The Night I Kissed Doris Day
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When Doris Day passed away last week at the age of 97 in her Carmel, Ca. home, it was announced that there would be no funeral, no memorial service and interment would take place in an unmarked grave. That’s not surprising to anyone paying attention to her career — this superstar never followed a conventional […]
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It’s Not Your Grandparent’s Funeral Anymore
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In the opening scenes of “The Big Chill,” Lawrence Kasdan’s fine 1983 film, a group of aging former 60’s radicals gather in a stately Baptist church for the funeral service of a friend who has committed suicide. “Rock of Ages” is being played on the organ as people assemble in the pews. A traditional sermon, […]
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Playing For Your Life During The Holocaust
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Maria Mandl was known as The Beast. As the top ranking officer in charge of the female inmates in Auschwitz, she oversaw a real life ninth, innermost circle of Dante’s hell. Her fellow Nazis marveled at her “conviction to the cause” and the exuberance with which she dispatched her duties. Duties being a euphemism for […]
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At the Intersection of Art and Death with Paul Walker
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The Nobel winning author and absurdist/existential philosopher, Albert Camus, wrote: “since we all are going to die, it’s obvious that when and how don’t matter.” Camus, whose genius has continued to be revered long after his death on January 4, 1960, did not know actor Paul Walker, director James Wan or Universal Pictures. From a […]
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Dwight Eisenhower: Death of a General Who Hated War
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Ward Eight, in its prime years, was the epicenter of state-of-the-art medical care in the US. Located on the third floor of the now closed Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Ward Eight featured the latest technology, the best specialists, and intensely focused service — the list of its patients included the most distinguished […]
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