Cool News
Don Hewitt 1922-2009
I am – Hercules
Broadcasting colossus Don Hewitt, a man who had, and has, a lot to do with how a lot of us start our Sunday nights, died today. He was 86.
In 1968, Hewitt created CBS’ “60 Minutes.” Now more than four decades old, it remains one of the network’s top-rated programs. I’ve loved it as long as I can remember. Hewitt masterminded it for 36 years, until 2004.
Before creating “60 Minutes,” Hewitt was the first director of Edward R. Murrow’s “See It Now,” the producer of 1960's first televised presidential debate, and the executive producer of “The CBS Evening News With Walter Cronkite” when it became the network's first half-hour news broadcast.
He joined the television division of CBS News in 1948, when television barely existed and CBS was essentially a radio network.
Hewitt is credited with inventing the term “anchorman.”
Phillip Baker Hall played Hewitt opposite Christopher Plummer’s Mike Wallace in Michael Mann’s 1999 tobacco thriller “The Insider.”
Find CBS News’ obituary here.
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or has 2009 taken some real proper good people from this world. sigh.
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all the garbage the cable news networks do, you gotta respect the guy's legacy as one of the last holdouts for hard, verifiable, news stories and long form interviews. 60 Minutes is so unlike the "what people are saying on twitter" sound bites CNN & FOX are using as "news" even if there were editorial errors in the past, like the Brown & Williamson fiasco.
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A truly remarkable legacy he leaves behind. Let's hope his predecessors don't screw it up----oh WAIT!!
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He was a winner
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Wow. Thought I got banned for a Novak joke for a sec. The post has mysteriously disappeared.
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For most Americans, the news has ceased to be something factual. For example, if you think reality has a liberal bias, you can simply change the station and hear something that won't upset you, regardless of whether it is true or not.
When you allow ignorance to fester, it will grow like a weed. And we can see the results today. -
Aug 19, 2009 3:34:14 PM CDT
24 hours news stations that air the same shit over and over
by lockesbrokenleg
And we pay for it, Fucking retarded.
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RIP to a true professional, who most modern practitioners of 'journalism' are exposed as lame hacks next to.
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Newspapers and Televisions ability to report real new for decades, especially after the turmoil of the 60’s and 70’s, most especially after Vietnam and Watergate. This is the real reason that politicians backed deregulation and the removal of the anti-trust laws in the 70’s and 80’s which allowed scum like Rupert Murdoch to become a modern day William Randolph Hearst, by buying up every media outlet he could, so he could promote a right wing agenda through propaganda stations such as Fox. 90% of the media in the USA is owned by four or five multinational conglomerates and the US Government wants it like that way so they can feed the public bullshit while the scum of these networks aren’t interested in reporting the truth nor do they want to ask the tough questions. It’s fucking pathetic that during the Bush reign of terror, members of that administration could go on national TV and lie through their fucking teeth, even when there was videotaped evidence that proved that they were liars. I am now convinced that the USA is over, as a country, and I’ll tell you why. I’m sure you’ve all seen the coverage of that fucking retard who brought his gun to that Obama healthcare rally. Fucking dead eyed psycho also had a board with the same “Tree of Liberty” quote that was on a T-shirt that Timothy McVeigh wore when he committed the Oklahoma City bombing.” The fucking media of your country should be in a fucking uproar that anyone would dare to carry a fucking loaded gun to a Presidential rally, especially given the history of JFK, RFK and MLK. But the news networks have very little to say that a man was making a threat to the President. Everyone’s too busy falling over themselves to defend this fucking retards Constitutional right to carry a licensed gun AT A RALLY FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!! Where was the media’s defense of the Constitution when people were arrested for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts of having bumper stickers against the Iraq war when The Chimp was having one of his little rallies where every single person and question was prescreened if not outright planted? Where was the media’s defense of the Consitution when, at last years RNC convention, the local police were raiding the homes of people who hadn’t done anything except plan on peaceful protests outside the convention? WHERE WAS THE FUCKING DEFENSE OF THE CONSTITUTION WHEN PROTESTERS WERE BEING HEARDED INTO “FREE SPEECH ZONES”??? As usual, the right wing (being the fucking hypocrites that they are) couldn’t give a shit about the Constitution or Bill of Rights when Bushco. was fucking wiping their ass with them because, according to The Chimp, they were “just a goddamn piece of paper” but now that the Dems are in control and a black man in the President, every little fucking right wing psycho in the country just loves them rights that they were more then happy to deny to everyone else. That’s because, at heart, these people are fascists, anti-democratic and anti-American. The USA is over.
