Dennis Weaver has died.

[doxieone]

No link. Just mentioned on MSNBC.

EDIT: Link.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBIT_WEAVER?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=customwire.htm

[melody]

1. Another good and decent man gone :( n/t

[leQ]

36. wow, tvland is going to have to get the move on

they're planning a tribute to knotts on tuesday. no doubt they'll have something for weaver. so who's the third? i think i missed one.


on edit: it's darren mcgavin (just found out on irc)

[melody]

37. Darren McGavin died the day Knotts did n/t

[Javaman]

53. Oh man, I loved him in the Night Stalker series....

One of my favorite actors...

He was great as the dad in "A Christmas story".

what a loss.

god speed Darren.

[BlueEyedSon]

2. That makes 3

[Patsy Stone]

5. You beat me to that.

Bad week to be a celebrity with "D" as your first initial...

[BlueEyedSon]

9. Is that Lacroix? It's FABULOUS!

[Patsy Stone]

27. Sweetie...

It IS! "I like it if it's Lacroix!"

[ronnykmarshall]

35. Does Lacroix do kitchens?

[Patsy Stone]

44. That

Would be AbFab! So much better than Terence "Bloody" Conran, darling.

Cheers!

[Strathos]

56. Boli-Stoli?

For a toast to these great men!

[Frank Cannon]

10. Weird. Another 60s-70s TV icon, too.

Well, this week is really starting off great.

God speed you, Mr. Weaver. My parents were HUGE fans of McCloud, and I remember watching "Duel" as a kid and having it scare the living crap out of me. You will be sorely missed.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

11. That crossed my mind last night...

Who will be the third?

(I worked as a nurse for thirty years, and many more times than not, we lost people in threes...)

[5X]

24. That makes 4,,,,Octavia Butler too. n/t

[BlueEyedSon]

26. ya, youre right

[Sequoia]

28. She's writer though, not an actor.

[chalky]

59. No, no, NO! Not Octavia Butler!!!!

OMG! :cry:

[TomInTib]

3. Man this has been a rough few days for folks my age.

Barney and Chester, gone.

Just like that.

[Kadie]

4. How sad.

:cry:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. He was a great environmentalist

I heard him speak about environmental concerns about 12 years ago. It was at an ecological conference in MO, not at a big venue, either. He was quite sincere and walked his talk-his house was one of those that used recycled tires, etc.

[tabasco]

31. Wow ! Thanks for the info.

He did not waste his life. He spent it trying to make it a better world.

We will miss you Mr. Weaver !

I loved McCloud. :cry:

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

41. I saw him speak about environmental issues - he was a pioneer

Talked at that huge new age show they used to do every year in L.A.

He had a house in that was completely built of recycled material, solar powered,and completely self sufficient.

What a great pioneer and worker for "the cause"-

waiting for someone to ask me what's "the cause"---

[SkipNewarkDE]

7. I was wondering what had happened to him...

He was doing a series on ABC Family called Wildfire, a formulaic, but ultimately rather harmless and addictive soaper about a family in the Thoroughbred racing business. He played the patriarch of the family, and was a kind of stern and wise old force in the first season of the show. It was a pleasure to see him again doing television. Since the start of season 2 he has been nowhere to be seen, and was removed from the main credits. His character was talked about every now and then as being "away."

So sad to hear of his passing.

[berni_mccoy]

8. He was a long-time advocate of alternative fuels and energy independence

He led the Drive To Survive campaign

http://www.insightman.com/drive03/drive2survive.htm

[blm]

39. He was a longtime favorite of mine - a real dedicated progressive activist

I had a schoolgirl crush on him when he was McCloud. Heh - Kucinich and McCloud, where could a schoolgirl go wrong having crushes on those two?

[henslee]

12. Wow, this is not even on the wires yet. Too bad. Great guy.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

13. That's a shame . . .

. . . and Barney Fife. That's the one that makes me feel old. Knotts was such a masterful comedian.

:patriot:

[Whoa_Nelly]

14. Story link--KC Star

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/entertainment/13974583.htm

[CrazyOrangeCat]

17. I love your Ringo quote . . .

Talk about first impressions being accurate!

[Whoa_Nelly]

20. LOL Ain't it the truth!

The Fab Four were such right on and crazy guys!

[melody]

38. Apparently not, as he lives here now :)

Ringo is a full-time US resident. His wife is American. We can't be all bad. ;-)

[Lautremont]

15. He's riding "some kinda souped-up diesel" to the sky.

(That's a Duel reference.)

He was also great as the Night Man in Touch of Evil.

[no_hypocrisy]

29. "Duel" was Steven Spiegelberg's first movie. I remember watching

it more than once on the ABC Movie of the Week in the 70s. A classic like Mr. Weaver.

[mzmolly]

40. That was a heckuva movie.

I still cringe when ever I'm in front of a semi on the freeway.

[Catchawave]

66. Great movie....very scary too.

To this day, seeing a semi in my rearview scares me silly!

