Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,830MI6 Agent
edited March 2023
Sad to hear of the death of Topol. Columbo was a great larger than life character in FYEO. The character was well adapted on-screen from the short story 'Risico'. Topol also featured in the last episode of Tales of the Unexpected ("Mr Know-All") in 1988, one of my favourite TV shows.
Lance Reddick, a familiar face from several TV shows like Lost and Fringe has passed away at only age 60. He’ll shortly be seen in John Wick 4 too, RIP.
Japanese proverb say, "Bird never make nest in bare tree".
A bitter pill for anyone who picked up today's Times to read a piece on the still-alive comic by Ben Macintyre who says he dropped off a book to him in hospital and that he very much still had his wits about him.
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,830MI6 Agent
Sad to hear of the death of Barry Humphries. I have a signed copy of Dame Edna's autobiography somewhere which I managed to pick up cheaply in a second hand bookshop. He had a great caustic and quick wit with his two characters and just as himself too.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot passed away yesterday. He was one of my Mum's favourites. An underrated songsmith with a good ear for a folk melody and a soft, yet incisive lyrical style. The seventies singer-songwriter era boosted his profile from national to international and he was one of the biggest selling artists of 1973-74. His songs got recorded by Elvis and La Streisand amongst others. RIP. If You could Read My Mind...
I was just about to post that, Chris, and am pleased to see he was known across the pond. He was literally an institution here, almost the sonic equivalent of a Group of Seven painting
I have three of his LPs and should really have more. He's got a great ear for a melody. I played the whole of Sundown really loud today and had a little cry. Very sad.
A decent obit in today's Times, yes I was going to post THAT song though I wasn't aware of his other works, I feel I ought to check them out. If You Could Read My Mind was a staple of British radio growing up, just one of those legendary songs like Bobby Goldsborogh's Summer (The First Time). The obit says Sinatra tried to cover it but couldn't quite nail it, to his frustration - I think he did struggle with prosaic lyrics sometimes, his cover of By the Time I Get To Phoenix has a bit of that.
Having only last night watched Secret Army in which Terrence Hardiman plays the disillusioned, war-weary Luftwaffe officer I was saddened to today hear of the actor's death.
That's a couple of SA actors gone in the last year - Clifford Rose who played Gestapo officer Ludwig Kessler and Ron Pember who played the Lifeline escape route transmitter.
Just heard that myself. Very sad news. I enjoyed Martin Amis's interview with Charlie Higson on BBC Radio 4 back in 2007 in Amis, Amis and Bond. I remember him saying he came up with some of the humorous names of the Bond girls in his father's The Book of Bond or Every Man His Own 007 (1965).
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Didn't Martin Amis leave a comment on one of your blog posts? Or did you decide that was someone pretending to be him?
Enjoyed The Rachel Papers when I was a teenager. Very funny and filthy, they don't write them like that now. He never had much luck having his books transferred to the screen however. I have missed his writing or interviews and columns of late without quite noticing the lack of them, if you know what I mean. He always added something to the debate though the way British politics is these days - and US politics for that matter - it almost defies intelligent high-end analysis. It's like the world has slightly given up on itself.
Yes, I think it was him anyway. He signed it Martin Amis. I suppose it could've been anyone but I guess we'll never know now. He made the comment on the very day the blog article went up. Here it is for anyone who's curious:
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
The way I remember, Goldeneye was only the second Bond title song (AVTAK being the first) in my lifetime that was considered really cool and made a significant impact on the general public. I'd say Tina Turner was an important factor in saving the movie series in the 1990's.
I'd forgotten: she's One Of Ours, and Goldeneye was a very credible new generation Bond toon that evoked the classic toons while sounding uptodate
I tend to prefer her earlier stuff, like Nutbush City Limits, more of a funk-rock sound
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,830MI6 Agent
Sad to hear of the death of Tuna Turner. She brought the Bond sound back with GoldenEye and had the stature and gravitas to make it work. Simply the Best.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Comments
Sad to hear of the death of Topol. Columbo was a great larger than life character in FYEO. The character was well adapted on-screen from the short story 'Risico'. Topol also featured in the last episode of Tales of the Unexpected ("Mr Know-All") in 1988, one of my favourite TV shows.
RIP Topol. Fun and engaging in FYEO. Also a quite brilliant screen and stage Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof.
RIP Topol--I can't think of a bad performance...
RIP Sir. Always fun to watch.
RIP Topol, superb in FYEO and Flash Gordon!
