REMEMBERING ORDINARY PEOPLE

Mary Tyler Moore was shocked by Robert Redford's offer that she portray Beth in "Ordinary People" (1980), especially given her sunny, warm and highly connective screen persona. Moore stated that, in response to her surprise, Redford confided that he'd had her in mind for the role since the first time he'd read the novel. Lee Remick and Ann-Margret were both suggested for the role of Beth, but Redford said in interviews that he had seen Moore alone on the beach that bridged their properties one morning. He said that Moore, who looked like she was in a contemplative, stricken state, was precisely who he envisioned when he read the book, and while he considered other actresses, he was never able to shake that image, and eventually offered Moore the role.

 
Redford said he was drawn to filming the novel because it reminded him of the cultural inarticulation and missed signals of his own upbringing. Both Moore and Redford said the character of Beth reminded them of their respective fathers.

According to the Entertainment Weekly article on the making of this movie, Moore was cold, snobbish and uncommunicative with Timothy Hutton on the set, to assist her in mastering the aloofness so essential to her character.

On both of her sitcoms, Moore was famous for her ability to cry comically. Moore admitted that, during the filming of this movie, her voice would occasionally start quavering in a quintessential Laura Petrie/Mary Richards manner ("Oh, Rob!"). Redford would shout "Cut!" and they would have to reshoot the scene.

Moore admitted that she became annoyed with the would-be compliment, "Boy, you were a b!tch in that movie!". She said that she didn't see it that way. She thought of Beth as a victim, that she was brought up being taught to do things a certain way...

RIP: ED ASNER

Ed Asner, best-known for playing fictional TV newsman Lou Grant, has died aged 91.

The actor, whose roles also included voicing the lead in the Pixar film Up, passed away "peacefully" on Sunday morning, his family said.

"Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head - goodnight dad. We love you."

The character Lou Grant was first introduced as Mary Richards's boss on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s.

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who worked on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, was among those who paid tribute to Asner on Twitter.

"A great man...a great actor... a great life. Thank you Mr. Asner. #RIP," Hamill said.

Comedy actor Ben Stiller added: "Sending love to the great Ed Asner's family. An icon because he was such a beautiful, funny and totally honest actor. No one like him."

The character of Lou Grant, the irascible editor of the fictional Los Angeles Tribune, later became a character in a show in his own right from 1977 to 1982.

The role helped earn Asner seven Emmy awards across his career, a record for a male performer.

In 2009, he became known to a new generation of audiences by playing elderly widower Carl Fredricksen in the animated hit Up.

He also played Santa Claus in the 2003 Will Ferrell comedy Elf.

During his acting career, Asner was an outspoken supporter of a number of humanitarian and political causes, including trade unionism and animal rights.

He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1981 to 1985, and was honoured in 2000 with the union's prestigious Ralph Morgan Award.

Asner was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1929, and began acting at school.

After serving two years in France in the US Army Signal Corps, Asner returned to theatre work in Chicago.

In 1955 he made his Broadway debut with Jack Lemmon in Face of A Hero, then performed with the American and New York Shakespeare festivals and appeared in numerous off-Broadway shows.

Asner moved to Hollywood in 1961 and began his acclaimed career in television and film.

He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1996.

In 2018, Asner was cast in the Netflix dark comedy, Dead to Me, which premiered on May 3, 2019. The series also stars Christina Applegate, Linda Cardellini, and James Marsden. Also in 2018, Asner portrayed Johnny Lawrence's step-father, Sid Weinberg, in a guest role on the series Cobra Kai. In 2020 he guest starred in an episode of Modern Family and in 2021 played himself in a sketch on Let's Be Real.

Beginning in 2016, Asner took on the role of Holocaust survivor Milton Salesman in Jeff Cohen's acclaimed play The Soap Myth in a reading at Lincoln Center's Bruno Walter Theatre in New York City. He subsequently toured for the next three years in "concert readings" of the play in more than a dozen cities across the United States. In 2019, PBS flagship station WNET filmed the concert reading at New York's Center for Jewish History for their All Arts channel. The performance, which is available for free, world-wide live-streaming, co-stars Tovah Feldshuh, Ned Eisenberg, and Liba Vaynberg. In the week before his death, Asner told his frequent collaborators, Greg Palast and Leni Badpenny, that he soon would be doing three one-act plays....

