Dorothy Mock Jones

Hartford, VT – Dorothy Mock Jones, 89, died December 21, 2010 at her home in Hartford. Dorothy was born September 26, 1921 on the family homestead in Hartford, VT, where she was raised. She was the daughter of Lester and Doris (Howard) Mock. She graduated from Hartford High School, class of 1939. She attended Posse School on a basketball scholarship and earned a B.S. degree in Physical Education at Temple University. Dot also coached and played semiprofessional basketball for the Bellows Falls Squaws; winning the New England tournament and qualifying for the national tournament.

Dot taught Physical education at Bellows Falls High School for 25 years and obtained a Master’s degree in guidance from Keene State College. Dot was director of guidance at Bellows Falls Elementary for 14 years.

An early equality advocate for women’s sports, Dot headed the move for the first girls state basketball tournament held in Springfield, VT. Dot was a very successful coach and also officiated for many years in basketball, softball and field hockey. The “Dot Jones” League for basketball was started in her honor with 8 participating schools. Ms. Jones was inducted into the Bellows Falls Hall of Fame.

After Dot retired from teaching, she served the town of Hartford for 17 years as lister and 9 years as a Hartford Town Library trustee. Dot is a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, Eastern Star, the Upper Valley Community Grange, Vermont Retried Teacher’s Association, Hartford Women’s Club and Hartford Historical Society. Dot served as president of the Hartford Historical Society for many years. She had a strong sense of place; she was a true Vermonter. She valued her family, friends, home, her town and state. 

She is predeceased by her brother Colonel Richard Mock and his wife Louise (Keane) Mock and a nephew Peter Mock. 

Dorothy is survived by her special friend Lorna Ricard of Hartford, nieces Anne Whitman of Williston, VT and Susan Mock and her husband Daniel Freeman of Middlebury, VT; grandnephews Christian Mock and his wife Nancy, Justin Mock and his wife Jennifer; Marc Whitman and his wife Meredith, Lars Whitman and his wife Susan,  and Lee Freeman and his wife Kate; seven great-great nieces and nephews as well as many cousins and close friends. She is also survived by her aunt Florence Howard of Montpelier, VT. 

Friends may call at the Knight Funeral Home in White River Jct., VT Monday December 27, from 6-8 PM. A funeral service will be held Tuesday December 28 at 2 PM at the Greater Hartford United Church of Christ. Burial will be in the Hartford Cemetery. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the Hartford Women’s Club, Box 331, Hartford, VT.

Mike Esposito, R.I.P.

from HERE (verbatim)

Longtime comic book inker Mike Esposito has died at the age of 83. In the above photo, which I took at a mid-seventies New York comic convention, Mike is the gentleman on the right. The fellow on the left is his good friend and frequent co-inker, Frank Giacoia.

I wish I'd also taken a photo of Mike with his best friend and more frequent collaborator, Ross Andru. Ross and Mike were lifelong friends dating back to high school, bonding over their mutual desire to become professional cartoonists. Esposito got serious about it after his discharge from the Army in 1947 when he attended the (then) newly-formed Cartoonists and Illustrators School run by Burne Hogarth in New York. Andru was also a student there — one of the best, as evidence by the fact that Hogarth hired him to assist with the art on the Tarzan newspaper strip. In the meantime, Esposito began to get work as a penciller and an inker for Fox Publications and Timely Comics. In 1951 after Andru's Tarzan job ended, he and Esposito decided to team up and try to establish themselves as comic book publishers. Mikeross Publications did not last long but it produced one highly memorable comic — Get Lost!, which was one of the first and best imitations of Harvey Kurtzman's new comic book, MAD.

Thereafter, Andru and Esposito became primarily an art team for other publishers. Ross pencilled and Mike inked...and since Mike's end of it went faster than Ross's, Mike also picked up work inking other artists. They worked for most of the major houses but became best known for their long association with DC, particularly with editor Robert Kanigher, for whom they did Wonder Woman, Metal Men and hundreds of war comics. Later for DC, they drew Superman, The Flash and dozens of other features. During the sixties, Esposito began inking for Stan Lee at Marvel, working under the pen name "Mickey Demeo" so DC wouldn't find out. He inked almost every comic they published then and almost every penciller but especially stood out when handling Jack Kirby pencils (or layouts) on The Hulk and John Romita pencil art on Spider-Man. Eventually, Esposito did so much for Marvel that he began using his real name...but he also inked many comics under the name "Joe Gaudioso" and there were others. His friend Ross joined him at Marvel and they collaborated on Spider-Man and other strips. Andru passed away in 1993.

Mike was a jovial, dependable gent who was trusted by editors and liked by his peers. In the seventies, he gave assisting work to a number of young artists, helping them to learn the industry and gain a foot in the door. He was also a good friend to other inkers, always ready to aid a colleague with a deadline problem. For many years, friends tried to persuade him to travel to San Diego to be honored and interviewed at the Comic-Con International but he always declined, citing health problems and a reticence to fly. I'm sorry we never got him to make the trip because I think he would have been surprised and overwhelmed to learn how many fans he had.

"Dirty Dancing" star Patrick Swayze dead at 57

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Patrick Swayze, who went from Broadway dancer to Hollywood star in box-office hits like "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost," died on Monday after a two year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.

