In Memoriam:
Eugene McCarthy: 1916-2005

Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Eugene McCarthy, a former Democratic senator from Minnesota who ran for president in 1968 on a platform opposing to the Vietnam War, died today. He was 89.

McCarthy died in his sleep at a retirement home in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood, according to his son, Michael. McCarthy ran against President Lyndon Johnson for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination, leading Johnson to withdraw from the race.
--Bloomberg.com

Richard Pryor: 1940-2005

Richard Pryor, whose blunt, blue and brilliant comedic confrontations confidently tackled what many stand-up comic's before him deemed too shocking—and thus off-limits—to broach, died this morning. He was 65 .Pryor suffered a heart attack at his home in San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles early Saturday morning. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

The comedian's tremendous body of work, a political movement in itself, was steeped in race, class, social commentary, and encompassed the stage, screen, records and television. He won five Grammys, an Emmy and was an Academy Award nominee for his role in "Lady Sings the Blues" in 1972.
--Newsday/LA Times

Two people forever connected to the upheaval and changes of the 60s and 70s are gone, both on the same day. At age 89, Eugene McCarthy had a long and prosperous life. He was a giant-slayer. When he set out on his "Children's Crusade against the War in Vietnam, challenging incumbent president Lyndon Johnson, no one thought he had any chance to win. He didn't, of course, but what he revealed was a deep and powerful strain of sentiment that led Johnson to withdraw from the race. What a moment that was. A sign of the times of that turbulent year, 1968, an iconic year in itself.

I always thought it a shame that he shared the same last name with the other Senator McCarthy from Minnesota's neighbor, Wisconsin.(When I Googled "McCarthy" for an image, all I came up with was Joseph. I had to add Eugene to get the one I wanted!) Thanks to infamy, Joe McCarthy will live on as a negative icon. Eugene McCarthy is more than an icon. He was an American warrior who stood up for the least and the lost and challenged the powers-that-be.

At age 65, it is more than a miracle that Richard Pryor lived that long! He burst into the world- exploded- with power and energy and in-your-face racial comedy, satire, and social commentary. He says that he had "to tell the truth" and did he ever. He had his own demons. His nmear-death self-immolation while on a cocaine free-basing binge, a previous heart attack and years upon years of drug abuse took its toll. But Richard Pryor was without equal. He changed us- forever!

In the close to the Newsday/LA Times article quoted above, Lynell George wrote:

It was musician Miles Davis who once gave Pryor a key piece of advice during his Village days—"Listen to the music inside your head, Rich. Play with your heart." He did. Until his instrument just wore out.

I think the same can be said of McCarthy. He, too, played the music he heard in his head through his heart. His was the music of peace in the midst of a troubled war. It was also his presence of peace in the midst of a troubled world.

He has left us when I fear we need his voice all over again.