TERRE HAUTE —
Every late December, as I comb through lists of notable deaths, I swear I will never repeat the process. It takes days of Internet research, mostly because I get distracted by looking up people about whom I know nothing. Wikipedia’s massive list is especially distracting (“Oct. 26 — Ricardo Montez, 87, Gibraltarian character actor”). But every year, I do the same thing.
This year’s roundup may be the most eclectic of all. We begin with the film industry.
Director Blake Edwards (Dec. 15, age 88) was lauded for his “Pink Panther” movies and other comedies, but two of his very serious films are my favorites: “Experiment in Terror” and “The Days of Wine and Roses.” Both were released in 1962, both were shot in San Francisco. The former was a police thriller and features one of the great cinematic chase scenes ever — through a sold-out, post-game Giants-Dodgers crowd at Candlestick Park. The latter may be the best film ever made about alcoholism. Heartbreaking and gritty, it holds up 48 years later and stars Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon, both of whom were nominated for Oscars.
Most people read about director Arthur Penn dying this year, but I salute his frequent film editor, Dede Allen (April 17 at 86), who did her magic on some major pictures, including Penn’s “Bonnie and Clyde” and “Serpico,” as well as “The Hustler,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Reds,” “Slaughterhouse Five” and “Breakfast Club,” among others.
A tip of the hat, too, to producer Dino De Laurentiis (Oct. 10 at 91), not just for films such as “The Shootist” or “Blue Velvet,” but for his early production of two Fellini masterworks, “La Strada,” and the great “Nights of Cabiria.”
In sports, baseball seemed to lose hundreds of human institutions, not least of whom was pitcher Bob Feller (Dec. 15 at 92). He spent his career (18 years) with Cleveland, threw three no-hitters (one on opening day), led the American League six seasons in wins and seven times in strikeouts. He set a modern record of 18 consecutive strikeouts (vs. Detroit, Oct. 2, 1938), never played a day in the minors, but signed for $1 and an autographed baseball.
Equally amazing in his field was George Blanda (Sept. 27 at 83), who played for a record 26 seasons, as both quarterback and kicker. He signed with the Bears in 1949 and went on to play for the Houston Oilers and Oakland Raiders with perhaps his most memorable season being his 21st. In his last game, at age 48, he kicked a 41-yard field goal in the Raiders’ loss to Pittsburgh.
Untouched among sports legends, however, was Indiana’s own John Wooden (June 2 at 99). He left Indiana State and Purdue universities richer, struck basketball gold at UCLA (10 NCAA championships in 12 years, 88 consecutive wins — still a record for men’s teams) and inspired hundreds of thousands with his character-building “Pyramid for Success.”
In non-classical music, jazz and soul were hit hard. Just a few of the extinguished lights:
Trombonist Buddy Morrow (Sept. 27 at 91), who led the Dorsey Orchestra until three days before he died and cemented his name in jazz band history with the sexy 1953 hit, “Night Train.” Mimi Perrin (Nov. 16 at 84) learned vocal harmonizing from the unique Blossom Dearie in 1950s France, worked with Dizzy, Quincy and Ray Charles, soloed on Coltrane’s “Naima,” then reinvented herself as a successful translator of fiction from English to French.
Saxman, bandleader, composer Sir John Dankworth (Feb. 2 at 82) left his partner in life and in jazz, Dame Cleo Laine, and millions of fans who followed the improvisational pair for nearly five decades. Guitarist Herb Ellis (March 28 at 88) enjoyed a long career and the distinction of being part of one of the most wonderful jazz trios in the world with Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown.
Composer George David Weiss (Aug. 23 at 89) created songs for Broadway, Tin Pan Alley and the movies, among them “Lullaby of Birdland” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You,” the Elvis hit that’s still the first-dance choice of many brides and grooms. Weiss also scored one of my all-time, guilty-secret, favorite films, “Gidget Goes to Rome.”
Bass guitarist Marvin Isley (June 6 at 56), who anchored the Isley Brothers’ immortal “Shout! (Part 1),” bowed out, along with Al Goodman (July 27 at 67) of Ray, Goodman and Brown. Think, “Love on a Two-Way Street” and the smooth, a cappella hit of the late 1970s, “Special Lady.”
