Show 1 Seems lito-Seems To ToMe Met MeBy Me 1 By lIy Joseph II H. Roberta Roberts l t Fallen stars COPYRIGHT 1971 1977 Contemporary Features Syndicate Inc Im I'm holding my breath until 1977 finally calls it quits and goes to wherever old years go after they have done all they can do to us I cant can't remember a year that has exacted such a heavy toll from the entertainment entertainment entertainment en en- world as not 1977 even the war years when the body count was heavier on the battlefields than on the high high- ways Actually what makes the losses seem so great I think is that the stars who fell were not just people they were in In- They had become so much a part of our culture our habits of life that adjusting to going about our daily lives without them has been very difficult I have not yet grown accustomed accustomed ac ac- ac to a world without Jack Benny As far as I can remember there ha has hm always been Jack to give us a lift and a laugh when we needed them most The reruns on TV of some of his great moments in his long history filled the void for a awhile awhile while but even while I was watching them I kept thinking he isn't with us any more and it seemed strange It wasn't wasl sadness exactly It was more like an incompleteness like a ahat ahat ahat hat you have always worn worn is lost Its It's bothersome You keep reaching up your hand for not finding it on your hea hoar head Then there was Groucho Marx He left us before his death HI His HII illness and md nd all the legal wr wrangling about who would be his Ws guardian made his Ws death seem like a blessing but I still miss him lIe He represented a spirit a brashness a boldness that was part of Americas America's spirit when we suffered through the Great Depression and the frightening war that followed Groucho with his jaunty cigar ridiculous lous must musI mustache che mt ey eyebrows brows and his cutting wit represented something undaunted undaunted undaunted un un- un- un daunted and unabashed in our character I dont don't think we will see his like again I guess the greatest blow to several generations of 01 rock music fans was the sudden death of Elvis Presley C f speaking he he- was a ayoung ayoung ayoung young man but he had been a atop atop atop top entertainer for many years and was certainly an institution in popular music I was not a fan not like those who wept at his funeral but I miss him anyway I remember he lie served his required time Inthe in inthe inthe the military without complaint or seeking special favors by driving a truck as an enlisted man I believe he loved his country and he loved his fellowman fellowman fellow fellowman man man and he gave his public all he had to give All in all he was wasa a man to be admired as well as asa asa asa a great entertainer But tt then n soon after Presley's death the sky crashed down and suddenly there was nothing left of a world that had always been for me On a golf course in Spain of all places the greatest of them all proved his mortality and fell down dead Bing Crosby who seemed to have discovered the fountain of youth and m made de us think it was canned orange juice was probably as surprised as any of ofus ofus ofus us when it happened I dont don't think he believed he could die for he had planned a new road picture with another immortal Bob Hope nor did we I have not recovered from the shock yet This New Years Year's eve the most obvious among the missing greats will be Guy Lombardo For the first time since 1929 a lifetime for many of us Guy will not be leading his Royal Canadians in Auld Lang Syne at the stroke of midnight The Canadians will be broadcasting as usual they promise but without Guy it cant can't be the same So we count our losses and are appalled by the many many stars that 1977 will take with it it Let us hope 1978 will be kinder The front ranks grow thin |