John Vernon (And Some Other Celebrities)

i just read at Michele's that the great character actor John Vernon passed away. Wow. He was best known for his role as Dean Wormer in Animal House, and yes he was great in that. But i will always remember him as the crooked bank president, Maynard Boyle, in Charley Varrick.

Memorable John Vernon lines from that movie are (paraphrasing): "Look at those cows out there. Man they got it made. What's the worst that could happen to them? A short circuit in the electric milking machine," or later in the same scene, referring to one cow in particular: "Would you look at that one. What a set of jugs!"

But by far his best line from the same scene is his warning to the timid bank manager about what the mob bosses will do to someone who fucks with their money: "These people will strip you naked and go to work on you with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch!"

And who ends up bumping off Vernon's character at the end of the movie? None other than Joe Don Baker, as Molly the hit man.

Anyways, it is sad news.

P.S. Does anyone remember the subtly funny tribute in Futurama a few years ago, in the episode that was a take off on Animal House? The character based on Dean Wormer in the futuristic college was re-named Dean Vernon by the show's writers. i thought that was funny.

Which Reminds Me: Thinking about Charley Varrick got me thinking about the late great Norman Fell, who was also in that movie. That got me thinking about celebrities i have seen in my life because Mr. Fell is on that list. i'm talking about seeing celebrities i've encountered when i wasn't expecting to. (Of course i wouldn't include on any such list someone like Jerry Garcia, whom i saw in concert, since i was expecting to see him, although i'm not sure i have any memory of that event.) Here's the list:

• Mel Gibson, walking on Fifth Avenue in New York City


• Conan O'Brien, in a restaurant in the same city


• Norman Fell, walking with his wife on Market Street in San Francisco


• Whoopie Goldberg, shopping in the Century City Mall


• Danny Bonaduce, at an amusement park


• The wrestler known as the Brooklyn Brawler, at a dance club in the West End of London


• Cindy Crawford, at a Malibu grocery store. And she's as pretty without makeup as she is in print.


• Arnold Schwarzenegger, in Sacramento, where else?


• Eric Chavez, shopping in a Union Square department store


• President Clinton, riding in a limousine in Washington D.C.


• The late Chick Hearn, with his lovely wife Marge, at Sunday mass


• Antonio Fargas, in a liquor store, scratching a lottery ticket

That's all i can think of right now. i'll post more, as i remember them.

Update: Noticing how celebrities always die in threes, this morning i heard about the other two: Max Schmelling and Ozzie Davis.