Celebrity Death Topic

Watching Trick ‘r Treat and saw Ron Popeil on it and searched about him since I hadn’t seen him on tv in ages and thought he must have passed years ago. Didn’t realize he passed away this year.



Strange legacy I guess. I remember the Super Bass-O-Matic sketch on SNL.


Also, for what it's worth:

  • The song is a tribute to father-and-son inventors and pitchmen Samuel and Ron Popeil. The elder Sam invented the Veg-O-Matic, and his son Ron became famous for helping to popularize the "infomercial" (a kind of long-form television commercial) to sell Ronco-branded gadgets like the Smokeless Ashtray, the Pocket Fisherman and the Showtime Rotisserie and Barbecue.
  • After learning that Ron Popeil's sister Lisa was a singer, Al hired her as a backing vocalist on this track; Lisa has gone on to sing on several of Al's other songs and even taught him how to improve his vocal technique.
  • The riff is mostly taken from Rock Lobster

 
Scott Bakula's statement on the passing of his good friend, mentor, and "Quantum Leap" co-star Dean Stockwell:

"*I met Dean at his audition for Quantum Leap in 1988. He had agreed to ‘read’ for the Network, I was already cast. We connected immediately and my career and my life were changed that day in Brandon Tartikoff’s office. How lucky were we to get him? A few months later he would be nominated for an Academy Award for his role in Married to the Mob, but he was stuck with us. Serendipity? All I know is, he never tried to get out or complain, he loved the role and the show and the rest was history.*

*He became a dear friend and a mentor and we grew very close over the next five, very intense years. Dean was such a passionate man…about life, his work, his art (he was an amazing artist!), his family, all kinds of causes, people, music, the planet, cigars, golf, and on and on! Having been a famous child actor, he had a soft spot for every young actor who came on our set. He was very protective of their rights and safety and always checked in with them to make sure that they were ok. His big hearted response to the kids made all of us take notice and be better guardians ourselves.*

*In spite of having a career that came and went several times during his seventy plus years in the business, he was always grateful and delighted to have the chance to keep working. The only time he ever complained was when we called him on the golf course and told him we were ready for him to come to work! He used to announce his presence on the sound stage (if we hadn’t already caught a whiff of cigar smoke trailing in behind him), with a bellowed, “The fun starts now!” Truer words were never spoken.*

*I loved him dearly and was honored to know him. He made me a better human being*…"
 
Bob Dole gone at 98! Damn.

That's a good long haul. RIP.

Time to watch some old Conan O'Brien.

Gotta love a guy that can laugh at himself.

 
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John Madden
Damn. I grew up on listening to that man during games we watched loved him and playing his named video games. I’m curious how much he was involved in those games over the last decade. I bet since maybe 2000 or so these teens that play those games now have no clue what the Madden means.

One funny story I remember is Frank Caliendo said Madden hated his impersonation lol.
 
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Damn. I grew up on listening to that man during games we watched loved him and playing his named video games. I’m curious how much he was involved in those games over the last decade. I bet since maybe 2000 or so these teens that play those games now have no clue what the Madden means.

One funny story I remember is Frank Caliendo said Madden hated his impersonation lol.

John Madden and Pat Summerall were my childhood announcers. They complemented each other perfectly IMO.
 
Of course some Twitter dick had to use Madden's death as an opportunity to blame him and his game for glamourizing concussion inducing hits.
I saw that, not sure if it's the same one but was it the woman talking about his video games? as if they had super hard hits anyway lol it's not like they named NFL Blitz after him.
 
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I remember that Madden guy from the Genesis games, trying to figure out the murky rules but growing tired of the constant pauses in the game so I switched over to NHL and switched off icing, offside and penalties instead lol
 
I remember that Madden guy from the Genesis games, trying to figure out the murky rules but growing tired of the constant pauses in the game so I switched over to NHL and switched off icing, offside and penalties instead lol
I would like to see a full contact golf game, including golf carts, where you can tackle/run over competing golfers as they try to hit their shots. You could have maybe 10 golfers tee off at the same time and you can't hit their ball, only yours, but you can pretty much do anything else.
 
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