Well I suppose I could talk about the continuing legal troubles of Ms. Foxy Brown, or perhaps whether or not the kid on American Idol has talent or just big hair. Then again I could also jump off a bridge. Instead I’ll talk about a couple of other items that caught my interest you might have missed recently.
There were a few sad loses recently in the entertainment community. One of them was the loss of director Mr. Stuart Rosenberg. You may not recall the name, but many will recall his films. These films include the Amityville Horror (the original), Cool Hand Luke (a very good Mr. Paul Newman film with Mr. George Kennedy as well), Brubaker (great Mr. Robert Redford film), and The Pope of Greenwich Village. All of these films are deserving of being seen, well maybe not the Amityville Horror but it’s still watchable. This does not even touch on his numerous television directing credits. It’s always a shame to have such talented people pass.
Not quite as talented, but no less a loss was the popular Mr. Calvert DeForest. The name may not be as familiar as his most famous character, Larry ‘Bud’ Melman. Often seen on the Letterman Show from 1982 to 2002, he was a beloved recurring character. A unique blend of less than handsome looks, meek personality, and huge amounts of warmth his everyman qualities made him a regular staple on Letterman and endeared him to millions of fans. He had many other roles on television and a few movies as well, but it was his Letterman Show character that drew his biggest fame and placed him in events like the Winter Olympics and the anniversary of Woodstock. Talent in entertainment is always a great thing, but genuine warmth and likeability cannot be manufactured. Again it is a sad loss to us all.
In a loss of a different nature there is the fact that Mr. Bernie Mac has announced that he will be ending his 30 year career in entertainment after his film The Whole Truth, Nothing But The Truth, So Help Me Mac. Mr. Mac may be best known for his television show, The Bernie Mac Show and his part in the very successful film The Original Kings Of Comedy. That is just a small part of his 3 decades of entertaining the masses. Besides his roles in each of the Ocean’s Eleven films (the third, Ocean’s Thirteen out this summer), The upcoming Transformers movie, The Charlie’s Angels sequel, What’s the Worst That Could Happen (with Mr. Martin Lawrence), Life (With Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Eddie Murphy), Get on the Bus, and House Party 3 to name a few. This doesn’t even touch upon his numerous television appearances and comedy club performances. His appeal reached all Americans equally.
While I have found his performances to be hit and miss, like Mr. 3000, he is a good entertainer and humorous stand-up comedian. I can understand his desire to regain part of his life lost in 47 week tours and decades in the entertainment industry. I hope that there are still a few choice roles that Mr. Mac may be presented in the future. As a Black American actor and as an entertainer in general I think to lose his talents completely will be a void few will adequately fill.
This is what I think, what do you think?
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