Saget’s was the biggest shock. 65 and seemingly fine the night before where he performed for two hours. I met him once very briefly but didn’t know him at all. However, going by my Facebook news feed, everybody who ever worked with him loved him and was devastated. (I am also the only person on Facebook it seems who does not have a picture with him.)
My newsfeed is a good indicator of how a celebrity was really received. Most of my friends are industry professionals so these are people who know and worked with him. And their accounts were all glowing.
Trust me, when that’s not the case and the celebrity was a dick, the reactions are usually “Gee, that’s sad” or “Hunh.” No testimonials, no photos — “I guess I’m obligated to acknowledge this so I am.”
But people listed above were all admired, both for their graciousness as well as talent.
The only one I knew personally was Dwayne Hickman. For Boomers that must’ve been a gut punch because it’s yet another part of our childhood no longer with us. Dwayne Hickman was Dobie Gillis.
In the ’80s, Dwayne had left acting and was a current program executive at CBS. He was our CBS rep on AfterMASH, and I know writers grouse about “suits,” but Dwayne was a pleasure to deal with. You really got the feeling he was on your side. And you could kid him about being Dobie Gillis. Sometimes I’d call him Dobie, or if he gave a note I’d say, “I’m gonna kill that boy! (the dad’s catchphrase on DOBIE GILLIS).
White and Poitier were in their 90’s. Their deaths were sad, but they lived rich long lives. Bob Saget however — 65 is way too young. And as of this writing, the cause is still a mystery.
Like I said, what’s happening? We haven't completed two weeks yet of this year.
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I was surprised at how old Hickman was while playing that role. It lends itself, though into how great his portrayal was.
It's like 2016 all over again, but this year is trying to up the ante in a big bad way.
Hickmam was particularly stinging for me (30 years old, BTW) because The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis was kind of the model for Scooby-Doo.
All of these are just a bummer all around though.
And another one, which won't gain as much attention: Marilyn Bergman, the lyricist. RIP.
I still read the newspaper and I can tell you very unscientifically that the death notice section is always much bigger around the year-end. Who knows? Some people say that people hang on until the holidays and then let themselves go. (Of course this doesn't likely apply to poor Bob Saget).
Not that 93 isn't a good run, but Marilyn Bergman, lyricist with her husband Alan has also passed. She co-wrote the lyrics to "In the Heat of the Night", as well as the other songs shown here:
http://alanandmarilynbergman.com/list-of-works/
Also, Grammy-winning percussionist, and leader of the band, Mtume, James Mtume.
Re: Saget- I realize most everybody, including me, gets a bit puffy and puts on a few pounds as we age. Whenever I saw him in the last few years though, he just didn't look healthy. I'm no doctor, but I've certainly seen quite a few of them within the year. Hearing of his passing just didn't surprise me. I agree that 65 is way too young.
Dobie Gillis intro promo short
with Hickman Denver Faylen Friebus Anderson Weld
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcDbEuB5DiU
Jazz/funk percussionist and producer James Mtume was 75. He played with McCoy Tyner, Roberta Flack and Miles Davis, among others.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/10/james-mtume-jazz-and-funk-musician-dies-aged-75
How did I miss the news about Dwayne Hickman? Glad to read your kind words about him, Ken.
"Dobie Gillis" was the first prime-time series I regularly watched (and I was about six when that happened, in the early '60s). While its theme is certainly dated, its rapid-fire pace makes it hold up surprisingly well, not to mention its slightly subversive tone. (In the mid-1980s, Pat Robertson's CBN channel picked up "Dobie" reruns, which must've bemused people associated with the series.)
I met Dwayne at a memorabilia convention in the 1990s, and he was quite engaging. Pleased to learn he was equally helpful on the executive side. (Years later, I had a lengthy interview with castmate William Schallert.)
One more piece of "Dobie" trivia: Remember his nemesis, Zelda Gilroy? She was played by Sheila James, who went into politics as Sheila Kuehl, served many years in the Assembly as a progressive, and now is a Los Angeles County supervisor where she continues to serve constituents.
IRONY: I never heard a bad word said about any of these people but read where the very-much-alive Ryan O'Neal HIT his daughter, Tatum, when he learned she had been nominated for an Oscar for PAPER MOON and he hadn't. I guess sometimes only the good really do die young. Passed John Madden on the street once. Talk about BIIIIIIG.
I remember when Chris Penn died, so many people made a point of saying what a great guy he was, I'd really never seen such an outpouring like that, he really made an impression on people, it was so nice to see
One notable's death few of us will miss is Robert Durst, dead today at 78. The New York Daily News led his obit this way: "Robert Durst, who left behind a trail of corpses and the mystery of a body never found, died Monday of cardiac arrest at age 78." Fortunately, justice caught up to him last fall.
