TV Icons Are Dropping Like Flies, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!

                   
                                       Girls, I am telling you, the Baby Boomer Generation right now is getting a good dose of its encroaching mortality. First, we lose Don Grady, aka Robbie of "My Three Sons."  Then, barely a week ago, we lost Andy Griffith, who made Mayberry, North Carolina the epitome of small town idealism.  And now, Ernest Borgnine--granted, he was 95!!!--has passed away, but I am telling you, too many TV icons at one time.

                                        I still have never seen Andy Griffith's breakthrough performance in "A Face In The Crowd," considered the forerunner of  later media-oriented films, like "Nashville" and "Network." Hopefully, the Film Forum will show it for a week as a tribute.  But I just loved him as Sheriff Andy Taylor, with a bevy of supporting players the like of which could never be assembled again--Ronnie Howard (as son Opie!!!!!!), Frances Bavier (as Aunt Bee, whom we all just adored, darlings!!!!!!  even  though we knew she was at heart a big, old officious prig!!!!!!), Don Knotts as Deputy Barney Fife, Aneta Corseaut (who was in the original 1958 classic, "The Blob," with Steve McQueen!!!!!) as sometime girlfriend, but all-around Southern spinster, Helen Crump, and Hope Summers, (unforgettable as one of the witches in "Rosemary's Baby") as Aunt Bee's friend, Clara!!!!!!!!!!  Plus Elinor Donahue and Arlene Golonka, who are still alive!!!!!!!!! Elinor did a stint, after Aneta, as Andy's sometime girlfriend, and Arlene Golonka made occasional appearances as town baker,  Millie, a role which was expanded when "The Andy Griffith Show" was spun off into "Mayberry, RFD," with Ken Berry.  And Ron Howard's squinty eyed brother, Clint!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      Andy Griffith could have rested on his Sheriff Taylor laurels; he would not be the first one to do so.  But he did not. Instead, he went on to immortalize another law enforcer, a private eye named "Matlock," who was not unlike Andy Taylor, except maybe a notch or two up in intelligence and sophistication.

                                         It was tough losing Andy Griffith. As it unraveled a trail of memories.

                                        Then--Ernest Borgnine passes away!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         Granted, he was 95!!!!!!!!!!  The first thing I asked, when I heard, was, did any obits mention his extremely brief (two weeks!!!!!!!) marriage to Ethel Merman?  In her autobiography, "I Got Rhythm," Ethel has a page with a chapter heading, entitled--"My Marriage To Ernest Borgnine."  The rest of the page is blank, you turn it, and go on to the next chapter!!!!!!!  Cute, huh????????  Guess that was all Ethel wanted to say!!!!!!!!! Or she may have had too much class to say any more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            Now, for most Baby Boomers, the name Ernest Borgnine will mean one thing--the title role in the 60's sitcom, "McHale's Navy" (featuring Tim Conway!!!!!). But for me, he will be remembered for three spectacular film performances given throughout a lengthy career.

                                               The role of the abusive stockade supervisor, "Fatso," who beats Frank Sinatra, as Maggio, to death, in the film version of James Jones' "From Here To Eternity," in 1953.

                                                 His Oscar winning performance in the title role in 1955's "Marty," still considered the "smallest" picture to win a Best Picture Oscar.

                                                  His brilliantly nasty turn as Al Martin, the Evil Boss Of Everyone's Nightmares, in 1971's "Willard."   His hatefulness was so palpable, you felt it emanating out from the screen.  And when Willard (Bruce Davison) confronts Martin, with his pet rats, and orders them to "Tear him up!", I don't think there was a viewer at the time who did not applaud!!!!!  And you have to hand it to Borgnine for doing this scene.  Today, it would all be digitalized--and not as good!!!!!!!  Back then, he had actual rats, crawling all over him.  The rats were specially trained, as were the birds for Hitchcock, but when they crawled over him, peanut butter was fastened on to his body. So, when you see him screaming and carrying on with the rats on him, in a completely convincing moment, what the rats are actually doing is simply licking the peanut butter off him.

                                                     Wonder if it was Skippy Creamy, or Jiff????????

                                                   But two icons in the span of a week!!!!!!!!! How much more does my generation need to remind us we are getting old????????  Aren't the occasional aches and pains, and reaching for meds, enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                    Nevertheless, Rest In Peace, Messrs. Griffith and Borgnine!
Your like will not be seen again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!