Ken Russell Passes On

Flamboyant director Ken Russell passed on 27 November 2011 at the age of 84.

Ken Russell was born on 3 July 1927 in in Southampton, Hampshire. He spent much of his childhood watching movies in the cinema. He attended Pangbourne College, a nautical school in Pangbourne, Berkshire. He served for a time in the Merchant Navy and in the Royal Air Force. He studied dance and then in his late twenties he became a photographer. It was because of his freelance photography that in 1959 he was hired by the BBC. There he made several documentaries, including several segments of Monitor and Omnibus (the British series, not to be confused with the American series of the same time). He also directed several of his own short films, starting with Peepshow in 1956.

It was in 1963 that Mr. Russell directed his first feature film, French Dressing, which was very loosely based on Roger Vadim's And God Created Woman. The film was a critical and box office failure, leading Ken Russell to continue his work at the BBC. His second feature film would be a bit more successful, the third instalment of the Harry Palmer series, Billion Dollar Brain (1967) starring Michael Caine. He followed Billion Dollar Brain with one of his best known films, Women in Love (1969). Women in Love would not only establish Mr. Russell as a director, but also one who was not afraid of controversy and even self indulgence. Arguably it was in the Seventies that Ken Russell was in his prime. It was in that decade that he directed his controversial film The Devils (1971), The Boy Friend (1971), Tommy (1975--an adaptation of The Who's rock opera), Liztomania (1975), Valentino (1977), and Altered States (1980).

Mr. Russell's output slowed in the Eighties. In that decade he directed such films as Crimes of Passion (1984), Gothic (1985), and Lair of the White Worm (1988). The Nineties saw Mr. Russell work primarily in television, directing only two feature films in that decade: Whore (1991) and Lion's Mouth (2000). The Naughts saw Ken Russell return to feature films, directing such movies as The Fall of the Louse of Usher: A Gothic Tale for the 21st Century (2002), Revenge of the Elephant Man (2004), and Boudica Bites Back (2009).

Ken Russell has always been a director about whom I have had mixed feelings. In my opinion he was capable of brilliant work, but at the same time he was given all too much to such self indulgence that some of his films just do not make a whole lot of sense. For me Mr. Russell was at his best when he reined his more flamboyant tendencies on concentrated on the film's script and characters instead of filling the screen with bizarre imagery. Mr. Russell could make very good, if outré movies which I enjoyed very much. I am still impressed by such movies as Women in Love, The Devils, Tommy, Altered States, Crimes of Passion, Gothic, and Lair of the White Worm. That having been said, he could also make movies that even someone with as often odd tastes as myself could not stand (Lisztomania comes foremost to my mind). Despite Ken Russell's flaws, I do have to confess that he was a genius and even in his worst films there were often amazing visuals.

The Late Great Jerry Robinson

Jerry Robinson, the legendary cartoonist credited with creating The Joker and co-creating both Robin and Alfred in the Batman comic book feature, passed today at the age of 89. In addition to working in comic books, newspaper strips, and political cartoons, Mr. Robinson was also a highly regarded comics historian and an early creators' rights advocate.

Jerry Robinson was born on 1 January 1922 in Trenton, New Jersey. At the age of 17 Mr. Robinson was selling ice cream at a resort in the Catskills when Batman co-creator Bob Kane noticed the white painter's jacket he was wearing, which was covered with his own illustrations. Mr. Kane offered Mr. Robinson a job working on the Batman feature as an inker and letterer. Robinson would soon become an important fixture on the Batman feature, to the point that he probably contributed more to the character's mythos than anyone except Bill Finger. He is credited with having co-created the character of Robin with Bill Finger, the character of Alfred with Bob Kane, the character of Two-Face with Bill Finger, and the villains Tweedledee and Tweedeledum with Don Cameron. While there has been some dispute over the creation of the character, most comic book historians credit Jerry Robinson with the creation of The Joker.

A year after Jerry Robinson had been hired by Bob Kane, he and Bill Finger were hired away by Detective Comics Inc. (one of the companies that would become DC Comics Inc.). While he would work on other features for the company, he continued to work on Batman until 1947. Mr. Robinson would also work for other comic book publishers, including work on London for Lev Gleason,  and The Green Hornet for Harvey from 1942 to 1943. At National Periodical Publications (the company that would become DC Comics Inc.) he worked with friend Mort Meskin on The Vigilante and Johnny Quick from 1946 to 1949. From 1944 to 1946 Jerry Robinson and Mort Meskin ran their own studio that produced material for the short lived Spark Publications, including Atoman.

