OBITUARIES

[jimimac71]

Thanks Dargo.
Guess I am still a novice about both movies and motorcycles.
So what motorcycle was used in The Great Escape?
I don't remember if Jessica Fletcher ever explained why she didn't drive.
She used a bicycle in Cabot Cove and jogged in the Murder, She Wrote early years.
I tease my cousin in Minnesota for not having a car, but she is quite wise.
She does have her license and occasionally rents a car.
I really tease her for living in Minnesota.
I won't tease Swithin. We ain't kin.
I use to live in Calaveras County, home of the Jumping Frog.
It was a big deal when a new signal light was installed.
My old flame was taken from the Seeing Eye, in Morristown, NJ, to New York, with her new dog.
It was a pretty overwhelming experience.
I hope you're still riding the Indian Dargo, and playing tennis.
May it stay that way.

[Dargo]

Thanks, jimimac! Yep, still playing tennis and still riding the Indian motorcycle (and of course keeping my eyes peeled for all those clueless cagers out there on the road with me ) and along with my two Triumph motorcycles as well...the latter of which coincidentally being the answer to your 'The Great Escape' question.

McQueen's good friend, fellow motorcycle racer and stuntman Bud Ekins actually being the rider you see jumping that barbed wire border fence in that film on a 1961 Triumph Trophy TR6, painted to resemble a German military-issue motorcycle from that era. And who over the years I had a few occasions to converse with at certain vintage motorcycle gatherings in SoCal before he passed away back in 2007.

(...he was a crusty old guy by then, but always willing to share a few stories about his days working in Hollywood)

[txfilmfan]

A car in most of NYC is a liability - expensive to garage, park, insure and it's faster in most cases to use public transport anyway, or if necessary a taxi or rideshare. Sometimes it's faster just to walk. Same is true in most large cities (London, Paris, Tokyo, etc.)

When my brother lived in NJ, he'd drive into Manhattan. I told him he was crazy - just take a train. So much less hassle...

[Lomm]

Where I live (Cincinnati OH area) a car is pretty necessary; public transportation is lacking terribly...a problem most cities outside of the most populous and well-known face. I just wish there were regular requirements for renewing a license, to keep people on their toes. Inattentive drivers, speeding drivers, just plain careless drivers, as it sounds like happened with Treat Williams sadly.

Agree about cyclists not obeying the rules of the road. They drive me nuts. They want to be part of the traffic flow, holding up cars to their lower speeds...and then also want to be able to just ignore stop signs, red lights, and crosswalks for some reason. Can't have it both ways. And those scooters everybody rents nowadays? A menace. I've almost been run over countless times while out walking. Not just by kids, but full blown adults in their work casual clothes!

[Swithin]

Glenda Jackson has died aged 87. The extraordinary actress and MP won two Oscars, first for Women in Love, then for A Touch of Class. I saw her on stage in the eponymous roles in Hedda Gabler, Mother Courage, and King Lear.


Glenda Jackson as Gudrun Brangwen in Women in Love (1969)


Glenda Jackson as King Lear at the Old Vic, 2016

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/ ... ed-aged-87

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/ ... on-old-vic

[Hibi]

Just read this on cnn.com. just now. Wow. What a talent. I hope TCM does something for her. I wonder if Broadway will dim its lights?

[Hibi]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/15/worl ... -dead.html

[Feinberg]

Glenda Jackson dies aged 87 just weeks after finishing final film with Sir Michael Caine as tributes pour in for actress who romped naked with Oliver Reed, danced with Morecambe and Wise and spent 23 years as an MP

Glenda Jackson dies aged 87 just weeks after finishing final film with Sir Michael Caine
The Women in Love Star, who gave up her acting career in 1992 to serve in Parliament for more than 20 years, died after a 'brief illness' at her home in Blackheath, south-east London. After stepping down as an MP in 2015, she made a triumphant return to TV screens in 2019 production Elizabeth Is Missing, in which she portrayed an elderly woman suffering from the early stages of dementia. The much praised performance demonstrated why she had been showered with awards during her glittering career. She won the first of two Academy Awards for 1970 romantic drama Women in Love, in which she starred alongside Oliver Reed and Alan Bates. The second came after her star turn in 1973 British romantic comedy A Touch of Class. She also famously played Egyptian queen Cleopatra in 1971 for an episode of The Morecambe & Wise Show with comedy duo Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. Jackson had just finishing filming The Great Escaper alongside fellow double Oscar-winner Sir Michael Caine, who she had last acted with 48 years ago in The Romantic Englishwoman.

[Hibi]

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/j ... -to-cinema

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/galle ... n-pictures

[Hibi]

https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/a ... n-20230615

[Hibi]

While never a big box office star, after her Oscar win for Women In Love, Glenda was the go to actress for classy independent productions (mostly British based) She did occasionally do Hollywood films (Touch of Class; Hopscotch etc.) What a string of great roles and performances into the 80s. And on the stage as well in London and NY., winning a Tony a few yrs ago for 3 Tall Women. A great loss. Not to mention her political career!

[Swithin]

When Margaret Thatcher died in 2013, Parliament, in which Glenda Jackson was still an MP, was not in session but reconvened for tributes to Mrs. T. Mostly Tories showed up to give adulatory speeches in memory of Mrs. T. Glenda Jackson attended to do the opposite: to talk about how Mrs. T. hurt the country. This is one of the great political speeches.

[Hibi]

Don't mess with Glenda!

[Dargo]

Yes, an extremely talented and intelligent person Glenda Jackson was indeed.

However, being the shallow and superficial person that I am, I'd just like to say that I always really loved those terrifically defined cheekbones of hers. LOL

(...and so, R.I.P. lady)