I’ve been thinking about death.
Admit it, you think about it, too.
It’s only natural, the mysterious “they” would say.
Death is just a part of life.
Uh…yeah. The last part.
This morning, I read the news report that said John McWethey, the ABC reporter who used to cover the Pentagon and did an amazing job of covering the attack there on 9/11, had died at the age of 61.
He was skiing, zigged when he should have zagged, and hit a tree chest first.
The official report says he died of “blunt force trauma”
You gotta love official reports.
Years ago, when Dean Paul Martin, the pop singer son of Dean Martin, was killed in a plane crash while serving in the National Guard, the “official report” said, honest to God, that the death was the result of “limited flight into terrain”.
You think?
Anyway, what struck me about McWethy’s death wasn’t so much the tragedy of it.
After all, he was only 61 and he was skiing in Boulder, where he and his wife retired in the not too distant past to enjoy skiing.
And I sort of glossed right past the inevitable, but regrettable, possibilities for comparisons to Sonny Bono.
I got tree, babe.
What struck me was the irony.
Here’s a guy who worked as a national reporter for years, facing whatever hazards were inherent, was on site the day a passenger jet smashed into the Pentagon and not only got away unharmed but was able to stand and deliver on a terrible event. Finishes up a long and brilliant career with accolades, taking his beloved to their dream home in the snowy majesty of Colorado to live out his life enjoying each other and the beauty of God’s creation.
And dies as the result of “limited slalom into arboreal obstacle.”
The expression, as I remember it, is “life is unfair”.
Death seems to be doing it’s best to live up to that platitude, as well.
So, then, for reasons that constitute TMI, my thoughts wandered over to some of the notable folks in life who have decided to cheat death of the thrill of victory by throwing down a little agony of defeat and choosing their own time, place and method of shuffling off the mortal coil.
There’s a fun website called Dead Or Alive that I have used from time to time for on air trivia contests, etc. I logged on and pulled a list of the “famous” who have stepped off the curb before the Reaper could make it up behind them to shove.
It turns out to be quite an interesting list.
Ernest Hemingway…the author of “For Whom The Bell Tolls’…answered his own question, obviously….
Clara Blandick…played “Auntie Em” in The Wizard Of Oz….I don’t think she’s in Kansas anymore, Toto
Sylvia Plath…the writer of “The Bell Jar” who came damn close to making suicide hip…
George Sanders…thirties and forties character actor, once married to Zsa Zsa….well, there you go….
Peter Duel….young star of soaps and a TV series in the seventies, shot himself….no way to win ratings…
Paul Williams…not the short, blond singer…the tall, black singer who was in The Temptations
Phil Ochs…the folk singer…someone’s jumping, Lord…kumbayah
Charles Boyer…romance film star of the thirties and forties…”come wiz me..to zee Casbah….in the sky”
Gig Young…actor, won an Oscar for “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They”?…yeah, and ourselves, too…
Donny Hathaway…pop singing star of the 70’s…dueted with Roberta Flack…soloed off the balcony…
Jon Hall…..fifties kid hero as star of “Ramar of the Jungle”….as in “life….it’s a jungle out there…”
Dave Garroway.. the original host of the Today Show….early to bed, early to rise…it can kill ya…..
Brenda Benet…soap opera actress, ex wife of actor Bill Bixby….real life soap opera stuff…
Walter Slezak…actor, the bad guy in the Hitchcock classic “Lifeboat”….never found one, looks like…
Danny Rapp…of “..and the Juniors” fame….you can rock it, you can roll it, you can buy the farm at the hop, hop,hop…
Richard Manuel…member of the sixties band, The Band….take a load off, Annie….take a load for free…
Pete Ham…leader of “Badfinger”…hung himself after a record deal went bad…not usually an effective bargaining technique
Elizabeth Hartman…young actress, starred in A Patch Of Blue…..way more than a patch, apparently
Abbie Hoffman,,,sixties radical leader….up against the wall…or pearly gates, as it were,…m***f*****…
Jay Stewart….announcer best known as the voice of Let’s Make A Deal…zonked himself….
