Our Daily Dead

NY Times
Emile Capouya, an essayist, critic and publisher who late in life published his first story collection, “In the Sparrow Hills,” died on Oct. 13 at his home in East Meredith, N.Y. He was 80.

Based on Mr. Capouya’s experiences as a young officer in the merchant marine in the Pacific during World War II, “In the Sparrow Hills ” (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1993), which appeared when he was 68, is a collection of five semi-autobiographical short stories. It was widely praised and won the Sue Kaufman Prize of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

Richard Eder, writing in The Los Angeles Times, said the stories reminded him of Montaigne or of Boswell’s journals. Donna Seaman, in the American Library Association journal Booklist, described narratives that recounted “heightened moments of conflict between duty and integrity, the surge of adrenalin in instants of fear and fury, and the seethe of emotion beneath the orderly surface of military and workday life.” He also published a novella, “The Rising of the Moon,” in 2003.

Mr. Capouya was born in Manhattan in 1925 and grew up in the Bronx. At DeWitt Clinton High School he worked on the school’s literary magazine with classmates who included James Baldwin.

No, we’re not trying to push the holiday season, but the appearance of Christmas decorations in the aisles of the local Big Box shortly after Labor Day did get us to thinking of nefarious things to do with glue
.

Rather we speak of the self-delusional quantum crutch of all-people-procrastinate—the TO-DO LIST. Oh yes don’t we feel better just writing out the lovely list, the more detailed the better, possibly bulleted, maybe even rank-ordered, of all the things we need to do, but rather than just sitting down and starting to do them, we make our list, and then wander off to do something totally forgettable
. (If you can’t figure this out, we’ll try to get back to you later in the week.)

But there’s hope, particularly for those of you who aspire to write that moving or funny or inspiring or definitive or life-changing or (add adjective—heck even find a gerund
—of choice) novel/book/screenplay/volume of poetry. Today’s departed one, Emile Capouya didn’t publish his first work until he was age 68 (at age 68, Alexander the Great
had been dead 33 years.)

So, get to work, and remember the advice of Ivan Doig
when asked, “How do you write?” Doing replied, “First you sit down, and take out some paper.” Or you can do it Bird by Bird
.

Now to start on today’s list, but first we have to trim the cat’s claws, sharpen some pencils, check e-mail, and read The Onion
online.

LA Times
R.C. Gorman, a leading Native American artist whose archetypal portrayals of Navajo women in paintings, prints, ceramics and sculpture became enormously popular in homes and offices, died Thursday afternoon at University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. He was believed to be 73 or 74.

According to a statement posted on his website and signed by his agent, Virginia Dooley, Gorman had been ill for more than a month with a “virulent blood infection and pneumonia, among other issues.”

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson announced Gorman’s death at a news conference in Santa Fe and called him “a great citizen.”

Gorman was extremely popular in the 1970s and ’80s, mass-producing prints, bronzes and ceramics that were snapped up by an eager public, including celebrities such as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor and Andy Warhol. As a Times story in 1985 said, his work became as “ubiquitous as Muzak.”

Though his art was often dismissed by critics as repetitive and uninspired, two of his paintings were selected for the 1973 exhibition “Masterworks of the Museum of the American Indian,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

He was the only living Native American artist included, and one of his pieces was used for the cover of the exhibition catalog.

Rudolph Carl Gorman was born in Chinle, Ariz., on the Navajo Reservation in either July 1931 or July 1932 (he was uncertain of the date). His father, C.N. Gorman, was a noted artist and teacher. As a boy, he lived in the traditional Navajo hogan and herded sheep. He began drawing at the age of 3.

“I was raised on the reservation, and we didn’t have very much,” Gorman once told The Times. “The only thing I had to go on were books on artists, and I went through the whole gamut. My favorites were artists like Rembrandt and Michelangelo and Van Gogh. Up to Picasso.”

He would later credit a teacher, Jenny Lind of the Ganado Presbyterian Mission School in Arizona, for starting him as a practicing artist.

“She gave me lessons in art history and different mediums and always encouraged me,” he told Associated Press. “I guess she was the most influential teacher that I ever had.”

