Passings

A couple of celebrity passings came to my attention today -- one Buffalo-related, one not.

First was today's death of Rick James, the "Superfreak" guy who was a Buffalo native. I didn't really know that much about him at all, but he's from Buffalo, which gets him a mention here.

Second, I learned a bit ago that character actor Eugene Roche passed away recently. Roche had a long career, and if you watched TV or went to many movies in the 70s and 80s, you no doubt saw him. (Filmography here.) I remember him for two roles: first, as the Archbishop and the Archbishop's twin brother in the Chevy Chase/Goldie Hawn flick Foul Play (which is still an old favorite of mine, before Chase turned into a giant flake); and second, as Luther H. Gillis, a gumshoe detective he played as a recurring role on Magnum, PI. (Now there's a show I'd love to have on DVD.)