Peter Graves, Corey Haim, and Fess Parker

On the day of Peter Graves passing it was noted that he had three major career high moments during his lifetime. First of course was television's "Mission: Impossible". Aside from some of his other TV work prior to this outstanding series, it seemed like he would forever be associated with the character of Jim Phelps. Not a bad thing for sure.

Then came the movie "Airplane!".

His role as Captain Oveur became legendary with lines like, 'Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?' and 'you ever seen a grown man naked?'. To this day people quote his conversations with that little boy who just wanted to see the cockpit of an airplane. And if that wasn't enough, he then became the voice of "Biography" on the History Channel and went on to win an Emmy. A very diverse career that Peter himself refused to end, stating before his death that there must be 'some juicy roles out there for men his age to tackle', his presence in television and cinema history is truly immortal.

Corey Haim's death came at a time when it seemed as though he was getting things straightened out with his life. What amazed me was how in debt he ended up being, and the fact that before his passing he didn't even own a car. Incredible. As a child star, it seemed as though Corey was just everywhere in the movies, quite often with Corey Feldman at his side. Now, Feldman is crushed with sadness and regret at the loss of his old friend. As Haim's Mom continues to struggle with cancer, she'll now move back to their hometown of Toronto after Corey's funeral. It goes without saying that he'll always be synonyms with "The Lost Boys".

Finally, Fess Parker became the reason why it was mandatory for so many young boomers to own a coonskin cap. Ultimately, ten million were sold during the run of of the TV show "Davy Crockett", a role he would forever be warmly identified with. The LA Times said that Parker "was not only present at the creation of modern mass culture, he was smack dab in the middle of that creation." He was a good and gentle soul who also just happened to become an American icon.