Godspeed James Tolkan

Character actor James Tolkan, who played Mr. Strickland in the Back to the Future movies and appeared in yet other movies from Wolfen (1981) to Dick Tracy (1990), died on March 26, 2026, at the age of 94.

James Tolkan was born on June 20, 1931 in Calumet, Michigan. He graduated from Amphitheatre High School in Tucson, Arizona in 1949. He served in the United States Navy, but was discharged in under a year due to a heart condition. He attended Coe College and then graduated from the University of Iowa in 1956 with a Bachelor of Arts. He then moved to New York City where he studied acting under Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg at The Actors Studio. A classmate was Warren Beatty.

James Tolkan made his television debut in 1960 in an episode of Naked City. In the Sixties, he guest starred on the TV shows Armstrong Circle Theatre and N.Y.P.D. He made his debut on Broadway in 1964 in The Three Sisters. He also appeared on Broadway in Wait Until Dark in 1966. He made his movie debut in the film adaptation of The Three Sisters (1966) and appeared in the movie Stiletto (1969).

In the Seventies, James Tolkan appeared on Broadway in the productions Mary Stuart, Narrow Road to the Deep North, 42 Seconds from Broadway, Full Circle, Golda, and Wings. He appeared in the movies They Might Be Giants (1971), The Werewolf of Washington (1973), The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), Serpico (1973), Love and Death (1975), Abduction (1975), and The Amityville Horror (1979). He guest starred on the TV show Ourstory.

In the Eighties, James Tolkan played Mr. Strickland in Back to the Future (1985) and Back to the Future Part II (1989), and Mr. Strickland's ancestor Marshal Strickland in Back to the Future Part III (1990). He also appeared in the movies Wolfen (1981), Prince of the City (1981), Hanky Panky (1982), Author! Author! (1982), WarGames (1983), Nightmares (1983), Iceman (1984), The River (1984), Turk 182 (1985), Walls of Glass (1985), Off Beat (1986), Top Gun (1986), Armed and Dangerous (1986), Masters of the Universe (1987), Made in Heaven (1987), Split Decisions (1988), Viper (1988), True Blood (1989), Second Sight (1989), Ministry of Vengeance (1989), Family Business (1989), Opportunity Knocks (1990), and Dick Tracy (1990). He appeared on Broadway in Glengarry Glenn Ross. On television, he was a regular on the short-lived show Mary, starring Mary Tyler Moore. He had a recurring role on Remington Steele. He guest starred on the shows American Playhouse, Hill Street Blues, The Disney Sunday Movie, Miami Vice, The Equalizer, Sunset Beat, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

In the Nineties, James Tolkan had regular roles on the short-lived shows The Hat Squad and Cobra. He guest starred no the shows Tales from the Crypt, Tequila and Bonetti, The Wonder Years, Nowhere Man, Early Edition, and The Pretender. He appeared in the movies Hangfire (1991), Driving Me Crazy (1991), Problem Child 2 (1991), Boiling Point (1993), River of Stone (1994), Underworld (1996), and Robo Warriors (1996).

In the Naughts, James Tolkan was part of the repertory cast of the TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery. He appeared in the movies Seven Times Lucky (2004) and Heavens Fall (2006). In the Teens, he appeared in the movie Bone Tomahawk (2015).

James Tolkan was best known for playing forceful, often intimidating characters, of which Mr. Strickland may be the best example. They were the sort of roles at which he excelled, but he could play other sorts of roles as well. On A Nero Wolfe Mystery alone, he played everything from  FBI Special Agent in Charge of the New York Office Richard Wragg in "The Doorbell Rang" to president of a holding company Avery Ballou in "Death of a Doxy." In Leverage he played evil millionaire Dean Chesney, who actually steals a heart from a young boy desperately in need of a transplant. He could so comedy, and played Napoleon Bonaparte in Love and Death (1975). James Tolkan was an enormous talent and could play a large array of roles. 

"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.

Sixty Years Ago The Avengers Arrived in the United States

As my long-time readers know, my favourite TV show of all time is The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed and his various partners over the years (Honor Blackman as Cathy Gale, Diana Rigg as Emma Peel, and so on). It was sixty years ago, on March 28, 1966, that The Avengers made its American debut on ABC. At the time I was a baby and even if I hadn't been, in 1966 the Columbia-Jefferson City market did not have a full-time ABC affiliate. I wouldn't see it until one rainy Sunday afternoon when one of the Kansas City stations was showing its reruns in syndication. I think the fist episode I was probably "The House That Jack Built", although it could have been "From Venus with Love". Either way I was hooked.

The Avengers had debuted in the United Kingdom on January 7, 1961. At that time, it starred Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel, who became partners in fighting crime with a mysterious figure named John Steed (Patrick Macnee). When I an Hendry left the show, Patrick Macnee became its star and the show would centre on John Steed and his partner of the moment: Venus Smith (Julie Stevens), Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and Tara King (Linda Thorson).

The show proved to be a smash hit in the United Kingdom, so much so that television networks in the United States even took notice. As early as December 15 1963, when Cathy Gale was John Steed's partner, The New York Times devoted an article to the show. NBC expressed some interest in The Avengers, but expressed its doubts that such an outré series, especially on so British, could succeed in the United States. The producers finally secured a deal with the American Broadcasting Company, consistently the third rated network, to begin showing The Avengers starting on March 28, 1966. The fourth series of The Avengers would be the first to air in the United States and the first to star Diana Rigg as John Steed's partner, Emma Peel.

