Lions-49ers

Linda Lavin

Jimmy Carter

Book of Lists

Jimmy Waite

Amerika

Sam Neill

Cory Haim

Jim Harbaugh

Rickey Henderson

Big Country

Peter Criss

Robert Urich

Helen Slater

"Summer Fantasy"

Philip K. Dick

Every Rose has its Thorn by Poison

Patty Duke

John Davidson

Caren Kaye

The Amazing Kreskin

David Carradine

Kim Basinger

Dan Hartman “I Can Dream About You”

Jobeth Williams

James Naughton

Walt Disney

Superman

Rick Savage

Cathy Lee Crosby

Wayne Northrop

Bo Jackson

Bernie Kosar

Amy Grant

John Larroquette

Joe Gibbs

Ricardo Montalban

Kevin Kline

Ken Griffey Jr

Goldie Hawn

Joseph Campanella

Bob Einstein Super Dave Osborne

Huey Lewis and the News

1987 Grey Cup

Honeymoon Suite

Men Without Hats

The Spoons

Richard Mulligan

Aldo Nova

Pet Shop Boys

Demi Moore

Jack Scalia

Lou Ferrigno

Morley Safer

Kevin MacMichael Cutting Crew

Glenn Frey

Quincy Jones

Darrel Janz

Crying Over You by Platinum Blonde

Innocence by Harlequin

Soul City by the Partland Brothers

Deidre Hall

Teri Garr

Kate Jackson

Ed Whalen: Voice of Calgary

Red Rooster

Keith Morrison

Jack Jones and "The Love Boat Theme"

Judith Light

Johnny Carson

Fernando Valenzuela

Dodger-Yankees

John Lithgow

Robert Reed

Amy Linker

Dionne Warwick

Tim Robbins

Here’s to 1,000

Emma Samms

Albert Hague

Tony Kubek

Steve Young

Dana Elcar

Toy Soldiers by Martika

Entertainment Tonight

Peter Frampton

Kool & the Gang

Blue Rodeo

John Amos

Pete Rose

Sarah McLachlan

Drake Hogestyn

Kris Kristofferson

Tom Cochrane

Krull

Heather Locklear

Tommy Lasorda

Christopher Reeve

Spacehunter

Rosalind Chao

Toni Basil

John Houseman

Jim Croce

Neil Lumsden

Roddy McDowall

John Ritter

Merlin Olsen

Kelly Keagy

Ray Jauch

Gardens of Stone

Jesse Owens

One Day at a Time

Pat Mastelotto

James Earl Jones

Dennis Dugan

CFL on CTV

Jane Curtin

Frank Shuster

Paul Harvey

Jimmy Connors

Linda Purl

TSN turns 40

Edwin Moses

Ray Burris

Elliott Gould

Pat Harrington

Pat Gillick

Ray Bradbury

Shelley Long

Barbara Eden

Jimi Jamison

Roland Orzabal

John Aprea

Phil Donahue

Buckshot

Eddy Grant

8675309 Jenny

Doug and the Slugs

Peter Marshall

Can’t Buy Me Love

Feargal Sharkey

Alex Haley

Eric Carmen

Dustin Hoffman

Richard Anderson

Donald Bellisario

B.J. Thomas

Herb Brooks

Maureen McCormack

Clara Peller

Martin Sheen

James Read

Brian Patrick Clarke

Michael Biehn

Reggie Roby

Lloyd Bochner

The Great Escape

Gary Gygax

Leo Burke

Dave Stieb

Billy Sims

Don Henley

Danny Glover

Don Knotts

Kim Carnes

Earl Hamner

Bob Newhart

David Hasselhoff

Barnard Hughes

James Sikking

Out of Nowhere: Oh Sheila by Ready for the World

Richard Simmons

Paul Newman

Shelley Duvall

Kim Mitchell

Sean Connery

Batman (1989)

Paul Simon

Knight Rider

Katherine Helmond

Christina Applegate

The Cars

Kevin Costner

Jim Kyte

Nancy Dussault

Martin Mull

Glenn Medeiros

Georg Stanford Brown

Michelle Lee

Legislature fountain

Joe Penny

Death of Donald Sutherland

Willie Mays

John Taylor Duran Duran

Martin Landau

Kevin Bacon

Ron LeFlore

Joan Van Ark

Gino Vanelli

Alan Parsons Project

REM

Steve Winwood

Jenilee Harrison

Starship

The Bangles

Michael J Fox

Bryan Trottier

Pat Sajak

Robert Englund

Lynda Carter

Lanny McDonald

Patrick Swayze

Lionel Richie

Tom Berenger

Clint Eastwood

Helen Hunt

Greg Evigan

Ron Howard

Night Court

Stevie Nicks

Scott Arniel

Craig Berube

Planet of the Apes

John Stamos

Throwing it all away by Genesis

American Flyers

Nighthawks

William Shatner

Triumph

Darren Dutchcyshen

Garfield the Cat

George Lucas

Roger Corman's Battle Beyond the Stars

Chris Cuthbert has come a long way

Chris Cuthbert got his start as a hockey broadcaster in the '80s.

Source: https://cfhof.ca/members/chris-cuthbert/

(May be subject to copyright)

There may be no one else doing the same job in professional hockey they did in the 1980s. Most certainly no player is still playing, and no head coach, or maybe even any assistant coaches, are still coaching.

Yet, as I watched Game 3 of the Vancouver Canucks-Edmonton Oilers second round NHL playoff series, I realized something. I was listening to the same voice I heard back in the 1980s, when a different Edmonton Oilers team was vying for the Stanley Cup.

The recent death of announcer Bob Cole, an icon in the hockey world, brought into sharp focus how long his colleague Chris Cuthbert has been calling NHL hockey games.

Yet, that is only one facet of a career that has spanned more than 40 years.

Voice of the Oilers?
My earliest memories of Chris Cuthbert, obviously, were on “Hockey Night in Canada” when he donned the powder blue blazer to call Edmonton Oilers games. Wikipedia reveals he joined CBC Sports in 1984 after almost five years with CJAD Radio in Montreal. He anchored regional western games, but I seem to recall him pretty much only doing Oiler games. Then again that was during their Stanley Cup years with Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and company, so they garnered a lot of national interest.

When I moved to Edmonton in the Fall of 1987 to attend the University of Alberta, it was still Chris Cuthbert who seemed to be anchoring all the Oiler games on “Hockey Night in Canada”. Wikipedia also reveals Cuthbert actually did spot duty doing play-by-play. That was when Don Wittman, CBC’s primary western broadcaster, was covering other events or when the schedule needed it.

Something I did not know was that he got his big break in the 1988 playoffs in a game between the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils. He was in Washington providing brief updates on the game for the national broadcast of the Montreal Canadiens-Boston Bruins game. Suddenly, a power outage in Montreal ended the broadcast there. CBC immediately jumped to Washington. Cuthbert then did the entire broadcast on his own. He ad libbed, including play-by-play, hosting and analysis without the benefit of any graphics or replay.

It is funny that I don’t recall this. That was the year the Bruins finally beat the Canadiens in the playoffs after more than 40 years of futility. It was also right at the end of my first year of university, so I was probably in the midst of writing final exams. Incidentally, the Bruins faced another power outage in the Stanley Cup final against Edmonton, forcing the game to actually be replayed.

For his efforts in that Washington-New Jersey game, Cuthbert earned a Gemini nomination and caught the attention of the CBC.

His career took off from there.

The years after
He would go on to call Canadian Football League games and Winter Olympic hockey for the CBC, TSN, Sportsnet and NBC.

He won a Gemini Award for Best Sports Broadcaster in 1998, and another with Glen Suitor in 2006 for Best Sports Play-by-Play or Analyst. In 2014 he was inducted into the media wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Currently, Cuthbert is the lead play-by-play analyst for “Hockey Night in Canada”.

Parting thoughts
To be honest, I didn’t really like Chris Cuthbert initially. Back in 1984, or whenever I heard him for the first time, I thought his voice was nasally and his play-by-play and commentary were bland and not very dynamic.

However, the benefit of time has shown what I was watching was a broadcaster who was really just getting started. In fact, he was just 27 years old when he joined CBC Sports.

Over the years, I have watched him grow and flourish as a broadcaster in both hockey and football, generating a lot of memories.

He was the one who called the 1994 CFL West Final where the B.C. Lions beat the Calgary Stampeders late and in the snow. The next week he called the Grey Cup where B.C. kicker Lui Passaglia kicked the game-winning field goal to defeat the Baltimore Stallions. My biggest memory is when he exclaimed “The golden goal” after Sidney Crosby scored the overtime winner to give Team Canada the gold medal in hockey in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

From those early beginnings, Chris Cuthbert sure has come a long way.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner: Much more than Theo Huxtable

Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theo Huxtable on "The Cosby Show" in the '80s.

