[Spotlight Post] Memorial – Bedford, Bowie, Rickman, Haggerty
Wow. Never gets better starting a year with a “memorial†post – and this week’s been a hard hitter. David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Brian Bedford, and now Dan Haggerty. All four died of cancer. Three of the four were under 75 (Bowie and Rickman were 69, Haggerty was 74). Many of these prompt a very “adult†sentiment of “F—Cancerâ€. I can’t agree more, but it’s a family blog.
Robin Hood/Brian Bedford from Jezebel.com
All four of these men had some influence on me as a person and more importantly as a writer. Brian Bedford voiced Disney’s animated Robin Hood. It was my all-time favorite animated Disney movie. Mom and Dad gave me the Anniversary Blu-Ray of it for Christmas and all three of us broke out in “Oodalaly oodalaly golly what a dayâ€. The movie had a great story, better songs, and Bedford’s incredible voice. Until he passed away and showed up on my Facebook feed, I didn’t have a name or face to put with this major element of my childhood. Now I do…and it’s way too late.
From Wikipedia – Cover Art
So many people have talked about David Bowie this week. I can’t compete with those tributes. My “Doctor†moment for Bowie was Labyrinth. A friend from high school dragged me to see it on a visit (she also dragged me to Silverado – much of my taste in movies is her fault). I liked Star Trek and Star Wars why not try THIS – and BAM. Totally crush on Jareth, The Goblin King. That was also when we were able to get cable – which meant MTV (when it meant music) which lead to the Let’s Dance videos. BAM. Bowie crush. Life moves on. Enter The Prestige and a small role where Bowie plays Nikola Tesla…DUDE. That’s a role he was MEANT to play and should’ve has a WHOLE MOVIE dedicated to him playing THAT ROLE. I’m a late comer to the music, but an avid lover of his acting. That TWO televisions shows were built around TWO of his songs. His loss is a loss to everyone in every genre and every media.
From Galaxy Quest.
Then there was the gut punch of Alan Rickman. Same age. Same cause of death. Same lack of information that he was ever ill (is that a Brit thing?). Alan Rickman was iconic in his own way with his own career. He could be endearing and funny and evil and scary – and somehow all in the same role. I never read the Harry Potter books – did see the movies (there are reasons and they are mine), and Alan Rickman’s Snape was one of the highlights of those movies. You never knew if Snape was the Good Guy, the Bad Guy, or some unique combination of both. His portrayal of Alexander Dane in GALAXY QUEST will always be my favorite. I always thought once he became Snape – he ended up BEING that Dane character. But he is not any of those. He’s so much more the sum of his roles and will be sorely missed. His complexity, his humanity, his talent…all of it. He’ll be so missed.
From IMDB – Grizzly Adams
Lastly, Dan Haggerty. Grizzly Adams was both human and frightening and daring – and made a whole generation of kids want a freakin’ BEAR for a friend/pet. (Never a good idea.) Watching Grizzly Adams deal with wilderness was the “gateway drug†to McGyver and The A-Team – any problem can be solved with ingenuity, basic skills, and compassion for other people. I’m not sure what he was doing since then – but that role was iconic for a lot of people.
This week has seen a lot of talent leave this world – and creates a challenge for those of us left behind to fill that void with our best efforts to live up to the example they’ve left behind. We need to step up to be the innovators, creators, and artists that these men were so when WE leave this earth we leave a resounding mark as well.
To the family, friends, and those close to these men, know your loss is felt across the world. Your losses are our – in different ways, of course – and your loved ones touched countless lives and influenced writers, artists, performers, and people from every walk of life. Their legacies will live on. They will be remembered. And they will be sorely missed.