Since American audiences were unfamiliar with the idea behind The Avengers, a prologue was added to the opening of the show with John Steed, Emma Peel, and a murder victim on a chessboard. The prologue explained precisely who John Steed ("top professional") and Emma Peel ("talented amateur") were and what they did: "Extraordinary crimes against the people and the state have to be avenged by agents extraordinary. Two such people are John Steed, top professional, and his partner, Emma Peel, talented amateur - otherwise known as The Avengers"

The Avengers was not necessarily a hit in the Nielsen ratings in the United States, but it received positive notices from American critics and developed a cult following. It received a good deal of coverage in the American press, with a Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and other publications all publishing articles on the show. The Avengers was also featured on the cover of TV Guide, and the magazine would devote articles to the series during its run. The Avengers was nominated for Emmy Awards during both the 1965-1966 and 1966-1967 seasons: the Emmy for Outstanding Dramatic Series and Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series for Diana Rigg as Emma Peel.

The fourth season of The Avengers was in black-and-white. Its fifth season would be in colour. It was one of the condition of ABC in the United States that The Avengers make the change from colour. While it would be a few years before British broadcasters would make the shift to colour, the change to colour was already well underway in the United States when The Avengers debuted here. Indeed, the 1966-1967 season would be the first in which ABC's entire primetime schedule would be in colour.

Unfortunately, the sixth series of The Avengers would be its last, and it was this largely the fault of ABC in the United States. For the 1968-1969 season ABC placed The Avengers in what was possibly the worst time slot of the 1968-1969 season. The Avengers aired opposite two top rated shows: Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In on NBC (the no. 1 show for the season) and Gunsmoke on CBS (the no. 6 show for the season). As a result ratings for The Avengers plunged and ABC cancelled it in February 1969. Without the funding from ABC in the United States, Thames Television (the ITV franchise holder that produced The Avengers) simply could not afford to continue with it. The show then ended its original run in 1969.

Of course, it would go onto a fairly healthy run as a syndicated rerun in the United States, which is where I first saw it, and presumably many other younger Baby Boomers and older Gen Xers like me first saw it. Since then it aired on CBS Late Night in the Eighties and then on Encore Mystery in the Nineties. In the United States, The Avengers is currently on several streaming services, including Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, Amazon Prime Video, and Fandango at Home. Every surviving episode has also been released on DVD.

The Avengers has remained my favourite TV show ever since that rainy Sunday afternoon when I was a child. I am currently re-watching it and I still love it as much as I did then. I really don't know the extent of its impact on me. In addition to growing up known I was English in descent and being a fan of The Beatles and other British Invasion bands since childhood, it is probably much of the reason I am an Anglophile and why I love British television so much. Without The Avengers, I might never have discovered Danger Man, The Saint, Adam Adamant Lives!, The Prisoner,, Red Dwarf, Midsomer Murders, and many of the other British shows I love. At any rate, I know I am not the only American who still loves The Avengers. It remains a very popular show sixty years since its arrival here.

The Changes to MeTV's Schedule

Many people don't like change. I have to confess that I am one of them. It then came as no surprise to me that some people have complained about the recent changes to MeTV's schedule, despite the fact that the network hasn't really made too many major changes to its schedule in years.

To wit, it was last October that MeTV added Everybody Loves Raymond to their prime time schedule. While some people were happy to see the show join the schedule, others were not, and they expressed their displeasure on such social media services as Facebook, Instagram and Reddit. Some thought the show was too new to be on MeTV, despite the fact that it debuted 30 years ago. Others complained that the show had already aired everywhere else, with many pointing out it is still on TV Land. Yet others just plain did not like the show.

More recently, The Golden Girls replaced Hogan's Heroes on weeknights at 10:00 Eastern/9:00 Central. While it seems to me that there was not nearly as much outcry over The Golden Girls as Everybody Loves Raymond, there were some people who did grouse about it. A good number of people simply did not like Hogan's Heroes being removed from MeTV's schedule. This rather surprised me as a common complaint I have seen on MeTV's Facebook page was that Hogan's Heroes had occupied the 10:00 PM Eastern/9:00 PM Central weekday time slot for literally years (don't quote me, but I think it had been there since 2017). Fortunately, for fans of Hogan's Heroes, the show has returned to the MeTV schedule. The show has been temporarily airing on Sunday night since this past Sunday, March 22 and starting Monday, March 30, 2026, it will air at 6:00 PM Eastern/5:00 PM Central weekdays. I am not sure if MeTV had planned this all along or if the outcry of Hogan's Heroes fans was so great that MeTV restored it to the schedule.

Of course, like Everybody Loves Raymond, many complained that The Golden Girls has already aired "everywhere." Indeed, The Golden Girls has had a healthy run in syndication. It has aired on such cable channels as Lifetime and We TV, It has long been a fixture on the Hallmark Channel, where it still airs. Now I am a huge fan of The Golden Girls, so I may be biased, but I don't buy the argument that it has aired "everywhere.' It only aired as a syndicated rerun on local stations from 1990 to 1996, after which it was exclusive to the cable channel Lifetime. After being on Lifetime, it would air on We TV, the Hallmark Channel (where it still airs), and Logo.  Right now it airs on CMT about twice a week and on some weekends on TV Land, as well as the Hallmark Channel.  And while it still airs on the Hallmark Channel, it is pre-empted for the many months during the year (it seems like they start in June these days....) that the Hallmark Channel shows non-stop Christmas movies. In the end, I don' think The Golden Girls is quite as ubiquitous as its critics seem to think it is. 

While I don't buy some MeTV viewers' complaint that The Golden Girls has aired "everywhere," I find the complaint that the show is too "new" truly ludicrous. The Golden Girls debuted on NBC in 1985. That makes the show nearly 41 years old. Indeed, it is older than Matlock, which has aired on MeTV weekday mornings for years, and older than In the Heat of the Night, which had aired on MeTV on weekday mornings for years until recently. I haven't heard people complaining about those shows being "too new." I also have to point out that Cheers aired on MeTV from 2010 to 2018. When Cheers first aired on MeTV, it was only 28 years old, making it younger than either Everybody Loves Raymond or The Golden Girls when they first started airing on the network.

