God Bless You, Cpl Newkirk

Richard Dawson died two days ago. He was remembered by the news outlets as the smooching host of Family Feud in the 1970s. But before that he was a regular panelist on Match Game, and before that, Cpl. Newkirk in Hogan's Heroes , which is the Richard Dawson I first met.

I remember watching an episode of Hogan's Heroes in which Newkirk was dressed as a woman in the back of a tarp-covered truck and told Col. Hogan he was having "the vapors." I have no idea to this day what the vapors are, but my dad must have; it was one of a handful of times I heard him laugh out loud at something on TV.

Sadder than the passing of a friendly childhood personality are the TV eulogies delivered by people who didn't remember him and don't care.

Dawson died from esophageal cancer, the same cancer that took Dad.
Dad was a teetotaler and nonsmoker.

Cancer doesn't discriminate.

Started 2012-06-03