Why is it that the news of certain celebrity passings don't surprise me when I discover it was from cancer? Probably because they may have sounded and/or looked like they had something wrong with them in the first place. Like the lady that played the mother in "Throw Momma From the Train". And now this cat also.
Actor James Gammon passed away in his home this past Friday after losing his battle with cancer. He was 70-years-old.
I have no idea how long Gammon had cancer. Don't even know what kind he had. He just had that type of voice where it sounded like there wasn't something quite right. Like maybe it was throat cancer that was causing him to have that scratchy sound which set him apart from average actors.
The name in and of itself didn't ring any bells for me so I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't for some of you either. However, when I heard that it was manager Lou Brown from "Major League" then I knew immediately who they were talking about. I just never knew the guy's actual name. I only knew that he was responsible for some of the best lines from that very quotable film. One of my favorite being him telling Wesley Snipes' character Willie Mays Hayes "You may run like Mays, but you bat like s**t!"
It was Gammon's signature voice that helped make him unintentionally funny. He became the best part of both "Major League" films because of that. I say "both" because I'm pretending that the inferior sequels that followed never happened. Anyway, once you coupled his voice with that huge mustache of his, he was pretty much a cartoon character come to life. I always wondered why he didn't get some voiceover work in an animated film or two.
I was thinking that surely I remember Gammon from something else other than the "Major League" movies. He had been around for a minute. I searched his entire catalog on IMDB and nothing else he did over the years jogged my memory at all. It was always his classic Coach Lou that I recall. That's okay though because that alone was enough for me to appreaciate his talent.
Rest in peace, Lou.