Of course, the changes did not stop there. As I pointed out, Hogan's Heroes started airing on Sunday night. As a result, Ed Sullivan, Carol Burnett, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and The Honeymooners were booted from Sunday night. This upset many fans of The Dick Van Dyke Show, including myself, but fortunately it appears to be temporary. Both The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Honeymooners return to Sunday night on April 5, although Carol Burnett and Ed Sullivan will no longer air on that night. My only real complain now is that I preferred the old 10:00 Central Sunday night time slot of The Dick Van Dyke Show to the new 11:00 Central Sunday night time slot.

Except for that brief period before I found out that The Dick Van Dyke Show was not being permanently removed from MeTV's schedule, I can't say I am overly angry about many of these changes. While I would have preferred MeTV had picked up a less frequently seen show of late than Everybody Loves Raymond (I would love to see The Phil Silvers Show on weeknights), I ultimately don't mind the show airing on MeTV. As to The Golden Girls, I am actually happy about it. It is one of my favourite shows of all time and I am glad I won't have to worry about it being preempted for Christmas movies. While I think complaints about certain shows being available elsewhere hold some validity (Everybody Loves Raymond is not only on TV Land, but still on local channels as well), I don't consider any of the shows recently added to MeTV to be "too new." The simple fact is that many shows that some of us may consider "recent" are no longer that young. I think when a show is over 25 years old, it has been around long enough to air on MeTV. Regardless, I suspect that when the time comes when MeTV removes Everybody Loves Raymond from their schedule people will complain about it.

Happy 100th Birthday, Gene Shalit

Before Leonard Maltin, before Siskel and Ebert, Gene Shalit was the movie critic with whom I was most familiar. In fact, he was the first movie critic to whom I was ever exposed. Gene Shalit joined Today in 1969, where he occasionally did book reviews. It was in 1973 that he became the full-time movie critic on Today. His segment, called Critic's Corner, would remain a part of The Today Show until he retired from the show in November 2010. Today Gene Shalit turned 100 years old.

My family were loyal viewers of The Today Show for as long as I can remember, so I  encountered Gene Shalit when I was very young. His appearance would certainly appeal to a youngster. With his curly hair, handlebar moustache, glasses and bow ties, he looked more like a comic from the days of vaudeville or an absent-minded college professor than a movie critic. 

What is more, Gene Shalit's style as a critic was very approachable. He clearly loved movies, and was more concerned with letting Today's viewers know if they would enjoy a movie than any intellectual analysis of said movie. His reviews were often peppered with one-liners and often ridiculous puns. Gene Shalit was clearly having fun in reviewing movies. Indeed, in Critic's Corner on The Today Show, he seemed less like a movie critic than an affable uncle letting you know which movies to watch and which to avoid.

Of course, even as a kid, I didn't always agree with Gene Shalit's reviews. I disagreed with him on both The Shining (1980) and Flash Gordon (1980). That having been said, I agreed with him more often than not. Chances are that if Gene Shalit liked a movie, I probably would too. Regardless, even when Gene Shalit disliked a film I turned out to love, I could understand his reasons for disliking the movie. 

Beyond providing movie and book reviews on The Today Show, Gene Shalit also conducted interviews. As might be expected, he was a very good interviewer. He was both warm and curious, and was very good at putting his subjects at ease. An example at how comfortable he was interviewing celebrities is his famous interview with Carol Channing, Miss Channing told a hilarious story of Sir Benjamin and Lady Astor that left Gene Shalit unable to stop laughing.

Gene Shalit has always had an enthusiasm for movies which showed through his many reviews on The Today Show. I think it's quite possible that much of my love for the movies stem from the love he showed for the medium to which I was exposed as a kid. Gene Shalit isn't simply a movie critic. He is a movie fan.

The Late Great Valerie Perrine

Valerie Perrine, who appeared in such movies as Lenny (1974) and Superman II (1980), died on March 23, 2026 at the age of 82. She had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2015.

Valerie Perrine was born on September 3, 1943, in Galveston, Texas. Her mother was a dancer who had appeared in The Earl Carroll Vanities on Broadway. Her father was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army,. Her father being a career military man, the family frequently moved and as a result young Valerie Perrine lived in Japan, Paris, and elsewhere when she was growing up.

For brief time, Valerie Perrine studied psychology at the University of Arizona. She left college to become a showgirl in Las Vegas. At the height of her career was a Vegas showgirl, she was making $800 a week as the lead dancer in a Lido de Paris show at the Stardust Hotel. After the accidental gun death of her fiancé, Bill Haarman, an importer and gun collector, Valerie Perrine left Las Vegas and travelled throughout Europe. She then moved to Los Angeles.

It was there that she met casting agent Robert Walker at a dinner party. This led to her being cast in the movie Slaughterhouse Five (1972), which marked her film debut. In the Seventies, Valerie Perrine appeared in such movies as The Last American Hero (1973), Lenny (1974), W,C, Fields and Me (1976), Mr. Billion (1977), Superman (1978), The Magician of Lublin (1979), The Electric Horseman (1980), Agency (1980), Can't Stop the Music (1980), and Superman II (1980). On television she appeared in several TV movies, including The Couple Takes a Wife, Lady Luck, Steambath (on which Valerie Perrine became the first woman to expose her breasts on television), and Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women. She guest starred on the TV shows Love Story.