Two incomparable photographers of jazz and rock musicians also passed in 2010. The priceless negatives of Herman Leonard (Aug. 14 at 87) survived Hurricane Katrina, preserving for us his 1940s, ’50s and ’60s portraits of Duke, Billie, Miles, et al. So, too, the X-ray vision of Jim Marshall (March 24 at 74) survived the photographer’s full-throttle lifestyle and will keep rock icons Janice, Jimi and Dylan ever-young and alive.
Classical music, especially opera, suffered some mighty losses — from conductor Sir Charles Mackerras (July 14 at 84) to composer Boris Tischenko (Dec. 9 at 71) to mezzo-soprano Blanche Thebom (March 23 at 94) to German tenor Peter Hofmann (Nov. 30 at 66). Italian baritone Giuseppe Taddei (June 2 at 93) debuted in 1936 and sang into the 1990s, racking up a discography of more than 60 operas. Mezzo-soprano and soprano Shirley Verrett (Nov. 5 at 79) sang memorable Carmens, Dalilas and Toscas and overcame the kind of 1960s racism that prompted the Houston Symphony to reject her as a soloist despite being the personal choice of conductor Leopold Stowkowski.
The largest opera star to disappear in 2010 was coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland (Oct. 10 at 83), dubbed “La Stupenda” by audiences after her 1960 debut in Venice, Italy. A big-boned gal from Australia, Sutherland and her conductor-husband, Richard Bonynge, brought into vogue again the singing style of bel canto and introduced to the world a singular young Italian tenor named Luciano Pavarotti. They simply do not make them like Sutherland anymore.
One last classical (and vocal) note to mark the passing of Polish composer Henryk Gorecki (Nov. 12 at 76), who created dozens of works, but none that resonated as deeply as his Third Symphony, “The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.” With sung libretto based on real texts from the 15th century, a Holocaust jail cell and a mother’s writings as she searched for her missing soldier-son, the Third Symphony has sold more than 1 million copies since its release in 1992, thanks in large part to the searing but tender voice of soprano Dawn Upshaw.
I always try to include a WW II flying ace (five or more in-air shoot-downs) in my annual salute, and this year it is Bud Mahurin (May 11 at 91). A P-47 pilot for the then-U.S. Air Forces, he was credited with 20.75 victories in Europe — where he was shot down, then rescued by the French resistance — and in the Pacific theater. The only U.S.A.F. pilot to do so, Mahurin also scored 3.5 kills from his F-86 during the Korean “conflict.” He was brought down there, too, taken as a prisoner of war, tortured and brainwashed and — like many such U.S. troops — made a false confession that would haunt him for the rest of his life. The local angle: Before he enlisted, Mahurin studied engineering at Purdue.
On the inspiring citizens front:
Wilma Mankiller (June 6 at 64) was the first woman to serve as Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Activist, teacher, wife, mother, she fought off everything from sexism to cancer — and her surname really was Mankiller.
Take architect Bruce Graham (March 6 at 84) out of the picture, and the Chicago skyline looks less commanding, minus the John Hancock Center and the former Sears (now Willis) Tower.
Newsman Edwin Newman (Aug. 13 at 91) went from print to radio to TV, classing up NBC’s coverage for 23 years and urging all of us to speak and write correctly in several books, including “Strictly Speaking: Will America Be the Death of English?”
Before Dr. Robert Neil Butler (July 4 at 83), U.S. society didn’t much know or care about its elderly’s quality of life. He coined “ageism,” and founded the National Institute on Aging, and won a Pulitzer with “Why Survive? Being Old in America.”
I close with a man Wikipedia pegs as a “humorist, historian, sports writer and author.” That would have pleased Ron Fimrite (April 30 at 79) to a fair degree. The closest thing I have to an ex-husband, Ron taught me more about good writing and reporting during his many years at Sports Illustrated than probably any journalist I have ever known. He also introduced me to his beloved San Francisco, which prompted me to move across the country and live there for 29 years — five of them with him.
Our friendship survived our breakup, and I was honored to be among the people who sat near his side during his last days. He was a melancholy poet hiding behind a bon vivant’s jovial smile. My life is immensely richer for having crossed his path.
Stephanie Salter can be reached at (812) 231-4229 or stephanie.salter@tribstar.com.