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and makes us realize how sad the state of journalism is today. Papers going bankrupt, shitty internet blogs replacing them etc. Watch State of Play, it's pretty good movie. Not as good as The Insider of course. Easily Mann's best film, and had none of his trademark shit in there too.
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Aug 19, 2009 4:04:56 PM CDT
HAS ROBERT NOVAKACULA RISEN FROM HIS COFFIN TO FEED?
by carlthormark1978
I'm so glad that piece of shit has finally snuffed it. It truly makes me fucking sick the way the media will slobber over that motherfucker the way they did for that cocksucker Tim Russert. Good fucking riddance and I hope they are enjoying burning in Hell.
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And no Ed McMahon TB
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As always, you are tiresome, sir. Take it to a political site, as I do.
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They said, "Take your meds already!"
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Aug 19, 2009 4:48:43 PM CDT
All obits should be under the heading of "Uncool News"
by s-mart shopper
Get your webmasters on it Harry!
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Aug 19, 2009 5:03:09 PM CDT
ON THE WALTER CRONKITE TALKBACK, YOU RIGHT WING SCUM...
by carlthormark1978
Didn’t mind spewing your shit but then you are the worlds biggest fucking hypocrites so I don’t expect anything resembling accountability, logic or even the truth from cunts.
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Unfortunately, he's also the guy that kept that talking corpse Andy Rooney on the air years after he ran out of things to talk about. So it balances out to a great big "who cares"?
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someone needs to get some high quality weed for CarlThorMark1978 and get him blazed. This dude is way too wound up.
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The titans of news broadcasting. Rest In Peace, sir.
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Aug 19, 2009 5:38:32 PM CDT
HOLY SHIT WILL FERRELL OWS HIS CAREER TO THIS GUY
by anything but tangerines
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Sorry he's gone but he had a great run.
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Bob Novak
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Young man, go sit in the corner till you work out some of your anger issues. And no dinner for you till you learn to play nice with all the other boys and girls!
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who the left-wing scum is...
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Though I always hated the sound of that ticking as it reminded me that I had to go back to school on Monday.
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WHEN HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF ASSHOLES BRINGING ASSAULT RIFLES TO A TOWN MEETING HELD BY ANY PRESIDENT?
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Don Hewitt Produces, Ed Bradley interviews Robert Novak!!!!
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Comment: unauthorized comment submitted.
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Aug 19, 2009 9:35:59 PM CDT
frank cotton, YEAH, THE PEOPLE WHO DEFEND YOUR RIGHTS YOU....
by carlthormark1978
Lowlife pussyfaced asswipe. You see, lefty liberal types like myself have an interest in protecting the rights of EVERYONE, where as cockroaches like you think that the Laws of the land are there only for you and when you need them. GO. FUCK. YOUR. SELF. ASS. HOLE!!!
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hewitt was a true genius, who never cared about ratings, and because of that, all the shows he produced were true quality tv
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Rest in peace and thank you for the news.
