In Memoriam: Eva Marie Saint, 1924-2026

Academy-Award-winning actress Eva Marie Saint died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles.  She was 102.  For me, her most memorable role was that of the glamorous spy lady in Hitchcock's 1959 thriller North by Northwest.

The late Robert Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies, interviewed her in 2014:

 

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In Memoriam: Dolly Parton, 1946-2026

America has lost a national treasure.  The incomparable Dolly Parton, singer, songwriter, actress, and philanthropist, died today at age 80 after a life well lived, rising from the hills of Tennessee to the summit of world acclaim, but never losing the common touch.  She will live on in the hearts of many millions whom she touched with beauty, joy, and a generous, loving spirit.  She was also a friend and supporter of the gay community.

1.  A message from Dolly's family:

2.  NBC News reports on Dolly's true-life rags to riches story:

3.  In this 2025 interview with Dan Rather, starting at the 4:00 mark, we learn the secret to her success:  she's not a floozy, she's a sharp, shrewd businesswoman:

See the full interview here.

4.  Dolly was also a deeply spiritual person who lived her faith, as she explains in this wide-ranging interview with Norah O'Donnell in 2024:

5.  I believe Dolly always closed her shows with this beautiful song:

Bonus: The Empire State Building was lit up in sparkling pink tonight as a tribute to Dolly.

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In Memoriam: Barney Frank, 1940-2026

Official photograph of Representative Barney Frank, 2008.

Former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, one of the first openly gay congressmen and a champion of gay rights, died yesterday at his home in Ogunquit, Maine.  He was 86 and had been receiving hospice care.  A mainstay of the Democratic Party for many years, he brought his considerable intelligence, shrewd pragmatism, and outspoken personality to bear on many important issues during his thirty years in the House, and was the co-sponsor of the landmark Dodd-Frank reform bill in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Frank is survived by his husband, Jim Ready, two sisters, and a brother.  He was a hero of our community who will be much missed and long remembered. Here are some videos recounting his life and accomplishments:

The Associated Press:

The Washington Post:

NBC10 Boston:

CBS 60 Minutes interview, 2008:

Frank was the author of a number of books on political subjects; his final work, The Hard Path to Unity:  Why We Must Reform the Left to Rescue Democracy, will be published by Yale University Press this fall.

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King Charles Commemorates 100th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II

A lovely tribute and an inspiring one.

P. S. - I must say, I'm disappointed and a bit shocked that the UK Government has not yet erected some kind of memorial to their late beloved monarch, who served them so long and so well.  Shame on them!

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In Memoriam: Pope Francis, 1936-2025

 

Pope Francis has died, aged 88, the Vatican announced this morning.  He made his last public appearance yesterday, in obviously frail condition, to bless the crowds in St. Peter's Square.  Like his namesake, he will be remembered as a humble, compassionate champion of the poor and powerless of the world who tirelessly promoted peace among nations as well as respect for the environment.  He also on several occasions expressed support for the work of an American gay rights group founded by a Catholic nun and a priest, New Ways Ministry.  Francis lived the faith that he preached; he was an inspiration to many, a fine Christian man and a fine pope. 

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine; et lux perpetua luceat ei.

The Priests perform Andrew Lloyd Webber's poignant "Pie Jesu":

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In Memoriam: Richard Chamberlain, 1934-2025

Renowned actor and hearthrob Richard Chamberlain has died at his home in Hawaii, two days before his 91st birthday.  The handsome star of stage and screen came out as gay in his 2003 autobiography.

 

Excerpt from a Television Academy Foundation interview in 2010 about life in the closet and coming out: 

 

Watch the full 3-hour interview here. 

I well recall when Chamberlain was TV's popular Dr. Kildare from 1961 to 1966 - but I don't remember watching his show. My family watched the swarthy Ben Casey instead. 

 I liked Chamberlain a lot better with hair on his face, as in the costume dramas of the 1970s (The Three Musketeers, The Four Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man in the Iron Mask). Now that was entertainment!

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In Memoriam: Cody

My late husband Cody died 20 years ago today.  We had five years together before he died unexpectedly.  Our story is linked in the sidebar with our photograph.  Miss you, cowboy.  Rest in God.