Rusty Hamer…kid star of Make Room For Daddy….he wasn’t kidding…
Del Shannon….pop pioneer,,,the hits “Runaway” and “Keep Searchin”…decided to stop searchin…
Brad Davis…actor, “Midnight Express”…before AIDS could do him in….”oh….billy…..”
Herve’ Villechaize…”boss!…the pain!…the pain!……
Kurt Cobain…singer, married to Courtney Love….I could make a case for justifiable self homicide…
Ed Flanders…actor, “St Elsewhere”….hmmm…is that the patron saint of suicide, I wonder?
Hugh O Connor…son of Carroll O’Connor….had a drug problem…found a solution to a drug problem…
Ray Combs…one time host of “Family Feud”…..”survey SAYS!….enough!….”
Faron Young…country music star….well, hell, there had to be at least one country music star….
Brian Keith..actor, “Uncle Bill” on “Family Affair”…the little cutie pie grew up to kill herself too…a family affair.
Dana Plato…teen star of “Different Strokes”….took cancellation by inflicting cancellation….
Rick Jason…actor, starred in 60’s TV show, “Combat”…lived to 77 and said “don’t want to fight anymore..”
Hunter S. Thompson…author…inspiration for “Duke” in “Doonesbury”….life lost it’s comic potential…
Charles Rocket..one time co star on Saturday Night Live…fired for saying F*** on the air…showed them, didn’t he?
Mary Kay Bergman…did a lot of voices for “South Park”….until things went south….
Soeur Sourire…known in the 60’s as “The Singing Nun”…well, when a nun who sings wants to buy a ticket to ride, there’s really nothing more to add, is there?
There were a few more here and there names on the list. Sports figures, politicians, etc.
But the common thread, I finally began to notice ,is that all of these people were artists.
Talented, gifted, sensitive, at the least, obviously not just everyday folks.
You might wonder what they knew that we don’t.
Admit it, you think about it, too.
It’s only natural, the mysterious “they” would say.
Death is just a part of life.
Uh…yeah. The last part.
This morning, I read the news report that said John McWethey, the ABC reporter who used to cover the Pentagon and did an amazing job of covering the attack there on 9/11, had died at the age of 61.
He was skiing, zigged when he should have zagged, and hit a tree chest first.
The official report says he died of “blunt force trauma”
You gotta love official reports.
Years ago, when Dean Paul Martin, the pop singer son of Dean Martin, was killed in a plane crash while serving in the National Guard, the “official report” said, honest to God, that the death was the result of “limited flight into terrain”.
You think?
Anyway, what struck me about McWethy’s death wasn’t so much the tragedy of it.
After all, he was only 61 and he was skiing in Boulder, where he and his wife retired in the not too distant past to enjoy skiing.
And I sort of glossed right past the inevitable, but regrettable, possibilities for comparisons to Sonny Bono.
I got tree, babe.
What struck me was the irony.
Here’s a guy who worked as a national reporter for years, facing whatever hazards were inherent, was on site the day a passenger jet smashed into the Pentagon and not only got away unharmed but was able to stand and deliver on a terrible event. Finishes up a long and brilliant career with accolades, taking his beloved to their dream home in the snowy majesty of Colorado to live out his life enjoying each other and the beauty of God’s creation.
And dies as the result of “limited slalom into arboreal obstacle.”
The expression, as I remember it, is “life is unfair”.
Death seems to be doing it’s best to live up to that platitude, as well.
So, then, for reasons that constitute TMI, my thoughts wandered over to some of the notable folks in life who have decided to cheat death of the thrill of victory by throwing down a little agony of defeat and choosing their own time, place and method of shuffling off the mortal coil.
There’s a fun website called Dead Or Alive that I have used from time to time for on air trivia contests, etc. I logged on and pulled a list of the “famous” who have stepped off the curb before the Reaper could make it up behind them to shove.
