Actor Howard Hesseman, best known for his role as Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati, has died at age 81 from complications of cancer surgery.

I hadn't heard that Howard Hesseman passed until seeing it here yesterday. He was in a lot of shows with parts in several movies. I remember him from "WKRP" of course, and "Head of the Class." Anyone who watched every episode of "The Bob Newhart Show" knows he had a recurring role as one of Bob's patients too.

I just read that he hosted "SNL" three times in the first ten years of the show and that he started in improv comedy. We've lost another talented person we knew the 70's.

Actor Carleton Carpenter, whose career goes back to Broadway in the mid 1940s, died yesterday at age 95.

I remember him from an appearance on The Rifleman.

Italian actress Monica Vitti just died, age 90.

Don't think I have ever seen her in anything. She was very beautiful.

What card set is this? Tobacco?

I saw her in "Modesty Blaise" years ago. There's a movie ripe for a flashy remake.

It's from a Yugoslavian gum card set about movie stars. I think Allender is still working on a checklist.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
Don't think I have ever seen her in anything. She was very beautiful.

What card set is this? Tobacco?

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
I saw her in "Modesty Blaise" years ago. There's a movie ripe for a flashy remake.

I'm not so sure about a 'flashy remake' but I'd love to see a serious version of one of the original Modesty Blaise books. The film was great fun but was very much in the style of the original version of 'Casino Royale' starring David Niven, Woody Allen, Peter Sellars and Ursula Andress. Modesty Blaise done properly would be the female James Bond that people keep thinking/hoping might turn up.

Vitti was an enormous star in Italy for a long time, on a par with Loren and the best of them. She only made two international movies and Modesty Blaise was the one that got the most notice. It may have been a problem with language that kept her close to home. There are many great actors that you never get ti see unless you like to read sub-titles.

For much of today's audience there would be be little/no name recognition despite a number of novels and comic strip reprints but that also makes her appear to be a fresh character. You would think someone in Hollywood would have done something else with the character by now especially after the success of "Alias."

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin F:

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
I saw her in "Modesty Blaise" years ago. There's a movie ripe for a flashy remake.

I'm not so sure about a 'flashy remake' but I'd love to see a serious version of one of the original Modesty Blaise books. The film was great fun but was very much in the style of the original version of 'Casino Royale' starring David Niven, Woody Allen, Peter Sellars and Ursula Andress. Modesty Blaise done properly would be the female James Bond that people keep thinking/hoping might turn up.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:

This one is getting as weird as the Alec Baldwin shooting. Reports say that Saget died of massive blunt force trauma that caused several head fractures in different places, back to front. It's been determined to be an accident, although no one can say when, or where, or how, it may have occurred. The police have closed the case already, deciding he accidently hit his head somewhere, on something.

I think I must be watching too many mystery shows, but that conclusion seems a little premature to me. If I were his family, I wouldn't be satisfied with this investigation when there is no evidence. It's all guesswork and they haven't even settled on just one guess yet.

Yeah, how do you explain accidental fractures on the front and back? It sounds like a beating but then I wondered if it could've happened in the hotel bathtub/shower. He was able to make it to the bed, though. If you're that injured but can move that much, you'd think he would've called the front desk/911 or made it to the front door and called for help.

Unfortunately we had a bad experience there. Years ago my Father went for his first chemo treatment. It went fine, but the next day he passed out and split his head open in the bathroom. He remembered nothing even after he came to and called us. No idea how he even got in the tub, since he was shaving. He cracked his head on the faucets. The only reason why we know that is because there was considerable blood on the faucets and pooled in the bottom of the tub. His doctor said it was a rarer reaction to the chemo. Nice to know.

Anyway, it took over 80 stitches and a few months to heal. If you fall and hit your head in the bathroom or shower, chances are you will hit metal or tile and bleed all over the place.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:

This one is getting as weird as the Alec Baldwin shooting.

The only thing weird about the Alec Baldwin shooting is Alec Baldwin.

But yeah, one would think a hit that hard to the head would cause blood somewhere. Which would be something to report long before the autopsy.

Given his age, a late night mixed with some of the meds found in his system it's not impossible to take a solid blow to the head and have a feeling of just sleep it off. One doctor explained fractures in different locations if the hit was in the right place and hard enough. Like when an egg cracks.

Unless the hotel didn't have a surveillance system I would think any strange activity at the door would be settled quickly enough. Have to assume nothing was missing or stolen.

Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman has died, age 75.

So sad to hear. Guess it was completely unexpected as he had a list of projects going.

Doctor Who actor Stewart Bevan has died, age 73.

Minnesota Congressman Jim Hagedorn died age 59 on Feb. 17.

As noted in the "Obituaries" thread, Gary Brooker, lead singer of the British rock group, Procol Harum, has passed away. The biggest hit was "Whiter Shade of Pale" from their 1967 debut album but I remember "Conquistador" almost as well - haven't heard either on the radio in years. Even on the stations that still play 70's-80's songs, they mix in some songs from the last 10 years so the kids will tune in. You're lucky to hear two different Fleetwood Mac songs on the same station now.

For years, I thought the band's name was "Purple Harum" as I always seemed to hear it said when some background/traffic noise was partly drowning out the radio.

Here's the #65 card from the "1968 Swedish/Dutch Gum Pop Stars and Superheroes" set which seems to be quite obscure to the internet but some collectors must know some details as there is a Batman card.