Scott Holleran » Obituaries

Bonnie Franklin, RIP

Scott Holleran — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 08:40:01 +0000

Bonnie Franklin, who played a divorced mother on a long-running CBS situation comedy, died of cancer yesterday. She was 69. Though Franklin had an established career and had been nominated for a Tony Award, her portrayal for nine seasons of a liberated woman named Ann Romano, who memorably insisted on going by Ms., which the [...]

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Charles Durning Dies

Scott Holleran — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 05:12:49 +0000

I first became aware of actor Charles Durning, who died on Christmas Eve at the age of 89, in his role as a corrupt Chicago policeman in The Sting (1973). I was a kid, but I knew that he seemed realistic in the role, and I would continue to be impressed with his performances in [...]

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Neil Armstrong: 1930-2012

Scott Holleran — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 14:42:25 +0000

Neil Armstrong, who recently died at the age of 82, was the first man on the moon. As a Generation Xer who barely recalls watching his first lunar step on television, I am still in awe that those words as I write them are true. Neil Armstrong’s achievement is one of the greatest moments in [...]

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News: Rodney King is Dead

Scott Holleran — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 18:00:17 +0000

The man whose arrest and beating led to a government/media response that incurred the worst U.S. riot of the 20th century has been found dead, according to news reports (read my recent post on the Los Angeles riots here). His body was found by his fiancee in their home’s swimming pool 55 miles from Los [...]

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Donna Summer

Scott Holleran — Fri, 18 May 2012 03:35:36 +0000

I am sad to hear that Donna Summer has died of cancer at 63. Though not a fan of disco, I like her danceable songs, especially “Heaven Knows”. I also like her rock tunes, such as “She Works Hard for the Money”. I liked her 2008 album so much that I choreographed and danced a [...]

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Dick Clark, 1929 – 2012

Scott Holleran — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 03:59:30 +0000

I don’t know what it was that I liked about Dick Clark, who died in Santa Monica, California, this morning, but I think it has something central to do with accessibility. Whether he was hosting American Bandstand on ABC and asking the questions you’d want to ask of the latest rock star or recording artist [...]

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Cathie Wright, 1929 – 2012

Scott Holleran — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 08:39:37 +0000

Former California State Senator Cathie Wright died this morning at 9 a.m. from complications of dementia at her home in Simi Valley, her daughter, who was at her side, told me earlier today. She was 82. I first met her a few years ago at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum during an event [...]

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Remembering Andrew Breitbart

Scott Holleran — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:29:09 +0000

Media activist Andrew Breitbart died this morning in Los Angeles at the age of 43, according to one of his Web sites. While I do not agree with his activist approach to communications or his political philosophy, he exposed hypocrisy in the liberal-dominated media. He got people thinking about the press. The media has become [...]

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Peter Breck, Nick on ‘Big Valley’, Dies at 82

Scott Holleran — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 04:18:45 +0000

Peter Breck, the actor who played Nick Barkley on ABC’s one-hour Western starring Barbara Stanwyck, The Big Valley (1965-1969), died in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada last Monday. He was 82. His death was announced by his wife, Diane, on the Big Valley fan forum Web site The Big Valley Writing Desk. I had the pleasure [...]

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On Whitney Houston, Dead at 48

Scott Holleran — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:39:32 +0000

The shocking news that singer Whitney Houston has died at the age of 48 is just breaking. I may have more to say about her death as more becomes known, though I found this excerpt from an especially thoughtful Associated Press article by Nekesa Mumbi Moody particularly interesting: “Her decision not to follow the more [...]

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