As a counterpoint: I see murderer Robert Durst has died. There's someone who won't be missed by anyone except the court preparing to try him for the murder of his wife, who disappeared in 1982. After he killed two other people in 2000-1, the police eventually decided to look at his wife's disappearance again.
Sort of off topic: According to gossip, Ryan O'Neal hit ON his daughter Tatum at Farrah Fawcett's funeral (say that five times fast), claiming that he didn't recognize her !
And next, Woodstock co-creator Michael Lang.
https://boingboing.net/2022/01/10/woodstock-festival-co-creator-michael-lang-rip.html
My favorite character on the Dobie Gillis show was Maynard G Krebs. “Like wow Mr. G!”
This brings up a sore point because after that show he went on to become Gilligan which I couldn’t stand and it’s still a ridiculous show and only funny because it was so ridiculous. I never forgave him for taking that role after such a cool character as Maynard G Krebs.
I hate to admit it but I am one of those people who had a hard time with the first Mary Tyler Moore show because, at that time, I literally thought “why did she leave Rob! What about poor Ritchie?”
Let me tell you a story about Bob Saget. 41 years ago, 1980, I was working the door at The Comedy Store, Bob was a struggling, unknown comic, trying to get by on the tiny bits of money we made.
It was a Sunday evening. Sunday evenings were slow. Only the Original Room was open, and it was seldom close to full. My friend John Michalski (Who died last May) and I were running the room. Bob was there, just hanging out, not on the bill.
One of the comics booked phoned in to cancel. We had to phone Mitzi, as she never came in on Sundays, and she insisted on approving any changes in the line-up. Noting we had a hole in the line-up and Bob was there, we asked Mitzi if Bob could have the set. She OK'd it, and Bob had a surprise set, which meant he would get $25 he wasn't expecting to have.
So, at the end of the evening, as we closed up, Bob said, "This $25 is basically found money. Let's go spend it." Note the "Let's." Bob took John and I to Ben Frank's, a nearby restaurant that never closed, and the three of us had a delicious 2:30 am dinner together on Bob's $25.
So the second word I think of whenever I think of Bob is "generous." The first word, of course, is "funny."
I just started DVRing "The Mod Squad" reruns on MeTV, and in the episode I'm currently watching Dwayne Hickman guest stars as a wheelchair-using patron of a faith healer. Sad coincidence. I wonder if MeTV will do a "Dobie Gillis" marathon in his honor, as they did a "Monkees" marathon after Mike Nesmith's passing.
Re: Saget, a friend remarked that someone who could play the dad on a wholesome family show and then appear on "The Aristocrats" must have been extremely versatile. He was also quite good as the host on "1 Vs. 100".
BTW, I watched tons of "Gilligan's Island" reruns as a kid in the '70s, and didn't know anything about "Dobie Gillis" until a nostalgia special played a clip of Bob Denver as Maynard Krebs. I remember thinking, "Wait, Gilligan was a beatnik?"
The Decades cable channel strips Dobie late on weeknights.
Has anyone ever noticed that it seems like when there are mass celebrity deaths like this, they always tend to happen around the tail end of the old year and the very beginning of the new year? Take 2016/2017 for example: just in the span of December 2016 through January 2017, we lost Bill Christopher, Bernard Fox, Alan Thicke, George Michael, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, and Mary Tyler Moore.
Betty was the last surviving member of both The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the latter of which I started watching on Hulu recently. 2021 was tough on MTM with Cloris going in January, then Gavin in May, Ed in August, and finally Betty on New Year's Eve.
Marilyn Bergman is a name I'm familiar with because of the Maude theme and all the anglicized Brazilian tunes with husband Alan. "The Island" was one such Brazilian tune, known there as "To Begin Again." I think they were in Carl Reiner's documentary If I'm Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast, if it wasn't just Alan.
I was floored when I found out about Bob Saget last night just as I was getting ready for bed. I checked Instagram and the first post I saw was from actress Khrystyne Haje (Head of the Class) saying he had died. Then, I read the news story. I instantly thought of Don Drysdale. Both men died unexpectedly in their hotel room between gigs; play-by-play for Don and stand-up comedy for Bob.
The worst for me was last Sunday when I found that not only had contemporary jazz guitarist Nick Colionne died in the hospital on New Year's Day, but another guitarist, Rohn ("Ron") Lawrence, died of COVID two days before that (December 30). I was an acquaintance of both. Nick was a charismatic figure on stage, always wowing the crowd with his James Brown homage and cover of Brook Benton's "A Rainy Night in Georgia." Rohn was an intense soloist, typically creeping up the fingerboard at several points. Copy and paste the link to my Instagram post for one such solo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYPRSEmhCQmr4R363uP0aLn_PAWrs2UYoIiH6s0/ I also liked a profile of Rohn by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven (where he was from): https://www.newhavenarts.org/arts-paper/articles/this-holy-grail-of-black-musicianship-rohn-lawrence-passes-on
Thanks to Marilyn Bergman, we know the answer to "How Do You Keep The Music Playing?", one of Frank Sinatra's best later songs.
