of the nation for a time. "We Hold These Truths," broadcast over all major networks on December 15, 1941, told a shell-shocked nation just what it was fighting for. "On a Note of Triumph" four years later celebrated victory over the Nazis.

He could work in many genres, as is proved by radio plays such as "The Plot to Overthrow Christmas," "They Fly Through the Air with the Greatest of Ease," "The Undecided Molecule," and perhaps his best work, "Document A/777," which outlined the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations.

After radio's heyday, he kept on writing -- for film, TV and print. He taught journalism for decades at USC. Late in life, he produced a spate of dramatic broadcasts for National Public Radio, proving the continued viability of the medium.

American commercial radio was by and large for its 36 years an immature art form, trapped in genre conventions and unable to tackle many controversial subjects. It was on the cusp of developing into something complex, grown-up and cutting-edge when it went silent. Corwin reveled in the freedom of sound, the intimacy it imparted to the listener, its imaginative scope. Working with a handful of pages and some microphones, sound effects personnel, musicians and persuasive performers could create a world, stimulate the ear and provoke minds.

Due to a family fondness for "old-time" radio, I was steeped in the programs as a child. The first pieces I wrote were scripts for radio. The first big successes of my career were delivered to the ear. I wound up in front of a microphone, off and on, for years. Even though it's still perceived as a marginal and antiquated means of expression, I would still drop everything for a chance to work in it again.

A lot of the thanks for this gift of hearing the beauty of radio and yearning to fulfill its still untapped potential goes to Mr. Corwin. Moreover, he believed in truth, liberty, equality, justice and compassion -- what we used to call principles and now think of as mere slogans. He wasn't afraid to be corny, to wax rhapsodic, to champion thoughts that the cynical disdain. By doing so, he gives people like me permission to keep those principles alive and discussed. For this, much thanks.

Anna Przybylska

Actress and model -- via Onet.

Eddie Nicart

Director, actor, and stuntman -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

Geoffrey Parkinson


Probation officer and playwright -- via the Guardian.

Richard Larter

Artist -- via the Sydney Morning Herald.


Gerry Anderson

Radio host -- via the Telegraph.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Christopher van Wyck

Poet, editor, and writer -- via booklive.co.za. Best known for his anti-apartheid poem, "In Detention."




Peer Augustinski

Actor -- via Frankfurter Allgemeine.

Igor Mitoraj

Sculptor -- via euronews.com.



Walter Bockmayer

Director, screenwriter, and actor -- via Kolnische Rundschau.

Siegfried Lenz

Writer -- via Deutsche Welle.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Henry Lowenstein

Marian Seldes

Actress -- via the New York Times. A Tony winner whose forte was the stage, she started on Broadway in 1947, abit player in Judith Anderson's "Medea." She won a Tony for playing Julia in the original production of "A Delicate Balance" as well as a Lifetime Achievement Tony in 2010.

Andrew Kerr

Co-founder of the Glastonbury Festival -- via the Western Daily Press. A visionary promoter who doused the site of the Festival, and was among the first to promote sustainability, he did a lot of other stuff -- an early "green."

Bill Campbell

Broadcaster; "the dean of Philadelphia sports" -- via philly.com. He started on radio in 1939. He called them all -- Chamberlain's 100-point game, the Eagles NFL championship in 1960, baseball, you name it. Here he is selling some Schmidt's --

Vivi Haug

Actress -- via vg.no. AKA Eva Margrethe Haug.

Ward Ruyslinck

Writer -- via De Standaard. AKA Raymond De Belser.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Rob Skipper

Musician -- via Billboard.

Carlos Lopez IV

Stuntman -- via the Charlotte Observer.

Hugo Carvana

Actor -- via zh.clicrbs.com.br.

Konrad Boehmer

Composer -- via Elsevier.

Gholamali Pouratayi

Singer and musician -- via BBC Persian.

WEEKLY READER: International roundup of stories on death, dying, mourning, and more

TOP STORIES





DEATH

“40 Faces of Death” – a gallery of images of the Grim Reaper, curated by Robert Lamb on stufftoblowyourmind.com.

Veterans Administration not quite clear about client’s death – via William H. McMichael at USA Today

Replica of Lincoln coffin engages community – via Will Higgins at the Indianapolis Star

Rachel Young of the Suffolk Times attends a Death Cafe



MOURNING

Caitlin Smith at the Ohio History Connection discusses “Victorian Mourning Customs,” the first of a proposed series of blog posts in October.

Victorian mourning program scheduled – via Walworth County News

“How teenagers mourn in the digital age” – from Catherine Shanahan in the Irish Examiner


FUNERALS



Billie Barry has a smashing funeral – from Alison Healy at the Irish Times

Funeral home serves needs of diverse cultures – by Andrea Castillo for the Fresno Bee

Funeral planning forum sponsored by consumer group – from the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Western Massachusetts

Plan your own funeral – advice from Gary Calligas in the Shreveport News

Coast Guard gives vet a Viking funeral – from Meghann Myers in the Navy Times


END-OF-LIFE

Tom Englund on Medium talks about “Fading Light: Expanding our care-circle”

A new book asserts that life expectancy is longer in hospice than in the hospital – Atul Gawande’s “Being Mortal” – via dish.andrewsullivan.com.


Geoffrey Holder

Dancer, choreographer, actor, composer, designer, painter, photographer, sculptor, and writer -- via the New York Times. Won Tony awards for music direction and costume design on "The Wiz"; best remembered as the spokesman for 7-Up. Broadway debut in 1954 as featured dancer in "House of Flowers." He received a Guggenheim fellowship -- in painting. In film, he was a character actor seen in "Live and Let Die," the original adaptation of "Dr. Doolittle," and "Annie." His distinctive deep voice was used as the narrator in Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." One of the best laughs ever.

Tom Mulhern

Journalist -- via the Wisconsin State Journal.

Tia Pusit

Comedian -- via the Philippine Entertainment Portal.

Danny Murphy

Newspaper vendor -- via the Toronto Star.

Bassem Ali al-Qadehi

Rights activist -- via the Shia Post.

Jose Martinez

Former MLB player -- via mlb.com.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Mary Lea Bandy

Film preservationist -- via the New York Times.

Sarah Danielle Goldberg

Actress -- via legacy.com. AKA Sarah Danielle Madison. Best known as Dr. Labonte on "Judging Amy," and Sarah Glass in "7th Heaven." 

Michael Goldberg

Screenwriter -- via philly.com. Co-wrote "Cool Runnings" and Rick Moranis's Elvis-has-left-the-building movie, "Little Giants," among others.

Alan Henning

Aid worker; executed by extremist jihad group -- via the New York Times. Once again, won't link to video. I am so sorry; he looks like he was a nice guy.

John J. Lloyd

Art director and production designer for film -- via legacy.com. Started off as an art director on TV in 1950; he worked on such significant series as "Wagon Train," "Leave It to Beaver," and "Emergency!." In film, he did great work as production designer in films such as "The Blues Brothers"; "Big Trouble in Little China" and "The Thing" with John Carpenter; and the first two "Naked Gun" movies. Won his Emmy for "Checkmate," a 1960-1962 detective series starring Doug McClure, Sebastian Cabot, and Anthony George.




Paul Revere

Rocker; keyboardist, singer, and leader of Paul Revere and the Raiders -- via The Oregonian. AKA Paul Revere Dick. Biggest hits: "Kicks" and "Indian Reservation." They even appeared on an episode of "Batman" on Nov. 2, 1966, as Paul Revere and the Ruders.










Nati Cano

Bill Fiore

Actor -- via Chuck McCann's Facebook page. The goggle-eyed performer is best remembered as the "Hi, guy!" character who finds an ebullient McCann on the other side of his bathroom medicine cabinet in a TV Right Guard commercial.

Yuri Lyubimov

Theater director -- via the Guardian.

Pedro Pena

Actor -- via heraldo.es.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Elina Labourdette

Actress -- via purepeople.com. Best known for her role as gnes in the early Bresson filmj "Les dames du Bois de Boulogne," she also appeared in films such as Demy's "Lola."

Cedric Wyatt

Indigenous rights activist -- via The Australian.

Matilde Perez

Artist -- via latercera.com.

Mary Cadogan

Jadir Ambrosio

Musician and composer -- via otempo.com.br.

Otto Paparazzo

Innovative developer -- via the New York Times.

Sheila Tracy

Radio host and trombonist -- via the Telegraph.