Farewell, Darren McGavin

I'm sad to report another celebrity death this weekend - actor Darren McGavin has died.  He was 83 years old.  Reports say he died of natural causes. 

McGavin starred in the television series "Mike Hammer" and "Kolchak - the Night Stalker" but is probably more well known for his role as Ralphie's dad in the holiday classic "A Christmas Story."   In "Kolchak - the Night Stalker", McGavin played a reporter who investigated supernatural occurances.  "Kolchak" was the inspiration for the hit series (and one of my all-time favorite shows) "The X-Files", and because of this, McGavin was asked to play the role of Arthur Dales, the man who started the X-Files.  McGavin appeared in three episodes of the show. 

I loved watching "Kolchak" with my Grandpa when I was little.  I was pretty brave, and didn't scare too easily from things on TV and movies, but just in case I would always sit in the floor next to Grandpa's chair while we watched it. (I thought I'd better sit close to him in case he got scared.)  The show didn't deal too much with aliens, like "The X-FIles" did, but it still had some wild stuff on there. 

Darren McGavin also appeared in several episodes of "Murphy Brown" as Murphy's father.  McGavin won an Emmy in 1990 for his portrayal of yet another rough, but loving father. 

People might not remember Darren McGavin as the star of "Mike Hammer" or "The Night Stalker" but they will be quick to say they know him as Ralphie's father in "A Christmas Story." One of my favorite scenes featuring McGavin is when Ralphie's father is a "major prize winner" in a contest, and wins a lamp made like a shapely woman's leg, complete with fishnet stockings.  When Ralphie's dad was opening the crate that contained his major prize, he saw the word "fragile" stamped on the crate, and pronouced the word "frah-gee-lay", and said it must have been imported from Italy.  Thanks to you, Darren, we'll never look at the word "fragile" the same way again.