"Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" from Jesus Christ Superstar

I am feeling under the weather due to my seasonal allergies, so I don't feel up to a full post. With Easter Sunday just past and it still being Easter season, I thought I would share my favourite song from one of my favourite Easter movies. "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" from Jesus Christ Superstar dramatises the Agony in the Garden of Gethsamane thst Jesus Christ experienced after the Last Supper according to the Gospels. This clip is from the 1973 movie directed by Norman Jewison.

Happy Easter 2026

For many of those who celebrate it, Easter means chocolate bunnies and Easter eggs. Here at a Shroud of Thoughts, we realize there are many who would appreciate cheesecake with their usual Easter goodies. Here, then, are this year's vintage Easter pinups.

First up is Jeff Donnel who is making friends with an Easter bunny.

Here is Phyllis Davis and another Easter Bunny.

Elke Sommer loves her toy Easter Bunny.

Here is Mary Brodel with a little bunny and a really big egg.

And here is Dorothy Hart with a really big bunny and a really big egg.

And here is Ann Miller on an Easter egg hunt! 

Happy Easter!!!!!

"Easter Parade" by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire

Today has been something of a hectic day, so I will leave you with a tune befitting the season. From the 1948 movie of the same name, here is Judy Garland and Fred Astaire's rendition of "Easter Parade" by "Irving Berlin." The song made its first appearance in the 1933 Broadway musical revue As Thousands Cheer.

Nicholas Brendon Passes On

Nicholas Brendon, who played Xander Harris on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Kevin Lynch on Criminal Minds, died on March 20, 2026, at the age of 54 from natural causes. According to the coroner, Mr. Brendon had a history of cardiac issues.

Nicholas Brendon was born Nicholas Brendon Schultz on April 12, 1971, in Los Angeles. He had an identical twin brother, actor Kelly Donovan. He had wanted to become ba baseball player, but eventually lost interest in playing the sport. He attended Chatsworth High School in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. Starting when he was about seven or eight, Nicholas Brendon stuttered. He took up acting in an effort to control his stutter. 

Nicholas Brendon made his television debut in a guest appearance on Married with Children in 1993. He also guest starred on Dave's World. It was in 1997 that he began playing Xander on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He remained with the show for its entire run. He reprised the role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer video games. He made his movie debut in 1995 in Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest. He appeared in the movie Psycho Beach Party (2000).

In the Naughts, Nicholas Brendon continued to appear on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He was a regular on the short-lived sitcom Kitchen Confidential. In 2007, he joined the cast of Criminal Minds as Kevin Lynch. He remained with the show until 2014. He was a regular voice on American Dragon: Jake Long. He guest starred on the shows Turbo Dates; Without a Trace; Robot, Ninja & Gay Guy; and Private Practice. He appeared in the movies Survival Island (2002), Unholy (2007), Blood on the Highway (2008), and The Portal (2010). 

In the Teens, he continued to appear on Criminal Minds. He guest starred on Private Practice, Hollywood Heights, Faking It, and Dark/Web. He appeared in the movies Hard Love (2011), Big Gay Love (2013), Cohenrence (2013), The Morningside Monster (2014), Indigo (2014), Redwood (2017), The Nanny (2018), and King of Crime (2018). In the 2020s, he appeared in the movies Wanton Want (2021), Dawn (2022), On a Dark and Bloody Ground (2024), and Yesterday is Almost Here (2024).

Nicholas Brendon had more than his fair share of health problems. He suffered from cauda equina syndrome and underwent more than one spinal surgery. He also had a congenital heart defect. He also suffered from severe depression, and became addicted to alcohol and other substances. It was perhaps due to his various struggles that he was arrested multiple times.

Chances are good that Nicholas Brendon will always be remembered as Xander on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and to a lesser degree Kevin on Criminal Minds. Indeed, Xander was perhaps the first time a pop culture geek was portrayed accurately. He was not some socially awkward nerd with Coke bottle glasses, but a decent looking fellow who was actually cool.. He was a sharp contrast to the sort of stereotypes one saw in the Revenge of the Nerds movies and the TV show Big Bang Theory. Nicholas Brendon played the role perfectly. Of course, he also played Kevin on Criminal Minds perfectly. Nicholas Brendon had a good deal of talent. 

