Remembering The Passed

Remembering Alan Young, Bill Herz

Alan Young was the memorable actor who played the foil for a talking horse in “Mr. Ed”, the iconic 1960’s sitcom. Young was an accomplished radio and television actor, as well as a voice actor who did the voice of Scrooge McDuck. He did a particularly moving turn as a father and son opposite Rod Taylor in the 1960 classic adaptation of H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine. Bill Herz was the last surviving member of the Mercury Theater Troupe, Orson Welles’s team, who are best known for their 1938 radio adaptation of The War Of The Worlds.

Remembering Madeleine LeBeau, Julius La Rosa, James Travis, Bill Backer, Susannah Mushatt Jones

Madeleine LeBeau was the beautiful French actress who was the last living member of the cast of Casablanca (1942). She does a memorable turn in Rick’s Casino, when she sings Le Mareillaise over the Nazi soldiers’ voices. Julius La Rosa was the handsome young singer who became a television star on “Arthur Godfrey And His Friends” (1949-1959). He was fired by Godfrey on air in 1953 in one of television’s most famous moments. James Travis was the advertising man who helped devise the famous political advertisement “Morning in America” for Ronald Reagan in1984. Bill Backer was the advertising man who came up with what might be the most famous television commercial in history in 1971 with “I’d Like to Teach The World to Sing” for Coca-Cola. Susannah Mushatt Jones was the world’s oldest living person at 116, one of the last people to be born in the 19th Century.

Remembering William Schallert, Mark Lane, John Bradshaw, Ned Miller

William Schallert was the long-time television veteran who played in many beloved shows. He did both comedy and drama, and was best known as Patty Duke’s father on her 1960’s sitcom. He did a wonderful turn as a teacher on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” (1959-1963) and was in the memorable Star Trek episode “Trouble with Tribbles”. Mark Lane was the Left-wing lawyer who first cast doubt on the Warren Commission with his 1966 book Rush To Judgment. John Bradshaw was the motivational speaker who gained a wide television audience with his PBS lectures. Ned Miller was the country music songwriter who wrote and sang the 1962 hit “From A Jack To A King”.

Remembering Burt Katz, Delmer Berg, Rev. Daniel Berrigan, Remo Belli

Burt Katz was the Chicago pizza maker whose pies were world-renowned. From a nondescript kitchen and pizzeria in Morton Grove, Illinois, Burt had people to sample his pizza from all over the world – but you had to call ahead. Delmer Berg was one of the last veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Americans who fought against Fascist Spain during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. Rev. Daniel Berrigan was a leader of the Catholic Left antiwar movement during the Vietnam War. He was arrested and tried for burning draft records in 1968 in Catonsville Maryland and that became the subject of the play, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine. Remo Belli transformed the art of drumming by creating drum skins made of artificial materials replacing the traditional animal skin drum skin.

Remembering Sir Harold Kroto

Harry Kroto was a co-winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Robert Curl and Richard Smalley. Sir Harold (although he much preferred Harry) anticipated that the heat of stars in distant space organized 60 carbon molecules into a specific patter of hexagons and pentagons. He and his fellow scientists were able to reproduce C60 in the laboratory and it took the shape of a soccer ball or geodesic dome. In honor of Buckminster Fuller they called the C60 structure the “buckeyball” and “fullerene”. They are critical to studying nanotechnology.

Remembering PFC Hector A. Cafferata, Jr.

PFC Hector Cafferata distinguished himself in one of the legendary battles in Marine history, the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. After American and UN forces had nearly made their way to the Yalu River in the early phase of the Korean War in 1950, they were surprised by a counterattack by 150,000 Chinese forces. Nearly surrounded in the bitter cold of an early Korean winter, the Marines broke through and inflicted heavy casualties on the numerically superior enemy. While many of his comrades had fallen, PFC Cafferata single-handedly held off a regimental-sized force and annihilated two enemy platoons. President Truman presented him with the Medal of Honor at the White House in 1952.

Remembering Walter Kohn, Billy Paul

Walter Kohn was the theoretical physicist who escaped from Nazi-occupied Austria as a young boy and went on to develop the density functional theory, for which he shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with John Pople. The density functional theory is a mathematical description of atomic structure, which represents an advance over the earlier Bohr and Schroedinger models of the atom. It is critical to understanding the electronic structure of materials. Billy Paul was the Philadelphia singer whose hit single “Me and Mrs. Jones” (1972) help launch the famous sound of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

Remembering The Cultural Revolution and Qi Benyu, Doris Roberts, Milt Pappas, Guy Hamilton

In 1966 Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution in Communist China to reassert his power and purge the country of “impure” elements. One of his main lieutenants during this time was Qi Benyu. With the student paramilitary Red Guard leading the way, thousands were killed, imprisoned or tortured before the “revolution” was ended and order restored. Doris Roberts was one of television’s most memorable characters for her portrayal of Marie Barone on the popular sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond” (1996-2005). Milt Pappas was the fine pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs, who came within one strike of a perfect game in 1972. Guy Hamilton was the British film director who directed four movies in the Bond series, most notably Goldfinger (1964)

Remembering Prince, Lonnie Mack

Prince was the legendary Minneapolis musician who became one of the most popular performers of the last 40 years. He was a versatile performer who combined various musical styles, in addition to being a talented songwriter and virtuoso guitarist. He won an Academy Award for his score for his 1984 movie “Purple Rain”, as well as seven Grammys. He had five #1 hits and sold well over 100 million albums. Lonnie Mack was the rockabilly guitarist, best known for his 1963 instrumental version of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis”

Remembering Nera White, Ed Snider, Anne Jackson, Thunderclap Newman, Phil Sayer, Arthur Anderson

Nera White came out of a small rural Tennessee town and became one of the greatest female basketball players ever. Playing for Nashville Business College, she was the dominant member of Women’s AAU teams, a 15 time All-American and 10 time Most Valuable Player. She made the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. Ed Snider was the Philadelphia businessman who founded the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team and was active in local and national businesses and charities. Anne Jackson was the wife of Eli Wallach and a superbly talented actress in her own right. They frequently performed together and were one of the first couples of the American theater. Thunderclap Newman was the leader of the rock group of the same name, best known for the 1969 hit, “Something In The Air”. Phil Sayer was the former BBC announcer who went on to become the familiar voice of the British rail system. Arthur Anderson was the voice of the Lucky charms leprechaun for 30 years.