RIP: CLORIS LEACHMAN

Cloris Leachman, the acclaimed actress whose one-of-a-kind comedic flair made her a legendary figure in film and television for seven decades, has died, according to a statement from her longtime manager and representatives. She was 94.

"It's been my privilege to work with Cloris Leachman, one of the most fearless actresses of our time. There was no one like Cloris," said a statement from her manager, Juliet Green. "With a single look she had the ability to break your heart or make you laugh 'till the tears ran down your face. You never knew what Cloris was going to say or do and that unpredictable quality was part of her unparalleled magic."

Leachman died Wednesday of natural causes in Encinitas, California, according to the statement.
During her extensive career, Leachman, who was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2011, earned 22 Emmy nominations and eight Primetime Emmy awards and one Daytime Emmy Award.

Two of her statues were won for playing what was arguably her most iconic role -- cunning landlady Phyllis Lindstrom. The character originated on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and later received a spin-off series.

In the early 2000s, Leachman earned a fresh round of acclaim for her role as cranky grandmother Ida on Fox's "Malcolm in the Middle." She won a best guest actress in a comedy Emmy award in 2006 for the part.

Her last nomination for television work was in 2011 for her role as Maw Maw in sitcom "Raising Hope."

Her accolades were not exclusive to her work in television. Leachman won an Academy Award in 1971 for her dramatic role in "The Last Picture Show." She was also memorable as Frau Blücher in Mel Brooks' 1974 classic "Young Frankenstein," and in her roles in 1977's "High Anxiety" and 1981's "History of the World: Part I."

Off screen, Leachman's fireball personality was as well known as her on-screen work. On social media, she was remembered fondly by both fellow actors and former coworkers.

Leachman is survived by her children and her grandchildren, according to the statement from her representatives. A lifelong vegetarian and animal rights advocate, Leachman's family asked that those wishing to make donations in her name make them to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) or Last Chance for Animals.

Cloris was also memorable as Billy Mumy's mother in an iconic Twilight Zone episode called "It's A Good Life" in 1961. Her last role was in the 2020 movie "High Holiday"...

THE PASSING SCENE OF 2017

Every year I comment on how quickly the year has gone, and 2017 is no different. My children are getting older, my bones are aching more, and my heart goes out to all of the stars and celebrities we have lost in the fading year. Here are just some of the notable artists that we lost in 2017...

Mary Tyler Moore

Actress MARY TYLER MOORE died on January 25th at the age of 80. She known for her roles in the television sitcoms The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977), in which she starred as Mary Richards, a single woman working as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966), in which she played Laura Petrie, a former dancer turned homemaker, wife and mother. Her film work includes 1967's Thoroughly Modern Millie and 1980's Ordinary People, in which she played a role that was very different from the television characters she had portrayed, and for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Due to her roles on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show, in which her characters often broke from stereotypical images of women and pushed gender norms, Moore became a cultural icon and served as an inspiration for many younger actresses, professional women, and feminists. She was later active in charity work and various political causes, particularly the issues of animal rights, vegetarianism and diabetes. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes early in the run of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She also suffered from alcoholism, which she wrote about in her first of two memoirs. In May 2011, Moore underwent elective brain surgery to remove a benign meningioma.

Director GEORGE ROMERO died on July 16th at the age of 77. He was best known for his series of gruesome and satirical horror films about an imagined zombie apocalypse, beginning with Night of the Living Dead (1968). Other films in the series include Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Day of the Dead (1985). Aside from the Dead series, his works include The Crazies (1973), Martin (1978), Creepshow (1982), Monkey Shines (1988), The Dark Half (1993) and Bruiser (2000). He also created and executive-produced the television series Tales from the Darkside (1983–1988). Romero is often noted as an influential pioneer of the horror film genre, and the "Father of the Zombie Film

Singer and comedian JIM NABORS died on November 30th at the age of 86. Nabors was discovered by Andy Griffith while working at the Santa Monica nightclub The Horn, and he later joined The Andy Griffith Show as Gomer Pyle. Betty Lynn, Elinor Donahue, and Ron Howard are the last surviving regular cast members from that series. The character proved popular, and Nabors was given his own spin-off show Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.He became a popular guest on variety shows which showcased his rich baritone voice in the 1960s and 1970s, including two specials of his own in 1969 and 1974. He subsequently recorded numerous albums and singles, most of them containing romantic ballads.