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In Memoriam: President Jimmy Carter, 1924-2024

Official portrait, 1977

 

Former President Jimmy Carter died today at his home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 100.  He was a fine man who set a fine example for all other presidents, in or out of office.  May God rest his soul.

And then there's Mr. Carter's longtime suport for gay rights.

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In Memoriam: Charles Osgood, 1933-2024

Your Head Trucker has fond memories of veteran CBS newsman Charles Osgood, who died at his home in New Jersey yesterday, age 91.  He was a thorough professional who delivered the news along with a little something extra - warmhearted humor.  And often a charming poem, a rare thing to hear on a news program, as his trademark bow ties were rare to see.

 

Osgood will, of course, long be remembered for his brilliant contribution to American speech as the man who popularized the acronym POSSLQ: Persons of the Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters. Or at least, I had never heard of it until he broadcast a poem about it way back when:

 

And yet, Osgood had deep thoughts to share, too - and here is a most appropriate example:

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In Memoriam: The Dance

My first husband in 2009, the last time I heard from him.
By chance, I just recently learned that he died in 2020, age 54.
By all accounts, he loved his life and was much loved.

Thirty Years Ago

We Danced.

Planet & Comet

Took a Big Chance.

Big Love.  Big Loss.  

Big Hurt -- Long Time.

Hard Lesson.

All Forgiven.   

Bless you, Babe.  

Roll on through Heaven.

Russ in 2009.
Everybody's got to leave the darkness sometime.

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In Memoriam: David McCullough, 1933-2022

 

David McCullough, author and popular historian, died last Sunday at age 89.  He was a fine writer and a fine American; his biographies of Harry Truman (1992) and of John Adams (2001) won the Pulitzer Prize, and he was the recipient of many other honors and awards during his long career.  A perspicacious man of wide learning, good humor, and grace, in all his works he kept a spotlight on the American experiment in democracy:  an experiment he, like the people he wrote about, always believed was worthwhile, enduring, and noble.

McCullough also had a wonderful baritone voice, which many of us even now remember from his narration of the Ken Burns documentary The Civil War, first shown on PBS in 1990, a masterpiece of filmmaking.  It should be required viewing for every schoolchild, and indeed, for every American.  If you haven't seen it, you should.

I also highly recommend his biography of the 33rd president, entitled simply Truman, which is a masterpiece of biography.  The chapter on Truman's whistlestop campaign for re-election in 1948, leading to a surprising upset victory over Thomas Dewey, his Republican opponent, is particularly vivid and engrossing.

McCullough may be the last of his breed:  neither a crusader nor a revisionist, but in essence simply a good storyteller with a fine mind, profound respect for the truth, and a keen instinct for the telling detail.  The American mind has been so dumbed-down in recent decades, and hamstrung by propagandists both left and right, that it is difficult to imagine there is any future in history-writing at all.  

Especially when, as I have heard, there will soon be machines to write anything and everything, in any genre, any style, any viewpoint you please - what then will be the point of knowing any history - indeed, of knowing anything at all?

Here is McCullough interviewed by Morley Safer on 60 Minutes in 2013:

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In Memoriam: Olivia Newton-John, 1948-2022

Beloved Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John has died at her home in California, aged 73.  Despite her personal struggles and sorrows, she brought joy to many millions of people around the world, and though her voice is silent now, her songs will live on for generations to come, I'm sure.

I remember when she started out as an unlikely Country singer in the early 1970s, and went on to evolve in other directions.  I particularly recall going to see Xanadu in the summer of 1980, when I had finally finished my long-delayed bachelor's degree and was starting grad school.  And had just come out of the closet.  

My date for the movie was my summer romance, Prince Charming:  a slim, suave, brown-eyed, mustachioed, very handsome voice major, about my age, whose dark looks were intoxicating, and who was all I could have wanted physically.  He was more experienced than I:  a willing teacher and an eager student.  We fit together very well, I thought, in that pre-plague time when safe sex was not even thought of.  A fairy tale come true . . . 

But it was not to be a Cinderella story, after all.  He broke off the relationship at the end of the summer. I called for a date; he said he was seeing someone else.  I didn't ask why, didn't want to know.  Just cowboy up and move on, I told myself.  Don't mind the pain.

