Gone With or Without fanfare

[jdb1]

Look, Friends, like Marley's ghost, we all lug around the chains of foolishness, bad judgment and regret. The fact remains that Sen. Kennedy did some real good for all of us, and for the right reasons, too, not just for personal aggrandizement or monetary gain. I'm not about to dismiss his selfishness and bad judgment as youthful folly, but I myself am certainly in no position to cast stones, and I haven't had nearly the positive effect on my fellow man as he had.

[Later -- I've just read the editorial comment in today's NY Times about Sen. Kennedy. I don't know which editor wrote it, but the editorial is a good one. It says in part:

The record Mr. Kennedy leaves after 46 years can only be envied by his peers as they join the nation in mourning his passing after a 15-month fight against brain cancer — a record firmly anchored in Mr. Kennedy’s insistence that politics be grasped and administered through the prism of human needs.

How many in Congress will inspire editorial comments like this? Too few, I'm afraid.]

I was a great fan of Dominick Dunne. He was a graceful and skilled writer, and his voice of reason among the crazies of the celebrity/upper crust world was a much-needed reality check. We need more like him to keep things in perspective while the circus rages around us.

I remember Ellie Greenwich well. She was born in Brooklyn, but her family moved to Long Island when she was a girl. She, her husband and her sister had a studio group called The Raindrops, which had a few modest hits in the 60s. She often appeared at RnR shows at Queens College, which was her alma mater. I saw her many times (my boyfriend went to Queens). I think Greenwich had the unenviable task, in the 60s and beyond, of perpetually having to remind people that she wasn't Carole King. In fact, back in the day, it was commonly thought that Carole King had written "Do Wah Diddy," when in fact it was Greenwich.

Every afternoon at the nursery school I used to run, we would have a dance party, to calm the restlessness the kids were feeling after a long day. We had a lot of 45s, many donated by the parents. The kids' absolute favorite song to dance to was "Hanky Panky." I often think of those little 3 and 4 year olds gyrating to the beat, and it's one of my pleasantest memories.

[charliechaplinfan]

Klondike, can I stick my head above the parapet here being that I live in the land ruled by the Windsors

The article quoted is in one of our rightest wing papers, one that is usually more even handed. The Irish question does colour his legacy somewhat in our journalistic reporting. I think it's fine to stand up for a united Ireland, if that is what you belive in and fine to help achieve that through peaceful means and I haven't seen any hard evidence saying that he helped the IRA commit atrocities against the United Kingdom, that would be different. I haven't picked up a paper and read about him, I've not had time, the early morning radio programme I listen to has been very respectful, only the faintest reference to Chappaquidick and more emphasis on what he achieved and the end of an era of elder Kennedys.

I like what Judith said about the service of the Kennedy's in comparison to other rich families. The name holds a certain amount of glamour and scandal. From what I've read, I too wished there were a few more Bobby Kennedys in the world. Correct me if I'm wrong but he changed after his brother's death and gained more of a social conscience.

Is it appropriate here to ask about why the Kennedy brothers were gunned down? Why them, was it easier to get them, was it the time they lived in, was it the glamour of their name, or was it sheer hatred of what they stood for?

[moira finnie]

Is it appropriate here to ask about why the Kennedy brothers were gunned down? Why them, was it easier to get them, was it the time they lived in, was it the glamour of their name, or was it sheer hatred of what they stood for?

Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated JFK was a would-be communist, (but we will probably never know if he acted on orders of someone else, such as Castro, or another group or was, as stated publicly by the Warren Commission, a lone gunman).

Sirhan Sirhan was a young Jerusalem born man drawn into the Palestinian movement. Since RFK was a strong supporter of Israel, he was his target. (There are those who do not believe he acted alone and that there were other bullets fired that night). He is still serving time in a California prison for this action.

Both Kennedys were far more accessible then than now. Pres. Kennedy chose to travel the route in Dallas in 1963 without the bullet proof glass cover on the convertible he was riding in. RFK had just won a primary election in California and was moving through the kitchen to his waiting car when he paused to shake a few hands among the hotel workers in the kitchen. Sirhan stepped forward and shot him, (along with another man, who lived).

