Harvey Pekar, 1939-2010

"People still don't realize how versatile and how good a medium comics is. If you look at the stuff I've written, they're like play scripts. You write the dialogue and direct it for the artist. But comics are undervalued because they've been used in such a limited way. People judge by what they know, and what they know is Superman."
—Harvey Pekar to The Los Angeles Times, 1995

Underground comic book writer, jazz critic, and file clerk Harvey Pekar died today at the age of 70.

The Cuyahoga County Coroner’s office told The Plain Dealer of Cleveland that Mr. Pekar was found dead in his Clevaland Heights home by his wife, Joyce Brabner, at around 1 a.m.

An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

Mr. Pekar was best known for writing the autobiographical comic, American Splendor, which featured artwork from Robert Crumb, Gary Dumm and Frank Stack. The comic series inspired a 2003 quasi-biopic/documentary film of the same name starring Paul Giamatti and Pekar as himself.

Mr. Pekar and Ms. Brabner wrote Our Cancer Year, a book-length comic, after Mr. Pekar was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 1990 and underwent a grueling treatment.

His stories often portrayed the most mundane aspects of his daily life. R. Crumb once wrote that Mr. Pekar's writing material is "so staggeringly mundane it verges on the exotic."

He is survived by Joyce Brabner (his third wife) and their foster daughter Danielle.

Patrick Lee Dies at 51

Reviewer and blogger Patrick Lee passed away earlier this month at the age of 51, according to TheaterMania.com.

Lee was the creator and writer of Justshowstogoyou.com, co-writer and co-founder of Show Showdown, and a regular contributor to TDF.com.

To write that reading this news blindsided me this morning is too much of an understatement.

Although we spoke on the phone once and exchanged pleasant emails over the past few years, we never had the chance to meet in person, since our schedules kept causing us to just miss each other. (He had come to review a Nosedive show, but I was off reviewing another show; we were scheduled to attend the same event once, but I had to cancel at the last minute.)

My thoughts are with his friends and loved ones.

-James Comtois

J.D. Salinger, 1919-2010

Jerome David Salinger, the legendary and reclusive author of Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey, died of natural causes at the age of 91.

One of the many insufferable people who believed
Catcher in the Rye was written just for him,

James "Just Another Phony" Comtois

Taz

In non-theatre news, as I had noticed that Senator Ted Kennedy had passed, Pete sent me this article this morning.

Taz was the bouncer for the Raven, Nosedive’s bar of choice until a fire gutted it in 2006. He was shot while trying to break up a fight, and died at Bellevue Hospital shortly thereafter.

Although I hadn’t seen him in several years, there was one chunk in my life where I saw him 4-6 times a week.

It was a shock, to put it mildly, to discover his passing.

My condolences to all of his friends and family members. My thoughts are with you.

James Comtois

Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

The legendary and controversial singer/performer Michael Jackson died at the age of 50 today following a heart attack.

For odd nostalgic reasons I won't get into right now, below is one of my personal favorites by him (post-Jackson 5):

Remembering one of my dad's interns teach-
ing me how to Moonwalk when I was six,

James "Thriller Was The First Album I Owned" Comtois

David Carradine, 1936-2009

Actor David Carradine, star of the 1970s TV series Kung Fu and the eponymous Bill from Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, was found dead in his hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand, either late Wednesday or early Thursday morning. He was 72.

Harold Pinter, 1930-2008

Fare thee well, sir. You have surely helped this youngish playwright in ways you'll never know. You'll be missed.

George Carlin, 1937-2008

"Here's another question I have. How come when it's us, it's an abortion, and when it's a chicken, it's an omelette? Are we so much better than chickens all of a sudden? When did this happen, that we passed chickens in goodness. Name 6 ways we're better than chickens. See, nobody can do it! You know why? 'Cause chickens are decent people. You don't see chickens hanging around in drug gangs, do you? No, you don't see a chicken strapping some guy into a chair and hooking up his nuts to a car battery, do you? When's the last chicken you heard about come home from work and beat the shit out of his hen, huh? Doesn't happen, 'cause chickens are decent people."

-George Carlin

One of the most influential stand-up comedians of the pasty 30 years, George Carlin, died last night in California of heart failure at the age of 71.

According to Bloomberg News, Carlin went to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, yesterday after complaining of chest pain and died at 5:55 p.m. local time, publicist Jeff Abraham told the Associated Press.

He had a history of cardiovascular issues, including several heart attacks.

"You know something people don't talk about in public anymore? Pussy farts."

Carlin was especially noted for his political and black humor and his observations on language, psychology, and religion along with many taboo subjects. He gained prominence with such routines as "The Seven Words You Can Never Say on TV," which landed him in a Milwaukee jail. The subject of Carlin's routine in 1978 reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the FCC had the power to prohibit stations from airing profanities when children may be able to hear them.

Carlin's most recent stand-up routines were primarily focused on attacking the flaws in modern-day America. He often took on contemporary political issues in the United States and satirized the excesses of American culture.

"I don't have pet peeves, I have major psychotic fucking hatreds!"

