Thursday, January 15, 2009

In Memoriam

Growing up, there were three huge cultural icons that still shape my world view. Back then they were less pop culture and more just cult, but here they are.

The Twilight Zone
Star Trek
The Prisoner

Rod Serling, the genius behind the Twilight Zone passed in 1977, which sucks. I can't begin to imagine what gems would have come to us had he lived a more reasonable amount of time.

Now....


Patrick McGoohan, star and creator of The Prisoner and Ricardo Montalban, famous for his portrayal of Khan on both the Star Trek series and the movie that revived the ST franchise, passed away on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

Though neither passing comes as a surprise, both men had been struggling with illness for awhile, I'm very sad.

Like all geeks I remember these men for their genre performances, but it drives me crazy when I see comments that focus exclusively on those credits.

McGoohan had a classical theater and major film background well before Danger Man, Secret Agent Man and The Prisoner. While his work on The Prisoner was pioneering, literally changing television for the better for generations, there was more to the man than The Village and Number 6.

Ricardo Montalban was the first major latino movie star in this country. A pioneer.

SO....here for your perusal are excellent and comprehensive biographies on these two great men.

Patrick McGoohan
Ricardo Montalban despite the infuriating headline

TCM's tribute to Montalban

IMDB for McGoohan
IMDB for Montalban

In Pace Requiescat

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