A few old friends passing on

It's been a while since I've written an obituary, but we've got a few to cover.

I held my peace while everyone else paid tribute to Nelson Mandela, who passed away a week and a half ago at 95. What this man meant to South Africa, and to the world in general, is beyond words, and that's all that needs be said now.

Hollywood lost a couple of iconic performers over the weekend.

Peter O'Toole will be remembered mostly for "Lawrence of Arabia", or something along the lines of "My Favorite Year", which came out in the early 80's. O'Toole was 81. Tom Loughlin, meanwhile, is known for just one role----"Billy Jack". A series of films in the 70's presented Loughlin as a martial arts anti-hero, but there isn't much else on his resume.

Finally, it's come across the wires that country singer Ray Price has passed, a month shy of his 88th birthday. Price had a handful of #1 hits on the charts, including "For The Good Times" (1970) and "She's Got To Be a Saint". Price recorded "Release Me" more than a decade before it became a pop hit for Engelbert Humperdinck, and he'd also recorded songs written by fellow singers Roger Miller & Willie Nelson.

From The Johnny Cash Show, here's Price with "For The Good Times":



Rest in peace, gentlemen.