Source: https://people.com/malcolm-jamal-warner-life-in-photos-11776000

(May be subject to copyright)

Wow, it has been a long time since he was vexing his father on a regular basis on one of the top comedies of the 1980s. At first I did not recognize him on “9-1-1”, playing one of the staff members working at a burn unit in Los Angeles. In part that could be his character is also a burn victim himself, with heavy scar tissue.

It could also be that Malcolm-Jamal Warner played Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” starting 40 years ago.

Now, he is fully grown with a much deeper voice and stronger stature, but is still acting.

Only son
Theo Huxtable was the only son in the Huxtable family, to go with four daughters, which made for good comedy.

The very first joke I saw on the first episode of “The Cosby Show” was about Theo. He got into trouble and his mom told his dad to go talk to Theo. Mom told dad to be firm so, on his way up the stairs to Theo’s room, he stopped and grabbed a baseball bat. The dad is also a doctor. In the midst of their discussion, he got so vexed with Theo he said, “I brought you into this world, I can take you out.”

That set the stage for a lot of laughs between father and son.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner played Theo Huxtable for eight seasons and 201 episodes. He also earned an Emmy nomination in 1986 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Yet, Malcolm-Jamal Warner was acting before “The Cosby Show” and continues on to this day.

Staying busy
Before Warner landed the role of Theo Huxtable, he already had had guest spots in “Matt Houston”; “Fame”; and “Call to Glory”.

He closed out the ‘80s primarily on “The Cosby Show”. He played himself in “Sesame Street”; “Saturday Night Live”; and “Home Alone: A Kid’s Guide to Playing it Safe When You’re on Your Own”. He also played Theo Huxtable in “A Different World”, which was a spin-off of “The Cosby Show”.

Warner was also in the television movies “The Father Clements Story” and “Mother’s Day”, and had a guest-starring role in an episode of “Tour of Duty”.

The years after
Malcolm-Jamal Warner just kept on acting. He appeared in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”; was a regular in the series “Here and Now”; and was in “Touched by an Angel”.

He was in the TV movies “Tyson” and “The Tuskegee Airmen”; played a regular on the series “Malcolm and Eddie”; appeared in “Sliders”; was a regular on the series “Jeremiah” and “Listen Up”; and had guest spots in “Dexter”; “The Cleaner”; and four episodes of “Community”.

Warner was a regular in the series “Reed Between the Lines”; had a guest spot in “Key and Peele”; was a regular on the series “Major Crimes”; appeared in “Sons of Anarchy”; “American Horror Story”; “American Crime Story”; “Suits”; “Lethal Weapon”; and “Sneaky Pete”; was a regular on “Ten Days in the Valley”; and appeared in “White Famous”; “The Resident”; “Accused”; “The Wonder Years”; four episodes of “911” and much more.

Parting thoughts
The four-episode stint Malcolm-Jamal Warner did on “9-1-1” was incredible. It was a layered performance where he was compassionate, angry, sensitive, hard edged and so much more. He still sounded a bit like Theo, but he has left that life and role behind.

He is a man now, with an extensive record of solid performances, that go far behind that role on “The Cosby Show”.

Although when people of a certain age hear the name Malcolm-Jamal Warner they will immediately go to Theo Huxtable, he has moved far beyond that.

His role on “9-1-1” proves just how far he has come.

Memories of the Doobie Brothers

The cover for the Doobie Brothers' 1980 album "One Step Closer".

Source: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/doobie-brothers-one-step-closer/

(May be subject to copyright)

When I was growing up, I idolized my cousin Carl. He always seemed to be doing cool things, and he had cool things. It started with toys like a Geronimo doll and Sea Diver, and moved to collecting stamps. He eventually got into music, something he still does to this day, and that would take him away from Southern Alberta to pursue his dreams.

Before that, we would spend a lot of time together when our families would visit each other. We were both blonde and kind of looked alike, and our birthdays were a day apart, although he was four years older.

That kinship made me feel close to him.

Then one day, I was watching an episode of a show called “What’s Happening”, and the characters were going to see a concert by a group called “The Doobie Brothers”.

Carl had seen that too. I had an active imagination and was always conjuring up adventures with Carl. I thought we needed a name. I think we were riding bikes in a grainery when I said, “Hey, we’re the ‘Doobie Cousins’.”

That was my introduction to a band that recently announced it had added a Canadian leg to its upcoming tour.

“What’s Happening?”
The first time I ever heard of the Doobie Brothers was on “What’s Happening”. Rerun takes a tape recorder into a Doobie Brother’s concert to secretly – and illegally – record the album. At the end of the episode he is discovered and the show is to be continued. I didn’t see part two.

So, I went online and not only is that episode available but there were comments about how that episode did a lot to raise awareness of the damage bootleg concert taping could be. It is kind of funny to look at now, given the number of people pulling out cell phones at every concert and recording the music.

The other comment about the Doobie Brothers appearance on that episode of “What’s Happening?” is how good the Doobie Brothers sounded.

As it turns out, I really did not absorb much Doobie Brothers music until much later, with a few exceptions.

Profile
LA-107 FM in Lethbridge used to broadcast these profile features where they would spotlight a particular band. I recall one day they profiled the Doobie Brothers. I don’t recall much of the music from then as much as I remember discovering Michael McDonald was part of the band. I had come to know him from his solo career.

Mixed tape
My brother started doing something that, looking back, was pretty cool. For Christmas, he made me a tape of music of songs he thought I might like. It was an amazingly diverse cross section of music from Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Boston, to the Charlie Daniels Band and…the Doobie Brothers. If memory serves, one of the songs was “Black Water”.

The end is the beginning
During the summer of 1989 I was living in res at the University of Alberta, working part time for the university and taking summer classes.

My good friend Avtar, who I said goodbye to at the end of the school year because I thought he was graduating, came back to Edmonton. It turned out he needed one more class to graduate. Not only did we hang out that summer, but he enrolled in the class I was taking.

He had his car with him, and we went cruising at night, usually to get something to eat.

One night, we were driving and this song came on. I kind of liked it, but had never heard it before.

Av told me it was the Doobie Brothers. I told him I actually thought they were dead – as a band.

Just as I said that, Av sang “Music is the doctor,” and laughed. He actually told me the song sounded kind of goofy. It really wasn’t his thing.

That song was “The Doctor” which went all the way to number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making it their last top 10 song to date.

I had begun to listen to new Doobie Brothers at what seemed to be the end of that phase of their career.

Over time, I learned just how much of their music I actually had heard all through the ‘80s.

The songs
Their first top 20 single was “Listen to the Music”, which went all the way to number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972.

“Long Train Runnin’” peaked at number eight in 1973, and “China Grove”, one of my favourite Doobie Brothers’ songs, went all the way to number 15 that year.

Then, the Doobie Brothers had their first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 as “Black Water” topped the charts in 1974.

The band was back in the top 20 in 1976 with “Takin’ it to the Streets”.

Three years later, the Doobie Brothers topped the charts again in 1979 with another favourite of mine called “What a Fool Believes”. They also won the Grammy for Record of the Year for “What a Fool Believes”.

In 1980, “Real Love” went all the way to number five on the Billboard Hot 100.

That would be the last chart success until the very end of the decade.

Incidentally, in the summer of 1986, I was taking driver’s education in Lethbridge for two weeks and staying at my sister’s place. During the day, she went to work at the hospital and I would go to the Lethbridge Public Library. I found this book of Billboard’s number one singles and I just pored over it. I actually recall reading about “Black Water” and “What a Fool Believes”.

The years after
The Doobie Brothers are currently on their 50th anniversary tour, which was re-scheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They also continue to write and record new music.

In 2020 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Parting thoughts
Back in the 1980s, I was just getting to know about the Doobie Brothers and their music, hearing a song here on the radio and there. After all, in the ‘80s their music was already more than 10 years old. They had little to no material hit the air waves.

With the dawn of oldies radio stations, that changed. I have heard a lot of the Doobie Brothers and all their music for a long time now. Yet it really was long after the ‘80s that I really got to know “Listen to the Music”, “China Grove”, “Black Water” and their other stuff.

Back in the 80s, I was just getting started. The Doobie Brothers were more of an idea than anything, and as much about hanging out with my cousin as anything else.

Mike and the Mechanics: Much more than Genesis

The first time I heard Genesis was when their song “That’s All” seemed to be playing on the radio on the bus to school every morning. Soon after, I heard this amazing song that became and remains one of my favourites of all time – “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” by Phil Collins. Not too much after that, my friend and neighbour Mike told me Phil Collins was the lead singer of Genesis.

I thought it was pretty cool a lead singer of a band could have a solo career at the same time. Then I discovered, through a profile on the radio, that Peter Gabriel had been the lead singer of Genesis.

That was when I heard the other two members of Genesis were Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford.

It didn’t surprise, in the Spring of 1986 that Mike Rutherford would also strike out on his own side project while still part of Genesis.

It was called Mike and the Mechanics and they were really good.

They announced recently they are going back on tour, and that reminded me of the run they had for a three-year period in the 1980s.

The album cover for the 1985 album "Mike and the Mechanics".