Of course, the worldwide press attention that followed these murders of two of the most famous men in the world was part of the reason that these pathetic and dangerous individuals did what they did. It should be noted that in much of the US then and now, firearms are very easy to obtain. Also, as anyone knows who has ever been in a large crowd knows, if someone is determined to commit an act in such a setting, the Secret Service certainly helps, but can't prevent everything.

Now, I'm not trying to be mean, alienate anyone or squelch expression of ideas, but I wonder if we could please reserve this thread for honoring those who have died and take the political discussions to the Off Topic area? Maybe I'm the only person this bothers, but I would be very thankful if this could go to another area. Thank you.

[jdb1]

I like what Judith said about the service of the Kennedy's in comparison to other rich families. The name holds a certain amount of glamour and scandal. From what I've read, I too wished there were a few more Bobby Kennedys in the world. Correct me if I'm wrong but he changed after his brother's death and gained more of a social conscience.

Is it appropriate here to ask about why the Kennedy brothers were gunned down? Why them, was it easier to get them, was it the time they lived in, was it the glamour of their name, or was it sheer hatred of what they stood for?

As to why -- I don't think anyone has settled on the reasons yet. I wonder if we will ever get a definitve answer; it's so hard to separate the hard evidence from the fanciful (and sometimes spiteful) speculation. Conspiracy theories continue to abound.

As for Robert Kennedy, I think this: The careers of the three brothers were determined by their father, and they stayed in their respective "places" as long as they could, especially while Joe, Sr. was still alive. Are you aware, Alison, that Kennedy Sr.'s "pick" to be president was his oldest son, Joseph, Jr., who was killed in WWII? Father than settled his sites and his ambitions on the next oldest, John. Robert was seen as the background man, the stragegizer, the hatchet man (probably because he was the smartest), and young Edward was actually too young at the time for serious consideration.

My observation is that, with the deaths of both his father and his older brother, Robert had the opportunity to come into his own, so to speak, and to act on his own ideas and principles, which were in some ways different from his brother's, and were probably quite different from those of his father. I believe that Robert's time as JFK's "henchman," the one who carried out the political necessities JFK preferred to distance himself from, gave him the drive and backbone needed to be a political leader in his own right. (Robert served not only as JFK's Attorney General, but was his chief advisor and confidant.) But RFK's innate altruism and humanity also gave him a social conscience, which he had to keep under wraps when he was only "Jack's brother," the one who did the administration's political dirty work, but which he could act upon when he attained his own political career. In Robert Kennedy we had intelligence, strength, political savvy, a growing wisdom, a genuine love and concern for his country and its people, a houseful of children, and the Kennedy glamour. What an opportunity for all of us was lost.

Edward Kennedy made a half-hearted play for the Presidency, but then opted to run for the Senate, which turned out to be a very wise choice, because he was a one of the best.

[PS - Sorry Moira, but I guess I was writing this simultaneously with what you just posted.]

[klondike]

Klondike, can I stick my head above the parapet here being that I live in the land ruled by the Windsors

I'd only be upset if you didn't, Dear Alison!
And if it seemed my sentiments were getting a little heavy, please believe me when I say that even if they landed like cobblestones, or rotten tomatoes, they were meant more like throw pillows when I hurlt 'em!

The article quoted is in one of our rightest wing papers, one that is usually more even handed. The Irish question does colour his legacy somewhat in our journalistic reporting. I think it's fine to stand up for a united Ireland, if that is what you belive in and fine to help achieve that through peaceful means and I haven't seen any hard evidence saying that he helped the IRA commit atrocities against the United Kingdom, that would be different.

Though I can't recall hearing a direct comment, I am confident that the Senator viewed the sad realities of internicine Irish violence, whether committed by Sinn Feinn or the Black Preceptory, that resulted in slain children & exploded homes & grieving mums & widows, with the same loathing & dread that any decent man would; green and orange alike pale with misery when stained with the blood of terrorism, and only a fool or a monster fails to see it.