Singer BEA WAIN died on August 19th at the age of 100. She was an American Big Band-era singer and radio personality born in the Bronx, New York City. She had a number of hits with Larry Clinton and his Orchestra. After her marriage she and her husband became involved in radio, helming a show titled "Mr. and Mrs. Music". Wain had four No. 1 hits: "Cry, Baby, Cry", "Deep Purple", "Heart and Soul", and her signature song, "My Reverie". My Reverie (Victor 26006) stayed at the top of the chart for eight weeks in 1938. Wain was also the first artist to record the Harold Arlen-Yip Harburg classic "Over the Rainbow" (on December 7, 1938, with Clinton's orchestra), but MGM prohibited the release until The Wizard of Oz (1939) had opened and audiences heard Judy Garland perform it. Wain rarely made recordings after she left the Clinton orchestra in 1939, focusing primarily on her work on radio instead.

Actor MIGUEL FERRER died of cancer on January 19th at the age of 61. His breakthrough role was the OCP Vice President Bob Morton in the 1987 film RoboCop. Ferrer's notable television roles include FBI Agent Albert Rosenfield on Twin Peaks (1990–1991, 2017), Dr. Garret Macy on Crossing Jordan (2001–2007) and NCIS Assistant Director Owen Granger on NCIS: Los Angeles (2012–2017). He was the son of actor José Ferrer and singer Rosemary Clooney.

Actress and child star ROSE MARIE died on December 28th at the age of 94. As a child performer, she had a successful singing career as Baby Rose Marie. A veteran of vaudeville, her career included film, radio, records, theater, night clubs and television.She was most widely known for her role as Sally Rogers on the television show The Dick Van Dyke Show from 1961 to 1966.

Jerry Lewis

Comedian and director JERRY LEWIS died on August 20th at the age of 91. He was known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. From 1946 to 1956, he and Dean Martin were partners as the hit popular comedy duo of Martin and Lewis. Following that success, he was a solo star in motion pictures, nightclubs, television shows, concerts, album recordings, and musicals. Lewis served as national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and hosted the live Labor Day weekend broadcast of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon for 45 years. He received several awards for lifetime achievement from the American Comedy Awards, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Venice Film Festival and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Television personality CHUCK BARRIS died at the age of 87 on March 21st. He was an American game show creator, producer, and host. Barris was known for hosting The Gong Show, and creating The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game. He was also a songwriter, who wrote "Palisades Park" for Freddy Cannon.

Singer HARRY PRIME died on June 20th at the age of 97. He was a Big Band vocalist who performed from the late forties through the mid-fifties. Prime was a featured vocalist with the orchestras of Randy Brooks, Tommy Dorsey, and Ralph Flanagan. Prime peformed mostly with Flanagan's band , but his biggest hit was with the Dorsey band and the song "Until" in 1947. He performed until a few months before his death.

The widow of Frank Sinatra, BARBARA SINATRA, died July 25th at the age of 90. A show girl and model, she married Robert Oliver in September 1948 and had a son, Bobby on 10 October 1950. She divorced Oliver in 1952 and married Zeppo Marx on 18 September 1959. That union ended in divorce in 1973. Then she became the fourth and final wife of Frank Sinatra from 1976 until his death in 1998.

Actor MARTIN LANDAU died at the age of 89 on July 15th. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959). He played regular roles in the television series Mission: Impossible (for which he received several Emmy Award nominations. Landau received the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, as well as his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his role in Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988); he received his second Oscar nomination for his appearance in Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). His performance in the supporting role of Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood (1994) earned him an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award. He continued to perform in film and television, and headed the Hollywood branch of the Actors Studio until his death in July.

Fats Domino

Singer FATS DOMINO died at the age of 89 on October 24th. Fats was a pioneer of early rock n roll, and had countless hits including: "Blueberry Hill", "Ain't That A Shame", and "My Girl Josephine". Five of his records released before 1955 sold over a million copies and were certified as gold records, and he had 35 records in the U.S. Billboard Top 40. Fats retired in 2007.