After high school, he served in the Navy before attending Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where he majored in literature and minored in art. He later studied art at Mexico City College on scholarship from the Navajo Tribal Council before moving to San Francisco, where he worked on his art and supported himself as a model.

He would later call his experience in Mexico transforming.

“What really changed a lot of my ways of expressing myself was when I went to Mexico and saw those very bold impressions from the Mexican artists like Siqueiros and Tamayo,” he told The Times.

A series of small shows in the San Francisco area in the late 1950s and early 1960s brought him some initial success. In the mid-’60s, he moved to Taos, N.M., and bought a gallery, which he renamed the Navajo Gallery. It was his base until his death.
Grand Canyon, Fine-Art Print by R.C. Gorman, 38.75×26.75
Angelina II, Fine Art Print by R.C. Gorman, 18×24
Bernice, Fine Art Print by R.C. Gorman, 16×20

LA Times
Michael Piller, a writer and producer best known as one of the creative forces behind the “Star Trek” television franchise and whose scripts brought a human touch to the intergalactic saga, has died. He was 57.

Piller died Tuesday of cancer at his home in Los Angeles, his family said.

The first episode Piller wrote for the syndicated “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” in 1989, revealed a love for baseball and a knack for creating morality plays set in the 24th century that resonated with viewers.

When “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry asked Piller to become a staff writer, Piller recalled being scared and saying, “I don’t know anything about sci-fi, but I can help your characters evolve,” he told StarTrek.com.

Rick Berman, executive producer of the “Star Trek” series, said in a statement, “Michael had more integrity than just about anyone I have ever met. His passion for writing and his ability to recognize and nurture talent in others never faltered.” Berman took over the series after Roddenberry’s death in 1991.

Piller eventually became the head writer and executive producer of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” which aired until 1994. He co-created and produced the syndicated “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” from 1992 to 1995 and UPN’s “Star Trek: Voyager” from 1994 to 1996.

He also wrote the 1998 film “Star Trek: Insurrection.” The Times review — headlined “An Enterprising Ninth” because it was the ninth movie in the series — said the film had a “gee-whiz affability.”

In 1999, Piller formed a production company with his son, Shawn, called Piller2.

“I’m at an age in this town that it gets harder and harder to get attention,” he told the Hollywood Reporter in 2002. “I bring Shawn with me into the room and suddenly our median age is somewhere in the 30s, and that means a lot.”

Their first project was the TV show “The Dead Zone,” based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, which debuted on the USA Network in 2002 and remains on the air.

King’s story of a high school teacher whose perfect life is ruined by a near-fatal crash appealed to him, Pillar once told The Times, because he was looking for “anything that will allow me to do what I think I do well, and that is to explore the life we live in.”

NY Times
Skitch Henderson, the conductor, pianist and radio and television entertainer who provided music and repartee for the “Tonight” show in the 1950’s and 60’s and who founded and led the New York Pops, died on Tuesday at his home in New Milford, Conn. He was 87.

His death was announced by James M. Johnson, executive director of the Pops.

With his neatly trimmed Vandyke beard and friendly disposition, Mr. Henderson was a familiar personality to millions of Americans over a long career. He had shows of his own on radio and television, and made many guest appearances in the 1950’s and 1960’s on “To Tell the Truth” and other game shows.

He was also a mainstay of the “Tonight” show, conducting the studio band and swapping stories with Steve Allen beginning in 1954 and later with Johnny Carson. He devised the “Stump the Band” routine, in which members of the studio audience would suggest obscure song titles and challenge the band musicians to play the tunes.

Mr. Henderson liked to stretch his players when he could, using arrangements by distinguished writers like Neal Hefti and Ernie Wilkins. Among the sidemen in the Henderson band were the trumpeter Clark Terry and Doc Severinsen, who took over as leader in 1967.

Though he became as much a performer as a conductor-pianist, Mr. Henderson always maintained his musical presence. He once described himself as “a middlebrow musician who does quality show music,” and critics over the years seemed to agree with that assessment.