In the Fifties Jerry Robinson taught at the School of Visual Arts. He also worked at  the company that would eventually become Marvel on everything from romance to war comic books. With writer Sheldon Stark he created the newspaper strip Jet Scott, which started in 1953. In 1963 Jerry Robinson created his long running political newspaper strip Still Life. A year later he created another newspaper strip, Flubs and Fluffs. He also created the political comic strip Life with Robinson. Between Still Life and Life with Robinson, Jerry Robinson was a political cartoonist for 32 years. In the Sixties he contributed to several Dell comic books, primarily such TV show adaptations as Rocky and Bullwinkle and Lassie.

In 1973 he published The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art, a history of newspaper comic strips.In 1978 he founded the Cartoonists and Writers Syndicate. In the Seventies Jerry Robinson would prove pivotal in the fight for Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster to receive compensation from DC Comics Inc. for their creation. He would be an advocate for creators' rights ever since then. In 1999 Jerry Robinson co-created the manga series Astra with Shojin Tanaka and Ken-ichi Oishi.

Jerry Robinson would also create one of the most impressive collections of Golden Age comic book art ever to exist. As a young man working in the comic book industry he would retrieve the work of his peers from the trash and preserve them.  In the end he kept pieces that would be displayed at museums and even sold at auction for very high prices.

As mentioned earlier, there was some dispute over whether Jerry Robinson created The Joker. Bob Kane, co-creator of Batman with Bob Finger, always maintained that Bill Finger brought him a photograph of Conrad Veidt from the movie The Man Who Laughs (1928) and that he created the character based on that. According to Jerry Robinson, he sketched a Joker playing card as a part of the concept of a new Batman villain. He showed the sketch to Bill Finger, who told him that it reminded him of Conrad Veidt from The Man Who Laughs. Mr. Finger then brought in photographs from the movie for Mr. Robinson. Mr. Robinson then created the visual look of The Joker based on those photos, while Mr. Finger fleshed out the character. Most comic book historians agree with Jerry Robinson's account of the creation of The Joker. Indeed, it must be pointed out that until the Sixties Bob Kane denied that Bill Finger even had a role in the creation of Batman, making his reliability somewhat questionable.

Even Bob Kane would not dispute that Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson created the character of Robin. Mr. Finger suggested to Jerry Robinson that they create a character with whom youngsters could identify. Jerry Robinson  took inspiration from the movie The Adventures of Robin Hood and named the new character "Robin." The costume was based on  N. C. Wyeth’s illustration “Robin Meets Maid Marian.” The character proved successful, to the point that he inspired a trend towards youthful sidekicks in the Golden Age of  comic books.


Regardless, even if Jerry Robinson had not created The Joker, he would have a lasting impact on Batman, having a role in the creation of Robin, Alfred, and Two-Face. In fact, even though Bob Kane co-created Batman, it is arguable that Batman as we know him to day (indeed, as he was known by 1943), is largely the product of Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson, and Gardner Fox (the legendary writer who first introduced gadgets such as the Batarang into the feature). Beyond Jerry Robinson's contributions to Batman, it must be acknowledged that he was a great cartoonist. Still Life and Life with Robinson number among the best political comic strips of all time. He also contributed art to books and even to Playbill. He took photographs worldwide, many of which have been displayed for exhibition. As if that was not enough, he was a great comics historian. Beyond amassing an impressive collection of Golden Age art, he also wrote the book on the history of newspaper comic strips.

Going beyond Mr. Robinson's work as a cartoonist, he was also a pioneer in the field of creators' rights. It was largely due to Jerry Robinson that Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster would receive from DC Comics Inc. a deal that gave them annual payments and even provided for their heirs. And it was after repeated calls from Jerry Robinson that DC Comics Inc. finally agreed to give Messrs. Siegel and Shuster credit on all works involving Superman. Jerry Robinson also worked on behalf of oppressed political cartoonists worldwide.

In fact, Jerry Robinson was something much rarer than an extremely talented and legendary cartoonist. He was by all accounts a true gentleman. Everyone I know who ever had the opportunity to meet or speak with him have spoken of his kindness and decency. Artist Neal Adams, who worked with Jerry Robinson in the legal battle to get compensation for Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster for the creation of Superman, said in a statement to The Los Angeles Times,  ”Jerry didn’t hesitate a moment, ever, if he had a chance to help someone.” Jerry Robinson was a man who genuinely cared for others, something which was shown in his fight for creators' rights and his work on behalf of oppressed political cartoonists.

