DEATHS ; Notable Passings; The Thread to Pay Last Respects

[Trenchfriend]

Colin Vearncombe

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Abe Vigoda

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Barney Miller" was one of the best television programs of the seventies, and is unjustly forgotten today. Vigoda was a huge part of that, and it's astounding to me to realize that he wasn't much older then than I am now. Oooweee.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

And that he was my age when he played Tessio in The Godfather.

 

[Fading Fast]

"Barney Miller" was one of the best television programs of the seventies, and is unjustly forgotten today. Vigoda was a huge part of that, and it's astounding to me to realize that he wasn't much older then than I am now. Oooweee.

I agree with both thoughts - higher quality show than most in the '70s and he was 53 when that show started, I'm 51. I can't find a more delicate way to put this: please put a bullet through my head if I look as old as he did in 2 years.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I agree with both thoughts - higher quality show than most in the '70s and he was 53 when that show started, I'm 51. I can't find a more delicate way to put this: please put a bullet through my head if I look as old as he did in 2 years.

I too was astonished to figure out that he was in his 50s back in the Barney Miller days. Not that his shtick ever appealed to me; his Fish never seemed to be that funny or intriguing a character, and even less so in the spinoff named for the character. Vigoda did deadpan well, however.

Barney Miller still shows up on the nostalgia channels; I watched an episode the other day. My former aunt-in-law was a city cop who referred sarcastically to the reigning "realistic" cop show of the '80s, Hill Street Blues, as "my training film." But she said Barney Miller depicted the real day-to-day lives of cops in a precinct house more closely than most of the cop dramas of the time.

As part of that ensemble, Vigoda was great. Having him be the focus of a lot of the gags didn't work so well, though that's just me.

 

[Fading Fast]

I too was astonished to figure out that he was in his 50s back in the Barney Miller days. Not that his shtick ever appealed to me; his Fish never seemed to be that funny or intriguing a character, and even less so in the spinoff named for the character. Vigoda did deadpan well, however.

Barney Miller still shows up on the nostalgia channels; I watched an episode the other day. My former aunt-in-law was a city cop who referred sarcastically to the reigning "realistic" cop show of the '80s, Hill Street Blues, as "my training film." But she said Barney Miller depicted the real day-to-day lives of cops in a precinct house more closely than most of the cop dramas of the time.

As part of that ensemble, Vigoda was great. Having him be the focus of a lot of the gags didn't work so well, though that's just me.

Like a lot of character actor or supporting actors in sitcoms, he was fine as a small part of the show - his deadpan played well off the more expressive characters and he represented (to me) a weariness that many of his generation felt in the '70s after all that society had and was still going through - but there just wasn't enough there to carry a full show.

I remember Henry Winkler ("Fonzie") once said in an interview that he turned down the offer to have "Fonzie" spun off into his own show as he believed "Fonzie" was better as a smaller part of an ensemble because, as the sole star, his character would lose its appeal (I'm paraphrasing from a distant memory). Kudos to Winkler for understanding that when, I'd bet, he was getting a lot of pressure to "capitalize" on Fonzie's popularity.

 

[Zombie_61]

"Barney Miller" was one of the best television programs of the seventies, and is unjustly forgotten today...

Whenever I think of Barney Miller, two things stand out that, for me, put it above most sitcoms of the era.

First was the actors' ability to work with the live studio audience. On other shows, particularly Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley, it was obvious that the actors were pandering to the audience regularly--over-performing just to get more laughs. The cast of Barney Miller resisted that temptation, and it shows. At some point during the production they discontinued the live audience participation and used "canned" laughter instead and, as best I can remember, no one could tell the difference.

Second was the way they dealt with the death of actor Jack Soo. While most television shows carry on as if the real world doesn't exist when an actor is replaced for whatever reason, Barney Miller demolished the "fourth wall" by producing an episode with the actors, as themselves, on the set honoring and reminiscing about Mr. Soo. It was an unabashed acknowledgement that it was indeed only a television show, and that other things in life are more important. I don't know if this was the first time this was done in television history, but it was the first time I'd seen it done and I thought it was a classy, respectful, and honest thing to do.

