''Lord Of The Rings'' - Q & A for the Tolkien-Uninformed
by Jeff Crook
This week, I received a couple of responses to last
week's Q&A. One was a scathing appraisal of my worth
as a reviewer, as Lord of the Rings was so obviously a
dismal failure, in the opinion of the writer. To those
who hated the movie, I'm sorry for you. I am a
difficult critic to please, especially of things so
close to my heart as Tolkien's work, Star Wars, and
Star Trek. But I think it was a fantastic success, as
do 67% of people polled at http://www.lordoftheringsmovie.com.
I also think Star Trek: Enterprise is surprisingly
good.
So maybe that is my problem. So often in the past,
I've been disappointed and heartbroken by the crap
produced by Hollywood and the television studios. When
a movie like Lord of the Rings, or a show like
Enterprise, turns out not to be horrible, it makes it
feel like a masterpiece. Time will only tell with Lord
of the Rings, whether its flaws will ultimately
overwhelm Peter Jackson's ernest attempt to get it as
right as it can be got.
Now, for the questions.
Why did Aragorn kill Ugluk? Or will his second
manifest himself as the Uruk Hai leader?
Actually, that wasn't Ugluk. The Uruk Hai who led the
hobbit-hunting expedition at the end of Fellowship is
named Lurtz. He is a creation of Peter Jackson's,
probably to give Aragorn something to fight and kill.
I suspect that in the Two Towers, Ugluk will take his
place as the leader for the mad dash across the fields
of Rohan.
Weren't you bothered by all that was left out, notably
Old Man Willow, Tom Bombadil, and the barrow wight?
In the case of the episode with Bombadil, something
had to be cut from the movie to get it into three
hours. If Jackson had included Bombadil, the movie
would have gone another hour, if not longer, because
many of the earlier and later changes to the story,
including the removal of Gandalf's letter to Frodo,
Crickhollow and Farmer Maggot, Barliman Butterbur, and
the evidence of Gandalf fighting the ringwraiths on
Weathertop, were able to be cut as a result of the
loss of the Bombadil chapters. So when he cut
Bombadil, it wasn't just Bombadil being cut, it was a
whole lot more. I wouldn't have minded a four hour
movie, but I doubt many other people would have
appreciated it, especially after it ends the way it
does (see below).
(SPOILER WARNING)
I've spoken with other people who have said that the
whole Bombadil section is a pointless diversion, and
there are some Tolkien scholars who agree. I'm not one
of them. For one thing, Tolkien himself thought it
immensely important for a number of reasons.
First, it portrays something of the older world in
which the story takes place. Bombadil's world is like
a dream from an earlier age, and Elrond says that
Bombadil has always been there. When the hobbits (and
the reader) stray into the Old Forest, they get their
first glimpse into a world much larger and much more
ancient than the Shire. The adventure in the Old
Forest and the Barrow Downs is their wake-up call.
Second, it gives the hobbits a break from the Black
Riders. It's quite a fer piece from the Brandywine
Bridge to Bree, and there were Riders on both sides of
the river searching for the ring. It is inconceivable
that, having been so hotly pursued in the Shire, they
could have walked unmolested to Bree. Therefore the
detour through the forest, to shake off pursuit.
But the greatest lesson of the Bombadil chapters is
that the hobbits are granted hope. Bombadil represents
a force over which the evil of Suaron has no power. He
treats the ring like a toy, and it has no effect on
him when he puts it on his finger. Old Man Willow,
whose evil influence is spread throughout the forest,
if powerless in the face of Bombadil's magic, as is
the barrow wight. Bombadil shows the hobbits that
there is a greater power than Sauron, just as their
encounter with Gildor and the elves while still in the
Shire (also cut from the movie) shows them that there
is a power greater than the Black Riders. So they are
granted the hope which allows to continue, to not fall
into despair and give up.
And this is why I think Tolkien included these
chapters. He even says so, in the voice of Gandalf,
once the hobbits reach Rivendell. Despite all the
dangers and Frodo's near death from the Morgul knife,
Gandalf states that it was the moment in the barrow,
when Frodo almost used the ring to escape, thus
abandoning his friends, that was the most dangerous.
For it is at this moment that Frodo denies the
seduction of the ring. Without this initial denial,
there is no way he could have withstood the Morgul
knife much less make it all the way into Mordor. He
would have long before submitted to the ring.
