Remembering The Passed

With his singing, his writing, his guitar playing and his showmanship, Chuck Berry did as much to popularize rock and roll as any single performer. From the mid 1950’s to the second decade of the 21st Century, Chuck Berry played his songs like no one else. He was a profound influence on many of the greatest artists of our era including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys. With his legendary duck walk, Berry strutted across the stage and created a number of rock and roll classics including “Maybelline” (1955), “Roll Over Beethoven” (1956). “Rock and Roll Music” (19570 and the incomparable Johnny B. Goode (1957)

Remembering The Azure Window Arch of Malta, Fred Weintraub, Robert James Waller, Joni Sledge, Lloyd Conover

The Azure Window Arch of Malta was a beautiful limestone rock formation on the island of Gozo that was washed away by the sea. The Azure Window was featured in the 1981 movie Clash of the Titans and in the 2011 television series Game of Thrones. Fred Weintraub was the impresario who opened The Bitter End nightclub in Greenwich Village in 1961 and launched the careers of many singers and comedians. He went on to help finance the landmark movie Woodstock (1970) and produce Enter the Dragon (1973), starring Bruce Lee. Robert James Waller wrote the blockbuster novel The Bridges of Madison County (1992), which was made into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. Joni Sledge was one of the singers in Sister Sledge, four sisters who recorded the iconic 1979 song “We Are Family”. Lloyd Conover was the Pfizer chemist who in 1952 developed tetracycline, one of the first semisynthetic antibiotics – an antibiotic developed by taking a naturally occurring compound and chemically modifying it.

Remembering Dr. Thomas Starzl, Robert Osborne

Dr. Thomas Starzl was the country’s most renowned transplant surgeon. He not only pioneered liver transplantation, he was responsible for developing the anti-rejection drugs that allowed transplantation to succeed. His work made the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center one of the top centers for transplantation in the world. Robert Osborne was the genteel host of Turner Classic Movies. Since 1994 he hosted primetime movies on the network in an informed and urbane style. He also wrote several books on movies and the Academy Awards.

Remembering Bill Paxton, Ed Garvey, Judge Joseph Wapner

Bill Paxton was an actor who was featured in many of the most familiar movies of our generation including Aliens (1986), Apollo 13 (1995), Twister (1996), and Titanic (1997). As a boy in Fort Worth, he was taken to see President Kennedy who would travel to Dallas later that morning on November 22, 1963. Ed Garvey was the brilliant lawyer who led the National Football League Players Association from 1971- 1983. For 12 years from 1981- 1993, Joseph Wapner was the judge on the popular television show The People’s Court, the forerunner of today’s court television shows.

Remembering Norma McCorvey, Adm. Richard Lyon. Al Jarreau, Mike Ilitich, the Monopoly Thimble

In 1969 Norma McCorvey became pregnant with her third child. She sought an abortion, which was illegal in Texas at the time, and she had her attorneys filed suit on her behalf as Jane Roe. The groundbreaking case winded through the courts until it was settled in 1973 by the Supreme Court, which made abortion the law of the land. She eventually changed sides on the abortion debate and became a pro-life supporter. Adm. Richard Lyon was one of the first Navy SEALS, and the first to become promoted to a flag officer. Al Jarreau was the Grammy Award winning jazz singer best known for his version of the title song for the television show “Moonlighting”. Mike Ilitich was the founder of Little Caesars Pizza who went on to become the owner of the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers. The Monopoly Thimble was one of the original game pieces introduced in 1935.

Hate War, Love the American Warrior

Lt. Gen. Hal Moore was one of the greatest American military heroes of the 20th Century. He was a fearsome but loyal and compassionate warrior, and a brilliant natural leader whose name is revered at West Point. He will be forever be remembered as the hero of the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley, probably the most important American military engagement of the last 75 years. It was first major encounter between the regular armies of the United States and North Vietnam in mid-November 1965 and probably changed world politics as much as any other military engagement since World War II; it also marked the beginning of airmobile infantry warfare. In the ambush by several thousand North Vietnamese regulars of several hundred American 7th Cavalry, Col. Moore’s brilliant leadership saved what appeared to be a hopeless situation. Along with the superb war reporter and photographer Joseph Galloway, Lt. Gen. Moore wrote the seminal account of Ia Drang, “We Were Soldiers Once… and Young”, a gripping account of heroism, courage, and tragedy - required reading for students of history.

Remembering Bobby Freeman, Irwin Corey, Brunhilde Pomsel, Granddad the Lungfish

Bobby Freeman was a 17 year-old singer who, in 1958, wrote and sang one of the most enduring songs in rock and roll, “Do You Wanna Dance.” The song has been covered many times by everyone from The Beach Boys to The Ramones to Bette Midler. Irwin Corey, “The World’s Foremost Authority”, was a comedian who specialized in doubletalk lectures, and preformed frequently on television in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Brunhlide Pomsel was one of the last remaining figures of The Third Reich. She was Josef Goebbels’s personal secretary. Granddad the Lungfish was the oldest fish in captivity. He was brought to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago in 1933 and was seen by nearly 1.5 million people in his lifetime.

Remembering John Hurt, Mike Connors, Barbara Hale, John Wetton

John Hurt was the brilliant, but underrated British actor who starred for fifty years on stage, screen, and television. Though other actors overshadowed him with their performances, none displayed his versatility, which included his role in “The Elephant Man” (1980), as Winston Smith in “Nineteen Eighty-Four” (1984), and memorable roles in the Harry Potter series, “Alien”, and on television in “I, Claudius” and “Dr. Who”. Mike Connors embodied the transforming television detective beginning with the noir 1950’s “Tightrope” (1959-19600 and culminating in the well-known series, “Mannix” (1967-1975). Barbara Hale played the redoubtable Della Street opposite Raymond Burr in the iconic drama “Perry Mason” (1957-1966). John Wetton was the singer/songwriter/bassist for King Crimson and most notably the 1980’s supergroup, Asia.

Remembering Oliver Smithies

Oliver Smithies was a winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology, along with Mario Capecchi and Sir Martin Evans, for his work in gene targeting. He discovered that a disease-causing gene could be modified, and this opened up an entire new field of molecular biology and medicine. Heart disease, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis were among the conditions that could not be explored and treated with the results of gene targeting. Of note, Dr. Smithies, who did much of his groundbreaking work at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (their first Nobel Prize winner) came from a small area of Central England that has produced four Nobel Prize winners.

Remembering Captain (Chaplain) Charles Liteky

Charles Liteky was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1968 by President Johnson for his heroic service in Bien Hoa Province in December of 1967. Captain Liteky was a chaplain who, during combat, rescued a number of his comrades. After his service in Vietnam, Chaplain Liteky renounced his position and became a layman and an anti-war activist. He vigorously protested American actions in Central and South America during the 1980’s and went to prison twice for his protests at Fort Benning, Georgia. In 1986, he renounced his Medal of Honor at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. He is the first person in American history to give up a Medal of Honor.