Gone With or Without fanfare

[Rita Hayworth]

Erik,

I agree with you about his character, Jackson Gibbs. His prickly relationship with his son helped the audience understand Harmon's character and background better than all the mentions of Jethro's past in previous seasons.

He and Michael Learned were just terrific as the couple anchoring the big family better known as The Waltons.

Lzcutter,

I just wanted to thanks for backing me up and one thing about Waite and his working with Harmon - I just loved the chemistry that they brings together and I was stunned when I first realized that Ralph Waite is Jackson Gibbs and the professionalism and genuine craftsmanship that he brings made the relationship of them even more special and sincere. That's made NCIS a great show it is.

One thing about the WALTONS is the pairing of MIchael Learned and himself - that show will go down one of the most legendary shows about family growing up in the Great Depression Era and most importantly the family core values that brings. And, that's makes the WALTONS one of the most enduring shows in Television History and not the mention the great supporting cast as well ... everyone on that show was superb from top to bottom.

I'm amazed that he was still able to work past 80 and his dedication to his craft and most importantly the values that he brings. That's the beauty of Ralph Waite and being a man in my mid 50's ... I humbly find him easy to understand and most of all his ability to speak clearly on television. I will miss him dearly.

Ralph Waite a dedicated actor ...

[moira finnie]

Ralph Waite's portrayal of his decent, struggling character on The Waltons was wonderfully nuanced. The entire cast and the writing on the program was exemplary, but it was his expressive face, quiet gestures, and occasional bursts of frustration that often took the Depression-era story to another level beyond merely a television show. I once saw an interview with Waite in which he said that when he began playing John Walton, Sr., the character began to eat away at him. Gradually, it dawned on Ralph, who was an admitted alcoholic and considerable party lad in his off-time back then, that he was nothing like his role. He started to question why he wasn't more like this loving father and husband whose entire being was wrapped up in creating a home for his loved ones more than it ever was in worldly success. Eventually Waite stopped drinking, mended fences in his own family, and became more involved in his community--crediting the spiritual impact of playing John Walton, Sr. for part of his evolution. BTW, in his late '70s and early '80s, Waite managed to play King Lear on stage as well as create the prickly but ultimately loving character of Harmon's father on NCIS that others have eloquently noted in this thread.

If you ever get a chance, you might enjoy seeing one of Waite's best non-Walton portrayals in The Secret Life of John Chapman (1976), a fact-based made for tv movie about a college president who takes a sabbatical and learns what life is really like for most people when he takes jobs as general laborers such as dishwashers, garbage man and other work labeled "menial" by the world. He was fabulous in the part.

A film directed and featuring Ralph Waite, On the Nickel (1980) is a wonderful indie movie that also deserves to be better known. Centered around a docu-drama account of life on several levels in LA, it reflects the filmmaker's belief that "I think one of the things that excites me most about the human condition is how we can find beauty and truth in unlikely places." - Ralph Waite

A beautiful actor!

[RedRiver]

It's been a tough week. We lose one of THE greatest stars in Shirley Temple. Arguably THE pioneer of TV comedy in Mr. Caesar. And a fine actor who contributed to the success of an admirable family drama in Waite. I agree he was at least as strong as anyone else in that cast, but they were all good. Even young Richard Thomas, whose career peaked so very early. Waite can be seen later in life in John Sayles' excellent SUNSHINE STATE.

Sometimes it seems the bulk of modern American comedy was born of Sid Caesar's television work. Neil Simon's plays, Woody Allen's movies, and who knows how many variety shows. Simon wrote a play called LAUGHTER ON THE 23RD FLOOR that was obviously inspired by his work on Caesar's show. I, myself, have seen very little of YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS. Not born at the time of its original run, I haven't made an effort to catch whatever video exists. Where is my "Bucket List"?

[Lzcutter]

The family of John Henson, son of puppeteer Jim Henson and the head of the company his father started, announced on Facebook, that John had a sudden and massive heart attack on Friday and died at the age of 48.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/peop ... s/5513653/

[mrsl]

.
Recently I've mentioned a channel I discovered just a short time ago that features "good family values ", admittedly a strange draw for me. The channel is semi inspirational programming, and semi family viewing material. From very early (e.g. 4:30 a.m.) until noon all programming is spiritual lectures and counselling but all afternoon and evening are shows like Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons, JAG, and Bonanza. The reason I mention this is with the deaths of Ralph Waite and Richard Bull, Mr. Bull's photo was displayed between all programming for three days, and the remaining days covered Waite. On Sunday, all the members of the Waltons except Richard Thomas were gathered around the old kitchen table used on the show and discussed various memories. Some were funny and several brought tears to my eyes, especially those about Will Geer and Ellen Corby. Although all grown up now, those kids truly cared for the two people who played their grand-parents. It's amazing how they all look the same except for Jim Bob who has doubled his size - not in height! It must have been made recently because Ralph didn't speak very much, and he looked very tired. I saw the same interview Moira did, and he mentioned that playing a certain scene with little Elizabeth is what started him thinking about how he should straighten up and start to fly right. Anyway, in addition to showing his photo between programs, they are also showing several excerpts from that family group show and from the interview Moira talked about. Today I learned he actually went to seminary for two years before he started his wild life. I'm sure he turned himself into a very fine man and one I would have like to meet.
.

[movieman1957]

The "Up" channel showed some of The Waltons on Sunday. The one we caught had John Boy get married and Jason's wife deliver their baby at the wedding.

Some hair styles defy the time but it was a nice show, as usual.