Swayze died at home with his family at his side, his publicist said.

He became a pop culture icon with 1987's "Dirty Dancing," which defied Hollywood expectations to become one of the most-watched movies of all time.

Swayze played the swaggering dance instructor Johnny Castle in the film opposite Jennifer Grey's sheltered teenager Frances "Baby" Houseman, who becomes smitten with him while on vacation at a New York resort during the 1960s.

Swayze was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly forms of the disease, in January 2008. He said at the time that the cancer had already spread to his liver.

But the actor and former dancer vowed to fight the disease and had treatment with an experimental drug. He then surprised Hollywood by filming a new detective series for television called "The Beast" in which he played the grueling lead role. The series was broadcast earlier this year.

"Dirty Dancing," which was made for a modest budget and almost scrapped by its studio, became a massive box-office hit, earning Golden Globe nominations for both stars and spawning the Oscar-winning hit single "(I've Had) The Time of My Life."

Producers did not have high hopes for the film but it reaped $64 million at the U.S. box office and $214 million worldwide.

Swayze co-wrote and performed the song "She's Like the Wind" for the movie's soundtrack, which went to No. 3 on the pop music charts. The film remained widely popular more than two decades later and recently spawned a stage musical version.

They Always Come In Threes....

Maybe they don't really, but I cannot remember the last time 3 names this recognizable died this close to each other...

Bea Arthur Dies at 86

Beatrice Arthur, the tall, deep-voiced actress whose razor-sharp delivery of comedy lines made her a TV star in the hit shows "Maude" and "The Golden Girls" and who won a Tony Award for the musical "Mame," died Saturday. She was 86.



In addition to Jen's attachment to "The Golden Girls" and the joy the show gave her, I will always remember Bea Arthur as Ackmena in the delightful romp that is "The Star Wars Holiday Special."

Really??

These two items appeared, separately, in this past Sunday's edition of the local "newspaper", The Burlington Free Press.

The first story concerned a man who named his three children JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell, Adolf Hitler Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell (a girl named for Schutzstaffel head Heinrich Himmler). The children were taken by New Jersey's Division of Youth and Family Services. The man claims he is shocked that the children were taken.

Really? He had no inclination that it might happen. Or was he shocked that it took three years for it to happen? I'm not a fan of government intrusion but c'mon, somebody should have stepped in before this person was allowed to breed.

The second was an obituary. Now, I am not laughing at the death of this man (I've changed his name, city of residence and date of death), as he was obviously beloved by his family and friends, but that it contained this line: "Mr. John Doe, age 100 years, a lifelong resident of Colchester, died unexpectedly on Tuesday."

Really? I'm not trying to be cruel, but he was 100 years old. Was it really that unexpected?

Ricardo Montalban Is Dead at 88

Ricardo Montalban, a Mexican-born actor who starred in MGM films, and later in ABC's Fantasy Island, has died.

He was 88, and no cause of death was released, the Associated Press reports.

Of course, in addition to his "appearances" on "The Howard Stern Show", I will always remember him as Khan.

Eartha Kitt Dies at age 81

Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died, a family spokesman said. She was 81.

Kitt, famous for her catlike purr, was one of America's most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and nabbing a third nomination. She also was nominated for several Tonys and two Grammys.

Her career spanned six decades, from her start as a dancer with the famed Katherine Dunham troupe to cabarets and acting and singing on stage, in movies and on television. She persevered through an unhappy childhood as a mixed-race daughter of the South and made headlines in the 1960s for denouncing the Vietnam War during a visit to the White House.

Her role as Yzma in the 2000 Disney animated feature "The Emperor's New Groove" is a favorite in our household. It was one of the first movies Haley, Nancy and I went to see in the theater.

Robert Prosky dies at age 77

Robert Prosky, a character actor with hundreds of credits on stage and screen including "Mrs. Doubtfire" and "Hill Street Blues," has died in a Washington hospital. He was 77.

Prosky appeared in more than 200 plays on Broadway and with Arena Stage, a regional theater company in Washington. He appeared in 38 films and numerous television shows.

A native of Philadelphia, Prosky studied economics at Temple University and served in the U.S. Air Force.

His role as Judge Henry Harper in the 1994 remake of "Miracle on 34th Street" is a favorite in our household.

Tom Fagan 1931-2008

Been meaning to post this for a few days now.

Anyone who was really into Marvel and DC Comics in the '70's might recognize Tom's name. Tom was the organizer and co-ordinator of the Rutland (Vermont) Halloween Parade. For several years, he hosted a Halloween party that got several comics creators to attend, including Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman, Bernie Wrightson, Dennis O'Neil, Roy Thomas, Alan Weiss, Wendy and Richard Pini, Dave Cockrum and Len Wein.

These creators worked Tom and Rutland, VT into a bunch of comics, which led to what some consider the first inter-company crossover(Amazing Adventures #16 from Marvel led into a story in DC's Justice League of America #103 and concluded back at Marvel in Thor #207).

Tom passed away last week at the age of 77.

A couple of links you can check out (including the title of this entry):

The Wikipedia article on the Rutland Halloween Parade.

This site, all about the Marvel Universe, has an article on the Parade and Tom.