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

(May be subject to copyright)

Formation
I had a fascination with Mike and the Mechanics from the time I heard they had formed. I had always thought Mike Rutherford was a great guitar player with Genesis. Now he was striking out on his own with a band much different from his regular trio.

I think I first heard about Mike and the Mechanics on a show LA-107 FM broadcast from the States called “Rock Line”. It was part interview, part phone-in and had a lot of information.

I was listening to “Rock Line” one Monday night in my bedroom on our farm, and learned Mike and the Mechanics was made up of Rutherford, lead singers Paul Carrack and Paul Young, keyboardist Adrian Lee, and drummer Peter Van Hooke.

There were two interesting things of note. It was made very clear this Paul Young was not the same Paul Young who, around that time, was tearing up the charts with his re-make of the Hall and Oates song “Everytime You Go Away”. They talked a lot about this Paul Young’s time as lead singer of a band called Sad Café.

The other thing of note was the hosts pronounced Paul Carrack’s last name with a soft-c like in city. In fact, and this would become apparent as he became more well-known, Carrack is pronounced with a hard-c like in cookie.

They released their debut album, simply titled “Mike and the Mechanics” in 1985, and it was awesome.

Running
The debut single was “Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)”, released in early November of 1985. It remains my favourite song by the band, both for the music and for the amazing lyrics that tell a story that resonated with me. It is a haunting song, sung by Paul Carrack, that addressed themes of war, nationalism and religion.

Wikipedia reveals a couple things I did not know. One was that the “On Dangerous Ground” extension was added because the song was used in a 1986 film of the same name. It was called “Choke Canyon” in the United States, starring Stephen Collins. The other is that Mike Rutherford named the song after the movie “Silent Running”. I never saw it, but read about it and its use of agricultural domes in space to grow a food supply.

“Silent Running” went all the way to number six on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number one on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

It also appeared on the daytime soap opera “Day Of Our Lives”, in a scene on the waterfront. It was the perfect setting.

Miraculous
The second single released was “All I need is a Miracle”. This song was more upbeat, with Paul Young taking over at lead vocals. “All I Need is a Miracle” peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. “All I Need is a Miracle” was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

A third single, “Taken In” also sung by Paul Young, was released and peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Mike and the Mechanics” – the album
I ended up purchasing the album “Mike and the Mechanics” on vinyl from Columbia House, and had my sister record it onto a tape.

I learned several things at that point. I loved the album cover art, which actually had parts of an engine superimposed on a face screaming – or at least that’s what it looked like to me. It was very unique.

Only after I purchased the album, did I learn about some of the great songs that never hit the air waves. The best for me was the ballad “You Are The One”, which is just awesome. I recall listening to that tape quite a lot in the Fall of 1986 when I was waiting for the school bus.

The song “Par Avion” had an interesting sound including what sounded like crickets. “A Call to Arms” is also really good, and the name just reminds me of “Brothers in Arms” by Dire Straits.

I actually had heard some of these songs once before on an album highlight on LA-107 FM, when they would devote 15 or 20 minutes at the top of the hour to a new album.

Solo sensation
Paul Carrack released a solo album in November of 1987, and it sounded a little like Mike and the Mechanics. The first single was “When You Walk in the Room”, which was okay but I did not hear it very much. The second single, “Don’t Shed a Tear”, was awesome and peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.

I recall hearing it as my best friend Chris Vining and I were coming out of the TD Bank across the street from res. He pointed out Carrack was pronounced with a hard-c sound like cone.

“The Living Years”
I always thought that Mike and the Mechanics would be a one off, like other super groups. It was my second year of university when I heard they had actually released a new album in October of 1988. It was called "The Living Years."

Again, I heard about it on “Rock Line”, this time while listening to the radio in my wingmate Lorne’s room. The first single released was “Nobody’s Perfect”, which I liked well enough, but did not perform that well on the charts. The song peaked at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The next song made up for that in spades.

The title track “The Living Years” went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in March of 1989. It is a poignant song about the relationship of a man and his father. I recall sitting in the lounge on 5K, the floor I lived on that year, with my friend Dave Turnbull. The song came on MuchMusic and, after it finished playing, Dave talked about how that song made him think about his own relationship with his dad.

“The Living Years” was nominated for Grammys for Record of the Year; Song of the Year; Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals; and Best Music Video, short form.

A third single, “Seeing is Believing”, peaked at number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100.

At Christmas of 1988, we all chose names for Secret Santa. The person who chose my name was Lorne, that same wingmate, and he bought me “The Living Years” as the final Christmas present.

It was such a thoughtful gift.

Parting thoughts
I did not realize Mike and the Mechanics kept recording and performing until 2007, dissolved, and re-formed in 2010, continuing on to this day.

I lost track of them after “The Living Years”, but they will be forever frozen in time in the Spring and Summer of 1986 with “Silent Running” and “All I Need is a Miracle”. Those songs bring back memories of what I was doing and who I was with.

That first album “Mike and the Mechanics” is a classic, and I continue to listen to it.

It shows that Mike Rutherford was far more than just a member of Genesis.

Remembering Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits

The cover art for Dire Straits 1985 album "Brothers in Arms".

Source: https://www.amazon.ca/Brothers-Arms-Dire-Straits

(May be subject to copyright)

One summer I was visiting my cousin in Brooks and he was cleaning out his tape collection. He came to a tape that he described as goofy. He was just going to get rid of it.

I asked him what it was goofy, so he thought he’d show me.

So he plugged “Twisting by the Pool” into his tape deck and played it. He began to roll his eyes.

He liked his music with a harder edge, but I didn’t think it was that bad.

Yet, that first impression stuck with me when I heard “Walk of Life”, Dire Straits’ first release off a new album called “Brothers in Arms”, when it came out in 1985. I balked at first, but soon overcame all that.

Mark Knopfler, one of the driving forces of Dire Straits, recently sold a bunch of his guitars, and hearing that name again brought back some memories.

“Brothers in Arms”
Keeping in mind what my cousin said, I reacted with sadness when I saw on “Entertainment Tonight” that Dire Straits album “Brothers in Arms” remained on the top of the album charts week after week.

At the same time, I was listening to LA-107 FM broadcasting from Lethbridge. It was an album-oriented rock station, so they were more interested in albums than singles. That meant they would play more than one single from an album.

It was on their Monday night top 20 album countdown that I first heard “Walk of Life” and “Money for Nothing”. The more I heard them, and listened to the lyrics, the more I liked them.

“Money for Nothing” really struck a chord with me. I had my suspicions confirmed that Sting, lead singer of the band The Police, was singing “I Want my MTV”, and providing backing vocals.

“Walk of Life” was also receiving more air play as well.

Eventually my sister bought the “Brothers in Arms” record, and I asked her to make a copy for me on tape.

That was the turning point.

The radio singles which by then also included “So Far Away”, just scratched the surface.

The songs that never received heavy air play were some of the best.

My favourite is a stirring ballad called “Why Worry” that shows off lead singer Mark Knopfler’s vocal talent. The guitar work in “The Man’s Too Strong” is amazing, and the brooding build up of the title track “Brothers in Arms” is very effective.

As a package, it is one of the best albums I have ever heard.

For the record, “So Far Away” peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100; “Money for Nothing” went all the way to number one; and “Walk of Life” peaked at number seven.

“Brothers in Arms” was the best selling album of 1985 in the United Kingdom; peaking at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart for nine weeks and selling nine million copies; and spent 34 weeks at number one on the Australian charts. “Money for Nothing” also won a Grammy for Knopfler and Sting for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1986.

They would tour and in 1988, they broke up, got back together and broke up for good in 1995.

Dire Straits was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Mark Knopfler, the driving force behind Dire Straits.

Source: https://www.udiscovermusic.com/artist/mark-knopfler/

(May be subject to copyright)

Going solo
Mark Knopfler also busied himself with solo projects. There were a number that kind of caught me by surprise.

He did quite a bit of work with country star Chet Atkins. They won Grammys in 1986 for Best Country Instrumental Performance for “Cosmic Square Dance”. In 1991, they won for Best Country Vocal Collaboration for “Poor Boy Blues”, and for Best Country instrumental Performance for “So Soft, Your Goodbye”.

Knopfler wrote the song “Private Dancer” for Tina Turner’s comeback album of the same name.

He scored the movie “The Princess Bride”. In fact his song “Storybook Love” for that movie was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song. I still remember the first time I heard that song in the lounge on 10th Kelsey in my first year of university. I could instantly recognize that voice and that guitar.

The years before
I also began to hear more Dire Straits on LA-107 FM, because another feature they had was this profile. One day in the summer, while I was writing this play about my high school days, I heard this profile of Dire Straits and how Mark Knopfler, his brother David and others started the band.

It turns out they had a lot of songs dating back to their formation in 1977. That included their debut single “Sultans of Swing” which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100; “Romeo and Juliet”; “Industrial Disease”; “Twisting by the Pool”; “Love Over Gold”; and more.

