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This week, 2 beloved actors died:
James Best (04/06/2015) & Geoffrey Lewis (04/07/2015)
While both were seen on the small screen, each had roles in movies inspired by songs, which have been featured here in OC,SH’s “CD Showcase” themes.

JAMES BEST

I’d bet any discussion of this actor always includes famous lines like “I love it, I love it!” or “You dipstick!”, referring of course, to his famous role in TV’s “The Dukes Of Hazzard” as Sheriff Rosco P Coltrane. But, he also appeared in other TV series (such as “Perry Mason” & “In The Heat Of The Night”) as well as many movies, including 1976’s ‘Ode To Billy Joe’. I was 1st introduced to this flick in the wee morning hours while in Nashville TN in the early 2000s. Awake with excitement about my weekend road trip, I turned on the TV & caught the start … & watched it, amazed to see James Best in the role of Dewey Barksdale. The movie, based on the hit song by Bobbie Gentry, 1967’s “Ode To Billie Joe”, stars Robby Benson (who has had open heart surgeries!) in the title role.

GEOFFREY LEWIS

Seems this guy is 1 of those you’ve seen, but can’t exactly pinpoint where … until you look at his filmography. Holy cow! His TV credits include: “Gunsmoke”, “Cannon”, “Starsky & Hutch”, “Alice”, “Flo”, “Laverne & Shirley”, “Hunter”, “Mork & Mindy”, “BJ & The Bear”, “Little House On The Prairie”, “Mama’s Family”, “Falcon Crest”, “Highway To Heaven”, “Magnum PI”, “MacGuyver”, “Designing Women”, “The Golden Girls”, “In The Heat Of The Night” & “Murder, She Wrote”. His movie career is similarly striking & extensive, but the film that jumped out at me (along with ‘Pink Cadillac’) is 1978’s ‘Every Which Way But Loose’, in which he played Orville Boggs. The flick, in which Clint Eastwood stars, refers to the hit (& title track) of the same name by Eddie Rabbitt.