Military radio host Adrian Cronauer, who inspired Good Morning, Vietnam, has died

NORFOLK, VA.—Adrian Cronauer, the man whose military radio antics inspired a character played by Robin Williams in the film Good Morning, Vietnam, has died. He was 79.

Mary Muse, the wife of his stepson Michael Muse, said Thursday that Cronauer died Wednesday from an age-related illness. He had lived in Troutville, Va., and died at a local nursing home, she said.

During his service as a U.S. air force sergeant in Vietnam in 1965 and 1966, Cronauer opened his Armed Forces Radio show with the phrase, “Goooooood morning, Vietnam!”

Williams made the refrain famous in the 1987 film, loosely based on Cronauer’s time in Saigon.

The film was a departure from other Vietnam War movies that focused on bloody realism, such as the Academy Award-winning Platoon. Instead, it was about irreverent youth in the 1960s fighting the military establishment.

“We were the only game in town and you had to play by our rules,” Cronauer told The Associated Press in 1987. “But I wanted to serve the listeners.”

The military wanted conservative programming. American youths, however, were “not into drab, sterile announcements” with middle-of-the-road music, Cronauer said, and the battle over the airwaves was joined.

In the film, Williams quickly drops Perry Como and Lawrence Welk from his 6 a.m. playlist in favour of the Dave Clark Five.

Cronauer said he loved the movie, but he said much of the film was Hollywood make-believe. Robin Williams’ portrayal as a fast-talking, nonconformist, yuk-it-up disc jockey sometimes gave people the wrong impression of the man who inspired the film.

“Yes, I did try to make it sound more like a stateside station,” he told the AP in 1989. “Yes, I did have problems with news censorship. Yes, I was in a restaurant shortly before the Viet Cong hit it. And yes, I did start each program by yelling, ‘Good Morning, Vietnam!’ ”

The rest is what he delicately called “good script crafting.”

When the film was released, the presidential campaign of Democrat Jesse Jackson called asking if Cronauer would help out. The conversation died quickly after Cronauer asked the caller if she realized he was a Republican.

In 1992, George H.W. Bush’s re-election campaign taped a TV ad slamming Bill Clinton’s draft record. In the ad, Cronauer accused Clinton of lying.

“In many ways, I’m a very conservative guy,” he said. “A lifelong, card-carrying Republican can’t be that much of an anti-establishment type.”

Cronauer was from Pittsburgh, the son of a steelworker and a schoolteacher. After the military, he worked in radio, television and advertising.

In 1979, Cronauer saw the film Apocalypse Now with his friend Ben Moses, who also served in Vietnam and worked at the Saigon radio station.

“We said that’s not our story of Vietnam,” Moses recalled Thursday. “And we made a deal over a beer that we were going to have a movie called Good Morning, Vietnam.”

It wasn’t easy. Hollywood producers were incensed at the idea of a comedy about Vietnam, said Moses, who co-produced the film and wrote the original 30-page story.

“I said ‘It’s not a comedy — it’s the sugar on top of the medicine,’ ” Moses said.

Writer Mitch Markowitz made the film funny, and director Barry Levinson added the tragic-comedy aspect, Moses said. Williams’ performance was nominated for an Oscar.

Moses said the film was a pivotal moment in changing the way Americans thought about the Vietnamese and the war.

Muse, the wife of Cronauer’s stepson, said the movie “helped open dialogue and discussion that had long been avoided.”

“He loved the servicemen and servicewomen all over the world and always made time to personally engage with them,” she said.

She added that he was “a loving and devoted husband to his late wife, Jeane, (as well as a) father, grandfather and great-grandfather.”

Cronauer attended the University of Pennsylvania’s law school and went into the legal profession, working in communications law and later handling prisoner-of-war issues for the Pentagon.

“I always was a bit of an iconoclast, as Robin (Williams) was in the film,” Cronauer told the AP in 1999. “But I was not anti-military, or anti-establishment. I was anti-stupidity. And you certainly do run into a lot of stupidity in the military.”

Michael Bublé gets emotional at first concert since son’s cancer diagnosis

Michael Bublé was moved to tears when he made a spectacular return to the stage in London last night after his son beat cancer.

The “Home” singer impressed crowds with a comeback performance at Barclaycard presents British Summer Time in Hyde Park – two years after his four-year-old son Noah was diagnosed with liver cancer.

An emotional Michael, 42, opened up to the crowd as he admitted being afraid to sing again ahead of long-awaited return to the stage.

But first he joked with fans who had just suffered a torrential downpour in Hyde Park, saying: “This is exactly how it was in my mind. I s–t you not.”