Lance Reddick, a familiar face from several TV shows like Lost and Fringe has passed away at only age 60. He’ll shortly be seen in John Wick 4 too, RIP.
RIP Barry Humphries, aka Dame Edna Everage, at 89.
A bitter pill for anyone who picked up today's Times to read a piece on the still-alive comic by Ben Macintyre who says he dropped off a book to him in hospital and that he very much still had his wits about him.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Sad to hear of the death of Barry Humphries. I have a signed copy of Dame Edna's autobiography somewhere which I managed to pick up cheaply in a second hand bookshop. He had a great caustic and quick wit with his two characters and just as himself too.
RIP the great Harry Belafonte.
Harry Belafonte: Singer and civil rights activist dies aged 96 - BBC News
RIP
sad to say he's on his way and wont be back for many a day
Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot passed away yesterday. He was one of my Mum's favourites. An underrated songsmith with a good ear for a folk melody and a soft, yet incisive lyrical style. The seventies singer-songwriter era boosted his profile from national to international and he was one of the biggest selling artists of 1973-74. His songs got recorded by Elvis and La Streisand amongst others. RIP. If You could Read My Mind...
https://youtu.be/DK--A-IaZnA
RIP Gordon Lightfoot
I was just about to post that, Chris, and am pleased to see he was known across the pond. He was literally an institution here, almost the sonic equivalent of a Group of Seven painting
I have three of his LPs and should really have more. He's got a great ear for a melody. I played the whole of Sundown really loud today and had a little cry. Very sad.
A decent obit in today's Times, yes I was going to post THAT song though I wasn't aware of his other works, I feel I ought to check them out. If You Could Read My Mind was a staple of British radio growing up, just one of those legendary songs like Bobby Goldsborogh's Summer (The First Time). The obit says Sinatra tried to cover it but couldn't quite nail it, to his frustration - I think he did struggle with prosaic lyrics sometimes, his cover of By the Time I Get To Phoenix has a bit of that.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Having only last night watched Secret Army in which Terrence Hardiman plays the disillusioned, war-weary Luftwaffe officer I was saddened to today hear of the actor's death.
That's a couple of SA actors gone in the last year - Clifford Rose who played Gestapo officer Ludwig Kessler and Ron Pember who played the Lifeline escape route transmitter.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Just heard that author Martin Amis has passed away aged 73, RIP.
Just heard that myself. Very sad news. I enjoyed Martin Amis's interview with Charlie Higson on BBC Radio 4 back in 2007 in Amis, Amis and Bond. I remember him saying he came up with some of the humorous names of the Bond girls in his father's The Book of Bond or Every Man His Own 007 (1965).
Jim Brown RIP
American football star turned actor. He was in Ice Station Zebra and 100 Rifles with recently departed Raquel Welch.
Didn't Martin Amis leave a comment on one of your blog posts? Or did you decide that was someone pretending to be him?
Enjoyed The Rachel Papers when I was a teenager. Very funny and filthy, they don't write them like that now. He never had much luck having his books transferred to the screen however. I have missed his writing or interviews and columns of late without quite noticing the lack of them, if you know what I mean. He always added something to the debate though the way British politics is these days - and US politics for that matter - it almost defies intelligent high-end analysis. It's like the world has slightly given up on itself.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Martin Amis and Jim Brown - two diverse people, both deserving of so much longer on this earth.
Yes, I think it was him anyway. He signed it Martin Amis. I suppose it could've been anyone but I guess we'll never know now. He made the comment on the very day the blog article went up. Here it is for anyone who's curious:
Yes 58 is far too young. I recall liking him as the Punisher in a movie he did some time ago, RIP.
I remember him from the exceptional TV series "Rome". Great performance. RIP.
Just heard Tina Turner has passed away aged 83, RIP, Goldeneye was a favourite!
RIP, Tina Turner.
The way I remember, Goldeneye was only the second Bond title song (AVTAK being the first) in my lifetime that was considered really cool and made a significant impact on the general public. I'd say Tina Turner was an important factor in saving the movie series in the 1990's.
I'd forgotten: she's One Of Ours, and Goldeneye was a very credible new generation Bond toon that evoked the classic toons while sounding uptodate
I tend to prefer her earlier stuff, like Nutbush City Limits, more of a funk-rock sound
Sad to hear of the death of Tuna Turner. She brought the Bond sound back with GoldenEye and had the stature and gravitas to make it work. Simply the Best.