Darren McGavin dead

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:16:09 PM EDT

www.darrenmcgavin.net/

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Darren McGavin at approximately 7:10 A.M. Pacific time today, Saturday 25, 2006.

Darren was just three months short of his 84th birthday. While we suspect none of us can imagine a world without the beloved, feisty little red-head, it is time to reflect, give thanks for his life and hold in reverence his memory.

Darren is gone, but in many respects he will always be with us: as Carl Kolchak, fighting authority and battling monsters; the grumpy Old Man sending curses over Lake Michigan; as David Ross, the outsider, Grey Holden, captain of the Enterprise, the irascible detective Mike Hammer or any number of memorable guest star appearances, most notably as Joe Bascome on GUNSMOKE and as the washed-up old actor from "Distant Signals."

Please take a moment in your sadness to reflect upon all the ways Darren touched your lives, say a prayer and raise a glass to toast a career which spanned over fifty years and affected us all in ways too numerous to count.
S. L. Kotar and J. E. Gessler

He was great as Kolchak and as Ralphie's dad.

"Frah-GEE-lay... hmm, must be Italian."

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:16:45 PM EDT

[#1]

He was great in A Christmas Story.

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:18:38 PM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:

He was great in A Christmas Story.

Was he the dad?

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:18:55 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
Quoted:

He was great in A Christmas Story.

Was he the dad?

Yep.

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:19:13 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:

www.darrenmcgavin.net/

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Darren McGavin at approximately 7:10 A.M. Pacific time today, Saturday 25, 2006.

Darren was just three months short of his 84th birthday. While we suspect none of us can imagine a world without the beloved, feisty little red-head, it is time to reflect, give thanks for his life and hold in reverence his memory.

Darren is gone, but in many respects he will always be with us: as Carl Kolchak, fighting authority and battling monsters; the grumpy Old Man sending curses over Lake Michigan; as David Ross, the outsider, Grey Holden, captain of the Enterprise, the irascible detective Mike Hammer or any number of memorable guest star appearances, most notably as Joe Bascome on GUNSMOKE and as the washed-up old actor from "Distant Signals."

Please take a moment in your sadness to reflect upon all the ways Darren touched your lives, say a prayer and raise a glass to toast a career which spanned over fifty years and affected us all in ways too numerous to count.
S. L. Kotar and J. E. Gessler

He was great as Kolchak and as Ralphie's dad.

"Frah-GEE-lay... hmm, must be Italian."

I never heard of him, nor would I know whom I was looking at.

I am, however, sad that someone lost a loved one.

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:19:44 PM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:

He was great in A Christmas Story.

Was he the dad?

Yep.

Oh.

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:20:01 PM EDT

[#6]

RIP Mr. McGavin

Two good guys today...

ETA - I rarely missed The Night Stalker when it was on.

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:22:05 PM EDT

[#7]

Damn.

A Christmas Story is one of the funniest movies ever, and alot of that is due to Darren's protrayl of Dad.

"My Dad worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils...it was his true medium, a master"

A Man after my own potty-mouthed heart.

SG

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:26:16 PM EDT

[#8]

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:27:58 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:

He was great in A Christmas Story.

Was he the dad?

Yep.

Damn

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:28:44 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
Damn.

A Christmas Story is one of the funniest movies ever, and alot of that is due to Darren's protrayl of Dad.

"My Dad worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils...it was his true medium, a master"

A Man after my own potty-mouthed heart.

SG

"A Christmas Story" Trivia:

Jack Nicholson was originally intended to play the part of Ralphie's father. It just wouldn't have been the same.

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:32:26 PM EDT

[#11]

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:33:07 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Damn.

A Christmas Story is one of the funniest movies ever, and alot of that is due to Darren's protrayl of Dad.

"My Dad worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils...it was his true medium, a master"

A Man after my own potty-mouthed heart.

SG

"A Christmas Story" Trivia:

Jack Nicholson was originally intended to play the part of Ralphie's father. It just wouldn't have been the same.

Absolutely.

SG

Posted: 2/25/2006 6:34:26 PM EDT

[#13]

Okay, that's Number Two...

What celebrity will be #3?

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:00:55 PM EDT

[#14]

Damn. Darren McGavin was an awesome character actor.

As a 14 year old kid growing up in the mid-70's, The Night Stalker was the shiznit. I used to love watching him make Simon Oakland blow a gasket every week. I think Simon fired and re-hired him about every third episode. It was a sad day for me when the show was cancelled.

For those of you too young to have seen the show it was kind of the X-files of the mid-70's.

I saw a few re-runs of the show recently and it was pretty cheesy. Course with current societal trends today, a lot of TV shows from 30 years ago seem pretty cheesy.

Cheers Karl. Rest in peace!

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:05:43 PM EDT

[#15]

"You...used...all the glue...ON PURPOSE!!!!!."

I use that one on my wife all the time.

I loved the "Night Stalker" when I was a kid.

RIP

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:06:59 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
For those of you too young to have seen the show it was kind of the X-files of the mid-70's.

One of the best X-Files was the one with Darrin McGavin.

Kolchak was the inspiration for the successful 1993 series The X-Files (The X-Files: the x-files was a popular 1990s american science fiction television series created, and—because of this—McGavin was asked to play the role of Arthur Dales, the man who started the X-Files, in three episodes.

