Let us begin the roster of Absent Friends for 2018 with a trio who have passed away in these first days of the new year.....
John Young
1930-2018
Whenever one of America's pioneering astronauts passes away it is a notable event, and John Young, who left us at the age 87 last week, was certainly a true pioneer. A US Navy pilot when selected to be a part of the Gemini Astronaut corps, he was a veteran of two Gemini, two Apollo, and two Space Shuttle flights. Young was a part of the two man crew of the first manned Gemini flight (upon which he smuggled a corned beef sandwich - talk about having the "right stuff"!), he was the commander of the first manned flight of the space shuttle, and he is he only person to have flown to the moon twice. As part of the Apollo 16 crew, he became one of only twelve humans to walk on the surface of the moon. His obituary tells us of how he remained a part of the NASA astronaut program until his retirement in 2004 at the age of 74.
Young's death now leaves only five living persons to have set foot on the moon, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Dave Scott, Charles Duke (Young's Apollo 16 fellow moon walker), and Harrison Schmitt. Duke and Schmitt are the youngest of these six, and they will turn 83 in 2018.
Bob Bailey
1942-2018
In 1961, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed Bob Bailey of Long Beach, California as a free agent for the then staggering signing bonus of $175,000. He was one of the last of the big money "bonus babies" in the major leagues before the Entry Draft was instituted a few years later. Bailey made his Pirates debut with a September call-up in 1962, and in 1963, at the age of 20, Bailey became the Pirates starting third baseman. After four seasons with the Pirates, including being a part of two pretty good teams in 1965-66, Bailey was traded to the Dodgers.
He never became the super star that that huge signing bonus was supposed to have portended, he never made an all-star team, but he had a major league career that lasted 17 seasons. In 1,931 games and over 7,000 plate appearances, he hit .257 with 189 home runs and 773 RBI (that's 16 and 65 prorated over 162 games; not great, but not bad), and a .750 OPS. The best part of his career were seven seasons with the Expos, where he hit over twenty home runs in three different seasons. Two facts I learned reading up on him and of which I was not aware: (1) He had the first hit ever for the Montreal Expos, and (2) he was a valuable bench guy for the 1976 Big Red Machine (.298, 6 HR, 23 RBI, .883 OPS in 69 games and 124 AB). He was not active for the Reds in that post-season, but he did earn a World Series ring that year for his efforts.
All things considered, a pretty nice run for Bob Bailey. He was 75 years old.
Jerry Van Dyke
1931-2018
In my mind, actor and comedian Jerry Van Dyke, who died last week at the age of 86, was known for two things. He was the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke, and he was the star of one of the very worst television series ever conceived, "My Mother The Car". However, in fact, he ended up with a fairly long and steady career himself. He was a part of the long-running sitcom, "Coach", and as recently as 2015, he had a recurring role in the sitcom, "The Middle".
My friend Kate O'Connell, formerly of the North Hills, but a Californian since the 1970's, sent me this appreciation of Van Dyke from the Los Angeles Times television critic. Robert Lloyd. I found it interesting, and perhaps you all will as well.
By the way, I am announcing today that Kate (she now goes by Katy, but she will always be Kate to Marilyn and me) has been named the Official West Coast Correspondent to The Grandstander. She has earned this position by sending me three separate articles from the Los Angeles Times on dead celebrities over the last two weeks, including the one above. Congratulations, Kate!!
RIP John Young , Bob Bailey, Jerry Van Dyke