That's why these chapters are important. Oh, and let's
not forget that this is where the hobbits get their
weapons - the blades of Westernesse. In the movie,
Aragorn just hands them the swords and we do not learn
of their importance or history. Who made them is a
vital fact, for an ordinary blade could not harm the
Wraith King. But it will be Merry's blade that proves
his undoing.
And all because they took a short cut through the Old
Forest and met silly old Tom Bombadil in some
unimportant chapters.
Anyway, I understand why Jackson cut these parts.
Something had to be cut, and Bombadil was the place to
do the cutting.
Why replace Glorfindel with Arwen?
Because you have to have a love interest. In Tolkien's
story, the love interest between Arwen and Aragorn is
a minor thing and doesn't really come into play until
the very end. Peter Jackson was trying to appeal to
more than just hardcore Tolkien fans. And there is a
philosophy in storytelling that says there has to be a
love interest in a good story. It isn't true, but at
the same time it is.
So if you are going to have a love interest and have
Liv Tyler play her, you'd better get her involved in
the movie early. In the books, Arwen really doesn't do
much of anything but sit around and look pretty.
Modern audiences won't sit still for that. Therefore,
you've got to give her an earlier role and involve her
in the action. That means either creating a new place
for her, or replacing another character with her. I
suspect fans would have been much more upset if
Jackson had written an entirely new role for Arwen so
early in the movie. Better to use her to replace a
minor character - Glorfindel.
Also, just remember that he could have used her to
replace Legolas. That's what I was afraid of.
That's all for this week, except for one final
comment. This is something that I've heard from people
who saw the movie but haven't read the book. I also
heard quite a few people mumbling this as they left
the theater:
That's it? They just left them walking down the
mountainside?
Yes, that's it, because this movie is the first of a
three-part story. It leaves us literally on the cliffs
of the Emyn Muil. That some people didn't know the
first movie would end this way came as a total
surprise to me, and to Peter Jackson, I imagine. There
should have been previews for the next movie at the
end of this one, a kind of 'tune in next week' to help
the uninitiated accept the unresolved ending. At the
very least, put TO BE CONTINUED on the screen. Because
I actually spoke to one person who didn't know that
there were two more movies to come. She thought that
Fellowship of the Ring was the whole story.
Please write to me at
Jeff if you
have questions or general comments. I'll try to answer
them here.
~~ Jeff Crook
Thanks, Jeff!
Sometime over the weekend hope to get up a 'Jeff Cook / LOTR Q & A' page...
The Best Night of the Year
Michael Dare
Reader Question
Re: 'Thieves'
As a frequent -- but not constant -- reader, I am risking that you may have covered the TV show ''Thieves'' before.
Why-oh-why has this sophisticated adventure/comedy been hiatused by ABC? Starring the best-looking couple on TV
today, with the snappiest dialogue since ''Moonlighting,'' (before Cybill got pregnant), it was never given a
chance by the network, which has retreated to re-re-reruns of AFV -- America's Fabricated Videos.
Will this series be given another shot, or have the ABC crooks arrested the ''Thieves?''
~~ Larry
Larry - 'Thieves' was one of the first programs the so-called wizards at ABC/Disney cancelled of the new season.
They seem to think they get more return on their 'investment' by regurgitating what you so aptly called 'AFV -- America's
Fabricated Videos' and back-to-back reruns of sitcoms they're trying to kill off (like 'Dharma' & 'Spin City').
Yet, there's always at least 90 minutes of Drew Carey per week.
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Finally saw 'Lord Of The Rings'. Ian McKellan rules!
Started out watching the 'Rose Bowl'...jeez, what a crappy game.
Long Beach is the 25th fittest city in America...sure wouldn't know it from my neighborhood.
Planning on staying up late to watch the last SCTV on NBC...Monday, Carson Daly gets his big chance to
blow chunks in late night on his 'Last Call'. I am not impressed.
Tonight, Friday, CBS has a rerun of 'King Of Queens', and then a fresh 'Ellen',
followed by a rerun 'That's Life', and '48 Hours'. 'Dave' is a rerun, too.
NBC has a fresh evening! 'Providence', 'Dateline', and 'Law & Order: Special
Victims Unit' are all new!
ABC regurgitates another so-called 'Funniest Video' rerun of a rerun. 'Once & Again' is
fresh, but who cares. It's followed by a rerun of 'Vanished'.
The WB has 2 hours of reruns, 'Sabrina', 'Raising Dad', 'Reba', and 'Maybe It's Me'.