He was considered by many to be a successor to the late Lenny Bruce and was described by Comedy Central as the second greatest stand-up comedian of all time behind Richard Pryor, and right before Lenny Bruce. He was a frequent performer and guest host on The Tonight Show during the Johnny Carson era and was the first person to host Saturday Night Live.

He is survived by his second wife, Sally Wade; his first wife, Brenda, died in 1997.

The Kennedy Center announced five days ago that Carlin was to be awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Promising to not come in your mouth,

James "The Check's In The Mail" Comtois

Heath Ledger (1979-2008)

I'm a day late in posting something about the death of Heath Ledger because I really didn’t (and don’t) have anything to bring to the table about it. When a co-worker of mine pointed out his obituary at about 4:30 yesterday, the word "surprised" doesn’t do the concept justice. It was simply news I was not expecting to get (not unlike the time Patrick emailed me to tell me Mitch Hedberg died).

Jack Valenti, 1921 - 2007

Jack Valenti, the Washington lobbyist who served as Hollywood's public face for nearly four decades, died Thursday afternoon from complications from a stroke at the age of 85, according to his longtime friend Warren Cowan.

Mr. Valenti was a long-time president of the Motion Picture Association of America and best known for creating the MPAA film ratings system.

In 1952, he co-founded "Weekley & Valenti", an advertising/political consulting agency, which was in charge of the press during the November 1963 visit of President John F. Kennedy and Vice-President Lyndon Johnson to Dallas.

Following the assassination of President Kennedy, Mr. Valenti was present in the famous photograph of Lyndon Johnson's swearing in aboard Air Force One, and rode with the new president to Washington. He then became the first "special assistant" to Johnson's White House. He lived in the White House for the first two months of Johnson's presidency.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Margaret Valenti, and their three children: John, Alexandra and Warner Bros. studio executive Courtenay Valenti.

Only seeing R- or NC-17-rated movies,

James "Myopic" Comtois

Photo: Jon Elswick / AP

Kurt Vonnegut, 1922-2007

"I'm embarrassed to have lived this long. It's in terrible taste. You know I had a fire several years ago, and it would have been so shapely if I'd died in the fire. But here I am, and of course I'm suing the cigarette company because on the package they promised to kill me, and here I am."

-Kurt Vonnegut

Author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. died on April 11 in Manhattan as a result of brain injuries suffered from a fall several weeks ago. He was 84.

Mr. Vonnegut is best known for works blending satire, black comedy and science fiction, such as Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat's Cradle (1963) and Breakfast of Champions (1973).

While a prisoner of war during World War II, Mr. Vonnegut witnessed the aftermath of the February 13-15, 1945 bombing of Dresden, Germany, which destroyed much of the city. He was one of just seven American prisoners of war in Dresden to survive, in an underground meatpacking cellar known as Slaughterhouse Five (which was the source of inspiration for his novel of the same name).

His first short story, "Report on the Barnhouse Effect" appeared in 1950 in Collier's. His first novel was the dystopian science fiction novel Player Piano (1952), in which human workers have been largely replaced by machines.

In 1984 he attempted suicide and later wrote about this in several essays.

In A Man Without a Country, he wrote that "George W. Bush has gathered around him upper-crust C-students who know no history or geography." He did not regard the 2004 election with much optimism; speaking of Bush and John Kerry, he said that, "no matter which one wins, we will have a Skull and Bones President at a time when entire vertebrate species, because of how we have poisoned the topsoil, the waters and the atmosphere, are becoming, hey presto, nothing but skulls and bones."

He looked like this:

Mr. Vonnegut is survived by his wife, the photographer Jill Krementz, three children from his first marriage to Jane Marie Cox and four adopted children.

Sad but not surprised,

James "Kilgore Trout" Comtois

Robert Altman, 1925 – 2006

Film director Robert Altman died on Monday night at a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 81. The cause of death has not yet been disclosed. Joshua Astrachan, a producer at Altman's Sandcastle 5 Productions in New York City, told The Associated Press that a news release is expected later in the day.

Seen as one of the heavyweights of modern American filmmaking, the Kansas City, Missouri-born director directed such films as M*A*S*H, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Nashville and Short Cuts. His latest film, A Prairie Home Companion, was released earlier this year.

Mr. Altman is survived by his third wife Kathryn Reed and five children.

To read an interview with Mr. Altman conducted by Rob Kendt, click here.

Now needing to see more than just Popeye,

James "I'm A Little Behind" Comtois

Bruno Kirby, 1949-2006

Veteran character actor Bruno Kirby, born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, died on Aug. 14 at the age of 57 in Los Angeles due to complications from Leukemia.

"We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support we have received from Bruno's fans and colleagues who have admired and respected his work over the past 30 years," his wife Lynn Sellers said in a statement Tuesday. "Bruno's spirit will continue to live on not only in his rich body of film and television work but also through the lives of individuals he has touched throughout his life."

Film credits include The Godfather Part II, When Harry Met Sally, Good Morning, Vietnam, City Slickers and Donnie Brasco.

Along with his wife and father, Kirby is survived by his stepmother Roz Kirby, brother John Kirby and stepbrother Brad Sullivan.