Kolchak, why'd they dig you up?

OT for Darren McGavin fans, with thanks to Kosmo:

from the authorized http://www.darrenmcgavin.net/ --

Feb. 16:  "As many who write me regularly know, Darren's health has steadily declined over the past several years.  It has now come to the point where he is gravely ill.  In the hope of sparing his loving and devoted fans, we want you to be aware of the situation so you may take a moment in the next several days to hold his memory in reverence and send some kind thoughts upward."

A message from the webmasters on the official darrenmcgavin.net

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Darren McGavin at approximately 7:10 A.M. Pacific time today, Saturday 25, 2006.  Darren was...

Thanks, onyx_treasure. 

This is so very sad.

NEWSFLASH!

Darren McGavin known for his role as THE NIGHT STALKER and the father in the 1983 classic A CHRISTMAS STORY has passed away yesterday at the age of 83 in LA.

  Its been a sad and rather depressing weekend for many of us, with both Don Knotts and Darren McGavin passing away. First on Knotts, while he will no doubt be best remembered for Barney Phyfe, I must say that I have a very fond memory of seeing "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken"  in first run as a kid and along with many, consider it to be one of the best horror-comedies of all time. The haunted house sequences with the blood on the organ keyboard and the shears piercing the throat on the painting were pretty chilling. ("...and they couldn't remove the bloodtstains, even with Bon Ami!") This and the fantasy "Mr. Limpet" are quite good and are standing the test of time as fun littl;e efforts.
        Darren McGavin. So much to say as well. I like many of us here will never forget the impact of the first "Night Stalker" movie which stood vampire films on its head and took us to a whole new perspective on the genre. A great collaboative effort. Great Matheson script, great characters, great casting and pretty decent direction from Dan Curtis with a creepy Cobert score. I think we saw they that couldn't really reinvent the series last year. The original was just one of those moments where so much comes together.
          I just watched "the Night Strangler" this evening and I love as much now as I did then. I think its pretty underrated. The great supporting cast-Wally Cox, John Carradine, Margaret Hamilton, (who has the best line.."if it (the youth serum) worked, I'd be sitting here in front of you ..an 80 year old sexpot."), the also recently departed Al Lewis, Scott Brady, Richard Anderson and the sexy Joann Pflug. (I can't put my finger on it, but there's something Lara Parker about here in that film. Of note that Curtis used her again in "Scream of the Wolf." That she manages to be so attractive in some wacky '70s outfits says something as well. Please see '70s fashions discussions elsehere on these boards) The DVD has a longer cut and well worth it. McGavin is brillant in this one, and as ever in the series, that great chemistry with Simon Oakland.The whole Seattle underground sequence is so deliciously creepy and gothic. This is some of the best stuff Dan Curtis ever directed. You can notice he sets up a lot of shots similar to the vampire wedding sequences in "House of Dark Shadows."  The short bonus on the DVD of Dan speaking on the film is nice, if leaving you hungry for a bit more. I bet Dan underrates this effort a bit too, I find it holds up better than his "Dracula" ( a much more flawed screenplay from Matheson) but on par with Trilogy of Terror.
        I mourn the loss of such great talent as Mcgavin and Knotts, but I don't feel as sad as I did this morning. The short but very sweet work we have of the original Kolchak continues to give me equal parts humor and horror. I know both Knotts and McGavin will be continuing to make people smile for many more years.

Michael 

And now Dennis Weaver's gone--- McCloud for most, and in dozens of other productions, but I'll  never forget "Duel". I saw that the first time it was on (and a couple of times after, but it's been years.) Not a supernatural story---or was it?  Defintely a suspense / mystery story (with a potential for horror; getting clipped by a truck could be pretty horrible) --- broke through the genres, quite an accomplishment for a little made-for-TV thriller (one of Spielberg's earliest complete and widely-viewed adult efforts.)  Weaver's performance as the Everyman caught in an insane, inexplicable VERY big cat-and-very small mouse game helped make it memorable.

Lost track of time--- didn't even realize DW was over 80.
Someone in work mentioned, what an odd coincidence that these 3 great TV character actors' first names all began with "D"?  (And surnames in alphabetical order!)

An interesting article about Darren McGavin's passing: Soldiering on: Darren McGavin (1922-2006). Not only does it reference DC and DS, but the author gets into how he believes McGavin's "life ended much as he lived his early years, shrouded in mystery."