Faux rolls out 'Happy Gilmore' for the nth time.
AMC has all 3 'Omen' pictures....now that I think about it, it would seem that Howard Shore, who scored 'Lord Of
The Rings' must have heard a lot of the music from the first 'Omen' before he started work.
TCM has 'Sullivan's Travels', by Preston Sturgess....if you like to laugh, appreciate great,
witty writing, can deal with a viable social message, and delight in the puncturing of social mores, this is your movie.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Interview With 'Boondocks' Creator
Aaron McGruder
In a two-panel sequence of Aaron McGruder's "The Boondocks" that ran on Thanksgiving Day, a black grandfather and his two grandsons
are sitting down to dinner. One of the boys, a 9-year-old would-be revolutionary named Huey, offers grace. "Ahem," Huey declares. "In
this time of war against Osama bin Laden and the oppressive Taliban regime . . . we are thankful that our leader isn't the spoiled son
of a powerful politician from a wealthy oil family who is supported by religious fundamentalists, operates through clandestine organizations,
has no respect for the democratic electoral process, bombs innocents, and uses war to deny people their civil liberties. Amen." As soon
as he's finished, his grandfather responds, "This is the last time you say grace, boy."
It's a nearly perfect bit of comic timing: A familiar setup — Thanksgiving with the family — is given an unexpected twist, then
snapped back into place with a savage punch line. But there's also a more subversive element at work — you finish the strip not
sure, exactly, how to reconcile what you've seen. Amid the patriotic frenzy of the last four months, sentiments like Huey's have
been pushed increasingly to the fringes; they're more the stuff of rants and mass e-mailings than of the comics page of the daily
newspaper, where they're juxtaposed against the mindless blur of "Cathy" and the hyperdomesticity of "9 Chickweed Lane." Even if
you're not among the people who write off comic strips as a particularly disposable form of light entertainment, you have to
wonder: How is he getting this stuff in?
To read the rest of this LA Weekly Interview With Aaron McGruder...
Updated!
BartCop TV!
Visit the site at BC TV
The 'Vidiot' never seems to rest - and doesn't let little things like laundry or
housekeeping get in the way!
Damn near every show on TV must is listed - days & days worth of great reading.
If you have any questions about nearly any tv program, check out
BC TV!
Still Going Forward
Charlie, The Movie
A movie project about Charles Manson refuses to die.
Johnny Depp recently turned down the offer to play the mass murderer in a film based on Ed Sanders' 1972 book, "The
Family." Depp passed — but not out of concern for his "Ninth Gate" director Roman Polanski, whose wife, Sharon Tate,
was among Manson's victims. The actor, who collects Manson memorabilia, says he thought the 1976 TV miniseries "Helter
Skelter" deftly told the whole story. "There was no point in doing it again," he said.
But producer Don Murphy, who worked with Depp on "From Hell," isn't giving up.
Murphy, who bought songs performed by Manson for the soundtrack, thinks the part demands a brave actor. "Helter
Skelter" star Steve Railsback saw his career take a nosedive after he played Manson in the miniseries.
Charlie, The Movie
American Music Awards
Lots Of Fun - Backstage
Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Usher, Mick Jagger and Cher will all perform on next week's American Music Awards, while
Sean ``P. Diddy'' Combs tries his hand at being a television host.
But none of that promises to be quite as fun as the backstage bickering that has consumed music's two big awards shows.
The bad feelings burst into the open last month when Dick Clark, executive producer of the American Music Awards,
accused the Grammy Awards of essentially blacklisting artists who appear on Clark's show.
Clark said in a lawsuit that Michael Greene, head of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, strong-armed
Michael Jackson into breaking a promise to appear on the AMAs. The AMAs air Jan. 9, and the Grammys are held on Feb. 27.
Greene has denied wrongdoing, and Clark said Jackson has subsequently agreed to appear on the American Music Awards.
Yet Billboard reported that in 1995, Greene told the music industry publication that ``artists who perform
on the AMAs might as well buy a ticket to the Grammys, because it's unlikely they'll be performing on our stage.''
A week or so after the spat became public, Clark said Jackson phoned him to say he will appear on the AMAs,
to accept the organization's Artist of the Century award. Clark is going forward with his lawsuit, however.
Jackson won't perform at the AMAs. But due to a delicious bit of television gamesmanship, viewers will be
able to see him sing by clicking their remotes.
