In Memoriam

I love to watch movies. And like it or not, Hollywood does play a major part in entertaining us. So every year, The Oscars are held to recognize those who have excelled in the past year. Being nominated is good enough, but of course it is all about winning.

Last Monday, the 82nd Oscar Awards night was shown. I couldn't watch the entire thing as I still am very busy despite taking a leave from radio and news casting. But there is always one segment that I dare not miss, the "In Memoriam", where those involved in the movie industry but have passed away are shown and remembered. And this year was quite emotional, at least for me.

In the past, I would watch that particular segment and just let it run through. The reason being, I did not know nor recognized a lot of them. Most video clips were even in black and white! But this year, I did recognize many of them! David Carradine from "Kung Fu" and "Kill Bill", Patrick Swayze from "Ghost" and "Dirty Dancing", Karl Malden from "The Streets of San Francisco", Dom de Louise from numerous films and of course, Brittany Murphy from "Clueless" and Michael Jackson.

All these actors have one way or another, been part of my life and have influenced me as well. Which is why their departure stirred up emotions in me.

As the years go by, we will definitely recognize more of these Hollywood stars. God forbid, but how much of an impact will it be, when the likes of Pacino, de Niro, Gibson, Connery, Dunaway, Stallone, even Schwarzenegger pass into that great big cinema in the sky?

 Characters that were and still are part of our lives like Michael Corleone, Vito Corleone, William Wallace, James Bond, Joan Crawford, Rocky and The Terminator! How dull and bland our lives would have been if it weren't for these characters, fact or fiction?

Art imitates life. But life does end, and goes on. Wouldn't it be nice if once in a while, life imitates art, like Benjamin Button? If only they could all really say, "I'll be back!"

And so until next year. We can only hope for a shorter segment, one not filled with people we know and have come to endear.