Death has been busy......

 Over the course of the last week, a number of stars have passed away.

The most recent passing was actress Susan Saint James, 80, best known for McMillan & Wife in the 70's with Rock Hudson & Nancy Walker, and Kate & Allie in the 80's, co-starring with Jane Curtin. Saint James was married to NBC executive Dick Ebersol up to her passing.

Trekkers are in mourning after the passing of Walter Koenig, 90, announced on Monday. Koenig joined the cast of Star Trek in season 2, and while he wasn't part of the reunion for the animated version that ran from 1973-5, he did contribute a script for the series, "The Survivor". A year later, he wrote the Land of The Lost  episode, "The Stranger".

Koenig got back into acting with the Trek movie series, then returned to the small screen on Babylon 5. His character was named after noted author Alfred Bester.

A week ago, country singer John Anderson passed at 71. Anderson's peak years on the country chart came in the 80's, when he hit #1 with 1983's "Swingin'". In 1992, he released "Seminole Wind", filmed in Florida.

Fans of the Looney Tunes franchise are also mourning the passing of voice actor & artist Eric Bauza, 46, who had been the primary voice of Bugs Bunny and other animated icons in recent years. It's likely that Jeff Bergman, who had shared the role at least, will step back into voicing Bugs and Daffy Duck for future projects. Just sayin'.

Rest in peace.

Spook Rock: Marie Laveau (1974)

 Bobby Bare hit #1 on the country charts in the US & Canada with 1974's "Marie Laveau".

Bobby performs live on Pop! Goes The Country, with host Ralph Emery encouraging audience participation.....

Bare is still going strong at 91. Turns out his lone #1 was a cover, as Dr. Hook recorded "Laveau" 2 years earlier!

Dunce Cap Award: Todd Blanche

 Todd Blanche's 1st mistake this week was admitting that he doesn't work for the American people. Instead, he maintains he works for president Trump, for whom he's been a personal attorney in the past. 

Then, proving again that he is an imbecile unfit to be Attorney General, Blanche filed suit on behalf of the Injustice Department to block certification of a US Senate race in Alaska.

Why? Because there are two candidates with the same name, and Blanche & Trump both think the voters will be confused.

On the left is Dan S. Sullivan, the incumbent. On the right is Dan J. Sullivan, one of the challengers. Both are Republican.

What Blanche & Trump won't admit, of course, is that they think Alaskan voters can't read.

Blanche is whining that Dan J. Sullivan was added to the ballot to "siphon" votes away from Dan S. Sullivan. Of course, there's no way Blanche can prove any of that. Democrat Mary Peltola, the other challenger, is currently leading the polls in advance of the November 3 election.

The suit has no merit or standing. It's nothing more than political grandstanding & whining from Washington.

Blanche, this week's Dunce Cap winner, added more fuel by embarrassing himself on national television twice today, appearing on CNN's State of The Union and CBS' Face The Nation. Blanche insists Trump is not meddling by filing the suit. Yes, he is, jackass, and so are you.

I've seen how the GOP's bumbling has cost them City Hall here at home, twice, in 2011 & 2019. Come November 3, the two Sullivans will cancel each other out, and it'll be the fault of the national GOP. The lawsuit will get tossed out of court, and there's every reason to think Blanche could be sanctioned for such frivolous foolishness. It's what he deserves.

Cinema Saturdays: The Devil Made Me Do It (The Snoop Sisters, 1974)

 We're a week away from Halloween, so let's warm up with The Snoop Sisters, as they infiltrate a Satanic cult in "The Devil Made Me Do It". Flip Wilson, for some reason, wasn't available, so producer Leonard Stern brought in Greg Morris (Mission: Impossible), plus George Maharis (ex-Route 66), Cyril Ritchard, and, in his acting debut, rock legend-to-be Alice Cooper.

2026 World Series preview

 There are nervous executives at Fox and Major League Baseball, worried about the ratings for this year's World Series even before Friday's first pitch.

Two "small market" teams, Tampa Bay and Milwaukee, two teams who have never won a World title before, will vie for the championship beginning Friday. For the Rays, it's their 3rd Series appearance in the last 13 years. For Milwaukee, it's even longer, 44 years, dating back to when the Brewers were in the American League, and took St. Louis, now a division rival, to 7 games before losing.

Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy has won NL Manager of The Year in his first two seasons as Brewers skipper, and hoping to make it three. The success of the Brew Crew has been building right up to this point. During this series, they'll see a former teammate in Freddy Peralta, who landed in Tampa at the trading deadline. Peralta won ALCS MVP honors after stifling Cleveland in 2 games.

Milwaukee, though, has a Cy Young candidate in Jacob Misiorowski, their 2nd year ace, and NLCS MVP Jake Bauers. They have a mix of vets and young stars like Christian Yelich & Jackson Chourio. They came from behind in every NLCS game vs. the Dodgers to knock the defending champions out.

Tampa Bay needed 6 games to vanquish the Guardians, after sweeping the Yankees out. By Friday, both teams will be well rested, Milwaukee more so than Tampa. That will make all the difference in the world.

Pick: Milwaukee in 7.

Of course, I could be wrong.

There are lines you can't cross. In Ohio, those lines have been crossed

 The race to succeed outgoing Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has fallen into the toxic mud pit of dirty pool.

Failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, endorsed by DeWine, is facing a stiffer than expected challenge from former state medical director Dr. Amy Acton. Ramaswamy has also been endorsed by president Trump, and we all know a Trump endorsement doesn't guarantee success.

So the other day, someone affiliated with Ramaswamy's campaign posted a campaign ad on social media featuring Dr. Acton's estranged mother, who has not spoken to her daughter in nearly 50 years, but went in front of a camera, and claimed Dr. Acton, like the president, is a liar.

Ramaswamy's campaign claims the mom isn't being compensated. If you believe that, well.......!

Republicans, including Governor DeWine, and Democrats alike have blasted the ad, which will be set to air on television locally in Ohio as part of a $4 million campaign. Unfortunately, Ohio native and current vice president, Just Dumb Vance, did a rally the other day, where he rebuked voters for "whining" about the ad. Keep in mind that two years ago, Trump & Vance were running a misinformation campaign in the Buckeye State, falsely claiming Haitian emigres were eating their neighbors' pets. So far, Ramaswamy has taken responsibility for the ad, but won't hand up the staffer who set it up.

The next 12 days will tell us a lot about the reality of Ohio voters. The only reason this ad was even produced in the first place is because Ramaswamy is trailing in current polling, and that makes the GOP nervous. When they resort to stunts like this, their desperation is showing out.

And, on November 3, Vivek will fail again.

Wild West/Weird Wednesdays: Witches Trail (Dusty's Trail, 1974)

 Sherwood Schwartz was obviously obsessed with reviving his 1964-7 sitcom, Gilligan's Island, such that in 1973, he transplanted his concept to the Old West with the syndicated Dusty's Trail, a one year flop.

The only other link was series star Bob Denver, three years removed from The Good Guys, who had the title role as Dusty, every bit the bumbler that Gilligan was. 

In "Witches Trail", Dusty and wagon master Callahan (Forrest Tucker, ex-F-Troop) befriend a young woman on the road, but when things start going screwy, there are suspicions that the lass is a witch.

Country singer Mel Street performed the theme song.

Tucker, of course, would run into more supernatural doings on Ghost Busters during the 1975-6 season.