CBS - the network that also televises the Grammys - scheduled a rerun of the Jackson tribute concert that
unexpectedly drew 30 million viewers last November to air directly opposite the American Music Awards on ABC.
Lenny Kravitz, R. Kelly and Shaggy will compete for favorite male pop artist in the AMAs, while Janet Jackson,
Alicia Keys and Jennifer Lopez are up for the top female award. The Dave Matthews Band, 'N Sync and U2 are
the nominees for favorite group.
U2 & 'N Sync in the same category...
If He's ''Big Bob''...
Pamela Anderson
Now that Pamela Anderson is battling her ex, Tommy Lee, for custody of their two sons, she is toning down her
red-hot media coverage - at least in the United States. The former Playmate has done a raunchy spread for the
United Kingdom version of Maxim. But readers of American Maxim will not get to see Pam bending down in roller
skates with her underwear falling off.
In the interview, Anderson says she calls her current lover, Kid Rock, "Big Bob," and that the "other men" in
her life have been big disappointments in bed.
Anyone have access to the British issue of Maxim?
New!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Fired Because Of ``Budgetary Reasons''
Mitchell Fink
Gossip columnist Mitchell Fink, who wrote for the Daily News for 31/2 years, said Thursday he believes the newspaper
fired him because of readers' waning appetite for celebrity news after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Fink, who also has worked for People magazine and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, was fired on Wednesday because of
``budgetary reasons,'' News spokesman Ken Frydman said.
Fink said being fired didn't surprise him.
``It doesn't take a genius to get the message, albeit subtle, that they're thinking maybe they can do without as
much gossip,'' Fink said. ``I don't think they can. I tried after Sept. 11 to definitely be less frivolous.''
He claimed that during his tenure he ``broke more Page 1 stories than every other gossip columnist in the
city combined,'' but understood the newspaper's decision. ``They've made a statement,'' he said. ``Gossip is not as important.''
Mitchell Fink
Fly Rod & Reel Magazine Says So
Ted Turner, Master-Baiter
What was Ted Turner doing all those months when he'd been basically put out to pasture by AOL Time Warner top
honcho Gerald Levin? Fishing. Fly Rod & Reel magazine, which named Turner its Angler of the Year, reports:
"Since he retired from competitive sailing and picked up a fly rod in his late 40s, fishing has become a
regular part of Ted Turner's life; he wets a line roughly 100 days a year."
Now that Turner - who holds the title of vice chairman at the media conglomerate - has essentially been re-hired by incoming
CEO Richard Parsons, he might not get to fish as much. But he has other interests. "I was in Washington, D.C., the other day
and I saw that people had been just throwing garbage out of their cars," Turner told the magazine. "So I cleaned it up.
I was . . . picking up other people's garbage . . . it just needed to be cleaned up." Turner, America's largest
private land owner with more than 1.3 million acres on 14 ranches, gets high marks from conservationists for
reintroducing indigenous species such as bison.
America's Largest Private Land Owner
The Uber-Virgin & Her Roommate
Britney Spears
Proving once again that she isn't that innocent, Britney Spears and boyfriend Justin Timberlake were spotted
bumping and grinding at Cheetah's Sunday night gay party. The canoodling couple steamed up the dance floor
within spitting distance of the club's scantily clad go-go boys and stayed well past 4 a.m. Britney and Justin
had dropped by to celebrate songbird Inaya Day's new release, "Can't Stop Dancing."
Britney Spears
New! Updated!
(10 Dec., 2001)
The official BartCop Astrologer, Geneva, has done good, again!
Very interesting reading!
Looking For Work
William Daniels
William Daniels, the Emmy-winning actor who led the Screen Actors Guild through two tumultuous years as
union president, is looking to revive his career.
Daniels, 74, a two-time Emmy winner for ``St. Elsewhere,'' had put his career on hold during his presidency,
which ended in November. He recently signed with the Gold/Marshak/Liedkte talent agency and is hoping he'll
be cast during the upcoming pilot season.
``I'm very interested in working if the right thing comes along,'' Daniels told Daily Variety.
It's a major change from the previous 24 months, when he made headlines seemingly every week.
Daniels admitted four months ago that he never would have run for the non-salaried job of president in the
first place had he been aware of all the discord. He has no regrets about leaving the spotlight.
Daniels' other TV credits include the principal in the kids TV series ``Boy Meets World,'' and the voice of
David Hasselhoff's talking car in ``Knight Rider.''
