To A Trio of Absent Friends

As often happens when you go on vacation and leave the keyboard behind you, things can get backed up in the old in-box, so to that end, let us pay tribute to a trio of individuals whose recent deaths deserve noting.

Harold Prince

1928-2019

Broadway Impresario Hal Prince died in recent days at the age of 91.  The list of shows that Prince either produced and/or directed is a veritable Hall of Fame of Broadway musical theatrical productions, and it covers pretty much the entire second half of the twentieth century.  Just to name a few:

The Pajama Game

Damn Yankees

West Side Story

Fiddler On The Roof

Cabaret

Phantom of the Opera

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to The Forum

Company

Evita

And I could go on, but you get the idea.  Prince won twenty-one Tony Awards over the course of is remarkable career.

Clifford Branch

1948-2019

Former Oakland Raiders wide receiver Clifford Branch left us last week at the age of 71.  Now, I am no fan of the Oakland Raiders, never have been, but that cannot lessen the admiration of many of the great players who have worn the Silver and Black over the years, and Branch was one of the best.  He played on three of the Raiders Super Bowl winning teams and in four Pro Bowls over the course of his fourteen year career.  He was a major player in so many of those classic Steelers-Raiders games back in the 1970's, and did rivalries come any better or more heated than the one between those teams of that era?  I don't think so.  For that reason alone, the passing of Cliff Branch deserves to be noted.

Perhaps the most shocking and saddest news of all, however, was the death on Sunday morning of Steelers assistant coach Darryl Drake at the too young age of 62.  In all honesty, I could not have told you the names of any Steelers assistant coaches beyond the coordinators.  Let's face it, there are so many assistant coaches on NFL teams any more, who can keep track of them?  That doesn't make the loss of Drake any less shocking or sad, especially when you hear all of the heartfelt responses and memories from all who had been associated with Drake over the course of his long coaching career.

Darryl Drake in his final game as Steelers WR Coach

this past Saturday night.

RIP Hal Prince, Clifford Branch, and Darryl Drake.