Detroit native Richard Dawson Kiel, the 7-foot-2 steel-toothed cable-chomping villain in two Roger Moore James Bond movies, died at age 74 in Fresno, California.

Kiel broke his leg a week ago.

Kiel's height and features were a result of a hormonal condition known as acromegaly.

He suffered from acrophobia (fear of heights) and, during the cable car stunt scenes in
“Moonraker,” a double was used because Kiel refused to be filmed on the top of a cable car at more than 2,000 feet high.

In 1992, Kiel suffered a severe head injury in a car accident, which affected his balance. He had to walk with a cane.

Current PD and former BJ TV/movie critic Mark Dawidziak wrote:

“Met him when we were both guests at a horror convention about 12 years ago. He actually played two monsters on ‘Kolchak,’ but was unrecognizable as the swamp creature in the better of the two, ‘The Spanish Moss Murders.’ “

Kiel was Jaws in 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me" and 1979's "Moonraker." The producers spotted Kiel in the William Shatner western TV series “Barbary Coast.”

Kiel also was the bullying golf spectator Mr. Larson in "Happy Gilmore," lethal Dr. Loveless's assistant Voltaire in "The Wild, Wild West" and extraterrestrial Kanamit in "The Twilight Zone." 

He also reprised the character of Jaws for several James Bond video games.

He was born September 13, 1939. His wives were Faye Daniels (1960-1973) and Diane Rogers (1974-2014). Besides Diane he is survived by four children and nine grandchildren. 

He made his acting début in a 1960 “Laramie” TV series episode. His first movie was “The Phantom Pilot (1961). From 1963 to 1965 Kiel worked as a night school math instructor in Burbank, California.

He co-authored "Kentucky Lion," a biography of abolotionist Cassius Marcellus Clay.

Former BJ publisher Bill Ott’s widow dies

Elizabeth Manning (Bettie) Ott

Bettie Ott

1924 - 2014

Elizabeth (Bettie) Manning Ott, 89, Macon, Georgia, passed away September 7, 2014, following an extended illness.

Born September 14, 1924, in Moultrie, Georgia, she was the only daughter of Nora Gibbs Manning and Ambrose Haulsey Manning. Bettie was preceded in death by her husband William Anthony Ott, Sr., former Publisher of the Akron Beacon Journal, her son, Robert Haulsey Ott and her granddaughter, Mary Frances Ott.

She will be deeply missed by her loving family, including children, William Anthony Ott, Jr. (former spouse Mary Kay Bryan) of Macon, Georgia, J. Warren Ott (Claire) of Atlanta, John Manning Ott (Lisa) of Monroe, Georgia, Joseph Henderson Ott (former spouse Wendy Keith-Ott) of Decatur, Georgia, Bettie Ott Negley (Cary) of Savannah, and Carolyn Ott Curran (Bill) of Penfield, N.Y. Bettie leaves behind 17 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Bettie graduated from Agnes Scott College with a double major in math and physics. She and her future husband, Bill Ott, fell in love when they both worked at their hometown newspaper, The Moultrie Observer. She and Bill married on June 9, 1951, and lived in several areas of the United States as they raised their family and followed Bill's promotions with Knight-Ridder Newspapers.

Bettie cherished her seven children and their families. As a generous member of numerous boards and philanthropic organizations during her life, she had a positive impact in every community she was a part of. She enjoyed traveling, genealogy, reading, journaling, and walking.

A Funeral Service will be held on Sunday, September 14th, 3 p.m. at Vineville United Methodist Church, Macon Georgia. The family will receive friends beginning at 2 p.m. at Vineville UMC on that day. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that remembrances be made to the charity of your choice.

Register online at www.hartsmort.com

Hart's Mortuary and Crematory, Cherry Street, has charge of arrangements.

Published in Akron Beacon Journal on Sept. 10, 2014

Final ‘Adventure Road’ for Jim Doney

Jim Doney, 1962-75 host of WJW-Channel 8’s daily "Adventure Road" filmed travelogues, died in Florida of bladder cancer Monday at the age of 88.

Jim Doney, left, Neil Zurcher

"He was the godfather of my One Tank Trips," said Neil Zurcher, who started his Channel 8 travel segments in 1979.

Cleveland native Doney was a 1944 graduate of Garfield High School.

He worked at WKB in Youngstown, WSRJ in Cleveland Heights,  and WTAM before he joined  WXEL, which became WJW, in 1952.