William Daniels
''Nothing So Strange''
& Bill Gates
Microsoft is fuming over an uncomfortably realistic "mockumentary" that depicts the assassination of its billionaire boss, Bill Gates.
"Nothing So Strange," which premieres Jan. 13 at Utah's Slamdance Film Festival, shows Gates lookalike Steve
Sires being shot dead as he steps out of a limo in the flick's chilling opener.
The fake documentary, written and directed by Brian Fleming, who penned the quirky off-Broadway hit "Bat Boy:
The Musical," examines a fictional 1999 assassination of Gates and the shadowy cover-up of the killer's
identity by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Sires, a professional Gates impersonator, is so convincing, he was once booked by Microsoft to stand in for Gates
in a company video and appeared in a print ad campaign. He later ran afoul of the company's lawyers when he
tried to trademark the name "Microsortof" for his Web site, bogusbill.com.
But Sires has exacted his revenge on Microsoft by appearing in the jarring Gates murder scene, in which his head
gets blown off and the camera pans over him as he lies bleeding in the street.
The only other fictional attack on Gates we're aware of is in "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut," when a
cartoon Gates is murdered by a general after his PowerPoint presentation takes too long to load.
''Nothing So Strange''
Reaction To Sean Penn
O'Really
Bill O'Reilly says he's baffled by a Sean Penn interview in the upcoming issue of Talk magazine in which the
bad-boy actor likens O'Reilly to Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden.
For one thing, O'Reilly has never met the actor, nor has he ever singled him out for scrutiny on his nightly Fox
News Channel talk show, "The O'Reilly Factor."
Penn's thoughts on O'Reilly and other talk-show hosts such as Howard Stern appear about halfway through the
article, for which Penn made the cover of the February 2002 issue of Talk.
Calling O'Reilly a "grumpy, self-loathing joke," he accuses the top-rated cable-TV talker of appealing to
"the lowest common denominator of people's impulses," like Hitler.
"You know, I think the genesis of this is that Hollywood has been pretty much given a free pass forever by
the television media," O'Reilly said. "Very rarely have they been criticized. . . . Now they know that that
protection will never be afforded them ever again because what we do here is we watch the powerful and the
famous and if they misbehave we report on it. . . . No one is safe from our scrutiny."
O'Reilly said the actor now has a standing invitation to come on the show and discuss his gripes, although
O'Reilly doubts Penn will ever appear.
''we watch the powerful and the
famous and if they misbehave we report on it''
Thieves Arrested
Kim Novak
Three men were arrested on charges of stealing firearms and tools worth more than $20,000 from Kim Novak's rural home.
The actress' husband, Dr. Bob Malloy, reported the crime on Dec. 26.
Christian Alan Flogerzi, 23, of Sprague River; Jason Nathaniel Corbin, 22, of Klamath Falls; and the
property's caretaker, Dean Smith, 31, were arrested on Tuesday. They were charged with burglary,
theft and criminal conspiracy.
More arrests are expected, police said.
Novak, the blonde bombshell who appeared in 1955's ``Picnic'' and the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock classic ``Vertigo,''
last appeared on screen in 1991 in Mike Figgis' ``Liebestraum.''
The 68-year-old spent her childhood summers in Oregon with her father, and memories of those summers prompted
her and her husband to build their Chiloquin home more than 20 years ago.
Kim Novak
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Moose & Squirrel Information One-Stop
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What a great site! Information and reference materials of the first order!
Between 'Moose & Squirrel'
and 'Google', who needs daddy drudge!
Backstreet Boy Arrested
Nick Carter
Backstreet Boy Nick Carter was arrested on suspicion of refusing to follow police officers' orders to leave
a nightclub after a fight broke out.
The youngest of the five-member pop group at age 21, Carter was charged early Wednesday with a misdemeanor count
of resisting/opposing a law enforcement officer without violence. He was handcuffed, placed in a squad car and
released on his own recognizance.
Police were called to the Pop City nightclub early Tuesday evening because of a fight. They returned to the
nightclub later in the night to break up another disturbance. While officers made arrests and tried to restore
peace, Carter became involved in an argument with a woman, according to the arrest affidavit.
He was told to leave the nightclub more than 10 times until officers told him to leave by ``the count of 3'' or
he would be arrested. Carter continued the argument and was arrested, the affidavit said.
