PASSAGES 2013 - TV

Hello, and welcome to my annual list of our TV friends who passed away in the previous year.  It's a big list, but it's not comprehensive, as it only includes folks from shows I remember watching.  So, I'm sorry if I left out someone important to you.  A lot of the big stars of the 70s/80s died last year.  As Grandpa would say, "Time marcheth on."

1/2 - Jim Boyd, 79

• Andy/J. Arthur Krank/Paul the Gorilla/Steve Awesome & others on "Electric Company" (1971-77)

1/2 - Ned Wertimer, 89

• Ralph the Doorman on "The Jeffersons" (1975-84)

1/14 - Conrad Bain, 89

• Dr. Arthur Harmon on "Maude" (1972-78)
• Philip Drummond on "Diff'rent Strokes" (1978-86)
• Charlie Ross on "Mr. President" (1987-88)

1/17 - Robert F. Chew, 52

• Proposition Joe on "The Wire" (2002-08)

1/18 - Jeff Cahill, 44

• Garrity Harman on "Dangerous Minds" (1996-97)
• J.B. Murphy on "NYPD Blue" (1999-2000)

3/1 - Bonnie Franklin, 69

• Ann Romano on "One Day at a Time" (1975-84)

3/16 - Frank Thornton, 92

• Captain Peacock on "Are You Being Served?"

3/18 - Henry Bromell, 65

• Writer/Producer on "Homicide: Life on the Street" (1994-96)

3/19 - Lester Lewis, 46

• Consulting producer/writer on "The Office" (2005-09)

3/26 - Don Payne, 48

• Producer/writer on "The Simpsons" (1999-2013)

4/4 - Roger Ebert, 70

• "Sneak Previews" (1975-82)
• "At The Movies" (1982-86)
• "Siskel & Ebert" (1986-2000)
• "Ebert & Roeper" (2000-08)
• "Ebert Presents: At the Movies" (2010-11)

4/11 - Jonathan Winters, 87

• Mearth on "Mork & Mindy" (1981-82)

4/13 - Frank Bank, 71

• Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford on "Leave it to Beaver" (1958-63)

4/14 - Mike Road, 95

• Race Bannon on "Jonny Quest" (1964-65)
• Ugh on "Space Ghost" (1966)
• Zandor on "The Herculoids" (1967)
• Mike Butler on "Valley of the Dinosaurs" (1974-76)
• Reed Richards on "Fantastic Four" (1978)

4/19 - Allan Arbus, 95

• Maj. Sidney Freedman on "M*A*S*H" (1973-83)

4/28 - Jack Shea, 84

• Director - "The Jeffersons" (1975-79)[110 episodes]
• "The Ropers" (1979-80)[all episodes]
• "Silver Spoons" (1982-87)[90 episodes]
• "The Charmings" (1987-88)[all episodes]

5/4 - Dean Jeffries, 80

• Car customizer who made the Monkeemobile for "The Monkees" and Black Beauty for "The Green Hornet"

5/24 - Ed Shaughnessy, 84

• Drummer for the "Tonight Show" band (1963-92)

5/31 - Jean Stapleton, 90

• Edith Bunker on "All in the Family" (1971-79)
• 3-time Emmy winner for Best Actress

6/14 - Elroy Schwartz, 89

• Writer, "Gilligan's Island" (13 episodes)
• "The Brady Bunch" (9 episodes)
• the 3 Gilligan reunion movies (1978-81)
• brother of producer Sherwood Schwartz

6/22 - Gary David Goldberg, 69

• Creator of "Family Ties", "The Bronx Zoo" and "Spin City"
• Founder of Ubu Productions ("Sit, Ubu.  Sit."

6/25 - George Burditt, 89

• writer, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour" (58 episodes)
• "Three's Company" (36 episodes)(1977-84)
• "The Ropers" (8 episodes)
• Executive producer, "Three's Company" (1981-84)
• "Three's a Crowd" (1984-85)

7/14 - Dennis Burkley, 67

• Cal Pettie on "Sanford" (1980-81)
• Principal Moss on "King of the Hill" (1997-2010)

7/22 - Dennis Farina, 69

• Det. Joe Fontana on "Law & Order" (2004-06)
• Gus Demitriou on "Luck" (2012)

7/28 - Eileen Brennan, 80

• Capt. Doreen Lewis on "Private Benjamin" (1981-83)

8/11 - Henry Polic II, 68

• Jerry Silver on "Webster" (1983-89)
• Scarecrow on "Batman: The Animated Series" (1992-94)

