Robert Osborne, TCM host and film historian, dies at 84

http://www.courant.com/entertainment/ct-robert-osborne-dead-20170306-story.html ^ | 3/6/2017 | Carmel Dagan

[CaptainK]

Film historian Robert Osborne, the effervescent primetime host of Turner Classic Movies since the cabler's inception in 1994, has died. He was 84.

TCM released a statement saying, "All of us at Turner Classic Movies are deeply saddened by the death of Robert Osborne. Robert was a beloved member of the Turner family for more than 23 years."

Osborne was an irrepressible advocate for the films of Hollywood's golden era who wrote the Motion Picture Academy-sanctioned "50 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards" in 1978 and a number of updates ending in 2008 with "80 Years of the Oscar."

[joseph2]

I guess people may have suspected as much, but Osborne was private about his private life. This was to his credit. He may have realized that his older fans may not have been comfortable with this. But as noted earlier, he was not political, which was also smart. (That could have alienated people, as well.) He just seemed like a classy person of the old school, with a certain amount of propriety. I wish that there was more of that today.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Absolutely right. I've lived long enough to see a lot of things. Every town has one or two older "gentleman" like Robert Osborne, respectable and circumspect about their private life, and keeping their business to themselves.

What people object to is when open fruits start proselytizing and harming children. Robert Osborne was classy and steered clear of that dung.