50 Years Ago Today

Ken AshfordHistory, In PassingLeave a Comment

“Early morning, April 4, a shot rings out in the Memphis sky…” – U2, Pride (In The Name Of Love) Fifty years ago today, the world heard of the tragedy that took place in Memphis, Tennessee—the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. America’s greatest civil rights leader and most famous advocate of non-violence was shot standing on the balcony of the … Read More

RIP Billy Graham

Ken AshfordGodstuff, In PassingLeave a Comment

“America’s Preacher” has died at the age of 99. Graham served as a spiritual advisor to roughly a dozen U.S. presidents from Harry Truman to Barack Obama — and he made waves in the early 1950s by forcing churches to racially integrate for his services. He preached to an estimated 200 million people in 185 countries around the world during his life. … Read More

RIP Rose Marie

Ken AshfordIn PassingLeave a Comment

Nine decades in show biz – that’s insane. And she was enjoying a revival with her new bio-documentary “Wait For Your Laugh”. She was 94.

RIP Tom Petty

Ken AshfordIn PassingLeave a Comment

The shit day continues. Tom Petty died just now after being discovered unconscious, following apparent cardiac arrest.  There was no breathing or brain activity and the decision was made to take him off life support.  He was 66. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers recently completed a summer tour last Monday with three nights at the Hollywood Bowl. The trek marked … Read More

Breaking: Otto Warmbier Has Died

Ken AshfordBreaking News, In Passing, North KoreaLeave a Comment

From ABC News yesterday: Over and over, Otto Warmbier apologized and begged — at first calmly, then choking up and finally in tears — to be reunited with his family. North Korean officials seated at long tables watched impassively, with cameras rolling and journalists taking notes, as the adventuresome, accomplished 21-year-old college student from suburban Cincinnati talked animatedly about the “severe crime” … Read More

RIP Jonathan Demme

Ken AshfordIn PassingLeave a Comment

“Stop Making Sense” and “Swimming to Cambodia” are just two of the great documentaries he directed, but of course, he will always be known for “Silence of the Lambs” and “Philadelphia”.  Dead at 73 of cancer complications

RIP MTM

Ken AshfordIn PassingLeave a Comment

This one hurts.  She went into the hospital earlier today.  Mary Tyler Moore dead at age 80. Twitter right now. Rest in peace, Mary. #MaryTylerMoore pic.twitter.com/xAFAnXFJqH — Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) January 25, 2017

RIP Everybody — How 2016 Became A Year Of Dying Dangerously

Ken AshfordIn PassingLeave a Comment

Pat Harrington died on January 6, 2016.  He played Dwayne Schneider, the nosy superintendent in the 1970s sitcom “One Day At A Time”.  I remember reading about his death.  I may have even blogged about it.  But it wasn’t altogether startling.  I had barely given the actor any thought since that series was cancelled.  And he was 86.  So, it … Read More

RIP Charmian Carr

Ken AshfordIn PassingLeave a Comment

Charmian Carr passed away at 73 after complications from a rare form of dementia, her representative said. Remarkably, she is known for a single movie role: that of Liesl, in The Sound of Music.  Carr wrote two books on her experience – Forever Liesl and Letters to Liesl – and frequently appeared at events commemorating the movie. Her only other major role … Read More

RIP Gene Wilder

Ken AshfordIn PassingLeave a Comment

Gene Wilder, who regularly stole the show in such comedic gems as “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Stir Crazy,” died today at his home in Stamford, Conn. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said he died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 83. He had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1989. He had … Read More

RIP John McLaughlin

Ken AshfordIn PassingLeave a Comment

His show, the McLaughlin Group, was a stable in political programming for three decades. He worked right up until the end. McLaughlin was 89 years old, and the cause of death was prostate cancer that was diagnosed some time ago and that had spread. The last show he presided over was taped the Friday after the Republican Convention, and it was … Read More

RIP Anton Yelchin

Ken AshfordIn PassingLeave a Comment

Checkov from the “Star Trek” reboot, died in a freak car accident at age 27. “The victim was on his way to meet his friends for a rehearsal and when he didn’t show up, his friends went to his house where they found him deceased by his car,” Houser told CNN. “It appears that he momentarily left his car, leaving … Read More

RIP Gordie Howe

Ken AshfordIn PassingLeave a Comment

Dead at 88. I’m not much of a hockey fan, but you gotta hand it to a guy who started playing professional hockey in 1946 and stopped in 1980.  Yup, that’s a span of 34 years, although he actually played 26 seasons.  And in 21 of them, he was the high scorer in the NHL. (He actually played for one … Read More

RIP Muhammad Ali

Ken AshfordIn PassingLeave a Comment

Ali’s life was so brassy and daring, so filled with wonders and adventure and so enlarged by the magic of his personality and the play of his mind, that no one remotely like him has ever been seen on the sporting scene. Although Parkinson’s had silenced the Champ for decades, those of us who experienced him in his heyday will … Read More