In the Eighties, she starred in the short-lived show Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills. She guest starred on the shows Faerie Tale Theatre, George Burns Comedy Week, and CBS Summer Playhouse. She appeared in the TV movies Marian Rose White, Malibu, When Your Lover Leaves, and Sweet Bird of Youth. She appeared in the movies The Cannonball Run (1981), The Border (1982), Water (1985), Maid to Order (1987), and Bright Angel (1990).

In the Nineties, Valerie Perrine appeared in the movies Reflections in a Dark Sky (1991), Boiling Point (1993), The Break (1995), Girl in the Cadillac (1995), 54 (1998), Curtain Call (1998), Brown's Requiem (1998), A Place Called Truth (1998), Shame, Shame, Shame (1999), Picture This (1999), My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (1999), and What Women Want (2000). On television, she guest starred on Northern Exposure; Ghostwriter; Burke's Law; Homicide: Life on the Street;, ER; Nash Bridges, The Practice; Walker, Texas Ranger; and As the World Turns. She appeared in the mini-series The Secrets of Lake Success.

From the Naughts into the Teens, Valerie Perrine appeared in the movies The End of the Bar (2002), The Moguls (2005), The Californians (2005), Redirecting Eddie (2008), and Silver Skies (2016). She guest starred on the shows Just Shoot Me!, Family Law, The Beast, Grounded for Life, Third Watch, and Lights Out.

Valerie Perrine was an immensely talented actress. She won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Oscar for Best actress for playing Honey Bruce, the wife of comic Lenny Bruce, in the movie Lenny (1974), and she deserved both. In both Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), she originated the role of Eve Tessmacher, Lex Luthor's personal assistant and love interest. Despite her relationship with Lex, Miss Tessmacher was tender-hearted and offended by Lex's cruelty. On ER she appeared in two episodes as Cookie Lewis, the self-centred, scatterbrained mother of Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) and her sister Chloe (Kathleen Wilhoite). In The Magician of Lublin (1979), she played one of the title character's girlfriends. Valerie Perinne could play a wide array of roles, and she was as good at comedy as she was drama. Such was her talent that she could deliver good performances regardless of a film's quality.

Thank You for a Successful Blogathon

I want to thank everyone who took part in the 12th Annual Favourite TV Show Episode Blogathon and making it a success. This year we had post covering a number of genres, as well as decades. If the Fates allow, there will certainly be a 13th Annual Favourite TV Show Episode Blogathon next year! 

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: "The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair"

(This blog post is part of the 12th Annual Favourite TV Show Episode Blogathon, hosted by A Shroud of Thoughts)

There can be no doubt that the biggest fad in American television in the Sixties was Batman, but before it The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was a television phenomenon. And while its success was short-lived, just as the success of Batman was, it remains remembered to this day. Among its best episodes, if not the best, was "The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair."

Despite its title, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. followed the adventures of two agents for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement (the U.N.C.L.E. of the title): the suave, sophisticated Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and the quiet, intellectual Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum). As to U.N.C.L.E., it was an international law enforcement and counterespionage organization whose agents came from many different countries (for instance, Napoleon Solo was American and Illya Kuryakin was Russian). Its headquarters was in New York City and the entrance most commonly shown on the TV series was through Del Floria's Tailor Shop. While Agents Solo and Kuraykin faced a number of different opponents on the show, U.N.C.L.E.'s primary opponent was the criminal organisation Thrush, a group bent on world domination. Each episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. would feature an "innocent," an ordinary person who becomes involved in Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin's adventures. During the run of the show, innocents ranged from a suburban housewife (in "The Vulcan Affair") to a chemical engineer (in "The Project Strigas Affair").

"The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair" begins shortly before a conference of world leaders is set to take place at U.N.C.L.E. headquarters. Unfortunately, U.N.C.L.E finds itself facing two apparent threats. The first is a mysterious older man named Mr. Hemingway (Richard Haydn), who causes minor problems at U.N.C.L.E. headquarters, including a toy remote control plane directed at its roof and tampering with the building's electrical system. The second and more serious threat (and the one they only learn about later) comes from a mole Thrush has implanted in U.N.C.L.E., who are plotting to kill the world leaders at the conference.

"The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair" was written by Dick Nelson, who had earlier written episodes of such shows as Bonanza and Tales of Wells Fargo and later wrote episodes of such shows as Medical Center and  A Man Called Sloane. It was based on one of several two and three page plot synopses written  by Sam Rolfe when the show was in development. One of the things that set "The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair" apart from other episodes of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is that it is set almost entirely at U.N.C.L.E. headquarters. In other words, it is the only real bottle episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The term"bottle episode" was coined by Leslie Stevens, creator of The Outer Limits, and applies to a TV show episode that is filmed in one location and using a limited cast. Historically, bottle episodes have been used as a cost-saving measure, although this does not appear to be the case with "The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair." Although set entirely in U.N.C.L.E. headquarters, "The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair" was clearly not meant as a cost-cutting measure.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was well-known for its big-name guest stars, and "The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair" is no different. The mysterious Mr. Hemingway, who wanders around U.N.C.L.E. headquarters causing chaos, is played by Richard Haydn. who had appeared in everything from classic movies such as Ball of Fire (1941) and Forever Amber (1947) to TV shows such as Playhouse 90 and The Dick Van Dyke Show.  In "The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair,' the innocent was Kay Lorrison (Zohra Lampert), a shopgirl who is going to get married the next day. Mr. Hemingway "accidentally"smears mustard on her dress and then whisks her into Del Floria's Tailor Shop and then into U.N.C.L.E. headquarters. Naturally, once there Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin treat her with suspicion. 

