We seem to have a lot of great actors dying lately. Alan Rickman is the latest but I wanted to make mention of Brian Bedford, who died yesterday at the age of 80. Most of his work was on the stage — seven Tony nominations, one win — but he appeared now and then on TV and in movies. In 1973, he voiced the title character in the Disney animated version of Robin Hood.
Perhaps the least important role of his career was that of a Fredric Wertham type doctor in an episode of one of Bob Newhart's shorter-lived situation comedies, Bob — the one in which Mr. Newhart played a comic book artist. That episode was written by Yours Truly but though I was on the set, I somehow managed to not meet Mr. Bedford. Everyone said though that he was a joy to be around and I'm sure that was true. He was certainly a joy to watch.