Backstreet Boy Arrested
Advertising Age Asks
Nikes, Reeboks or Adidas?
Most people are wondering if alleged "shoe bomber" Richard Reid has any connection to al Qaeda, but advertising
folks just want to know what brand of black suede sneakers he stuffed with explosives. "So was it a pair of Nikes,
Reeboks or Adidas?" Advertising Age asks, perhaps recalling the barrage of press Timex got when Osama bin Laden
flashed his "takes a lickin' . . ." watch in a post-Sept. 11 video. So far, calls to the FBI, Reid's jailers,
newspapers and several sneaker makers have yielded no answers. Also on the case is trade mag Footwear News, which
predicts, "It'll be quite a story when it comes out."
Advertising Age Asks Nikes, Reeboks or Adidas?
350 lbs. Of $20s Still Missing
Fugitive Businessman Dies
His guitar, his golf clubs, even Michael B. Schwartz's two Siamese cats are still at the West Palm Beach
apartment where he died Christmas Day, apparently choking on his own vomit after passing out on
a stranger's black leather sectional.
But 350 pounds of $20 bills haven't been found -- and may never be, because Schwartz was buried Wednesday
at Menorah Gardens cemetery in suburban West Palm Beach.
The FBI says Schwartz stole $5 million from a California banking concern that hired his 2-year-old companies,
Direct Connect ATM and Schwartz Armored LLC, to stock 160 "stand-alone" ATMs with $20 bills primarily in
convenience stores throughout New York and New Jersey.
All along, FBI circulars said Schwartz was thought to be traveling in one of two company vans with his "fat
and obese" cats -- Bonnie and Clyde. A van has been located, and so have the cats. But not the money.
All this has left FBI Special Agent Bill Evanina, of the Newark field office, speculating about what
happened to 250,000 $20 bills.
New Jersey authorities say Schwartz was last seen Dec. 2 by a neighbor in his Jersey City apartment
building, loading a van outside the apartment from which he ran the businesses. Then, Schwartz disappeared.
By the time he turned up Dec. 11 on the West Palm Beach doorstep of Chris Lacroix, Schwartz had become
Jeff Alexander, a man who made a fortune selling toothbrushes over the Internet, had left bad personal
and professional relations up north and wanted a fresh start in Florida. Or so he told Lacroix.
Lacroix rented the master bedroom of his two-bedroom, furnished townhome to Schwartz, whom he met through
Rent Finders, where Lacroix's girlfriend works.
Schwartz had no job, no outward sign of wealth. He didn't even have ID, offering that he had left New
Jersey in a hurry and was having it sent down. He paid the $600 per month rent three months in advance -- in
a combination of $100s, $50s and $20s -- but never bought sheets for the bed.
All Schwartz did, Lacroix said, is drink, and then throw up.
"He drank from 8 o'clock in the morning until whenever he passed out," Lacroix said. "So seeing him in
that position [seemingly passed out on the sectional] when I came home, it was nothing new. He was always passed out.
"And as soon as he woke up, he'd go get a beer."
Lacroix found Schwartz dead on his couch Christmas morning, an image that will never leave him, he said.
Schwartz's parents buried him Wednesday, but West Palm Beach police and the Palm Beach County coroner's
office say they are awaiting toxicology reports to determine his cause of death. The police say there was no foul play.
According to the police report, Schwartz was found sprawled on the couch, with empty beer cans, cigarette
rolling papers and a TV remote nearby. A pillow lay across his legs.
The company that hired Schwartz, California-based Humboldt Bancorp, noticed $5 million was missing on Dec. 7,
Pat Rusnak, Humboldt's chief financial officer, told The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. Humboldt officials noticed
some irregularities specific to Schwartz's operation and tried unsuccessfully to reach him. The company
publicly announced the theft on Dec. 12.
Lacroix did see a white van with New Jersey license plates, partially covered by a tarp, sitting in the carport
space he had rented for Schwartz in his complex. Lacroix saw it the day after Schwartz died. Lacroix called police.
Lacroix has Bonnie and Clyde now, but plans are for them to go to Schwartz's parents, whom Lacroix met at the
funeral. Lacroix said it's clear the cats miss Schwartz, whom he still calls "Jeff." As for the mysterious
Schwartz, Lacroix remains disbelieving.
"He came here like a pauper; I mean, he pulled up in a cab, and all he had really were his cats in a crate,"
Lacroix said. "He swore up and down he was a decent guy, but that he was just having some problems."