Parting thoughts
The reality is that my love and, quite frankly, admiration for Mark Knopfler is largely due to one album from the ‘80s – “Brothers in Arms”.

What an album it is though, with deep, insightful lyrics, brilliant guitar play, and just this aura of excellence.

I still find it funny that I initially did not like them, but grew up enough to learn to appreciate the genius of Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits.

A couple years ago I was part of a challenge on social media to post an album cover a day for 10 of days of music that influenced my musical tastes, but had to be cover art only. “Brothers in Arms” was on that list for me.

My opinion had changed that much.

Bon Jovi: Anthems of the ‘80s

It was a dirty job, but somebody had to do it – and we were getting paid. It was the summer of 1986, just a few weeks before Grade 12 was set to start and I was part of a crew hired to clean out a bunch of chicken barns.

My friend Mat, who had a regular job at that chicken farm, got us the job and showed us what needed to be done. He also set up a radio to pass the time as we worked.

Suddenly this song came on the radio that sounded kind of like heavy metal, but was not as angry or loud.

“Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame, darling you give love a bad name.”

I asked if anyone knew the name of that song. No one did. We were all pretty much hearing it for the first time.

That night I went home and listened to AM 106, a Calgary radio station that had the “Top 10 at 10”. I listened patiently and heard that song again.

It was “You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi.

I thought that couldn’t be. Bon Jovi was a heavy metal band.

Read it in “Circus”
The first time I had come across Bon Jovi was earlier that summer when I was spending a couple weeks with my cousins in Brooks. My cousin Fred was really into heavy metal, and he had stacks of two magazines – “Hit Parader” and “Circus” – that focused on heavy metal but also covered a little bit of other music.

That’s where I read about Bon Jovi, this heavy metal band who had put out two albums so far – “Bon Jovi” and “7800 Fahrenheit”. “Runaway” was the only recognizable song from those two efforts, that cracked the top 40.

Little did I know, Bon Jovi would release an album shortly that would stick around for the entire school year, and keep reappearing in my life with different songs.

“Slippery When Wet”
Bon Jovi released “Slippery When Wet” in August of 1986. “You Give Love a Bad Name” was the first single, and it gained steam, getting more and more airplay.

When Grade 12 started in the Fall of 1986, I started going to high school football games in Lethbridge. You see all the games were played at the Sportsplex field in Lethbridge, no matter if the teams were from Lethbridge or not.

I went to one of the first games with a bunch of people I was just getting to know. One was Mary Gage. As we sat in the car on the way to Lethbridge she asked if we could play this new tape she bought. I asked what it was.

She was sitting in the front and held out the tape for me to see.

It was “Slippery When Wet”.

“You Give Love a Bad Name” went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, a sign of things to come.

“Livin’on a Prayer”
The second single released from “Slippery When Wet” was “Livin’ on a Prayer” which also went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

In the Spring, I asked out this girl named Gina. My best friend Chris Vining, was a funny man. We worked at a greenhouse after school, and one day he started singing “Robbie used to work at the greenhouse, union’s been on strike, he’s down on his luck, it’s tough, so tough. Gina works the diner all day…”

I thought it was pretty funny.

At our high school grad reception at the Lethbridge Lodge a few months later, we brought the place down dancing to “Livin’ on a Prayer”.

Grad theme
Our high school grad class voted for a theme to be played. One of the choices was “Never Say Goodbye” by Bon Jovi. I absolutely loved the song, but even as a teenager I thought it had some lyrics I knew parents would object to. Those included “Remember when we lost the keys, and you lost more than that in my backseat baby”.

I did not think that song would win, but it did.

The grad committee changed the lyrics, and I really didn’t agree with that. Making things more awkward was I was one of the valedictorians so I went to confirm my table at the front with Vining, who was giving a toast. The grad advisor, Mrs. Mayeske was there, and we brought up how we didn’t agree with the lyrics being re-written, because when they re-wrote one line they had to keep changing it to match. All of a sudden Mayeske flew off the handle yelling about how she was not going to have a song about drinking and screwing. Vining just kept saying, “What you’re doing isn’t right” and that just riled Mayeske more. Eventually we just walked out.

Adding insult to injury, Superintendent Jim Phelps quoted from the revised lyrics in his speech at grad, and the class actually sang the song with revised lyrics at the grad banquet.

I also remember in first year of university people asking what our grad song and being shocked to hear it was “Never Say Goodbye”.

Then I told them the story.

Cruisin’
The third single released was “Wanted Dead or Alive”, which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.

One night, I had my licence and was cruising with my friend Doug. We had this friend Shari whose boyfriend was working that night, so she joined us for a bit.

Doug’s brother Dave was a friend and classmate of mine. We knew he was having troubles with his girlfriend and he was going to talk to her. We drove by her place several times to see if his truck was still there, and it always was, even after we went for pizza at Dilo’s. We also went cruising into Lethbridge listening to the radio.

When “Wanted Dead or Alive” came on, we urged Shari to sing along, and she was awesome.

At that exact time, Dave was breaking up with his girlfriend.

Brotherly love
I really got to know the songs on “Slippery When Wet” after my brother bought it through Columbia House and recorded a copy off vinyl for me. I always laughed because he pronounced the band name like “Bon Jawvi”.

He didn’t listen to the radio much.

Those other songs
As I listened to “Slippery When Wet”, there were a lot of songs that stuck with me. Those included “Without Love”, “I’d Die For You”, and “Social Disease”, although I thought it was a little obvious and cheesey.

In the Spring of 1988, I was back at the greenhouse working with Karen Koenen after first year of university. We were out in the garden and talking about the other lesser known songs from “Slippery When Wet” and she pointed out “I’d Die for you” and its lyric “In a world that don’t know Romeo and Juliet”, as well as “Without Love”.

Jersey boys
It was just a matter of time before Bon Jovi released a follow-up album to “Slippery When Wet”. In September of 1988 they released “New Jersey” and the first single from it was “Bad Medicine”. I remember first hearing it just as my second year of university was getting going and I was a floor coordinator.

“Bad Medicine” peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and set the stage for another successful album to close out the decade.

“Born to be my Baby” followed, peaking at number three, then “I’ll be There for You” went all the way to number one, “Lay Your Hands on Me” peaked at number seven, and “Living in Sin” peaked at number nine.

At the close of the ‘80s, Bon Jovi was on a big winning streak that just kept on going.

The years after
Bon Jovi kept on writing, recording and performing with songs such as “Keep the Faith”; “Bed of Roses”; “Always”, which peaked at number four; “It’s My Life”; “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” and much more.

“Always” will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first song played at my friend Shane Saunders’ wedding to dance with his bride, because it was the first song they ever danced to.

Parting thoughts
When I was in high school hearing a Bon Jovi song was like, well, an event. Every time we heard “You Give Love a Bad Name”, “Wanted Dead or Alive”, and especially “Livin’ On a Prayer”, we pumped our fists and yelled out the lyrics at the top of our lungs.

They really were the anthems of the ‘80s.

Bob Seger: Old time rock and role and the Summer of ‘86

“It’s like a full force gale, it’s an American Storm.”

“Sweating in the sun … like a rock.”

“Shakedown, break down you busted.”

Those are lyrics from three songs released within the span of about a year that really got me into Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band.

In the meantime, I learned more about his music, heard more of it, and realized I have known about him for a long time.

It was his birthday today and, coupled with a recent announcement he has gone on his last tour, brings back some memories of some good music and where I was when I heard it.

The end is the beginning
These three songs were at the end of the phase of Seger’s career where he was charting songs.

The first is “American Storm”, which came out at a special time in my life. It was the summer of 1986, after Grade 11 where I developed an intense crush on a girl. I also went to Brooks for a couple weeks that summer as I always did and, when I got back, took driver’s education in Lethbridge.

There was so much good music that summer and one of those songs that made the top 20 was “American Storm”, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

“American Storm” was from Seger’s album “Like a Rock”, so the next song released was the title track. It may best be known for selling Chevrolet trucks, but back in 1986 it was just a great ballad about lost youth. “Like a Rock” the single peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, while the album “Like a Rock” peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Less than a year later, in May of 1987, the much-anticipated sequel to Eddie Murphy’s smash movie “Beverly Hills Cop” came out. “Beverly Hills Cop II” was another great movie with a solid soundtrack. The first single from that soundtrack, that came out at the same time as the movie, was “Shake Down” by Bob Seger. It was all over the radio because it was such an upbeat song that was almost frantic, making it perfect for a movie with a lot of action and chase scenes.

“Shakedown” became Bob Seger’s most successful single to date, going all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It is his only number one single to date, and the highest charting song of his career, coming at the end of his time on the charts. He would only chart one more single to date, four years later, and that peaked at number 24.

“Shakedown” also immediately takes me back to the second disastrous date I had at the end of Grade 12 with a girl that really wasn’t that interested in me, and vice versa. It followed the equally disastrous first date I went on with her. I do recall dropping her off, after we went to “Beverly Hills Cop II”, and her laughing and telling me the movie was “Aces”.

