Tuesday, 30 December, 2003
The Death List 2003 - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER -- The death of someone famous or infamous always rates a spot on the evening newscast or the morning paper. Ones death signals no better a time as any to reflect on the accomplishments - good, bad or indifferent - of those who've made news in politics or government, show business or sport. As in any year, 2003 saw its share of lives lost. Each time, someone, somewhere took note, dusted off a prepared obituary and or mentioned it in the news of the day; someone remembered.
Each year in this space, to recount the year that was, I rattle off a list of those who've met their maker in the year that's been. It isn't a macabre exercise, rather one that notes those significant lives - for better or worse - who've passed these parts, whose like we shan't see again.
When it came to brutal individuals whose presence was probably not all that missed you can place the names Idi Amin and Uday and Qusay Hussein. Those three died this past year; the latter two going out in a bang, whilst their father, Saddam Hussein went into the arms of his American captors with a whimper.
Leni Riefensthal died well passed 100, this year. The German filmmaker, whose work glamorised the Nazi regime, was lauded for being a remarkable filmmaker, as well as derided for the images she chose to work with. Elia Kazan, an equally lauded filmmaker died in 2003. He too was widely criticised for what he did off-screen, namely his contribution to the black list during the McCarthy era.
Lester Maddox and Strom Thurmond died. The latter making news well after his death, with the emergence of a woman who came forward this past month saying that, yes, she a black woman, was the daughter of the former segregationist.
I noted Thurmond's death in this space with a column, as I did the deaths of David Brinkley, Gregory Peck, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Stanfield, Fred Rogers and Sir Denis Thatcher. Brinkley was a hero, whose brusque use of the English language made one realise that more could be said with as few words as possible, than with a lot.
Hepburn and Peck, two giants of the cinema, were both admired and well-honoured in their field, died in 2003 leaving many to ponder their immense legacy to film and acting. The death of Robert Stanfield, earlier this month left much pondering over his personal decency, and the politics of the last 30 years. Whilst the death of Fred Rogers left one to ponder his amazing and genuinely good influence on children's television. Of course, Sir Denis was the husband to the former British prime minister the Baroness Thatcher. Mrs. Thatcher's former nemesis, the Argentinean leader Leopoldo Galtieri also died.
Nixon era operative, implicated in the Watergate scandal, Ron Ziegler died, as did former New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Former Reagan staffer Donald Regan, who had an acrimonious relationship with Nancy Reagan died, as did former Senator Paul Simon. Former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson also died.
John Savage the former premier of Nova Scotia died; as did the Canadian author Carol Shields. In British Columbia we also lost former radio personality Monty McFarlane, and journalist Hubert Beyer. Former MLA Rosemary Brown also died; Brown being the first black female MLA in the Legislature in Victoria, and the first female to attempt a run at the leadership of a federal political party, the NDP. Former Socred cabinet minister Jack Kempf also died.
I've always thought of Helen Thomas as the trailblazer when it came to women journalists in the White House. Even Thomas notes that one Sarah McClendon blazed the trail before she did, who died this past January. NBC News journalist David Bloom died covering the war in Iraq, and Palestinian scholar Edward Said died in 2003.
Music lost an eclectic group of performers including Maurice Gibb, Nina Simone, June Carter Cash and her husband Johnny Cash, Benny Carter, Celia Cruz, Warren Zevon, Barry White, Robert Palmer, Bobby Hatfield, and Sam Philips.
Broadway lost the legendary cartoonist Al Hirschfeld who died at the age of 99, as well as Tony winners Lynne Thigpen, Michael Jeter, Nell Carter, Hume Cronyn, Dorothy Loudon, and Gregory Hines. Cronyn and Hines were also well known for other projects in film and television as well.
Bob Hope turned one hundred and soon after passed away; while Madame Chiang Kai-Shek was well past 100 when she died. Buddy Ebsen, late of The Beverly Hillbillies and Barnaby Jones died well into his 90s as well.
The erudite and urbane George Plimpton died, as did film hoofer Donald O'Connor. Actresses Hope Lange and Jeanne Crain died, as did comedian Buddy Hackett and film tough guy Charles Bronson. Fred Berry died, and The Price is Right announcer Rod Roddy passed away. Richard Crenna, Robert Stack, Wendy Hiller, Thora Hird, Gisele McKenzie, Gordon Jump, and John Ritter died this past year. Ritter, a favourite from Three's Company, died far too young. It is safe to assume that Ritter was one of the more underrated physical comedians in television, right there with Dick Van Dyke, and another great who died recently, recent Television Academy Hall of Fame inductee Art Carney. John Schlesinger, the director, passed away as well.
Willie Shoemaker, Althea Gibson, and Roger Neilson were among those lost from the world of sport. And business lost Laurence Tisch and Giovanni Agnelli. Notable animals that died include the cloned sheep Dolly, and Keiko, the whale from Free Willy.
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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .