To Absent Friends - Cloris Leachman

 Cloris Leachman

1924 - 2021

Originally, I wasn't going to do an Absent Friends post on Cloris Leachman, but after making some mention of her on Facebook today, I decided, Nah, she needs the full treatment.

Cloris Leachman died earlier this week at age 94. Everyone's remembrances of her seem to center upon her roles in the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Phyllis, Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein", and even her stint on Dancing With The Stars. However, in reading about her, I learned that she appeared on Broadway in "South Pacific", replacing Mary Martin in the role of Nellie Forbush, and was once a contestant in the Miss America Pageant. Quite a resume. My first thought of her, though, always goes back to her Oscar winning role in Peter Bogdanovich's "The Last Picture Show" (1971) when she played frustrated and unappreciated small town Texas housewife Ruth Popper. It was a gut wrenching performance. I watched "The Last Picture Show" a few years back, and it still holds up remarkably well as a period drama. If you've never seen it, you should. It's not necessarily an "easy" movie to watch, but it is a good one.

And in case you've forgotten, here is why Cloris Leachman won an Oscar for that movie:

https://youtu.be/WBdiNbSNVbw

RIP CLoris Leachman

To Absent Friends - Bruce Kirby

Bruce Kirby

1925 - 2021

Noted character actor (144 credits per IMDB) Bruce Kirby died this week at the age of either 93 or 95, as different sources show birthdates of both 1925 or 1928. Regardless of that fact, Kirby was one of those "where-have-I-seen-this-guy-before" actors that are always showing up in movies and television shows.  He is also the father of the late Bruno Kirby Jr., a fact that I commented upon early last year when I happened to see both of them on an old episode of "Columbo" from the 1970's.

Here is in part what I wrote last February:

Anyway, an episode called "By Dawn's Early Light" featured a very young Bruno Kirby as a teenaged military cadet.  You remember him, right?  He portrayed young Peter Clemenza in "Godfather - Part II" in 1975, when he was billed as "B. Kirby Jr.", as he was in this particular Columbo episode.  He appeared in a couple of Billy Crystal's 1980's comedies, "City Slickers" and "When Harry Met Sally" when he was billed as "Bruno Kirby." At other points in his career, he was sometimes billed as "Bruno Kirby Jr."  From 1971 through 2006 he amassed 69 credits on television and in the movies. He was a most familiar face in those years, right up until his death from leukemia in 2006 at the way too young age of 57.  So it was no surprise when he jumped right off the screen in this bit part in the Columbo episode.  (In fact, seeing actors in bit parts in shows like this who later went on to big things is one of the fun parts of watching them.)

Also appearing in "By Dawn's Early Light" as Sgt. George Kramer, one of the plainclothes cops tailing after Lt. Columbo, was actor Bruce Kirby.  Bruce Kirby was and is - he's still with us and will turn 92 in 2020 - one of those character actors that you have seen a million times on television and in movies over the years.  IMDB lists 143 acting credits for him stretching from 1955 through 2006.  They included regular supporting roles on shows such as Car 54, Where Are You?, Kojak, and L.A. Law.  He appeared in nine separate episodes of Columbo.  Look him up in IMDB, and you will see the names of dozens of television shows, some long forgotten, some memorable, in which he appeared.

Well, it turns out that he is the father of Bruno Kirby, the "Senior" to Bruno's "Junior."  He was born in 1928 as Bruno Quidaciolu, and became "Bruce Kirby" when he went into the acting biz.  Fun Fact: In Rob Reiner's 1986 movie "Stand By Me", he played a character named "Mr. Quidaciolu."  In one of the Columbo episodes that I watched, his Sgt. Kramer had a fairly large speaking part, and if you might not have seen a physical resemblance between father and son, you could definitely hear a vocal and speech pattern in Bruce's voice that were definitely passed on to his son, Bruno.

Like I always say, Stars are Stars, but you can't make movies and television shows without actors like Bruce Kirby.

RIP Bruce Kirby.

Bruce Kirby with son

Bruno Kirby Jr.

(1949-2006)

To Absent Friends - Larry King and Walter Bernstein

 Larry King

1933 - 2021

By now, everyone is aware of the death of talk show king, Larry King, this past weekend at the age of 87.  Like most people, I first became aware of King on his overnight radio talk show on the Mutual Broadcasting Network, carried on, I believe, KQV here in Pittsburgh.  He went on, of course, to fame as the five nights a week talk show host on CNN, a show that ran for 25 years and was a show that played no small role in the success of the fledgling cable news network.

