John Hughes, RIP

Don't let him be remembered for "Drillbit Taylor," that's all I'm asking.

Perhaps the landmark filmmaker of the 1980s, John Hughes died yesterday at age 59 in New York City of a heart attack. Creator (writer and director) of such hits as "The Breakfast Club," "Pretty in Pink" and "Weird Science," he made stars of Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall, not to mention providing invaluable career springboards to Ally Sheedy, Andrew McCarthy, Robert Downey Jr., Judd Nelson, John Cusack, Alan Ruck, and even John Candy (who knew Candy and Steve Martin could be such a great "dramedic" duo?). He launched the "Home Alone" and "Beethoven" franchises and lent his talents as a writer to a surprising number of movies (including the aforementioned... aw forget about that one).

I was in college when the majority of his films hit the big screen, but I loved his stuff greatly. Even his near-great films like "Some Kind of Wonderful" had something going for them. I was a huge fan of "Weird Science" and "Breakfast Club" in particular, seeing both in the theater more than once.

When he stepped out of the business (or so it seemed), I missed his point of view tremendously. There weren't many (heck, ANY) writer-directors who could capture the essence of being a teen the way Hughes did. Shermer, Illinois seemed like a modern Oz, where Ferris Bueller could bump into Lisa on his way to a party at Claire Standish's house. It takes a special kind of magic to make that happen, and Hughes had it in spades.

RIP, Mr. Hughes, and thank you.

Passing (the unexpected addendum)

Wow.
Talk about unexpected.
We got home last night and I heard Charlie Gibson say, "Next...remembering Michael Jackson."
What the...??
Can't believe Michael Jackson is gone.
Last night and all of today, the Internet and news and all has been buzzing about the entirety of the man's life. Some dwell on the negative--and there was a lot of it, especially in the last two decades--and some dwell on the positive.
I hope he'll be remembered as one of the world's great entertainers, whose influence shaped a generation of new performers and left a legacy of incredible music and unbelievable dance moves. He was one of a kind, love him or hate him, and the most important thing about his life was surely the body of work he's given to the ages.
RIP, Mr. Jackson, and thank you.

Ricardo Montalban (1920-2009)

=sigh=
Well, you know these always come in threes.

Word is in that Ricardo Montalban has passed away, age 88. He lists 167 performances in TV and movies (per IMDB.com), but he is best known for his portrayal of Mr. Roarke in the original "Fantasy Island" and as Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek (both the episode "Space Seed" and the movie "Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan"). In recent years, he had done appearances in movies and voice work in animated TV shows.

Rest in peace, Mr. Montalban.

MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28661103/

Patrick McGoohan, RIP

Actor, producer, writer and director Patrick McGoohan passed away in Los Angeles today at the age of 80.

Best known as "Number Six" in THE PRISONER, a 17-episode series he created as a kind-of continuation of DANGER MAN (there has been some controversy over this, btw), McGoohan also starred in, wrote and directed a number of Columbo TV movies (winning two Emmys in the process); he also starred in the Disney production of "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh" and Mel Gibson's epic "Braveheart." He was also in David Cronenberg's SCANNERS, for you genre fans.

I remember watching The Prisoner with disbelief and absolute confusion at the age of 11 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. It was in reruns on a local station at an odd hour, and the surreal show blew my circuits. McGoohan's Number Six was a model of privacy, self-control and integrity unlike nearly anything else in the rather dissolute '70s. (I know, it was broadcast in the '60s but I didn't discover it until much later.) McGoohan was one of those actors who is always watchable, always fascinating.

Very sad, but McGoohan created much that we value even today. (A remake of The Prisoner is currently underway on AMC with Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen.)

Rest in peace, Mr. McGoohan, and thank you.

Ain't It Cool News: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/39763
MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28657018/

Majel Barrett Roddenberry, RIP

Nurse Christine Chapel, Lwaxana Troi and Number One have taken their last ride on the Starship Enterprise. Majel Barrett Roddenberry passed away in Bel Air, CA, on December 18th following a struggle with leukemia. She was 76.

Regarded as the "first lady of Star Trek," not only for her long marriage to creator Gene Roddenberry but also for her role in the original series and its subsequent movies (not to mention her semi-regular role as "Lwaxana Troi" on Star Trek: the Next Generation"), as well as lending her vocal talents as the computer voice on all four spinoff series and multiple computer and video games.

Though best known as Nurse (later Doctor) Chapel, where her storyline revolved around a frustrated romantic interest in Mr. Spock, she was originally hired to be the Enterprise's first officer--which was later rejected by the studio as unrealistic. She was retained in the cast (one of the few actors to achieve that distinction) when a second pilot was shot with William Shatner as the new lead.

She is the only actor who can claim to have been part of every incarnation of Star Trek.