Fugitive Businessman Dies
Hey, isn't Menorah Gardens' the name of the cemetery that's involved in the Florida/Texas Funeralgate story?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Memory
'Buddy'
Buddy, former President Clinton's ebullient chocolate retriever, was killed by a car near the Clinton home, police said Thursday.
Officer Bruce Cathie of the New Castle police said Buddy was accidentally struck Wednesday afternoon on Route 117,
a busy two-lane road at the end of Old House Lane, the cul-de-sac that includes the ex-president's home.
Julia Payne, a Clinton spokeswoman, said neither the ex-president nor his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, was home at the time.
"We are deeply saddened by Buddy's death," the Clintons said in a statement issued by Payne. "He was a loyal
companion and brought us much joy. He will truly be missed."
Police said it was unclear whether Buddy was being walked at the time of the accident or had escaped from
the Clinton home. He "just darted out in front of a car," said Officer Larry Green. The driver, whose name
was not made public, was not at fault, police said.
The Clintons got Buddy as a puppy in late 1997, just weeks before the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke. The dog
was named after the president's great-uncle, Henry Oren "Buddy" Grisham, who had died earlier that year.
Spokesman Mike McCurry quipped at the time that Clinton got the dog, a present from a friend, because ""It's
the president's desire to have one loyal friend in Washington."
Buddy became one of the most photographed pets in the nation, often seen playing on the White House grass or
bounding into a helicopter headed for Camp David.
Clinton acknowledged that the family's senior pet, Socks the cat, was not happy at all with the newcomer. When
the Clintons left the White House last year, Socks was adopted by the ex-president's secretary, Betty Currie.
In his first weeks in Chappaqua, Buddy became a signal dog for the reporters who camped outside the home. When
Buddy emerged, it often meant the former president was coming out, too.
He once sniffed out a box of reporters' doughnuts and quickly ate three. Another time, when playing fetch with
Clinton, Buddy became entangled in the ex-president's legs and knocked him down in full view of the cameras.
"You guys got a good shot," Clinton said. "That's the first time he's knocked me down in all the time we've been together."
Buddy
In Memory
Frankie Gaye
Frankie Gaye, 60, whose combat experience during the Vietnam War was credited with influencing his older brother
Marvin's legendary Motown album What's Going On, died Friday of complications after a heart attack.
Mr. Gaye was a radio operator stationed in Vietnam in the 1960s when he wrote letters to his brother expressing
his dissatisfaction with the war. His experiences influenced several songs on his brother's 1971 album, including
"Save the Children," "Inner City Blues" and "Mercy Mercy Me," according to Ralph Tee in the book Soul Music Who's Who.
Mr. Gaye, like his brother, had begun singing in church as a youngster. He went on to work with several Motown
artists, including Mary Wells and Kim Weston, and provided background vocals on many of his brother's albums,
including What's Going On and 1977's Marvin Gaye, Live at the London Palladium.
On his own, Mr. Gaye composed the sound track to the 1972 film Penitentiary 1 and toured in the United States
and England. He also released the singles "Extraordinary Girl" in 1989 and "My Brother" in 1990.
Frankie Gaye
In Memory
Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken
Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken, who helped make his namesake beer one of the world's most popular brands, died Thursday. He was 78.
The former head of the world's third biggest brewer, Heineken NV, died at his home in the seaside town of Noordwijk,
the company said. The cause of death was not given.
Heineken's family will retain his controlling stake in the brewer, which trails only Anheuser Busch and Interbrew in terms of size.
Heineken started his career at the company in June 1942 as an 18-year-old. The brewery was founded by his grandfather,
Gerard Adriaan Heineken, in 1864.
In 1946 he became a sales manager at the company's U.S. distributor.
During his two year-stay in the United States he became intrigued by marketing and advertising and returned to
the company's headquarters in Europe to build the beer as a premium brand.
He designed the famous green bottle and the logo with the red star and the graceful black banner bearing the brand name.
Heineken became a member of the brewery's management board in 1964 and served as CEO from 1971 to 1989. He was
also the head of Heineken Holding NV.
He retired as the head of the holding company in November 2001.
Heineken was the richest man in the country with an estimated fortune of more than $3.6 billion, but that made
him the target of criminals. In 1983, Heineken was abducted for three weeks, before being released unharmed.
Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken
Still MISSING
Marc Chagall's "Study for 'Over Vitebsk'"
