Remembering The Passed

Remembering Allen Toussaint, Andy White, Nat Peck

For more than half a century, Allen Toussaint was the embodiment of New Orleans music. He was a superb musician and piano player, and was influenced as a young man by Professor Longhair and Huey “Piano” Smith. He wrote some of the most familiar tunes to come out of the city, and later in his career, he sang as well. His spirit infused New Orleans, and conversely New Orleans infused his spirit. Andy White was a British session drummer who was selected by George Martin to stand in for Ringo Starr on The Beatles’ initial recording of “Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You” in 1962. Nat Peck was the trombonist who was the last surviving member of Glenn Miller’s Army Air Force Orchestra, the most famous band of World War II.

Remembering Douglas North, Mal Whitfield, Warren Mitchell, Saeed Jaffrey

Douglas North was the co-winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Economics, along with Robert Fogel for his work in economic history and the importance of institutions. In his work, he emphasized that economics was more than markets, and he analyzed why some countries developed economically more quickly than others. Mal Whitfield was one of the great postwar middle distance runners. In 1954, he became the first African-American winner of the Sullivan Award. Warren Mitchell was the British actor who created the role of Alf Garnett in the long-running television sitcom Till Death Us Do Part. It is the show Norman Lear based All In The Family on, and Mitchell’s Alf Garnett was the inspiration for Carroll O’Connor’s Archie Bunker. Saeed Jaffrey was the outstanding Indian actor who is best known in the United States for his role as Billy fish opposite Michael Caine and Sean Connery in John Huston’s masterpiece, “The Man Who Would Be King” (1975).

Remembering P. F. Sloan

For a brief period of time from 1964 to 1968, a young genius songwriter and musician had a profound influence on rock and roll. P.F. Sloan was still a teenager when he wrote one of the most important protest songs of the 1960’s, “Eve of Destruction”. The song was instrumental in helping lower the voting age in America. He followed it up with the classic “Secret Agent Man” (1966), which became a hit in both the United States and the U.K. He was compared to Bob Dylan as he penned great songs for The Turtles, the Searchers, and the Grass Roots. Along the way he also played with The Wrecking Crew and it was him playing the famous seven-second intro to “California Dreamin’” (1966). Then he left the music scene as suddenly as he appeared.

The Woman Behind E.T.

Melissa Mathison was the screenwriter who wrote E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), generally considered the best of all director Steven Spielberg’s screenplays. As part of the California film community, she was also married to Harrison Ford for twenty years. Helmut Schmidt was the Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. He was a key personage in the negotiations over arms reduction in Europe and the European monetary system. George Barris was the Hollywood custom car designer whose most famous creation was the Batmobile.

Remembering The Fall of the Berlin Wall and Gunter Schabowski, Fred Thompson

For nearly 30 years the Berlin Wall stood as the visible symbol of the Cold War. Constructed in 1961, it was the barrier that separated East Berlin from West Berlin, and over 200 Easterners died trying to cross it. In a press conference in 1989, Gunter Schabowski misspoke about the timing of the loosening of travel restrictions, and unwittingly brought about the fall of the Wall and the beginning of the downfall of the Iron Curtain. It could symbolically be considered the last act of World War II. Fred Thompson was a legendary Tennessee politician and lawyer who made his name as Minority Counsel during the Watergate hearings. He went on to become a senator, television, movie star, and presidential candidate.

Remembering Maureen O’Hara, Al Molinaro, Mel Daniels

The fiery redhead Maureen O’Hara was one of the great beauties in film history. Her film legacy includes working with Charles Laughton in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1939), “How Green Was My Valley” (1941), “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947) and “The Parent Trap”. Her most memorable work was with John Ford and John Wayne in the movie filmed in Ireland “The Quiet Man” (1952). Al Molinaro was the television actor best known for his work in the 1970’s comedies, “The Odd Couple” and “Happy Days”. Mel Daniels was one of the great basketball players in ABA history, starring for a decade with the Indiana Pacers.

Remembering Richard Heck

Richard Heck won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with Ei-ishi Nigeshi and Akira Suzuki for his work in palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions. Essentially, he found new ways to synthesize new organic molecules by using palladium as a catalyst, and his name is now associated with the process known as the Heck reaction. It is a valuable part of everything from cosmetics to DNA fluorescence. Uncharacteristic for a Nobel Prize winner, he spent many of his creative years outside academia, working in the private sector. When he finally returned to academia, he became one of only two Nobel Prize winners to come form the University of Delaware

Remembering Smith Brothers Cough Drops, Paul Prudhomme, Jerry Parr, Gail Zappa

Smith Brothers, the cough drop with the iconic logo started in 1847 in the Hudson Valley. The company moved to Chicago in the 1960’s and now is out of business after 168 years. Paul Prudhomme was legendary New Orleans chef, author, and restaurateur who almost single-handedly popularized Cajun cooking in the United States. Jerry Parr was the Secret Service agent who saved President Ronald Reagan’s life after an assassination attempt in March, 1981. Gail Zappa was the widow, and kept the legacy of her husband, rock icon Frank Zappa.

Remembering The Playboy Nude, Joan Leslie, Dave Meyers, Dean Chance

Since 1953 when Marilyn Monroe graced its first cover, Playboy has built an empire on the female nude. Because of the proliferation of nudity on the Internet, Playboy will stop publishing full nudity and change its image. Joan Leslie was one of Hollywood’s top stars in the 1940’s. She played opposite Humphrey Bogart in High Sierra (1941), Gary Cooper in Sergeant York (1941), and memorably James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). Dave Meyers was the last great All-American at UCLA for Coach John Wooden and helped lead the team to the 1975 National title. Dean Chance was the hard throwing pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels who had a magical season in 1964.

On August 10, 1967, the great soul singer Otis Redding was killed in a plane crash in Madison, Wisconsin. With one exception, the members of his Memphis back-up band, The Bar-Kays, also died in the icy lake waters where the plane crashed. That member was horn player Ben Cauley, who went on to distinguished career playing in Memphis. Brian Friel was the Irish playwright, often dubbed “The Irish Chekhov”, responsible for the play, Dancing at Lughnasa (1990). Frankie Ford was part of the New Orleans sound of late 1950’s rock and roll, and he recorded the memorable song “Sea Cruise”, written by Huey “Piano” Smith. John Guillermin was British film director responsible for The Towering Inferno (1974) and the remake of King Kong (1976).