“Film sets and theatre stages are all far poorer for the loss of this great actor and man.”
~Daniel Radcliffe
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I didn’t expect that I’d be doing this twice in one week. We recently lost three incredibly influential artists beginning with Lemmy Kilmister, who passed away on December 28th at the age of 70. Two days ago we said farewell to another iconic musician, David Bowie, whose final album was released days before his death. Today I opened my eyes and read the news about Mr. Alan Rickman, a remarkable talent in both the theater and on the silver screen. I understand that the wild popularity of the Harry Potter series has cemented Mr. Rickman as Severus Snape for an entire generation of moviegoers. To me, he will always be Hans Gruber.
Terrible sequels aside, Die Hard (1988) is a fantastic film, with technical innovations and a thoroughly entertaining plot. It was one of the first R-rated films I ever saw, too. The forbidden fruit of violence was deeply appreciated by a much younger version of myself. I was too young at the time to concern myself overmuch with the biographies of the actors. I was all about the action, the adventure, the story. This particular film has proved to wear well with age, too. I watch it a couple of times a year, I’d say, and it has yet to lose its luster. As a matter of fact, it may just have a seat at the top of the all-time best Christmas movies. But that’s just me.
Reading through biographies and obituaries today, it appears that he lived a scandal-free life. was well-loved by his colleagues, and was incredibly generous with his heart and with his time. He will be sorely missed.
As with Mr. Bowie, I have decided upon an illustration of Mr. Rickman in my favorite role (and one of his first major film roles).
Farewell, good sir. I know what I’ll be watching tonight.
LenseBender 