Rant #2,407: Tutti-Fruitti

I would not be doing my duty if I did not mention some prominent deaths that occurred during the past couple of days.

First we have Little Richard, one of the true architects of rock and roll. He died of bone cancer the other day, and with his death, her left a legacy that certainly earned him a spot on rock's Mount Rushmore along with Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and Jerry Lee Lewis.

His music was raucous, fun, and short and to the point: "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Tutti-Fruitti," "Long Tall Sally" ... you could literally go on and on and on with the great music he created out of his own mix of blues, gospel, rhythm and blues, and jazz, which he turned into the seminal brand of music called rock and roll.

His influence on everyone from Paul McCartney to Mick Jagger to Michael Jackson and Prince is so obvious that those that imitated him readily admit it, and he was proud of his "children," but he always said that he, "was the prettiest one of all."

Like most early rock and rollers, he often had his name in the newspaper more for his off-stage hijinks than for what he did on stage, but even though his life was filled with controversy, he became so mainstream by the 1980s that nobody cared much about whatever controversies there were.

Like Liberace in the 1950s, he was the one gay guy that you loved ... or was he gay after all? He went from being gay to not being gay seemingly as many times as you change your socks, but he finally settled down to a non-gay lifestyle ... let's just say that he lived the life, and leave it at that.

This guy was the real deal, and the world will miss him.

Seemingly on the opposite side of the pole was Jerry Stiller, one of our great comedic talents who died of natural causes a few days back.

His life was not steeped in controversy ... or was it?

Stiller--a Jewish man--married Anne Meara--a Catholic girl--in the 1950s, when this thing simply wasn't done, and with it, he formed a comedic partnership that broke down many barriers in the 1950s and primarily the 1960s, when Stiller and Meara were one of the hottest comedy acts on television, including 36 must-see appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

At the time, appearing on the show meant you had "made it," and Stiller and Meara "made it" three dozen times. Their humor revolved around their mixed marriage, made them appear as normal as your next door neighbors, and kind of softened the stance for such unions.

And they were funny ... not funny by today's raucous, nasty comedic standards, but funny because while you laughed, they made you think, even if you did not fully buy-in to their union.

Sullivan loved them because he, too, was in such a marriage--Sullivan was Catholic, his wife, Syliva, was Jewish--and he saw a mirror image with Stiller and Meara.

But Jerry Stiller was more than just part of this comedic duo. He was in several Broadway shows, he was in numerous films, and he truly was ubiquitous on television through at least the early 2000s, on shows like "Seinfeld" and "The King of Queens."

He and Meara were also the parents of two kids--a daughter and Ben Stiller--and they were certainly among show biz's happiest, most successful couples until she passed away a few years back, after more than 60 years of marriage.

So, you don't think that Little Richard and Jerry Stiller could ever be considered to be in the same boat as controversial figures--for their time--who went on to lasting success, but they certainly were the strangest of bedfellows.

But in the straight-laced 1950s and early to mid 1960s, they were really breaking serious ground on our senses and beliefs, and you cannot take that away from either of them.

R.I.P.  Richard and Stiller. You will both be greatly missed.