As I learned more about music, and listened to more and more, I realized I actually knew quite a lot of Seger’s songs.

The years before
His first top 20 song also happened to be the first early song of his that I had heard of. I read about “Night Moves” the album in one of the Columbia House catalogues I got every month offering hundreds of different records and tapes. “Night Moves”, the single, peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977.

In 1978, he released “Still the Same”, one of my favourite Seger songs, which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. He followed that up with “Hollywood Nights”, which went all the way to number 12, and “We’ve Got Tonite”, which peaked at number 13.

“We’ve Got Tonight” would also be covered by Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton in 1983, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100.

It was a successful year for Seger.

“Cruise” to success
In 1979, Seger released “Old Time Rock and Roll” which peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.

However, “Old Time Rock and Roll” had better days ahead.

In 1983, it was part of the soundtrack for “Risky Business”, a Tom Cruise movie about a teen who lets loose when his parents go out of town on vacation. There is an iconic scene where Cruise lip syncs to “Old Time Rock and Roll” as he slides across the floor in stocking feet.

The song reappeared on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 48.

The lack of chart success surprises me, because “Old Time Rock and Roll” is an iconic song from the 1980s.

I recall dancing to it at my high school grad, and at a lot of res dances.

Dawn of the decade
Seger’s chart success continued in 1980 with “Fire Lake” that peaked at number six and “Against the Wind” that went all the way to number five.

“Tryin’ to Live My Life Without You” peaked at number five in 1981, and “Shame on the Moon” went all the way to number two in 1982. In 1984 he released “Understanding” which peaked at number 17, and in 1986 he released the album “Like a Rock”.

The years after
Bob Seger released “Greatest Hits” in 1994, and it became the best-selling record of his career selling more than 10 million copies. He continued touring, took a sabbatical from music for about 10 years to spend time with his wife and two young children, then kept on writing, recording and performing.

He was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Parting thoughts
“Old Time Rock and Roll” never comes to mind as a Bob Seger song for me. When I first heard it, the name of the artist was never said. It became such a standard that I know the words by heart, and have fond memories of dancing to it at my high school grad and so many dances in Lister Hall when I was in university. It always takes a minute for me to remember who sings it.

Such was the case when I started thinking about songs by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. That one year of magic, 1986 to 1987, always comes to mind because he was on the radio all the time.

I always found his songs soulful with a bit of a country twist, which I really liked.

That is illustrated perfectly by “American Storm”, and “Like a Rock”.

The music of Madonna

It is not surprising that when Madonna gave a concert at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana yesterday, it attracted the largest audience of her career.

From the moment she really broke onto the music scene in 1982, her popularity has just grown and grown with songs, movies, concerts, clothing and everything else that makes up the Madonna brand.

She was one of the most prolific performers of the ‘80s.

“Like a Virgin”
Like so many other music lovers, the first time I heard Madonna was in Grade 10, making it 1984, when she was riding a gondola in Venice, singing and dancing to “Like a Virgin”. That song went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart

Pre-history
At that point, radio and video shows started playing some of her earlier songs again. Because I was just getting into music, everything was new to me. Some of my friends had heard Madonna before “Like a Virgin”, and pointed that out when we talked about music. Anyway, there were three songs that come to mind.

“Holiday” came out in 1983 from her debut album simply titled, “Madonna”. It was her first top 20 hit, peaking at number 16. Years later, I went to college in Lethbridge and had a classmate named Leah Holliday. When someone asked her to repeat her name one day, she replied “Holliday”, like the song, then proceeded to sing “Holiday.”

“Lucky Star” followed “Holiday” and was Madonna’s biggest hit before “Like a Virgin”, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. I distinctly recall seeing this on “Video Hits” one day after school, thinking Madonna looked younger and a little less provocative.

“Borderline” was the final single released from “Madonna” and it peaked at number 10.

By then, the next single from the album “Like a Virgin” had hit the radio air waves.

“Material Girl”
The second single, “Material Girl” was another big hit, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. What I remember most about “Material Girl”, aside from it being the definition of an ear worm, is the video. The video pays homage to Marilyn Monroe singing “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” in 1953. However, the song is a video within a video as a director, played by Keith Carradine, tries to woo Madonna who is the actress in the video. He realizes she is not a “material girl”, pretends to be poor, and gets her to go on a date with him.

Movie magic
Madonna was on such a roll, her next big hit didn’t come from “Like a Virgin”. Instead, “Crazy for You” was part of the soundtrack of a movie called “Vision Quest”. It was a teen angst movie about a high school wrestler, played by a young Matthew Modine, who is training to fight an unbeatable opponent. That's when he falls in love with a female border taken in by his father and him. Madonna even has a cameo in the movie, singing in a bar.

“Crazy for You” became Madonna’s second number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It also earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance Female.

The song is still one of my top five favourite songs, and simply one of the best ballads I have ever heard. It just touches my heart and reaches into my soul. When it came out in 1985, I used to think it was my lucky charm. If I heard it, or “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins, I knew I would have a good day.

I have never owned a Madonna album, but I bought the “Vision Quest” soundtrack from Columbia House in a three-tape deal that also brought the soundtracks of “St. Elmo’s Fire” and “White Nights”. It has another song by Madonna as well, called “Gambler”. It was never released in the United States, although it did well in Europe.

Back to business
Madonna kept releasing singles from “Like a Virgin” that kept on generating memories.

“Angel” was the next single, and what I really liked was that it had Madonna laughing in the song. I also saw it on the countdown on “Good Rockin’ Tonite” and, surprisingly, it didn’t have a music video. “Angel” went all the way to number five on the Billboard Hot 100.

Up next was “Into the Groove”, which has an interesting history. It was never officially released on its own to be eligible for the Billboard Hot 100, but received a lot of air play. What makes it interesting is that it was part of the movie “Desperately Seeking Susan”. The movie featured two women, a bored housewife, played by Rosanna Arquette, and a drifter, played by Madonna, who are linked by newspaper ads and, at one point, the bored housewife tries to become the drifter. There was no official video but, after a few months, I saw on “Good Rockin’ Tonite” that a video had been cobbled together of scenes from the movie.

The final single released was “Dress You Up”, which peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. I recall the video, which was Madonna performing in concert.

I had begun to listen to LA-107 FM and it was an album-oriented radio station. That meant it focused on albums more than singles, so they played more than one single from an album, especially on their weekly album countdown. Consequently, I heard a lot of these songs before they were officially released.

What’s next
“Like a Virgin” had run its course. The obvious question after Madonna had been on the radio constantly for two years was, what would be next?

It did not take long before I heard “Live to Tell”, this beautiful ballad that was reminiscent of “Crazy for You”. It was understated, whimsical and haunting. It was from a soundtrack to a movie called “At Close Range” that starred Sean Penn, Madonna’s husband of the time. It remains another one of my favourite Madonna songs. I even recorded it off the radio with my ghetto blaster.

“Live to Tell” went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her third number one single.

Music with a message
In June of 1986, Madonna released what I consider one of her best songs. “Papa Don’t Preach” also went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. What made it so great is not only the music, but the story the songs tells of teenage pregnancy. The video is also very well done, featuring Madonna and acclaimed actor Danny Aiello as her dad.

Madonna released “True Blue”, her third studio album at the same time as “Papa Don’t Preach”. Not only did the album contain that song, but fans were surprised to see “Live to Tell” was also on the album. That happened quite frequently back then, where a song was released as part of a movie soundtrack then appeared on the artist’s subsequent solo album. It happened with “Modern Woman” by Billy Joel from the movie “Ruthless People”; “Love Touch” by Rod Stewart from “Legal Eagles”; and “Say You, Say Me’ by Lionel Richie in “White Nights”.

“Papa Don’t Preach” earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance Female.

Hit maker
“True Blue” followed in the footsteps of “Like a Virgin” yielding a number of hits that kept Madonna on the radio for another year.

“True Blue” was the title track from the album, peaking at number three on the Bilboard Hot 100.

“Open Your Heart” followed, becoming Madonna’s fifth number one single. The video caused a stir with Madonna portraying a dancer in a peep show where little boys sneak in to watch. Wikipedia reveals it takes influence from Liza Minnelli in “Cabaret”. My social studies teacher, Mr. Vuch was Italian and really into music. He said when he saw the video, there were words in Italian on screen that he could understand, but didn’t understand why Madonna bothered. I don’t recall him saying what they were or what they meant.

The final single was “La Isla Bonita”, which went to number four on the Billboard Hot 100. What I remember best is trying to figure out exactly what the name of the song was. I used to make lists of songs I heard on the radio as they played, and struggled with “La Isla Bonita”.

Once more, “True Blue” had run its course, but again something came along just as the album was winding down.

More movie magic
In late June of 1987, just as my Grade 12 year was ending, Madonna released “Who’s That Girl”, a song from the soundtrack of her movie and album of the same name. “Who’s That Girl” also went all the way to number one, becoming her sixth chart-topping single.

