FOUR STRAIGHT LOSSES

BY DAN MILLER
February 27, 2006

Some people contend that celebrity deaths happen in groups of three.

I doubt that.... but I do know we lost three good ones in a span of two days last week.... and within five days, we lost four good men.
Four class acts, each in his 80s.

Monday we lost Curt Gowdy at age 86.
Curt Gowdy was a big part of the reason I became an early fan of the old American Football League back in the 1960s.
With his neighborly delivery, he set the standard for play-by-play of pro football.

He was NBC's primary announcer for Super Bowl I (or the NFL-AFL Championship game, as it was actually called at the time).
Interestingly, that first Super Bowl was telecast on both NBC and CBS.
During the regular season, CBS had broadcast the NFL games, while NBC carried the AFL.

I watched the game on NBC, mainly because it was important to me to hear Curt Gowdy call the game.
No one has ever done it better.

Last Friday, Don Knotts died at 81.
Of all his roles and characters, Barney Fife is the one that will live on for generations, as long as television survives.

When I think back on the funniest scenes I've ever seen on TV, one stands out above most others.
It was the scene on the old Andy Griffith Show where Barney assures Andy that he can recite, verbatim, the preamble to the Constitution.
However, he does ask Andy for one thing.... a word prompt to get him started.... and Andy says, "We....".
Barney then proceeds to need a prompt from Andy on every word -- every single word.
When he finishes, he smirks as if he's done something truly remarkable.
It was sheer brilliance.

Also on Friday, Dennis Weaver died, also at age 81.
Old timers will remember his as Chester, the sidekick to Sheriff Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke.
He also made a name for himself as McCloud, the cowboy law enforcement officer, who rode his horse on the streets of New York City.
He also starred in Gentle Ben, and countless other TV shows.

On Saturday, actor Darren McGavin died at 86.
He was a fine and prolific actor.... but one particular role will be renewed in our hearts and funny bones every year, for as long as people watch movies.

That's the role of the Old Man in "A Christmas Story", which -- for me -- has emerged as the best feel-good holiday movie ever made.
Its magic flows, in no small measure, because of the the Old Man.

Yep, it was a tough week for the old timers.

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