Under Mr. Henderson’s leadership, the New York Pops were born unofficially in the 1950’s, with 70 members of the New York Philharmonic. It faded, but Mr. Henderson started it again, formalized its existence in 1983 and conducted it for many years, drawing musicians from the city’s freelance pool.

Mr. Henderson was regarded as one of the best-traveled musicians on the scene. In addition to turns on the podium of the New York Philharmonic, he made appearances as a guest conductor of orchestras in San Diego, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Tulsa and Stamford, Conn., and of quality pops orchestras in Virginia, Florida and Kentucky. Abroad, he conducted the Royal Philharmonic and the London Symphony.

Friday hath arrived and none to soon for these ODDfellows. Scraggy, still slightly askew and desperately in need of a decent meal we have rolled downhill this week to crash land thankfully on Muslim holiday called Break The Fast Day - Eid ul-Fitr. Certainly today is the day for a decent meal if ever there was such a day.

But what exactly does this day signify? You know of course of the Muslim month long celebration called Ramadhan. Ramadhan was the month in which the first verses of the holy Qur’an were revealed to Prophet Mohammad. This month is a time for inner reflection, devotion to God and self-control. It is the sighting of the new moon at the end of Ramadhan that heralds the celebration of Eid ul-Fitr - Breaking the Fast of Ramadhan. Eid is a time to come together as a community and to renew friendship and family ties. This is a time for peace for all Muslims in the world to devote to prayers and mutual well-being.

But no doubt by now you are asking yourself “What do I serve for this Break The Fast day?”. Because North American Muslims come from all parts of the world, not any one particular food is served on Eid. Muslims believe that all blessings come from God, but each family typically has a feast with foods of their particular heritage. For example, an Pakistani-American-Muslim family would have traditional South Asian food, whereas an African-American-Muslim family would have a roast with the sides and a Arab-American-Muslim family would have Arab cuisine.

An intermarried, bicultural family might have food from both cultures on that day. Often a Muslim North American family will visit the homes of friends of many heritages on that day. A typical Muslim family might have an Asian breakfast, an Indian lunch and an Irish dinner all in one day.

So set your worries aside and try a breakfast of Kartoffelpfannkuchen, some grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and then for dinner some excellent Lebanese Spiced Lamb Chops:

12 to 16 lamb chops (depending on size)

2 tablespoon salt

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 lemons, juiced

2 tablespoons black pepper

2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons Lebanese “7 spices”

1 1/2 cups water

Preheat oven to 550 degrees F.

Place lamb chops in a 9 by 12-inch glass baking dish. Combine 1 tablespoon of salt, garlic and lemon juice. Pour over lamb chops. Combine 1 tablespoon of salt, pepper, paprika and “7 spices” to form a rub. Rub both sides of the lamb chops with this mixture.
Place chops back into the baking dish and add 1 1/2 cups of water gently on the side of the dish so as to keep the spices on the lamb chops.

Cover the dish with foil and seal well. This will ensure the chops stay juicy. Place in the oven at 550 degrees for 30 minutes. Then lower temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

And if you find all this intolerable mayhaps try something out of the traditional Navajo recipes.

~~The ODDones for OurDailyDead.com

Technorati tags: Eid ul-Fitr, Ramadhan

LA Times
Fred S. Fox Sr., a veteran comedy writer who worked for some of Hollywood’s most legendary entertainers, including Bob Hope and George Burns, has died. He was 90.

Fox died Oct. 23 in Encino of pneumonia, said his daughter, Jan Fox.

His work inspired younger generations of comedy writers, including director-producer Garry Marshall, creator of “Happy Days,” and his own son, Fred Fox Jr., who wrote for that popular series, among others.

“He was my writing mentor on my first script and one of the strongest influences in my career,” Marshall told The Times on Tuesday. “But most of all, he was very funny.”

Born in St. Louis, Fox graduated from UC Berkeley and began his career at two San Francisco radio stations. At KSFO, his popular show, “Freddie the Fox,” was canceled after mothers complained that their children were imitating Fox’s stutter, Fox’s daughter said.