I used to work at this greenhouse, and I recall one day near the end of the season, walking down this path at the edge of their farm, between some wooden graineries and a massively thick, long row of caraganas. “Who’s That Girl” was playing on the radio. In fact, it may have been a countdown announcing the song had hit number one.

“Who’s that Girl” earned Madonna a Grammy nomination for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television.

There would be another single from that album, but by then I had gone to university in Edmonton and was not listening to as much new music. When I went home for Christmas, I re-connected with some high school friends and they told me about “Causing a Commotion”, which was the last single from “Who’s That Girl”. It went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

The hit train keeps rolling
It was about a year after that when Madonna released her next album, “Like a Prayer” in March of 1989. The first song was the title track, which also went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

I went home for Easter in 1989 and took the Greyhound bus. There was this mother and her young daughter sitting across and in front of me. I dozed much of the trip, but as we were approaching Lethbridge, that little girl started singing, “Life is a mystery…” and finished the first verse of “Like a Prayer”. She was awesome. She had to stop because she threw up.

There would be two more hits in 1989 to close a decade that made Madonna one of the hottest performers on Earth. “ Express Yourself” and then “Cherish” both peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

Actual movie magic
Madonna also appeared in a number of movies in the ‘80s, starting with “Desperately Seeking Susan” in 1985; “Shanghai Surprise” in 1986 with then newly-wed husband Sean Penn; “Who’s That Girl” in 1987; and “Bloodhounds of Broadway” in 1989.

The years after
Madonna just keeps on rolling to this day writing, performing and touring. She kept on releasing hits such as “Vogue”, which hit number one; “Justify My Love”, which peaked at number one; “Rescue Me”; “I’ll Remember”, another ballad and favourite of mine, from the movie “With Honors”, that peaked at number two; “You’ll See”; “You Must Love Me” and “Don’t Cry for me Argentina” from the movie “Evita” starring Madonna in the title role; “The Power of Good-Bye”; “Beautiful Stranger” from the movie “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”; and much, much more.

She was also in a number of movies including “Dick Tracy”; “Madonna: Truth or Dare”; “A League of Their Own”; “Body of Evidence”; “Dangerous Game”; “Four Rooms”; “Evita”; and much more.

Parting thoughts
Madonna launched her career in the 1980s and, by the end of the decade, was one of the most popular, successful, prolific performers in the world.

She is provocative, overtly sexual, energetic, and puts on a great show.

What I like about her music is those ballads that can really touch the heart, especially “Crazy for You”; “Live to Tell”; and “I’ll Remember”, coincidentally all from movies.

They demonstrate her range and depth of feeling.

Gowan: From "A Criminal Mind" to "Moonlight Desires" and more

His first name is Lawrence – but for music fans in the ‘80s he went by just one name. Long before Adele or Beyoncé, there was Gowan.

He brought an interesting history to his music to go with a powerful voice and athletic presence.

Today, he came across my news feed because he has been the lead singer of Styx, another ‘80s band, for quite awhile now.

It took me back to the days of cool songs, unique cartoon music videos, and an interesting interview on “The New Music Magazine”.

Canadian performer Gowan in the '80s.

Source: https://letsrock1.ca/2020/09/01/lawrence-gowan-again/

(May be subject to copyright)

“Strange Animal”
Wikipedia reveals Gowan released his self-titled debut album in 1982, but none of the singles he released charted and the album peaked at number 82 in Canada. Gowan was nominated for a Juno for Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year.

He still had a record deal for a second album and went to Scotland and Ireland to research his family history and write songs. While there he met with some heavy hitters in the music business who arranged for him to play with some of Peter Gabriel’s backing musicians and record at a studio owned by Ringo Starr.

The result was “Strange Animal”, released in February of 1985. It was Gowan’s second album and his breakthrough on the Canadian music scene, peaking at number five on the Canadian album chart.

The album would be nominated for Junos for “Album of the Year”, and Gowan would be nominated for “Male Vocalist of the Year”.

“A Criminal Mind”
The first single was “A Criminal Mind”, which went all the way to number five on the Canadian charts. Wikipedia reveals the inspiration came from a Kingston Penitentiary exhibit at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto representing the Canadian penal system. It was an empty cell with a single guard. Gowan sat in the cell awhile then talked to that guard about how inmates become repeat offenders.

I thought this was pretty cool.

I also vividly remember the video for “A Criminal Mind”, which used a cartoon. It was perfect for the times, when music videos helped promote songs. I read that Gowan benefitted a great deal by the emergence of MuchMusic. They played his videos a great deal, helping the album to double platinum status.

The first time I saw the video for “A Criminal Mind” was on “Video Hits” on CBC Channel 9 on the peasant vision dial. It was part of a tribute to videos that used cartoons including “Take on Me” by A-ha and “Don’t Answer Me” by Alan Parson Project.

“A Criminal Mind” won the Juno for Best Video, and was also nominated for a Juno for Single of the Year.

“(You’re a) Strange Animal” and beyond
The second single off “Strange Animal” was “(You’re a) Strange Animal” which peaked at number 15 on the Canadian charts, but got a lot of air play.

I also remember the video from “(You’re a) Strange Animal” quite well. It used a narrator who sounded like the same voice actor who did the voice of Parafino in the cartoon “Spider Man”. That cartoon used to play Saturday mornings on Channel 13 on peasant vision. It’s possible because “Spider Man” was produced in Canada.

The video was also nominated for the Juno for Best Video, but obviously didn’t win because “A Criminal Mind” won.

Gowan released two more singles from “Strange Animal” that received significant air play. “Guerilla Soldier” went all the way to number 24 on the Canadian charts and “Cosmetics” peaked at number 41. The video for “Cosmetics” was also nominated for a Juno for Best Video.

“Great Dirty World”
Gowan had established himself on the Canadian music scene, and fans were waiting for a follow-up to “Strange Animal”.

That follow-up album was “Great Dirty World”, coming out in 1987. It went all the way to number one the Canadian album charts.

The first single was “Moonlight Desires” which peaked at number 10 on the Canadian singles chart. Interestingly, Jon Anderson of the band Yes provided background vocals.

The second single “Awake the Giant” was also on the radio a lot, peaking at number 36 on the Canadian singles chart.

Gowan was nominated for Junos in 1987 for Male Vocalist of the Year, Canadian Entertainer of the Year, and Album of the Year for “Great Dirty World”.

Classically trained
There used to be this show called “The New Music Magazine”, produced by Global in Toronto that aired on Channel 7. It had all kinds of interviews and behind-the-scenes features on primarily Canadian musicians.

One time on “The New Music Magazine”, there was a piece on Gowan. He talked about going back to the conservatory where he studied classical music to visit with his old instructors. I thought that was pretty cool. I recently discovered on Wikipedia that at age 19, Gowan earned an ARCT in classical piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. The ARCT is the highest academic standing awarded in the Royal Conservatory’s certificate program.

The years after
Gowan kept on writing, recording and performing, earning another Juno nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year in 1991. This after he released the album “Lost Brotherhood” in 1990, and the single “All the Lovers in the World” that peaked at number six on the Canadian singles chart. The song “When There’s Time (for Love)” also peaked at number six in 1993.

Gowan opened for Styx during their tour in 1997, where he got to know the band. When their lead singer fell ill in 1999, Gowan was asked to fill in for 53 dates. He then became the permanent lead singer after that tour in 1999, and is still with them to this day.

Another cool thing I learned is that Styx plays “A Criminal Mind”, and makes a point of doing so when touring in Canada. It kind of reminds me of Neil Finn singing “I Got You”, his hit with Split Enz and “Don’t Dream it’s Over’, his hit with Crowded House, when he performs with Fleetwood Mac.

Parting thoughts
As more and more bands either merge or solo artists join existing bands, I have joked that soon everyone will be in one big ‘80s super band.

More often than not, these new combinations are really good.

I have not heard Gowan sing with Styx, but I like them both and can imagine them being great together, kind of like peanut butter and chocolate.

Looking back, I always thought Gowan had an interesting voice – powerful, melodious and unique. His songs had a message, he was a music video pioneer, and he was a unique part of the Canadian music scene of the ‘80s. His classical training provides another layer of depth to his music too.

He never really had much success in the States as a solo act, although I am not sure if his music was released down there, but he was always on the radio up here.

I am glad he has found that success with Styx, because he sure deserves it.

Vince Goldsmith: Solid gold defender

Vince Goldsmith of the Calgary Stampeders.

Source: https://x.com/Stampeders1945/status/1786432397850124752/photo/2

(May be subject to copyright)

From the moment he broke into the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1981, through the entire decade, he terrorized opposing quarterbacks.

Yet sometimes, when a player has been retired for a long time, everyone loses sight of him, and he never receives the recognition he deserves.

I am glad that is not the case with Vince Goldsmith, a former linebacker and defensive lineman.

