Firings watch.

October 10th, 2022

Matt Rhule deposed as head coach of the Carolina Panthers, in the first NFL coach firing this season.

Rhule posted an 11-27 record during his tenure in Carolina, winning 10 total games during his first two seasons, before getting off to a miserable 1-4 start this season.

…

As with the offensive coordinator dilemma, Rhule never identified a long-term, efficient quarterback. The team signed journeyman Teddy Bridgewater to lead the offense in 2020, but he was traded to the Denver Broncos following a 5-11 debut season under Rhule.
The Panthers traded three draft picks to the New York Jets for former first-round pick Sam Darnold last offseason. Darnold faltered as the franchise QB in Carolina, as he did in New York, and the Panthers remained on the hook for his salary through this season after picking up his fifth-year option following the trade to acquire him.
This summer, the Panthers tried to upgrade the QB spot by trading for former first overall pick Baker Mayfield. Through five games, Mayfield has struggled mightily, completing just 54.9% of his passes for 962 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions.

Posted in Firings, NFL, Sports | Comments Closed

Obit watch: October 10, 2022.

October 10th, 2022

Anton Fier, noted drummer.

His career rose to new heights in the mid-1980s: He toured with the jazz keyboardist Herbie Hancock following Mr. Hancock’s 1984 pop-funk crossover hit “Rockit,” and played on Laurie Anderson’s acclaimed 1984 album, “Mister Heartbreak.”
By that point his musical ambitions could not be contained behind the drum kit, so Mr. Fier formed the Golden Palominos, an ever-evolving indie-rock supergroup that attracted a parade of guest stars, including Michael Stipe, John Lydon and Richard Thompson, through the rest of the 1980s and into the ’90s.

Peter Robinson, crime writer. (“…DCI Alan Banks, hero of a series of Yorkshire-set novels that spanned 35 years and sold more than 10 million copies.”)

Douglas Kirkland, celebrity photographer.

(Hattip on the previous two to Lawrence.)

Nikki Finke, founder of Deadline.com.

At L.A. Weekly, Finke headed its Deadline Hollywood Daily column from 2002-09. In 2006, she launched Deadline Hollywood Daily, an around-the-clock online version, and became a key source of news surrounding the 2007 WGA strike.
That year, The New York Times‘ Brian Stelter wrote that Finke’s blog had “become a critical forum for Hollywood news and gossip, known for analyzing (in sometimes insulting terms) the behind-the-scenes maneuvering of moguls,” with her reporting on the strike ultimately solidifying “her position as a Hollywood power broker.”

She went on to sell the site to Penske Media for $100 million in 2009.

Speaking to her legacy and that of Deadline‘s in a 10-year anniversary post for the publication, she wrote that the concept behind her original blog — using a URL purchased for “14 bucks and change” — was to get breaking news out faster than she could with her column.
“I didn’t set out to be a disruptor,” she wrote. “Or an internet journalist who created something out of nothing that put the Hollywood trades back on their heels, and today, under Penske Media ownership, is a website worth $100+ million. Or a woman with brass balls, attitude and ruthless hustle who told hard truths about the moguls and who accurately reported scoops first.”

Obit from Deadline.com.

Posted in Books, Media, Music, Obits, Photography | Comments Closed

Hoplobibliophilia, finishing the catch-up (for now).

October 7th, 2022

What was that some jerk said about “you know you have a problem when you start buying bibliographies“?

About that…

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Books, Guns, Hoplobibilophilia | Comments Closed

Firings watch.

October 7th, 2022

Mike Matheny out as general manager of the Kansas City Royals.

Also out: pitching coach Cal Eldred.

While they avoided a 100-loss season, the Royals (65-97) finished in last place in the AL Central and recorded the fifth-worst record of any club in the majors. They went an MLB-worst 26-55 on the road.
Matheny inherited a 103-loss team in 2019. In his first season, the Royals went 26-34 playing a pandemic-shortened 2020 schedule.
The Royals went 74-88 last season after adding veteran pitcher Mike Minor, first baseman Carlos Santana and left fielder Andrew Benintendi.

