Two more idols down...
Kurt Vonnegut died today. His Cat's Cradle was one of the first SF books I read, along with Sirens of Titan. I loved the struggle it took to read some of his work and understand them. For what he survived and how he tried to give it to all of us in his literature, even for the "sunscreen" speech he never wrote, I admired him since I bought his first book.
Roscoe Lee Browne was someone else I admired, and began in about the same time period. I first really took notice when the episode of All in the Family aired where he, a dignified and erudite African-American with just as much bigotry in his own way as Archie Bunker, is stuck in an elevator with him, a pregnant Puerto Rican and her husband, and an aging hippie for several hours. It was beautiful. From that moment I loved his voice and his ability to bring dignity and humor to every role he played. (If I remember correctly, the lady goes into labor and Browne objects to giving up his newspaper to put the baby on.)
Roscoe Lee Browne was someone else I admired, and began in about the same time period. I first really took notice when the episode of All in the Family aired where he, a dignified and erudite African-American with just as much bigotry in his own way as Archie Bunker, is stuck in an elevator with him, a pregnant Puerto Rican and her husband, and an aging hippie for several hours. It was beautiful. From that moment I loved his voice and his ability to bring dignity and humor to every role he played. (If I remember correctly, the lady goes into labor and Browne objects to giving up his newspaper to put the baby on.)