Comedian and social activist DICK GREGORY died at the age of 84 on August 19th. Gregory was a comedian, civil rights activist, social critic, writer, entrepreneur, conspiracy theorist, and occasional actor. During the turbulent 1960s, Gregory became a pioneer in stand-up comedy for his "no-holds-barred" sets, in which he mocked bigotry and racism. He performed primarily to black audiences at segregated clubs until 1961, when he became the first black comedian to successfully cross over to white audiences, appearing on television and putting out comedy record albums

Actress and former child star ERIN MORAN died of lung cancer at the age of 56 on April 22nd. She was best known for her role as Joannie Cunningham on the television series Happy Days (1974-1984) and the spinoff Joanie Loves Chachi (1982-1983). 

Singer CHUCK BERRY died on March 18th at the age of 90. Berry was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958), Berry refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive. Writing lyrics that focused on teen life and consumerism, and developing a music style that included guitar solos and showmanship, Berry was a major influence on subsequent rock music.

Actress BARBARA HALE died at the age of 94 on January 26th. She was best known for her role as legal secretary Della Street on more than 270 episodes of the long-running Perry Mason television series from 1957 to 1966, earning her a 1959 Emmy Award as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She reprised the role in 30 Perry Mason movies for television. Her movie roles included: Jolson Sings Again (1949) and The Boy With The Green Hair (1949) among others.

Della Reese

Singer and actress DELLA REESE died on November 19th at the age of 86. Reese's long career began as a singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You Know?". In the late 1960s, she hosted her own talk show, Della, which ran for 197 episodes. She also starred in films beginning in 1975, including playing opposite Redd Foxx in Harlem Nights (1989), Martin Lawrence in A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996) and Elliott Gould in Expecting Mary (2010). She achieved continuing success in the television religious supernatural drama Touched by an Angel (1994–2003).

Singer and band leader BUDDY GRECO died on January 10th at the age of 90. Greco was an American jazz and pop singer and pianist, who had a long career in the US and UK and was good friends with the Rat Pack. His recordings, in several genres including jazz, pop, and country, have sold millions of records, including "Oh Look A-There Ain't She Pretty", "Up, Up and Away" and "Around the World".

Actor ADAM WEST died on June 9, 2017 at the age of 88. He was widely known for his role as Batman in the 1960s ABC series of the same name, its 1966 theatrical feature film and two animated feature films Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016) and Batman vs. Two-Face (2017) (The second one being his final work and released posthumously). He performed voice work on The Fairly OddParents (2001), The Simpsons (1992, 2002), and Family Guy (2000-2017), playing fictional versions of himself in all three.

Actress and socialite DINA MERRILL died at the age of 93 on May 22nd. Merrill's film credits included Desk Set (1957), A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed (1958), Don't Give Up the Ship (1959), Operation Petticoat (1959, with Cary Grant, who had been married to her cousin, Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton), The Sundowners (1960), Butterfield 8 (1960), The Young Savages (1961), The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963), I'll Take Sweden (1965), The Greatest (1977), A Wedding (1978), Just Tell Me What You Want (1980), Anna to the Infinite Power (1983), Twisted (1986), Caddyshack II (1988), Fear (1990), True Colors (1991), The Player (1992), Suture (1993) and Shade (2003). She was more famous as a socialite than a move star in latter years.

Bandleader LARRY ELGART died on August 29th at the age of 95. With his brother Les (1917-1995), Larry recorded "Bandstand Boogie", the theme to the long-running dance show American Bandstand. While young Larry played with jazz musicians such as Charlie Spivak, Woody Herman, Red Norvo, Freddie Slack and Tommy Dorsey.

Bill Paxton

Actor BILL PAXTON died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 61 on Feburary 25th. Paxton appeared in numerous films like The Terminator (1984), Weird Science (1985), Aliens (1986), Predator 2 (1990), Tombstone (1993), True Lies (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), Twister (1996), Titanic (1997), U-571 (2000), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), and Nightcrawler (2014). Paxton also starred in the HBO drama series Big Love (2006–11). In 2013, he received an Emmy Award nomination for his performance in the miniseries Hatfields & McCoys.

Comedian DON RICKLES died on April 6th at the age of 90. was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and author. He became well known as an insult comic, but his pudgy, balding appearance and pugnacious style led to few leading roles in film or television. His prominent film roles included Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) with Clark Gable and Kelly's Heroes (1970) with Clint Eastwood. He later voiced Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story franchise. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for the 2007 documentary Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project.