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Yeah, the left is so interested in protecting the rights of everyone, like Don Imus, for example, right, or Michael Richards? The idea of free speech isn't to protect speech you agree with, but to protect all speech, whether you agree with it or not. It is easy to protect that which you support. It takes a much stronger person to defend the right to say something you disagree with, or even more so, something you are offended by. During the Imus fiasco, DL Hughley came out and said, "Yeah, they were nappy headed ho's." Not one person tried to get him fired or prevent him from getting work. By the way, your lumping of all conservatives into the extreme represented by that party is laughable. Also, the guy at the rally with the gun was an idiot, but guess what? He wasn't breaking any law. Being stupid isn't illegal, and I'd guess that's a good thing for you.
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Speaking as someone on the left, I have to say I agree with you.
There's a quickfire tendency in some people (on both sides of the political spectrum) to claim that they are the protectors of free speech/american values/real america/freedoms, etc... And that the other side is the fault of the constant erosion of same.
When in fact the truth is always more complicated. Imus and Richards were both treated terribly by the PC-gone-mad brigade, too quick to apply the label "hate speech" to something they'd rather not defend because of the 1st Amendment.
Anyway, just wanted to point out that I think you're right. If the moderates on both sides don't take time out to occasionally point out the correctness of the other side, the only people left in the debate will be the extremists on both sides. And that would suck. -
though it is too bad being stupid isn't illegal. if i was in charge being stupid would carry the penalty of being pistol whipped. but ultimately i would have to be pistol whipped myself.who in the fuck would bring a gun to a presidential rally. merciful god. this is what happens when relatives have sex. so sad.
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Aug 20, 2009 12:08:17 AM CDT
mjbok1, HEY, DICKLESS, SURE, HE WASN'T BREAKING ANY LAWS.....
by carlthormark1978
But answer me this. How many “lefties” were wearing guns and carrying signs with the “Tree of Liberty” quote at Bush rallies? People like you don’t give a fucking shit about the Law or the Constitution except for when it allows you to act like fucking retards like that morons who had the gun. Also, you ignorant piece of shit, Don Imus and Michael Richards made racial slurs and, yes, the Law says that people have the right to say whatever stupid shit but the public also has the right to see that neither of those two are given any sort of platform to engage in their hate speech. Furthermore, who gives a fuck what that stupid asshole DL Hughley has to say about anything? Don Imus is a nationally syndicated radio host listened to by millions of inbred retarded redneck fucksticks around the country not to mention a fucking clown who pretends to be a cowboy. You really do yourself no favors by trying to act clever because you are not even in the slightest. You come here and defend hate speech made by racists and think that your being cute by saying they have a Constitutional right to say whatever they want. Of course they do, as a Lefty Liberal I support people’s right to say whatever they want but that doesn’t mean that I have to like it. Meanwhile right wing cowards like you hide behind the First Amendment whenever it suits you while at the same time suppressing Freedom of Speech by anyone who disagrees with you. A perfect example is the recent performances by these right wing townhall thugs who aren’t there to engage in Free Speech and discuss the Pros and Cons of Fee Universal Healthcare. No. Their goal is to scream and yell purely to disrupt any sort of progressive discussion about the subject by anyone. They are anti-democratic and blatantly Un-American as what they are doing is suppressing the Free Speech of others. Do they have the right to say whatever they want? Yes. But screaming and shouting isn’t the same as discussing which is why those people are rightfully shoved out the fucking door and into the parking lot where they can yell all they want while the adults are having a conversation. But even though we know those people are there and even though we know there are fucking morons in the parking lot of guns, we still allow you to exercise your rights, as you are allowed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, to show the world for what you are and that is fascistic backward ass knuckle dragging fucksticks who’s only tools are hate and intimidation which is the real reason why that braindead loser brought a gun to Obama’s rally. Only Lefty Liberals would allow that to happen because we value the rights of everyone. Right wing cowardly scum like you have people arrested for having the wrong T-shirt or bumperstick. That is the difference between me and you. Eat shit pussyface.
