Irish actor Richard Harris has died. I always admired and enjoyed his talent and range as an actor (as well as his rugged offscreen persona). Among the most memorable of his films for me include A Man Called Horse, The Molly Maguires, Cromwell, Shake Hands With the Devil, and, of course, Camelot. I'll take his King Arthur over Richard Burton's any day. Harris was truly a one-of-a-kind. He will be missed.

And, of course, it would be remiss to note Richard's passing without mentioning his most curious and enigmatic (and only) '68 song hit, MacArthur Park, which reached #2 on the charts. Written by Jimmy Webb, it's one of those songs folks seem to either love or hate. I always enjoyed Harris's whack at it meownself. It has been covered by over 50 artists, including Sinatra, and was named, BTW, as the worst song ever by Dave Barry in a reader's poll a few years ago. Here's a page with some interesting, and eclectic, perspectives on the song and Harris's intepretation of it:

http://dav4is.8m.com/Music/macarthur.html

"Someone left the cake out in the rain..."

MacArthur Park lyrics:

http://www.twin-music.com/azlyrics/h_file/rharris_lyr.html

The very first thing I think of when thinking of Richard Harris is "MacArthur's Park." I couldn't begin to guess how many times I listened to that well-loved and very much criticized old song.

Sorry that he's gone...

Yesterday in the market, as I was passing by a Harry Potter figurines display, I overheard a lad of must-have-been-all-of-ten remarking to his Dad, "Did you hear? Dumbledore died!" Of all the roles to be remembered for...

Well, I'll remember him as I saw him in the summer of 1990 - as a wonderful madman in Pirandello's "Henry V" - what a performance!

I could be mistaken but I believe it was in the film "My Favorite Year" when, suddenly faced with the terrifying prospect of going on live TV (He had thought it was to be taped) Harris uttered one of the truly great (and greatly true) lines about his very strange profession: "I'm not an actor! I'm a movie star!!"

Superb voice, tremendous style, and ("Brat Pack" be damned!) absolutely no one on the horizon who even comes close to taking his place.