I was indifferent to Stuart Scott as an ESPN personality. I can see why some people didn't like him though and I can understand why others loved him. My admiration from him comes from the way in which he persevered through his cancer treatments. Anyone who can inspire others fighting cancer to continue fighting is worth admiration from my point of view.
And "Booyah!" At least, he's where I first heard it. Made his kinfolk so proud . . . Pookie, Ray-Ray, Moesha. I didn't care for watching him with his funky eye - I realize that's not his fault. But, he, Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann (and I HATE Olbermann) help turn SportsCenter in the mid to late 90's into the gem that it is, with their clever, rapid, catch-phrase highlight narrative. (Which, honestly, Van Earl Wright was pioneering, which he borrowed from George Michael's Sports Machine, but I digress.) I'm telling you, Stuart Scott had a gift for that seamless narrative, where he could sing along with the highlight, giving you stats without you realizing that's what he was doing AND dropping in those silly phrases, too. Booyah.
The memorial clip that ESPN had yesterday that had the behind the scenes footage of him at the desk working on the phrases with stat sheet in hand along with the highlights was awesome.
I'm going to miss Stuart Scott because he blended the hip-hop and non hip-hop cultures in a way that let people on the outside come into it. It was always fun watching him, and he played off his co-hosts great. And to be an ESPN personality, you have to have something different about you. It's like saying "I don't like this chef because he uses spices and seasoning." He had more than McCormick's. His wonky eye was just the best part of him. His inspirational commitment after being diagnosed was phenomenal. He was active on social media and in the media to give hope to people also going through the same thing. I definitely believe he had an impact on other people in the same situation. It sucks that the man is just gone. ESPN is making me tear up with the tributes and some of the older ESPN personalities barely keeping it together. Heather Storm was using every inch of her professionalism not to cry this morning. When they did the darkened desk with one chair on the side he was always on shot, it was powerful.
I had Charlie Brown. Does that count? Spoiler Actually, I'm curious to see what happens with Charlie Hebdo. It may not be able to recover under it's current name since its leadership has been, uhm... gutted. But there will certainly be someone to take its place, if for no other than reason than on principle. SGEDIT: Fixed spoiler tag.
Rob Taylor of The Birds and The Time Machine fame. Hell I didn't even know he was still alive. The Time Machine is still one of my favorites from the Golden Age of movies. Ill take Weena over Nova any day of the week.
The Birds and Time Machine are bonifide classics. The Birds.... Fuck I don't know how Hitch did it, but that movie still hits like a sledgehammer. Especially when Jessica Tandy finds her dead neighbour in that bedroom.
Taylor Negron. One of those character actors who never crossed your mind but you always recognized. He was the pizza delivery guy in Fast Times (which he reprised more than once) and a whole slew of films. Really sad, he fought cancer like a motherfucker for a long time.
RIP SkyMall Didn't see that one coming. It's as mildly-interesting now as it was for me several decades ago. But damn if it didn't pass the time.
Forgot about King Abdullah. Sometimes death isn't sad. So good riddance, tyrannical mysogynist bimbo. Next in line for the Lucky Sperm Lottery: his brother who has Alzheimer's. Enjoy the day, Saudi Arabia.
Not a "famous" person, but Charles Townes died at 99 years. He won the Nobel for physics and invented the laser.
RadioShack, age 94. In 1986, RadioShack was the only place in my small town that you could buy a CD player. How the times have changed. I know it's not completely dead yet, but there is no hope for resurrection.