This 12" talking action figure of Darren McGavin as The Old Man with his prize Leg Lamp from "A Christmas Story" is ranked #29,856 in Amazon's Toys & Games section. The item is currently out of stock. Will McGavin's passing provide incentive for restocking?
"There has been a disturbance in the Force even more titanic than the recent expiration of Don Knotts," writes a bereft TigerHawk:
Darren McGavin, known to millions of us who "came of age" in the 1970s as "Kolchak the Night Stalker," has died at age 83 (scroll down for all kinds of pictures).
Damn, that makes me feel old.
Not you, old boot. The heart that loves is forever young. And not Darren McGavin, either. The beloved actor will live on for all generations as The Old Man -- Ralphie's bumbling, teddy-bear-gruff father -- in the timeless and eminently quotable "A Christmas Story." Trying to reconstitute the net-stockinged base of his shattered Leg Lamp, The Old Man spoke for all husbands who suspect their wives of nefarious motives:
The Old Man is dead. Long live The Old Man!
It's a sad day. To lose Barney and The Old Man in one day. The Leg Lamp is a picture of my mother's life with my father. He is an artist but sometimes comes up with embarrassing art.
Like the wood carvings of fat women which were supposed to be like the fertility statues he was studying in art history. Once he carved a large one out of a tree trunk, cut its head off and put a round piece of glass on top of it to make it into a coffee table.
My mother rolled her eyes when she saw it and worked hard to be sure he sold it. He did sell it for quite a pretty penny. We were glad she could put the Duncan Phyfe coffee table back in its place of honor.
Ralphie's dad was also a lot like my husband. He loves it when something goes wrong with my computer so he can mess with it and install all sorts of annoying plugins.
Posted by: Laura Lee Donoho | February 26, 2006 at 04:40 PM
I shall doff the lampshade that came with my 12-inch talking Old Man figurine in his honor today (yes, of course I have one).
Posted by: adamg | February 26, 2006 at 08:55 PM