Tag Archives: Obituary

Newtown man dies in Stamford accident

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STAMFORD, CT. — A 46-year-old Newtown man who worked behind the scenes on numerous blockbuster films was killed in a head-on accident on the Merritt Parkway Friday evening.

Scott Getzinger, a property master who provided props for more than 25 films, including “Spider-Man,” “Independence Day,” “The Truman Show” and the upcoming “Men in Black III” and “The Dark Knight Rises,” died at Stamford Hospital after sustaining severe injuries.

Getzinger suffered multiple broken bones, but was described as conscious and alert after being cut out of the 2002 Ford F-150 pickup truck he was driving. State police initially characterized his injuries as non-life threatening.

Read more at the Stamford Advocate

General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. dead at 78

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220px-NormanSchwarzkopfSchwarzkopf was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of Ruth Alice (née Bowman) and Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf. His paternal grandparents were German. His father served in the US Army before becoming the Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, where he worked as a lead investigator on the 1932 Lindbergh baby kidnapping case before returning to an Army career and rising to the rank of Major General. In January 1952, Schwarzkopf’s birth certificate was amended to make his name “H. Norman Schwarzkopf”. This was done as an act of revenge against the upper class cadets at West Point because his father hated his own first name “Herbert” and when he attended West Point the upper class cadets yelled at him for signing his name “H. Norman Schwarzkopf”. His connection with the Persian Gulf region began very early. In 1946, when he was 12, he and the rest of his family joined their father, stationed in Tehran, Iran, where his father went on to be instrumental in Operation Ajax, eventually forming the Shah’s secret police SAVAK, as well. He attended the Community High School in Tehran, later the International School of Geneva at La Châtaigneraie, Frankfurt High School in Frankfurt, Germany and attended and graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy. He was also a member of Mensa.—Wikipedia

A special forces friend of mine once told me that he met Major Schuwarzkopf in Vietnam. He met him because the Major was out in the field with his men much of the time unlike other officers. Wikipedia recounts one story:

He had received word that men under his command had encountered a minefield on the notorious Batangan Peninsula, he rushed to the scene in his helicopter, as was his custom while a battalion commander, in order to make his helicopter available. He found several soldiers still trapped in the minefield. Schwarzkopf urged them to retrace their steps slowly. Still, one man tripped a mine and was severely wounded but remained conscious. As the wounded man flailed in agony, the soldiers around him feared that he would set off another mine. Schwarzkopf, also wounded by the explosion, crawled across the minefield to the wounded man and held him down (using a “pinning” technique from his wrestling days at West Point) so another could splint his shattered leg. One soldier stepped away to break a branch from a nearby tree to make the splint. In doing so, he too hit a mine, which killed him and the two men closest to him, and blew an arm and a leg off Schwarzkopf’s artillery liaison officer. Eventually, Schwarzkopf led his surviving men to safety, by ordering the division engineers to mark the locations of the mines with shaving cream.

General Schwarzkopf came to national attention during Desert Storm, though that was not his intent. It was known that he desired to be on the ground in Iraq to coordinate efforts, like most good commanders, but was called back to conduct press conferences.

He was offered the position of Chief of Staff of the Army, but declined retiring in August of ’91. In 1992 his autobiography It Doesn’t Take a Hero was published.

The General passed away today in Tampa, Florida suffering complications arising from pneumonia.

SEE ALSO: Lionized for Lightning Victory in ’91 Gulf War

Florida reacts to death of Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf – Tampa Bay Times

Two acclaimed actors died Monday

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Charles Durning

Charlesdurning-2-popupThe New York Times reports, “Charles Durning may not have been a household name, but with his pugnacious features and imposing bulk he was a familiar presence in American movies, television and theater, even if often overshadowed by the headliners.”

That sums up his acting career. While you probably did not know his name, you definitely remember his presence in any film you saw. His sixty year career ended much like his military career. Still working. He was involved in the filming of Scavenger Killers at the time of his death. Wounded in the military during WWII as an Army Ranger, he refused to seek discharge and recovered to resume active duty.

His first acting role was in the 1953 television series You Are There as Colonel John Jameson in The Treason of Benedict Arnold episode. As his career progressed he starred in the short lived The Cop and the Kid television series, which I remember him for. He’s played presidents, captains and king, all the way down to the most corrupt scum you could ever love to hate.

From the “boob tube” to the “silver screen,” he was one of the versatile actors that made “stars” look good. Did he ever have a staring role? In everything he did.

Mr. Durning was 89.

Jack Klugman

jack_klugman_606Jack Klugman also died Monday at 90 years of age. He started acting in 1950 and is best known for his roles in The Twilight Zone, The Odd Couple and Quincy.

He played four roles in The Twilight Zone, but is probably best remembered for In Praise of Pip with Billy Mummy in which he offered his life for that of his son.

He played the sloven Oscar Madison in the Odd Couple opposite the neat and tidy Felix Unger played by Tony Randall. Klugman was ready to give up his career when he lost his voice due to throat cancer, though he taught himself to speak. Randall convinced him to return for The Odd Couple: Together Again in 1993.

In Quincy M.E. he played an unusual role. A coroner who sought the truth rather than headlines. Every week there was some case that people wanted swept under the rug quickly, but Quincy stepped on the rug to ensure that the case was resolved properly.

Although his acting career was mainly television, he played some memorable roles in movies such as Twelve Angry Men and Goodbye, Columbus. He is one of those actors that seemed to perform for the love of the art rather than the love of the paycheck.

Eugene Smith, county resident and Tuskegee Airman, passes away

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Eugene Smith, famed member of the Tuskegee Airmen who fought for his proper recognition and honor, passed away on Wednesday, November 21st, at the Harrison County Hospital in Cynthiana, Kentucky.

Eugene Smith had lived in Switzerland County for nearly 20 years, retiring to a houseboat moored at Turtle Creek Marina in Florence. He was very active in the community while residing here, including membership at Patriot Baptist Church and was a regular attendee at the Senior Mealsite in Vevay.

Born in Ohio in 1918, he was a 1939 graduate of Withrow High School in Cincinnati; and then earned his bachelor’s degree from Kentucky State University.

When World War II began, Eugene Smith volunteered to serve his country, enlisting in the Army Air Corps to become a pilot.

That’s where his unusual story of heroism begins.

Because his parents were of mixed origin with Native American ancestry, the doctor who delivered Eugene Smith listed on his birth certificate that he was “colored”, even though he was fair skinned. When he was accepted into the Air Corps and was about to begin his flight training, the Army found that his birth certificate listed his race in that way, so the Army declined to send him to flight school with “white” soldiers.

Read more at the Vevay Reveille Enterprise