They say death comes in threes. We're just two days in the new year, and four famous people have already left us.
Comedian-writer Bob Einstein, most recently on Curb Your Enthusiasm, passed away at 76. Einstein is still better known for his bumbling, but well-meaning, stuntman, Super Dave Osborne, who headlined his own series on Showtime back in the day. Einstein also was a writer and performer on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in the 60's, usually appearing as Officer Judy.
Songwriter Norman Gimbel wrote the lyrics for a very large number of songs in movies & television. In the 70's alone, he was responsible, with Charles Fox, for the themes from Happy Days, Wonder Woman, & Laverne & Shirley. He also co-wrote Roberta Flack's #1 hit, "Killing Me Softly (With His Song)". Gimbel was 91.
Veteran wrestling personality Gene Okerlund, also 76, had started as an insurance salesman before being hired by AWA's Verne Gagne. Okerlund followed the likes of Jesse Ventura and Hulk Hogan to the then-World Wrestling Federation in the early 80's, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Okerlund also recorded a couple of novelty tracks, particularly covers of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" and Rick Derringer's "Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo", the latter of which can be found over at Saturday Morning Archives.
Finally, Daryl Dragon was the Captain of Captain & Tennille with then-wife Toni Tennille. The couple topped the charts with "Love Will Keep Us Together", "Do That to Me One More Time", and a cover of "Muskrat Love", which they performed on Tennille's short-lived talk show in 1980.
Daryl Dragon was also 76.
Rest in peace, gentlemen.
2 comments:
I hadn't heard about Daryl Dragon's passing! Sorry to hear.
More recently I'd read about Toni Tennille leaving him and telling various news reporters that her marriage was little more than a sham - -essentially an image booster since they seemed like such a loving couple and audiences love seeing lovers perform. There were also reports that Dragon was having not only health issues, but emotional and/or mental issues as well.
Definitely not the couple who sang about how love kept them together.
Toni, though, was at Daryl's side at the end, a shade more than four years after they'd divorced.
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