Stephanie Salter
Stephanie Salter: One person’s roundup of significant folks lost in 2010
- Stephanie Salter
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STEPHANIE SALTER: The more things change, the more they … change
What the late, great Pittsburgh Pirates slugger knew, so knew the ancient philosopher, Heraclitus, the Buddha and Andy Warhol.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Making room for the least among us — and their kin
Christmas. Quiet time. Down time. Not exactly the kind of day most folks tend to contemplate their fellow Americans behind bars. And yet, the United States leads the world in percentage of population in jail or prison, far ahead of second-place Russia. About 2.3 million people — nearly one in 100 adults — are incarcerated in this country.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Carols for the worn, weary and wigged out
For those who are agog and aglow with “the season” — you who start bouncing and humming in Toys R Us at the intro guitar notes of “Jingle Bell Rock” — better search elsewhere for a soul mate.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Times change. Things disappear. Toilet paper here to stay
You may have seen an email going around with “Nine Things That Will Disappear in Our Lifetime.”
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STEPHANIE SALTER: What I learned on election day
When I identified myself as a volunteer for the non-incumbent mayoral candidate, the woman on the other end of the line cut me off. “Save your breath, dear,” she said.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Of politics, protests, coupons and e-wishes
It’s roundup time again, that periodic hunting down and herding together of items that have but one thing in common: They grabbed me.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: ‘Understandable’ not the same as ‘wise’
Because I’m not running for office and don’t plan to, I figure I am free to publicly question the designation of some 30 stretches of city streets as “memorial ways” for police and firefighters killed on the job.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Where have all the protest songs gone?
A telling moment came during the annual Eugene V. Debs award banquet late last month, when the career protest singer and songwriter, Anne Feeney, implored a huge Hulman Center audience to join her for the refrain of “We Shall Not Be Moved.”
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STEPHANIE SALTER: It’s business as usual, but what does it cost to stay angry?
As painful and profoundly sad as the 10th anniversary of 9/11 has been, I found the actual day a balm.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: The unfortunate bottom line … St. Ann’s will close
Ever since word came down that St. Ann Church and Parish have less than a year to live, there’s been much invoking of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ five stages of grief.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: The Economy: One complex, thorny, bedeviling issue
No matter how much time and energy I spend trying to understand the Hydra we blithely call “The Economy,” I often worry that its mystery will forever elude me.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Thinking, now and then, about now and then
I am lying, poolside, in a plastic chaise lounge, listening to pop music and watching water droplets dry on my skin.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Thousands of things she would have missed
For several years, until she received an official information packet in the mail, my mother planned to donate her body to medical research.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Marriage? There’s an app for that ... but it’s tricky
As I watched all the happy people celebrating passage of New York’s same-sex marriage law, I couldn’t help but project to a time when Indiana adopts a similar statute.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Back in the saddle — with the usual burr under it
I really didn’t expect to be gone nearly six months, but then, that’s par for the course these days: What I expect to happen and what actually occurs are often about 180 degrees apart.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: On the other hand … we’ll have a lot fewer leaves to rake
Editor’s Note: Former Tribune-Star Assistant Editor Stephanie Salter’s column resumes today in freelance form and will appear on this page every other Sunday.
TERRE HAUTE — My neighbor, Andy, had just lowered the bamboo blinds on his front porch when we heard a mournful sound. -
Memorable victories
This was about as much fun as a doubleheader split could get for Rose-Hulman’s baseball team.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Another batch of my status-quo-defending misinformation on schools
The day after state schools chief Tony Bennett responded to my three-column education series, a longtime friend and veteran teacher called.
“I just read the superintendent’s rebuttal in the Tribune-Star,” my friend said. “All I can conclude from it is that you are a dumbass. Welcome to the club. Anybody who doesn’t buy into his vision of education reform is considered a dumbass.” -
Stephanie Salter: One person’s roundup of significant folks lost in 2010
Every late December, as I comb through lists of notable deaths, I swear I will never repeat the process. It takes days of Internet research, mostly because I get distracted by looking up people about whom I know nothing.
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Stephanie Salter: I've got some really good news for some of you guys
Of all the sentences I’ve imagined writing in my long, moss-covered newspaper career, this is not one of them: I am quitting my job to get married.
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Stephanie Salter: A little history of mandated intermingling among U.S. troops
Back in July 1948, when President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, predictions for its effect on the U.S. military were dire. Sen. Richard Brevard Russell Jr. of Georgia echoed the sentiments of millions of Americans in an address from the Senate floor.
