Bob Novak

You never know. Bob Novak might kick-start a late summer celebrity death parade the same way that Ed McMahon really shook up the cosmic karma two months back. Only time will tell.

Good ole' Bob Novak. He was one of many "talking heads" that I grew up with. And, I have to say, for me, he is most remembered as the guy who replaced Pat Buchanon on Crossfire. I was a huge Crossfire fan as a teenager and I fondly remember watching it on the smallish television in the living room, which replaced the humongous "furniture" TV in the living room. For a person who truly revels in shades of gray, Crossfire was testament to the fact that nobody was necessarily right (pun intended) or wrong. It was just a matter of how you saw things.

And, before I go any further, it's important for me to give pause and shine a little light on one Tom Braden, the left-leaning ying to Mssrs. Buchanon and Novak's yang. He passed on April 3, of this year, about two weeks before I started this blog. What is interesting about him -- apart from what I felt like was the penultimate alcoholic face -- is that he wrote the memoir that led to the famous seventies television series, Eight is Enough, staring Willie Ames, who most recently attempted suicide. Probably my favorite Eight is Enough is the melodramatic Christmas two-part episode where Tommy, played by Mr. Ames, receives a gift from the grave, from his deceased mother. As I child, I was touched by this.

Oh my, where did I go? Only I can go from Bob Novak to an mid-seventies Christmas special. While we remain in tangential land, the most endearing episode of Crossfire that receives the most hits on the InterWeb is the one that featured Frank Zappa, discussing censorship. A free Celebituary T-Shirt to whoever can name the song that they are discussing at the onset of the show.

But, I think it would be unfair to hi-jack Mr. Novak's final goodbye what with talk of Willie Ames and Frank Zappa. Just before he was diagnosed with the tumor, he hit a pedestrian with his Corvette. In retrospect, it was probably due to the tumor.

Here's a nice moment from the past, where he gets frustrated with a co-host and calls him an asshole.

Other moments. Mr. Novak, you might remember was at the center of the whole "Plame Game" blown cover hoopla that transpired three years ago. He was criticized as an "unpatriotic conservative" for his anti-Iraq war stance. Sounds like Bobby probably took the right stance, after all.

A parting shot? Watch here as Mr. Novak walk off, stage right (natch) to the sound of The Clash. Isn't the Internet something?