The last couple months have passed, taking a large number of celebrities from the worlds of film, television, sports and politics with them. As a huge fan of movies and sports, I have had to shake my head numerous times in June and May when reading of first the death of one well-known figure and then another, leaving the little people like myself pondering the past and remembering each of them in different ways. The following are people of celebrity, some much more famous than others who touched my life in some small way over the past 50 years. I bid each of them a fond farewell and send along my thanks for entertaining me in their own individual special ways.
When I was in high school I fell under the spell of martial arts great Bruce Lee. Watching him on the big screen at The Capitol Theatre in West Columbia, Texas, in "Fists Of Fury" grabbed me in some strange way. I was mesmerized by the way the guy moved and looked and presented himself to the movie audience in the Chinese-made film. Dubbed in English, often times the words I would hear in the movie theater did not match the movement of the actors' mouths on the screen. "Fists Of Fury" and "The Chinese Connection" were not going to win any Oscars, that was obvious, and I had to deal with a bit of ridicule from some friends and family members for actually liking these foreign films, but Bruce Lee had won me over. I soon learned that he had portrayed Kato on the American TV show "The Green Hornet" and was now becoming a huge success in films worldwide with his martial arts "Chop-Sockey" flicks.
And then, almost as quickly as Bruce Lee had entered my life, he was gone. Bruce died on July 20, 1973, at the young age of 32 in Hong Kong. He had completed filming his next project before dying reportedly from a brain edema, but he would not live to see the finished product on film. What a huge success that project turned out to be. Starring in his first American-made film, which was originally going to be called "Han's Island," Bruce Lee led a cast that also included American actor John Saxon and Karate sensation Jim Kelly in the movie that was eventually released as "Enter The Dragon" in the fall of 1973. Compared by many movie critics to the James Bond series of movies, "Enter The Dragon" was No. 1 at the U.S. box office in October, 1973, and would gross more than $25 million in North America and $90 million worldwide.
Director Robert Clouse went to work on the project with a working budget of $850,000, making "Enter The Dragon" one of the most profitable films ever made. It remains one of my favorite films of all time and is, by far, my favorite Bruce Lee movie.
Shih Kien, who portrayed the evil villain Han in "Enter The Dragon," died June 3, 2009, of kidney failure at the advanced age of 96 in Hong Kong. The veteran Chinese actor, pictured above on the left in a fight scene with Bruce Lee in "Enter The Dragon," appeared in films (most made in China) between the years of 1949 and 1995. "His name has become synonymous with villainy," Wikipedia states about Shih Kien's film reputation in China.
I loved his performance on the big screen when his character Han attempted to lure John Saxon and Jim Kelly to join his evil empire, giving each of them two options: do as he requested . . . or die! And the final fight sequences of the film, pitting the evil Han against Bruce Lee's "good guy" are some of the best ever put on celluloid. I still get chill bumps remembering the suspenseful scenes filmed in a large room of mirrors where Bruce Lee pursues the elusive Han for an extended period of time until eventually impaling Han on a spear stuck in the mirrored wall with one of Bruce's powerful, vicious leg kicks. Thank you Shih Kien for your contributions to "Enter The Dragon" and if you see Bruce up there in the great big beyond tell him T. Gup still thinks he was the best action movie hero ever!
David Carradine's death on June 3, 2009, at the age of 72 allegedly from hanging in a Bangkok hotel room closet also takes another hero from television and film away from his many fans. While Carradine admitted that, unlike Bruce Lee, his martial arts expertise on the TV show "Kung Fu" was all choreographed and that he actually knew very little about martial arts, he was still a hell of an actor who leaves us with many movie and TV roles to remember him fondly by. Just like with Bruce Lee's death in 1973, the recent death of David Carradine leaves millions of people wondering if it was suicide, murder or accidental death.
Lung cancer claimed an exceptional singer and guitarist on June 7, 2009, when Kenny Rankin died at the age of 69 in Los Angeles. The New York City native recorded albums starting in the 1960s and continuing into the current decade of the 2000s. "His lush voice, with its lilting purity, range, and scat improvisational abilities, is mastered by supple acoustic guitar work," one publication stated in describing Kenny Rankin's more recent recordings.