As for myself, I owe Jerry Robinson more than I can ever know. It is not a simple case that Batman is my favourite comic book character of all time and Mr. Robinson made valuable contributions to Batman's mythos. The simple fact is that Batman got me into comic books, which led to me wanting to write comic books, which led to me simply wanting to be a writer. To a very large degree, then, I owe much of what I am to Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson. The simple fact is that without Jerry Robinson I might never have become a writer. Indeed, this blog would not even exist. I have no idea if Mr. Robinson can hear me, but on behalf of all of us whom he inspired, I would like to say, "Thank you."

The Late Great Harry Morgan

Harry Morgan, who appeared in films from Holiday Affair (1949) to Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971) and TV shows from December Bride to M*A*S*H, died today at the age of 96. A prolific actor, Mr. Morgan appeared in over 100 movies.

Harry Morgan was born Harry Bratsberg on 10 April 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Muskegon High School with plans to become a lawyer, but while attending the University of Chicago he developed an interest in theatre. He made his debut on Broadway in the play Golden Boy in 1937. From the late Thirties into the early Forties he appeared in such plays as The Gentle People (1939), Thunder Rock (1939), Heavenly Express (1940), and The Night Before Christmas (1941).

In 1942 Harry Morgan moved to California. He was discovered by a talent agent in a production of Hello Out There by William Saroyan in Santa Barbara. He was signed to 20th Century Fox. In his early years he used "Henry Morgan" as his stage name, but he later changed it to "Harry Morgan" to avoid confusion with radio satirist Henry Morgan. Mr. Morgan made his film debut in To the Shores of Tripoli in 1942. His big break would come in 1943 when he appeared as Art Croft in The Ox-Bow Incident. During the Forties he appeared in such films as Wing and a Prayer (1944), State Fair (1945), Dragonwyck (1946), All My Sons (1948), The Saxon Charm (1948), Madame Bovary (1949), Holiday Affair (1949), and Dark City (1950).

In the Fifties Harry Morgan would expand into television, making his debut in an episode of The Amazing Mr. Malone  in 1951. He was a regular in the role of Peter Porter on the sitcom December Bride and its spin off Pete and Gladys. He guest starred on such shows as Cavalcade of America, The 20th Century Fox Hour, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He continued to appear in films, including Scandal Street (1952), High Noon (1952), Thunder Bay (1953), The Glen Miller Story (1954), Strategic Air Command (1955), Inherit the Wind (1960), and Cimarron (1960).

In the Sixties Harry Morgan was a regular on The Richard Boone Show, Kentucky Jones, and Dragnet. He guest starred on Ensign O'Toole, Have Gun--Will Travel, The Untouchables, The Virginian, Dr. Kildare, and Love American Style. He appeared in such films as How the West Was Won (1962), John Goldfarb Come Home (1965), Frankie and Johnny (1966), What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966), The Flim-Flam Man (1967), and Support Your Local Sheriff (1970).

In the Seventies Mr. Morgan played the regular role of Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H, as well as  a regular role on Hec Ramsey. He guest starred on such shows as Night Gallery, The Partridge Family, and Gunsmoke. He appeared in the films The Barefoot Executive (1971), Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971), Scandalous John (1971), Charley and the Angel (1973), The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975), The Shootist (1976), and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.

In the Eighties Harry Morgan reprised his role as Sherman Potter on the spin off After M*A*S*H and he had a regular role on Blacke's Magic. From the Eighties into the Nineties he guest starred on such shows as You Can't Take It With You, Murder She Wrote, The Twilight Zone, The Simpsons, and 3rd Rock From the Sun. He appeared in such films as Dragnet (1987), Family Plan (1997), and Crosswalk (1999).