I haven't picked up a paper and read about him, I've not had time, the early morning radio programme I listen to has been very respectful, only the faintest reference to Chappaquidick and more emphasis on what he achieved and the end of an era of elder Kennedys.

Very respectfully & humanely said; thank you!

I like what Judith said about the service of the Kennedy's in comparison to other rich families. The name holds a certain amount of glamour and scandal. From what I've read, I too wished there were a few more Bobby Kennedys in the world. Correct me if I'm wrong but he changed after his brother's death and gained more of a social conscience.

I think the stark, terrible trauma of JFK's passing immediately served to sharpen & focus the sense of urgent need in all right-thinking men to challenge the ills of the modern world in bolder & more resolute ways, particularly for those in elected office.

Is it appropriate here to ask about why the Kennedy brothers were gunned down? Why them, was it easier to get them, was it the time they lived in, was it the glamour of their name, or was it sheer hatred of what they stood for?

Good, valid, important questions all, Alison; and ones I think that most concientious Americans over forty are still asking themselves.
I pray I live long enough to (finally) hear some really definitive answers!

[charliechaplinfan]

Thank you all of you for giving me a perspective on the Kennedy brothers. I find the whole family quite fascinating but have always been drawn to Bobby in all the material I've managed to read. I suppose it's because he comes across as the most sensitive and intelligent. Teddy being the youngest hasn't featured as heavily and therefore it's been harder to get a full picture of him. Hopefully that will begin emerge now. It's a sad day for politics when someone who has devoted so much of his time and energy dies.

I'll drawn a line under my questions about the Kennedys, if I think of anymore I'll put it on the off topic. Sorry Moira.

[moira finnie]

Thanks for understanding my reluctance to dwell on politics in this thread, Alison. Since I met and had a chance to talk to Sen. Edward Kennedy several times within the last twenty years, and met his brother RFK when I was a kid, (one month to the day before his assassination), I suspect that Ted's death hit me harder than I'd like to admit. The press and others will always find the scandals, but the guy I knew was well aware of his own flaws, but was more interested in seeing what good he could do others. That's all I can say.

[Ollie]

I have no regard toward his politics, but only stand in criticism for his drunken substance-abuse practices that killed one person, and his escape reinforced a family tradition of believing they could get away with things. I've lost a wife, child and my father to a drunk-driver, and I'd have found Teddy's regrets more digestable if he hadn't continuing drunken behavior later in life. To me, he was just one more person enjoying the GAWI Effect - Getting Away With It. For the victims of the GAWI Effect, it ain't nearly so much fun.

[jdb1]

Thanks for understanding my reluctance to dwell on politics in this thread, Alison. Since I met and had a chance to talk to Sen. Edward Kennedy several times within the last twenty years, and met his brother RFK when I was a kid, (one month to the day before his assassination), I suspect that Ted's death hit me harder than I'd like to admit. The press and others will always find the scandals, but the guy I knew was well aware of his own flaws, but was more interested in seeing what good he could do others. That's all I can say.

It hit many of us hard, Moira. My daughter made the comment that so many people who were interviewed on television seemed to be so very affected by this, and I pointed out to her that for those of us of a certain age, it marks the end of an era in more ways than one. This particular arc contained so much violence and so many "might-have-beens", and we were so young through most of it. There is a heavily symbolic aura about this event that involves many more leaders and people of consequence than just the Kennedy family, and goes way beyond this man, and who he might have been on a personal level. I frankly don't think that anyone who didn't live through this saga from the beginning can really appreciate what some of us are feeling now.

[charliechaplinfan]

Thanks for understanding my reluctance to dwell on politics in this thread, Alison. Since I met and had a chance to talk to Sen. Edward Kennedy several times within the last twenty years, and met his brother RFK when I was a kid, (one month to the day before his assassination), I suspect that Ted's death hit me harder than I'd like to admit. The press and others will always find the scandals, but the guy I knew was well aware of his own flaws, but was more interested in seeing what good he could do others. That's all I can say.

It's always nice to know what someone was like away from all the spin of the press, they're nice words, if he's the man of the people that you said he was those words will mean just as much as the President's eulogy.

