Larry Keith (ex-Nick Davis, AMC) passed away

[All My Shadows]

I get what you mean here. I'd agree if it was a character that had been recast already and could still pop up on the show (like if Mrs. Fickett died, it'd make no sense to kill off Ruth because we have Meriwether). For Nick though, it wouldn't really make a difference whether or not he died this month or next month or next year. I guess I'd like for them to incorporate it within the show as a way to show the old school viewers and younger viewers who know of Nick/LK that they consider the character and actor important parts of the show's history, but you're right, it's not a pertinent thing. They don't need to rush into the editing room with script changes or anything.

I'm glad somebody did. I remember when La Warrick passed, I swear, I saw on posts on a particular board that basically went "RIP.........I want to see old Phoebe clips, and if McTavish deprives of that, then she has nooooo soulllll!!!"

Really, for me, when it comes to big "returns" funerals like Phoebe and DAYS Alice and GH Lila, the most important thing is to write the characters' grief in a realistic way. There could be nary a flashback, but if I can feel the people's pain or whatever they're feeling, then it gets an A+ from me. I like flashbacks, but the 40th anniversary episode showed that you don't need to go overboard with that.

Nick flashbacks would hardly be relevant with today's characters, anyway, but of course there is that old "Hollywood and Vine" scene with him, Erica, and Mona that they could show just a little snippet of. Erica tells Bianca that she just got the phone call, talks about how Nick was one of the few men who didn't let her get her way all of the time, cue quick flashback, Erica says that him, Mona, and Myrtle are probably worried about who's gonna take care of her now, Bianca tells her she's got a whole family who loves her, Erica smiles, Bianca smiles, hug, end scene. That would be more than enough for something they really don't have to do.

[SFK]

I could be wrong, but Carl, I think R.'s question about langley was rhetorical, making a point about the show's urgency/manner in which they address such passings.

I agree, I could care less about clips, when we buried my grandmother we didn't do a clip show. It's how the living remember the dead, what we say, what we don't say, the spoken and the unspoken feelings about the departed. I'm not going to hate on clips but a simple montage at the end is more than enough. Julia Barr in the now is what sold Phoebe's funeral for me, I HAVE my memories of Phoebe. I'd much rather see an episode built on fresh dialogue and the characters mentioning moments that I already have the mental video tape of, you know what I mean? And in this YouTube age, clip shows have become less "special", especially when the shows are too damn lazy to dig and pull out more than the same old same old clips.

[DRW50]

Sorry.

I guess with Langley I could understand why they waited because it was obvious that it was only a matter of time until Phoebe would no longer be on the show, but this time I can't help feeling like if it isn't mentioned soon the show may not mention it at all.

[SFK]

Exactly. It's sad, I mean, I was glad that something was FINALLY said about Langley but it caught me off guard, jarring even, the way it was done in such a non-slick way yet as well as they could have possibly done it at that point. Carl, did your appreciation of Louis Edmonds grow exponentially having watched DS? Watching those bloopers the other night (he handled his eff ups the most elegantly, without question ) I really want to watch the show now to see more of pre-Langley Langley. There's a bio of him out there too.

[DRW50]

The first place I ever saw Louis was on Dark Shadows. A few years after I started watching DS reruns on the Sci-Fi Channel I saw the AMC Weddings videotape and I was like, "Is that Roger?"

It's definitely a credit to Louis that he was able to so effortlessly play such very different roles. I loved his work as Roger, especially the sprint to the liquor cabinet.

I remember when Kathryn Leigh Scott wrote in her diary during the filming of House of Dark Shadows and she complained about Louis "Movie Star" Edmonds and his close-ups. In his biography, Louis's response was basically that of course he was acting like a movie star, he was in a movie.

[SFK]

Oh, cool Carl, I didn't realize that you knew LE from DS first. He was certainly a fun presence on the AMC of my childhood, he and RW were a campy hoot. The last time I saw him was on the E! soap show hosted by Michael Logan and Shelly Taylor Morgan (? she was one of the Angelicas on DAYS if I'm correct). When AMC celebrated their 25th anniversary, Oprah did a show celebrating the occasion and Walt Wiley recalled how he asked LE if he was British to which LE replied, "No, I'm just affected."

[SFK]

Oh, and he released a single called "Nobody Cares About Langley", has anyone ever heard it?

[Khan]

Apparently, nobody cared to. ;-)

[Dr Neil Curtis]

RIP Larry Keith