ESPN:

Matheny finished 165-219 during his time with the Royals, though the number that perhaps is more important to the future of the club is 29 — the number of players who made their major league debut during his tenure.

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Obit watch: October 7, 2022.

October 7th, 2022

Judy Tenuta. THR.

Charles Fuller, playwright. He won a Pulitzer in 1982 for “A Soldier’s Play” (which was later adapted for film as “A Soldier’s Story”).

Günter Lamprecht, German actor.

Before “Berlin Alexanderplatz,” Mr. Lamprecht appeared in a number of Mr. Fassbinder’s films and television series, starting with the 1973 science fiction epic “The World on a Wire.” Mr. Lamprecht returned for the director’s breakthrough international hit, “The Marriage of Maria Braun,” but it was his herculean performance in “Berlin Alexanderplatz” that won Mr. Lamprecht the greatest praise of his career.

IMDB. For the record, he was in “Das Boot”.

Posted in Obits, Theatre | 1 Comment »

Gun book post tomorrow.

October 6th, 2022

Just ran out of time today to get it up. I’m sure some of my readers will be happy I’m skipping a day, but I have a really nice one I want to document…

Posted in Books, Guns | Comments Closed

Obit watch: October 6, 2022.

October 6th, 2022

Kitten Natividad, Russ Meyer star. (Alt link.)

Mr. Meyer also fell for Ms. Natividad, who was married at the time, and they began a relationship that lasted for the rest of the 1970s. And he made her the star of his next movie, which would be his final feature film: “Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens” (1979).
The movie is often described as Mr. Meyer’s riff on “Our Town” — for instance, it employed an onscreen narrator named “The Man From Small Town U.S.A.” Ms. Natividad plays a woman whose husband’s preoccupation with anal sex leaves her sexually frustrated.
Critics didn’t have much good to say about the movie, which Mr. Meyer wrote with Mr. Ebert.
Gene Siskel of The Chicago Tribune, Mr. Ebert’s television partner on the film review show then known as “Sneak Previews,” wrote that Mr. Meyer’s “Vixen,” released in 1968, had been “an enjoyable nudie film because it featured the first joyfully aggressive woman we’d seen in a skin flick.” But he added, “Meyer hasn’t grown up in 10 years; if anything, he’s deteriorated.”

…

In 1973 she won the Miss Nude Universe title in San Bernardino, Calif.
She was dancing at the Classic Cat, a club in Hollywood, when a fellow dancer, Shari Eubank, who had starred in the 1975 Meyer film “Supervixens,” suggested she introduce herself to the director. She is said to have done so by poking him in the back with her bare breasts.

…

After Mr. Meyer’s career died out, Ms. Natividad appeared in numerous other movies, including some hard-core pornography, and had small parts in “Airplane!” (1980), “My Tutor” (1983) and a few other mainstream films.

IMDB, probably not safe for work. (In case you were wondering: “Bouncy Topless Woman on Plane (uncredited)”. Also “Airplane II” as “Woman in ‘Moral Majority’ Shirt (uncredited)”.)

Laurence Silberman, noted judge and legal scholar. Lawrence sent over a nice obit from the Volokh Conspiracy.

Posted in Law, Movies, Obits | Comments Closed

Pop culture programming note.

October 6th, 2022

I usually don’t do this, but I’m making an exception today. I know that there are some readers of this blog (including one prominent blogger) who are “Perry Mason” fans.

Tomorrow morning’s re-run on MeTV is “The Case of the Prudent Prosecutor“, which is my personal favorite from the run.

Why?

  1. The episode is set at a hunting and fishing club. “Perry Mason” is pretty good about guns in general (for reasons) and it is nice to see gun usage (not just hunting, but defensive carry) treated as perfectly normal and reasonable.
  2. The plot of the episode boils down to: a friend of Hamilton Burger is charged with murder, and Burger asks Perry to defend him. Which is a twist…
  3. …but it’s a good twist. This is one of the episodes that attempts to humanize Hamilton, and more or less succeeds. There’s a nice scene between Hamilton and Perry, where Hamilton explains why the accused is so important to him. It’s a good character moment: I wish the writers had been a little more consistent about Burger through the rest of the series.

