Pophistory: music, movies, history, and life.
Poet and author Maya Angelou has passed away at the age of 86. In this video, the poet who has dispensed wisdom in numerous ways, discusses the best advice she has ever given and the best advice she has ever received. Check it out.
When she speaks of forgiveness, she speaks from experience, having experienced horrible trauma as a child. Through her struggles, she helped make us better. Rest in peace.
Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
The arrest and conviction of former boxer Ruben “Hurricane” Carter inspired one of Bob Dylan’s great protest songs and an award-winning performance by Denzel Washington.
Ruben “Hurricane” Carter, who had been suffering from prostate cancer, passed away on April 20, 2014 at the age of 76. Carter, who was born on May 6, 1937 in New Jersey, was a former boxer who was accused of murder in 1966.
Carter spent 19 years in prison in New Jersey before a court reversed his conviction in 1985 and set him free. His story inspired a great Bob Dylan song and a movie starring Denzel Washington. While both the song and the movie took some liberties with Carter’s story, they both captured truths about the criminal justice system.
Carter’s case became a rallying cry for the Civil Rights Movement. Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy wrote a song about the wrongful conviction. And then Dylan released “Hurricane” as a single in November 1975.
Dylan played what many fans consider his last great protest song during almost every performance of the 1975 Rolling Thunder tour. “Hurricane” went on to become a top 40 hit, despite its length and level of detail in telling a story.
Ruben Carter’s life appeared in a major film too. In 1999, Denzel Washington portrayed Carter in the movie Hurricane, which was directed by Norman Jewison.
Washington gave a wonderful performance as Carter, winning a Golden Globe and earning a nomination for the Best Actor Academy Award. In this scene near the end of the film, Denzel Washington as Carter makes a final plea to the court.
The movie and the song took some dramatic license with the facts of Carter’s life. For example, many noted that Dylan’s song overstated Carter’s ranking in the boxing world (“He could-a been/ The champion of the world”).
Further, some critics argue that the song and movie made Carter too much of a saint and martyr. Even Carter revealed a more complex story in his own autobiography written in prison, The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender to Number 45472
Ultimately, the federal judge who reversed Carter’s conviction noted the unjust role of race in the case. And, like all folk songs, the message of Dylan’s song became important on its own. Although the singer tells a story about one man, the song told the truth about wider problems in the criminal justice system.
After getting out of prison, Carter devoted his life to helping people in prison who were wrongfully convicted. From 1993 until 2005, he worked as Executive Director of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, and he founded a nonprofit organization, Innocence International. RIP.
Photo of Carter in 1958 via public domain.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Comedian David Brenner passed away on March 15, 2014 from cancer at the age of 78. For anyone who grew up watching Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, Brenner will always be associated with the show for his many appearances there.
Brenner, who was born on February 4, 1936 in Philadelphia, first appeared on national TV on the show on January 8, 1971. You may watch his debut appearance in the video below, which is still funny after all these years. At the end, Johnny calls Brenner back out to shake his hand.
Brenner made an impact in a number of ways. Before his successful career as a comedian, he was a writer, director, and producer of a large number of documentaries. In addition to his work on The Tonight Show and other shows, he wrote books and hosted four HBO specials. One of those HBO specials — Back with a Vengeance — ran in 2000, almost thirty years after his national TV debut. [2016 Update: Unfortunately, the video for the special is no longer available on YouTube.]
After the 1971 first Tonight Show appearance, a reporter asked Brenner what he wanted to do with his career. He responded, “I want to make as many people laugh, as heartily as they can, for as long as I can.” Brenner’s website notes that Brenner’s last act will be to bring smiles to people’s faces. His tombstone will read: If this is supposed to be a joke — then I don’t get it!” RIP.
What is your favorite David Brenner joke? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Comic legend Sid Caesar has passed away at the age of 91. After growing up in Yonkers, New York, Caesar went on to be one of the early pioneers of the new medium of television with his shows Your Show of Shows and Caesar’s Hour in the 1950s. To a younger generation who do not get to see black and white shows repeated on television, those variety shows may seem to be from another world. But one can still see the genius and the way Caesar helped pave with way for shows we enjoy today. And much of his work is still funny, such as a clip with Caesar and Imogene Coca going to a health food restaurant (with waiter Carl Reiner). Check out some of their work on YouTube. RIP.
What is your favorite memory of Sid Caesar? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
I caught Turner Classic Movies‘ moving “Remembers” video of some of the entertainers and artists we lost in 2013. While most of us remember the big name losses like Peter O’Toole, what stands out in the video are all of the familiar faces of less-famous stars. I forgot or did not know the names of some of these folks, but I do remember their wonderful work. Seeing so many recognizable folks who passed on reminds us how fragile life is.
The powerful song in the video is “In the Embers” by Sleeping At Last, which is a project of a musician named Ryan O’Neal. The song is from the album Atlas: Light
What is your favorite part of the year ending? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
