<a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_lGIKTn_V0hU/SqrDCXHh0FI/AAAAAAAAAkA/GZO6p4MhrTA/s1600-h/ritter.jpg”><img style=”margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 240px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_lGIKTn_V0hU/SqrDCXHh0FI/AAAAAAAAAkA/GZO6p4MhrTA/s400/ritter.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380327150180225106″ border=”0″ /></a><br />I almost forgot about this little-known fact. I remember when John <span id=”SPELLING_ERROR_0″>Ritter</span>, master of comedy as well as drama, died. I was doing a brief subbing stint for a middle school and a student casually mentioned this— heard by way of a parent— and I could have been knocked over by a feather. I stopped what I was doing and came to full attention. How could such a vibrant, funny, attractive, and YOUNG guy possibly have died? As it was, MANY similar men and women had met their fates on this day in 2001, and yet something about this comedian’s death really struck me. Perhaps it was the recognizable face.<br /><br />Today I sat at the PC in my library cubicle and loaded children’s books into the database (as usual) when I suddenly came across a Clifford book and my memory was instantly jogged. You see, the character Clifford the Big Red Dog was animated by John <span id=”SPELLING_ERROR_1″>Ritter</span>. This man’s amicable, easy voice came into thousands of children’s homes and brought to life one of their favorite characters. Heck: it’s STILL one of my favorites and I vividly remember my second grade teacher reading Clifford’s adventures to us. What would this big red dog do next? When Clifford came to television, I again began to follow him. The fact that zany “Jack Tripper” infused this character with life was icing on the cake.<br /><br />I have a lot of respect for actors who have mastered both comedy and drama. This is a huge challenge, and I can only think of several— off hand— whom I think have done it well: John <span id=”SPELLING_ERROR_2″>Ritter</span>, Billy Bob Thornton, Robin Williams, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Burnett, and maybe Tom Hanks. They’re all that immediately come to mind from my lifespan. “<span id=”SPELLING_ERROR_3″>Slingblade</span>”, one of my favorite movies, demonstrates both <span id=”SPELLING_ERROR_4″>Ritter’s</span> and Thornton’s abilities for the profound.<br /><br />It’s odd to think that out of such a grave, desperate date on the calendar one can lift up a talented, well-loved person from which to draw creativity, vibrancy, and authenticity. And to celebrate exactly why he/she was here. Although we leave under different circumstances, we are all human in our earthly forms and fragile in our collective exquisiteness.<input id=”gwProxy” type=”hidden”><!–Session data–><input onclick=”jsCall();” id=”jsProxy” type=”hidden”><div id=”refHTML”></div>