8/14 - Lisa Robin Kelly, 43

• Laurie Forman on "That '70s Show" (1998-2003)

8/19 - Lee Thompson Young, 29

• Victor Stone on "Smallville" (3 episodes, 2006-10)
• Det. Barry Frost on "Rizzoli & Isles" (2010-13)

9/16 - Patricia Blair, 80

• Janice Taft on the "Operation Firebee" episode of "Steve Canyon" (1959)
• Lou Mallory on "The Rifleman" (1962-63)

9/16 - Kim Hamilton

• the original Helen Willis on "All in the Family" before "The Jeffersons" was spun off (1 episode, 1975)

9/18 - Richard Sarafian, 83

• Director, "I Spy" (8 episodes)

10/19 - Jon Locke, 86

• Sleestack Leader on "Land of the Lost" (1976)

10/25 - Marcia Wallace, 70

• Carol Kester on "The Bob Newhart Show" (1972-78)
• Edna Krabappel on "The Simpsons" (1990-2013)
• Maggie Hawley on "That's My Bush" (2001)

10/31 - Toby Bluth, 64

• Layout artist
• "Scooby's Laff-a-Lympics" (1977)
• "Challenge of the SuperFriends" (1978)
• "Godzilla" (1978-79)
• Background stylist
• "Smurfs" (1981)

11/7 - Paul Mantee, 82

• Sgt. Taliman on the "Operation Firebee" episode of "Steve Canyon" (1959)
• Health Inspector on "The Pie" episode of "Seinfeld" (1994)

11/12 - Al Ruscio, 89

• Five different episodes of "Barney Miller"
• Coffee shop manager in "The Pilot" episode of "Seinfeld" (1993)

12/22 - Marco Zappia, 76

• TV editor
• "All in the Family" (95 episodes)
• "Archie Bunker's Place" (97 episodes)
• "Who's the Boss?" (187 episodes)

12/31 - James Avery, 68

• Judge Conover on "L.A. Law" (9 episodes)(1988-92)
• Philip Banks on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1990-96)

STAR TREK

3/13 - Malachi Throne, 84

• False Face on "Batman" (1966)
• Commodore Mendez on "The Menagerie" 2-part episode of "Star Trek" (1966)

3/24 - Peter Duryea, 73

• Lt. Jose Tyler on "The Cage" pilot episode of "Star Trek" (1965)

3/29 - Jim Mees, 57

• Emmy-award winning set designer for the "Star Trek" TV franchise (1988-2002)

7/31 - Michael Ansara, 85

• Sam Buckhart in "Law of the Plainsman" (1959-60), a spinoff of "The Rifleman"
• Kang in "Day of the Dove" episode of "Star Trek", reprising the role twice on later Trek shows

9/27 - Jay Robinson, 83

• Lord Petri in the "Elaan of Troyus" episode of "Star Trek" (1968)

10/17 - Lou Scheimer, 74

• co-founder of Filmation
• Voice Actor for
• Dumb Donald/Stinger on "Fat Albert" (1972-85)
• Orko/Stratos/King Randor/Trap Jaw/Kobra Khan on "He-Man" (1983-85)
• Producer or Executive Producer for
• "The New Adventures of Superman"
• "Aquaman"
• "The Archie Show"
• "Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids"
• "The Brady Kids"
• "Star Trek"
• "The Ghost Busters" (live action)
• "Gilligan's Planet"
• "Blackstar"
• "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe"

12/28 - Joseph Ruskin, 89

• Galt on "The Gamesters of Triskelion" episode of "Star Trek" (1968)

CANIFF NEWS - JANUARY 2014

Legendary artist Russ Heath will be given the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Cartoonists Society (NCS).  The honor will be presented by the NCS at their annual Reuben Awards, being held this May in San Diego.  "It's very humbling," Heath told the Washington Post.  Heath is best known for his work on the DC war books, and has a career that stretches from the mid-1940s through the present day.  I've been honored to meet and talk with him twice, and did a profile of him in this previous entry.  Congratulations to Russ Heath on something well deserved, as one master of the craft is honored by the spirit of another.

In sad news, longtime Superman artist Al Plastino died on November 25th of last year.  Plastino is best known for the hundreds of covers and stories for the Superman family of comics between 1948 and 1968.  In a Caniff connection, he reportedly did ghost work for George Wunder on the "Terry & the Pirates" comic strip somewhere during the end of its run in the early 1970s.  Also, in an interview with the Silver Age Sage, Plastino spoke highly of Caniff - "Milt was a great man," Plastino recalled.  "He was such a pleasant man to talk to."

Col. Karl Polifka (retired) has written a book about his time flying in the Ravens during Vietnam as part of the military's classified "Steve Canyon" program.  The Ravens were fighter pilots under the control of the CIA, performing covert operations in Laos, which was technically neutral territory.  Caniff and his high-flying hero had no involvement with the program.  I guess it was an homage.  Meeting Steve Canyon was released in the fall of last year.

The latest issue of Comics Revue is #331-332.  It came out this month and is cover dated December 2013.  The issue sports a Christmas cover by Jim Keefe, which includes Steve Canyon hanging a patriotic ornament.  Keefe is the current artist of the Sally Forth comic strip, and discusses the cover on his site.  This issue reprints the "Steve Canyon" strips from November 26 - December 23, 1972, with Sundays in color.  The action shifts back to Poteet, when a woman arrives claiming to be her long-lost mother.

Lucy Caswell w/ Caniff [Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum collection]

The NCS presented the Elzie Segar Award at the Festival of Cartoon Art, held last month at the grand opening of the new home of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum.  The award was presented to Lucy Shelton Caswell, founding curator of that institution and current Curator of Special Projects.  It was Caswell who took on the task of creating something out of Milton Caniff's donated papers and artwork in the 1970s, leading the way to tremendous expansion and growth, until retiring from the position in 2010.  According to the NCS, the Segar is given to those "who made a unique and outstanding contribution to the profession of cartooning."  Caswell has certainly done that, by giving cartooning a home and a forum from which it can enrich the world.  Milton Caniff was the first recipient of the Segar, in 1971.  The award had not been given since 1999.  Elzie "E.C." Segar was the creator of Popeye.  

Caswell recently gave an interview, about her career and the library, to Tom Spurgeon at his Comics Reporter website.

TOP 5 REISSUES/ARCHIVAL RELEASES OF 2013

REISSUES/ARCHIVAL

Rkives - Rilo Kiley - I only became interested in Rilo Kiley from Jenny Lewis and her solo work, so it figures that my first Rilo Kiley record would be their post-breakup rarities compilation.  Despite the hodgepodge origin of being a collection of B-sides, demos and unreleased songs, I think it really hangs together as a satisfying album.  Satisfies any jones for indie pop.

Armchair Theatre/ELO LIVE/Zoom - Jeff Lynne - A triple threat from the master himself.  Now I can finally have 1990's "Armchair Theatre" on CD to go with my cassette and vinyl lp.  A thrilling album of perfect Lynne magic, though I was bummed by this reissue's paucity of bonus tracks.  Same for 2001's "Zoom," the album where he reclaimed the ELO name.  It features Lynne's incomparable production, but I was hoping for more extras beyond the two bonus tracks.  The real treat is "ELO Live," taken from a show recorded at the outset of the aborted "Zoom" tour.  While it was released on DVD at the time, this is the first time on CD with four songs not on the DVD as well as two additional studio tracks.

Live at the Academy of Music: 1971 - the Band - I've never really gotten into the band, try as I might.  Just a little too rough around the edges for me to take a lot in one sitting.  My pal Ted has tried for years to get my interested.  With this release (a gift from Ted), I finally get it: the kicking band, the harmonies, the heart and personality.  It's almost too rock solid in that it may be all the Band I'll ever need (and I only have the 2 disc, there's a 4 CD version).  When Dylan comes in for the closing songs, to me it's like, who's this guy?  Get out of here! (sorry, Ted).  Not that I'm not a Dylan fan.   Vol. 10 of Dylan's bootleg series was in this slot until it got bumped by this late entry.


The Complete RCA Albums/Flash Harry - Harry Nilsson - I've avoided many of these 'complete' box sets that have been coming out recently.  I don't want to overload on an artist.  This one was different - the clever whimsy, the rich tone of his voice, and I liked the few albums I already had.  The set begins with his amazing RCA debut (his second album) "Pandemonium Shadow Show" and the first 7 discs showcase his best work.  1974's "Pussy Cats" was produced by John Lennon, and sounds just like Lennon's "Mind Games" album, even with Nilsson doing Lennon-esque vocals.  This is followed by three lackluster efforts, only reviving for "Knillssonn," his RCA swan song.  His final album, "Flash Harry" isn't included in this set, but was released separately in 2013.  Surprisingly, it's not only the album's first time on CD but also it's first US release!  The RCA box is rounded out with three discs of demos and rarities, for a total of 17 discs.  Personally, I've spread it out over several months.  I don't want to burn out on Nilsson!

On the Air: Live at the BBC, Volume 2 - the Beatles - Can't leave a top 5 without the best band in the world.  While this lacks the variety of Volume 1's covers that never made it to albums, it's still a lot of fun.  The lads' cheeky on-air personalities are at full steam, and they really are live at the BBC.  These aren't pantomime records, they are playing new versions of their recorded songs for the BBC audience.  Though they did have the opportunity for multiple takes, it's still the closest we'll get to hearing what the early fabs sounded like "live" without the audience din.

TOP 5 NEW ALBUMS OF 2013

Here's what I liked best of the new music this year.  Some kid me about my musical taste being older than me.  The average age of the artists featured below is 56.  Norah Jones sort of spoils it.  Take out "foreverly" and the average jumps to 64.

Spirit in the Room - Tom Jones (Rounder) - For fans of Praise & Blame, this is a sequel that equals the original.  This is the comeback that stuck for Jones, returning to his soulful blues and gospel roots to overcome his own kitsch appeal.  Like its predecessor, the album is a treat of interesting covers, including Leonard Cohen, Odetta and the Low Anthem's "Charlie Darwin."  Jones also plays tribute to his peers' viability by covering recent tunes from Paul McCartney, Paul Simon and Bob Dylan.  Like the best song interpreters, even without writing the words you believe he lived all of it.  Originally released in the UK in 2012, it did not receive U.S. distribution until 2013, so it counts.

Love Has Come for You - Steve Martin and Edie Brickell (Rounder) - Having only known Brickell from her hit of, yikes, 25 years ago, her vocals and lyrics were a captivating surprise.  Being used to following Steve Martin on the talk show circuit, I couldn't help to keep running into this special duo.  Her lilting drawl set against Martin's expert banjo picking makes you feel so good you almost don't realize all the songs involve some type of heartache.  The forgotten love, the friend waiting to be seen as something more and the old saw about a man finding a baby in a suitcase that had been thrown from a train.  I now think of her as way more than Mrs. Paul Simon #3.  On "Letterman," Dave asked, "Does Garfunkel ever come by?"  Brickell answered, "If he does, it's not when I'm there."

New - Paul McCartney (MPL/Concord) - "New" is your required dose of Macca, to be administered every 4-6 years.  I'm not sure if there's anything edgy modern or revelatory to warrant all the critical hooha, positive and welcome as it is.  It hit me as more of a sequel to 2005's "Chaos & Creation in the Backyard."  Well-written tunes punched with inventive production.  I think McCartney's at his best with producers who let him do his thing, but not fall into self-indulgence.  Many of the songs, including the title track, are bright, catchy pop.  That said, it's amazing how arresting it is to hear him presented with just guitar and vocals, as he is on "Early Days" and "Hosanna."  This is the first album where his voice is showing his age, but it's aged well.

Quality Street - Nick Lowe (Yep Roc) - When you've remade yourself as an old-fashioned crooner, albeit with rockabilly tendencies, a Christmas album may have been inevitable.  Lowe presents a mix of original, traditional and cover tunes.  The highlight for me is "Christmas at the Airport," which finds Lowe eking out holiday cheer while snowed in and then abandoned at the terminal.  That's the cheekiest it gets.  Most of the album is done without winks, sometimes even with solemnity.  "I Was Born in Bethlehem" tells the Christmas story from the point of view of a reflective Jesus - "Where my sweet mother/meek and mild/and herself only a child/gave her best/then took her rest."  Anyone else covering Roger Miller's "Old Toy Trains" would either load up on schmaltz or corn.  Lowe makes it a heartwarming ballad.  Overall, the album's a smooth  sleigh ride that, while I have it on CD, begs for a turntable.

foreverly - Billy Joe Armstrong + Norah Jones (Reprise) - I haven't read up too much on this, but for some reason the guy from Green Day and Norah Jones found out their voices harmonize really well.  So well that they decided to remake the Everly Brothers' 1958 album "Songs Our Daddy Taught Us," one of the earliest mainstream efforts to showcase what we now call American roots music.  The result is supremely satisfying, not just from their vocal blend but the timeless sound of the session players.  I have to admit I was hoping for at least one track where they would have the Everlys (still alive and singing) guest.  I guess the album's a hit, as the NFM label as issued "Songs That Daddy Taught Us: The Original Foreverly Recordings and More" which combines the Everlys' "Songs" and a greatest hits package.

