the sad waltz of nostalgia

Leon Askin, the Austrian actor who played General Burkhalter on Hogan's Heroes, died the other day at the age of 97. In remembrance: Klink!

Anne Bancroft died Monday; she was 73. Best known for playing Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate, a different generation would come to know her as Amanda, the courtesy teacher to young, angry assassin wannabes in Point of No Return (a remake of La Femme Nikita). Personally, I liked her best as Mrs. Kendal in The Elephant Man, and as Helene Hanff in 84 Charing Cross Road. It's one of those passings about which both my parents and I can feel equally sad.