When "Adventure Road" went off the air in 1975 and news anchor no longer was a comfortable fit, Doney moved to Hawaii and started a 20-year run at the Honolulu CBS affiliate. He acted in four episodes of CBS’ "Hawaii Five-0."

Doney married Florence “Pinky” Calvin in the '50s. They were married for 47 years when she died in 1998.

To read former BJ pop culture critic Mark Dawdiziak’s article, click on http://www.cleveland.com/tv-blog/index.ssf/2014/09/jim_doney_channel_8s_longtime_adventure_road_host_dies_at_88.html#incart_river

Catching up with  . . . Bob Rosen

The former BJ district manager has been busy lately.

The 1963 Akron South graduate, married to Cindy Rosen:

Sold his Uniontown house in three days and bought a retirement home. Bob and Cindy’s new home, starting Oct. 11, will be 2082 Wise Road, North Canton, OH 44720.

Walked his granddaughter, Amanda, down the aisle Aug. 19 for her wedding to Josh Mason. Amanda is the daughter of Bob’s daughter, Wendy, who lives in Green and works at FirstMerit Bank.

Saw his daughter-in-law’s black Saturn damaged in The Chapel at Chapel Hill Church when someone backed into it after a service.

Learned that Sandra Adams, a family friend and 1981 Kent State graduate, moved from Akron to live permanently in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England. 

Have we missed anything, Bob?

Check your Home Depot credit card activity

If you have a Home Depot credit card you might want to keep a close watch on its activity when you see your statements.

The Atlanta-based company’s credit card information was stolen by hackers and sold on the internet black market.

While the breach happened months ago, officials only became aware of the situation earlier this month. Suspicious bank transactions began appearing in May. Nine more batches of information have been released in recent days.

If you have any questions, please call Home Depot Customer Care at 1-800-HOMEDEPOT (1-800-466-3337).

Home Depot customers filed a class-action lawsuit against the company Thursday.

British comedian gets 'Late Late Show' job

British actor, writer and comedian James Corden will replace Craig Ferguson on CBS’ “The Late Late Show,” according to The Wrap, which usually focuses on movies.

Corden created the British sitcom, “Gavin & Stacey,” wn a 2012 Tony Award for “One Man, Two Guvnors” and was in the Hula comedy, “The Wrong Mans.”

 Corden is 35, which makes him at least five years younger thabn any other incoming major network late-night host.

Thrity in Hudson on Thursday

Former BJ reporter Thrity Umrigar, the Babe from Bombay, will be reading from her latest book, “The Story Hour,” Thursday in the Hudson Public Library: Writes Thrity:

“Hi ABJers--Well, I've fantasized about a reunion but that hasn't happened. So. . . wanted to tell you guys that I'm reading at the Hudson Public Library on this Thursday, Sept. 11. If you're not too exhausted after work, maybe some of you can come? Would LOVE to see some of your beautiful faces there. It's at 7 p.m.”

Thrity’s previous novels are “Bombay Time” (2002), “The Space Between Us” (2007), “If Today be Sweet” (2008), “The Weight of Heaven” (2010) and “The World We Found” (2012), and all set in the country of her birth, as was her memoir, “First Darling of the Morning”  (2008).

Thrity teaches creative writing at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Driving Miss Daisy in Ireland

"Chaffeur" Bob Springer in uniform

Former BJ reporter and Kent State faculty retiree Bob Springer is off to Ireland for two weeks with his mother and her friend.

Bob writes:

“Here I am, Chauffeur Bob, getting ready on Saturday to escort me mum Eileen, a saint she is, and her friend Annalee for two weeks in Ireland, looking for old graves, ghosts and anyone else who'll chat wit us. I told the gals, "whhen the hat's on, I'm workin' -- no talking to the driver."

Bob spent his Sept. 1 35^th wedding anniversary to Barbara Hipsman Springer in Portland, Oregon helping daughter Anna move from St. Charles, Illinois while Barb stayed behind.

But Bob and Barb did enjoy an Arizona vacation together in March.

If you’re watching TV, you must be older

The older you are the more likely you are to watch TV.

The median age of a broadcast or cable viewer is 44.4 years old, a 6 percent increase in age from four years earlier. For the major broadcast network shows, its 53.9 years. For CBS, the sanctuary of the elderly, it’s 58.7.

Television viewers are aging 5% faster than the U.S. population.

Live television viewing was down 13 percent for all ages except for viewers 55 years and older, who are steadily watching their shows at their scheduled broadcast time.

