Passage: Yogi Berra and Jack Larson
It happened this past week ... the loss of two very different performers in two very different fields.
We learned of the death last Sunday of actor Jack Larson, a.k.a. Jimmy Olsen, that hapless young newspaper photographer in the 1950s TV series, "The Adventures of Superman."
Week after week, Jimmy and reporter Lois Lane would stumble into some awful fix, only to have Superman save them at the very last moment!
In the show's six-year run, Jimmy never did figure out why Clark Kent and Superman never appeared together at the same time.
Jack Larson then went on to a long career as a playwright.
He was 87.
Yogi Berra was Number 8 on the roster of the New York Yankees, an All-Star catcher for 15 consecutive seasons beginning in the 1940s, and a linchpin for 10 World Series wins.
Much respected for his talent on the field, he was also admired for his off-the-cuff aphorisms.
Some were captured on camera: ("It ain't over 'til it's over"); others were quoted by presidents:
George W. Bush: "Yogi Berra once said, 'When you come to a fork in the road, take it.'"
Bill Clinton: "'We may be lost, but we're making good time.'"
In truth, not all the quotes attributed to him stand up under scrutiny, as Berra himself made clear in "The Yogi Book: I Really Didn't Say Everything I Said."
What no one could ever doubt was Yogi's ability and love for the game of baseball.