At the end of the decade, I noticed his name in the alumni magazine - "Deceased."  I assume it was AIDS.  I remembered he had said he didn't want to live to be 100.  He didn't even live to be 40.

The Xanadu soundtrack takes me back to that sweet, sensual summer when I was young and hopeful, and it was still possible to believe in magic.  Here are some of my favorites that Olivia sang then.  Perhaps she is still singing somewhere, beyond space and time.

Odd coincidence:  Xanadu was released on this day in 1980.

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In Memoriam: The Innocents of Uvalde

I have no words for this unspeakable horror, only tears. And rage at the unspeakable politicians who allow these massacres to go on and on, and do nothing about it.

FYI:  Contrary to what President Biden and Senator Chris Murphy have said today, these mass shootings do not happen "only in America."  They have been happening all over the world in the last quarter-century, even in totalitarian states like Russia.  But other countries have done something about it.  Here are a couple of Wikipedia articles for further reading and reflection:

• Mass shooting (with links to articles on individual countries) 

• Overview of gun laws by nation 

• The Gun Violence Archive has a wealth of verified statistics on mass shootings in the U. S.

Update:  See hotheaded Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke get in the face of bobbleheaded Governor Greg Abbott:

 

And watch the running sore known as Senator Ted Cruz flee from questioning by a British newsman:

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In Memoriam: The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, 1921-2021

The announcement was posted on the gates of Buckingham Palace this morning in London:

It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.

Further announcements will be made in due course.

The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.

My heart hurts for the dear old Queen, whose loss is inestimable.

The BBC has posted this short tribute to His Royal Highness:

     

Sky News reports live:

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In Memoriam: Justice Ginsburg Dead at 87

Justice Ginsburg, circa 2006

Grievous news:  a remarkable woman has died, leaving a remarkable legacy of upholding liberty and justice for all.  She lived a long, successful life, for which she received many honors and great public esteem, so may she rest in peace now among the pantheon of great Americans.

I need hardly remind my truckbuddies that hers was one of the five votes that brought marriage equality to this country in 2015.  She was always a great friend of the gay community, and will be sorely missed.

But her death at this particular time amounts to a constitutional crisis:  the Republicans in the Senate will no doubt pull out all the stops to get a hard-line rightwinger confirmed to replace her before the year is out, regardless of the election results.  And that bodes ill for our democracy and our republic.

 

NPR reports:

Just days before her death, as her strength waned, Ginsburg dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."

Remember This:  Speaking in 2016 on the nomination of Merrick Garland for a Supreme Court vacancy, Lindsey Graham invited Americans in the future to use his own words against him concerning the next vacancy.  The future is now.

 

For further reading, Amy Howe at SCOTUSblog in 2016 gave this historical summary of election-year Supreme Court vacancies in the 20th century, and how they were filled.  Howe also gives this detailed summary of Ginsburg's career on the high court bench.

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In Memoriam: Doris Day (1922-2019)

Doris Day, the beloved singer, dancer, actress, and comedienne - and one of the Pork Boys' all-time favorites - has died at her home in Carmel, California, at the age of 97.  God rest her soul.  Although she was one of the brightest lights and greatest talents of the twentieth century, her personal life was unfulfilling to some extent, and she spent the last thirty years in seclusion, far from the bright lights of Hollywood, having quiet dinners at home with old friends and running her animal-welfare foundation,

She occasionally granted telephone interviews, however, including one with the Hollywood Reporter on the occasion of her birthday last month.

Charles Osgood summed up her life and career in this segment of CBS News Sunday Morning in 2008:




Here are a few of her greatest hits to remind my truckbuddies of her incomparably lovely golden voice that now swells the angel chorus above, as we may piously believe:

Sentimental Journey, 1945, with Les Brown and His Band of Renown




It's Magic, 1948, from Romance on the High Seas




Secret Love, 1953, from Calamity Jane




Que Sera, Sera, 1956 - which became her theme song - from The Man Who Knew Too Much




Pillow Talk, 1959, from the eponymous motion picture, which earned Doris an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress

In Memoriam: George H. W. Bush, 1924-2018

The nation mourns today as a state funeral is held at 11 a. m. Eastern Time in Washington's National Cathedral for the forty-first president, George Herbert Walker Bush.  In the afternoon, the former president's remains will be flown back to Houston, where a private funeral service will take place tomorrow morning; in the afternoon, he will be laid to rest beside his beloved wife Barbara (1925-2018) on the grounds of his presidential library at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Mr. Bush led a long, active life of service to the nation before, during, and after his tenure as president.  One of the so-called "greatest generation," he was the last president to have served in World War II, and indeed, the last to have any memory of that war.  A full account of his public service is found in his Wikipedia article, and the following news videos recount the highlights of his life.