[Western Guy]

Another unexpected shocker: Harold Ramis, dead at 69. Leaves behind quite a legacy:


http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertain ... 9309.story

[Lzcutter]

The Chicago Tribune has published an obit for director Harold Ramis.

Harold Ramis was one of Hollywood’s most successful comedy filmmakers when he moved his family from Los Angeles back to the Chicago area in 1996. His career was still thriving, with "Groundhog Day" acquiring almost instant classic status upon its 1993 release and 1984's "Ghostbusters" ranking among the highest-grossing comedies of all time, but the writer-director wanted to return to the city where he’d launched his career as a Second City performer.

"There's a pride in what I do that other people share because I'm local, which in L.A. is meaningless; no one's local," Ramis said upon the launch of the first movie he directed after his move, the 1999 mobster-in-therapy comedy "Analyze This," another hit. "It's a good thing. I feel like I represent the city in a certain way."

Ramis, a longtime North Shore resident, was surrounded by family when he died at 12:53 a.m. from complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, a rare disease that involves swelling of the blood vessels, his wife Erica Mann Ramis said. He was 69.

Ramis' serious health struggles began in May 2010 with an infection that led to complications related to the autoimmune disease, his wife said. Ramis had to relearn to walk but suffered a relapse of the vaculitis in late 2011, said Laurel Ward, vice president of development at Ramis' Ocean Pictures production company.

Ramis leaves behind a formidable body of work, with writing credits on such enduring comedies as "National Lampoon's Animal House" (which upon its 1978 release catapulted the film career of John Belushi, with whom Ramis acted at Second City), "Stripes" (1981) and "Ghostbusters" (in which Ramis also co-starred) plus such directing efforts as "Caddyshack" (1980), "National Lampoon's Vacation" (1983), "Groundhog Day" and "Analyze This."

Previously he was the first head writer (and a performer) on Second City's groundbreaking television series "Second City Television (SCTV)" (1976-79). More recently he directed episodes of NBC’s "The Office."

Ramis' comedies were often wild, silly and tilting toward anarchy, but they also were cerebral and iconoclastic, with the filmmaker heeding the Second City edict to work at the top of one's intelligence. This combination of smart and gut-bustingly funny led a generation of comedic actors and filmmakers — including Judd Apatow ("The 40 Year Old Virgin," "Knocked Up," Jay Roach ("Meet the Parents," the "Austin Powers" movies), Peter Farrelly ("There's Something About Mary," "Dumb and Dumber"), Jake Kasdan ("Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," "Orange County," both of which featured Ramis in small roles) and Adam Sandler (who starred in his own wacky golf comedy, "Happy Gilmore") — to cite him as a key inspiration.

For more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertain ... 9309.story

[mrsl]

.
Reading this report about Harold Ramis made me think about recently seeing the Biography channels' bio on John Candy. Very loving and informational.

[RedRiver]

Mr. Ramis was a talented filmmaker. I didn't know of his unfortunate struggles with the rare disease.

[moira finnie]

Two contributors to cinematic history have passed away in recent days:

Alain Resnais has died at age 91 in his native France. The director of challenging classics such as Last Year at Marienbad (1961), Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959), La Guerre Est Finie (1966) and Stavisky (1974), he once commented, “I make difficult films, but not on purpose.” However daunting some people found them, once you allowed yourself to experience one of his movies, which used impressions of time and memory cinematically, his imagery and storytelling style was unforgettable and quite influential on his contemporaries.

His complete obituary can be seen here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obi ... print.html

Stanley Rubin has died at age 96. He was a writer and producer who contributed to such seminal noir films as Decoy (1946), Violence (1946), The Narrow Margin (1952), and Macao (1952). As a producer, Mr. Rubin was involved with River of No Return (1954), Behind the High Wall (1956), and cult faves such as Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad (1967), among other projects in various media, including White Hunter, Black Heart (1990). One of the most interesting aspects of his life: In 2005, at age 87, he returned to college at UCLA to make up the last few credits he needed for the Bachelor of Arts Degree that he had been pursuing when he left school in 1937. Much more about his life and career here: http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews ... nley-rubin

[Rita Hayworth]

Stanley Rubin is one of my favorites - I loved his movies that he made that was considered noir - and one of my favorites is both The Narrow Margin and Macao ... both came out in 1952. He's one my favorite screenwriter and producer - and a surprisingly good actor too.

[ChiO]

Jean Renoir, Robert Bresson and Alain Resnais are the French film trinity for me. Making films to the end, Mr. Resnais will be greatly missed.

The obituary written by Dave Kehr for the New York Times is here.

Jonathan Rosenbaum may have commented best on Mr. Resnais' art:

A poet of memory and emotion, he often gets mistaken for an intellectual (perhaps because he’s French) and overlooked as a Surrealist. Indeed, part of the richness of his films can be found in the fact that many of their treasures are hidden, apart from their beauty and feelings.

[moira finnie]

Jean Renoir, Robert Bresson and Alain Resnais are the French film trinity for me. Making films to the end, Mr. Resnais will be greatly missed.

The obituary written by Dave Kehr for the New York Times is here.

Jonathan Rosenbaum may have commented best on Mr. Resnais' art:

A poet of memory and emotion, he often gets mistaken for an intellectual (perhaps because he’s French) and overlooked as a Surrealist. Indeed, part of the richness of his films can be found in the fact that many of their treasures are hidden, apart from their beauty and feelings.

Beautifully said, ChiO. Thanks for posting this here.

[Western Guy]

Sad news. Sheila MacRae has left us after a long "good life":

http://hollywoodlife.com/2014/03/07/she ... mden-dies/