A parade of passings

News has just come over the wires of the passing of wrestling icon Dusty Rhodes at the age of 69.

Rhodes (Virgil Runnels) was a 3-time NWA World champion, and won a number of other championships during the 70's and 80's. His time in WWE, however, was marked by a goofy gimmick that had him wearing a polka dot jersey and tights, which, when you think about it, was Vince McMahon's way of dissing Dusty, whose greatest fame came with the NWA. 2 of his sons, Dustin (Goldust) and Cody (Stardust), are currently with WWE. Expect some kind of tribute come Monday, since it would be a miracle for them to run a graphic prior to tonight's pre-recorded Smackdown.

Following is a promo Dusty cut on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling 30 years ago.....



And, from 1988, a commercial for Mello Yello soda.



Meanwhile, Hollywood and the world are mourning two gifted actors who have left us in recent days.

Ron Moody starred in the musical, "Oliver!", opposite Jack Wild, and turned down the lead role in Doctor Who, if you can believe it. He would land a short-lived sitcom for ABC, however, a number of years later, long forgotten to the point where it isn't available on YouTube.

Sir Christopher Lee may well be one of the last of the classic horror icons. Together with Peter Cushing, Lee put Hammer Films on the map with their adaptations of "Dracula", "Frankenstein", and "The Mummy". Lee would also co-star opposite Roger Moore in the James Bond adventure, "The Man With the Golden Gun", and acted in the "Star Wars" movies. Lee passed away Sunday at 93. Moody was 91.

We would be remiss if we didn't include a belated round of condolences for character actor Dick Bakalyan, who passed back in February. Bakalyan never top-lined his own show, but instead was a good hand in a number of films, including Disney's Medfield College series with Kurt Russell, which reunited Bakalyan with Cesar Romero, with whom he appeared in at least one episode of Batman in season 3. In fact, Bakalyan also stooged for other villains that same season, including the Penguin (Burgess Meredith).

Finally, courtesy of correspondent Uncle Sam Wilson, we've learned that jazz legend Ornette Coleman has passed away. More details later.

Rest in peace, gentlemen.