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and is capable of insulting someone without resorting to profanity
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Aug 20, 2009 12:28:52 AM CDT
V'Shael, SO IT'S "PC" TO BE DOWN ON RACIAL SLURS?!?WTF?!?
by carlthormark1978
Just so you understand, I like stuff that’s offensive, movies, TV shows, comics etc…so it’s not like I’m one of these fucking assholes who wants everything soft and bland. Crank 2 is my favorite movie of the year, so far, and you can’t get any less PC then that. But that’s not real life and you have to draw a line in the sand somewhere. By using racial slurs in real life you are just showing that you’re ignorant and fearful of those who don’t share the same ethnic background as you. You show that you judge people based on the color of their skin, the language they speak or their sexual orientation as opposed to the quality of their character. You are free to say anything you want and if you like calling people crackers, niggers, kikes, wops, fags, towelheads, dykes etc… then that is your prerogative but all you are doing is promoting divisiveness amongst human beings while showing how small minded you are and we feel sorry for you because of your lack of humanity.
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Aug 20, 2009 1:47:12 AM CDT
Hewitt started the trend of rich, immoral news fucks.
by bob cryptonight
When profit and "stars" became the focus of news, it spelled the kiss of death. Journalists are ripe for growing fat heads and becoming steaming piles of greed. God bless Don...he saw how to line his pockets and drive a stake into the heart of television journalism. Bill O'Reilly should suck his cock in tribute. And that's the way it is...
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Thanks for 60 minutes, one of the best hours on tv....
But wtf is up with several of your regulars new and old?
Scott Pelly you are the biggest piece of shit on the planet. What a douchebag hidden under the veil of legitimate reporting. I am constantly shocked at the interesting material thrown at him that is ruined because he sucks so much. Putting you on the story about computers controlled by the brain? (http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5228109n&tag=contentMain; contentBody) Great story but you suck! It must be difficult to find those reporters that have that legitimacy of the greats who have crossed through the threshold, but get the other ones and work their old asses on overtime or something. Give it to Katie Couric! I just can't stand you pretending like care with your perfectly tailored questions but all you really seem like is this vacant cunt that has gotten on the 60 min train with your sorry ass journalism degree from Texas Tech. the best thing that could happen for your legacy is to be sent to Iraq and get blown up by an IED. And then we the people would get twittered about it or whatever stupid bs and we'd get YOUR little nod on 60 min. about all the great reporting you did.
And while I'm at it, Andy Rooney. I understand that that geriatric rant shit must cute to the viewers accustomed to it and your bosses who are too pussy to send you to the nursing home, but after watching the show for years and trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, COME ON! Haven't taken the time to see your earlier pieces which must have had some kind of value or you wouldn't whatever clout you have. But they don't anymore. It is so offendingly opposite of the hour that proceeds it. I truly don't give a shit how much you pay for coffee these days, I don't give a shit how much airline prices are up for you compared to what it was in 1965, I don't give a shit that you just don't understand that the world around you is an ever changing ever growing thing that you cannot come to grips with. When you retire or kick it, I hope you are not replaced for another suck my dick grandpa with no logical worth and NOTHING interesting to say, please? A 10 minute report on the items on your desk is not cute. Clip your fucking eye brows. I love the elderly but seriously. Retire all ready so we can get the 60 minutes 20 minute special segment on you and what you meant to the world and be over with it. OR go the opposite route (the one I would hope) and find a new voice, thats it, I know I would probably like you at a casual dinner party. Close your shit out properly with some kind of dignity but I in reality I don't think you have it in you, you are a time capsule. Respect on what your role has beeb but whatever....
Where are the new gen Cronkites and Jennings and Browcaws for the love of god? -
No, you idiot. But nice to see you're as capable of misinterpreting what anyone says, not just someone on the right wing.
It's PC gone mad to go after people selectively, making a mountain out of a molehill. Like the recent BBC "scandal" where about 60,000 listeners heard something crude on a radio show. No complaints. Until a daily tabloid caught the repeat and whipped its readers into a frenzy. None of whom had heard the original broadcast.
