Category Epitaphs

Meeting Kirk Douglas

KIrk Douglas

You don’t have to ask Kirk Douglas for his favorite film role – it’s already on his lips. “Van Gogh.” He’s referring to Lust for Life, the 1956 MGM movie about the life of the Dutch painter. Based on the…

Training Seymour

Training Seymour

I have to laugh at the phrase: Training Seymour. Not because there isn’t a whole lot of training required with a new dog but with some dogs, maybe specifically rescue dogs, the bulk of the necessary learning is by the…

Little Roundheaded Boy

For one thing, I stand for the idea that all of the stars should be rescued from being overly identified with The Golden Girls. Long before Dorothy Zbornak, Bea Arthur was established as a Broadway and Television legend. The Golden…

A Life Well-Remembered

Every year, I find myself engrossed in the New York Times Magazine‘s collection of brief epitaphs of Americans, famous and not-so-much, who died during the previous year. But when I pulled the issue from the blue plastic wrapper this morning…

I’m Not There? – I’m Not There, Man

Bob Dylan

A lengthy and elegant mess of a film, Todd Haynes’ not-so-experimental I’m Not There is nonetheless a beauty of a wreck, a “non-biopic” about Bob Dylan that mainly ignores that facet of Dylan that always hides in plain site when…

House and the Kiss of Death

Ten minutes into last night’s House, one of the famed doctor’s underlings gave their gravely ill patient a couple of pills and said: “Take these, you’ll be better within an hour.” I turned to my daughter, a major House junkie.…

Bruce Is Livin’ In The Future

Don’t worry darling, we’re living in the future and none of this has happened yet – Bruce Springsteen, Livin’ In The Future, Magic Bruce Springsteen has been relevant as a musician and cultural icon since he hit the scene with…