While I disagreed with some of his politics and was never what you might call a fan of Mr. Bush's, I remember him as a fundamentally decent man who honestly, competently, and faithfully served the nation as president, maintaining the long continuity of constitutional government in our Republic. All of which used to be simply taken for granted in presidents, but is sadly no longer a certainty.

After the stone-cold chill of the Reagan years - the plague years - I was impressed with Bush's call for a "kinder, gentler" America; and I thought his call for a "thousand points of light" - i.e., a spirit of volunteerism for the good of the whole country - was also a fine thing. I won't attempt here to review his time in office, which has long since been overshadowed by more recent, more disquieting events. But I will mention that it was during his presidency that your Head Trucker, along with several thousand other gays and lesbians, picketed the White House, a memorable occasion in my own history, which perhaps I will relate at more length another time.

Mr. Bush, like every other president, may have had his flaws and shortcomings; but I believe he was a good and conscientious man who was faithful to his constitutional duties as president:  perhaps not the greatest president, but certainly far from the worst. May he rest in peace.

In Memoriam: Senator John McCain, 1936-2018

Embed from Getty Images

The Honorable Senator John McCain died Saturday at his home in Arizona, a few days short of his eighty-second birthday.  The details of his life and career as a naval aviator, prisoner of war, maverick politician, presidential candidate, and statesman are too well known to need rehearsing here.  But he left a farewell letter to the American people which cements his renown as a patriot of the first order in the classic mold:

My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans,

Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them.

I have often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences, adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else's.

I owe that satisfaction to the love of my family. No man ever had a more loving wife or children he was prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America. To be connected to America's causes - liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people - brings happiness more sublime than life's fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.

"Fellow Americans" - that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world's greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the process.

We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.

We are three-hundred-and-twenty-five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.

Ten years ago, I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you with the heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening.

I feel it powerfully still.

Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.

Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America.

Powerful words of wisdom and faith, and very timely too.  I hope all my truckbuddies, regardless of political persuasion, will take them to heart.  We may have disagreed with his politics, but his patriotism is beyond dispute.

In Memoriam: Tab Hunter, 1931-2018

Tab Hunter, the studly, golden-haired Hollywood heartthrob of the 1950's, died Sunday at his home in California of natural causes, three days short of his 87th birthday. Hunter is survived by his partner of 35 years, film producer Allan Glaser.  Hunter came out of the closet with his 2005 autobiography, Tab Hunter Confidential, which was followed by the eponymous documentary in 2015.  The latter is well worth watching, if you haven't seen it already.

In Memoriam: Jim Nabors, 1930 - 2017

Jim Nabors in 2008

Jim Nabors, a good-hearted Alabama boy with an amazing baritone voice, who made it big in Hollywood playing aw-shucks Marine private Gomer Pyle, has died at age 87 at home in Honolulu.

I well recall hearing - with great disbelief - that rumor back in my high school days that he and Rock Hudson had gotten married.  It was just too silly to take seriously:  I mean, really -- those two, obviously straight as a board?  They didn't fit the gay stereotype at all.  It was to laugh.

But little did I know that both Nabors and Hudson really were gay.  Sadly, Hudson died of AIDS in 1985, but Nabors lived a long, full, happy life with his partner of 40-plus years, Stan Cadwallader, happily running a macadamia nut farm on Maui and doing the occasional singing or acting gig.  The couple were married by a judge in Seattle in 2013, shortly after same-sex marriage was legalized in Washington state.

Nabors kept his private life private, and there's nothing wrong with that.  I suppose his modest, gentle style of humor is quite incomprehensible to the frenzied children of this harsh and vulgar age, but I remember his character fondly.  May he rest in peace.




In this clip from Gomer Pyle, USMC, Nabors displays his big, beautiful singing voice: