"Two for Tuesday" as two stars drop dead!

The Grim Reaper was working overtime today as he made a surprise visit to the homes of two of Hollywood's finest. This post is dedicated to them and their legacy that they left behind. Don't recognize them? You're not alone. Here's the "Cliff Notes" on both men:

• Jerry Reed- Died today at 71 years of age. Reed was a "good ol' boy" from the sticks when he picked up his guitar and headed to the big town called Nashville. His career was slow to take off the ground and soon enough he fell victim to the familiar lure of other entertainers by drowning his sorrows in drugs and alcohol. He was eventually discovered and given a record contract however, with all his ups and downs in his personal life, Reed's career was forced to be put on hold several times while he "dried out" from years of self medication. By the mid to late 1960's, Reed had attempted another comeback. Instead of trying to copy the style of many of his influences, Jerry's new approach to the music business would be "novelty songs". A "novelty song" is written as a form of expressing comedy without the hassle of doing stand-up. You see, initially Reed was stagefright. A few hits managed to hit the airwaves. One was titled, "when you're hot, you're hot" and the other was "My baby got the goldmine and I got the shaft". Not too long afterwards, a new opportunity came up for Reed in the form of a television variety show called, Hee Haw where he would appear frequently as a guest and strum along with Roy Clark and Buck Owens. Reed had a gawky look and often appeared haggard however, his appearances were a hit. Not long after this, the damn Hee Haw Donkey convinced Reed to add acting to his resume. Most of his film appearances were left on the cutting room floor but, he did manage to land a few supporting roles. In 1976 he was cast as "The Snowman" alongside Burt Reynolds for a film called Smokey and The Bandit. Sally field and the late, great, Jackie Gleason were also on board for the project that became a hit. In it, Reed portrayed a trucker assisting the Reynolds character "Smokey" in bootlegging a truckload of Coors Beer for a father/son bet with time constraints. Due to the movies success, a sequel was made two years later. This time the gang had to transport an elephant cross country. Then came part III. Perhaps one of the worst movies ever made, Reynolds refused to reprise his role and script was quickly re-written to accomodate Reed in the title role as "Smokey". This could also be where the phrase "jump the shark" was first coined as the premise of the movie was for Reed to transport a fiberglass shark on the roof of his Trans Am across the country. The movie studio was so ashamed of the final cut, that one week after opening up on theaters, all movie promotions and posters were brought rounded up and destroyed. If you're lucky enough to find one of these posters at a flea market, you might want to buy it. It's worth exceeds nearly $80,000, which is nearly three times more than the movie grossed! Someone showed Jerry Reed the wrong way to get to Hollywood. It isn't a good idea to fo through Nashville, and more importantly, don't ever put your future in the hands of a jackass who in this case, turned out to be a donkey from Hee Haw. They don't make for being a good agent.
• Don LaFontaine- Hollywood's "King of Voiceovers" died at 68. You wouldn't have recognized him on the street however, you heard his voice everyday in commercials on tv and the radio advertising all the latest Hollywood flicks. His deep voice will always be remembered by millions everywhere thanks, in part, to a lifelong commitment to "Lucky Strikes" cigarettes and black coffee. He got into the business by a fluke in the late 1960's while working at a recording studio and substituting for a voiceover talent who never showed up for work. The end result? A permanent position as one of the most recognizeable voices in the movie business. His quick synopsis of a movie preview clocked in at sixty seconds however, he could turn a box office flop into a moneymaker. (Where was he when Jerry Reed needed him?). Too shy and nervous to appear on screen in any capacity, Don broke his own rule when approached by insurance company, Geico in 2006 to appear in a series of commercials in person. These would be Don's only appearence on celluloid and commercials are still airing today. In an early 2007 interview, the Geico lizard spoke about working with Don and how it is much more difficult to change a person's voice than it is to change colors saying, "I had to go through a difficult time in my career because when I broke into this business I originally had a different voice. Being coompared too much to Kelsey Grammer, the Geico folks told me to speak like "Crocodile Dundee" and move ahead as if nobody would ever notice!". Don's wonderful time in Hollywood will more than likely earn him a star one day on Hollywood Boulevard. In the meantime though, rest assured, his voice will live on forever. Don's funeral will be on Friday night at 6:45, 7:15, 8:10, 10:30, and midnight.