If Harry Morgan is best known for his role as Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H, it is perhaps because he was so good at playing such characters, characters who were acerbic and firm, yet ultimately kind hearted. Indeed, among the best scenes in Holiday Affair from 1949 is one in which Mr. Morgan played a police lieutenant very similar to Colonel Potter. His roles in Support Your Local Sheriff and Support Your Local Gunfighter would also be similar. Even his television roles were similar--Pete Porter of December Bride and Pete and Gladys was essentially a younger version of Sherman T. Potter. While Harry Morgan had a gift for playing such characters, it must be pointed out that he played a wide variety of roles in his career that were often very different from Colonel Potter. In The Big Clock (1951) he convincingly played a quiet but nonetheless threatening bodyguard. In Inherit the Wind (1960) he played a small town judge forced to hear what could have been the trial of the century. In The Shootist he played an understandably nervous marshal who must deal with a gunfighter played by John Wayne. Harry Morgan played a variety of roles, not all of them sarcastic yet soft hearted characters. Indeed, although now best known for his comedy roles, it must be pointed out that Mr. Morgan was equally adept at drama. Very few actors had as diverse a career as Harry Morgan, a man who played in both notable films and notable TV shows. If he had a long, prolific, and diverse career, it was simply because Mr. Morgan was a man of very great talent.

Judy Lewis Passes On

Judy Lewis, actress and daughter of Loretta Young and Clark Gable, passed on 25 November 2011 at the age of 76. The cause was cancer.

Judy Lewis was conceived during a brief affair that the single Loretta Young and the married Clark Gable had while working on Call of the Wild (1935). Concerned that a child out of wedlock could damage her career, Loretta Young went to Europe for several months before returning to the United States. Miss Lewis was born on 6 November 1935 in Loretta Young's home in Venice, California. She spent her first 19 months with various caretakers until Miss Young picked her up, leaking the story to gossip columnist Louella Parsons that she had "adopted" Judy.

Judy Lewis attended Marymount, a Catholic girl's school in Los Angeles. In 1958 she made her television acting debut in an episode of Mackenzie's Raiders. She was a regular on the TV Western Outlaws and the soap operas The Secret Storm and General Hospital. She guest starred on such shows as The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Highway Patrol, Perry Mason, 77 Sunset Strip, Surfside 6, Search, The F.B.I., The Streets of San Francisco, and One Day at a Time. She appeared in the movies Operation Bikini (1963), Thunder in Dixie (1964), Airport 1974 (1974), and Southern Double Cross (1976).  On Broadway she appeared in the play Mary Mary in 1964. In 1992 Judy Lewis became a licensed, clinical psychologist, working with troubled children.

Judy Lewis was 31 before a confrontation with her mother Loretta Young in 1966 revealed the truth behind her birth--that she was the daughter of Miss Young by Clark Gable. In 1994 she published a memoir, Uncommon Knowledge, which revealed the truth of her parentage to the world. For the next three years she and her mother were estranged. Miss Young would not acknowledge Miss Lewis's parentage except in her autobiography Forever Young, which was to be published only after her death. It was published in 2000, only a few months after Loretta Young's death.

Tom Wicker R.I.P.

Journalist and novelist Tom Wicker died on 25 November 2011 at the age of 85. The cause was a heart attack.

Tom Wicker was born in Hamlet, North Carolina on 18 June 1926. It was when he was working on his high school newspaper that he decided to become a journalist. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. Afterwards he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served at various North Carolina newspapers. Eventually he became the Washington, D.C. correspondent for The Winston-Salem Journal. In 1959 he became associate editor on The Nashville Tennessean. In 1960 James Reston hired him as one of The New York Times' Washington bureau. In 1964 he was named chief of The New York Times' Washington bureau.  In 1968 Tom Wicker became an associate editor at The New York Times.

Tom Wicker also wrote several books. He wrote ten non-fiction books, the first being Kennedy Without Tears: The Man Beneath the Myth in 1964. His other non-fiction books included On Press (1978), One of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream (1991), and Shooting Star: The Brief Arc of Joe McCarthy (2006). He also wrote ten novels. His first novel, Get Out of Town, was published under the pen name Peter Connolly. He published two more novels under the pseudonym. His first novel published under his given name was The Kingpin  (1953). His 1961 novel The Judgement would provide the basis for the controversial episode of Bus Stop "A Lion Walks Among Us." His novel Facing the Lions (1973) would spend 18 weeks on The New York Times list. His 1984 novel Unto This Hour spent 15 weeks on the list.

