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So Long, Farewell, Goodbye

January 11th, 2022 by Kenneth Abrahams

This time of year is greeted by many with mixed emotions. New Years is a time when we look forward to the start of a fresh slate with a myriad of opportunities in front of us. We can shove the last twelve months into a drawer, with all its short comings and missed opportunities, and focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. A new beginning full of new hopes and dreams, where everything is possible. It is also the time of year where we look back on those that have passed. December’s last week was a hard one as we said goodbye to three legendary figures, Bishop Desmond Tutu, John Madden, and Betty White. All three are individuals that were part of my life, especially growing up. They were not the only people whose remarkable journey ended this year.

Growing up with a mother who believed in and practiced social justice, long before it was something actively discussed in mainstream society, individuals like Bishop Tutu were discussed and revered in our house. An outspoken critic of Apartheid and the oppressive South African government, he gave a voice to those who had no seat at the table. For more than 40 years, he provided thoughtful commentary on the politics of South Africa, the AIDS crisis, homosexuality, ordination of women priests, and a whole host of other issues that unfairly treated a group, class, or race of people. Despite retiring from public life more than a decade ago, he was far from silent. His voice, passion and compassion will be sorely missed.

John Madden, for many, was the voice of the NFL. He called games on all 4 “major” networks, ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, something that no one had ever previously done. Some say that he gave instant credibility to upstart Fox sports when they outbid NBC for the rights to the National Football Conference. If you are old enough, you would remember him as the coach of the Al Davis owned Raiders. An interesting group of irreverent and colorful football players the likes of which, that I dare say, the NFL has never seen. From all reports there were few rules (unlike the Bill Belichick led Patriots) other than show up on gameday ready to play. It worked as he never had a losing season and won one Superbowl. Younger generations are familiar with him from the video games Madden Football. He gave both his name and his vocal talents to the games. Personally, I loved listening to him and his longtime broadcast partner Pat Summerall call games. He broke the games down so that anyone could watch and understand them and his enthusiasm made them fun.

Betty White was truly an American Institution. Whether it was her being interviewed on a talk show or watching her as the irreverent foil to the overly sweet Mary Tyler Moore, she always made me smile. Betty White was about three weeks shy of her 100th birthday, a milestone many of us thought that she would easily hit. For more than 60 years, she plied her trade as an actress, appearing in movies, on television and for many years as a panelist on countless game shows. Over the years, she received a number of awards including Emmy’s, a Grammy, and several Screen Actors Guild awards. One of her passions, and something that she told interviewers she wanted to be remembered for, was her work on animal rights issues. She was very involved in the L.A. Zoo and a number of other animal rights groups. Her laugh, directness and simple humanity will be missed.

Unfortunately, this was just the last week of 2021. Each year the Boston Globe puts out a piece detailing the lives of many who passed. It is published on January 1 and here is the link https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/12/31/metro/those-who-departed-2021/?s_campaign=breakingnews:newsletter  

There are several others that I will miss and here are just a few more, in no particular order:

Eric Carle was an author and illustrator who has delighted children for years with his books. Filled with brightly colored illustrations, they were the type of books that kids would read over and over again. The Very Hungry Caterpillar was a favorite in our house.

Hank Aaron was a childhood idol. After all, he was the man who broke the home run record set by Babe Ruth years earlier. For years, I kept the Sports Illustrated issue after he hit number 715. Many don’t realize that, like Jackie Robinson before him, Aaron was the target of vitriol and hate, he even received death threats after breaking Ruth’s record. He is a person I know only by reputation, but that reputation portrayed him as one of the nicest people to roam the earth. A true ambassador of the sport.

Jerry Remy did not have the brilliant career or flashy statistics that Aaron had. He was a lunchbox toting blue collar baseball player, more of your every man type guy. He had a good career as a second baseman for the Boston Red Sox but is better known by many for his post playing career as a Red Sox broadcaster. He may have been at his best when the games were a blowout or really boring. Never at a loss for a good story or two, on the air he had no problem laughing at himself or poking fun at those in the booth with him. His voice, honesty and sense of humor will be missed on those telecasts.

2021 was not a great year for the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Along with the loss of Betty White, Ed Asner and Cloris Leachman also left us this past year. Cloris played Phyllis Lindstrom although she is much better known by younger generations as the secretary for the warden in The Youngest Yard. She also was Frau Blücher in the 1974 comedy Young Frankenstein. Perhaps best known for being Lou Grant, Ed Asner had an incredible career on both the big and small screens as well as on stage. His vocal talents have been a part of everything from Spiderman cartoons to the movie Up. Like Betty White, Asner’s career spanned more than 6 decades and had hundreds of acting credits. There are still works in post-production that are yet to be released.

Other film and television stars that made their final exits were Olympia Dukakis from Moonstruck and Cicely Tyson. Tyson gave us some incredible performances in Roots, The Help, Fried Green Tomatoes and very recently How to Get Away with Murder, a show she worked on well into her 90’s.

So many others departed this year, Michael Nesmith the guitarist for the Monkees, Charlie Watts drummer for the Rolling Stones, Composer Stephen Sondheim, and brash, arrogant attorney F. Lee Bailey who defended accused Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo, and was part of the legal team for O.J. Simpson. Larry King who interviewed countless celebrities, movers, and shakers for 50 plus years. There are many more, but you get the picture. We are lucky that many of these individuals left behind their works for us to enjoy for years to come. People like Desmond Tutu and Hank Aaron have made the world a better place.

About the author

Ken Abrahams is somewhat of a news junkie, each year he reads a number of articles like the one in the Globe to better understand the contributions that those who have passed have made.

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