Book Review: Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2016

Harris Lentz has been compiling showbiz obits for decades, and is currently working on such a book for 2017. I have several of his books, and they are terrific reference sources. He doesn’t just list the names with stats, he also offers capsule biographies for each.

All of his books are informative and, of course, quite sad. We are reminded of how many great favorites from music, movies, TV, even pro wrestling. But there is something about this 2016 reference that caught my eye immediately. It was his thickest Obit book yet.

Throughout 2016 people would refer to particularly bad years in the past, where we lost some true icons. In 1977, for instance, we said goodbye to Elvis Presley, Groucho Marx, Charlie Chaplin, and Bing Crosby, all within a few months. But as 2016 concluded it seemed we lost more showbiz favorites, and a number of real legends.

First, the people we knew could not live forever but we hated to see go. George Kennedy, Abe Vigoda, George Martin, William Schallert, Nancy Reagan, Hugh O’Brian, Liz Smith, Kay Starr, Ruth Terry, Jerry Tucker, Grant Tinker, Janet Waldo, Joe Garigiola, George Gaynes, Fritz Weaver, Fyvesh Finkel and John Zacherle are among those who left us after reaching or passing the age of 90.

There are TV and movie favorites who we recall in their youth and will remain forever young. Noreen Corcoran was the beloved Kelly Gregg on TV’s “Bachelor Father” for five seasons. Richard Davalos, forever immortalized as the good son, and James Dean’s brother, in “East of Eden.” And who but Patty Duke could get away with playing “identical cousins” on a hit TV series after making history as the youngest person to net a competitive Oscar (for “The Miracle Worker”). “The Patty Duke Show” took a real hit, losing Patty, Bill Schallert, and Eddie Applegate all in one year.

Gene Wilder was always wonderful, from Willie Wonka to Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles to his teaming with Richard Pryor. What would our TV past be like without Florence Henderson, dear Mrs. Brady, or Alan Young as Wilbur Post, owner of Mr. Ed? So sad to say goodbye to dingy Vera (Beth Howland), Alan Thicke, TV’s Green Hornet (Van Williams), and Lois Lane (Noel Neill). Her emmy winning role as Ray Romano’s long suffering mother was only a marginal portion of Doris Roberts’ long, successful career.

​​The heartbreaking loss of Carrie Fisher, followed by her broken hearted mother Debbie Reynolds, overshadowed the fact that Zsa Zsa Gabor died at 99 on the very day her stepson was in a motorcycle accident. He died of his injuries only days later.

​The world is less funny without Garry Shandling, Marvin Kaplan, Kevin Meaney, Bob Elliot, Pat Harrington, and Ronnie Corbett.

Sports took away larger-than-life figures like Muhammad Ali and Arnold Palmer, as well as the shocking loss of young Jose Fernandez. Even the wrestling world lost such greats as Black Jack Mulligan and Mr. Fuji.

But it was music that took the biggest hit. David Bowie, Prince, George Michael, both Emerson AND Lake, Beatles producer George Martin, Leonard Cohen, Pete Fountain, Merle Haggard, Maurice White, Glenn Frey, Scotty Moore, Bobby Vee, Glenn Yarbrough, Sonny James, and Sharon Jones are just some of the people who died after making our hearts sing.

Harris Lentz covers them all, with biographies for each that are longer for some, shorter than others. The book is also filled with the many obscure performers whose contributions are documented.

For reference purposes, these books really fulfill a need and this one in particular is most important to be included in any library or research center, while historians and researches will benefit greatly from its contents as well.

The book is available here.