From Prince to a Princess; 10 Celebrity Deaths in 2016

Screencap from Return of the Jedi of Carrie Fisher playing Princess Leia

Normally in any other year, I can identify 10 or less celebrities that passed away that had a large impact on me in some way. Whether it is in what I enjoyed watching, what opened me to new types of art, or are part of the background soundtrack of my life, the following people had some sort of impact on me without my ever meeting them once.

This year was different. It was almost as if the Grim Reaper was a sales associate at a retail store and was working his ass off to not only meet a quota, but to also exceed it. One celebrity after another passed away this year, regardless of what they were famous for. Movies, music, politics, and more. It didn't matter what they did to gain notoriety.

What's worse is that it feels like the Grim Reaper is racing to take a few more down before the year comes to a close. So I give you a top 10 list of celebs that passed away that impacted me in some way. This is not to say these celebs are the most impactful than others that passed away this year, it's just the ones that meant the most to me in some way. Your list may be very different.

1. David Bowie: Kicking off the year the wrong way, David Bowie died on January 10. The very first music video I remember while growing up was Bowie's "Lets Dance." Later on, I would receive David Bowie's Never Let Me Down album as one of my very first cassette tapes I owned. I played that tape out until it finally died on it's own. He also played made an impact on the movie industry, but it was his role as Nikola Tesla in The Prestige that I enjoyed the most. I couldn't imagine a better casting choice to play the Tesla role. To this day, some of Bowie's music still rates as some of my favorite music.

Personal Favorite Piece of Work: "Rebel, Rebel"

2. Prince: This one shocked me. He was still young and visibly never seemed to age much. A pop music legend, just as Bowie was, Prince was known for his singing, writing, image, and his eccentricities. What stood out to me the most was his ability to play the music, not just sing over it. Prince is perhaps one of the best guitar players of his generation, but this ability is not what you think of when you think of "The Purple One." He also had the ability to play various other instruments from piano to drums to even having been credited for creating his own instruments to get the right sound that he needed for a song. He also was the writing genius behind other hit songs that he didn't sing on and behind other hit bands such as Morris Day and The Time.

Personal Favorite Piece of Work: "Guitar"

3. Abe Vigoda: Known as Fish on Barney Miller, Vigoda stood out to me for his work in The Godfather as Salvatore Tessio. He just carried a mobster-like presence about him that made him believable as a possible rival to the Corleone family. Later on, though not a major role, Vigoda would appear on Late Night with Conan O'Brien as himself in various skits.

Personal Favorite Piece of Work: The Godfather as Sal Tessio

4. Alan Rickman: Only within days of Bowie dying, Rickman passed away too. Perhaps known for his roles in Die Hard and in the Harry Potter movies, Rickman is about as distinguished of an actor as one can get. One of the best voices in the entertainment industry, Rickman could hold his own against anyone. Bruce Willis or Jason Mewes...it didn't matter. Rickman played the voice of God (the Metatron) in Dogma and it didn't even feel like a stretch. During this same year, he would go on to play Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest. Later on, Rickman would go on to be the perfect choice for Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. When he died, it was a shock because much of the world had no clue he was suffering from cancer.

Personal Favorite Piece of Work:  Dogma as the Metatron

5. Gene Wilder: Possibly best known for his role as Willy Wonka, Wilder had a charm about him that made movie fans instantly connect to him. His likeability helped him excel in his roles he played in Mel Brooks' movies. As Dr. Frederick Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein, Wilder won awards not only for his acting, but also for his writing. His ability to play off of Cloris Leachman, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Teri Garr, and Madaline Kahn was outstanding and hilarious. Many people also loved him in Blazing Saddles and The Producers.

Personal Favorite Piece of Work: Young Frankenstein as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein.

6. Jose Fernandez: As the rising star pitcher of the Miami Marlins, Fernandez not only had the talent to be an all-star for years to come, but he was one of those type of players you wanted to root for because he genuinely seemed like a good guy and looked like he enjoyed being on there one the field. He had overcome a major injury to come back in 2016 and put up Cy Young Award level numbers until his death in August. In a time where many players appear to only care about the money, Fernandez was the type of player that inspired a new generation of baseball fans to play for the love of the game instead.

7. Anton Yelchin: Still a young actor, Yelchin died when he was pinned in between his car and the security gate of his house. Even though he was only 27-years-old, he still had done enough in his career to establish that he was a talented actor. He took over the role of Chekov in the Star Trek reboot and despite not looking a whole lot like the original Chekov played by Walter Koenig, Yelchin made the role his. Chekov wasn't his only large role in an established series. Yelchin played Kyle Reese in Terminator Salvation and nailed the role. While writing my book, A Hundred Kisses, I had mentally cast Yelchin as the lead character.