A nearly unrecognizable Lee Meriwether appears briefly as Thrush agent Dr. Egret, to whom the mole within U.N.C.L.E. reports and who provides the mole with means to commit the assassinations of the world leaders at the conference there. Not many villains appeared more than once on The Man From U.N.C.L.E., but she was one of the few who did. Dr. Egret also appears in "The Girls of Nazarone Affair," where she is played by blonde Marian McCargo. As to how two very different looking actresses played Dr. Egret, it appears Dr. Egret was a master of disguise. In "The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair," she is shown removing a mask. 

Taking place almost entirely in U.N.C.L.E. headquarters, "The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair" required little in the way of sets and props. The laser beam defence atop U.N.C.L.E. headquarters was a recycled blaster rifle from the movie Forbidden Planet (1956). It was mounted upside down as U.N.C.L.E's laser beam defence. An exploding ashtray in the episode was done by fastening a piece of tinfoil with gunpowder onto the bottom of the ashtray and throwing it onto an electrically charged nail.

"The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair was filmed right before Christmas, from December 16 to 18, 1964, and then December 21 to 23, 1964. It aired on NBC on February 1, 1965, and was rerun that summer on June 21, 1965.

Despite being set almost entirely in U.N.C.L.E. headquarters, "The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair"is a quintessential episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.  The series was at its best when it combined high stakes action with tongue-in-cheek humour, which "The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair" does quite well. On the one hand, there are the various ways in which Mr. Hemingway disrupts things at U.N.C.L.E. headquarters, from the aforementioned toy plane to putting guppies in the building's water supply. On the other hand, there is Thrush's plot to assassinate world leaders, not to mention a fountain pen that can destroy a person's brain when pressed against their head. The climactic fight scene between Napoleon Solo and the Thrush mole is among the best in the show's run.

Sadly, the balance between exciting action and tongue-in-cheek humour that made The Man From U.N.C.L.E.a success would not last. Perhaps because of the success of Batman, the third season of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. saw a shift towards over the top camp. Along with the decline in the spy craze that had given rise to The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and similar shows, this resulted in a dramatic decline in ratings. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was renewed for a fourth season, but it was cancelled midway through.

Regardless, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. would prove to be a success in syndication and remains popular to this day. In 2015 a movie inspired by the show directed by Guy Ritchie was released, and the original TV show is available for rent on several streaming services. If The Man From U.N.C.L.E. remains popular to this day, it is largely because of episodes like "The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair."

The 12th Annual Favourite TV Show Episode Blogathon Has Arrived

The 12th Annual Favourite TV Show Episode Blogathon is here! As in past years, this year's blogathon features several entries on episodes from classic television shows.

For those of you who are participating in the blogathon, I ask that you link to this page. I will be updating this page with links to the various blog posts that are part of this blogathon throughout the weekend. If you want a graphic for your post, I have several on the announcement page here.

Without further ado, here are this year's posts.

Realweedgiemidget Reviews: "TV… The Return of the Saint (1979) 'Murder Cartel' Se1, Ep19"

Cinematic Scribblings: "Jeeves and Wooster: 'The Hunger Strike' and 'Brinkley Manor' (1990)"

John V's Eclectic Avenue: "Moonbase Alpha Encounters a 'Black Sun'"

The Wonderful World of Cinema: "A Security Lesson on Alfred Hitchcock Presents: 'Bang! You’re Dead' (1961)" 

The Midnite Drive-In: "The Boy Who Cried 'Wolfe'" 

Another Old Movie Blog: "Ward Cleaver's World War II heroism"

Smoke in the Library: "Burke's Law: 'Who Killed Mr. X?'"

Liberal England: "The last episode of Shoestring: 'The Dangerous Game'"

Dubsism: "Sports Analogies Hidden In Classic Movies – Volume 168: The Rockford Files – 'Beamer’s Last Case'

A Shroud of Thoughts: "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: 'The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair'"

Films From Beyond the Time Barrier: "Staying After Hours in The Twilight Zone"

Moon in Gemini: "My Favorite Thanksgiving Themed Sitcom Episodes"

The Spirochaete Trail: "West Country Tales '82: The Beast (aka An Affinity With Solitude)"

18 Cinema Lane: "Sally Watches…Murder, She Wrote ('Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder')!"

Hamlette's Soliloquy: "'One More for the Road' -- A Favorite Combat! Episode"

Silver Scenes: "I Love Lucy - 'Off to Florida!' (1956)" 

Whimsically Classic: "Favorite TV Show Episode Blogathon–“Dances with Dogs” King of the Hill"

Crítica Retrô: "Série Retrô: O Vigilante Rodoviário"

The Late Great Len Deighton

Len Deighton, the author of such well-known spy novels as The IPCRESS File and Funeral in Berlin, died on March 15, 2026, at the age of 97. 

Len Deighton was born on February 18, 1929, in Marylebone, London. Len Deighton was eleven years-old when he witnessed the arrest of Anna Wolkoff, who was a British subject and for whom Len Deighton's mother cooked. Anna Wolkoff was eventually convicted of  "attempting to assist the enemy (in this case, the Nazis)." According to Len Deighton a 1992 article in The Sunday Telegraph Anna Wolkoff's arrest was '...a major factor in my decision to write a spy story at my first attempt at fiction."

He attended t St Marylebone Grammar School, and then worked as a railway clerk. He was 17 when he was drafted for his national service, and he served in the Royal Air Force for two and a half years. He attended Saint Martin's School of Art and then received a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, from which he graduated.