In time, King almost became a parody of himself, and he was the subject of a lot of well intentioned shots from comedians and pundits, including The Grandstander, who could never resist commenting on his frequent appearances behind home plate at Dodgers games.  And, as the tributes that have been appearing in recent days will tell you, no one enjoyed the ripostes more than King himself.

There may never be another media personality quite like Larry King.  "BUFFALO NEW YORK...YOU'RE ON THE AIR WITH BILL CLINTON"

Walter Bernstein

1919 - 2021

With Woody Allen on the set 

of "The Front" (1976)

Of lesser note, but of no less interest to me, was the death last week of screenwriter Walter Bernstein at the age of 101.  His obituary appeared in today's issue of the Washington Post.  Bernstein was one of the Hollywood figures of the 1950's who got caught up in the Red Scare Menace and was blacklisted by Hollywood in the Era of McCarthyism, one of the more shameful episodes of American History, but an era that fascinates me.

I have included his obit from the Post here.  It makes for great reading.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/walter-bernstein-scriptwriter-who-skewered-mccarthy-era-blacklist-in-the-front-dies-at-101/2021/01/23/01580a4a-5dbc-11eb-b8bd-ee36b1cd18bf_story.html

Bernstein took to making a living by cranking out screenplays for the movies and television, but having his work credited to others who "fronted" for him.  As he put it "(other writers') careers were made on my work."

It was this aspect of his life that he wrote of in his screenplay of the 1976 movie "The Front."  The movie starred Woody Allen in a rare dramatic role playing a "front" for blacklisted writers.  It is an interesting movie, wherein the Allen character goes along with the deal just to make a buck, but soon gets caught up in the extreme injustice of it all.  It is also interesting in that many the people who made this movie, including some of the actors, were victims of Red Scare blacklisting themselves early in their careers.  Be sure to watch the closing credits if you watch this movie.

Bernstein also wrote such notable films as "The Magnificent Seven", "The Molly Maguires", "Fail Safe", and "Semi-Tough."

RIP Larry King and Walter Bernstein

Football, Coaching Decisions, and the Final GPR

 This scene from earlier this season will 

be repeated on Super Bowl Sunday

The NFL's Conference Championship games served to produce a Super Bowl match-up made in Heaven, 43 year old Tom Brady against Young Gun Patrick Mahomes.  The greatest quarterback of all time against the greatest quarterback in the NFL today.  It was problematic from the outset that an NFL season would be completed in 2020, and that it will culminate in this head-to-head contest has to be beyond the wildest dreams of Roger Goodell and the Punjabs who run the NFL, not to mention those of us who watch and follow the game.

Simply put, there really are no words left to describe Tom Brady and his accomplishments, so I won't even try.  Simply remarkable.

Nor will I go into trying to summarize the two games yesterday.  If you follow the game, you already know.  However, I simply have to comment on the two pivotal coaching moments in the NFC game.

First, with :20 remaining in the first half, the Bucs are facing fourth and four at midfield and send out the punt team to end the half and head into the locker room up 14-10.  After a time out, Bruce Arians says "screw that", Brady hooks up on  short pass to get the first down, then, with :08 remaining, Brady hits a bomb down the sideline for a touchdown and a 21-10 lead.  On Facebook I commented, "I wonder if the Packers will ever be able to recover from that dagger that Brady just plunged into them."

Next, with 2:06 remaining, the Packers trailing by eight points, 31-23, it is fourth and goal on the Bucs' eight yard line.  With presumptive MVP Aaron Rodgers at QB, only eight yards away from a chance to tie the game and go into overtime, HC Matt LeFleur elects to kick a field goal. And we all thought that Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash made the dumbest coaching move of the year in Game Six of the World Series.  Granted, Green Bay had all three time outs remaining, plus the two minute warning, but they were also putting the ball back into the hands of Tom F. Brady.  Did anyone in the world possibly think that Brady wasn't going to be able to bleed the clock and end that game?  Congrats on losing by only five points instead of eight, Coach.

It's going to be a long, long time until LeFleur lives that one down.

This leads us to the final Grandstander Power Rankings of the season.

1. Chiefs
2. Buccaneers

These should probably be labeled 1 and 1a, only because Tom Brady is at the helm of the Bucs.  At this point, I lean towards the Chiefs over the Bucs in the Super Bowl, but in the end, when it's time to put actual coin of the realm on the line, will you be able to actually bring yourself to bet against Tom Brady? We shall see.

