1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 29

   Today is a tragic day in 1977 history. January 29th marks the sad death of comedic actor Freddie Prinze. 

    Prinze had risen to fame as a noted young comedian. In 1974, Prinze was cast as the lead role of Chico in the NBC series Chico and the Man. An immediate hit, Chico and the Man was the first series to be set in a Mexican-American neighborhood and one of the first to star a Chicano actor. 

    Sadly, fame was an enemy to Freddie Prinze. With popularity in Hollywood comes increased exposure, extra-long hours, folks coming out of the wood-work to latch on to your fame, parties, and the inevitable drugs and alcohol. 
  

Jack Albertson (Right) played Ed AKA The Man.
His character was apprehensive to the ethnic change of his East LA neighborhood.

      In 1976, Freddie and his wife welcomed a baby boy, Freddie Jr. (Fred of Scooby-Doo live-action film fame.) But as Freddie Sr's addiction got worse, his wife took their child and filed for divorce. A DUI while under the influence of Quaaludes was the last straw.

     Prinze did try to clean himself up. He took up karate as an outlet for his addiction. However, depression over his failing marriage, along with an intense daily  schedule that took him from the Hollywood set of Chico to Las Vegas for a nightly stand-up routine was too much for the comedian.

    On the night of January 28, after talking with his estranged wife over the telephone, Prinze in front of his business manager put a gun to his head... 

   The next day, at UCLA Medical Center, his family removed life support.

Prinze was good friends with singer Tony Orlando, singing background on several songs.
Orlando repaid the favor by appearing on Chico and the Man.

    According to friends, Prinze had a history of faking out friends with a Russian Roulette routine and believe that the incident was accidental. However, investigator's found a suicide note nearby. The star was also found to have drugs in his system and after several years of litigation, a judge ruled his death accidental, freeing up some insurance policies.

      Prinze's legacy lives on in many ways. His son is an accomplished actor and currently is the voice of Kanan on Star Wars Rebels. Prinze is also used as an example of dangers of fast fame amongst the Hollywood elite and his ground breaking series is seen as a cultural benchmark in Mexican-American Civil Rights and culture.

Freddie Prinze Jr, circa 2015.

      Freddie Prinze's death hits me hard for another reason. My wife is my best friend but my best guy friend decided about 6 years ago to end his life by a self-inflicted gun shot wound. I don't remember very many things completely, but I remember every minute of the day I got the phone call from his wife.

      Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. We all reach lows and there have been times I wish I could take a permanent nap. I wish I had better sign of troubles with my friend or was more aware of problems...

    If you are reading this post and you feel like giving up and you need help or you have a friend that needs help, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. It's completely confidential. But more importantly, it just might save your life.

The Pulse #3

   The staff of the Daily Bugle reels at the death of one of their own.

    It's ironic that I review this book today. Just yesterday, a very troubled man killed two reporters live on Virginian television. Though journalist Terri Kidder wasn't killed on TV, her murder occurred while she was on the clock and it makes the other Daily Bugle reports feel vulnerable as if it happened to her, it could happen to them.

    Both the community at the Bugle and the reporting community in real life have a dual role that is very difficult to perform. They have to report the story and grieve at the same time. Ben Ulrich and the staff at the Bugle have the added task to memorialize the fallen journalist while getting to the bottom of who committed the crime. But in real life, the colleagues of the fallen in Roanoke, Va. don't have the added benefit of Spider-man to assist them in bringing down the villain responsible. 

   A powerful and moving story that hits that much more closer to home in light of current events. 

   Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Between Heaven and Ground Zero by Leslie Haskin

WORTH CONSUMING!

This book was an eye opening account to what actually happened inside of one of the Twin Towers during the 9/11 attacks. See, when you look at the footage of the towers after the planes hit, it really looks like just a lot of smoke and that the buildings suffered very little damage. However, according to the author’s first-hand account, the interior was nothing like what the TV viewer saw happening outside.

  Walls melted, fireballs ripped throughout the elevator shafts and anywhere else it could find an opening. Dozens of people fell to their deaths- not just the one or two victims shown on TV that day. It was utter chaos.

    That chaos is the only thing I didn't like about reading this book. It also happens to be the author's journal of events written during her recovery process from PTSD. As a survivor of abuse, I understand how confusing the process of unravelling the events can be. And while this book didn't trigger any events for me, it's still hard to follow. The utter panic and disorder felt by the author is eerily present. Some events seem disjointed. And it really makes it hard for a reader to understand just where and when the action is taking place. Thankfully, a series of appendixes are included and ease some of the burden.

     I also wish that the author took more time on writing about her personal life and her post-9/11 career. Many of the captions in the photograph section and the dust jacket imply this, and I felt myself wanting to know more. Hopefully, Haskin will write another book covering this area- or even an expanded edition. If she does, it's a done deal that I'll be searching it out at my local library.