R.I.P.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Dies

erisa — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:58:39 -0700

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. did not write horror, but with an edgy sense of humour and wicked wit, he was able to write about some of the horrors of society and in the process teach us a little about ourselves.

Vonnegut is most known for his classic Slaughterhouse-Five, a book he took from first-hand experience as a prisoner of war during the World War II bombings in Dresden; but every short story, play, essay, and novel written by this genius was truly a work of art.

His wife, Jill Krementz, reported his death. She said that he suffered irreversible brain injuries after he fell a couple of weeks ago and was hospitalized. He died during the night April 11, 2007.

Please read this wonderful article celebrating his life, written by the New York Times.

He will be sorely missed.

Robert Clark and Son Killed in Car Crash

skyhawk — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 16:33:42 -0700

Robert Clark and his son, Ariel Hanrath-Clark, were killed Wednesday when their car was struck head on by a drunk driver who had veered the wrong way into oncoming traffic.

Clark will be best remembered for his films "A Christmas Story," "Porky's," "Porky's II," "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things," "Murder by Decree," "Breaking Point" and "Black Christmas" among others.

The driver of the other vehicle was driving drunk, and without a license. He survived the crash and remains hospitalized. He will likely be booked for investigation of gross vehicular manslaughter.

Scott Schwartz, who played Flick in "A Christmas Story" and kept in touch with Clark, called Clark one of the "nicest, sweetest guys that you'd ever want to come in contact with."

"It's a tragic day for all of us who knew and loved Bob Clark," Schwartz said. "Bob was a fun-loving, jelly-roll kind of guy who will be sorely missed."

John P. Ryan dead at 70

erisa — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:13:20 -0700

John P. Ryan, character actor, appeared in over 69 productions for film and television, mostly playing villians and tough guys. However, in 1974, and again in 1978, Ryan went against his tough guy type to portray Frank Davies/Davis, the father of the monster baby in It's Alive and It Lives Again.