Before adding: It’s been two years since I’ve been on stage, and like any human of course I worry that whatever I had at one point might have gone.

“But after two songs, I’m even better than before.”

Michael later paid tribute to his supporters for sticking by him.

He said: “There are no words for how much love, affection, gratitude, that I have in my heart on behalf of myself, my family, for your love, for your prayers, for your support.

“I want to thank you not only for tonight, but for every night, for everything you’ve done for me. Each one of you has made such a difference in my life.”

He even name-dropped British reality show “Love Island,” telling the crowd: “This isn’t a concert, this is Love Island…. and just like Love Island, incredibly sophisticated people are going to come together to connect, to meet…. and maybe do it in a swimming pool.”

Michael sang hits some of his greatest hits including “Feeling Good,” “Just Haven’t Met You Yet” and “Home” in front of his adoring fans – and even teased some music from his upcoming album.

The singer had earlier been supported by former British realty TV star Megan McKenna and the legendary Van Morrison who he said had been a huge part of his “romance with music”.

Bublé and his actress wife Luisana Lopilato have cancelled all work commitments since 2016 when their son Noah was diagnosed with liver cancer.

But last night the little boy shared a sweet moment with his dad from the crowd when Michael revealed he forces him to watch The Greatest Showman “over and over again” at home.

Teasing the audience by starting to sing “this is the greatest…”, Michael handed the mic over to his son who beamed as he ended the lyric in front of his proud dad.

Since Noah’s diagnosis, Michael has shunned the limelight and posted only two updates on Facebook about his son’s condition – said to be improving after chemotherapy in the US.

The singer, also dad to one-year-old Elias, previously spoke about the family’s turmoil as he was honoured with a performing arts award in Ottawa.

He appeared emotional as he said: “My entire life has been inspired by how my family has made me feel.

“My wife, my children, my parents my sisters, my manager Bruce Allen, who are all here tonight.

“There are no words to describe how I feel about you.”

He recently confirmed his wife is expecting their third child and she’s having a girl.

The cheeky star beamed as he told an audience: “Oops, you did it again! My wife and I are pregnant with our number three!”

The 30-year-old Argentine model Luisana, who wed 42-year-old Michael in 2011, is due to give birth next month.

Actor Tab Hunter, star of ’Damn Yankees!’ movie, dead at 86

Tab Hunter, the blond actor and singer who was a heartthrob for millions of teenagers in the 1950s with such films as “Battle Cry” and “Damn Yankees!” and received new attention decades later when he revealed that he was gay, has died. He was 86.

Producer and spouse Allan Glaser said Hunter died Sunday of a blood clot in his leg that caused cardiac arrest. Glaser called the death “sudden and unexpected.”

Hunter was a star for several years. In addition to his hit movies, his recording of “Young Love” topped the Billboard pop chart in 1957.

But in his 2005 memoir, “Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star,” Hunter recounted the stresses of being a love object to millions of young women when he was, in reality, a gay man.

“I believed, wholeheartedly — still do — that a person’s happiness depends on being true to themselves,” he wrote. “The dilemma, of course, that was being true to myself — and I’m talking sexually now — was impossible in 1953.”
Among those stars honouring Hunter on Monday included Harvey Fierstein, who called Hunter a “gay icon” and a “true gentleman” on Twitter, adding, “We shared some good laughs back in the 80’s. I was always fond of this dear man.”

Zachary Quinto on Instagram also cheered Hunter’s “vital and generous nature” and called him a “pioneer of self-acceptance” who moved through the world “with authenticity as his guide.” GLAAD tweeted “Our hearts are with Tab’s loved ones.”

Born Arthur Andrew Kelm, his screen tab (slang for “name” at the time) was fabricated by Henry Willson, the same talent agent who came up with the names Rock Hudson and Rory Calhoun.

The legend goes that Willson said to the young man: “We’ve got to find something to tab you with. Do you have any hobbies?” His client answered, “I ride horses. Hunters.” Agent: “That’s it! We’ll call you Tab Hunter.”

With no dramatic training, Hunter was cast in a minor role in the 1950 drama, “The Lawless.” The fuss over the young actor began two years later when he appeared bare-chested opposite Linda Darnell in the British-made “Island of Desire.” Soon his handsome face and muscular build appeared on magazine covers. Warner Bros., alert to the increasingly important youth market, signed him to a contract.