If you happen to be in a position to watch this episode, and haven’t, I encourage you to do so.

Posted in Guns, TV | 1 Comment »

And yet another dose of hoplobibliophilia.

October 4th, 2022

A while back, great and good FotB (and official trainer to WCD) Karl Rehn introduced me to the work of the Snub Gun Study Group. From there, I learned about Stephen A. Camp.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Books, Guns, Hoplobibilophilia, Smith and Wesson | Comments Closed

Obit watch: October 4, 2022.

October 4th, 2022

Loretta Lynn. Alt link. THR.

Her voice was unmistakable, with its Kentucky drawl, its tensely coiled vibrato and its deep reserves of power. “She’s louder than most, and she’s gonna sing higher than you think she will,” said John Carter Cash, who produced Ms. Lynn’s final recordings. “With Loretta you just turn on the mic, stand back and hold on.”

…

In “Hey Loretta,” a wry 1973 hit about walking out on rural drudgery written by the cartoonist Shel Silverstein, she sang, “You can feed the chickens and you can milk the cow/This woman’s liberation, honey, is gonna start right now.” Silverstein also wrote the beleaguered housewife’s lament “One’s on the Way,” a No. 1 country hit for Ms. Lynn in 1971.

…

Survivors include a younger sister, the country singer Crystal Gayle; her daughters Patsy Lynn Russell, Peggy Lynn, Clara (Cissie) Marie Lynn; and her son Ernest; as well as 17 grandchildren; four step-grandchildren; and a number of great-grandchildren. Another daughter, Betty Sue Lynn, and another son, Jack, died before her.
She also leaves legions of admirers, women as well as men, who draw strength and encouragement from her irrepressible, down-to-earth music and spirit.
“I’m proud I’ve got my own ideas, but I ain’t no better than nobody else,” she was quoted as saying in “Finding Her Voice” (1993), Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann’s comprehensive history of women in country music. “I’ve often wondered why I became so popular, and maybe that’s the reason. I think I reach people because I’m with ’em, not apart from ’em.”

Joan Hotchkis. A lot of theater work, and a fair number of TV credits. “The F.B.I.”, “My World and Welcome to It” (somebody needs to release that on home video), “Medical Center”, “Marcus Welby, M.D.”…

…and “Mannix”. (“To Draw the Lightning”, season 5, episode 22. “With Intent to Kill”, season 4, episode 17.)

Posted in 1970s, Mannix, Movies, Music, Obits, Theatre, TV | Comments Closed

On, Wisconsin!

October 4th, 2022

Missed this yesterday: Paul Chryst out as head coach of the Badgers.

Chryst, 56, who was born in Madison, finishes 67-26 in seven-plus seasons at Wisconsin, his alma mater. He won 10 games or more in four of his first five seasons with the Badgers, winning a Cotton Bowl, an Orange Bowl and three Big Ten West Division titles. But the program fell off beginning in 2020, going 4-3, before a slow start to the 2021 season, in which the Badgers finished 9-4.

The team is 2-3 this season.

Posted in Firings, Sports | 1 Comment »

Obit watch: October 3, 2022.

October 3rd, 2022

Sacheen Littlefeather. Alt link. THR.

Ms. Littlefeather was most famous as Marlon Brando’s stand-in at the 1973 Academy Awards. She read part of his prepared speech refusing the award. (The speech was eight pages long, but “but telecast producer Howard Koch informed her she had no more than 60 seconds”.

Robert Brown. Other credits include an episode of a minor 1960s SF TV series, “Primus”, “Run for Your Life”, “Perry Mason”…

…and “Mannix” (“The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress”, season 7, episode 1.)

Posted in 1970s, History, Mannix, Movies, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

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