I'd love to know more of your feelings about both brothers when the timing is right, I guess I said that since reading of RFK I've felt that he was a special guy with a ever growing social conscience, he came across to me more than JFK,and that it was such a sad day for the world when he was gunned down.

[silentscreen]

I agree about Bobby, Alison. As I've said, he was my favorite of the brothers. He was thoughtful, articulate, and I believe genuinely caring. Maybe someone can shake my memory a bit, but didn't he go to some of the poorest areas in the country and see first hand what was going on? Also, he may have single handedly stopped some riots with a speech he gave after MLK died?

[klondike]

Not exactly a celebrity in most circles, I still find this guy fascinating!
[A shame Heston's gone, he could have portrayed him wonderfully well . . Connery, maybe?]

Scottish adventurer/archaeologist/gem dealer Campbell Bridges slain in Kenya

Reporting from Nairobi, Kenya -
For decades, Scottish geologist and gem dealer Campbell Bridges navigated the risks that came with mining precious stones in Africa, following a risky career path over 50 years in the African bush; on August 11, 2009, he was stabbed to death by a machete-wielding gang that allegedly coveted his profitable mining concession.
At his camp deep in the Kenyan bush, he spent nights in a treehouse to stay safe from wild animals. He used a python to stand guard over his cache of colored gems and more than once chased away marauders attempting to poach from his caves. But Bridges' life and adventurous career ended abruptly this week when his truck was ambushed in southeastern Kenya by a mob armed with spears, machetes, and bows and arrows. Police and family members say the attackers appeared to be linked to a gang seeking to seize control of Bridges' lucrative mining concession.
Bridges died Tuesday of stab wounds, officials said. His son, Bruce, and two Kenyan colleagues were injured in the attack.
In a career that spanned half a century, Campbell Bridges spent most of his time digging in the caves and mountainsides of Africa, including stints in South Africa, Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia) and Tanzania. The son of a mining company geologist, Bridges was among those who worked in the initial extraction and marketing of the gemstone tanzanite in the 1960s. He worked as a consultant for New York-based jeweler Tiffany & Co. in selling the gems to U.S. customers.
He is credited with finding, in 1967, an equally rare green gemstone called tsavorite. When Tanzania nationalized its mining industry, Bridges moved his prospecting business to neighboring Kenya, where he laid claim to a large deposit of the green-specked rocks near the border with Tanzania. He named the stones after Tsavo National Park, near where his company, Tsavorite USA, mines and sells gems.
In addition to his son, Bridges is survived by his wife, Judith, and daughter, Laura, a law student in Chicago. Like Bruce Bridges, they are U.S. citizens.
Bruce Bridges said his father had been fighting for three years against a group of Kenyans -- who he said were backed by local government officials -- seeking to drive him away.
After Kenyan mining officials this year upheld his father's rights to mine the land, the group turned to violence and intimidation, including roadblocks, harassment and death threats, Bruce Bridges said.
"They are just a bunch of thugs who want the resources," he said.
His father's repeated complaints to the local police were ignored, Bridges said, including a plea shortly before Tuesday's assault. They had left the police station and were headed home to his base near Voi when at least eight assailants attacked their vehicle, he said.
"We know everyone who did this, by first and last name," Bridges said."We reported it to the police, but they gave us no assistance."
Charles Owino, a police spokesman, said he could not comment because he had no information on the case. Other police officials told reporters that they were searching for suspects, but that no arrests had been made as of Thursday.
Family members expressed skepticism that Kenyan authorities would prosecute those involved in the slaying and have asked the U.S. and British embassies to launch their own inquiries.
Officials at both embassies said they were assisting the family, but had no plans to get involved in the criminal investigation unless asked by Kenyan authorities.
"We are closely following the investigation and hope that the perpetrators will be brought to swift justice," said Charley Williams, spokeswoman for the British High Commission in Nairobi.
The attack comes amid what many see as a resurgence in violence, crime and corruption in Kenya, which is struggling with a sluggish economy and a stalled coalition government, formed as a compromise after a disputed presidential election in late 2007.
With police officers who routinely seek bribes and an overburdened court system, many crimes in Kenya are never prosecuted. Despite prodding from the international community, the government has yet to punish perpetrators in the riots and tribal clashes that killed more than 1,000 people during the post-election crisis.
Bruce Bridges said his father had grown increasingly worried about Kenya's political and social instability but did not expect the threats against his business to turn so violent.
"He used to say that with the way things in Kenya were going, who knows what might happen," Bridges said. "He knew the risks. He understood Africa. But to have something like this happen is just unbelievable."