CANIFF NEWS - DECEMBER 2013

John Ellis of the Milton Caniff Estate announced last month that Steve Canyon on DVD Volume 3 will be coming back from the factory this month.  Fingers crossed that everything runs smooth.  Ellis has gone above and beyond in his efforts to give fans the best, most comprehensive experience possible.

Steve Canyon Volume 4, 1953-54 hits the shelves on February 11th.  This book series is edited and designed by Dean Mullaney with historical essays by Bruce Canwell.  These were two jam-packed years for Steve, as he encounters Princess Snowflower, Miss Mizzou, Herself Muldoon and the future Mrs. Canyon.

Cartoonist Leonard Sansone is profiled in the latest issue of Alter Ego.  Sansone was a contemporary of Milton Caniff during WWII.  Both had popular strips published by Camp Newspaper Services.  Caniff had "Male Call," starring Miss Lace, an affable pin-up come to life.  Sansone had "The Wolf," a leering lycanthrope-headed G.I. on the make.  The article features an interview with Sansone's widow, providing insight into "The Wolf" and Sansone's other work.  There are remembrances of Caniff and a page of specialty crossover art with the two characters appearing together (see above).

The lastet issue of Comics Revue (October 2013) reprints the "Steve Canyon" daily and Sunday strips from October 29th through November 25th, 1972.  This issue concludes an Oley Olson football story.  Will Oley be strongarmed by gambling interests to throw the big game between Maumee and Scioto State?  Ask your comics retailer to order you a copy!

Pappy's Golden Age of Comics is a blog that posts complete stories from vintage comics.  Recently Pappy turned his eye to the Terry series published by Harvey Comics.  Terry and the Pirates Comics debuted in 1947, reprinting Milton Caniff stories from the 1930s.  Pappy has scanned the first four issues.

BILLY IRELAND CARTOON LIBRARY & MUSEUM - NEW & IMPROVED!

What do you do when one of your favorite places moves into a brand new home?  You bring the family!

As I wrote about four years ago, this facility originated back in the mid-1970s, when Milton Caniff donated his art and  papers to his alma mater, the Ohio State University.  Under the guidance and vision, the collection grew beyond Caniff to other cartoonists, evolving into the Cartoon Research Library.  In recent years, with the acquisition of the collections of historian Bill Blackbeard and the International Museum of Cartoon Art, the library added "and Museum" to its name.  It also has been named in honor of Billy Ireland, legendary artist of the Columbus Dispatch, who was also a mentor of Caniff.  I say all that to say that now it is in the newly renovated Sullivant Hall at OSU, boasting 40,000 square feet.  Quite an evolution from its beginnings in two classrooms in the Journalism building.

The new museum boasts large gallery spaces.  The main exhibit is Substance and Shadow: The Art of the Cartoon.  This exhibit features a Who's Who of cartoonists and comic book artists, including Noel Sickles, Joe Kubert, Will Eisner and Jack Kirby.  I had a surreal moment looking at a political cartoon by Zits cartoonist Jim Borgman.  I looked up and there was Jim Borgman himself.  Nice seeing you again, Jim!

The other exhibit is Treasures, featuring not only artwork but memorabilia, such as a mint condition Steve Canyon lunchbox.  This reporter can only assume they also have the thermos.  Speaking of treasures, I had a brief chat with Jean Schulz.  Mrs. Schulz, widow of Charles, wasn't just there to check out the Peanuts cartoons on the wall (of which there are several).  Her donation of $6 million is part of what made the new museum possible.  Pretty nice, considering she has her own museum to look after.

My son Noah looking at the all-Caniff display case.  This case included a painted Caniff self-portrait, one strip apiece of "Terry and the Pirates," "Male Call" and "Steve Canyon," and 'Aesop Up to Date,' the cartoon that secured him a job at the Columbus Dispatch.  Dispatch editor Billy Ireland had asked Caniff for a cartoon that would make him "jump out of his chair."

final panel of 'Aesop Up to Date'

The 'Substance and Shadow' exhibit had Caniff as well, reprinting the climax of the infamous Raven Sherman sequence.

Many of the works of other artists were from Caniff's own collection.  Here is the humbling inscription on a "Prince Valiant" strip from Caniff's peer, Hal Foster.

My pal Ted Haycraft pays homage of his own, bowing to a two-page spread by Neal Adams from the classic "Green Lantern/Green Arrow" series.

All-in-all, an amazing new beginning for the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum.  I can't wait to go back!