RIP - Oh gentle giant!

When the cryptic TOI headline screamed Michael Clarke dies - I was wondering what happended to the Oz captain?

Then to my shock I realized the gentle giant Mike who portrayed an Oscar-worthy role of the prisoner with magical powers in The Green Mile had died of a myocardial arrest!

Son of a single-mother who quit college to help his ailing mother and struggled as a bouncer and bodyguard before landing small roles; wowed everyone as John Coffey in The Green Mile. Tom Hanks was simply over-shadowed!

Other roles include Armageddon, Sin City, The Whole Nine Yards and voice-work in animation movies like Kung fu Panda.

Somehow he never got roles that would showcase his talents; a hulk of a man he would end up playing secret-agent second-fiddle roles or gang-member kind of roles.

RIP - oh gentle giant!

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The End of an Era, Sidney Sheldon dies-

I got my first Sidney Sheldon book at the age of 13, I think it was "The Other Side of Midnight." I was captivated by the sheer brilliance of the author, suspense and drama, that made me turn each page with eager expectation. As the years progressed I graduated to serious literature and philosophy, but Sidney Sheldon along with Robert Ludlum and Jeffrey Archer are my favourite authors.

Sidney died yesterday at the age of 89, because of complications related to pneumonia. He donned a variety of roles in his long and eventful life. Jewish by birth, he won his first prize of $ 10, for a poem that he wrote as a ten year kid. During the Depression of 1929, he held various jobs. He worked as a script-reader and eventually emerged as a script-writer himself, writing plays that were staged on Broadway. He served in the War as a pilot and used his experiences in "The Other Side of Midnight." He wrote and produced serials for television, with "I Dream of Jeannie," being one of the most loved comedies on American television. He wrote his first novel at 50, and then there was no stopping him, as his books broke one record after the other. His works have been translated into more than 30 languages and will be cherished as an author who was loved by many people across the globe transcending all boundaries of differences.

My favourite Sheldon books are-"If Tomorrow Comes," "The Doomsday Conspiracy" and "Master of the game."

Adieu Mr. Sidney Sheldon, you will be missed...