It was in 1962 that Len Deighton's first book The IPCRESS File, was published. He had written the novel while on vacation in France. The protagonist of The IPCRESS File was a anonymous working class agent who was far removed from James Bond. The novel proved to be a bestseller and would be adapted as the 1965 movie The Ipcress File starring Michael Caine. For the movies, Len Deighton's anonymous agent was named "Harry Palmer." The anonymous protagonist of The IPCRESS File appeared in several more novels, including Funeral in Berlin, Billion Dollar Brain, An Expensive Place to Die, Spy Story, Yesterday's Spy, and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy. 

It was in 1983 that Len Deighton's novel Berlin Game was published, the first of his novels to centre on Bernard Samson, a somewhat jaded, middle aged agent for MI-6. He appeared in seven more novels. Beyond the "Harry Palmer" and Bernard Samson novels, Len Deighton also wrote novels that were not part of a series, including Goodbye, Mickey Mouse, about the 220th Fighter Group of the US Eighth Air Force d up to the Allied invasion of Europe; Winter, about a German family from 1899 to 1945; and MAMista, set in a fictional South American country.

Len Deighton also wrote several cook books, the first of which was  Len Deighton's Action Cook Book in 1965. and several non-fiction books on subjects ranging from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to the Battle of Britain to the Blitzkrieg. 

As a writer of spy fiction, Len Deighton was in many ways revolutionary. His early books, in particular, occupied a place in between the fantasies of Ian Fleming and the more realistic novels of J John le Carré. The "Harry Palmer" novels were certainly gritty and Len Deighton's anonymous protagonist was a far cry from James Bond. He was a working class man who lived in a cheap flat and sometimes even seedier hotels. He shopped in supermarkets and often wanted a raise in his pay. He even wore glasses and had to endless paperwork he had to fill out serving the British government bureaucracy. Ar the same time, however, the plots of Len Deighton's novels sometimes featured elements as fantastic as that of any Ian Fleming novel.  The plot of The IPCRESS File involved mind control. Billion-Dollar Brain centred on a supercomputer and a weapons grade supervirus. His spy novels would have a lasting impact on future spy novels, and he would influence writers such as Charles Cumming, Mike Herron,  and Philip Kerr, Both Jeremy Duns and Derek Thompson have acknowledged Len Deighton's influence on their work. Chances are good Len Deighton will always be acknowledged as one of the greatest spy novelists of all time

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2026

I don't have an ounce of Irish blood in me nor am I Nigerian, Montserratian, an engineer, or a paralegal, so I don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day. I know plenty of people who do celebrate St. Patrick's Day, so here are some of vintage pinups you can celebrate with.

First up is the lovely Barbara Bates, who is engaging in some St. Patrick's Day crafts.

And here is Martha Vickers with what I assume is a St. Patrick's tree.

Here is the lovely and decidedly non-Irish Olga San Juan watering a shamrock. 

And here is the lovely and decidedly Irish Dorothy Malone decked out for the holiday. 

And here is June Haver perched on a giant hat!

and last, but not least, here's Ann Miller dressed up for the holiday.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Judy Pace Passes On

Judy Pace, who appeared on the shows Peyton Place and The Young Lawyers, died on March 11, 2026, at the age of 83. 

Judy Pace was born on June 15, 1942, in Los Angeles. Her father was an airplane mechanic and her mother owned Kitty's Place, which may have been the largest Black-owned ladies apparel shop west of Mississippi at the time. She went to Dorsey High School and then Los Angeles City College. 

She made her movie debut in a small role in the William Castle movie 13 Frightened Girls in 1963. In the Sixties, she appeared in the movies The Oscar (1966), The Fortune Cookie (1966), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Three in the Attic (1968), Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), and Up in the Cellar (1970). She guest starred in the shows Bewitched, Batman, I Spy, Run for Your Life, Days of Our Lives, I Dream of Jeannie, The Flying Nun, Tarzan, The Mod Squad, My Friend Tony, The New People, and Insight. She had a regular role on the nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and starred on the short-lived show The Young Lawyers. 

In the Seventies, Judy Pace appeared in the TV movie Brian's Song. She guest starred on the shows Shaft, Medical Center, Kung Fu, Sanford and Son, That's My Mama, Ironside, Caribe, Good Times, What's Happening!!, and Beyond Westworld. She appeared in the movies Frogs (1972), Cool Breeze (1972), and The Slams (1973).

From the Eighties to the Naughts, she guest starred on the shows The New Odd Couple and Players at the Poker Palace. She had a recurring role on the web series Beauty and the Baller.

She co-founded the Kwanza Foundation in 1971 with Nichelle Nichols. The group's purpose was to support Black women working in the movie. 

Screenwriter Alan Trustman Passes On

Screenwriter and lawyer Alan Trustman, who wrote the screenplays for The Thomas Crown Affair (1968_ and Bullitt (1968), died on February 5, 2026, at the age of 95.

Alan Trustman was born on December 16, 1930, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He attended the Boston Latin School and The Phillips Exeter Academy. He was 15 years old when he got a job at the First National Bank of Boston. He attended Harvard University, graduating in 1952, and the Harvard Law School, graduating in 1955. His father, Benjamin A. Trustman, was a partner at the Boston law firm Nutter McClennen & Fish, and Alan Trustman went to work there. 

Familiar with the First National Bank of Boston from having worked there Alan Trustman had thought of how one would go about robbing that bank. The idea resulted in the screenplay for The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). He had written the screenplay with Sean Connery in mind for the lead, but producer Walter Mirsch and director Noman Jewison cast Steve McQueen in the role instead. This resulted in Alan Trustman rewriting the screenplay to fit Steven McQueen more. The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) would lead to Alan Trustman co-writing another Steve McQueen vehicle, Bullitt (1968). He also wrote They Call Me Mr. Tibbs (1970), Lacy Ice (1973), and Hit! (1973). He worked on the scripts for Ace Up My Sleeve (1975) and The Next Man (1976). His last work as a writer as an episode of Fallen Angels in 1995.