To Absent Friends - Don Sutton

 Don Sutton

1945 - 2021

Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton died earlier this week at the age of 76, and it proved to me that one's memory, okay, MY MEMORY, may not always know what it's talking about.

My initial thought was....Don Sutton, 300+ game winner, Hall of Famer, good pitcher...but not a guy who necessarily put the fear of God into me whenever he was going to pitch against the Pirates.  I mean, when the Bucs were slated to go up against Bob Gibson or Sandy Koufax or Tom Seaver, you said "oh, shit."  When it was Don Sutton, not so much.

But was that really the case?  A fresh spreadsheet, a few clicks of the mouse, and about 30 minutes of research told me "Bob, your memory failed you in this instance,"   Failed badly, as a matter of fact.

From 1966 through 1982, and again in 1988 when he finished up with the Dodgers after six year stint in the American League, Sutton made 57 starts against the Pirates, and compiled a record of 25-19 with an ERA of 2.71 and 16 complete games.  In terms of winning percentage, ERA, and Complete Games as a percentage of starts, Sutton's numbers against the Pirates were better than those same numbers across his career.  And keep in mind that in the meat of  Sutton's career, 1966-80, those Pirates teams that he faced were very, very good teams.  So, while my memory told me otherwise, at the time I probably actually did say "oh, shit" whenever it was Sutton's turn to face Pittsburgh.

Sutton, of course, went on to fashion a second career as a broadcaster, and he was great at that, too.

Too many Hall of Famers are leaving us these days.

RIP Don Sutton.

If you are interested, here is the spreadsheet that I compiled showing Don Sutton vs. Pittsburgh Pirates in his career.

	W	L	ND	IP	ER	ERA	CG
1966	2	2	1	29.67	11	3-34	1
1967	2	1	2	39.67	12	2.72	2
1968	2	2	0	28.00	9	2.89	0
1969	2	0	2	32.33	9	2.51	0
1970	1	0	2	25.0	5	1.80	2
1971	0	1	1	11.67	7	4.80	0
1972	1	3	0	30.67	14	4.11	2
1973	3	1	0	33.67	8	2.14	3
1974	1	2	0	20.0	5	2.25	0
1975	1	2	1	31.0	6	1.74	2
1976	2	0	0	17.0	2	1.06	1
1977	1	1	1	17.0	11	5.82	0
1978	3	1	0	31.0	8	2.32	2
1979	1	1	1	19.0	5	2.36	0
1980	1	0	1	15.0	2	1.20	0
1881	1	1	0	13.33	5	3.38	0
1982	1	1	0	17.0	3	1.59	1
1988	0	0	1	4.67	3	5.78	0
	25	19	13	415.68	125	2.71	16
Career			Vs PGH
Starts	756		57
W	324		25
L	256		19
%	0.553		0.568
ERA	3.26		2.71
CG	178		16
CG/Starts	23.5%		28.1%

To Absent Friends - Hank Aaron

Hank Aaron

1934 - 2021

"The Hammer"

There are good ball players, there are great ball players, there are really great ball players, and then there are ball players whose greatness really just can't be put into words - at least not by a someone like me - and such a player was Hank Aaron, who died today at the age of 86.

You all the know the numbers....755 home runs.  He was the guy who broke the unbreakable record of Babe Ruth when he hit is 715th home run back in 1974.  He also has more RBI - 2,297 - than anyone else in history. And add to the story the death threats and racial hatred that he endured as he chased Ruth's record only adds to the story and truly defines Hemingway's definition of courage: Grace under pressure.

Then there is the one undefinable metric that I always use.  In a tight game involving my team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, who is the batter that I would LEAST like to see coming to bat against the Pirates late in the game with runners on base?  Hank Aaron pretty much tops that list.

I am not going to go on and on here, because, like I said, what can I say? However, I will tell you one story that sits deep in Sproule Family Lore.  Upon return from one of his annual trips to Florida with my grandmother,  this one in the mid-1950's, my grandfather, Bill Madden, proclaimed to my father:  "I seen (that's how he talked) a skinny kid down in Florida for the Braves who's going to be really something.  Name is Hank Aaron."  I believe he had that.

Oh, and one more.  My Dad always told the tale of sitting in the left field bleachers once at Forbes Field when Aaron hit a line drive that Dick Groat at short leaped up to try and catch, only to see the ball keep rising and easily clearing the clock at the top of the left field scoreboard.

RIP Hank Aaron.  We may never see his like again.

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