[Tikki]

16. So, so sad......that's pretty much my childhood in threes...

Darren McGavin
Don Knotts
Dennis Weaver





Tikki

[AndyA]

18. A great actor

I always liked McCloud, thought it was a great show. I still watch it from time to time on reruns. The movie Duel was awesome, very scary at the time, and still pretty scary today. I remember wondering when that red car he was driving was just going to quit on him.

Well, he's #3 for the last few days, and I liked every one of them.

Don Knotts was hilarious in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and The Andy Griffith Show, and A Christmas Story with Darren McGavin is one movie that everyone stops to watch, no matter how busy they are, during the hectic holidays.

We're fortunate to have lived during their time, they contributed so much to humanity.

Rest in peace, guys - you'll never be forgotten! And thanks for the memories you left behind that still provide entertainment today.

[Little Star]

51. Don't forget Don Knotts in

Mr. Limpit. My grandchildren still watch that and so do I. All three men were masters. They will be missed.

[FormerDittoHead]

19. Does anyone else remember them playing "McCloud" episodes in Drive ins?

OK, if you don't know what a "drive in" is you're excused, resume your gameboys...

For the the rest of us, *I* remember my local (NJ) drive in playing these along with other movies.

And of course, DUEL remains a great movie.

[colorado_ufo]

21. Dennis was a friend of mine.

We met through his association with llamas. I put on a benefit horse show for his favorite charity - LIFE (Love Is Feeding Everyone)- and he and his wife attended the show. He rode horses and participated, stayed the whole weekend. My recently widowed mother had attended the show social, and when Dennis found out how much she and my Dad had loved to dance, he asked her to dance with him. She was overwhelmed to be dancing with a movie star, and I think that's when her grief began to heal.

He and his wife, Geri, did indeed walk their talk. Their house is an amazing achievement of environmental consciousness and creativity. Dennis was completely approachable, unassuming, warm, kind, generous, and fun. He and his wife were devoted to one another, without a shred of Hollywood hype or hypocrisy. My family thought the world of both of them.

Whenever such a good person leaves us, there is such a vacuum. We can only try to fill it by appreciating more the good people in our lives and striving to become better ourselves.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

22. Thanks for posting this.

Very, very cool story . . .

[Gormy Cuss]

23. Thank you for sharing your memories.

I guess 'McCloud' wasn't much of a stretch for his acting abilities. The story of him dancing with your mother shows that he had a keen sense of doing the right thing.

[quiet.american]

46. That's a lovely eulogy. n/t

[Raine]

48. THANKS for sharing

it's so nice to hear that he was such a thoughtful decent man.

[flygal]

72. Thanks for the post

He sounds as wonderful as I thought he would be. I only recently discoved his old show and thought he seemed like a nice guy. RIP Dennis.

[eppur_se_muova]

25. now on CNN...

Weaver also was an activist for protecting the environment and combating world hunger.

He served as president of Love Is Feeding Everyone (LIFE), which fed 150,000 needy people a week in Los Angeles County. He founded the Institute of Ecolonomics, which sought solutions to economic and environmental problems. He spoke at the United Nations and Congress, as well as to college students and school children about fighting pollution and starvation.

"Earthship" was the most visible of Weaver's crusades. He and his wife Gerry built a solar-powered Colorado home out of recycled tires and cans. The thick walls helped keep the inside temperature even year around.
***
Weaver responded: "If we get into the mindset of saving rather than wasting and utilizing other materials, we can save the Earth."
***
more at: http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/27/obit.weaver.ap/index.html

They don't even mention he was an ordained minister (Methodist, IIRC). He also qualified in the Olympic decathlon.

They do note that he found the time to do some acting work, as well.:)

[soup]

42. Earthship Sunridge

Just fascinated with these earthship homes. Bookmarked several sites over the weekend. Including these:

http://www.dennisweaver.com/
http://www.dennisweaver.com/earthshipforsale.html

May he rest in peace.

[eppur_se_muova]

47. Thanks, bookmarked the link.

[applegrove]

30. Do you guys remember the "McCloud" where they had a truck convoy?

I think that was my favourite single episode of TV as a kid.

Don't remember much else. Perhaps I didn't see it more than a few times.

[NoAmericanTaliban]

32. McCloud star dead at 81

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Dennis Weaver, the slow-witted deputy Chester Goode in the TV classic western "Gunsmoke" and the New Mexico deputy solving New York crime in "McCloud," has died. The actor was 81.

Weaver died of complications from cancer Friday at his home in Ridgway, in southwestern Colorado, his publicist Julian Myers said...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/27/obit.weaver.ap/index.html


I loved him as McCloud & in Duel.

[xultar]

33. OK Everybody is dying...Something is going to happen.

A good friend of mine fell down and died @ work last week. Sweet dear lady AWESOME GREAT PERSON!!!!

I'm beginning to feel like I did just before 9/11. A whole bunch of people and stars died it was if they were going to be spared the effin bullshit coming down the pike.


:cry:

[ThoughtCriminal]

34. Is the Rapture taking all the good guys?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060227/ap_on_en_mo/obit_weaver

<snip>
"Weaver also was an activist for protecting the environment and combating world hunger.

