Tribute Thread for the Recently Passed Greats

Rutger Hauer: Blade Runner actor dies aged 75 - BBC NewsLike tears...in the rain.

And she battled cancer for 10 years in her 70s ?Hats off and respect to the woman. Rest in peace.

He was a very naughty boy !Fabulously so. Monty Python didn't always hit the mark, but when it did, it was wonderful. A lot of people think about Always Look on the Bright Side of Life at a time of death, but I do quite like to think of their Universe Song (aka the Galaxy Song) instead:https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http...

Great actor.He brought gravitas, somehow combined with fun to whatever role he played. Hence he could raise something like Escape to Victory to something a lot more than it would otherwise have been, and still make something like The Seventh Seal the amazing piece of work it is.A genius with very little pretension. Rest in peace.

I haven't seen that film for ages. The script writers didn't do Robert Howard's character justice I have to say. But I'll dig it out again, to honour Max :-)

Love the Asterix books. Gentle and affectionate fun-poking at various countries (and a little less gentle and affectionate when it came to poking fun at Parisians).Also the only exposure that a lot of non-French get to French comic book culture, which is very different to the US/UK scene. Parting ways with Idfix...Thank you Albert.

Very true - although the English translators had a good go with some of it. The English name for the Druid, Getafix, was sheer genius.

Not many people outside the UK (and outside my age range, to be honest) will have known Tim Brooke-Taylor, but he was a wonderfully funny man, and part of the transformation that British comedy went through in the late 60s and 70s. John Cleese and the rest of the Monty Pythons are very strongly associated with that, but there was a much wider group of hugely talented and innovative comedians from that era, and Tim Brooke-Taylor was one of them.In later years, he was a stalwart of I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, a fabulous radio comedy show. They always say that if you see someone pissing themselves laughing in a car between 6.30 and 7.00, it’s because they’re listening to that.RIP - and thank you for so many laughs.Goodies star Brooke-Taylor dies with coronavirus - BBC News Edited by vimesey, : No reason given.

I can happily accord his life the same level of respect as any other person who passed away last Friday and whom I didn't know.But as a republican (lower case r), I see no need to give his passing any elevated status as a result of his marrying into one of the world's most privileged families. It feels wrong that in this day and age, there remains this inexplicable desire in this country to venerate (and chuck loads of cash, cars, stately homes, servants and security, lots of it at taxpayers' expense) at one family that very few of us know, and who know very few of us.I'll reiterate - I respect his life and his passing - but it is the same respect that I accord everyone else I don't know.

I'm guessing not. Someone who is happy using the expression "dear papa" is unlikely to be a modernising influence.

I’ll man the barricades ! (With a cup of tea, of course, this being England).

My condolences Ringo. It sounds like she will be sorely missed.Things will be hard, I know. I wish you all the best.

Same here - his face has stayed with me forever from Tron.

She was an amazing woman - fought long and hard and survived cancer into her 70s - hats off to her.(I was more of a Mary Stuart Masterson fan from her Some Kind of Wonderful days, but I was very much into Olivia too).

At this time, we are hearing a huge amount in this Country about the nation's grief, Elizabeth's service, and her status in the world. It's pretty much the only message which is broadcast by the media, and given the feelings of a lot of people in this Country, I get it.Elizabeth was a decent, kind, dutiful and caring soul, from what little I know of her, with a sense of mischief. I regret her passing - and I agree that she carried out her duties consistently and to the end.But I wanted to give this some perspective.First off, Elizabeth was a decent human being - just the same as any other decent human being. I regret her passing to precisely the same degree as I regret the passing of any other decent human being. In my eyes, she is no more and no less than any other decent person on this planet. We have to move away from according certain people higher status, simply because of the accident of their birth.And in that regard, we have to acknowledge also the vast privilege which was given to her by her birth, and is indeed given every year by the British tax payer (£86.3m last year, apparently). I have no problem with the media repeating their references to her service, but we should at some point also acknowledge what was given to Elizabeth out of our pockets, and as a result of her being born to a family which produces the head of state every time and which lives in luxurious castles and is waited on by a vast staff of servants.The standard response from a royalist when you mention the privilege they enjoy is to shout even louder about their service, but you should compare that service (being chauffeured to events, having polite conversations with people, eating wonderfully prepared meals), with the service given by charity workers, nurses, policemen, firemen, teachers and numerous other kind people in this Country, who work day in day out to help other people.And their service is hard. They deal with misery and tragedy and heartache on a daily basis - they roll their sleeves up and help people - they suffer abuse, but they keep going - they do all they can to make other peoples' lives better. And their rewards are a gnat's whisker when weighed against the sheer weight of privilege and status which is given to the royal family.So yes, I regret Elizabeth's passing, in the same way as I regret the passing of any other decent human being. But please let us remember, that when we talk as much as is being talked about her service, to balance that against the level of service which other people give to their communities, and the size of the reward those people get, when compared to what is handed on a silver platter to the royal family.Rest in peace Elizabeth - but rest in peace too every single other decent human being who has passed and who didn't have the privilege to occupy every single front page and every single media outlet for the next month. You are all equal in my eyes.