I've shied away from celebrity obituaries lately, partly because there's been so many this year, partly because I'd rather this be a fun, if occasionally grouchy movie blog than a mortician's log. Nonetheless, three notable celebrity passings occurred within the last 48 hours.
First was Michael Cimino, the mercurial auteur behind The Deer Hunter and Heaven's Gate. I've never been a Cimino fan, but I did enjoy Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and Magnum Force, which he co-wrote.
There was also Robin Hardy, the British director and novelist best-known for The Wicker Man.
Standing head and shoulders above them is Holocaust survivor and activist Elie Wiesel, whose Night I read in high school and left a profound impact.
On the brighter side, Olivia De Havilland celebrated her 100th birthday on Friday! May you live forever.
Here's hoping 2016 ends soon. The sooner we get this year's mixture of terrorism, mass shootings, Brexits and bewigged George Wallace impersonators out of our system, the better.
