R.I.P., Bob Hoskins

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I really intended to write earlier about the death of English actor Bob Hoskins this week, but it's been a busy week for me.

Better late than never, I suppose.

Folks have their own memories of him, and mostly they center on his movie work, I guess. That's understandable. He probably reached more people through his appearances in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Hook" than in just about anything else he ever did.

And I don't want to take anything away from that.

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But he also reached a lot of people through the medium of television.

Most of his early TV work was in England, but, in the last 15 years or so of his life, he was increasingly a familiar presence on American TV.

He was on Saturday Night Live in 1998 — and, in February 2003, he was a guest star on Frasier, in an episode called "Trophy Girlfriend."

And that is how I remember Bob Hoskins.

It's one of my favorite episodes. Niles had teamed up with someone else in the squash club's annual tournament, so Frasier accepted an invitation to play mixed doubles with a girls P.E. teacher (Jeanne Tripplehorn). Frasier and his partner hit it off, but her job brought back painful memories of an abusive coach from his childhood — and every time he saw her at work, he saw that coach.

Hoskins played the coach.

It got so bad that Frasier saw the coach whenever he saw his girlfriend outside of the P.E. setting as well. My favorite scene was when he was meeting her at Cafe Nervosa. In walked Hoskins, but only Frasier (and the audience) saw him. His father and brother saw Tripplehorn and made comments. Niles raved about her beauty, and Martin cautioned his sons to watch their language because "[t]here's a lady present."

Nope, that was no lady.

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Hoskins did most of his TV work in England so I haven't seen most of it, but I've read that he treated his TV work with the same respect he showed to his film work.

That doesn't surprise me. It's consistent with the kind of man I have always thought him to be.

Because of his Parkinson's diagnosis a few years ago, he was retired from acting so his death won't deprive anyone of his performances.

But, sadly, we are deprived of his presence. Rest in peace.

George Reeves' 100th Birthday

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"Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!"

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George Reeves, who was probably best known as TV's Superman, was born on this day 100 years ago.

The first glimpse that most people got of him was 75 years ago in "Gone With the Wind." He was one of the Tarleton twins seen early in the movie flirting with Scarlett.

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Before he landed his career–defining role as Superman, Reeves appeared in several B movies, co–starring in a few with Ronald Reagan and James Cagney. The Superman role led to some other movie roles as well. In general, I guess you could say the '50s were good years for Reeves.

At least, until the last one.

In the early morning hours of June 16, 1959, Reeves died of a gunshot wound to his head. Initially believed to be a suicide, many people refused to accept that Reeves would take his own life; thus, the truth about Reeves' death remains shrouded in mystery more than half a century later.

Coincidentally, one of Reeves' last remaining co–stars from "Gone With the Wind," Alicia Rhett, died yesterday at the age of 98 in Charleston, S.C. Rhett played India Wilkes, the sister of Scarlett's love interest, Ashley Wilkes.

The 75th anniversary of the release of "Gone With the Wind" is coming up later this year.

If your only exposure to Reeves has been in his role as Superman or even "Gone With the Wind," you might want to look at Turner Classic Movies today. Four of his pre–Superman movies will be shown, starting at 9 a.m. (Central).

Peter Falk Dies

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It was ironic that I made the observation this week that yesterday was the 35th anniversary of the theatrical release of "Murder By Death."

Ironic because one of the stars of that movie, Peter Falk, died yesterday.

Many of his co–stars in that movie — Peter Sellers, Alec Guinness, David Niven, Elsa Lanchester, Truman Capote, Nancy Walker, James Coco, Estelle Winwood — have been gone for years so it is hardly a new experience to lose a member of that cast.

Nor is it surprising to lose someone who is in his 80s.

Nevertheless, I am saddened — mostly at the loss of another piece of my youth.

I imagine a lot of people feel that way.

I wouldn't say that Columbo — without a doubt Falk's signature TV series and role — was my favorite show, but it was one of my father's favorites, and I often watched it with him.

And I'm sure that anyone who ever watched the show would instantly recognize his trademark phrase ... "Sorry to bother you, but just one more thing ..."

He's been out of the spotlight (I almost said "public eye," which, given the fact that one of his eyes was removed when he was small and replaced with a fake eye that gave him his distinctive squint, would have been something of a gaffe, I suppose) for several years. It was revealed four years ago that he suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Rest in peace, Columbo.