Personal Favorite Piece of Work: Chekov in the Star Trek trilogy reboot

8. George Martin: Famously known as the "Fifth Beatle", Martin's producing skills elevated the Fab Four into legendary status. Martin produced over 700 records in his career and was knighted by the Queen of England for his work. Martin was one of only six producers to have number one hit albums in three different decades.

Personal Favorite Piece of Work: The music for the Cirque du Soleil show, Love, featuring music and images from the Beatles

9. Arnold Palmer: The Babe Ruth of golf, Palmer was a golfing legend, winning 62 PGA tournaments. Beyond his incredible golfing abilities and where he has affected me the most, Arnold Palmer is credited for creating the drink named after himself. Three parts tea to one part lemonade, Arnold is said to have famously asked for this drink while at the bar of the Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, Colorado during the 1960 U.S. Open. Wanting a non-alcoholic drink, he ordered the drink that he said he would have often at his own home. A woman sitting nearby, overheard Palmer's order and told the bartender that she wanted the Palmer drink. A similar incident happened in Palm Springs and the name began to spread. To this day, I'm an Arnold Palmer drink addict.

10. Carrie Fisher: Most famously known as Princess Leia in the Star Wars series of movies, Fisher was the daughter of celebrity royalty. Her mother was Debbie Reynolds, her father was Eddie Fisher, the sister to Joely Fisher, and her stepmother for a time was Elizabeth Taylor. As Slave Leia, her gold bikini costume might be one of the most iconic movie costumes of all-time. Slave Leia's costume is perhaps the most cosplayed role in the cosplay world. What should be noted is that she had other hit roles in movies such as When Harry Met Sally, Shampoo, and The 'Burbs. She even played a small role as the nun that Jay tried to give oral to in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. It's not widely known, but she also punched up the scripts for The Wedding Singer, Sister Act, and Last Action Hero. When the news broke that she had a massive heart attack just before Christmas, it didn't seem real. She seemed too young and feels like one of those actors/actresses that almost seem immortal because of her most famous roles.

Personal Favorite Piece of Work: Marie in When Harry Met Sally

Top 10 Cultural Events of 2016

Screencap from the movie Suicide Squad; Will Smith (left) as Deadshot and Margot Robbie (right) as Harley Quinn

Well, as you all know, 2016 was a jam packed year full of events that most people want to forget about. Obviously, if you're an American you can attest to this fact. Politics aside, there were plenty of other events, for better or worse, that occurred this year that will make it memorable for various reasons. I give you a look at 10 cultural events that changed America this year (that don't involve politics).

1. Musicians and actors galore died this year: Pop culture took some massive hits this year. Prince and David Bowie's deaths were massive and unexpected, but they weren't the only cultural icons to die this year. The music industry lost Glenn Frey, Leonard Cohen, Merle Haggard, Maurice White, George Martin, Natalie Cole, and Vanity. The silver screen and boob tube didn't go without their shocking deaths either. Alan Rickman, Gene Wilder, Doris Roberts, Anton Yelchin, Garry Marshall, Mickey Rooney, Alan Thicke, Noel Neill, Theresa Saldana, Patty Duke, Florence Henderson, Garry Shandling, Abe Vigoda, David Margulies, and Pat Harrington Jr. As far as writers go, Harper Lee passed on as well. And the sports world took massive hits when Arnold Palmer and Muhammad Ali passed on...oh and Chyna died too.

2. Cuba is ripe for the change: Now I know I said I would try to stay out of politics, but I put this topic here because of the cultural significance. President Obama visited Cuba early in the year and just recently with the death of Fidel Castro, the door to Cuba opening up to the world has cracked open a little bit. A country rich with music, sports, and art, if Cuba were to join the rest of the world in the 21st century, a new wave of pop culture and sports stars could feasibly find its way into America. From a tourism standpoint, people can visit the very same beaches that the mob once hoped to turn into a second Las Vegas with nightclubs and casinos. Fidel's brother Raul is still in power and he is surrounded by hardliners, but maybe with continued pressure to join the rest of the world, Cuba's oppressive system will eventually collapse.

3. Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature...and he couldn't care less: Now it may be debatable that song lyrics count as literature, but the Nobel committee apparently thought so. The awarded Dylan with the award, but they failed to receive an immediate response from the music legend. Once they did, Dylan informed the committee that he wouldn't be able to attend the ceremony and that he "might" make it to Stockholm in 2017. At least that's what we think he said, but sometimes Dylan can be hard to understand.