The 10th Anniversary of George Harrison's Death

Ten years ago today on 29 November 2001 George Harrison, of The Beatles and The Travelling Wilburys, died. It is a significant day in my life, not simply because George was a Beatle, but because after John Lennon he was my second favourite Beatle. Many of my favourite Beatles songs were written by George Harrison: "Think for Yourself," "Taxman," "I Want to tell You," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "I, Me, Mine," and many others. What is more, I had somewhat of a connection with George Harrison that I never had with the other Beatles, not even John Lennon. George's sister Louise Harrison lived for many years in Benton, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. George Harrison was the only Beatle to have been to the United States before the group's historic appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. He visited his sister in Benton, having flown in from England to Lambert Field in St. Louis. Unlike the other Beatles, then, George had a link to the Missouri/Illinois border area. It's even feasible some of my relatives might have met him, not knowing they were meeting someone who would one day be part of the greatest rock band of all time.

Because George Harrison had been a significant part of my life and because I had something of a personal connection to him, however small, I can remember very well the day he died. Indeed, George Harrison was the first rock star from one of my favourite bands whose death I learned from the internet. I read the news of his passing in Yahoo News. And while I had known that he had cancer for years and I know the prognosis for him was not good, the tears still began. They would last, on and off, for a few days. I remember listening to George's songs (both with The Beatles and on his own) over and over. And I remember the local television stations talked to Louise Harrison about her younger brother and his legacy.

George Harrison was born on 25 Feburary 1943 in Liverpool in the district known as Wavertree. He was twelve years old when he became interested in music. He had been riding his bicycle down the street when he heard "Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis Presley playing in a nearby house. From that moment on George devoted his life to music. In fact, it was while at Liverpool Institute that with his older brother Peter and his friend Arthur Kelly (later an actor who appeared in Bergerac and The Bill) that George founded a skiffle band called The Rebels. It was also at Liverpool Institute that George would meet someone who would change his life forever, a fellow rock 'n' roll aficionado. His name was Paul McCartney.

Of course, Paul McCartney was a member of the skiffle band known as The Quarry Men, founded by John Lennon. Beyond the fact that Paul introduced George to John and the other Quarry Men, the exact circumstances and even the date of that first encounter are not clear. From Paul McCartney to John's friend Pete Shotton to George himself, accounts of that first meeting tend to vary Regardless, while John and the other Quarry Men considered George to be too young to join the band, they did permit him to tag along with them. In 1958, at the age of 15, George Harrison, the kid with a gift for playing guitar, officially became one of The Quarry Men, replacing Eric Griffiths as lead guitarist. George would leave school at 15 and would work as an apprentice electrician at local department store Blacklers for a short time.

In the meantime The Quarry Men, the band of which George Harrison was lead guitarist, would evolve into The Beatles.  It was on 5 May 1960 that the band once known as The Quarry Men would become The Silver Beatles. On 18 August of that same year, they became The Beatles. It was when The Beatles were offered a job playing in Hamburg, Germany, 17 year old George Harrison would accompany them.  In Germany The Beatles would receive musical training like no other, playing show after show, night after night. When they returned to Liverpool they were very well trained musicians. Once one of several bands in Liverpool, The Beatles soon became one of the top Merseyside bands. Eventually The Beatles were signed to EMI. They released their first single, "Love Me Do," in October 1962. It proved a moderate success. Their next single, "Please Please Me," also proved to be a moderate hit. Their next single, "From Me to You," would do even better, but ti was their fourth single which would establish The Beatles as the most successful band in the United Kingdom. "She Loves You" became the fastest selling single in the history of the UK charts and the biggest song ever in the UK for years.

While The Beatles' earliest hits were written by John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison's skilled guitar work was responsible for much of their success. And while John and Paul would write many of the band's early singles, George Harrison was also a composer. In fact, his first song, "Don't Bother Me," appeared on The Beatles' second album, With The Beatles. Sadly, John and Paul would generally restrict George anywhere from one to three songs per album. Despite this George proved a very skilful composer, writing some of The Beatles' best remembered songs. It was while The Beatles were still together that George Harrison would launch his solo career, with the soundtrack to the movie Wonderwall, Wonderwall Music, in 1968. After The Beatles broke up he would have a fairly successful solo career and would also play with the supergroup The Travelling Wilburys (in addition to Harrison, the members were Bob Dylan,  Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty).

