Bob Crane’s Death, 30 Years Later
Good grief: It’s been three full decades since Hogan’s Heroes star Bob Crane was killed. (Others who died that same year: artist Norman Rockwell and Pope John Paul I.)
Biographies
Weekend Reading: ‘Enchanted’ Music
“It’s always good to be able to use the word ‘vermin’ in a song.”Apropos of nothing, here’s a wonderful interview with Alan Mencken and Stephen Schwartz, the composer and lyricist for the 2007 Amy Adams film Enchanted.
Bill Gates Rides Halfway Into the Sunset
Microsoft co-founder and longtime chairman Bill Gates formally steps down from the company’s day-to-day operations today. He gave up his CEO post in 2000 in favor of Steve Ballmer, but has remained chief software architect. Gates will still be chairman of the board, but will devote most of his time to the Gates Foundation, his charitable group.
Patrick Swayze Is Acting Again
15 weeks have passed since the tabloids gave actor Patrick Swayze five weeks to live.Rumors of his death, etc.
Did Big Brown Have a Shoe Loose?
Bloodhorse.com has a new photograph showing a loose shoe on Big Brown early in the Belmont Stakes. The shot, taken by Russ Melton, seems to show the shoe unhinged or bent downward on the horse’s right rear hoof.
Grover Cleveland Died 100 Years Ago
President Grover Cleveland died 100 years ago today in Princeton, New Jersey.In a very modest coincidence, he and the late George Carlin both died at age 71, of heart failure, 100 years apart. And they shared the initials GC. (Lincoln-Kennedy it’s not, but still.)
Obituary First Lines: George Carlin
Comedian George Carlin has died at age 71. Here’s how some news outlets began their Carlin obits.”At the end of his rackety and eventful life, George Carlin, the US comedian and hero of the counter-culture, has been best remembered for seven words.” -The Independent
“Return of the ’70s Weirdos”
That’s the title Newsweek gives to its before-and-after photos of the original Microsoft team, from 1978 to today. Included, natch, are moguls Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
Heart Failure Kills George Carlin
Comedian George Carlin is dead at age 71. The New York Daily News reports that he died of heart failure on Sunday in Los Angeles.
Flimflam Ham and the Birthday Babe
Perhaps you’ve been wondering what skinny old Federalist Alexander Hamliton and skinny old golf champ Babe Zaharias had in common. Besides height, that is. (Both were 5’7″.) The answer: Both may have lied about their ages to seem like prodigies in their respective fields.