Most recent is the passing of Richard Matheson. One of the doyens of late 20th Century science fiction, Matheson amassed an extraordinary body of work. His post-apocalyptic novel I Am Legend (1954) has been filmed three times (none an all-time classic, but it's the thought that counts). He also contributed several memorable scripts to The Twilight Zone (most notably Terror at 20,000 Feet), and wrote screenplays for movies The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), The Raven (1963), The Devil Rides Out (1968) and Duel (1971), among others.
This comes just a few days after James Gandolfini's shocking passing. Gandolfini was just 51 when he died of a heart attack last Wednesday. This remarkable actor will always be associated with Tony Soprano - not unjustly, as most consider The Sopranos one of television's greatest achievements. Lest we forget, Gandolfini had a memorable film career: True Romance, Get Shorty, The Mexican, Zero Dark Thirty. Notably, Gandolfini cited his portrayal of Al Love in A Civil Action (1998) as a personal favorite, and helped spread awareness of PTSD through the documentary Wartorn. Off-screen he always gave the impression of a friendly, humble guy a world removed from his gruff screen persona.
It's not all doom and gloom, though. Groggy's friends at Moviepilot accepted his pitch to write a column on classic movies. That won't effect this blog much, though - my schedule remains as erratic and eclectic as ever!
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