I remember Kenny from his days recording for the same record label that George Carlin's comedy albums were on in the 1970s. I would see Kenny Rankin's albums being promoted on the inner sleeve of my George Carlin records. And then I would see Kenny singing often on TV and found myself impressed with the rather unique way he had of making other recording artists' songs seem like his own.
Kenny Rankin, pictured below in a photo with his grandchild and in another shot from his website holding his guitar, appeared on "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson" more than 20 times. As a frequent viewer of Johnny Carson's weeknight talk show on NBC many years ago, I was often watching when Kenny Rankin would appear on "The Tonight Show." He recorded cover versions of a number of Beatles songs on his many albums over the years. On a fairly current release being sold on his website, as well as on Barnes & Noble's website, Kenny Rankin sings "I've Just Seen A Face," "Dear Prudence," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "With A Little Help From My Friends," "Penny Lane" and "Blackbird," all by The Beatles.
When John Lennon and Paul McCartney were being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as one of the most successful songwriting teams of all time, Paul asked Kenny Rankin to sing the McCartney-penned song "Blackbird" at the induction ceremony, he was so impressed with Kenny's version of the tune. Kenny Rankin's death at 69 earlier this month robs the musical world of one of its finest musicians and singers.
Back in May three former NFL standout players passed away that were all a big part of my younger days when I was a pro football addict. I collected football cards, purchased pro football magazines and read them from cover to cover, memorizing names and statistics, and watched every NFL and AFL football game on television that I had the time to sit through. I can still recall all of the electric football games I used to play with my best friend Thomas Watts and my brother Cody, imagining the tiny little helmeted and uniformed plastic players vibrating around on the metal football field were real pro players. Among the many former pro football players in my vast collection of cards are Jack Kemp, Ron Snidow and Terry Barr.
Ron Snidow was a defensive tackle out of the University of Oregon who was a third round selection of the Washington Redskins in the 1963 draft. He played for the Redskins until 1967 when he was traded to the Cleveland Browns, playing for the Browns until 1972 when a broken leg ended his pro career. He recently lost his battle with Lou Gehrig's disease when he died on May 17, 2009, at the age of 67 while on a vacation cruise off the coast of Italy on the island of Elba. Ron Snidow was from Newport News, Virginia.
Terry Barr died
May 28, 2009, at the age of 73 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. He is now a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and currently ranks 11th on the Detroit Lions all-time receiving list with 227 receptions for 3,810 yards and 35 touchdowns. Born August 10, 1935, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Terry Barr was a third round pick of the Lions in the 1957 NFL draft out of the University of Michigan. Terry was a member of the Lions from 1957 through 1965, and was a teammate of West Columbia's own Dennis Gaubatz in Detroit during the 1963 and 1964 NFL seasons.
Terry Barr scored a touchdown in the Detroit Lions' 59-14 win over the Cleveland Browns in the 1957 league championship game during his rookie year.
Prior to the deaths in mid- and late-May of former NFL players Terry Barr and Ron Snidow, cancer claimed not only a big name on the American political scene but also a former NFL superstar quarterback from the 1950s and 1960s. Jack Kemp, who was a 9-term Congressman for Western New York from 1971 through 1989, was Bob Dole's running mate in the 1996 Presidential election. Kemp had run unsuccessfully for President in 1988 and, after losing the Republican Presidential nomination to George H.W. Bush, was appointed by President Bush to serve as Housing Secretary in Bush's cabinet. Jack Kemp is pictured below with former President George W. Bush of Texas.
Kemp, born July 13, 1935, in Los Angeles, was a 13-year professional quarterback before he entered politics in 1971. The Occidental College product was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the same 1957 draft that the Lions took Terry Barr in, only Barr was chosen 14 rounds ahead of Kemp. The future presidential cabinet member would be the 203rd pick of the '57 draft, going to Detroit in the 17th round. Failing to make the Lions in his rookie training camp, Kemp was picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a backup quarterback. But he had to deal with tough times over the next few years before he would eventually claim a starting quarterback's job in pro football.