Chip Taylor Passes On

Chip Taylor, the songwriter who wrote both "Wild Thing" by The Troggs and "Angel of the Morning" by  Merrilee Rush, died on March 23, 2026, at the age of 86.

Chip Taylor was born James Wesley Voight on March 21, 1940 in Yonkers, New York. His brothers were actor Jon Voight and geologist Barry Voight. His father, Elmer, was a golfer who had played in the U.S. Open in 1928 and 1929. It was after his parents took him to see My Wild Irish Rose when he was 7 or 8 that he took an interest in music. It was listening late nights to a radio station out of Wheeling, West Virginia that made him a fan of Southern blues and country music. He was still a student at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York when he was writing songs at the Brill Building.

In 1957 his band West Voight and the Town and Country Brothers were signed to King Records. It was during this period that he took the pen name "Chip Taylor," as executives at King Records were worried that DJs might have problems pronouncing "Voight." On the King label, he recorded such songs as "I'm Movin' On" and "I'm Ready to Go Steady," but none of them charted. He later moved to Warner Bros., where his single "Here I Am" actually made the Billboard Hot 100.

While Chip Taylor would see only some success as a performer, he saw considerable success as a songwriter. His song "Wild Thing" was originally recorded by Jordan Christopher and the Wild Ones in 1965, but it would The Troggs' version of the song that would become Chip Taylor's first big hit when it went no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966. His song "Angel in the Morning" was originally recorded by Evie Sands in 1967, but it was the version by Merrilee Rush that went to no. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968. Among other notable songs written by Chip Taylor were "I Can't Let Go" (covered by The Hollies), "Any Way That You Want Me" (recorded by The Troggs), "On My Word" (recorded by Cliff Richard), "Step Out of Your Mind" (recorded by The American Breed), and yet others. His songs were covered by such diverse artists as Lita Ford, The Fleetwoods, The Bobby Fuller Four, Janis Joplin, Willie Nelson, and others.

In the Seventies, Chip Taylor recorded several albums, starting with Gotta Get Back to Cisco as part of orgoni, Martin & Taylor. After a break of many years, he would record several more albums starting with Hit Man in 1996. His last album, The Truth and Other Things, was released last year.  

Even if Chip Taylor had only written "Wild Thing" and "Angel in the Morning," he would have had a huge impact on popular music. As it is, he wrote several other songs that saw some success and also left behind his own oeuvre of singles and albums that maintain a following to this day. 

Godspeed Matt Clark

Matt Clark, who appeared in many Westerns, including The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976),  over the years, died on March 15, 2026, at the age of 89. 

Matt Clark was born on November 25, 1936 in Washington, DC. His father was a carpenter who built cabinets and boats. His mother taught school. He served for two years in the United States Army and then attended George Washington University where he studied business administration. He left George Washington University to pursue acting. He studied acting at the HB Studio with Herbert Berghof and Hickey in New York City. He became part of the Living Theatre Company in New York City and appeared in off-Broadway productions. He was an understudy for Martin Sheen in the original Broadway production of The Subject Was Roses from 1964-66.

Matt Clark made his film debut in a smal part in Black Like Me (1964). In the Sixties, he appeared in the movies In the Heat of the Night (1967), Will Penny (1967), The Bridge at Remagen (1969), Monte Walsh (1980), and Macho Callahan (1970). He guest strarred on the shows Ben Casey, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, T.H.E. Cat, Dundee and the Culhane, The Rat Patrol, Death Valley Days, N.Y.P.D., Bonanza, and The Name of the Game. 