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Stephanie Salter: Another wronged woman becomes the nation’s paper doll
A few hours after the death of Elizabeth Edwards last week, the creepy, contemporary American ritual of vicarious grieving began in cyberspace.
“You are with your son now. Rest in peace.” -
Stephanie Salter: You’ve heard from me — now, listen to the teachers
As e-mail from Indiana teachers and principals continues to pour into my box, the portrait of this beleaguered group grows more poignant each day.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Have you heard Indiana’s schools are failing? It’s a lie
In Gov. Mitch Daniels’ recent state budget PowerPoint, he put up a comparison chart: The percentage of Indiana public school students who’ve attained an advanced level of math achievement versus “the world.” Hoosiers lag behind the national average, trailing such states as Massachusetts, Oregon and New York, and such nations as Poland and Latvia.
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Stephanie Salter: Bashing teachers in the name of education reform
As I read the Tribune-Star’s recent Page 1 news packages about the governor’s push for education reform, I kept seeing faces.
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Stephanie Salter: After the turkey and before the pie, a round of giving thanks
As my colleague Alicia Morgan wrote last week, there is no downside to taking time out now and then to list and truly appreciate our blessings.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: A story of just one corporate lobby ‘investing in advocacy’
For those of you who know in your marrow that the president’s attempt to overhaul the U.S. health care system proves his socialist agenda, take the day off. What reporter Drew Armstrong of Bloomberg News shared this past week will be of no interest to you.
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Stephanie Salter: Inside today’s grab bag …: Stamps, bands and GOP $$$
It’s time for another roundup of items, little ideas that can’t grow big enough for a whole column, but just won’t go away from my field of focus.
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Stephanie Salter: Can’t make a decision? Consult strangers on the ’Net
A day after I heard screenwriter and director Nora Ephron talking on NPR about that moment in the aging process when you realize you are no longer cut out to be au courant, that moment arrived for me.
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Stephanie Salter: The years may pass, but a friend will always ride shotgun
I should have known there would be a first-aid kit. Susan provided for every contingency.
How like her to have tucked a 106-piece, American Medical Association-approved kit under the passenger seat of her Honda Accord. How like me not to have discovered it until I was deep cleaning the car to get it ready to sell. - More Stephanie Salter Headlines
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STEPHANIE SALTER: The more things change, the more they … change
Unusual Heat Wave Bakes Alaska
Raw: Massive Protests Fill Brazilian Streets
Raw: Volcano Erupts Near Mexico City
Fans Cheer Dramatic Heat Comeback
Hoffa Mystery Still Fascinates After 4 Decades
Tiger on Sergio: 'It's Time to Move On'
Raw: Arizona Wildfire Scorches 8 Square Miles
3 Charged in Ohio With Enslaving Mom, Daughter
Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park
Raw: Car Jumps Curb in NYC, Injures 8
Raw: NASCAR Driver Jason Leffler Dies in Wreck
Raw: German President Welcomes President Obama
Raw: 1 Dead in Shooting at Mo. Apartment Complex
Ex-NFL Star Chad Johnson Out of Jail
Raw: Obama Arrives in Berlin
Suicide Bombs Target Baghdad Mosque, Killing 29
Failed Cuba-to-Florida Swimmer Won't Try Again
Today in History June 19
Obama: Friction in Afghan Talks No Surprise
Obama: 'Lives Have Been Saved' by NSA Programs
Exclusive: Locklear & Seymour Lock Lips
Rihanna Hits Fan With Microphone During UK Concert
Obama Renews Call for Nuclear Reductions
Miami Heat Wins in Overtime
Fists, chairs fly in restaurant brawl
Journalist Michael Hastings Dies in Fiery Hollywood Crash
Hairy Leg Stockings Aim to Deflect Male Attention
Inside Kim Kardashian's Premature Labor
Three Charged for Enslaving Mother and Daughter
Spurs' Popovich has no problem with Spurs' intensity
RAW: NSA Director Says 50 Plots Foiled
Paige Butcher Scorches on Hawaii Beach
Video: worst way to load cargo onto a plane
Never-before-seen footage of '08 Times Square bomber
Obama: NSA Secret Data Gathering 'Transparent'
WATCH IT: Lil Wayne tramples American flag
Mariah Carey Looks Beautiful in a Tiny Cut-Out Swimsuit
Out of Control Boat Throws Passengers Overboard