Jack Kemp, who died of cancer on May 2, 2009, at the age of 73 in Bethesda, Maryland, was cut by five pro teams before signing with the new Los Angeles Chargers of the fledgling American Football League in 1960. Over the next decade Jack Kemp would quarterback in five AFL championship games, seven AFL All Star games, and be named the Most Valuable Player of the AFL in 1965.
Our own Houston Oilers prevented Kemp and the Chargers from claiming AFL titles in the first two seasons of the new league. After the Los Angeles Chargers lost to the Oilers in the 1960 championship game, the team relocated to San Diego where they would go 12-2 in the 1961 season, but still lose to Houston 10-3 in the AFL championship game that year. Kemp broke his middle finger on his throwing hand in the second game of the 1962 season and Chargers head coach Sid Gillman tried to put Kemp on waivers without anyone noticing. It did not work. The Buffalo Bills claimed Kemp and got one of the best bargains in pro football history. For a mere $100 waiver wire claim, Jack Kemp became a Buffalo Bill and missed the majority of the '62 season. But in 1964 the Bills went 12-2 and won the AFL title 20-7 over San Diego. Buffalo would also defeat the Chargers in the league's championship game in 1965, 23-0, to enable Kemp to taste revenge yet again at the expense of the franchise that placed him on waivers when he was injured, only one year removed from quarterbacking the Chargers to back-to-back championship game appearances.
Buffalo drafted Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson number one overall in the 1969 draft. But even with "The Juice" carrying the ball in the Bills' backfield behind Kemp, Buffalo won only four games that season. Kemp made the difficult decision to walk away from football and enter the world of politics once the 1969 season had ended. I have several Jack Kemp football cards in my collection, both with the Chargers and Bills, and cherish them because of what he accomplished, not only on the playing field in the AFL but even more so for what Jack Kemp accomplished in the world of politics after retiring from pro football. He was a great man and the country has lost a true leader. Whether you agreed with Jack Kemp's politics or not, you have to give the man credit for devoting his adult life after pro football to serving the people. I will miss you Jack!
On the same day that Hal Woodeshick passed away in Houston on June 14th, the music world lost a recent inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bob Bogle, a renowned guitarist with The Ventures, died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 75. My older brother Cody bought an album called "Learn To Play Guitar With The Ventures" when he was a kid taking guitar lessons. I still have that old album from the 1960s in my record collection.
My personal favorite rock god, John Fogerty, got to do the honors at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony a couple years ago when The Ventures were inducted. Fogerty, a Hall of Fame member as leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival, did the introduction for The Ventures.
The music world also recently lost an original member of The Ink Spots. Huey Long passed away June 10, 2009, at the ripe old age of 105. There is someone even Shih Kien, who was 96, would have to call sir.
Having collected baseball cards and football cards since I was a child of about seven, I have amassed a considerably large collection over the years. One of the first baseball cards I ever owned was a card of Woodie Held of the Kansas City Athletics from the late 1950s. So it was with great sadness that I took the recent news of Held's death. Woodson George Held died June 10, 2009, of brain cancer on his ranch in Dubois, Wyoming. He was one of my favorite baseball players when I was a little kid back in the 1960s.
Pictured above in a 1962 photograph with the Cleveland Indians, Woodie Held was a bonus baby signed to a big contract ($5,000 was big money back then) by the New York Yankees. He was born in 1932 in Sacramento, California, and first wore the Yankees pinstripes on September 5, 1954. Never making much of a splash with the Bronx Bombers, Woodie first became an outstanding major league shortstop with the Kansas City A's the year I was born, 1957. He was involved in a big trade for Roger Maris (among others) during the 1958 season when the Athletics shipped him to Cleveland, where he would remain an important member of the Indians' teams from 1958 through 1964.