His novel Father's Day was published  in 1992. 

Godspeed Tom Noonan

Tom Noonan, who appeared in such movies as Manhunter (1986) and Heat (1995), died on February 14, 2026 at the age of 74,

Tom Noonan was born on April 12, 1951 in Greenwich, Connecticut. His mother was a mathematics teacher and his father a jazz musician. His older brother was John Ford Noonan, an actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Tom Noonan began his career in theatre, including off-Broadway. He appeared in small parts in the films Willie and Phil (1980), Gloria (1980), and Heaven's Gate (1980). He made his television debut in the TV movie Rage! in 1980.

In the Eighties, Tom Noonan appeared in the movies Wolfen (1981), Eddie Macon's Run (1983), Easy Money (1983), Best Defense (1984), The Man with One Red Shoe (1985), FX (1985), Manhunter (1986), The Monster Squad (1987), Collision Course (1989), Mystery Train (1989), and RoboCop 2 (1980). He guest starred on the shows Tales From the Darkside and The Equalizer.

In the Nineties, he appeared in the movies Last Action Hero (1993), What Happened Was... (1995), The Wife (1995), Heat (1995), Phoenix (1998), The Astronaut's Wife (1999), Wang Dang (1999), and The Photographer (2000). He guest starred on the TV shows Monsters, Early Edition, The X-Files, and The Beat. He appeared in the mini-series Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III.

In the Naughts, he guest starred on the shows CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Jury, Johnny Zero, Kidnapped, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Bright Falls, and Louie. He appeared in the movies The Pledge (2001), Knockaround Guys (2001), Eight Legged Freaks (2002), The Egoists (2003), Madness and Genius (2003), Hair High (2004), The Roost (2005), Seraphim Falls (2006), Snow Angels (2007), Synecdoche, New York (2008), The Alphabet Killer (2008), and Follow the Prophet (2009).

In the Teens, he appeared in the movies Late Phases (2014), The Shape of Something Squashed (2014), and Wonderstruck (2017). He was a voice in the Anomalisa (2015). On television he played Reverend Nathan Cole on Hell on Wheel, Detective Victor Huntley on Damages, and the Pallid Man on 12 Monkeys. He guest starred on the shows The Cape, Bar Karma, The Blacklist, The Leftovers, Quarry, Roadside Picnic, and Animals. He appeared in the mini-series Horace and Pete and Dimension 404.

He also wrote plays, two of which were adapted into movies, What Happened Was… (1994) and The Wife (1995).

Throughout his career, Tom Noonan played a wide variety of roles. Chances are good that many will remember him as the troubled Reverend Nathaniel Cole on Hell on Wheels. He will probably also be remembered as serial child killer John Lee Roche in the X-Files episode "Paper Hearts." Of course,he did a number of movies as well as television. He played the villain Cain, leader of the Nuke drug cartel, in RoboCop 2. In Manhunter, he played serial killer Francis Dollarhyde.While he primarily played villains, Tom Noonan was an enormous talent who could bring any role to life convincingly.

The Late Great Country Joe McDonald

Country Joe McDonald, best known for his Vietnam War protest song “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag," died on Sunday, March 7, at the age of 84 rom complications of Parkinson’s disease.

Country Joe McDonald was born on January 1, 1942, in Washington, DC. When they were young, his parents were both members of the Communist Party and they actually named Country Joe McDonald for Josef Stalin. They later renounced Communism. Country Joe McDonald grew up in in El Monte, California. He was a trombonist in his high school band and was good enough that he actually led the band. He taught himself blues, country, folk, and rock songs on the guitar, and started writing songs when he was still a teen. He was 17 years old when he enlisted in the United States Navy.

Following his service in the Navy, Country Joe McDonald attended Los Angeles State College for a year before moving to Berkeley to pursue a career as a folk musician. It as in 1965 that he and singer/guitarist Barry "the Fish" Melton formed Country Joe and the Fish. Bruce Barthol on bass, David Bennett Cohen on organ, and Gary “Chicken” Hirsh on drums later joined the group. The name came from two sources. Joe McDonald was called "Country Joe" because magazine publisher Eugene “ED” Denson had heard that Josef Stalin was called "Country Joe"during the Second World War. The "fish," which Barry Melton adopted as his own, also came from Eugene Denson, who drew upon a quote from Mao Zedong that revolutionaries are “the fish who swim in the sea of the people.” 

Like other folk groups of the era, Country Joe McDonald and the Fish evolved from an acoustic folk sound to an electric folk rock sound. They moved from Berkeley to San Francisco where they met with success. They self-released their first EP, Talking Issue No. 1: Songs of Opposition in 1965. It was followed by another, self-titled EP in 1966. It was in December 1966 that Country Joe and the Fish signed with Vanguard Records. Their first album,, Electric Music for the Mind and Body, was released in February 1967. It featured their debut single, "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine." The album performed relatively well, reaching no. 39 on the Billboard album chart.

While Country Joe and the Fish's singles did not do particularly well, their albums did. I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die (1967) went to no. 67 on the Billboard album chart. Together (1968) went to no. 23. Here We Go Again (1969) peaked at no. 48. Their album CJ Fish (1970) faltered at only no. 111 on the chart. Through it all Country Joe and the Fish found themselves banned by the television networks due to the notorious "Fish Cheer (which was changed to spell another four letter word starting with "F" besides "fish")." They also saw a few changes in their lineup, Of course, it was also during this period that Country Joe and the Fish appeared at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, at which they were scheduled at the last minute. Their performance was preserved in the documentary Woodstock (1970), guaranteeing their immortality.

