God bless "Mark and Brian" and Bob Birch

August 20. 2012 56. Remember that number; that age. Two of my favorite worlds connected, sadly last week as Mark and Brian did their last radio show after 25 years together; the longest run in LA Radio. Moreover and obviously more life-horrific was the horrible news that Bob Birch, a hugely respected musician and long-time Elton John band member died Thursday morning. As I was reading a front page LA Times story about Mark leaving the show, he stated at the age of 56 there were things he and his wife wanted to do and that people around him were dropping dead at 56. Bob Birch's life ended at the age of 56 leaving behind a wife and son. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Mark and Brian ended their show on double whammy of emotion. As their sportsperson Todd Donoho stated, we loved them because they were real. Genuine. Caring. Kind. Sometimes off-color but damn funny. Mornings won't be the same without these two friends. Mark had announced his pseudo retirement a few months ago, leaving us all thinking Brian would continue on KLOS radio with a new partner. In the second hour on Friday Brian shocked us with powerful heartfelt words he was also leaving KLOS to start a podcast with Jill Whelan. Mark will also begin a podcast with his wife Lynda and family. But together, the two of them were once in a lifetime legend good-time fun from catapulting Elvis-Bob across the fountain at Caesar's Palace with Evel Knievel in attendance (or in awe-mazement)....to the emotional news of Lynda's battle with breast cancer...to the best Christmas show ever: Donny Osmond, David Cassidy, Dana Delany with Dana grabbing David's crotch in the middle of the song....dipping themselves in chocolate for Valentine's Day...getting the mayor of San Francisco to shower on-air with them... to all their charity efforts. Wow. Wow. We laughed with them, cried with them, and just felt them. ____________________________________________________________________________________ They were a fabric of our family as our kids were born and grew up with them. I remember living in London during 9-11 and feeling so homesick. I needed my pals Mark and Brian so I called from the office and asked to be put on hold just to hear their comforting voices. And unlike many radio personalities, they cared about their listeners and treated them respectfully. One of my many phone calls into the show - and I would call from the set of Dating Game in Russia, or the Field of Dreams - dealt with the videotape my dear friend Kelly McIntyre shared with me back in 1991. William Shatner singing "Rocket Man." Yes, you read that correctly. Singing it live at the 1979 Sci Fi awards. Horribly hysterical. The clincher? Bernie Taupin introduced Shatner as straight as could be. My Lord, if he really knew what was to happen, I cannot imagine Taupin would have been in the same building. (In the age of internet now, this five minute masterpiece is accessible.) So I dropped it off for Mark and Brian. They played the video on the radio, as contradictory as that could be. They both reacted the same way I did with gut-punching laughter. Mark said on-air this was worthy of the rare-to-get Christmas Show tickets. Some odd snaffu happened with the tickets not being there. My fantastic wife interjected to the rescue - we were living in Pismo Beach then - and left word with Mark who called our home personally to let us know he would have two tickets at his home for us to pick-up. Colleen, the over the moon hero that she is, drove from Pismo to Santa Clarita and we were in like Charlie going to Wonka. Class. Real class. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Their last show connected the dots in many ways. Our best friend Dee Dee Myers was talked about for her efforts to get President Clinton to wish Mark a happy birthday, missing him by one minute. Then came word about Bob Birch dying. Bob had played a couple of their Christmas shows in the fabu-tastic house band put together by super musician Marc Bonilla. Pure crap and nothing made sense. Why would he take his life? ____________________________________________________________________________________ That answer came to fruition during Bob's funeral yesterday in Simi Valley attended by hundreds of friends and family. Wow, did Bob have friends who absolutely loved him. We learned of his beautiful family, his wife Michele and his son Jonathan. We learned about his spot-on sense of humor, even during the most tragic time in his life when he was hit by a truck as a pedestrian back in 1995. Davey Johnstone, Elton's long-time guitarist who knows tragedy way too much as he lost his son Oliver years ago in a scary pool accident, told the crowd at Mt. Sinai temple of how as soon he heard the news of Bob being hit, he rushed to the scene to find Bob lying in the street lifeless. Davey knelt down to comfort him, asking him if anything he can do. Not expecting much of a reaction, Davey was shocked to see Bob's eyes slowly open. Then Davey crept closer, as Bob whispered, "don't replace me with Nathan East." Davey was ready to pop him right there. So many stories and memories from his long-time Detroit friends, his perfect, just perfect father in law, his talented baseball son who as Davey read words from Elton, he will miss going to Jonathan's baseball games in the sweltering heat with Bob and Michele. Bob was a cook to the heart of an Italian's delight. But I left the service hearing the words over and over of how Bob was a true friend and family man and passionate about his other love....music. Bob would love to play stadium gigs with Elton to 50,000 fans to playing a buddy's bar mitzvah to a gig in Santa Barbara with Willie and the Weenies. Someone said he could have 20 different artists and their 20 different song playlists memorized. He was the person you called at 3 in the morning when your car died and he would jump to drive you four hours without a blink as friends like Marc Bonilla and Kim Bullard repeated along with his Detroit gang. One of them was Italian-istic thanking Elton for taking care of the guys who struggled to get to LA for this week and mentioned our mutual friend Mark Nilan. Bob was/is one of the people that will affect me forever. Live and love every day. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Lastly, his father in law (picture Jerry Stiller) was so touching in his words of love for Bobby not as a son in law, but as a son. He also praised Elton "the king of music" for giving Bobby the greatest gig of his life and taking care of his family. He said on a scale of 1 to 10 of pain from that horrific accident, Bobby was a 20. Yet never complaining. Finally, the pain was too much. From Davey's to Nigel's to Bullard's to Bonilla's to Greg P----- and Jimmy, Bob Birch was how we all should live our lives...to the most, to the happiest, to the purest. Thank you for sharing this world with us Bob, and your family and your friends. _____________________________________________________________________________________ So from powerful memories of Mark and Brian to Bob Birch, live and love and do the right thing every day. Care about those loved ones and give back. Give back.

Batman says guns suck.

Batman says guns suck.