RIP Jeff Conaway 1950-2011

[Jan]

Well, it's generally phrased that he was 'most famous for...', and face it, B5 was a syndicated show with no set big network or set time. I did notice an article the other day that mentioned that B5 fans had taken that publication to task for not having mentioned B5.

Jan

[Jonas]

I know this is petty, but does it bother anyone else that he was the star of "Grease" instead of Babyon 5? I never thought B5 was just a "cult" show, but maybe I'm just part of the cult and don't realize it. I knew him from Taxi, which I thought he was good in. And I never once thought "Oh, look Bobby Wheeler is working for Garabaldi" I really like his work as Zack, some of my favorite little moments were his. I really don't know how they can go on with so many of the actors gone, but then I would never to be able to produce/write/star in anything so I'll leave that up to the experts. It's especially disappointing with this pending announcement, I don't know what it means, if anything, but it certainly can't help.

It does bother me, particularly because his role in B5 represents a really significant amount of work and screen time. And because the impression I got from interviews was that the part meant a lot to him.

[AmyG]

I did notice an article the other day that mentioned that B5 fans had taken that publication to task for not having mentioned B5.

I saw that too, Jan. I think it was in zap2it.com, maybe?

And Jonas, actually, I read somewhere that Zack in B5 was his longest-running role, so it really was significant, and not just in our minds!

[Marsden]

It does bother me, particularly because his role in B5 represents a really significant amount of work and screen time. And because the impression I got from interviews was that the part meant a lot to him.

Thank you, Jonas, that's what I had in mind, a movie is only 2 hours, he was in dozens of episodes and 3 of the movies on TNT over a span of 5 years, that does seem significant to me. I am of course prejudiced in favor of B5 but you really can't argue he was there for 4+ seasons.

Jan, you're right, of course, but have so few people watched B5? I don't know, because I feel bad about the whole thing, his life means more than his work and I'm quibbling about what the gossip columnists are headlining his death announcements.

[DeMonk]

One paper in Belgium "De Morgen" did mention Babylon 5 in his obituary. I was quite surprised since it was never shown on flemish tv. None of the other papers mentioned it though. So I think the writer must have been a fan.

[KoshN]

Thank you, Jonas, that's what I had in mind, a movie is only 2 hours, he was in dozens of episodes and 3 of the movies on TNT over a span of 5 years, that does seem significant to me. I am of course prejudiced in favor of B5 but you really can't argue he was there for 4+ seasons.

Jan, you're right, of course, but have so few people watched B5? I don't know, because I feel bad about the whole thing, his life means more than his work and I'm quibbling about what the gossip columnists are headlining his death announcements.

I think it's a case of the news stories tending to mention the actor's mainstream roles and that's as deep as the news story writers feel they have to go, that is, the writers are just being lazy or have very little time to spend on the story. It's similar to Stephen Furst being known only for "Animal House" or Mira Furlan being mentioned as an actress who was in "Lost" (a very popular TV show). WE know that Jeff, Stephen and Mira had much more screentime on B5, but the mention of Babylon 5 probably wouldn't mean anything to the average person reading the news story.


I swear, sometimes it's like you have to twist people's arms completely off to get them to acknowledge Babylon 5's existence. Such are the marketing forces that were behind Babylon 5, and that's what worries me about the chances of a Babylon 5 theatrical movie or new TV show success. With Warner Brothers behind it, Babylon 5 might as well be invisible. It'd take a sizeable, prolonged marketing campaign behind a Babylon 5 feature film to capture the attention of the mainstream, and I just don't see Warner Brothers going to that much trouble. Lacking that, a B5 feature film will probably do about as well as the "Serenity" feature film of the Firefly franchise did, that is, not very well.

[JoeD80]

I saw a few articles mention his Babylon 5 work, even one calling it a hit series.

[DGTWoodward]

Now correct me if I am wrong, but at a convention, Jeff himself mentioned playing Danny Zucco in Grease for several years on stage before ending up as Kenickie in the movie version.

I remember this specifically because he mentioned initially turning it down because they hadn't offered him the Danny role....describing Kenickie as a "No-neck monster"

...then coming to his senses and running back and accepting it gratefully

That story went down very well at the con. It got a good laugh. My lord! He was there, I was there, he was in front of me, we spoke, shook hands...shared a short conversation.

I still really cannot quite believe it!

[DGTWoodward]

My permanent reminder of Jeff C...

[Jan]

Great picture, DTGW, and great story. Yes, I did know that Jeff played Danny on Broadway but I didn't know that he'd turned down the Kinicke (or however you spell that) role at first.

Jan

[KoshN]

My permanent reminder of Jeff C...

Nice picture. That's how I prefer to remember him.

[Garibaldi's Hair]

Now correct me if I am wrong, but at a convention, Jeff hmself mentioned playing Danny Zucco in Grease for several years on stage before ending up as Kenickie in the movie version.

I remember this specifically because he mentioned initially turning it down because they hadn't offered him the Danny role....

...then coming to his senses and running back and accepting it gratefully

I remember reading an interview with Jeff where he talked about this and, if memory serves, he said that when he did agree to play Kenickie in the movie version he at least thought he would finally get to sing "Greased Lightning" (which is Kenickie's song and car in the stage version), only to find that the movie versions had given them both to Danny.

[moreorless]

RIP, just just watching the nightwatch phase of B5 recently and yet again he stood out as the guy who was really key to selling the drama of that story.

[Karen]

Sadly, he was not included in the on air emmy tribute.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/09/19/jeff-conaway-in-memoriam-emmy/

[Dan Dassow]

Sadly, he was not included in the on air emmy tribute.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/09/19/jeff-conaway-in-memoriam-emmy/

The Emmy broadcast wasted precious air time cutting back to show the singers. It would have been better to include two or three more tributes than to show the singers and the audience.