Sounds like People Magazine
jumped the gun and published a pre-written obit for Kirk Douglas, still hale
and hearty at 97. It’s no secret that magazines and newspapers write obituaries
well in advance, so as not to be caught flat-footed when a celebrity shuffles
off this mortal coil. But it’s downright embarrassing when a death notice
proves premature.
Back in the nineteenth century, when his obituary appeared
in the press, Mark Twain took the matter as a joke, quipping that the
report of his demise had been much exaggerated. On the Internet, though, false
stories circulate at lightning speed. Some are innocent errors; others have
ulterior motives. I just heard that an old friend had suddenly died while on a
holiday visit to another state. His heartbroken widow poignantly spread the
word via Facebook. I’m still not absolutely certain that what I’ve read is
true. Her request for help in arranging for a “proper burial” sounds so much
like an Internet scam that I’m torn between being sad and being suspicious.
Believe me, I’d like to think this is someone’s con game, and not the news of a
good life that has ended much too soon.
Kirk Douglas may be alive and well in his nineties, but
Hollywood has just lost three actresses whose talent did not insure longevity.
All were particularly valuable because they represented communities that have
not been generously portrayed on stage and screen. That’s one reason why I
mourn their loss.
Misty Upham, age 32, was reported missing on October 6,
after she left her sister’s home on the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation in Auburn, Washington. Ten days later, her body was found at the
bottom of a steep cliff in a remote area marked by hairpin turns and dense
woods. Her grieving family has accused local police of being slow to search for
the missing young woman. They feel that old-fashioned racism was at work: in
this region, tension between cops and Native Americans runs high, and Upham
(who suffered from bipolar disorder) had already had one mysterious run-in with
law enforcement types. Upham first attracted attention in the indie hit, Frozen River. As part of the
ensemble in last year’s August: Osage
County, she shared in a nomination for a SAG award. Her death removes the
one young Native American actress who’d seemed destined to deliver honest
portrayals of her people.
Elizabeth Peña, age 55, was Cuban-American. She broke through as Richie Valens’ first girlfriend in La Bamba, then had featured roles in Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Jacob’s Ladder, and John Sayles’ Lone Star, which earned her an Indie Spirit award for Best Supporting Actress. More recently, she guested as Sofia Vergara’s Colombian mother in season 4 of TV’s Modern Family. Never quite a star, she nonetheless worked steadily, most often in ethnic roles. The cause of her death was reported as cirrhosis of the liver, due to alcoholism.
Sumi Haru was 75 when she died of emphysema in late October.
Though she appeared in movies like Krakatoa:
East of Java, she was better known as an activist, speaking out against
film and stage productions that starred Caucasian actors playing Asian roles.
She served for years as a SAG officer, but couldn’t make a living in her chosen
profession. Ironically, her Japanese-sounding name was an invention: she was
born Mildred Sevilla to Filipino parents. Apparently there was no Filipina
niche available to Haru, and juicy Asian roles were few and far between. We
needed all these women to help represent American as we know it. But they’re
gone now, and that’s no hoax.
