I woke up this morning to a spectacular sunrise, and the news that David Bowie had died. I was first aware of him when he starred as an alien in “The Man Who Fell to Earth” in 1976. That same year I was lamenting the final concert, The Last Waltz, of my favourite group of musicians, The Band, and never really paid attention to Bowie’s music. My loss.
David Bowie played his first starring role in the 1976 British sci-fi film “The Man Who Fell to Earth”. He played Thomas Jerome Newton, a humanoid alien who comes to Earth from a distant planet on a mission to take water back to his home planet, which is experiencing a catastrophic drought.
This evening, my friend Samadhi came over for dinner and we talked about Bowie, who turned 69 this past Friday. She had been a big fan in her teens in Israel and later saw him perform in Vancouver. Samadhi played YouTube videos for me of some of his hits – “Dance With Me” and “China Girl” – and then a mix of “Under Pressure” with Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991 and also would have been 69 now.
I’ve been googling who else is or would have been my age. Some famous members of Club 69, in no particular order:
Patti Smith, singer (also born on Dec. 30)
Steven Spielberg, screenwriter and director
Dolly Parton, singer
David Lynch, director
Gene Siskel, journalist, died in 1999
Serge Savard, Montreal Canadiens star
Charlotte Rampling, actor
Pete Postlethwaite, actor
Gregory Hines, dancer and actor
Sandy Duncan, actor
J. Geils, guitarist
Alan Rickman, actor
Tyne Daly, actor
Eugene Levy, actor
Edgar Winter, guitarist
Marianne Faithfull, singer
Bill Lee, baseball player
Diane von Furtsenberg, fashion designer
Bill Clinton, retired politician
George W. Bush, retired politician
Donald Trump, blowhard
Sylvester Stallone, actor
Cher, singer
Tommy Lee Jones, actor
Sally Field, actor
Susan Sarandon, actor
Liza Minnelli, singer
Danny Glover, actor
Candice Bergen, actor
Suzanne Somers, actor
Alan Rickman, actor
Jimmy Buffett, singer
Jayne Eastwood, actor
Howard Shore, composer
Keith Moon, drummer, died 1978
Linda Ronstadt, singer
Barry Gibb, singer
Reggie Jackson, baseball player
Patty Duke, actor
Steve Biko, activist, died 1977
Lesley Gore, singer, died 2015
John Prine, musician
Donovan, musician
Oliver Stone, director
Romeo Delaire, former Canadian general
Ilie Nastase, tennis player
Daryl Hall, musician
Bill Kreutzmann, drummer
Anne Wheeler, director
I too was sad to hear of Bowie’s passing. I had a dear friend from my college years who was in and out of the mental health system. She often spoke about how the support groups in the hospital would read and discuss the words to his songs as a window into their own lives. I couldn’t help but think about all the lives he has comforted in such a profound way. Blessings and grace go with David.