And Joseph, in early January 2017, I lost my dear friend Francine York, https://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/856902.html
Little too young to catch [or get] Dobie Gillis when it was on, except vaguely remembering flipping by it towards the end of the series. Caught it every once in a while on Antenna TV or M.E. TV and thought it stood up to and in many ways better than the current bunch of comedies on now. The father was absolutely the best part of the show in my opinion, his timing and delivery of lines was impeccable.
I haven't seen Dobie Gillis in almost 30 years. My late grandmother and I watched the reruns on Nick at Nite in the early-90s and I remember it being pretty funny. The only episode I remember involve him telling a woman he only has months to live. When caught in his lie, Dobie's dad put him over his knee and gave him a spanking. Dunno if it was that episode or another one, but there was also a scene where Dobie is soaking his feet, and plays an electric guitar...only to get the shock of his life.
As for Bob, the outpouring of support is very touching to read, both from the Full House cast and fellow comedians. His cameo in Half Baked will forever be hilarious.
Upon hearing of Bob Saget's death, I instantly thought of Norm McDonnell, who died last October. So many celebrities expressed the same reaction of disbelief and sorrow to his passing as I now see for Bob Saget. Still, No one expressed more heartfelt grief over McDonnell's passing than Saget. His pain as he expressed on a podcast (don't remember who's) what McDonnell meant to him was palpable.
It's the same reaction I'm now seeing from so many others in the entertainment field who knew and worked with Bob Saget. Both died way too young. Very sad.
I'm gratified seeing Marilyn Bergman acknowledged here. She and her husband/collaborator, Alan Bergman, also wrote the lyrics to the themes from "The Way We Were" and "Same Time, Next Year." Marvin Hamlisch, 1944-2012, composed the music for both.
The Bergmans complemented composer Michel Legrand, 1932-2019, with words to "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" and the theme from "Summer of '42."
Sorry to learn of James Mtume's death as well. He and Reggie Lucas, 1953-2018, collaborated on "The Closer I Get to You," a 1978 hit for Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. (Sadly, Hathaway committed suicide at 33, less than a year after "Closer" was on the charts.)
Too young indeed. Six weeks older than I am.
@ blinky
How could you confuse Laura Petrie with Mary Richards? I don't get that method of thinking. We've ALL read that CBS had that concern, so I am wondering if you just read that somewhere.
It's just odd.
I said to a friend about a week ago that I got the feeling all the 'in memoriam' videos at the end of this year were probably going to have the run time of a regular movie, now I'm thinking Lawrence of Arabia!
Four cast members of the Mary Tyler Moore show died last year, Gavin Macleod, Ed Asner, Cloris Leachman and Betty White.
One survivor who left the show in the early days was John Amos, who played Gordy the Weatherman.
Celebrity culture exploded from the 1950s through the 1990s. The number of famous people grew every year. Especially in the 1980s, more TV channels, more radio stations, music videos that amplified pop-star culture, more ways to see movies. The culture created a glut of memorable celebs, so as time passes, the number of "celebrity deaths" increases. It's just an illusion that tons are dropping off too fast. Though it is a shame about Bob Saget. 65 is the new 45. Far too young.
Groucho Marx passed with relative little notice on August 19, 1977 — 3 days after Elvis.
Milton Berle, Billy Wilder, and Dudley Moore all died on March 27 2002.
"Fred said...
Groucho Marx passed with relative little notice on August 19, 1977 — 3 days after Elvis."
I felt the reverse. Groucho's death devastated me. I did not give a rat's ass that some fat, over-praised, hillbilly singer & junkie had finally, inevitably, OD'd. Groucho Marx was DEAD! The sun was gone from the sky!
For a really overshadowed death (If Farrah Fawcett Major's death being entirely eclipsed by the death of Michael Jackson isn't enough), poor, lovely, charming George Pal had the bad timing to die three days after Sir Alfred Hitchcock passed. Talk about being upstaged.
Along with talent, for a while a studio (Paramount), and many actors, Pal and Hitchcock shared a key-element in their cinematic styles: brilliant editor George Tomasini. Tomasini edited The Time Machine, Atlantis, The Lost Continent and 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, and also edited Vertigo, North By Northwest, Psycho and The Birds. The man edited the shower scene in Psycho!
You don't have to unfairly trash Elvis to elevate Groucho. They were both Icons in their own fields. You never hear a bad word about Elvis from anyone that worked with him. I don't know if Bruce Willis will get beloved praised when he departs. Director Kevin Smith came forward and said working with Bruce was a nightmare. Said he was unprofessional, and just not a good guy.
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