At the outset of World War II, Fox worked as a writer and producer for the Office of War Information. But he soon moved to Hollywood to write for comedians and in 1944 joined Hope’s staff.

Initially, Fox wrote for “The Bob Hope Pepsodent Show,” which had begun in 1938, and over their lengthy association co-wrote many of Hope’s specials and Christmas shows performed for troops around the world.

Even on his honeymoon in 1946, Fox was asked by Hope to send back 20 jokes a day. The writer reluctantly did as he was told — and the honeymoon couple was rewarded with a week at the luxurious Hope compound in Palm Springs.

“He was not only good to work with,” Fox told The Times when Hope died in 2003 at age 100, “but when you got to know him, he became a friend.”

Fox also maintained a long association with another centenarian comedian, Burns, who also was 100 when he died in 1996. Fox began writing for Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen, when he first moved to Hollywood in 1943. Years later, Fox won a Writers Guild Award for “The George Burns Comedy Hour.” With his longtime writing partner, Seaman Jacobs, and others, Fox also wrote the script for Burns’ 1980 feature film “Oh, God! Book II” from the novel by Avery Corman.

Washington Post
M. Scott Peck, 69, a psychiatrist who wrote the landmark self-help book “The Road Less Traveled” but said he often had a hard time following his advice of self-discipline, died Sept. 25 at his home on Bliss Road in Warren, Conn. He had Parkinson’s disease as well as pancreatic and liver duct cancer.

Dr. Peck was enjoying a brisk private practice in Connecticut when he wrote “The Road Less Traveled” (1978). It reportedly sold more than 10 million copies, was translated into 20 languages, spent eight years on the New York Times bestseller list and launched a franchise of books, including “Further Along the Road Less Traveled” (1993) and “The Road Less Traveled and Beyond” (1997).

With a compassionate narrative style, Dr. Peck’s books emphasized personal responsibility and self-discipline. “Life is difficult,” he wrote in the opening line of “The Road Less Traveled,” moving on to address themes he labeled discipline, love, growth and religion, and grace.

Though he said one publisher dismissed it as “too Christ-y,” “The Road Less Traveled” was credited with boosting the publishing industry’s interest in self-help texts, especially those with a spiritual flavoring. Dr. Peck was sometimes regarded as the modern father of the genre, but he had trouble with those who called him a prophet, which many of his followers did.

Dr. Peck became one of the best-known psychiatrists, speakers and spiritual teachers of his generation, even if some in his field came to frown on his meshing of mental health and spirituality.

Raised in a secular home, his own religious track ranged from Zen Buddhist (at 18) to a flirtation with Jewish and Muslim mysticism (in his thirties) and Christianity (at 43).

With his first book, he became rich and famous. He held workshops and lectures on such subjects as “Self-Love Versus Self-Esteem” and “Sexuality & Spirituality: Kissing Cousins.”

He said he was repulsed and pleased by some of the cult aspects that formed around him. “Half the time when people want to touch my robe,” he once told Life magazine, “it feels incredibly icky — yuck!” The rest of the time, “it feels very good, honest, right.”

He described himself as a flawed man who had a weakness for cheap gin, marijuana and women. He wrote openly of his extramarital affairs in what he called his favorite book, “In Search of Stones” (1995), nominally about a trip to Great Britain looking for ancient stone monuments.

“There was an element of quest in my extra-marital romances,” he wrote. “I was questing, through sexual romance, at least a brief visit to God’s castle.” He later said his philandering stopped when he became impotent

Three days of drinking mead will bring a consequence or two. Alas we are a tad out of sorts this day and in no mood to celebrate Japan’s Culture Day. Check with us on the morrow and see if we can find the spirit to end Ramadan with Eid al-Fitr (the Celebration of Breaking of the Fast). At this rate we’ll never get the harvest in.

Somewhere during all the fun and games a fan-email did we receive. Bill chastised us (with merit it appears) for missing out of the demise of M. Scott Peck. Thus each of you thus has Bill to thank for one of today’s ODDguests - the same M. Scott Peck. Seems Mr. Peck was indeed a man of contradictions.

Bill - consider us square, eh?