Death of a Character Actor

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You might not recognize the name of Maury Chaykin.

Well, you might — if you happen to be a fan of A&E's production of the Nero Wolfe mysteries. Chaykin was a supporting actor through most of his career, but Nero Wolfe was one of his few leading roles and, arguably, gave him his greatest professional exposure.

However, I think Chaykin, who died yesterday on his 61st birthday, may be remembered by more people for his performances in the smaller roles he played throughout his life.

He had a recognizable face, the kind of face that makes one instantly think it has been seen before even if you can't quite place it. Chaykin's face had an almost cartoonish quality, deceptive in the sense that it makes one associate him with comedy.

And Chaykin did appear in his share of comedies — including what I have always regarded as one of his most memorable roles, the witness in "My Cousin Vinny" who asserts that "No self–respectin' Southerner uses instant grits."

But to dismiss Chaykin as strictly a comedic actor would do his memory a disservice, for Chaykin — in addition to 20 episodes as the detective — often appeared in dramatic films and TV series.

For that matter, Chaykin's performance in "Vinny" gave folks an in–depth glimpse into his skills as an actor, even if they didn't realize it at the time. He was born in Brooklyn to an American father and a Canadian mother. He was raised in New York, then moved to Toronto where he lived until his death.

Needless to say, a Southern accent did not come naturally to him.

But, speaking as someone who grew up in the South and considers himself pretty adept at spotting a faux Southern accent (Hillary Clinton, who was raised in Chicago, was, after all, the first lady of my native state), I must say that I found Chaykin's accent to be convincing.

He was a capable actor, believable in everything I ever saw him in.

Happy Birthday, Sir Anthony

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It's been kind of a dreary, rainy New Year's Eve here in Dallas, and I have been looking out my window, thinking about the past.

My only sibling — my younger brother — will celebrate his birthday on Saturday. And I have been thinking about when we were children, and I took a certain amount of pleasure from making sure the adults knew I was the older of the two.

At some point, I guess, older siblings discover that being older is not an advantage after all. And, I wonder, when exactly does that happen?

Well, I don't know if Sir Anthony Hopkins has any siblings. But, if he does — and if any of those siblings are younger than he is — I doubt if Sir Anthony ever reached the point where he felt he didn't enjoy the advantage. And he's 72 today.

I guess, if you took a poll asking people to name Hopkins' most memorable role, it would be Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs." You might get some support for James Stevens in "The Remains of the Day" or Adolf Hitler in "The Bunker" or John Quincy Adams in "Amistad."

But, personally, I have always been fond of his performance as Richard Nixon in Oliver Stone's "Nixon."

I grew up during the Nixon years. I remember him very well. And I can tell you — beyond even the hint of a doubt — that Anthony Hopkins did not look like Nixon. And he didn't sound like him, either.

But he captured the essence of Nixon's introverted, paranoid personality. He was Richard Nixon, even though he neither looked nor sounded like him. For that, he was nominated for an Oscar. He lost, but that is beside the point.

That is the true test of Hopkins' skill. And it is the best reason I can think of why many people think he is the greatest living actor.

A Hero's Birthday

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"I believe we need heroes. I believe we need certain people who we can measure our own shortcomings by."

Richard Attenborough

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Today is Richard Attenborough's 86th birthday.

I'm not sure what modern viewers think of when they hear his name. Many may only know him as a film director, and he certainly has made his mark in that area. He won an Oscar as the director of one of my favorite films, "Gandhi," and he directed many other films as well.

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Others may think of him as an actor, and he has had a distinguished career in front of the camera as well.

Certainly, moviegoers remember him as the grandfatherly entrepreneur in 1993's "Jurassic Park," but his time as an actor dates back to 1942.

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That was a couple of years before he married his wife, Sheila Sim, who recently observed her 87th birthday.

In their 60–plus–year marriage, the Attenboroughs had three children together. One of their daughters, Jane, was killed in the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, along with her own daughter and her mother–in–law.

An advocate of education, Attenborough took his grief and turned it into a positive, establishing the Jane Holland Creative Centre for Learning at Waterford Kamhlaba in Swaziland in his daughter's memory.

That was truly an heroic act.