Richards used the N-word in the heat of anger to an abusive heckler. That's NOT hate speech. It might offend you. It might cause some to think he's a racist. (Not me.)
But there's a BIG difference between hate speech and making a racist comment in the heat of the moment. And selectively going after one guy for doing it, and NOT going after another guy for the same thing, IS BULLSHIT.
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Report the news, not become one. That's the problem with guy slike Cronkite who paved the way for all of these "journalists" of today who put themselves above whatever "news" they're reporting on.
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Aug 20, 2009 4:37:54 AM CDT
V'Shael, NO, WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS DEFENDING HATE SPEECH.....
by carlthormark1978
Firstly, Richards and Imus are both white while DL Hughley is black and I suspect you’ll turn that around into the old “well, how come blacks can call each other ‘niggers’” argument that most ignorant Caucasians use when defending their racist attitudes. In case you don’t understand, racial slurs are regarded as derogatory expressions when used towards a person of a different ethnic background. To put it plainly, it’s a put down. Using the word “nigger” doesn’t just refer to the color of that persons skin. It’s a word loaded with meaning and filled with reference in regards to ethnic stereotypes. When someone calls an African American a “nigger”, are they suggesting that the person, the insult is being directed to, is a well mannered, well read and highly educated person of great integrity? No. By using that word you are suggesting, that the person in question, is representative of the lowest stereotypes that are perpetrated by ignorant people who think that race is inferior to their own because that person has a different skin color. If a person uses a derogatory racial slur “in the heat of the moment” then it is because that’s what they really think of that race because in anger people reveal their true nature and let their facade of civility crumble. Richards didn’t simply call that person a nigger and walk off the stage. He stood there and shouted the word over and over then also alluded to the fact that, in the past, African American’s were regularly hung from trees during lynching’s in the South if they so much as looked funny at a white person. Look up the case of Emmett Till then come back and tell me if you think that reference was funny? Michael Richards is a racist and nothing you say justifies his behavior which is exactly what you are trying to do with your bullshit “PC gone mad” schtick. Furthermore, I assume you were referring to the BBC scandal where Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand were suspended because they were talking shit about Last of the Summer Wine star Andrew Sachs and how Brand claimed to have had sex with his granddaughter? Even if you weren’t it’s a perfect example of the fallacy in your “PC gone mad’ theory. British tabloids are ALWAYS trying to stir up controversy because it helps them sell newspapers and it’s also because they have always seen TV as an enemy for consumer attention. It’s fake outrage, the type of fake outrage you see Fox News generate with Glen Beck claiming that Obama is a Nazi or how the Dems are going to take guns away from a bunch of dickless pussies or how Free Universal Healthcare will be the cause of death panels.
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I know you're a troll, because no one is that stupid, but I will feed you one more time. More on topic, remember when Bush successfully killed a Newsweek story about him getting blown by an intern? Oh, that's right, it was Clinton. Remember when Jesse Jackson tried to suppress the audio when he said he wanted to cut off a certain black presidential candidate's balls off? And when he referred to him as the N word it wasn't out of friendship, or kinship from being black, it was out of hatred. Whichever side is in power tries to to suppress dissention (sp) no matter what their political stripe. Someone above said it better, that there are loonies on both sides of the aisle. If you think there were no violent protests or protesters while Bush was in office, then you're dumb. How many times was he burned in effigy? It's an expression, and I might add, something that is much more likely to incite violence then to legally strap a firearm to yourself. To state that the left is perfect and trying for everyone while the right is just Nazi's without the snappy uniforms is stupid. And for the record, I'm quite clever, so I can try to be if I so desire.
