Miss Brahms, Are You Free? - Wendy Richard 

One of the staples in my household is on Saturday nights turning the TV to the local PBS station to watch British comedies from the BBC- also known as Britcoms. Here I have watched the shows “Keeping Up Appearances ” “The Victor of Dibley,” “BlackAdder,” “Red Dwarf,” Waiting For God,” and of course “Are You Being Served.”

“Are You Being Served?”was a long-running British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. The show centered on a fictional store in London called Grace Brothers and the workers of it’s men’s and women’s department. The show made great fun of the British class system and included recurring characters such as the effeminate Mr. Humphries; Captain Peacock, the haughty floorwalker who fought in World War: the boisterous Mrs. Slocombe with her ever-changing hair color and whose jokes about her cat help make the show; and the lovely Miss Shirley Brahms, a sales representative with a heavy Cockney accent.

Miss Brahms was played by Wendy Richard who has taken her Final Taxi. Richard played that role through the entire run of the series and also appeared in the Are You Being Served? sequel Grace & Favour in 1992 and 1993. (This was repacked in the US as Are You Being Served Again?)

Richard was first seen on BBC TV in a 1960 soap opera, The Newcomers. She has also appeared in Dad’s and in two of the British comedy films series Carry On (Carry On Matron and Carry On Girls) What really surprised me recently is that I purchased the newly digitally reworked version of The Beatles movie Help! (1965) and in the special features DVD was a scene that was not in the original movie that starred our own Wendy Richard. It was a treat being a fan of The Beatles and of Richard.

Richard breathes a life of her own into the Miss Brahms character. She was one of the few members of the cast who was sexy and attention grabbing which means she was always getting advances and flirted with. This was not only by members for the staff but customers as well. Many of the innuendos thrown at her went over her head as she had a “dumb blonde” nature. It is what made the character so well loved.

After the gaiety of Are You Being Served? Wendy Richard joined the cast of the BBC soap opera EastEnders playing the role of played the long-suffering matriarch Pauline Fowler. She played this role from the first episode in 1985 until the character’s death at Christmas of 2006. It was a part she played for over 22 years.

In 2007, Richard was awarded a British Soap Award for ‘Lifetime Achievement’ for her role in Eastenders. In October 2008 it was reported that she was suffering with an aggressive cancer. She died at a clinic in London with her husband John Burns by her side. She was 65.

Other Final Taxi riders:

