UPDATE: Mr. Furley And Ralphie's Old Man Re-Team In Heaven
The weekend saw the passing of two great figures from the American comedy pantheon: Don Knotts, known for brilliant caricatures of nebbish self-effacement, and Darren McGavin, a versatile actor best remembered for his cursing, authoritarian though equally ineffective turn as Ralphie's "Old Man" in A Christmas Story. The two would have made the perfect comic pairing, and sure enough, they did appear alongside one another in two lesser known Disney movies from the 1970s. Though Barney Fife is arguably Knott's best role, for us, it's the swinging and sniffing leisure-suited landlord Mr. Furley with which he will forever be associated. With John Ritter, Norman Fell, and now Knotts gone, we can only imagine Richard Kline, aka Larry, is feeling the uneasy combination of relief, melancholy and isolation that comes with being Three's Company's last surviving male.
UPDATE: Octogenarian stars, beware: The Reaper is on a rampage:
Actor Dennis Weaver dies at 81
Perhaps now that he's harvested three souls, he'll go on vacation and spare Mickey Rooney a sudden retirement.