After spending the majority of his six years with the Yankees as a middle infielder in the minor leagues, Woody Held became the Athletics starting center fielder in 1957 and hit 20 home runs as a rookie. The Indians switched him back to shortstop and he became the first Cleveland shortstop to hit 20-plus home runs in the team's history and did so for three consecutive seasons, smashing 29 homers in 1959, 21 in 1960, and 23 in 1961.
In a 14 season career in the big leagues, Woodie Held would appear in 1,390 games for New York, Kansas City, Cleveland, Washington, Baltimore, California and Chicago, spending his entire career in the American League. He hit 179 home runs and had 559 runs batted in during his illustrious career. Woodie finally made it to a World Series in 1966 as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. Despite being on the Orioles active roster, Woodie was never called on by manager Hank Bauer to pinch-hit against the Dodgers in the '66 Series.
Hal Woodeshick, an original Houston Colt .45s pitcher in 1962, died June 14, 2009, at the age of 76 in Houston following a lengthy illness. The southpaw had pitched for four different teams in the majors prior to being signed as a free agent by Houston in 1962. Hal was originally used as a starting pitcher by the Colts, starting 26 of the 31 games he appeared in for Houston in 1962. But he would never start another game the rest of his 11-year career.
He led the National League in saves in 1964 with 23 in an era before closers became specialists on major league pitching staffs. A workhorse, Hal appeared in 55 games in 1963 and 61 games in 1964. The Colt .45s would battle it out for last place in the National League with their fellow expansion team, the New York Mets, in those early years of the two new franchises. So Hal Woodeshick's impressive 1.97, 2.76 and 2.25 ERA's in 1963, 1964 and 1965 respectively really stood out.
Hal was a member of the Houston pitching staff in 1965, the first year the team played in the Astrodome and changed their name from the Colt .45s to the Astros. After appearing in 27 games with the Astros that season, he was traded along with picher Chuck Taylor to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitchers Ron Taylor and Mike Cuellar. Hal pitched in 51 games with the Redbirds following the trade, totaling a whopping 78 appearances combined between Houston and St. Louis in 1965.
Hal Woodeshick closed out his major league career with an appearance in Game 6 of the 1967 World Series, a series that would be won by the Cardinals over the Boston Red Sox. Having begun his major league career with the Detroit Tigers in 1956, the native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, had to wait eleven years to finally get to participate in a World Series. So it had to be extremely disappointing to Hal when Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst replaced him at midseason as the team's closer with a younger lefthander named Joe Hoerner. Ironically, Hoerner had been Woodeshick's teammate on the Colt .45s briefly in 1963 and 1964 when Hal was getting the bulk of the work out of the Houston bullpen. But when Woodeshick finally did get to pitch in the World Series he made the most of the opportunity. In his only inning of work in the 1967 Series, Hal coaxed '67 American League Triple Crown Winner and MVP Carl Yastrzemski to ground into a fielder's choice to end the inning late in Game 6.
I got to see Hal Woodeshick pitch for the Astros in 1965 when my godparents, Kirby and Ruby Fontenot of Bellaire, took me to my first major league baseball game at the spanking new air-conditioned domed stadium. Woodeshick relieved starting pitcher Bob Bruce in that game I attended as an 8-year-old child, a game the Astros would lose to Hank Aaron, Joe Torre, Eddie Mathews and the rest of the Milwaukee Braves. I still have the program my Uncle Kirby and Aunt Ruby bought me at the Astrodome that summer day in 1965. Bob Bruce's wife was seated a couple rows in front of us and Uncle Kirby got her to sign her husband's name across his photograph in my program. Is a Bob Bruce autograph from 44 years ago worth much these days? How about if it was signed by Mrs. Bruce!
The black-and-white photo above is of a very young Rusty Staub (right) showing Hal Woodeshick how to properly throw a slider. Woodeshick eventually adopted the rookie slugger's slider and used it to near perfection, or so it says in Robert Reed's book, "Colt .45s: A Six-Gun Salute."