Majel Barrett, 77, began her career in the 1950’s with roles in such popular shows as "Leave it to Beaver," "Bonanza" and "The Lucy Show; but it was her numerous roles in the legendary Star Trek franchise that fans came to know and love her. Creator, Roddenberry, had featured roles in almost every Star Trek television and film entity and became an iconic figure within the fan community. Her roles included Nurse Chapel in Star Trek: The Original Series, Lwaxana Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the voice of the USS Enterprise computer in almost every incarnation of the series.
Van Johnson , 92.  Movie star  who emerged as a popular leading man during the 1940s. Among his films were "Brigadoon," "A Guy Named Joe" and "The Caine Mutiny. Also "Three Guys Named Mike." Other notable credits from the 1950s include "23 Paces to Baker Street," "The End of the Affair," "The Last Time I Saw Paris," "Brigadoon," "Siege at Red River"  "Plymouth Adventure."Yours, Mine and Ours"
Johnson played the villain The Minstrel on the campy hit TV series "Batman." (Coincidentally Mr. Johnson is the third actor to play a villain on the TV series "Batman" to die on December 12th: Tallulah Bankhead-12/12/1968 and Anne Baxter-12/12/1985 being the others.)
Bettie Page, pin-up icon, and model for ‘photography clubs’ which allowed men to come and take photos of naked models. Page was one of the first Playboy Playmates of the Month (January 1955). Comic book artist and writer Dave Stevens based the girlfriend of his hero "The Rocketeer" on Bettie Page.
Robert Prosky, 77, was a actor who made his feature film debut at age 51 in Michael Mann's intense crime thriller/character study "Thief." Prosky appeared in over 70 films and TV shows during his career.  Feature film credits include "The Chamber," "Dead Man Walking," "The Scarlet Letter," the remake of "Miracle on 34th Street," "Rudy," "Last Action Hero," "Hoffa," "Far and Away," "Green Card," "Gremlins 2," "The Great Outdoors," "Broadcast News," "Outrageous Fortune," "The Keep," "John Carpenter's Christine," "The Lords of Discipline," "Monsignor" and "Hanky Panky" "The Natural"  & "Mrs. Doubtfire."
Nina Foch, 84. actress who received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her work opposite William Holden in the 1954 film "Executive Suite " and a  Emmy nomination was for "Lou Grant." Foch appeared in over 160 films and TV shows during her 65-year career.  She played Moses' adoptive mother Bithiah in Cecil B. Demille's 1956 epic "The Ten Commandments." Director Stanley Kubrick also used Ms. Foch in his epic "Spartacus." Horror movie fans remember Ms. Foch for the 1940s films "The Return of the Vampire" with Bela Lugosi, "Cry of the Werewolf" and the 1970s "Carrie" rip-off "Jennifer." Other notable credits include "Sliver," Blake Edwards' "Skin Deep," George Cukor's final film "Rich and Famous," "Mahogany," Otto Preminger's "Such Good Friends," "Cash McCall," "Scaramouche," "An American in Paris," "Johnny O'Clock," "A Thousand and One Nights" and Bud Boetticher's "Escape in the Fog."
Beverly Garland, 82, actress best known for her role as Fred MacMurray's wife on the hit TV series "My Three Sons." She also had a cult following for her roles in a number of monster movies including "It Conquered the World," the original version of "Not of This Earth" and "The Alligator People."
Paul Benedict, 70,  a character actor who was best known for his role as Harry Bentley on the hit TV sitcom "The Jeffersons." Appearing in over 50 films and TV shows during his career including  "A Mighty Wind," "The Devil's Advocate," "Waiting for Guffman," "The Addams Family," "This Is Spinal Tap," "The Man with Two Brains," "The Goodbye Girl," "Smile," "Mandingo," "The Front Page," "Up the Sandbox," "Jeremiah Johnson," "Deadhead Miles," "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight," "They Might Be Giants" and "Cold Turkey."
Louis Guss, 90. often cast as Italian and in other blue collar ethnic roles, he appeared as Dominic in "Harry and Tonto," as Raymond Coppomaggi in "Moonstruck" and also appeared in "New York, New York," "Girlfight," "Two Family House," "The Cemetery Club," "Used People" and "Slaves of New York." His several TV shows include Golden Girls," "Chicago Hope," "Maude," "The Odd Couple"and "Cagney and Lace.
John Ahern, 74. artist for the TV series The Adventures of Gulliver, Cattanooga Cats, Josie and the Pussycats, The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Speed Buggy, The New Tom & Jerry Show, The Mumbly Cartoon Show and BraveStarr
Studs Terkel, 96, Author and talk-radio legend 
Ray Ellis, 85. arranged such classic pop tunes as "Chances Are," "Come To Me" and "That Certain Smile" by Johnny Mathis, "Splish Splash" and "Dream Lover" by Bobby Darin, and "Standing on the Corner" and "Moments to Remember" by the Four Lads. Also arranged for such acts as Doris Day ("Everybody Loves a Lover"), Tony Bennett, The Drifters, Connie Francis, Judy Garland and Ray Price during a career of nearly 65 years. He also did music for Spiderman cartoons
Estelle Reiner,94. actress, singer,  wife of Carl Reiner and the mother of directors Rob and Lucas Reiner and writer Annie.  Most people remember her for delivering a single line in her son Rob's film "When Harry met Sally." Following the scene in the restaurant where Meg Ryan shows Billy Crystal how easy it is for a woman to fake an orgasm, Ms. Reiner says to her waiter "I'll have what she's having." Ms. Reiner's other film and TV credits include "Hot to Trot," Mel Brooks' version of "To Be or Not to Be," "The Man with Two Brains," "Fatso" and "Marathon."
 

