ESPN is reporting that Tony Gwynn has died of cancer. 54 years old .

Sad news. I was sitting near the on-deck circle at old Vet Stadium and saw his last at bat in Philly. He came on as a pinch hitter late and the crowd rose to its feet and cheeredwhen he stepped out of the dugout to go on deck, and he was crying.

He was one of the greatest hitters ever and a great guy for the sport.

JR or SR?

Jr. is still alive and playing for the Phillies whose postseason dreams aren't.

Mike weber used to be a center for pittsburg right. If I am right he was one of the few centers that went after Butkus knees after his injuries. He hated butkus.

Yes. Webster is dead now. He was braindamaged after 17 seasons starting as a center. He may have been the first player diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy after his career. He was living in his truck and train stations when he died, resisting help from family and friends. It was a similar condition to Junior Seau's.

You know I'm a Mets fan, Klyd. But I don't hate the Yankees. Well, I don't hate, hate them, anyway. And I'll usually root for them in the World Series, as long as they're not playing the Mets.

The one BIG exception to that was in '98 when they played the Padres. I REALLY wanted to see the Padres win one for Gwynn. But that wasn't going to happen because the '98 Yankees were one of the best teams I've ever seen .

That '98 Padre team was a good bunch of overachievers. I've gotten to know one of the players of that team a little bit - Andy Ashby.

But they were no match for the Yanks that year.

Horace Silver passed away.



Obit

Well, DE NIRO, TIS listened to you, flew out here, and beat me to a bloody pulp! ...everything should be updated now. Let me (or your Godmother) know if I missed any!

Gerry Conlon one of the Guilford Four who were wrongly convicted of a pub bombing, died today.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/hom...ce-9553797.html

Quite creepy that i was talking to Revis about Daniel Day-Lewis performance as him in In The Name of the Father, about an hour ago.

RIP

Eli Wallach died yesterday at age 98. He'll be remembered here on the GBB as Don Altobello in Part III.

I'll best remember him playing deliciously evil characters like the Mexican bandit in "The Magnificent Seven".

Most of us had picked him on our lists.

Oh, no! I thought he'd live on forever! RIP

RIP Tuco,

Now you can update the list Geoff..

Sorry just noticed you have..

I also remember he had a tv show no? A crime family?



TIS

^^^^

Wallach was a prolific character actor. He bordered on being a leading man, but he was a little too short and didn't have the "right" look for those roles when he was younger.

Great actor, though (even if he was miscast as Altobello ) .

If this works your going to dig it Eli Walkach in Baby Doll. He was great in this

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgGplOtNauw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

A number of years ago, my wife and I had the pleasure of seeing Eli Wallach and his wife Anne Jackson perform in a two-person theatrical presentation recalling scenes from famous plays they had appeared in years before. What an evening! This was true theatre, and, since the venue was so small and intimate, they even met with the audience and chatted briefly after the show. A night I'll always remember.

A fine actor, even if I do agree with PB about his being a trifle miscast in GF3. The remaining body of his work more than made up for it.

Very sad to see him go.


Signor V.

Agreed. I loved him. He's one of my ten favorite actors ever.

Re Altobello: Funny story that some GF fans may know:

Eli Wallach was originally cast as Maggio in "From Here to Eternity." Ava Gardner famously begged Harry Cohn to give the role to Sinatra, and he acquiesced (there was no horse's head in anyone's bed, although Ava probably had to, well, you know ).

Anyway, Wallach lost the role to Frank, but 35 years later when Frank wanted to play Altobello, Eli Wallach got the part. Call it karma .

I read the role was Sinatra's if he wanted it, but once informed he had to spend major time(months) on location, he passed. Also read he wasn't thrilled with the pay.

Former TN senator, Howard Baker, died yesterday or perhaps the day before. He was a very effective legislator, concerned more with getting things done than party politics, which likely didn't help him when he ran for president. He also was called to serve as Reagan's chief of staff to bring stability to the White House after the Iran-Contra scandal was revealed.

He was also crucial after Reagan's Supreme Court nominee, Robert Bork, was rejected by the Senate around 1987. Edwin Meese and Reagan were enraged and sought to find other nominees as extreme in their views. Douglas Ginsburg was nominated, but had to withdraw as a history of marijuana use was revealed. Baker, a pragmatic conservative, was responsible for persuading the Administration to nominate judge from the Ninth Circuit, Anthony Kennedy from California, who was a conservative who had no problem breezing through the confirmation process.

Baker was also thought of as a possible Supreme Court appointment, and he likely would have been very similar to to Anthony Kennedy.

Good notice Kly. It seems we are losing more and more of those who have shaped our lives and represent a way of life that is fading.

Bobby Womack dies at 70

Bobby Womack, the legendary soul singer whose career spanned seven decades, died Friday at age 70. A representative for Womack's label XL Recordings confirmed the singer has died to Rolling Stone, but said the cause of death was currently unknown.

The son of two musicians, Womack began his career as a member of Curtis Womack and the Womack Brothers with his siblings Curtis, Harry, Cecil and Friendly Jr. After Sam Cooke signed the group to his SAR Records in 1960, they released a handful of gospel singles before changing their name to the Valentinos and earning success with a more secular, soul- and pop-influenced sound. In 1964, one month after the Valentinos released their hit "It's All Over Now," the Rolling Stones put out their version, which went to Number One on the U.K. singles charts.

Three months after the death of Cooke in 1964, Womack married Cooke's widow, Barbara Campbell, and the Valentinos disbanded after the collapse of SAR Records. After leaving the group, Womack became a session musician, playing guitar on several albums, including Aretha Franklin's landmark Lady Soul, before releasing his debut album, Fly Me to the Moon, in 1968. A string of successful R&B albums would follow, including Understanding and Across 110th Street, both released in 1972, 1973's Facts of Life and 1974's Lookin for a Love Again....

"Across 110th Street" is one my favorite songs of all time. Good movie, too .

Teenie Hodges died
WOW. Well no one gets out alive. 68 is so young. Steve Cropper is just about the last of that crew left alive. He better watch his step.

RIP Bobby..

One of the best.

The song really takes me back. If you lived through the urban blight of the '70s here in New York, it really hits close to home.

And if you didn't mind the movie (Tarantino doing Blaxploitation), the intro to "Jackie Brown" is one of the best musical film introductions of recent memory. Because Pam Grier IS the '70s.

I don't remember the song. I saw the movie when it came out. I lived three blocks from there on the east side.