A fond farewell
The notable artists, Chicago institutions and more that left us in 2020 will live on in our memories
It feels likewe lost theworld this year, or at least a large part of it, doesn’t it? But I will not offer any personal thoughts about this most daunting, demanding and deadly year. No philosophy. I am, as are you I have to think, eager to move on, toward that light flickering at the end of a long tunnel and seeming to promise a better and safer place, relief.
Last year at this time, my colleagues and Iwere asked to look back on a decade and tell you what things or places or people had vanished, erased by death or otherwise trampled into memories. We did so, not by providing endless lists (whichwould have been quite possible) but rather by limiting our “selections” to but a few. Yes, therewas some sadness in reading, in feeling the losses. But therewas some surprising comfort too and some insight into theway at least some of us think.
Things change. People die. Life goes on and as the future offers who-knowwhat, our memories can provide some comfort and maybe even a smile and the hope for tomorrows to come. The following are fromsome of the Tribune’s writers and critics for 2020.
FromNinaMetz, who writes about television and film:
Quibi: Itwas the year of streaming, and ifwe include the last two months of 2019, we sawfive new major companies enter the market, with one notably going out of business after just a few months— faster than you can say, “What’smy password again?” The rise and fall of Quibi, the mobile-only streaming platform, was a $1.75 billion venture fromJeffrey Katzenberg and MegWhitman, whose combined tenures heading up Disney Studios and Hewlett-Packard respectivelyweren’t enough to clue either one to the fact that the company’s so-called “quick bites” (hence the Quibi name) were already being done better and cheaper over on TikTok. So long Quibi, we hardly knew ye.
Irrfan Khan: Each year the Oscars pay tribute toHollywood notables who have died, and for 2020 those names will include Chadwick Boseman, Sean Connery, Kelly Preston, Wilford Brimley, FredWillard, Kirk Douglas and many others. But one name that stands out for me is Khan, the Bollywood star who anchors the small but deeply affecting comedy “The Lunchbox,” from 2014, playing an officeworker inMumbai who forms an uncommon friendship with a housewife when he mistakenly receives her husband’s carefully prepared lunchbox atwork. (The film is available to rent via Amazon and YouTube.) Khan’s numerous credits include “Life of Pi” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” but perhaps his most brilliant and nuanced turn for an American audiencewas in Season 3 of theHBO series “In Treatment” as Sunil, a widower and recent American immigrant sorting through feelings of sublimated rage and lonelinesswith a therapist (played by Gabriel Byrne). Because of theway the serieswas shot, you can watch only Khan’s engrossing episodes if you so choose, which are available to stream onHBOMax andHulu.
FromDarcel Rockett, who writes about arts and culture:
Chadwick Boseman: The actor came into his own showing his range of playing Black icons such as Jackie Robinson, James Brown and Thurgood Marshall. But itwasn’t until he took on themantle ofMarvel’s Black Panther in
2018 that he became an icon. With a legacy already made off-screen with his deeds, his nature, hiswork ethic and even his struggle with colon cancer, Boseman left theworld a better place by letting theworld see his grace. Hewas only 43.
“Supernatural”: TheCWTV series came to an end after 15 seasons. The pandemic hastened its exit, but the series finale fittingly ended a showthat for many peoplewas a community, a family. Samand DeanWinchester battling evilwas a constant, something needed this year, more than ever. The fights, the family, the fun, “Supernatural” had it all, the serious, the sentimentality and the pop culture gravitas to actually do a crossover with “ScoobyDoo.” The characters that Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki embodiedwere everyday superheroes who didn’t ask for a thank you, underdogs who show up even when the odds are against them. They used knowledge, experience and will to get things done, which usually equates to saving lives and/or theworld. Dean and Sammywere frontlineworkers of the apocalypse. They will be missed.
“Arrow”: TheCWTV series “Arrow”
ended after eight seasons, theDChero took his final bow. Itwas hard for fans of Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak, aka “Olicity,” to say goodbye. Queen (Stephen Amell) matured from playboy to vigilante to father figure to savior of theworld— a superhero forged from adversity. For fans of the man who made the salmon ladder look easy, itwas a bittersweet ending that you hated to see come.
FromTracy Swartz, who writes about television and film with a local focus:
Anews veteran: After more than four decades in TV news, journalist CarolMarin stepped downasWMAQCh. 5 political editor and “Chicago Tonight” correspondent inNovember. Marin, one of the most trusted voices in Chicago, and her longtime producer, DonMoseley, continue to lead the DePaulUniversity Center for Journalism Integrity& Excellence.
JerryTaft: The affable meteorologist, who retired fromWLS-Ch. 7 in 2018, died in July at the age of 77. Colleagues remembered his passion for golf and his laugh that filled a room.