Bad Week For Musicians -  5 dead this week as Paul Davis, Al Wilson, Danny Fenderici and other took their Final Taxi: Listen to Mp3
Charlton Heston, who won an Oscar for his leading role in Ben-Hur, has taken His Final Taxi at 84. On screen, Heston was best known as the star of religious and historic epics—he played Moses in The Ten Commandments and John the Baptist in The Greatest Story Ever Told also Sci-Fi movies like Planet of the Apes and The Omega Man Listen to Mp3
Brunkert, Dixon and Gynax- 3 Who have taken that Final Taxi- as the Final Taxi resumes podcasting this week. Listen to Mp3
George Carlin - landmark comic who  appeared in numerous films and TV shows. He had over a dozen "HBO Specials." Mr. Carlin was the first guest host of the landmark comedy series "Saturday Night Live." George Carlin wirked with director Kevin Smith on several projects including "Jersey Girl," "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" and "Dogma." He leant his distinctive voice to a number of animated film and TV projects as well as his live acting credits. Mr. Carlin's many credits include "Cars," "Scary Movie 3," "The Simpsons," "Shining Time Station," "The Prince of Tides," "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey," "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure," "Americathon," "Welcome Back, Kotter," "With Six You Get Eggroll," "That Girl," "The Aristocrats," "The Daily Show," "Dennis Miller Live," "Late Show with David Letterman," "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," "The Carol Burnett Show" and "The Ed Sullivan Show."
Robert J. Anderson - Actor best remembered for playing George Bailey as a child in Frank Capra's classic "It's a Wonderful Life." His other acting credits include "A Place in the Sun," "Samson and Delilah," "The Bishop's Wife," "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," "The Officer and the Lady" and Shirley Temple's "Young People." :: MORE
Stanley Kamel, 65,  actor in over 110 films and TV shows recently playing the psychiatrist Charles Kroger in the current hit TV series "Monk." TV and film roles include  "Melrose Place," "Beverly Hills, 90210" "Murder One." "The West Wing," "General Hospital," as Death in HBO's "Six Feet Under," "NYPD Blue," "7th Heaven," "ER," "Murder She Wrote," "Diagnosis Murder," "Honor Thy Father and Mother: The True Story of the Menendez Murders," "MacGyver," "L.A. Law," "Cagney & Lacey," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Hill Street Blues," "Star 80," "Barney Miller," "Making Love," "The Incredible Hulk," "Corvette Summer," "Kojak," "Get Christie Love!," "The Rookies," "Mannix" and "Mission: Impossible."
Richard Widmark, 93, one of Hollywood's finest actors. Remember for such films as Death of a Gunslinger Murder on the Orient Express, Rollercoaster, Who Dares Win, Against All Odds, Blackout &  Hanky Panky .
Ivan Dixon,76, Emmy-nominated actor, producer and director.  Best known for his role as Sgt. Kinchloe on the hit TV series "Hogan's Heroes. :: MORE
Dave Stevens,52, Comic book and pin-up artist. Stevens created the character "The Rocketeer." :: MORE
Gary Gygax,69, Co-creator of the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons :: MORE
Suzanne Pleshette , 70, multi-Emmy nominated actress  staring in "Nevada Smith" Hitchcock's "The Birds, It It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium," "The Geisha Boy," "Fate is the Hunter," "A Rage to Live," "The Power," "Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?," "Support Your Local Gunfighter," "The Shaggy DA" and "Oh God, Book 2." Known by millions on the Bob Newhart Show. -- Listen to Mp3

The name The Final Taxi comes from the last car that you ever have to pay someone to drive you.  Some call it a funeral coach, a coffin car, funeral vehicle, or a hearse  but it is the most popular way for a body in a casket to be taken from a church or funeral home to a cemetery, a similar burial site, or a crematorium. I prefer the term Final Taxi.

Maybe reading about death of someone who I admired sound morbid to you but I like knowing a little more about that person and what they did in their lifetime. Everyone has a piece of this puzzle called life.

Think of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life." Everyone has an affect on other people's life. Even their deaths have the effect. There are so many people who have touch my life and some I will never know.

I once had a job as a floral delivery boy. I had to go to a different town to deliver to a funeral. There I saw that the local theatre had a film I wanted to see. I came back and was friendly with a concession girl. We later dated and she became my wife of over 25 years with 3 kids. If that person had not died, I never would have met my wife and had my family.

Mainly what I hope to cover is people who were celebrities in a minor or forgotten role of life. I 'll let the major media handle the Lady Di, the Anna Nicloe Smith and Ronald Reagan stories.
I hope that you may read or hear a story of someone whose life touched yours.

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