4. The Cubbies finally won the World Series: Just a year too late to make Back to the Future writer, Robert Zemeckis, look like a genius, the Chicago Cubs not only made their first World Series appearance since 1945, they won their first World Series since 1908. Events such as World War I, the Titanic sinking, and women gaining the right to vote, happened more recently than a Cubs World Series victory. The last time the had made it to the World Series, black baseball players hadn't even been integrated into Major League Baseball.

5. The rise of data collecting devices hit an all-time high: On the surface, devices like Amazon's Echo and Dot with the virtual assistant known as Alexa; and Google's "Google Home" seem pretty cool, but that's only if you don't value your privacy. With a generation of youth that values privacy less than the previous generation, it should be no surprise that a device that presumably captures, stores, and utilizes keywords you say in front of it, has begun to integrate itself into many Americans' everyday lives. Las Vegas hotels have started installing Amazon Echo into their rooms to control functions such as temperature and to possibly order room service. What you don't see is that the information collected helps companies customize the advertisements you are exposed to and stores this information on a database that will either be sold or hacked one day.

6. Apple went toe-to-toe with the government: Shortly after the San Bernardino, California terrorist attack, the FBI wanted to hack into one of the shooter's phones to gain a better idea if the attackers were directed to conduct the attack or if they were lone wolves. A debate erupted when Apple told the government that they wouldn't develop software to allow the United States to access the shooter's personal information from his phone. On one side of this debate was that Apple should be patriotic and do what they can to assist the government to possibly prevent further terrorist efforts. On the other side of the debate was that giving the US government the necessary software to break into Apple produced phones would only lead to a slippery-slope of determining when the software should and shouldn't be used. Eventually the government announced that they were successful in hacking the shooter's phone without the help of Apple. Even then, debates across the country argued when does patriotism override one's right to privacy?

7. Nerds across America wandered around the map to catch fictional creatures: Pokémon Go sprung up out of nowhere to become one of the most successful games in cellphone history. People who rarely stepped foot outside in the real world were forced to visit new places to catch fictional characters that only they could see with the help of their phones. Along the way, the occasional car accident or mugging would occur, but that still didn't appear to hurt the game's popularity. But just as fast as the game gained popularity, the game would decline severely in users within three months of the game's release.

8. Nintendo rehashes their old games...again: When the Nintendo company comes up with a hit game or character, they keep releasing games and re-releasing games with these same characters over and over again. This year was no different. A popular item for Christmas is the Nintendo NES Classic Edition which brings back 30 of those games you played to death in 1980's. All the games are pre-installed into the system, so now you don't have to have all those cartridges that you used to blow into before shoving it into your system.

9. Los Angeles gains at least one NFL team with the possibility of a second coming soon: Several NFL teams flirted with the idea of moving to Los Angeles. In the end, the Rams moved back to LA and the Chargers might not be far behind. The country's second largest city went from no teams to possibly two. So far, the Rams haven't done well, even behind a head coach that had experience guiding a team that changed cities. It took in what seemed forever for the Rams to even play their number one overall draft pick from the 2016 NFL Draft.

10. Every other female under the age of 30 dressed up as Harley Quinn for Halloween: Suicide Squad hit theaters earlier this year and the character of Harley Quinn broke free from being popular with comic book fans to becoming popular with all of America. Margot Robbie's portrayal of Joker's former girlfriend became an instant hit with both males and females alike. By the time Halloween rolled around, tons of women were wearing t-shirts reading "Daddy's Lil Monster" while wearing booty shorts and fishnets. It's conceivable that this costume could end up becoming the Halloween male version of The Crow where guys would still dress up as the undead character years after the movie release. With several more movies in slated to be released featuring Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, her costume is bound to be seen for years to come.

RIP David Bowie

Screencap: David Bowie as Tesla in The Prestige

In the world of music thousands of people try to add their two cents into the world, but only a rare, select few ever get the chance to really change it. These rock stars are often a combination of music talent, likeable personality, style, and charisma...David Bowie had this all and more. He was one of the few music artists that could not only transcend music genres successfully, but also dive into the acting world without appearing to be a stunt casting.

Unfortunately, the world lost Bowie on the night of January 10th, 2016. He battled cancer for 18 months according to his Twitter account, before succumbing to it with family and friends at his bedside.

Starting out his solo music fame with "Space Oddity" in 1969, he became one of the pioneers of a new sub-genre of music called Glam Rock. Introducing his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust with his release of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, the album was intended to be the soundtrack for a TV or film production of the same name, but never produced. Hits such as "Starman" and "Suffragette City" sprang from this album which Rollingstone Magazine ranked as the 35th best album of all-time.

Later on his Diamond Dogs album, he released the hit song "Rebel Rebel" which would go on to be one of the most covered songs of all-time. It was his good-bye to glam rock song. The song featured a riff that was reminiscent of songs by Rollingstones or even Iggy Pop. The song could even be cited as being a precursor to the Grunge Rock movement that would take place years later and fall under the category of early punk.