It turns out to be quite an interesting list.
Ernest Hemingway…the author of “For Whom The Bell Tolls’…answered his own question, obviously….
Clara Blandick…played “Auntie Em” in The Wizard Of Oz….I don’t think she’s in Kansas anymore, Toto
Sylvia Plath…the writer of “The Bell Jar” who came damn close to making suicide hip…
George Sanders…thirties and forties character actor, once married to Zsa Zsa….well, there you go….
Peter Duel….young star of soaps and a TV series in the seventies, shot himself….no way to win ratings…
Paul Williams…not the short, blond singer…the tall, black singer who was in The Temptations
Phil Ochs…the folk singer…someone’s jumping, Lord…kumbayah
Charles Boyer…romance film star of the thirties and forties…”come wiz me..to zee Casbah….in the sky”
Gig Young…actor, won an Oscar for “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They”?…yeah, and ourselves, too…
Donny Hathaway…pop singing star of the 70’s…dueted with Roberta Flack…soloed off the balcony…
Jon Hall…..fifties kid hero as star of “Ramar of the Jungle”….as in “life….it’s a jungle out there…”
Dave Garroway.. the original host of the Today Show….early to bed, early to rise…it can kill ya…..
Brenda Benet…soap opera actress, ex wife of actor Bill Bixby….real life soap opera stuff…
Walter Slezak…actor, the bad guy in the Hitchcock classic “Lifeboat”….never found one, looks like…
Danny Rapp…of “..and the Juniors” fame….you can rock it, you can roll it, you can buy the farm at the hop, hop,hop…
Richard Manuel…member of the sixties band, The Band….take a load off, Annie….take a load for free…
Pete Ham…leader of “Badfinger”…hung himself after a record deal went bad…not usually an effective bargaining technique
Elizabeth Hartman…young actress, starred in A Patch Of Blue…..way more than a patch, apparently
Abbie Hoffman,,,sixties radical leader….up against the wall…or pearly gates, as it were,…m***f*****…
Jay Stewart….announcer best known as the voice of Let’s Make A Deal…zonked himself….
Rusty Hamer…kid star of Make Room For Daddy….he wasn’t kidding…
Del Shannon….pop pioneer,,,the hits “Runaway” and “Keep Searchin”…decided to stop searchin…
Brad Davis…actor, “Midnight Express”…before AIDS could do him in….”oh….billy…..”
Herve’ Villechaize…”boss!…the pain!…the pain!……
Kurt Cobain…singer, married to Courtney Love….I could make a case for justifiable self homicide…
Ed Flanders…actor, “St Elsewhere”….hmmm…is that the patron saint of suicide, I wonder?
Hugh O Connor…son of Carroll O’Connor….had a drug problem…found a solution to a drug problem…
Ray Combs…one time host of “Family Feud”…..”survey SAYS!….enough!….”
Faron Young…country music star….well, hell, there had to be at least one country music star….
Brian Keith..actor, “Uncle Bill” on “Family Affair”…the little cutie pie grew up to kill herself too…a family affair.
Dana Plato…teen star of “Different Strokes”….took cancellation by inflicting cancellation….
Rick Jason…actor, starred in 60’s TV show, “Combat”…lived to 77 and said “don’t want to fight anymore..”
Hunter S. Thompson…author…inspiration for “Duke” in “Doonesbury”….life lost it’s comic potential…
Charles Rocket..one time co star on Saturday Night Live…fired for saying F*** on the air…showed them, didn’t he?
Mary Kay Bergman…did a lot of voices for “South Park”….until things went south….
Soeur Sourire…known in the 60’s as “The Singing Nun”…well, when a nun who sings wants to buy a ticket to ride, there’s really nothing more to add, is there?
There were a few more here and there names on the list. Sports figures, politicians, etc.
But the common thread, I finally began to notice ,is that all of these people were artists.
Talented, gifted, sensitive, at the least, obviously not just everyday folks.
You might wonder what they knew that we don’t.
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