He was just elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

College career
Vince Goldsmith played his college football for the University of Oregon Ducks from 1977 to 1980. There he was First Team All-Conference twice, won the Morris Trophy as top lineman in the Pac-10 Conference, and was a 1980 Associated Press Second Team All-American. He finished his college career with 281 tackles including 34 sacks or tackles for losses.

NFL scouts figured he was too small for the NFL, so Goldsmith ventured north and brought his talents to Canada.

Rider Pride
Goldsmith joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the 1981 season and made an immediate impact. He registered 17 quarterback sacks in 1981, including four in one game against Winnipeg in his second ever CFL game. He was named the CFL Outstanding Rookie of the Year and a CFL West All-Star.

The next year, 1982, Goldsmith had another 12.5 sacks. Then he set a career high with 20 sacks in the 1983 season. He also recovered two fumbles, returning one for a touchdown. In 1983, he was named a CFL All-Star and earned his second CFL West All-Star selection.

On the move
Just as he found his rhythm in terrorizing quarterbacks, Goldsmith was on the move. For whatever reason, the Riders traded him to Toronto in May of 1984 and he suited up with the Argonauts for one season. He recorded 12 sacks, recovered one fumble, and blocked a kick with the Boatman, and was on the move again prior to the 1985 season. The Argos traded Goldsmith to Edmonton with defensive back Lemont Meacham in exchange for quarterback Kevin Ingram. For whatever reason, Edmonton released Goldsmith before the 1985 season started.

He was on the movie again.

Stampeder sensation
This is where I, as a fan, pick up Vince Goldsmith’s trail again. It was the summer after Grade 10 when I went to Calgary with my friends Dave and Craig to a science fiction convention called Con-version. It was held in the Carriage House Inn and lasted Friday through Sunday.

On Saturday, I found out Goldsmith was playing with the Calgary Stampeders from a newspaper I picked up in the lobby of the Carriage House Inn. I was so thrilled.

Goldsmith only played 10 games in the 1985 season registering six sacks and recovering one fumble.

That season would be a disaster for the Stampeders as they really were not very good on the field. Attendance plummeted and it looked at one point like the Stampeders would fold. Yet a grassroots movement from within the community rose up, created “Save Our Stamps” or “SOS”, and saved the team.

The Stampeders would get back on track in 1986 and so would Goldsmith. He registered 15 sacks and recovered a fumble in 1986. He had 12 sacks in the 1987 season but also recovered five fumbles and returned two for touchdowns. That was the first season the league kept track of tackles, and Goldsmith had 31 tackles.

Return to sender
The Stampeders traded Goldsmith to Saskatchewan for a third round draft pick. Once more the trade was hard to understand, but Goldsmith was going back to where it all started.

In the 1988 season, he had 15 sacks, 31 tackles, recovered one fumble and was a CFL West All-Star for the third time. The Riders also returned to the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

The 1989 season was a memorable one for Goldsmith and the Riders, as they won their first Grey Cup since 1966, and the second in franchise history. Goldsmith had 12 sacks, 30 tackles and recovered two fumbles.

He returned to the Riders for the 1990 season, where he registered nine sacks, 37 tackles, and three fumble recoveries.

Vice Goldsmith retired after the 1990 season, with 130.5 career sacks in 163 games.

Parting thoughts
Personally, I remember how excited I was when I read Vince Goldsmith had joined the Calgary Stampeders, because he had been such an impact player with Saskatchewan. He brought stability and toughness to the Stampeder defence.

It was so good to hear he has been elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. It has been 34 years since he retired and more than 40 since he came to the league.

Often after that much time has gone by, a player’s chances at the hall of fame have also passed by.

That isn’t the case, nor should it be, because Vince Goldsmith, pound for pound, was one of the best defensive linemen of his era. It was not just because he got to the quarterback, but because he made tackles, caused and recovered fumbles, and even had the odd interception and blocked kick.

He really was a solid gold defender.

Michelle Pfeiffer: A long way from “Grease 2”

Michelle Pfeiffer in "Ladyhawke" in 1985.

Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/before-maleficent-2-michelle-pfeiffers-first-fairy-tale-was-ladyhawke-1985-1247778/

(May be subject to copyright)

The movie was a sequel that probably should never have been made, a sequel to a movie that really didn’t need one. If there is one good thing “Grease 2” did, it was give Michelle Pfeiffer her start in movies.

She seized the opportunity and turned it into a career that has seen a lot of great performances over the past 30-plus years.

I saw her on TV a few days ago. She was attending a ceremony awarding fellow actor Nicole Kidman with a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute.

It made me think how far Michelle Pfeiffer had come from the days of being a member of the Pink Ladies and chasing after Maxwell Caulfield.

“Grease 2” and “Scarface”
The original “Grease” featured John Travolta as Danny Zuko, the leader of the T-Birds, a high school motor-cycle gang. He falls for Sandy Olsson, an international student played by Olivia Newton-John. “Grease 2” turns the plot upside down. Set in the same high school two years after the original “Grease”, it focuses on Stephanie, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who is the leader of the Pink Ladies, a female gang. She has tired of her boyfriend who is the leader of the T-Birds. She meets Michael, played by Maxwell Caulfield, an international student who happens to be Sandy’s cousin.

I recall watching this movie back in 1996 and thinking it really wasn’t that good. It just felt like a shadow of the original movie.

I kept thinking the only good thing about “Grease 2” was Michelle Pfeiffer.

That changed in 1983 with her next role, as the wife of a drug lord in “Scarface”. She was lauded for her performance, described as her breakout role.

“Into the Night”
When I was in Grade 10, in February of 1985, I saw a review on “The Movie Show”, for a film that I really wanted to see. I made a note of it and stuck it on the bulletin board in my bedroom. It was called “Into the Night”, and starred Jeff Goldblum, who discovers his wife is messing around on him. He wants to get away and heads to the airport. There, a beautiful jewel smuggler hops into his car, and takes him on a whirlwind of intrigue.

That jewel smuggler was played by Michelle Pfeiffer.

In 1996, I had left my job at the University of Alberta and was taking some time for myself. I decided to see some of the movies I had wanted to see for a long time. One was “Into the Night”, so I rented it from the video store on Whyte Avenue. I was not disappointed. It was a good movie – worth the wait.

“Ladyhawke”
It is my favourite medieval movie and has had a big influence on one of my novels. “Ladyhawke” came out in 1985, and has just stuck with me. It starts with Felipe Gaston, known as “The Mouse”, doing the impossible and escaping from an inescapable prison. While he eludes capture, he is aided by a soldier on horseback named Etienne Navarre, played by Rutger Hauer. As they travel together, Felipe sees this beautiful woman, but only at night. He discovers she is Isabeau, who is Navarre’s lover. However, a curse has been placed on them, By day Isabeau is a hawk and by night when she becomes human, Navarre becomes a wolf. Felipe dubs her the “Ladyhawke”. Sadly, they shall never meet again. Navarre is travelling to the capital to kill the man who placed the curse on them, then plans on taking his own life. Felipe, however, has other ideas.

It is a really good medieval movie. Pfeiffer turns in a good, understated performance, as a woman who struggles with spending half of each day in an altered state.

History and witchcraft
In 1986, Pfeiffer appeared in “Sweet Liberty”, a movie starring Alan Alda as an author who writes a book on the revolutionary war. He sells the movie rights, and watches in horror at the way his words are brought to life. Pfeiffer plays the actress who will play the female lead in this movie. Predictably, Alda character becomes attracted to her.

A year later, in “The Witches of Eastwick” in 1987, Pfeiffer plays one of three divorcees, along with Susan Sarandon and Cher. They get involved with a mysterious man, played by Jack Nicholson, who may be the devil, in the small New England town of Eastwick.

Organized crime
Pfeiffer was back in 1988 with “Married to the Mob”, where she played a woman married to a mobster, played by Alec Baldwin. After her husband is killed, she tries to avoid another gangster, and gets involved with an FBI agent played by Mathew Modine, who wants to use her to bust that gangster.

Pfeiffer was excellent in this role, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

Later in 1988 in “Tequila Sunrise”, she played a restaurant owner. She gets caught between a cop, played by Kurt Russell, trying to bust a drug dealer, played by Mel Gibson, who is trying to go straight, and happens to be a high-school friend. This was a movie I always wanted to see. I finally got my chance when I taped it off TV when I was living in an apartment during my final year at the University of Alberta in the early months of 1996. I don’t remember much of it, but have a recording sitting on my PVR right now.

Period piece
Michelle Pfeiffer’s next role was the period piece “Dangerous Liaisons” also in 1988. She plays a virginal woman caught in a revenge plot. One woman is using a man to seduce her to hurt another man. The role garnered Pfeiffer an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

This movie marked a first for me. It was the first movie I saw at the Meyer Horowitz Theatre in the Students Union Building, on the campus of the University of Alberta. It was in the Fall of 1989, I was in my third year of university, and I went with my friend Bruce Freadrich. The Students Union played a lot of movies that had recently been in the theatres, and we lived a few blocks from that theatre. So, we ended up seeing a lot of movies there that year.

