Posted by
Realist - The facts as I see them on Thursday, May 07, 2009 11:59:33 PM
My columns (I dislike the term blog) are usually political. Something very different today.
I read of the death of Dom Deluise, a very likeable character. I decided to look up someone else. For some reason, Jackie Gleason came to mind. Maybe because they were both big men; I don't know. After reading of his life and accomplishments which were many, it occurred to me how saddened I felt at their loss and, the loss of so many other entertainers who meant something to me.
I was a child in the "Golden Age of Television". I knew the whole evening TV schedule as; I did not want to miss of the good shows. By the mid 1960s, as I passed through college, the military and my first jobs, it meant less but, I never left the "stars" completely behind.
I realize now that, as each of them passed on, they took a part of my childhood and young adulthood with them. I feel a genuine sense of loss. Through film, accessible on the internet and other places, they sustain a kind of immortality. Always young, vital, funny and at the top of their game; just as I remember them. I wish I could leave so much of myself behind but, who would want to see it?
So I am taking a minute to say thanks to all of the cowboys, detectives, comedians and others who made my childhood what it was and, in some ways, gave me something to emulate. Most of them were the good guys who, in the end, did the right thing. They set a high standard whether in quality of work or the type of characters they depicted. Being in the military and serving one's country was depicted as an honorable thing. Lessons about right and wrong were taught (Thanks Hoppy). They showed me that, stuff could be really funny without being off color. Many were the lessons learned from the films and TV of that era. It really was not a "wasteland".
If I could imbed sound in this, you would be hearing Bob Hope's theme; "Thanks for the Memories" and Roy Roger's "Happy Trails"
Thanks to all of them!