Wow...2 in 1 day: Rene Auberjonois & Caroll Spinney RIP

NY Times | 12/8/19

[hoagy62]

Two famous actors passed away today. Rene Auberjonois was 79. He played a snooty staffer opposite Robert Guiiaume in the 80's series 'Benson'. He was slightly morer famous for playing the shape-shifting Founder 'Odo' on 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'.

The other was Carrol Spinney, who was 85. You probably don't know him by face, but you definitely knew him as his characters. He was the first and original 'Big Bird' and 'Oscar the Grouch' on 'Sesame Street' providing both the voices and puppetry for the characters. He only gave up being the characters not that long ago.

[Galactic Overlord-In-Chief]

I wasn’t sure if Eisenberg counted as a main cast member, always thought of him as a supporting one. But toward the last few seasons he definitely rose in importance, especially with the Dominion war arc.

[BillyBoy]

Yes I guess you could technically say that Eisenberg would be considered more of a supporting cast member, but he was part of the regular cast on the show, as opposed to a reoccurring guest star.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Phillips also had a role in “Critters”. Funny in person too.

[Repeal 16-17]

Odo is once again one with the Great Link. RIP Rene Auberjonois.

[Tijeras_Slim]

He played Odo with great class.

I watched the last episode of DS9 a couple days ago.

[wally_bert]

Odo was one of the better people on DS9.

He will always be Clayton Endicott of Benson.

[wally_bert]

A movie with more talent than 99 percent of what’s on now.

[married21]

I saw Aberjonois live on stage in a play called the Foreigner. In San Francisco in the 80s. Charlene Tilton from “Dallas” was also in it. Very very funny.

[Mozilla]

Big fan of the muppets. Carroll was 85. Red was also on Benson after M*A*S*H ended.

[Mozilla]

Rene I mean.

[minnesota_bound]

#18 Aron Eisenberg who played Nog passed away in Sept.

[Lisbon1940]

The link doesn’t work.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Rene Auberjonois’s exchanges as a comic foil to Robert Guillaume on “Benson” were fantastic. Sad to see his passing. They don’t have that level of comedic writing anymore in sitcoms. He was great on DS9, too, but I preferred him funny. RIP.

[NFHale]

“...part of my childhood died....”

Happens to all of us, brother. I had the exact same reaction when Charles M. Schultz died. Charlie Brown and Snoopy and the Peanuts gang were some of the most wonderful characters of my childhood.

Sad news.

[Impy]

Wow, contrast Bablyon 5 where several have bit the dust.

I’m a big DS9 fan.

Lots of memorable roles, Odo, Benson, Boston Legal (which I watched until it became unbearably liberal, I thought Spader’s shtick was more effective on the more serious “The Practice” than it was as the focus of the show), didn’t know he was a voice in the Little Mermaid too.

Lung Cancer, quit smoking yall.

RIP

RIP also to Mr. Spinney, Big Bird and Oscar, I know I watched S Street when I was little but I don’t have many memories of it. I do think Oscar was my favorite though.

[Political Junkie Too]

Wikipedia says that Auberjonois' great-great-great grandmother was Napoleon Bonaparte's sister.

-PJ

[GOPsterinMA]

Rene Auberjonois: Benson. MASH (the movie). Good actor. RIP.

Sesame Street: Yeah.

Charles M. Schultz: That one stung.

[Galactic Overlord-In-Chief]

Wow, contrast Bablyon 5 where several have bit the dust.

A lot of losses there. Andreas Katsulas stung; he was good on both B5 and Star Trek:TNG as Tomalak. They should have brought him back for one of the Star Trek movies when they could.

I recently read Joe Stracyznski’s memoir and he elaborates on the sad fates of some of the B5 cast. I had heard Jerry Doyle had some problems with alcoholism but apparently it manifested in the last season of B5, and overdrinking directly contributed to his death. Jeff Conway’s drug issues also started to pop up again in B5’s last season. He also filled in more details about Michael O’Hare’s last years in a halfway house that I didn’t know about.

Lots of memorable roles, Odo, Benson, Boston Legal (which I watched until it became unbearably liberal, I thought Spader’s shtick was more effective on the more serious “The Practice” than it was as the focus of the show), didn’t know he was a voice in the Little Mermaid too.

Apparently Auberjonois was a pretty active voice actor, though sometimes he tended to drop in for just one episode of a show. I was surprised to learn he voiced a James Bond-type villain in an episode of the 80s Disney cartoon DuckTales and a scientist in a 1992 episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. His voice work picked up in later years post-DS9, though.

RIP also to Mr. Spinney, Big Bird and Oscar, I know I watched S Street when I was little but I don’t have many memories of it. I do think Oscar was my favorite though.

I caught Sesame Street when I was a kid, and as I grew up in the 1980s, I got into it at the time after Mr. Hooper had died but recent enough that I would occasionally see him in some episodes. This was also when Elmo was around but the show had not yet pushed him to the forefront, and when Kermit would make appearances. I remember stuff like some of the Count’s segments, the pinball animated sequences, the occasional Spanish lessons, the Christmas special, and the “rubber duckie” song.” I quit watching sometime after the early 90s when I outgrew the show. I’m sure someone can tell me if the show went downhill after that.

Charles Schultz’s death was sad, but I wasn’t too shocked because I knew he had cancer and didn’t have long to live. I was surprised that he literally died along with his strip; he died the day of his last strip.

Now Jim Henson, that was a stunner. That one still stings to this day.

[Clemenza]

Loved him in the film “Images” as well, although I had a bad dating experience the day that I saw it.

[Impy]

The pinball is the main thing I remember.

I recall my kindergarten (!) teacher had a picture of herself with Jim Henson and she was very sad when he died.