In the Seventies, Matt Clark appeared  in the movies The Beguiled (1971), The Grissom Gang (1971), Honky (1971), The Cowboys (1971), Pocket Money (1972), The Culpepper Cattle Col (1972), The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid  (1972),. Jeremiah Johnson (1972), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), (1973), Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Emperor of the North (1973), White Lightning (1973), The Laughing Policeman (1973), The Terminal Man (1974), Hearts of the West (1975), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Kid Vengeance (1976), Outlaw Blues (1977), The Driver (1978), The Driver (1978), Dreamer (1979) Brubaker (1980), and Ruckus (1980). On television, he was a regular on the show Dog and Cat.  He guest stared on the shows Funny Face, The Waltons, Kung Fu, The Rookies, Lucan, and Little House on the Prairie. He appeard in the TV movies The Execution of Private Slovik. The Great Ice Rip-Off, This Is the West That Was, The Kansas City Massacre, Lacy and the Mississippi Queen, and The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang.

In the Eighties, he apppeared in the movies The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981), Some Kind of Hero (1982), Love Letters (1983), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984), Country (1984), Tuff Turf (1985), Return to Oz (1985), Let's Get Harry (1986), The Horror Shwo (1989), Back to the Future Part III (1990), and Cadence (1990). He guest starred on the shows Dynasty; ABC Afternoon Specials; Magnum, P.I.; Hardcastle and McCormick; CBS Summer Playhouse; CBS Schoolbreak Special,  and Midnight Caller. He appeared in the minii-series The Winds of the War and War and Remembrance. He appeared in several TV movies, including The Children Nobody Wanted, The Big Easy, The Quick and the Dead, and Kenny Rogers as The Gambler.

In the Nineties, Matt Clark had recurring roles on the TV sitcoms Grace Under Fire and The Jeff Foxworthy Show. He guest starred on the shows Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Screen Two, Lonesome Dove: The Series, The Visitor Touched by an Angel, The Pretender, The Practice, Chicago Hope. and Walker Texas Ranger. He appeared in the movies Class Action (1991), Frozen Asssets (1992), The Harvest (1993) Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995), Hacks (1997),. Homegrown (1998), Claudine's Return (1998),. Five Aces (1999), A Stranger in the Kingdom (1999), and South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000). In the Naughts, he appeared in the movies Killer Diller (2004) and The Way (2013). In the Teens, he appeared in the movies 42 (2015) and  A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014).

Matt Clark also directed episodes of CBS Schoolbreak Special and Midnight Caller, as well as the movie DA (1994).

Matt Clark was an extremely talented actor. Of course, he was best known for Westerns, and he appeared in a number of them. He played his share of outlaws, including Bob Younger in The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid and George Newcomb in the TV movie The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang. He also played lawmen, such as his role as a sheriff in the The Legend of the Lone Rangers, ranch hands (Smiley in The Cowboys), cowboys (Pete in the Culpepper Cattle Co.), and even an old prospector (his final role in the movie A Million Ways to Die in the West). Of course, he appeared in much more than Westerns. He made a brief appearance as the Secretary of Defence in The Adventures of Bucakaroo Banzai in the 8th Dimension. He played a modern day police lieutenant on the TV show Dog and Cat. In Return to Oz, he played Uncle Henry, Dorothy Gale's uncle and Aunt Em's husband. Matt Clark could play a wide array of roles and play all of them well. 

"Summer Breeze" by Seals & Crofts

Dash Crofts, famous as one half of the soft rock duo Seals & Crofts with Jim Seals, died on March 25, 2026, at age 87. The cause was complications from heart surgery. I cannot say that I am a huge fan of Seals & Croft, although I have always liked their music. They were very successful throughout the Seventies and into the Eighties. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1969 and was followed by eleven more albums. They had considerable success with singles, with "Summer Breeze," "Diamond Girl," and  "Get Closer" all  going to no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. They took a hiatus from music in 1981 and reunited from time to time afterwards. 

Here is what may be their best known song, "Summer Breeze.' As mentioned earlier, it was a hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It would later be covered by The Isley Brothers and Type O Negative, as well as other artists.