 

[MisterCairo]

I was just a kid, but we could watch certain "grown up" shows, and my two favourites were Barney Miller and The Rockford Files.

 

[LizzieMaine]

That was the thing that really appealed to me about the show -- it was like watching a stage play in the way it was blocked, in the way the actors reacted to each other, and in the style of the writing, which always emphasized characterization over cheap jokes. It really was a throwback to the kind of stuff that came out of the live-TV era of the early fifties.

I've also heard it described as the most authentically New York television show ever broadcast -- that grimy, smelly, sleazy 70s Abe Beame New York in all its glory. No idealization or romanticization at all -- and yet it was also consistently funny. I still quote lines from it today. "I was young once, and I wasn't any good at it."

 

[ChiTownScion]

I can remember many cop friends back in the 70's remarking tat the only TV police show that they watched was Barney Miller. They had enough "realism" on the streets: what they wanted when it was time to relax was intelligent but good natured humor.

 

[Stearmen]

I agree with both thoughts - higher quality show than most in the '70s and he was 53 when that show started, I'm 51. I can't find a more delicate way to put this: please put a bullet through my head if I look as old as he did in 2 years.

What are you complaining about, I'm older then he was! Maybe I will go look in the mirror, on second thought, maybe I wont!

 

[Doctor Strange]

Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane and Starship. Boy, it's already been a terrible year for great sixties/seventies musicians!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/arts/music/paul-kantner-of-jefferson-airplane-dies-at-74.html

 

[HudsonHawk]

Barney Miller still shows up on the nostalgia channels; I watched an episode the other day. My former aunt-in-law was a city cop who referred sarcastically to the reigning "realistic" cop show of the '80s, Hill Street Blues, as "my training film." But she said Barney Miller depicted the real day-to-day lives of cops in a precinct house more closely than most of the cop dramas of the time.

I've had more than one cop tell me that the most realistic cop show ever was Barney Miller. A good friend who is a homicide detective swore that it was true. The least realistic he said? CSI.

 

[MisterCairo]

I am a huge Jefferson Airplane fan (Starship, NOT SO MUCH!). This is sad, and not an old age by today's standards.

Perhaps the "lifestyle" of the sixties played a role. A shame notwithstanding...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/kantner-jefferson-airplane-obit-1.3424908

 

[Trenchfriend]

Regisseur Jacques Rivette is gone.

 

[Giftmacher]

Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane and Starship. Boy, it's already been a terrible year for great sixties/seventies musicians!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/arts/music/paul-kantner-of-jefferson-airplane-dies-at-74.html

Follow the White Rabbit in Peace.

 

[FATS88]

I was just a kid, but we could watch certain "grown up" shows, and my two favourites were Barney Miller and The Rockford Files.

"Barney MIller" and "Bob Newhart" were way over my head as a kid,
but I never missed the opportunity to listen to the opening theme songs of both...then, I would change the channel.

 

[Frunobulax]

I am a huge Jefferson Airplane fan (Starship, NOT SO MUCH!). This is sad, and not an old age by today's standards.

Perhaps the "lifestyle" of the sixties played a role. A shame notwithstanding...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/kantner-jefferson-airplane-obit-1.3424908

Perhaps. But it was his heart. He suffered a stroke aboyut 20-25 years ago, so I wasn't surprised this was the way he went.

Follow the White Rabbit in Peace.

It will make seeing Acoustic Tuna all the more bittersweet this April. I only ever saw the Mickey Thomas/Craig Chaquico version of Starship - never saw the Airplane. But for you, Anthony - Aynsley Dunbar was drumming the night I saw them. Also saw him drum for Journey. Incredible skin man.

 

[foamy]

I am a huge Jefferson Airplane fan (Starship, NOT SO MUCH!).

Dragonfly was pretty good. By Red Octopus, they were commercial pop.

If you've never listened to Baron Von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun, you're cheating yourself out of a tremendous pleasure. One of my essential albums.

Jefferson Airplane was one of just a few of my all-time favorites. I'll listen to 30 Seconds over Winterland tonight on the way home. None of the recent deaths have saddened me like this one.