Lounge singer
She closed out the decade in 1989 with “The Fabulous Baker Boys”. She plays a singer who becomes involved with the piano duo the Baker boys, played by real-life brothers Beau and Jeff Bridges. Pfeiffer again was rewarded for her performance, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, and winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama.

The years after
Michelle Pfeiffer just keeps on acting. She appeared in movies such as “The Russia House”, where she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama; “Frankie and Johnny”, where she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy; “Batman Returns”, where she played the Catwoman; and “Love Field”, where she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama.

She was was in “The Age of the Innocence”, where she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama; “Wolf”; “Dangerous Minds”; “Up Close and Personal”; “To Jillian on Her 37th Birthday”; “One Fine Day”, which I saw with a friend on her birthday; “I Am Sam”; “White Oleander”; “Hairspray”; “Dark Shadows”; and “Murder on the Orient Express”.

Pfeiffer was in “Ant-Man and the Wasp”; “Avengers: Endgame”; “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”; “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”; “French Exit”, where she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy; and much more.

She also appeared in the television movie “The Wizard of Lies”, where she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film, and an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie; and the anthology TV series “The First Lady” as Betty Ford.

Parting thoughts
Although I had heard about her, the first time I ever saw Michelle Pfeiffer was in “Ladyhawke”, and I was hooked. She just has this amazing presence on screen that can be captivating. The role of Isabeau showed her talent and set the stage for more than three decades of great performances.

She has come a long way from “Grease 2”.

Michael Douglas: “Romancing the Stone” and more

Michael Douglas as adventurer Jack Colton in 1984.

Source: https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=cQ20NfNJCAM

(May be subject to copyright)

The scene is indelible in my mind. A romance writer is trapped, out of her element, in a jungle when suddenly a shadowy figure at the top of a hill pulls a shot gun slung on his back, starts shooting, and rescues her.

When he sees the high heels she is wearing are hampering her ability to run in the jungle, he pulls out his machete and chops off the heels.

“They were Italian,” she said.

“Now, they’re practical,” he responds.

This is just part of “Romancing the Stone”, one of my favourite movies.

That shadowy hero was Jack Colton, played by Michael Douglas.

To that point, he had begun to make some great theatrical movies. However, he was just a few years removed from his character as a young detective teamed with a veteran detective in “The Streets of San Francisco”.

Michael Douglas was on Global’s “The Morning Show” the other day, talking about his new show “Franklin”. It reminded me of some of those great movies he made after leaving “The Streets of San Francisco” right into the ‘80s and even beyond.

On the streets
Among my earliest memories of television are snippets of “The Streets of San Francisco” starring Michael Douglas and Karl Malden. Douglas was in the first four seasons of the show from 1972 to 1976. He played a young detective partnered with an older, more experienced one. For his efforts, Douglas was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1974, 1975 and 1976, and a Golden Globe in 1975 for Best Actor in a Television Drama.

He left the show in 1976, and never looked back.

The years before
Michael Douglas actually started acting in movies in 1969 in the movie “Hail, Her!” for which he garnered a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Male Newcomer.

In 1975, he entered the world of producing with “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. Douglas won the Oscar for Best Picture, and the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Drama for his efforts.

Douglas was back in front of the camera in 1978 in “Coma”. He played the boyfriend of a young doctor who notices an unusual number of comas occurring, and uncovers a conspiracy.

In 1979, Douglas appeared in two movies. He starred in “The China Syndrome”, about a television reporter, played by Jane Fonda, and her camera man, played by Douglas, who discover a cover up surrounding safety protocols at a nuclear plant. It actually came out in theatres 12 days before the real-life accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant. Douglas earned his second Golden Globe nomination as a producer for Best Motion Picture Drama for “The China Syndrome”.

He also appeared in the Canadian production “Running”, which I recall watching late one Sunday night on Channel 13 on the peasant vision dial. Douglas plays a distance runner who qualifies for the marathon in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, while struggling in every other aspect of his life. I recall the ending vividly. During the Olympic marathon, he suffers a fall and is out of the marathon. He lies there awhile then, when the run is seemingly over, he picks himself up and, with one of his arms injured and limp by his side, he struggles to finish the race, as night descends on the streets of Montreal and more and more people take notice. When he finishes, his estranged wife, played by Susan Anspach, is there to celebrate with him. It was awesome.

Dawn of the decade
Douglas began the decade in 1980 playing a recently retired baseball player in the romantic comedy “It’s My Turn” opposite Jill Clayburgh. I started watching this movie on Channel 13 but kind of got distracted and never finished watching it. This was like in Grade 8 or 9. I recall making a note to watch it when the chance came, and tacked that note on the bulletin board in my bedroom. It took almost 40 years, but a couple years ago I recorded it off an ‘80s movie channel we get, and finally watched it. It wasn’t bad.

Two years later he played a judge tempted to become part of a vigilante group in “The Star Chamber” in 1983. I saw a trailer for this movie but never saw it. However, my sister did and gave me the rundown the next time I saw her.

Stone romance
In 1984, my sister I went to a movie that looked good from the commercials we saw. Little did I know that “Romancing the Stone” would become one of my favourite movies of all time. Joan Wilder, played by Kathleen Turner, plays a romance novelist who fantasizes about living one of her stories. Then she receives a call her sister has been kidnapped, so Joan embarks on an adventure to rescue her. Along the way she meets adventurer Jack Colton, played by Douglas, and the story goes from there.

Douglas was also the producer, winning the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

The blend of comedy, action, and adventure make it one of my favourite movies of all time. This is the kind of story I aspire to writing.

Two years later, Turner and Douglas reunited for the sequel “Jewel of the Nile” in 1985, but I have never seen it. I am not sure I have the heart, because I don’t want it to diminish “Romancing the Stone”. I am not sure.

Dancing and aliens
In 1984, Douglas returned to the producer’s chair with “Starman”. Jeff Bridges plays an alien who comes to Earth and assumes the form of the dead husband of a woman, played by Karen Allen. It is another favourite of mine.

Douglas returned to acting in 1985 in “A Chorus Line”, playing a director and choreographer auditioning dancers for a part in a new Broadway musical. This is another movie I have always wanted to see, but just haven’t run into.

Chilling
In the Fall of 1987, I was in my first semester of university and there was a lot of talk about this movie that was just chilling. It was called “Fatal Attraction” and starred Michael Douglas as a married man who has an affair with a sexy, mysterious woman, played brilliantly by Glenn Close. When he breaks it off, because he wants to stay in his marriage, his mistress goes off the rails. She stalks him, haunts him, and ultimately pushes him to the brink. We went to see it and it was absolutely chilling.

I was on the edge of my seat the last half of the movie.

Insider trading
Later that year, Douglas was the villain in “Wall Street”. He played Gordon Gekko, a slick and unscrupulous stock broker who engages in insider trading. I ended up watching this movie about six months later when we rented it in res. However, I fell asleep part way through and lost track of the plot. I haven’t seen it since.

Douglas was praised for the role. Ultimately, he won the Oscar for Best Actor and the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama.

End of the line
Douglas ended the ‘80s with two movies in 1989 – a crime drama and a dark comedy.

In “Black Rain” he played one of two police who arrest a Japanese mobster, escort him back to Japan, and get drawn deeper and deeper into the Japanese underworld. I saw this movie in the theatre in my third year of university with my friend Bruce Freadrich.

In “War of the Roses”, Douglas is reunited with Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito, who all appeared together in “Romancing the Stone” and “The Jewel of the Nile”. “War of the Roses” is a story about a couple who go through a bitter divorce.

The years after
Michael Douglas just keeps on working. He has produced movies such as “Flatliners”; “Stone Cold”; “Double Impact”; “Made in America”; “The Ghost and the Darkness”; “Face/Off’; “The Rainmaker”; and much more.

He has acted in “Shining Through”; “Basic Instinct”; “Falling Down”; “Disclosure”; “The American President”, which is another one of my favourite movies of all time; “The Ghost and the Darkness”; “The Game”; “A Perfect Murder”; “Wonder Boys”; “Traffic”; “The Sentinel”; “You, Me and Dupree”; “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”, where he reprises the role of Gordon Gekko; “Ant-Man”; “Ant-Man and the Wasp”; “Avengers: Endgame”; “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”; and much more.

Parting thoughts
It is no coincidence that Michael Douglas is in two of my favourite movies – “Romancing the Stone” and “The American President”. He plays such different characters in each movie it just shows how versatile an actor he is.

He has great comic timing and an ability to say so much with just an understated facial expression.

However, he can also bring it as a serious, dramatic actor. That to me is most evident in “Fatal Attraction” where he goes through an absolutely harrowing experience, and “The Ghost and the Darkness”, where he confronts a different type of near death experience.

It just all shows what an exceptional actor he is – and he just keeps on going.