Season 5's Travelers, and two episodes from Season 6, Agua Mala and The Unnatural.

Unfortunately, failing health forced him to withdraw from the latter, and the script—written and directed by series star David Duchovny (David Duchovny: more facts about this subject) —was rewritten to feature M. Emmet Walsh as Dales' brother, also called Arthur.

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:09:46 PM EDT

[#17]

remember the movie "TRIBES" ?

about a Marine Corps DI and hippie draftee during the Vietnam era

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:12:51 PM EDT

[#18]

Wow, him and Don Knotts, both today.

Darren McGavin was great as Lee Petty in "43: The Richard Petty Story."

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:15:03 PM EDT

[#19]

Damn

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:15:46 PM EDT

[#20]

He also played in a movie about two guys fighting a war for their countries. Mako, was the other star. I'll be damned if i can remember the name of the movie tho.

He was a good guy...good actor.

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:17:25 PM EDT

[#21]

Wow this sucks, we are running out of good actors.

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:17:46 PM EDT

[#22]

Man, I always liked him. Loved him in A Christmas Story, and he also played Brian Madison, Billy's dad in Billy Madison.

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:19:32 PM EDT

[#23]

I was going to post his IMDB credits page but it's too damn long! 173 movie and tv roles!

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:19:48 PM EDT

[#24]

I liked Night Stalker too.

RIP ...

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:21:29 PM EDT

[#25]

They are dropping like flies!

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:24:03 PM EDT

[#26]

Wow . . . Another great actor.

RIP Darren.

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:26:13 PM EDT

[#27]

Never missed the Night Stalker as a kid. Even took my tape recorder (before vcrs in every home) and recorded the episodes. I still have the audio from "Chopper" and other episodes memorized enough to know that the Sci-Fi channel butchered some of the scenes to play extra commercials.

I heard the DVDs are out, but Universal didn't put much into restoring this classic.

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:26:40 PM EDT

[#28]

Damn A Christmas Story is a Holiday Ritual at our house!

RIP, may every room in heaven have a "Major Award" lamp for you!

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:32:14 PM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
He also played in a movie about two guys fighting a war for their countries. Mako, was the other star. I'll be damned if i can remember the name of the movie tho.

He was a good guy...good actor.

movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=130127

that movie was called "THE CHALLENGE"

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:42:48 PM EDT

[#30]

RIP, who couldn't love "A Christmas Story". Don Knotts today too? Damn

--VT

Posted: 2/25/2006 8:44:06 PM EDT

[#31]

BUMPESES!!

Played a great part in A Christmas Story!

Posted: 2/25/2006 9:04:08 PM EDT

[#32]

"I told you not to use life-boy"

Posted: 2/25/2006 9:08:36 PM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:
Okay, that's Number Two...

What celebrity will be #3?

Curt Gowdy died on Monday, so that makes three.

Posted: 2/25/2006 9:10:41 PM EDT

[#34]

R.I.P. Darren McGavin. He was a great actor.
______________________

Posted: 2/25/2006 9:56:51 PM EDT

[#35]

What is the guy's name that died about a week ago, that had played some gangster roles on the Sopranos and in one or two of The Godfather movies?

Posted: 2/25/2006 10:48:20 PM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:
What is the guy's name that died about a week ago, that had played some gangster roles on the Sopranos and in one or two of The Godfather movies?

Richard Bright, a character actor who appeared in all three "Godfather" movies and more recently on "The Sopranos," was struck and killed by a bus, police said.

Bright, 68, was hit by a private Academy Bus as he crossed the street at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday in his Manhattan neighborhood, police Detective Bernard Gifford said.

Posted: 2/25/2006 11:48:49 PM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:
Damn. Darren McGavin was an awesome character actor.

As a 14 year old kid growing up in the mid-70's, The Night Stalker was the shiznit. I used to love watching him make Simon Oakland blow a gasket every week. I think Simon fired and re-hired him about every third episode. It was a sad day for me when the show was cancelled.

For those of you too young to have seen the show it was kind of the X-files of the mid-70's.

I saw a few re-runs of the show recently and it was pretty cheesy. Course with current societal trends today, a lot of TV shows from 30 years ago seem pretty cheesy.

Cheers Karl. Rest in peace!

I'm with ya, bro. I was 14 in 1975-1976. I loved that show.

Posted: 2/25/2006 11:51:31 PM EDT

[#38]

I loved that guy.

Posted: 2/26/2006 12:26:37 AM EDT

[#39]

Watched Night Stalker every week too!

Posted: 2/26/2006 7:14:50 AM EDT

[#40]

You, too, can have a Major Award.
www.redriderleglamps.com/

Posted: 2/26/2006 7:36:01 PM EDT

[#41]

RIP Darren.

I used to love "The Night Stalker" and "A Christmas Story" is one of my favorite movies.

Mr. McGavin made the world a better place.

Posted: 2/26/2006 11:47:45 PM EDT

[#42]

Darrin Mcgavin and Don Knotts were two of my favorite actors growing up. I hate to see the older generation pass away.

No one in todays acting circles could ever replace them.

I just acquired the Night Stalker dvd series, it brought back good memories.