Audio podcast episode with my thoughts on Diane Keaton (1946-2025).
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Robert Redford, America’s Last Movie Star
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Obituary: Maggie Smith
Unrelenting, focused and purposeful. These are words that come to mind to describe Maggie Smith. The actress continued to impress me repeatedly over the years in a wide variety of great performances. Among the films I reviewed in which she co-starred or appeared are the mixed, mediocre
Obituary: Robert Benton
After attending my dearest friend’s 90th birthday party, I learned that screenwriter and director Robert Benton died on Mother’s Day at the age of 92. Today’s news is so shallow, flimsy, compartmentalized and devoid of what matters that news of his death had escaped my notice. This obituary skims the surface. I’ll write with greater clarity and purpose in the future. I met, knew and worked with Robert Benton, who became an admirer of
Obituary: Rush Limbaugh
America’s foremost talk radio host died on Wednesday. Broadcast journalist Rush Limbaugh infused a middle class American ethos—forged by his years in Cape Girardeau, Pittsburgh and Sacramento—into his top-ranked weekday program. I think this is integral to his success. He never conducted himself as an intellectual who thought he was inherently better than anyone else. Speaking of and for himself, he was simply Rush. He mostly reported the truth about America. At 70, Rush died in what’s become a refuge for freethinkers, Florida. He had lived up to the standard of his company’s name: excellence in broadcasting.
Obituary: Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman died here in Southern California at the age of 94. Though I’ve never met the actress and comedienne, I wanted to. I made an effort. At some point during my years at Box Office Mojo, I requested an interview with Miss Leachman. The interview was my idea. In those days, I was at liberty to reach out to artists, primarily actors and directors, who I thought were underappreciated, accessible and uniquely skilled. My request went unanswered for weeks. Suddenly, her publicist called and said that Miss Leachman had expressed an interest. The interview never happened.
Obituary: Stephen Sondheim
Writer Stephen Sondheim died at his home in New England this week. He was 91 years old. The Broadway lyricist for West Side Story was also the composer for Into the Woods and he’s best known for a frequently covered song, “Send in the Clowns”, from his musical
Podcast: Obituaries for Donahue, Rowlands and Delon
In this episode are my thoughts on the late Alain Delon, with whom I became fascinated after watching the French actor appear as a gigolo in love in The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1965), Gena Rowlands (Gloria, The Betty Ford Story, The Notebook) and Phil Donahue.
Obituary: Colin Powell
Before he died this week, Colin Powell—who once pleaded for 76 minutes to the United Nations for permission to strike an enemy of the nation he served—told Barbara Walters: “I’m the one who [made the false assertion that there were “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq] on behalf of the United States to the world, [which] will always be a part of my record.”
Obituary: Raquel Welch
The scope of Raquel Welch’s ability to entertain comes through if you think about it.
Obituaries
Three happily married legends recently died. They were masters of broadcasting, history and song. In showcasing their voluminous works of art, each were vital, romantic, cheerful, enduring and strong. There are lessons in their works and lives—genuine lessons for life—and this article skims the surface. The legacy these three leave is rare, astonishing and of a caliber of work that’s quickly slipping away.
Obituary: Earl Holliman
Read my exclusive 2003 movie website interview with the late actor Earl Holliman, who recently died at the age of 96.
Obituary: Gene Hackman
Can the ordinary man make extraordinary impact? The answer lies in the life and career of Gene Hackman, a United States Marine born here in Southern California—in one of our poorest counties—in San Bernardino in 1930. Hackman’s career spans decades. He’s not a movie star. He’s not known for playing the hero—Gene Hackman often played the villain—and he’s not known for showboating. Gene Hackman is an actor, not a celebrity.