Hunter made a flurry of movies in the latter half of the 1950s, aimed at capitalizing on his popularity with young girls. The films included such war dramas as “Battle Cry” (with Van Heflin) and “Lafayette Escadrille” (Clint Eastwood in a small role). He made the Westerns “The Burning Hills” (Natalie Wood) and “They Came to Cordura” (Gary Cooper, Rita Hayworth). And he made romantic comedies like “The Pleasure of His Company” (Fred Astaire, Debbie Reynolds.)

A highlight was the 1958 “Damn Yankees!,” an adaptation of the hit Broadway musical with Gwen Verdon and Ray Walston in their Tony-winning New York roles and the original director, George Abbott, sharing direction with Stanley Donen.

Besides the movies, he displayed his athletic skills — he had been a figure skater as well as horseman — in a TV special, “Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates.”

As with so many pop idols, his fans grew up and a new generation sought other favourites. His slide followed the classic pattern: to a television series (“The Tab Hunter Show,” on NBC, 1960-62); European films (“The Golden Arrow”) and cheap kid flicks (“Ride the Wild Surf.”) In his memoir, he took pains to note that “Ride the Wild Surf” was his only beach-party movie; his “Operation Bikini,” despite its title, was “yet another war movie.”

Over the years, he also played small roles in “The Loved One,” ”The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean“ and ”Grease 2.“

In the 1980s, he won new fans by appearing in cult movies with Divine, the 300-pound transvestite, notably John Waters’ 1981 “Polyester” and Paul Bartel’s 1985 “Lust in the Dust,” co-produced by Hunter himself.

Of “Polyester,” Hunter wrote: “Everybody got the joke. … For both John and me, our collaboration paid huge dividends: I’d helped ’legitimize’ his brand of movie, and he made me ’hip’ overnight.”

Hunter appeared on Broadway in 1964 in Tennessee Williams’ “The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore” opposite the formidable Tallulah Bankhead. The play closed within days, and he said it was “completely buried under Tallulah’s offhanded trademark campiness.”

Hunter was born in 1931 in New York City, the second son of a mechanic and his German immigrant wife. His father left the family two years later and the boy took his mother’s name, Gelien. Young Arthur Gelien grew up in San Francisco and Long Beach, California, and joined the Coast Guard at 15, lying about his age.

While in New York, he saw Broadway plays and became interested in acting. Back in California, Willson arranged for a two-word role in a small Western, “The Lawless.” He got $500 and a new name.

In his memoir, he said that his career flourished despite some innuendo and smear articles in the scandal sheets — “clear evidence that despite its self-righteous claims, ’Confidential’ magazine did not influence the taste and opinions of mainstream America.”

Writing the book was difficult, he told The Associated Press in 2005, “because I’m a really private person. I grew up full of denial. I just didn’t like any suggestions or questioning of my sexuality.”

In 1960, Hunter’s boy-next-door reputation did take a hit when he was charged with cruelty for allegedly beating his dog. (He was acquitted). In recent years, Hunter appeared in dinner theatres and organized film projects. After living on a ranch in New Mexico for a time, he took a home in Montecito in Santa Barbara County with Glaser.

He didn’t dwell on his Hollywood career or regret losing it. “I had my fling, and I was very fortunate,” he remarked. “But that’s all in my past.”

‘Spider-Man’ Artist Steve Ditko Has Died

Legendary cartoonist Steve Ditko, who helped create iconic comic characters like Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, has died.

He was 90.

Cops say Ditko was found dead inside his New York City apartment on June 29.

Born in Johnstown, Pa., Ditko began working for Marvel Comics in the late 1950s after a stint at arch-rival DC.

It was at Marvel where Ditko helped create Spider-Man in 1962, designing the beloved web slinger’s costume and colour scheme. The character became a smash hit.
The following year, Ditko created Doctor Strange before leaving Marvel in the mid-1960s following a dispute with Stan Lee.

Ditko freelanced for most of the rest of his career for a variety of publishers.

Called the “J.D. Salinger of the comics world,” the artist was intensely private and refused interviews. For the last few decades of his life, Ditko was for all intents and purposes a recluse.

“We didn’t approach him. He’s like J.D. Salinger. He is private and has intentionally stayed out of the spotlight like J.D. Salinger,” Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016.

No one had heard from the artist for several days before his body was found. Cops say the death is not considered suspicious.

Author Neil Gaiman tracked Ditko down in New York for his documentary, In Search of Steve Ditko.

“Steve Ditko was true to his own ideals. He saw things his own way, and he gave of ways of seeing that were unique,” Gaiman tweeted.

“Often copied. Never Equalled. I know I’m a different person because he was in the world.”