In Memoriam 1981: Famous Faces We Lost in 1981 

I remembet him from College Bowl, the quiz show that would pit four students each from two diiferent colleges in a battle of trivia to see who could win the most scholarship money for their schools. A lot of the schools were small or regional schools that many people had not heard of and that sometimes led to an increase of interest in those schools because these college kids were really intelligent and the questions were a lot deeper than the usual trivia shows.

Except not as many people smoke or least not heavily as actors did in Golden Age era of Hollywood like Humphrey Bogart for instance smoked 3-4 packs a day of unfiltered cigarettes along with heavy drinking leading to his death at age 57 in 1957 of esophageal cancer. Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Judy Garland, John Wayne, Errol Flynn all died relatively young from years of smoking, drinking or both or in Judy Garland was addicted to alcohol and drugs leading to her death from barbiturate overdose in 1969. John Wayne’s death from cancer from the radiation from a film set near a bomb testing site and led to his and several co stars and even the directors death from cancer but Wayne’s 3-4 pack a day smoking habit for over 30 years didn’t help.

But generally at a much higher age

Unless you count Covid.

Yes, you are right. A "Father" of Bobby and JR Ewings. A real actor of Hollywood "Golden age".

I'm sure, if we're being pedantic, they forgot hundreds of people.

Didn't Jim Davis play the leading man opposite Bette Davis in a movie from the late 1940's? He had dark hair back then and looked very different back then - was handsome in his youth.

@@victorcorners5594 I'm not really familiar with his film career but yes he did have dark hair when he was young so your question is most likely correct.

I'm assuming that you're talking about Jim Davis who was the creator of the cartoon cat "Garfield." I liked Garfield a lot. He was so funny. 😂

We're the same age!

I was 19 and 43 years old was old people for our perspective life time ;)

I had just turned 15 when Natalie Wood had died tragically that way. I remember it well to this day even in 2024. My memory is very good and I can recall days even in Kindergarten and before that as a baby.

Yes, and his father became an advocate for missing and murdered children ever since. I remember it well. The next one to "hit me" like this was Polly Klaas in the early '90s.

I'm a fan of Harry Chapin,he had alot of great songs including his biggest hit The Cats In The Cradle ! I still enjoy his music .

He was great in Suitable For Framing, an early Columbo episode.

​@@kazamshah4543Yes, I agree. That episode was in the first season. I have the entire first season of "Columbo" on dvds 📀.

And now, Alan's beloved wife, Betty White. RIP Betty, you're reunited with Alan, the love of your life.

Her last role.

Thank you. I knew the name but couldn't place it. MC was a tough old broad.

Thanks for the nice words. I plan to go back to at least 1969. After that, I'll have to see.

@@inmemoriam2000that would be great!!

Yes a wonderful job, I am taken aback at how young some of these stars were that I grew up with.

⁠@@inmemoriam2000Please start at 1968 with Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy. Thank you.🙏

@@inmemoriam2000 You should go back to as far as the 1920s, 30s, 40s. Just my thoughts. You're doing a great job on these Vince!

Oh yes, the original Mack the Knife. Lottie Lenya sang it in the most spooky manner, evoking automatons dancing in a bizarre circus. It actually sounds much more like the Weimar Republic days of out of control inflation and nightmarish sexual behavior.

That’s right Bernard Lee set the tone for future M actors being the first to play the character from Dr No in 1962 until Moonraker in 1979 when couldn’t return for For Your Eyes Only as was set to reprise his role and script was changed out of respect for Lee writing in that M was on leave rather than recast the part for the film.

I had the pleasure of meeting him in 1979, in El Paso, TX, Ft. Bliss, my dad graduated from the Sargent Majors Academy, Omar was there & I got to meet him & shake his hand, I'll never forget that day!👍✌️

And yes, he was the only living 5 Star General at the time, WOW! That's history right there👍✌️

Thank you for that information.

That was a good catch Spring. Good Ol' Sheriff Clay Hollister 👍.

Great show and actor

And was absolutely beautiful.

Great Actor!! He was in a horror movie in the '80s called DEAD and BURIED. Wow, what an actor. Loved him in Willy Wonka and The Poseidon Adventure!

Me too

Same!

1983- that's mine)

I was only 1 year old in 1981.

@@jasonpalacios2705 you were born at the year of Moscow Olympic games) 1980

@@victorcorners5594 Yes I was born in 1980 when that event happened but actually I was born in June in that year.

Robert Conrad. If you were thinking of the show "The Wild Wild West"

Robert Conrad was over 3 and a half years ago. Feb. 8, 2020. 2 great actors that I watched on the W.W.W. since I was a kid. R.I.P. TO HIM & ROSS.

​@@bruce8808Yes. I loved watching Robert Conrad and Ross Martin in "The Wild, Wild West" when I was a young girl in the 1960s.

@@lynettepalecek3141 To this day I still have an autographed photo of those from when I wrote a letter back in 1971 and it was in my mailbox a few weeks later. It was in color and it was taken in 1966 from the 1st Season.

@@bruce8808 Wow! Lucky you!! I'm sure that you treasure that photograph 📸 and you have it well protected. Do you have it on display for everyone to see?

Possibly a heart attack. All "natural causes" means is it wasn't murder, suicide or an accident.

One of my grandfathers died aged 55, the other 42. Both WW2 vets. Even for those who survived the war, life was a lot shorter back then.

What video were you watching?

No.

Acting like _you_ were the one to decide who is worthy of being commemorated or not, based on their respective cause of death, makes _you_ the idiot in here. Guess what, they say "all people are equal in death", so you will be equal to all these "idiots" who "threw away the gift of life" one day.

​@@deavacui2825 * Thank you *

​@@deavacui2825 Doing Drugs is the right thing? I don't think so

It's called being remembered, not celebrated, dumbshit.

Sadly, it continues to this day in 2024 Dennis. We shouldn't judge others on their bad habits. They are still human beings.