He served as president of Love Is Feeding Everyone (LIFE), which fed 150,000 needy people a week in Los Angeles County. He founded the Institute of Ecolonomics, which sought solutions to economic and environmental problems. He spoke at the United Nations and Congress, as well as to college students and school children about fighting pollution and starvation."
<snip>

[Orrin_73]

43. RIP Dennis we will miss you

Dennis Weaver was an committed environmentalist, Weaver's home near Santa Fe, N.M., is constructed almost entirely out of recycled materials.

[Robb]

57. "near Santa Fe"

Well, kinda. 294 miles of windy road, but heck. :)

He was "up the road a piece" from us, good guy. As recently as October he was doing fund-raisers for the local arts group, sort of a salon-type thing at his home where he'd do "Irreverant Shakespeare" and make everyone laugh.

The Earthship was a mixed bag, according to local contractors who said it was a constant source of employment. But, god bless him, he never stopped at it. :)

He must've started to slide pretty quickly, although last time I saw him at a public meeting on a local development, he was looking a little tired.

RIP Dennis. We'll do our best.

[Orrin_73]

64. WOW you met Dennis!!!!

Cool

[GoddessOfGuinness]

45. Anybody remember "Gentle Ben"?

It starred Dennis Weaver and Clint Howard (Ron's little brother). I watched it as a kid in the 1960s. The setting was the Everglades; and Weaver played a game warden. The show did a lot to raise my awareness of the Everglades and environmental issues in general.

Dennis Weaver will be missed... :cry:

[Raine]

49. R-I-P Dennis

you will be missed. :cry: Another good one gone, this is so sad. :cry:

[LizW]

50. Aw, man.

I always loved Dennis Weaver because he looked just like my dad.

RIP.

:(

[Megahurtz]

52. Dennis Weaver AND Don Knotts too?

Both at 81 Years old on the same day? Sheesh!

Rest In Peace, guys!O8)

[Javaman]

54. Man, I loved him in "Duel" the TV show "McCLoad"

RIP Dennis.

You will be missed.

[Kingofalldems]

55. He did a Simpsons episode a few years back

Played an aging cowboy movie star who befriended Bart. Very funny episode. RIP Dennis, Darren and Don.

[eppur_se_muova]

61. Thanks, I'll have to catch that. nt

[CrispyQ]

58. He was a vegetarian since 1958.

I always loved McCloud!

[President Jesus]

60. contributions show he was a solid Dem

campaign contributions: http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Dennis_Weaver.php

[eppur_se_muova]

62. He has enough accomplishments in his obit for seven people! Truly awesome.

Really sad to compare to **'s obit-on-file. (A low blow, maybe, but I couldn't pass it up.)

[bklyncowgirl]

63. The barn I worked at in the 70s used to supply horses for McCloud.

Dennis Weaver used to do his own stunts.

Naturally there was some concern because alot of actors, including those who appear in western movies and TV shows, really can't ride to save their lives and they had him doing some crazy stuff with our horses in the streets of NYC.

As it turned out he was a fine horseman and everyone I knew who worked with him thought he was a great guy and a real professional.

[colorado_ufo]

69. Yes - he was an excellent horseman

and loved horses and his llamas.

[bklyncowgirl]

75. That's great.

One of my friends was in agony over him using her favorite horse for a stunt in which he pulled a woman off of another runaway horse. The horse Dennis Weaver was using was a big strong chestnut thoroughbred and definately not a beginner horse.

She came back from the shoot ecstatic not only over Dennis's riding skills but also the sheer professionalism he showed in learning about the individual animals they were using and that he, the big hollywood actor with the hit TV show talked to teenage barn rat as the expert on this particular horse that she was.

That was impressive.

[Greylyn58]

65. He was a good man

who loved the environment and worked to make things better.

Damn that makes three very funny and entertaining actors gone in one week.

Don Knotts, Darren McGavin, now Dennis Weaver. All will be sorely missed.

[mitchum]

67. A good man...longtime enviromentalist and advocate for the poor

Rest In Peace, Mr Weaver

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

68. What's really wierd is

I had breakfast at a rather well renowned establishment Friday. Signatures of celabrities who had dined there lined the wall near the entry. One was Dennis Weaver's.

[Nomen Tuum]

70. :-(

too many good people passed away this month :-(

[Rainscents]

71. RIP

I really liked this man. He will be missed.

[HuffleClaw]

73. its always in threes, isn't it.

so, now the rest can relax for a bit.

[InsultComicDog]

74. When I was a kid I used to watch "Gentle Ben"

The series with the bear... that was my first exposure to Dennis Weaver. I liked him a lot in McCloud too.

I sent him an e-mail about 6 years ago about one of his environmental concerns. His wife replied and left a phone number for me to call Dennis Weaver personally about it. How often does that happen! Awfully nice people as far as I could tell.

[Lochloosa]

76. "Duel"

Almost made me not want to get my drivers license.

Goodbye Dennis!