A Trio of Absent Friends: Lisa Marie, Gina, and Frank

These first days of 2023 have seen three deaths of note, and I have been asked if I would be doing Absent Friends posts on them.   In and of themselves, they probably wouldn't have rated an Absent Friends post from me, but given the proximity of the three deaths, here we go....

The first is Lisa Marie Presley who died at the age of 54, apparently of a coronary condition. She is the daughter and the only child of Elvis Presley, and, as such, was the sole heir to the vast  earnings of her father, whose name, image, and likeness produced more wealth in death than he ever earned while alive.  She had her own music career, but is more known for some weird marriages.  She also bore, as the photo above indicates, and amazing resemblance to her father.

Next came the death of Italian actress and 1950's era sex symbol Gina Lollobridgida at the age of 95.  Honestly, I can say that I never saw a single movie in which Miss Lollobridgida appeared, but with a name like that, you have to say that she was unforgettable. And she certainly was pretty, too.

Finally, the news arrived yesterday that former Pittsburgh Pirate Frank Thomas died at the age of 93.  Thomas was a home run hitter for the Pirates in the 1950's and a three time All-Star,  but his greatest contribution to the Pirates came when GM Joe L. Brown traded him to the Reds after the 1958 season, a trade that netted the Bucs Don Hoak, Smokey Burgess, and Harvey Haddix, without whom the magical Championship season of 1960 would probably have never happened, so, thanks for that, Frank.

In addition to the Pirates and Reds, Thomas played for the Cubs, Braves, Mets (he was an original Met, and the franchise's first "star"), Phillies, where he was traded after he got into an allegedly racially motivated fight with the Phil's young star Richie Allen, and Astros.

I got to meet Thomas on a couple of occasions when I was involved with the SABR Chapter in Pittsburgh.  I found him to be the typical ex-player from the pre-Marvin Miller Era, begrudging the money that "these guys today" are making.   I will also go by the dictum imparted to my by my mother any by the Notre Dame nuns who educated me, that if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all, so I will leave it at that.

RIP Lisa Marie, Gina, and Frank.