Robert Hegyes Remembered.

Something a little different here.  Back in January the TV world lost one of it's most beloved characters, Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Huevos Epstein.  Epstein passed away at the age of 60 from a heart attack.  We here at The Slab want to celebrate a truly funny person.  He wasn't given his rightful induction, but now?  That is not the case.  Sit back and enjoy....EPSTEIN!!!!


Epstein on God: "Y'know, I think God is kinda tough, y'know? But he's fair. Sorta like John Wayne in a white beard, y'know? 'All right, pilgrims, move those clouds in a circle.'" Also ... Epstein: I ain't goin' to class, man. I ain't never goin' to class. Kotter: Where you goin' then? Epstein: I don't know, uh, into the religious life. Kotter: Brother Epstein, huh? I can see the headlines: "Puerto Rican Jew enters monastery, becomes the first 'Schlamonk.'" Epstein on art. Kotter: Do I look like Miss Fishbeck, the art teacher? Epstein: Only around the moustache. Epstein on love. Horshack: A woman is a sometime thing. Epstein: She'll take your heart and give it a fling. Horshack: But when true love runs off its course ... Epstein: Then she'll sue you for divorce. They're all onto Epstein. Kotter: All right, Epstein, come on. Let's have it so we can get to work. Epstein: What? Kotter: One of your famous notes that'll read something like, "Please excuse Juan for being late. He was kidnapped by the jet set and left tied up on a lawn in Hyannis Port." Signed ... Sweathogs: Epstein's mother! Epstein on gambling. Epstein: Hey, I got an idea, listen to this. ISB. Kotter: ISB? Epstein: In-School Betting. Yeah. It's about time we get bettin' off the streets, into the school here, where it belongs! [Sweathogs cheer] Kotter: Are you kiddin'? I'll lay you 5-2 that'll never happen. Epstein on the burdens of flim-flammery. Epstein: Mr. Kotter, I got a note excusing my absenteeism. Kotter: "Dear Mr. Kotter. Please excuse Juan's abs- " Aren't you gonna read along? [Epstein shakes head no] "Please excuse Juan's absence. He was home sick with the stomach flu. Sincerely, Mrs. Epstein." Fine. That's okay, Juan. Your excuse is perfectly legitimate. Epstein: I know. That's the problem. It's the first legitimate excuse I've turned in in 11 years. Me, Juan Epstein, the flim-flam man of Buchanan High School, a legit excuse. What's the world comin' to? Rest in peace, Epstein/Hegyes, flim-flam man, philosopher, and gambler. Who knew you were such a Renaissance man? And now that I'm looking back at those episodes, Barbarino/Travolta may have been the class hottie, but you were adorable. That hair! I'll wear a red bandana in your honor today.

Ray Bradbury

6/6/2012

Science fiction legend Ray Bradbury -- author of "Fahrenheit 451" and "Something Wicked this Way Comes" -- has died.

According to reports, Ray passed away this morning in L.A. He was 91.

Among Ray's other works -- "The Illustrated Man" and "The Martian Chronicles." Much of his work has been adapted to TV and film.

Ray's grandson told io9.com, "If I had to make any statement, it would be how much I love and miss him ... He was the biggest kid I know."

Ray famously criticized technology and the modern age, opposing his own work's conversion into e-books, saying, "We have too many cell phones. We've got too many internets. We have got to get rid of those machines. We have too many machines now."

Ray's wife passed away in 2003. He is survived by his 4 daughters and grandchildren.                                                                           



Eduard Khil

06/04/2012

Eduard Khil, a Russian singer better known as "Mr. Trololo," died on Monday from complications of a stroke. He was 77.

Khil was hospitalized last month in St. Petersburg following a stroke that left him with severe brain damage, according to the Associated Press.

A popular but fading Soviet singing star, Khil rocketed to global stardom in 2010 when a Cold War-era video of his performance of Arkady Ostrovsky's 1966 "I Am Glad, 'Cause I'm Finally Returning Back Home"—with Khil singing "trololo" instead of censored lyrics—became an Internet sensation.

The original lyrics—about an American cowboy riding across a prairie—didn't sit well with Soviet censors, so Khil changed them in the quirky, vocalized version.

The popularity of the 1976 video—which has garnered more than 14 million views on YouTub—led to an international tour for Khil, and inspired numerous parodies.

"From his grandson, he learned that T-shirts and mugs with his image had become available, and he joked that he never earned a kopeck from them," Mikhail Sadchikov, a Russian music critic, told the AP. "He was also very optimistic, positive and ironic at the same time."

Not surprisingly, Khil's name began trending Monday as news of his death spread. According to the Associated Press, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences.

до свидания comrad.  :(

Richard Dawson

6/2/2012

SURVEY SAYS!!!  

Richard Dawson, an actor and TV host best known for his work on the game show "Family Feud" and sitcom "Hogan's Heroes," has died from complications of esophageal cancer. He was 79.

The British-born actor died on Saturday at Ronald Reagan Memorial hospital in Los Angeles, his son Gary Dawson said on Sunday.

Dawson appeared on numerous TV shows in the 1960s, but it was his job as the emcee of "Family Feud" where his wit and charm served him best as he helped make the program a big hit of the 1970s.

"Feud," which debuted in 1976 with members of two different families competing against each other by trying to guess the results of survey questions, became a No. 1 U.S. daytime TV show for a time.

Over the years, "Feud" expanded into prime-time specials featuring top celebrities and made Dawson the highest-paid game show emcee of his day. It was canceled in 1985, but reborn in syndication. Various incarnations with different hosts have aired since then.

"He was loved by millions of Americans as a television icon, but loved even more as a husband, a father, and grandfather by his family," Gary Dawson wrote on his Facebook page.

Richard Dawson, whose given name was Colin Lionel Emm, was born on November 20, 1932, in Gosport, England. At age 14, he joined the merchant marines and served for three years. After his discharge, he worked as a stand-up comedian in London clubs including the legendary "Stork Room," where he met actress Diana Dors. She became his first wife in 1959.

Dawson soon transitioned from British comedian to Hollywood actor appearing on many top TV programs of the early 1960s, such as "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In."
His role as a military prisoner in the 1965 film "King Rat" led to TV's "Hogan's Heroes," about a band of allied POWs in a German camp who were constantly fooling their captors. Dawson portrayed Briton Peter Newkirk, who possessed a clever mind and a quick wit in the hit show that ran from 1965 to 1971.

When the program went off the air, Dawson began appearing as a celebrity panelist on a number of TV game shows, including the popular "Match Game," and those appearances eventually led to his hosting duties on "Family Feud."

Beyond TV, Dawson appeared in movies, including a co-starring role alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Stephen King sci-fi film "The Running Man." In 2000, Dawson retired.

At the height of his success on "Feud," he met contestant Gretchen Johnson, who would become his second wife. Dawson is survived by Johnson, two sons, a daughter and four grandchildren.

             

This was one of my favorite shows.  And Dawson was the reason.  Say hello to Ray Combs when you're up there!

http://youtu.be/xStvfbIddM0