To read the entire Washington Post article, click on http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2014/09/05/tv-is-increasingly-for

-old-people/?hpid=z15

Circulation veteran Bernie Weigand dies at 64

Bernie Weigand

Another one of the many "nice guys" from the Beacon Journal has passed away. Bernie Weigand, who worked in the paper's Circulation Department for nearly four decades, died Monday. Bernie started at the Beacon Journal in 1978 and spent a good part of his career as Single Copy Sales Manager.

Here is his Death Notice from today's Beacon Journal:

Bernard H. Weigand, 64, passed away Monday, September 1, 2014 at Akron City Hospital after a brief illness.

Bernie was born on November 15, 1949 to the late Harry and Catherine (Klein) Weigand in Akron and had been an area resident most of his life. He was employed as a circulation supervisor for the Youngstown Vindicator for nearly ten years and had been employed by the Beacon Journal for about 40 years prior. He was a substitute bus driver for Jackson Schools. He was a faithful member of Greenford Christian Church.

Bernie is survived by his sons, Stephen (Lindsay) and Jeffrey (Kimberly) Weigand; grandchildren, Katherine, Jack, Joseph and Andrew; siblings, Sr. Barbara Weigand, IHM, MaryAnn (Jerry) LaRocca, Dora Weigand and Richard (Marsha) Weigand; his former wife, Sharon and her parents, Roy and Lois Witsaman. He was preceded in death by sons, Brian and Daniel and brothers, William, Fr. Joseph and Gregory.

The family will receive friends Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Anthony Funeral Home Kucko-Anthony-Kertesz Chapel, 1990 S. Main St., Akron, OH 44301. Funeral service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at the funeral home, with interment at Greensburg Cemetery.

 

 

Former BJ photographer Tom Marvin whips up a tasty “low country boil” on his Guernsey County farm near Kimbolton, Ohio and Salt Fork Lake State Park.

Low country boil is a southern specialty. In Tom’s case, he used shrimp, andouille sausage, red potatoes, corn on the cob, old bay seasoning & shrimp boil seasoning.

Tom and wife Kay Ann Shaffer Marvin, a Coshocton gal, worked in the Ridgewood school district – Tom as transportation supervisor and Kay as school secretary – before his 2001 retirement. They have been married 26 years.

If you want to enjoy his culinary talents or just want to catch up on his life since the BJ, you can email him at tmarvin@sota-oh.com or phone him at (740) 498-7471 or drop him a note at:

Tom Marvin

74321 Birch Road

Kimbolton, OH 43749

A one-time BJ computer tech, Mark Kovach, lives nearby.

Tom and Kay don’t always hang around, though, so better check before showing up. They’ve been to every state except Alaska and have taken their camper on 3,000-mile trips, with Tom strumming his guitar at nights around the campfire.

To keep busy, Tom also built his barn.

Tom and Kay have seven children between them.

His are Steve Marvin, a bank assistant vice president who lives in Cambridge, Ohio; Brian Marvin, who lives in Worthington, Ohio and is a Reynoldsburg police detective; Misty Bellon, a registered nurse living in Eunice, Louisiana, who is married with a son, Nick; and Beth Marvin Stevens, a Los Angeles attorney, from Tom’s marriage to former BJ staffer and retired Hoover High School English and journalism teacher Pam McCarthy.

Kay’s children are Tim Wilson, an electric company forester in Florida; Debi Geese, who lives in Fresno, Ohio and is married with two children; and Brett Wilson, a contractor in Coshocton.

Tom and Kay have eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. 

Former BJ reporter Bob Springer, retired from the Kent State journalism faculty, and wife Barbara Hipsman Springer, who live in Kent, celebrated their 35^th wedding anniversary 2,078.4 miles apart Monday, Sept. 1.

Wrote Barb in Wasco, Illinois:

“Married that cig-smoking, funny reporter Bob Springer 35 years ago! Happy to say, two lovely kids and two lovely careers later . . . he doesn’t smoke and I still find him funny. Happy anniversary across the miles to Portland, sweetie Bob!”

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Responded Bob:

“Thank you, dear. You are exponentially the best thing that ever caught my attention. I wish we could have been together today, instead of 2,500-or-so miles apart. (Hey, Bob was only about 412 miles off, but the sentiment holds.) But I've been a little choked up all day that I've at least been able to be with Kyla and Anna. They are, after all, the miraculously splendid products of the joint venture we vowed to create, nurture and love 35 years ago today. I think we've been a success so far, and I hope to be able to continue to improve upon it for many years to come.”

Bob helped daughter Anna move from St. Charles, Illinois to Portland, Oregon, where her sister, Kyla, lives within the past week.