Acting Out

It seems wrong to write about anything but Afghanistan and Hurricane Ida at present, but here goes…

There’s an interesting development in the rock world according to an article at newsmax.com by Nick Koutsobinas. Guitar god Eric Clapton has released a protest song that takes aim at COVID-mandates. And he refuses to play shows at venues where patrons are required to show proof of vaccination. I’m pretty sure I’ve read that other artists demand proof or a recent test. It seems the pandemic and the division it foments will never end.

RIP Ed Asner, 91. I hated his know-it-all politics but there’s no denying his talent. There are 417 titles under his name at IMDb, including 15 yet to be released. His career began in 1957. At home on the big or small screen, adept at comedy or drama, a master of the voice over, he will probably be remembered most for his portrayal of Lou Grant in 166 episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and 114 of its eponymous spinoff, both of which brought him Emmys. He was nominated 17 times for a prime time Emmy, winning seven, including one each for his work in two landmark miniseries: Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots. He was nominated for four day time Emmys. He received eleven Golden Globe nominations as well, winning five. Awesome work, sir. Thank you. Here he is in character as Grant:

Last night the Heroes & Icons channel, 9–4 on ota in NYC, ran Losers Cry Deal, season three, episode 18 of Combat!, first run in 1965. Directed by series star Vic Morrow, it is a chilling portrait of what war does to certain men, again proving that this was much more than an action series. Veteran character actor Mike Kellin shines as a creep. His rant at the end is chilling. The teleplay was written by Shirl Hendryx, who has 35 titles under his name at IMDb. His career spans 1949–2020 when, after an absence of 19 years, he wrote and directed an episode of Smartphone Theatre. Along the way he contributed single episodes to Bonanza, The Virginian, Hawaii Five-O, The Wild Wild West, Mission: Impossible, Columbo and many other prime time series. He wrote eight of Combat! To my chagrin, I was unable find any biographical info on him. Fortunately I found a pic at Google Images:

And here is Kellin, whose face will be familiar to boomers and movie buffs. He passed away at 61 in 1983:

The cloud cover took the sting out of the humidity at today’s session of the floating book shop. My thanks to the gentleman who settled his tab, and to the woman who spoke to her nieces and nephews on her iphone and selected The Angry Birds Movie 2: The Junior Novel by Heather Nuhfer, The 8th Confession by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro and a YA work of horror whose title escapes me; and to the young man who purchased two works of non-fiction for a hospitalized friend: Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand and a guide to America’s deserts; and to the couple who took home eight art pictorials, most on impressionism; and to Bill Brown, author of Words and Guitar: A History of Lou Reed’s Music and other fine books, who chose Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America by Steve Almond.

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