I knew there was a couple of celebrity deaths I had overlooked. They weren't huge influences to me in the bigger scheme of things so I'm just combining the two. The first came to me while watching a retro movie. I was reminded about the Bee Gees and thusly, recalled another one left us.
Famed Bee Gee member Robin Gibb passed away a few weeks ago (May 22nd to be exact) after losing his battle with cancer and intestinal surgery. He was 62.
Robin actually lived a pretty full life considering that both he had cancer and he was a Gibb. Unfortunately, the Gibbs don't have a history of living long lives. His younger brother Andy died at age 30 from heart infection and his twin Maurice died in 2003 from a twisted bowel. Barry is the last living brother. Barry may be living on borrowed time at age 65. I'm just saying.
As old as I am, I didn't really have the same appreciation for the Bee Gees for their "Saturday Night Fever" contribution as other folks did. What I remember him best for was him and his brothers in "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". That was my JOINT! That and the "SNL" skit that parodied him. No, he was never in it, but it kept his name out there.
Rest in peace, Robin.
The other was one I should have probably been more familiar with. But his contribution was good enough for me. It was science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. He passed away last Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 91-years-old.
Bradbury was considered by most to be the writer most responsible for bringing science fiction into the literary mainstream. You would think that with as much as I like to write AND like sci-fi that he would be more commonplace with me. He was probably before my time though. I got into sci-fi shows and movies. Not so much reading and/or writing it.
Still, anyone whose early work was so revolutionary that they were considered one of the pioneers of one of my favorite genres is cool with me. Rest in peace, Mr. Bradbury.