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Aug 20, 2009 8:23:47 AM CDT
The most intelligent post EVER, on this entire website:
by chest_rockwell
"It's Too Bad Modern Journalism Is Such A Fucking Joke"
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However do you find the time to post on this site when you're so busy apologizing to black people for all that slavery? Shouldn't you be watching mindless bullshit like The Daily Show? Oh, having a white mother doesn't make someone African American, so, sorry, Obama isn't black.
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Fuck you.
I never used the n-word, unlike your good self. And I am not defending hate speech, merely questioning your definition of it.
Since I *know* what hate speech actually is, I find it offensive even when an ignorant fucking troll like you thinks I'll defend it.
Fuck you.
There's a big difference between calling someone a Heeb, and handing out copies of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and claiming it's not a work of fiction. And there's a difference between calling someone a job-stealing Polack, and joining the BNP.
It's people like you (who apparently can't tell the difference) that are the fucking idiots.
And yet I wouldn't seek to censor your fucking stupidity anymore than I'd seek to censor some racist comment I don't agree with. They're both stupid, but they're both protected. -
Abe Vigoda will outlive everyone!! All hail the great Abe Vigoda!!
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You should be more than pleased with the current lineup. Everything should be gumdrops and lollipops. But no, you still aren't satisfied. Please keep with the code pink shtick, sweety. Lots of liberals and progressives need to give folks like you a long, hard listen.
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You rock. Keep on keeping on.
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I could not believe it when that obit/talkback did not run.
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I enjoy Ain’t it Cool News. I think we all do. That’s where we met, that’s where we still chat both topside and in The Zone. So I’ll admit I was perturbed to say the least when after several days, and a few nudges in the top ten talkbacks from yours truly, I didn’t see an obit talkback for the late great John Quade who died last week of natural causes at age 71.
Who is John Quade? Well you may not recognize the name, but you know the mug. To say you know “the face” is almost too kind. For Quade it was a mug. He was always cast as the thug, the biker, the bully, and if he was cast as a lawman you can bet that he was corrupt.
Quade is best known for portraying Cholla, the leader of The Black Widows in the Clint Eastwood monkey movie Every Which Way But Loose, and later in the superior sequel Any Which Way You Can.
Cholla’s gang tried to be tough, but they just couldn’t cut it. You wanted to hate them, but really couldn’t bring yourself to because they were just so damned funny in their ineptitude. These guys were such biker wannabees that you almost felt sorry for Cholla, especially after these big bad bikers got whupped by an 80-year-old granny with a shotgun. As Cholla put it “Why me Lord? You made other men out of clay. Mine, you made out of shit.”
It’s a shame that Quade never got a larger role than this. But who knows, maybe he liked it that way. It appears he never lacked for work, and in the 70s and 80s it seemed as if he was guest starring on every television show produced.
Before there was Paul Giamatti, and before Giamatti leaped to the A-list, Quade was the “hey, it’s that guy” of his time. It was almost as if Stephen J. Cannell, and Donald Bellisario had him on speed dial.
I can just imagine the casting meetings going something like “Okay, we need some big rough, gruff, mean, ugly, son of a gun to play a biker, thug, hired goon, or brawler.” Get Quade, okay, next order of business….
His other big screen appearances while small are nonetheless very memorable. As if he wasn’t ugly enough, he had a full face tattoo due to a night of too much drinking in Papillon; a movie I’m ashamed to say I haven’t seen in its entirety. Before the monkey movies he also appeared with Clint in High Plains Drifter and The Outlaw Josey Wales.
Despite having the face only a mother could love it seems he was loved as according to IMDB he left a wife of 38 years, and six children behind. Quade was one of the great character actors. The only thing about him distracting about him was his face, because he was a professional.
As the Lordofhell would say, Abe Vigoda laughs at you all. Abe Vigoda will outlive everyone. All hail the great Vigoda.
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Very true. Cronkite's problem was he was too good. He didn't seek being a celebrity, but was so good at doing what he did, being a REAL journalist, that everyone today who's a journalist is a celebrity first and ahem journalist second.
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