Sadly, I have always thought that George was under appreciated as both a composer and a Beatle. In most rock bands the lead guitarist is the undisputed star, the equivalent of a quarterback on a football team or the handsome leading man in a movie. In a band that featured not one, but two impressive and often vocal composers (John Lennon and Paul McCartney), it was all too easy for the more quiet and reserved George Harrison to be overlooked. Indeed, while Beatles fans are all too aware of George's contributions to the band, as lead guitarist, as a composer, and, well, as George, the general public has always seemed to treat him as just The Beatles' lead guitarist. Like many Beatles fans and George Harrison fans, this strikes me as wrong, and for several reasons.

First and foremost, in my humble opinion George Harrison was nearly the equal, if not the equal of John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney as a composer. Indeed, he wrote some of The Beatles' best known songs, songs that are every bit as good as anything composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney: "Taxman," ""If I Needed Someone," "Love You To," "Only a Northern Song," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Here Comes the Sun," "I, Me, Mine," and many others.  No less than Frank Sinatra himself referred to "Something" as the "...greatest love song ever written." Indeed, in many ways I think George may have been a better composer than Sir Pal McCartney over all. Granted, Paul's best songs tended to be better than George's best songs with but a few exceptions ("Taxman," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"), but then George's worst songs ("Within You, Without You") were fare superior than Paul's worst songs ("Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," "Silly Love Songs"). With the exception of a few songs George may have never reached the dizzying heights of "Eleanor Rigby" or "Yesterday," but then he never reached the low points that Paul did with "Mother Nature's Son" or "Wild Honey Pie." While John and Paul are deservedly lauded as composers, then, it seems to me that George Harrison should be as well.

Indeed, it seems to me that not only did George make considerable contributions as a composer to The Beatles, but he may have also had the best solo career of any of The Beatles except John Lennon. All Things Must Pass may have been the single best solo album released by any Beatle after the break up of the band. As a solo artist George wrote and recorded a number of songs that are memorable to this day: "Isn't It a Pity," "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)," "Crackerbox Palace," "Not Guilty," All Those Years Ago," and many others. As a solo artist George Harrison wrote songs and recorded albums that were consistently good and in some instances even better than those he had recorded with The Beatles.

Not only do I think George has always been underestimated as a composer, but I also think his contributions to The Beatles have been not been recognised by the general public as well. Indeed, George Harrison's contributions went far beyond that of most lead guitarists to their respective bands. It was George Harrison who first proposed that The Beatles stop performing live concerts. Ever the musician, George felt that the screaming crowds at their concerts made playing well nearly impossible. Of course, it is generally believed that in abandoning live concerts The Beatles were able to concentrate on recording, not only making advancements in recording techniques but allowing them to make even more sophisticated songs.

Indeed, George would have an even more direct impact on The Beatles' recordings. Ever on the look out for new and more sophisticated means of recording, it was George Harrison who introduced The Beatles to such new innovations as the Moog synthesiser. It was through his fascination with Indian culture that George Harrison discovered a sitar, an instrument that found its way into such Beatles songs as "Norwegian Wood."

As much as I admire George Harrison (and the rest of The Beatles, for that matter), I realise all too well that he was not perfect. George was known to have a very severe temper. His temper was so great that early in The Beatles' career he was known to get into fights with photographers and even police officers. George Harrison could be a perfectionist when it came to his music, testing the patience of even his producers. He was not always the most faithful husband, at times cheating on first wife Patti Boyd and second wife Olivia Harrison. George Harrison was also sued for copyright infringement because of similarities between his song "My Sweet Lord" and The Chiffons' song "He's So Fine." A United States district court would rule that George did not deliberately commit plagiarism, but instead he subconsciously did so without realising it. Given George's personality, I tend to believe that he was indeed a victim of cryptomnesia and did not initially realise that he was copying "He's So Fine." That having been said, one would think that given how often "He's So Fine" was probably played in 1969 (and still is) sooner or later he would have heard the song and then changed "My Sweet Lord" so the two were not so similar.

While George Harrison had more than his fair share of flaws, he remains a man I admire and one whose life had a very large impact on my own. As I said, after John Lennon, George Harrison was my favourite Beatle. Known as "the Quiet Beatle" and even referred to as "the Great Stone Face" by Ringo Starr, George taught me that there could be strength in silence. That is, one could sometimes accomplish more by saying little and remaining reserved than by making a verbal commotion of things. George Harrison proved that the English stereotype of "maintaining a stiff upper lip" can actually be a strength.

