Boston lost one of it’s true patriarchs this weekend. Arnold “Red” Auerbach passed away at age 89. He died of a heart attack, the Associated Press reported, according to an NBA source who did not want to be identified.
In two decades of NBA coaching, Auerbach won 938 games, a record when he retired in 1966, as well as a record nine NBA championship titles. In those 20 years, 16 with the Celtics, Auerbach had only one losing season while winning almost two-thirds of his games. Coaching the Celtics he won an amazing eight consecutive titles from 1959-66.
For all my years growing up on Boston, Red was the Celtics. He put together winning teams for almost 60 years. From Russell to Havlicek to Bird and beyond. Sixteen championships. He loved the team and the city, and the feeling was mutual.
I don’t think I can say it much better than Dan Shaughnessy of the Globe did:
For decades,
…
This week the series “Inside the Actors Studio” had its 200th episode which featured two hours with Dustin Hoffman. This is a pretty good show, one of the better ones on TV, especially if you find the people who craft fine films interesting. Some guests aren’t that great, and some only appear to pitch their latest movie, but some guests are really worth seeing. Hoffman was such a case.
One of the first things that grabs your attention is that Hoffman is the youngest looking 69-year old you’ve ever seen. And youngest-behaving. Born in 1937, his voice and delivery and quickness shows no effects of age. It gives hope to us all.
His stories are great and an interesting contrast to the “struggles” that current celebrities talk about going through – regardless of race or gender.
Hoffman’s passion for acting is apparent. But he’s also humble about it. You get the impression that he doesn’t really think he’s that…
A lot of people under 35 probably won’t understand why people are feeling a loss over Richard Pryor. But without Pryor there would be no Chris Rock, no Eddie Murphy. Nor a Robin Williams either, most likely. So many contemporary comics trace their roots to Pryor.
Pryor took heat for his use of vulgarity. But with him it was only sensational because people just weren’t saying Mo’Fo’ on stage. If you listen to his performances you’ll notice that he’s swearing as punctuation, not as denegration. There is a difference. Many comics today feel they need to use racial slurs to get laughs. Pryor didn’t; he simply talked like real people talked. And real people swear. (Sorry, Mr. Cosby … they really do.)
And while Pryor I guess will always be classified as a “black comic” you really got the impression that he liked people. Not just black people, but all people. He joked about whites, blacks,…
Author Hunter S. Thompson Kills Himself
By CATHERINE TSAI, Associated Press Writer
DENVER (AP) – Hunter S. Thompson, the acerbic counterculture writer who popularized a new form of fictional journalism in books like “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” fatally shot himself Sunday night at his Aspen-area home, his son said. He was 67.
“Hunter prized his privacy and we ask that his friends and admirers respect that privacy as well as that of his family,” Juan Thompson said in a statement released to the Aspen Daily News.
Pitkin County Sheriff officials confirmed to The Associated Press that Thompson had died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Thompson’s wife, Anita, was not home at the time.
