Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Getting Old

Man, it sucks getting old.  You read the newspaper (yes, kiddies, that's what we do; we don't get our news from Twitter) and every day someone you knew from your youth dies.

Monday was Sally Ride (whom I posted about).

Yesterday was Chad Everett.  Chad was an impossibly-handsome actor who starred as the dashing Dr. Joe Gannon in "Medical Center", a TV show that was on for seven years in the 1970s.  He won awards and the hearts of many viewers.  His character was heroic and irresistable.

Later, Chad appeared in a variety of movies and TV shows, like "Mulholland Drive," "The Love Boat," ''Murder, She Wrote," "Castle," "Supernatural," and "Without a Trace."

Today's dead man is Sherman Hemsley who portrayed the memorable character George Jefferson, first on the mega-hit show "All In The Family" and later in a spinoff series, "The Jeffersons."

George Jefferson was an obnoxious character but he amused many viewers, black and white.  George Jefferson was perhaps the first black character in our culture to display negative traits in an acceptable way.  His greed and bigotry were the mirror-image of Archie Bunker's.  It was a turning point in our culture when a black man behaving badly could be tolerated and even celebrated.

Have you heard of Chad or Sherman?

16 comments:

  1. Oh my, is he really dead?! I remember watching the reruns of The Jeffersons when I was little...it's always shocking when public characters die. I remember that when a very famous Italian (well actually he was Italian-American) tv presenter, Mike Bongiorno, died I felt like a member of my family died.

    Life is a romantic poem

    ReplyDelete
  2. I heard about Sherman yesterday and it made me sad. It's hard to watch all these great people get older and pass away!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh my gosh, I hadn't heard that either of these actors had died! That's a shocker. I've heard of both of them. I was a fan of The Jeffersons.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Of course since I was born in 1960 and spent a lot of my free time in front of the t.v. I'd remember both of these men. I use to have a crush on Chad Everett. Mostly because we didn't have a man in the house growing up and I would long for those wonderful male characters to occupy my home. I also loved the show Marcus Welby MD. Remember that one?
    The Jefferson reruns are on sometimes now. It cracks me up!
    We're movin' on up, to the East side
    To a deluxe apartment in the sky
    Yeah, we're movin' on up, to the East side
    We finally got a piece of the pie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Everyone had a crush on Chad. He was so handsome you doubted he was human.

      Delete
  5. I loved The Jeffersons. 74 isn't even that old these days. I'm kinda surprised, but I suppose it's gotta happen sooner or later!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I only know who Chad Everett is because of Supernatural... but at least I know, I guess? Haha! I did know who Sherman Hemsley was.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've heard of Sherman, but only through the Jeffersons. I had to look Chad up - but I do remember him in Castle. I'm a big fan of that show.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I plead The Fifth.

    High five, fellow paper reader!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Its sad that these people have passed. I have actually not heard of either of them and am 27 (weird?).

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am subscribed to the newspaper :) I get it at home everyday-
    I have not been very connected to the news these days - but it is sad.
    Before, I use to spend a lot of time thinking about aging and then someone said to me that the only way we could stay young was if we died right there and then - so now all i do is be thankful and all I want is to age gracefully-

    ReplyDelete
  11. I do remember Chad Everett and had an impossible crush on him when I was a girl.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh, noooooo. I didn't hear about Chad Everett. Another one here with a crush on the handsome doctor.
    Chad also had an appearance at the beginning of the Psycho remake with Ann Heche.

    ReplyDelete
  13. oh, crap! So sorry about Chad Everett, didn't hear about that. so very sad

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh No! I've never heard of Chad, but I sure am familiar with Sherman. We tuned in to The Jeffersons for every episode ( and Good Times). I'm sorry to learn about his death. I guess when people like Halley Berry and Janet Jackson kick the bucket, I'll know I'm getting close too....

    ReplyDelete