Singer KEELY SMITH died on December 16th at the age of 89. She was a Grammy Award-winning American jazz and popular music singer, who performed and recorded extensively in the 1950s with then-husband Louis Prima, and throughout the 1960s as a solo artist. She was married to Louis Prima from 1953 to 1961, and together they scored a major it with their record of "That Old Black Magic" from 1958.

Actor ROBERT GUILLAUME died on October 24th at the age of 89. He was known for his role as Isaac Jaffe on Sports Night (1998-2002) and as Benson on the TV series Soap (1977-1981) and the spin-off Benson (1979-1986) as well as for voicing the mandrill Rafiki in The Lion King.(1994). In a career that spanned more than 50 years he worked extensively on stage, television and film. For his efforts he was nominated for a Tony Award for his portrayal of Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, and twice won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of the character Benson DuBois, once in 1979 on Soap and in 1985 on Benson. He also won a Grammy Award in 1995 for his spoken word performance of a audiobook version of The Lion King.

Actor ROGER MOORE died at the age of 89 on May 23rd. Sir Roger Moore was an English actor. He is best known for having played secret agent James Bond in seven feature films from 1973 to 1985. He also played Simon Templar in the television series The Saint from 1962 to 1969 and Lord Brett Sinclair in The Persuaders! from 1971 to 1972. Moore took over the role of Bond from Sean Connery in 1972, and made his first appearance as 007 in Live and Let Die (1973). The longest serving Bond, he went on to portray the spy in six more films

RIP: MARY TYLER MOORE

TV icon Mary Tyler Moore died on Wednesday after being hospitalized in Connecticut, her rep confirmed to The Huffington Post. She was 80.

“Today, beloved icon, Mary Tyler Moore, passed away at the age of 80 in the company of friends and her loving husband of over 33 years, Dr. S. Robert Levine. A groundbreaking actress, producer, and passionate advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile,” her rep Mara Buxbaum told The Huffington Post in a statement.

Moore, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1936 and grew up in Los Angeles, rose to international fame starring on the 1960s sitcom “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” She later starred on the beloved 1970s sitcom “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” which is one of the first shows to feature a never-married, working woman as its central character. Moore played single, 30-year-old TV news producer Mary Richards.

The show, which featured Moore’s character asking for equal pay to her male co-worker and going on the pill, became a paradigm of the women’s liberation movement and is credited with inspiring women to break the mold confining them as wives and homemakers.

The real-life Mary commanded just as much respect. Her namesake show came to fruition in 1970, when she and her former husband Grant Tinker co-founded production company MTM Enterprises and successfully pitched the show to CBS. In its seven-season run, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” held the record for most Emmys won ― 29 ― until “Frasier” broke it in 2002.

“First and foremost Mary was a businesswoman and she ran her series beautifully,” friend and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” director Alan Rafkin recalled in his autobiography. “She was the boss, and although you weren’t always wedded to doing things exactly her way, you never forgot for a second that she was in charge.”

After the show, Moore continued her acting career and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of a mother grieving the loss of her son in 1980’s “Ordinary People.” She most recently appeared in “Hot In Cleveland,” alongside her “Mary Tyler Moore Show” co-star Valerie Harper in 2013.

Moore, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 33 and suffered near blindness resulting from the disease in recent years, has also been a longtime advocate for researching cures for diabetes and served as the international chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She published a memoir on the subject, Growing Up Again: Life, Loves, and Oh Yeah, Diabetes, in 2009.

She was preceded in death by her son, Richard, in 1980 and is survived by her husband, Robert Levine...

PHOTOS OF THE DAY: EVEN MORE ODD PAIRINGS

This is the third addition of this series. I love featuring different pairings of movie stars in pictures that you are used to seeing together. There always seems to be different photos that I discover:

ELVIS PRESLEY and RUDY VALLEE

CHARLIE CHAPLIN and AL JOLSON

MICHAEL JACKSON and FRED ASTAIRE

EDDIE CANTOR, JUDY GARLAND, GEORGE JESSEL

MARY TYLER MOORE and JIMMY DURANTE

GROUCHO MARX and JAYNE MANSFIELD

MORE ODD PAIRINGS-JULY 16, 2012

ODD PAIRINGS-APRIL 19, 2011