edmund.sanders @latimes.com

[movieman1957]

You may not know his name but you surely heard him play. (Again, not in the movie world but.... and late too.)

Larry Knechtel dies at 69; bassist, keyboardist for '70s soft-rock group Bread
Knechtel played keyboards and bass with the Wrecking Crew, a group of L.A. studio musicians, before joining Bread in 1971. His arrangement of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' won a Grammy in 1970.

Knechtel won a Grammy for his work on "Bridge Over Troubled Water." (Los Angeles Times)


By Keith Thursby

August 24, 2009
E-mail Print Text size

Larry Knechtel, a member of the 1970s soft-rock group Bread, who had a wide-ranging career as a studio musician, has died.

Knechtel died Thursday at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital in Yakima, Wash. He was 69. A hospital official would not release a cause of death, but a report in the Yakima Herald-Republic said he apparently suffered a heart attack.

Knechtel played keyboards, bass guitar and harmonica as a member of the Wrecking Crew, a group of Los Angeles studio musicians that included future headliners Glen Campbell and Leon Russell and session drummer Hal Blaine. Knechtel played with Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, the Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas and many others.

"It just snowballed. I was in the right place at the right time," Knechtel told the Yakima paper in 2004. "It was a lot of fun. We were all young. I was making big money and hearing myself on the radio."

In 2007, members of the Wrecking Crew were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville.

Knechtel, who was born Aug. 4, 1940, in Bell, first played with Kip Tyler and the Flips and in 1959 joined Duane Eddy, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist. He won a Grammy in 1970 for his arrangement of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel. Knechtel also played the piano on that song.

In 1971, he joined Bread after the group's second album, when Robb Royer left.

"We needed somebody to play bass and keyboards and provide a strong instrumental element that we had been lacking," singer David Gates told The Times in 1977. "Larry was just what we needed."

Knechtel played on the Dixie Chicks' "Taking the Long Way" album and toured with the group in 2006. He had been living in Yakima since 2003.

According to the Herald-Republic, Knechtel is survived by his wife, Vickie; son Lonnie and daughter Shelli Kokenge; his mother, Edna Knechtel; brothers Don and Bob Knechtel; and three grandchildren.

[email protected]

[moira finnie]

Army Archerd (left), interviewing one of his most famous subjects, Rock Hudson in the 1950s.

Army Archerd has died at age 87. A fixture in Variety for decades and on the red carpet at the Academy Awards, his co-worker, former Variety editor and studio chief Peter Bart said of him: "Army was extraordinarily passionate about his work and was a great crusader -- against the blacklist, for example. He was a very honorable man and a damned good journalist." Despite the fact that he was said to have contacts at every level in Hollywood, he had a reputation for treating his subjects with some compassion, including Rock Hudson, whose treatment for AIDS was one of Archerd's major scoops in 1985. He tried to maintain some distance from his subjects, whom he had covered since 1945. A few years ago Archer said that "I don't burn out because I'm not part of the scene, I'm looking at the scene. I don't get involved like some unnamed people who cover this business."

The columnist, who collapsed at home, died of the disease mesothelioma, a lung ailment that may occur in individuals decades after their exposure to asbestos. Archerd's illness is believed to have stemmed from his exposure in Naval shipyards in WWII.

You can read his complete obituary here at the Los Angeles Times.

[jdb1]

Oh, I am so unhappy to hear about Army Archerd.

When I worked for the publishing co. that put out Variety, I had occasion to speak with him by phone very often, and he was a real sweetie to me, always remembering my name, always chatting a bit before being passed on to the attorney I worked for. A gentleman in a business that has so few.