Category Archives: Diversions

You know her as Saffron Monsoon, the level-headed, stick-in-the-mud daughter from Absolutely Fabulous. You may have also recognize her as the voice of Ginger, the rebellious hen from Chicken Run. Julia is more well known on UK TV in general. For me, … Continue reading →

Many of you know him as the voice of Bender, the smoking-drinking-gambling robot character from Futurama. Your children know him as Schnitzel, the rock creature who only says “Rada rada rada,” on Chowder. Despite all the voiceover work he has done for … Continue reading →

His trademark deep voice and “In a world…” from numerous movie trailers had become as overplayed as “more cowbell!” at every concert; something equally annoying had to take over “Freebird!” The GEICO commercial he did was nice because it was … Continue reading →

Most of you around my age may recognize him as the man behind Bozo the Clown or more appropriately, the guy responsible for making the character into a brand (or a kit?). Those exposed to WGN during the Sixties through … Continue reading →

It was sad to have the day kick off with that announcement on NPR. George was scheduled to perform at the Paramount in the last year but he cancelled due to poor health. His death through heart failure wasn’t a … Continue reading →

Probably the hardest working guy in Action, Horror, B and Voiceovers these days. His Old Spice commercials will be legendary, pay special attention to the background when he’s speaking. The list of his appearances is enormous if you check Bruce … Continue reading →

There was barely any mention of this great guy’s passing in the mainstream media. I may have had the last couple days off from work, but I wasn’t in a vacuum that badly. Stan gave us so many creatures which … Continue reading →

These guys used to be my favorite team growing up in Illinois when I became a big fan of the NBA. They remained “my team” until I started working for the Milwaukee Sentinel and became more familiar with the Bucks. … Continue reading →

Originally he thought of himself as a dramatic actor until Mel Brooks recruited him for The Producers and it’s a good thing Mel’s instincts panned out. I can’t imagine Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein without Gene. He will always be … Continue reading →

The news broke last night but fatigue knocked me out too quickly to post anything. He made the headlines during the news breaks on NPR this morning to compensate. Death isn’t great yet it is nice to know Harvey made … Continue reading →

A famous Texan (born in San Antonio) and a funny one to boot. Carol Burnett was a fixture at home and Grandma’s house when I was growing up. Her variety hour on CBS was one of the few shows all … Continue reading →

First it was Molly Wringwald. Now it’s the other actor who John Hughes made a star. I think his career fared better than hers in the long run since he was the lead in an ongoing series on USA but … Continue reading →

When the Duke was still alive, he said James was his favorite actor on the scene. Too bad his resume and charisma weren’t enough to get a string of movies shown on TCM this year. Today is the 75th anniversary … Continue reading →

I suppose the Right will claim his leadership of the NRA was a success since the world wasn’t taken over by apes, just the other kind of monkey business in the White House. Good thing he never held a real … Continue reading →