Culture Icons... R.I.P

One of my favorite satirists has moved on. Tom Lehrer was 97.


He had made all of his music available for download a few years ago. Get it while it's still available.

Tom Lehrer Songs
 
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Just came here to post the same thing. Was also a fan. Learning to play Vatican Rag on piano was a fun challenge for me when I started taking lessons. My wife, who is Catholic, loves that song. I pretty much like his whole oeuvre, though would admit "I hold your hand in mine" is not his strongest work. For some odd reason, I cannot forget The Masochism Tango. Here's a bit of Lehrer which will be science forum appropriate...


Gather 'round while I sing you of Wernher von Braun
A man whose allegiance
Is ruled by expedience
Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown
"Nazi, Schmazi!" says Wernher von Braun.

Don't say that he's hypocritical
Say rather that he's apolitical
"Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down?
That's not my department!" says Wernher von Braun.

Some have harsh words for this man of renown
But some think our attitude
Should be one of gratitude
_Like the widows and cripples in old London town
Who owe their large pensions to Wernher von Braun.

You too may be a big hero
Once you've learned to count backwards to zero
"In German, oder Englisch, I know how to count down
Und I'm learning Chinese!" says Wernher von Braun.
 
I rather enjoyed “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” and “The Masochism Tango”. . And of course, for us chemists there was no escaping Lehrer’s version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Major General’s patter song from Pirates of Penzance.

My maths tutor at uni was a great fan of Lehrer and would play some of his songs at the drop of a hat.
 
Robert Redford - true Hollywood legend - aged 89

"Sneakers" is still one of my guilty pleasures, even 33 years later. :)
 
Bob was quite a guy. I liked him as iconic actor, indie film promoter, and environmental advocate. In old age, he still seemed so durable in that lost-at-sea movie he did a few years ago, that I sort of figured he would take on the DeHavilland sisters and shoot for taking a barefoot walk in the park at one hundred.
 
Sarkus said:
Robert Redford - true Hollywood legend - aged 89

"Sneakers" is still one of my guilty pleasures, even 33 years later. :)
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Absolute legend, "All the presidents men" with Dustin Hoffman being my favourite.
"The Horse whisperer" showed how his skills stood the test of time, sadly missed.
 
Sarkus said:
Robert Redford - true Hollywood legend - aged 89

"Sneakers" is still one of my guilty pleasures, even 33 years later. :)
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Ah yes the “Sunburn Kid”, as my mother used to insist on calling him. I’m not sure what else I’ve seen him in.
 
Entertainment and political figures and others die and there is a big to do.

A nurse of 50 years who has helped many, many people dies and gets a plot of dirt with no marker and professional mourners.
 
exchemist said:
Ah yes the “Sunburn Kid”, as my mother used to insist on calling him. I’m not sure what else I’ve seen him in.
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"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is a usual, as is "The Sting", from the 60s/70s.
More recently he was "Indecent Proposal" (with Harrelson and Demi Moore), and "Spy Game" with Brad Pitt, which was good.
He was also in "Captain America: Winter Soldier", which is probably the last big role I saw him in - but... meh, he was okay in that.
 
Wizard of Whatever said:
Entertainment and political figures and others die and there is a big to do.

A nurse of 50 years who has helped many, many people dies and gets a plot of dirt with no marker and professional mourners.
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Sure, I totally understand and agree that everyday heroes like long-serving nurses deserve recognition too: their impact is often deeply personal and profound. That said, this thread is really meant to note the passing of widely known public figures i.e. cultural icons. If your purpose is to celebrate such unsung heroes, maybe you could start a separate thread to do so. But if your purpose is simply to complain, well, it would be a bit like you going to a soccer match and complaining that they're not playing golf.
 
Sarkus said:
"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is a usual, as is "The Sting", from the 60s/70s.
More recently he was "Indecent Proposal" (with Harrelson and Demi Moore), and "Spy Game" with Brad Pitt, which was good.
He was also in "Captain America: Winter Soldier", which is probably the last big role I saw him in - but... meh, he was okay in that.
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Also The Great Gatsby, 3 Days of the Condor, The Way We Were, The Candidate, Jeremiah Johnson, Out of Africa, and (great baseball film) The Natural. I'd go with Pinball that ATPM was one of his best, along with his two pairings with his buddy Paul Newman. He was in some turkeys, too, like Up Close and Personal which I only watched because Michelle Pfeiffer. Both talents wasted there. The Last Castle also plodded along, but not Bob's fault. I liked All is Lost where he speaks 50 words and is the only character. Both his equine movies are worth watching, Electric Horseman and Horse Whisperer.

I'd say he is on a par with other great actors of his generation, like Hoffman or DeNiro or Duvall, in that he was never boring to watch and always the dedicated professional. I just realize that a hypothetical movie with Redford, DeNiro, and Duvall would be a Triple Bob movie. Godfather II gives you two out of three, not bad.
 
Sarkus said:
"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is a usual, as is "The Sting", from the 60s/70s.
More recently he was "Indecent Proposal" (with Harrelson and Demi Moore), and "Spy Game" with Brad Pitt, which was good.
He was also in "Captain America: Winter Soldier", which is probably the last big role I saw him in - but... meh, he was okay in that.
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Actually yes I do remember The Sting.
 
Not certain if I would have learned ragtime piano, had it not been for The Sting. Or discovered Claude Bolling's rag interpretations. That movie sort of started a ragtime revival in the US.


exchemist said:
I read it (a gripping read) but never saw the film.
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Worth a look, and fairly timely again. It's a pity the Post has declined since those days, from the sharp watchdog it was.
 
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