Grim Reaper Strikes Again

The last day of the year is Saturday. Till then, most of us have our fingers crossed that nobody else famous whom we grew up with, dies. Our childhood and teen idols all seem to be disappearing this year. Granted, some of them were old, such as Leonard Cohen and Zsa Zsa Gabor. They had reached the threshold of death after many years of life. Still others were taken by insidious illness, such as Alan Rickman or Muhammed Ali. But some were too young to die, especially for those of us who aren't so far away from the ages of some of those we have lost, like Sunday's death. George Michael was only 53. He came to fame when he was barely into his twenties, and most of us were still teenagers.

I found a list of notable deaths that is not complete, and is limited to either people well-known from the Anglo-Saxon world, or people from other origins whose fame has transcended borders. I mention those whose names bring back memories.

To begin, George Michael. How many haven't sung along with Wake me up before you go, go? Or been scandalized with I want your sex? 

Alan Thicke. He was the psychiatrist dad of a dysfunctional family in Growing Pains. I wonder what he personally thought of co-star Kirk Cameron becoming a "man of God"?

Zsa Zsa Gabor. Who doesn't remember seeing her and her sister, Eva, in old movies and TV shows, and hearing about her numerous marriages, which rivalled Elizabeth Taylor's? They were the "dahlings" of the papier couché of our early childhood.

John Glenn. Those my age and older revered him as a hero. Quite a few boys wanted to become astronauts, just like him.

Fidel Castro. The scourge of Latin America that the United States never knew just how to dethrone. Also, a fellow Galego, whose father came from the town in Lugo province of Láncara. Where they are talking of making his ancestral home a museum in his honor.

Florence Henderson. The Brady Bunch was the sitcom of all family sitcoms. How many people my age haven't been subjected to its eternal reruns? I think I knew her for little else. Except the orange juice commercials. 

Leonard Cohen. When I was growing up I didn't know who he was, but I listened to his songs. Now that I am old enough to appreciate him and his work, he has left, but he left behind beauty.

Robert Vaughn. Aside from reruns of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I also remember him from The A-Team. (No, I wasn't much of a discerning viewer when I was young.)

Janet Reno. The first woman to serve as Attorney-General, and a woman to admire. 

Gene Wilder. People my age and older have most likely seen at least one of his movies, such as Young Frankenstein, Stir Crazy, or The Woman in Red. Younger people most likely know him as one of the more famous memes on the internet. 

Imre Kertész. Somewhere in the house I have a copy of one of his books, which I bought after he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Possibly, it was so dark and disturbing, I haven't read it since. I should, because this world is dark and disturbing.

Alan Rickman. I will always remember him as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood. My daughter will remember him as Snape forever.

Muhammed Ali. I never liked boxing, but my father did. I remember boxing matches on television long before pay-per-view was even thought of. It was a corner of my earliest childhood.

Elie Wiesel. He was the conscience of a world that wished to forget. I still have some of his books, such as The Sunflower, or the chilling Night. 

Gary Marshall. Who doesn't remember television hits from the sixties, seventies and eighties, such as The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, or Mork and Mindy? This man created them.

Prince. Part of the soundtrack of our lives. 1999, Purple Rain, Raspberry Beret, and others will always take me back to an adolescence filled with self-doubt, yet rife with good music and a belief in having years before me. His years ran out this year, helped along with some good-feeling pills.

Morley Safer. 60 Minutes was a childhood and adolescence must-see. I was always interested in the news and current events, probably as a spin-off of my love for history. 

Johan Cruyff. I don't like soccer, yet it's difficult to escape it here. When I first arrived in Spain, he was the coach of the F.C. Barcelona, and he was mentioned everywhere, as the Barcelona won trophy after trophy. 

Nancy Reagan. She was the nicer face of the Reagan presidency, which I was in total disagreement with. 

Harper Lee. Her book was a touchstone for me. To Kill a Mockingbird embodies all that is good and bad in the American culture. She nailed it on the second try. Her first attempt, Go Set a Watchman, is but a pale shadow of the masterpiece.

Antonin Scalia. A man who should never have been on the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, his death, and the obfuscation of the Republicans, will probably bring a partisan terror to the high court.

Umberto Eco. A masterpiece of a writer and thinker, sometimes easier to understand, sometimes not.

Abe Vigoda. Barney Miller wouldn't have been the same without him.

David Bowie. As the world grew up and matured, leaving the "innocent," acid, hippie 60's behind, so did he. He grew up with his public, and always had something to say, and said it eloquently. 

Many other well-known people have died. Just the day before, the entire Red Army choir perished in an airplane accident over the Black Sea. La Veneno, a transsexual Spanish vedette come upon hard times, also died. So did Rita Barberà, ex-mayor of Valencia and under suspicion for fraud. And Bud Spencer, known for comedy western movies with Terrence Hill. Both were Italian actors who took on American pseudonyms, because an actor with an Italian name starring in a western just didn't sound right, however Italian the director might be, or European the setting. 

Please be kind, 2017.