Country Joe and the Fish disbanded in 1970. The 1967 lineup of the group reunited and recorded the 1977 album Reunion. Afterwards the group would reunited from time to time, calling themselves "the Country Joe Band" when Barry "the Fish" Melton was not part of the lineup.

Country Joe McDonald had begun his solo career before Country Joe and the Fish had disbanded in 1970. His first solo album, Thinking of Woody Guthrie, was released in 1969. As a solo artist, he released around twenty studio albums from 1969 to 2017. He also composed songs for the movies Quiet Days in Clichy (1970) and Qué Hacer (1972). It was in the 1980s that he and Bill Belmonst re-launched Rag Baby Records, the label under which Country Joe and the Fish released their original EPs. In addition to Country Joe's solo work, they also released albums by such artists as David Bennett Cohen, Joady Guthrie, Rocky Sullivan, and others.

Country Joe McDonald also appeared as an actor in the movies ¡Qué hacer! (1970), Gas-s-s-s! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It (1970), and Zachariah (1971). He and the other members of Country Joe and the Fish appeared in More American Graffiti (1979). He appeared in the TV series Tales of the City. 

Country Joe McDnoald was committed to veterans of the Vietnam War, as well as the Peace Movement. He helped organize the building of the Vietnam War Memorial in Berkeley and  he helped in establish the memorial San Francisco as well. He played benefits for both Sword to Plowshares and Vietnam Veterans Against the War. 

Country Joe McDonald was an incredible talent and extremely versatile as a songwriter. He could write everything from protest songs with deadpan humour such as his most famous work, "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" to ballads such as "Janis" to the blues-infused "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine." While he would always be linked to the late Sixties and the Vietnam War, Country Joe McDonald made lasting contributions to folk and rock music. 

"I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag", by Country Joe McDonald and The Fish

Today I still don't feel up to snuff due to the shift to daylight saving time. This year it seems to have hit me harder than usual. Regardless, while I don't feel up to writing a full-fledged post, I wanted to pay tribute to the great Country Joe McDonald, who died on March 7, 2026. Here then is his most famous song, "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag," likely due to its performance at Woodstock, which was immortalized in the documentary Woodstock (1970). Sadly, it seems more relevant now than it has been in years.

I Hate Daylight Saving Time

The famous clock scene from Safety Last

It's hard for me not to take daylight saving time personally. It's not just about losing an hour of sleep. It's not even just about feeling sleep deprived for the two weeks following the shift. It's that I will feel out of sync, for lack of a better term, for the next several months or, at the very least, until the nights begin growing longer.

For much of the time the next several months, I will have trouble getting to sleep and trouble waking up of a morning. Naturally, this will result in increased anxiety for me and I believe it does exacerbate my summer seasonal affective disorder. I  have to think it is because my body is getting less sunlight of a morning, when I need it to wake up, and more sunlight of an evening, when I really don't need it. To put it in more scientific terms, the clock society goes by and my body's internal circadian rhythm are in conflict. It's no wonder I feel miserable. Here I want to point out that I always get eight hours of sleep (at least during Standard Time), so that's not the problem. 

And, yes, I have tried to prepare myself for daylight saving time by waking up earlier in the week leading up to "springing forward." It doesn't work. I still feel miserable. I still feel out of sync. The only surefire cure for me seems to be when we fall back. This year that happens on November 1, and I am already looking forward to it. I will notice a vast improvement immediately after we return to Standard Time.

At any rate, I didn't hate daylight saving time quite as much when we sprang forward in April and fell back in October. I didn't like it, but it seemed to be more bearable.  I suspect that much of this is because sunrise falls later in March than it does in April. Tomorrow the sun won't rise until 7:31 AM. If anything would throw my body clock off, that would. Too, I think I coped better when it was only six months out of the year when I was a kid and then only seven years out of the year for much of my adult life. Eight months out of the year seems interminable.  Indeed, I hate daylight saving time enough that if I owned a business, I would change the hours in accordance with daylight saving time. For instance, if we were open from 9 AM to 5 PM during Standard Time, we would be open from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM during daylight saving time. 

Of course, while most people don't have quite as adverse a reaction to daylight saving time as I do, I know most people don't like it, with a few who absolutely love it. And there could well be a scientific reason for those of who do hate daylight saving time. Quite simply, it appears that Standard Time may be healthier for human beings than daylight saving time. A recent study by Stanford Medicine examined how three different policies regarding time (permanent Standard Time, permanent daylight saving time, and the biannual change we have now) could affect the circadian rhythms of human beings and hence their health. They found that the biannual change in time is actually the worst for people's health. Both permanent daylight saving time and permanent Standard Time would be better, with permanent Standard Time being the best for people's health. Beyond the Stanford Medicine study, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the National Sleep Foundation, and the American Medical Association all support permanent Standard Time.

Here I have t point out that Congress once tested out permanent daylight saving time. It began on the first Sunday of January 1974 as a response to the oil crisis of 1974. It quickly proved to be unpopular, particularly given children were going to school in the dark. It ended in October when the United States returned to Standard Time. 

Of course, the conceit behind daylight saving time is the conservation of energy. In 1974, the Department of Transportation determined that the impact of daylight saving time on saving energy, reducing crime, and traffic safety was minimal at best. To make matters worse, with the shift to daylight saving time there is an increase in heart attacks, strokes, and fatal automobile accidents. Some studies have even found there is around a 6% increase in suicides following the shift to daylight saving time in spring. It would then seem that there is no real benefit to shifting to daylight saving time. 

At any rate, for much of my life I have hoped that some day daylight saving time would be repealed and we would go to permanent Standard Time. I know I would be much happier and I suspect many others would be as well. Indeed, I think all of us would be healthier.