Not long after, Bowie would release "Fame" which would be the first time he broke onto the Billboard Hot 100 charts (pop music), hitting number one. Unknown to most people, he recorded this song with the help of John Lennon who received song writing credit, played guitar, and was the backing vocals to Bowie in this hit song.

In 1976, Bowie would dive into the world of acting as well, starring in The Man Who Fell to Earth with Rip Torn and Candy Clark. This would bolster his confidence in his acting abilities, leading him to star in movies throughout his career.

Before the end of the '70s, he would release other hit singles such as "Sound and Vision", "Heroes", and "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)".

Not to be outdone, Bowie was even more successful in the '80s. He released singles that included "Ashes to Ashes" and "Fashion" before combining his efforts with Freddie Mercury of Queen for the hit song "Under Pressure", which would be one of the most significant songs of the decade and featured one of the most famous bass lines of all-time. The song regained fame after Vanilla Ice sampled from it for his hit song "Ice Ice Baby".

After "Under Pressure", Bowie collaborated with Bing Crosby to release one of the most iconic Christmas songs of all-time, "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy". To this day, it is hard to avoid this song every December. It solidified his status as one of the greatest music artists of all-time.

Less than a year later, Bowie released Let's Dance which would feature three hit singles, "Let's Dance" which would be accompanied by one of the most famous music videos ever, "China Girl", and "Modern Love". This is where he firmly planted his music in the New Wave genre with the platinum hit sensation.

In 1985, he would once again collaborate with a fellow musician, this time Mick Jagger, to release a cover of the song "Dancing in the Street". This song would chart in nearly every genre from rock to pop.

In 1986, he would star in the hit movie Labyrinth as Jareth the Goblin King. The movie would feature puppetry from the Jim Henson Workshop and would be the first major role for star actress Jennifer Connelly.

He would go on to collaborate with other music artists in the '90s as well, most famously with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails for the single "I'm Afraid of Americans". Other collaborative works include "Hallo Spaceboy" with the Pet Shop Boys and "The Buddha of Suburbia" with Lenny Kravitz.

In the 2000's, Bowie would stay in the eyes of pop culture, appearing as himself in the movie Zoolander and winning an MTV Movie Award. He then would go onto his one of his most famous movie roles as Tesla in the Christopher Nolan movie, The Prestige which would also star Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johansson, and Michael Caine.

His last top ten hit was in 2013 with "Where Are We Now?".

Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, won two Grammy Awards, and was ranked the 23rd best singer of all-time by Rollingstone Magazine. In 1999, Bowie was made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, but turned down being knighted in 2003 by the British Empire. In total he sold an estimated 140 million record albums.

Born as David Jones, he had to change his name to avoid confusion with Davey Jones of the Monkees. Bowie is survived by his wife, actress/model Iman; his son, director Duncan Jones; and daughter Alexandria.

10 Things I Learned From Zoolander

1. Nothing in the world is as fun as going to the gas station: If you're spending $4 a gallon on gas, you might as well blast some 80's music and dance. Still cheaper than going to Disneyland.

2. Facial poses by models are often named after condoms: Blue Steel? Magnum? Sounds like the names of condoms to me. What's next? Vivid? Trojan? 

3. Hand models are the smart ones: Hand models have the brains because they aren't trained to please like regular models are. Does this rule apply to foot models too?

4. Guitar Synth players are evil: Why wouldn't they be evil? Just like saxophone players, after the 80's, there wasn't much work out there for them. They'd still be employed if it wasn't for heavy metal and the rise of the grunge scene. Do you think Kurt Cobain needed a guitar synth player? No.

5. If you're a famous model, 1200 messages on your answering machine is only a bit above average: Being famous, everyone wants a piece of you. 1100 messages in a week isn't uncommon. 1200. Something is up.

6. With a small amount of make up, you can look like anyone: When breaking into Ballstein's office, Derek and Hansel use make up to look completely different. Apparently make up can change bone structure. So why is there a need for botox then?

7. A simple look can stop a throwing star in it's path: If this is true, then can a dance move stop a bullet? A hand clap stop a moving car? Yoko Ono singing stop a nuclear missile? Actually I think Yoko's singing promotes being hit by a nuclear missile.

8. Ambiturning is a real talent: Looking for things to put on your resume? Tell your potential employer that you are an ambiturner. You can turn left when need to. 

9. Listen to Billy Zane: Listen to Billy Zane. He's a good guy. He's looking out for you. Unless your name is Jack and you're on the Titanic.

10. David Bowie is the best person to judge anything: You have a pose off? David Bowie will be your judge. He has nothing better to do.