Johnny Cash, RIP. A complicated man, born into tragic poverty, raised to wealth and success on a remarkable musical talent and hard work. When Sun Records had him, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins together, they toured as "The Million Dollar Tour."

He battled addiction, kept strong his backwoods Christianity, and brought some small relief to those downtrodden groups he played for. All day today, I'll be listening to Johnny Cash's music. Tomorrow, when my parents are here, I'll force them to listen, too, even though they can't stand The Man In Black's quavery voice.

John Ritter also died. A great actor, if you ever saw him on the stage. I was not fortunate enough, but several acquaintance of mine were. My fondest memories of Ritter were from the 1987 cop show, Hooperman. Quirky, dramatic, with a deft comic touch, including the appearance of one of Hooperman's fellow detectives on Jeopardy. I still remember the final Jeopardy question was about the band U2, and Hooperman's colleague, who was doing really well, answered K2. Then he went crazy. A fine show.