And while I would never follow George Harrison into Hinduism (my religious views are rather more Western in outlook), I cannot deny that his spirituality had an impact on me. George proved that one could be a deeply spiritual individual without forcing one's choice of religion down other's throats. Like so much in his life, George's religious views were a quiet, reserved affair. Everyone knew his religious beliefs, everyone knew he was a deeply spiritual individual, and yet one never felt that he was flaunted his religion. Indeed, in many ways George felt like a much more spiritual, more more religious person because of that.

George Harrison also taught me a good deal about approaching one's own death. Like George, my father had died of lung cancer, so I knew something of what George was going through. Throughout George's illness, however, I never remember reading in the news that he complained about having developed cancer, wallowed in self pity, or blamed others. Even to the very end he faced death with dignity and even cheerfulness. Indeed, George even took responsibility for his own death.  I remember reading an interview with him not long before his death in which he pointed out that developing cancer was his own fault. If he had never taken up smoking or had given it up long ago, he would most likely have never developed lung cancer.

More than anything else, however, George Harrison taught me to treat other people with respect. George viewed all of us as unique and special, and yet at the same time irrevocably connected to each other. It was a thought that often surfaced in his songs. As much as I dislike "Within You, Without You," I must admit hat its lyrics carry an important message. Essentially it is up to us to make a difference, and that difference is to treat others with the love and respect with which we ourselves would like to be treated. George Harrison's final words were “Love one another.”  Those three simple words summed up what he had been saying since the days of The Beatles. If I am even half the man I should be, if I am better than that what I could have been, it is in a large part due to George Harrison.

It is then that I will spend today listening to George Harrison's songs. It is also the reason that I will shed not a few tears today. George Harrison had an impact on me more than most musicians in history, more than most artists in history. In fact, it is possible that only John Lennon had more of an influence on me. To a large degree, then, I owe George Harrison for almost everything I am and everything I ever will be.

Danger Mouse Co-Creator Mark Hall Passes On

Mark Hall, who co-founded the animation studio Cosgrove Hall and co-created Danger Mouse, passed on 17 November 2011 at the age of 74. The cause was cancer.

Mark Hall was born on 17 May 1936 in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. As a child he would put on his own puppet shows for his friends. It was while he was at the Regional College of Art, Manchester that he met Brian Cosgrove. In 1969 Mark Hall and Brian Cosgrove founded Stop Frame Animations. Initially the studio created commercials for the magazine Look-In and The TV Times. It was in 1971 that they produced their first series, The Magic Ball. In 1972 they produced and Mark Hall directed the television animated movie Captain Noah and His Floating Zoo. Stop Frame Animations' last series was Noddy in 1975. Stop Frame Animations folded in 1975, but from its ashes Mark Hall and Brian Cosgrove founded Cosgrove Hall as a subsidiary of Thames Television.  In 1976 they produced the series  Jamie and The Magic Torch.

Cosgrove-Hall then produced the seies Chorlton and The Wheelies in 1976. This was followed by the programmes Captain Kremmen and Cockleshell Bay. It was in 1981 that Cosgrove Hall would produce their greatest success. Danger Mouse, a parody of spy fiction and spy movies featuring the title mouse who was a secret agent. Danger Mouse would not only prove to be a smash hit in the United Kingdom, where at its height it had 21.5 million viewers, but around the world as well. Indeed, while it was not the first British cel animated series to air in the United States (Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings, Ludwig, and Paddington Bear had preceded it), it was by far the most successful. With British wit, plenty of parody, and a tendency to bizarre plots, Danger Mouse proved appealing not only to youngsters, but to adults as well.

Cosgrove Hall would go onto produce more successful animated series including The Wind in the Willows, Count Duckula (a spin off from Danger Mouse), Oh! Mr. Toad, Fantomcat, Noddy's Toyland Adventures, and Captain Star. Cosgrove Hall also produced television movies, including The Pied Piper of Hamelin and The Reluctant Dragon,  as well as the feature film adaptation of Roald Dahl's The BFG (1989).

To some degree Mark Hall is a legend in television animation and with good reason. It would be enough if he had simply co-created Danger Mouse, one of the most successful animated series of all time, but he and Brian Cosgrove did much more. Although often shot on minuscule budgets, the Cosgrove Hall programmes were always very well done. Indeed, the series The Wind in the Willows is one of the few adaptations to successfully capture the feel of Kenneth Grahame's novel. With Brian Cosgrove, Mark Hall left behind a legacy in animation that will be long remembered.