Her last role, as the voice of the U.S.S. Enterprise's computer, will be in Star Trek (2009), in theaters next spring.

Michael Turner, comic book artist- RIP

Artist Michael Turner, owner and founder of Aspen Studios, has passed away at age 37, following a long battle with cancer. Part of a group of young artists whose work was fostered by Homage Studios, he achieved tremendous success and a huge fan following with his work for Top Cow Studios, including Witchblade, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and more. His own creations included Fathom and Soulfire. He was considered one of the industry's best artists, particularly when it came to drawing beautiful women.

A personal anecdote: Back in '96, when I was working for WildStorm, a bunch of us went to a club in the Gaslamp District for a party. I'd caught a ride with a young lady who was working in the industry, but she ditched me there (without saying goodbye, she just left) after some of my co-workers basically slandered me to her. Anyway...

There I was, stuck downtown without my car and feeling pissed off. Mike Turner was there, with a bunch of folks from Top Cow. I heard he was leaving and asked (before I'd really even met the guy) if he could drop me off in La Jolla. He said sure, but wanted to grab a bite first with the folks he was already driving, so we ended up hitting the Denny's just outside La Jolla around 1am. We ended up, the bunch of us, sitting and talking for a couple of hours, then I got dropped off at my front door.

Mike probably never knew my name, who I was or what I was doing at the party... but he drove me home. I tell that story sometimes to highlight how generous people can be toward those they don't know.

I never saw him again after that, but can't forget his act of kindness.

He was a great guy and will be greatly missed.

RIP

Aspen Studio's announcement can be found here.

Mike's Wikipedia entry here.

Announcement on Jim Lee's blog here.

Robert E. Bittner, 1927-1988

My dad passed away 20 years ago today.
He fell ill in December 1987 and began to lose weight rapidly, but his doctor consistently misdiagnosed what was wrong-- until it was much too late.
Dad had colon cancer that went to his liver.
By the time they found that out, it was impossible to do much more than give him some drug treatment and hope for the best.
He died on April 27, 1988.
One of the most painful experiences in my life was getting a call from my mom asking me to hurry to Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank. I was in Neptune, working for the Asbury Park Press, at the time. It didn't take long for me to log out, sprint to the parking lot and hit 70 heading north.
I got there about five minutes too late.
Mom and Rob were with Dad when he died; Beth arrived a few minutes after I did.
It is excruciating to lose a parent, because you lose all the time you might have had going forward.
Dad never:

• saw his daughter get married;
• held any of his grandchildren;
• met my wife;
• went to foreign countries with my mom (who did just that on her own, for several years);
• got to enjoy retirement;
• knew things would be so different without him.

He was a remarkable man. A lifelong musician (he played trumpet and loved jazz), Dad was:

• a teacher,
• a World War II US Navy veteran (served in the Pacific on a destroyer-tender),
• an expert wood carver (he made me models of the B9 robot from LOST IN SPACE, the Starship Enterprise and more, all out of wood),
• a master landscaper,
• a draftsman (he loved to design prospective retirement homes),
• a writer (he had a fine way with words) and much more.

I could write about Dad for hours, but will leave off here.
I love you, Dad, and I miss you.

In Memoriam: E. Gary Gygax, 1938-2008

I don't know if I met Gary Gygax, but I owe him big.

For those of you who don't know, Gygax essentially created roleplaying gaming. A miniatures gamer from Wisconsin, Gygax and his friends were enthusiastic about tabletop minature wargaming-- but then took it a step further. Individual lead figures were given identities, attributes, characteristics... and then set loose to adventure their way through scenarios devised by a 'Dungeon Master.' They wrote up the rules in a booklet called Chainmail, which was the precursor to

Dungeons & Dragons.

Gygax and his friends formed Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (better known as TSR), then created a gaming empire through the late '70s and early '80s. He left TSR in 1985, after a change in management, but remained active in roleplaying publishing over the past 23 years. He also founded GenCon, the world's largest gaming convention, which began as a gaming party at his home.

How did he affect me? Well, when I was 13, I bonded with two good friends over D&D. We made more friends who were gamers from junior high into high school, playing on Friday nights, then after college I joined a gaming club that met on Fridays. When my dad passed away in 1988, they were all there for me-- they were all fantastic friends.

We playtested games together and had a terrific social group.

I'm also proud that my game writing credits include an adventure module for AD&D, the "advanced" descendant of Gygax's brainchild.

He was perhaps the single most important figure in roleplaying games; without him, all the other creators who have made such great contributions would have done other things, or at least the world of gaming would look very different. Everyone who ever rolled a 20-sided die owes him a debt of thanks.

RIP, Mr. Gygax, and thank you.

Associated Press article.