Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Milwaukee Brewers radio broadcasts will, sadly, never sound the same.

Bob Uecker, the voice of the team on the airwaves for 54 years, a Baseball Hall of Famer and local, statewide and national icon, died Thursday, the Brewers announced.

He was 90 years old.

I didn’t listen to many Brewers games growing up in New York (they were in the American League then, and I was a National League fan), but I still knew Bob Uecker. Ueck was a part of my baseball adolescence. As the Brewers’ team statement notes:

He was so much more than a Milwaukee Brewers icon. He was a national treasure. Bob entertained us with his words and storytelling, so it is no surprise that his passing now leaves us at a loss for our own words.

Fifty-four years broadcasting the sport, Miller Lite commercials, and Major League movies will do that. I’d also forgotten he starred in Mr. Belvedere for six seasons.

His voice and humor will be missed. A huge loss for baseball fans everywhere.

Enjoy the front row, Ueck.

See also:

• MLB
• The Athletic/New York Times

The Guardian:

Broadly unpopular then, Carter went on to become not just the longest-lived president but also to have one of the most distinguished post-presidential careers. He was awarded the Nobel peace prize for “decades of untiring effort” for human rights and peacemaking. His humanitarian work was conducted under the Atlanta-based Carter Center, which he founded in the early 1980s, with Rosalynn.

Jimmy Carter was the first president I was aware of, thanks to my grandmother, who thought him a kind man. I knew him best for his commitment to Habitat for Humanity. In the handful of instances I’ve seen him speak, he always seemed to have a twinkle in his eye. It certainly seemed to me like he enjoyed being a former president far more than being president. And it positively tickled me when he declared his intention to live long enough to vote for Kamala Harris—and then did so.

President Biden has ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff for the next 30 days and declared January 9, 2025 a National Day of Mourning. I’m grateful President Carter will be honored in a state funeral led by a president respectful of both the office and the man.

Elsewhere:

• The New York Times

Greg Evans for Deadline:

John Amos, the actor whose characters in Good Times, Roots and The Mary Tyler Moore Show lent the 1970s a solid share of its too-few portrayals of strong Black male role models, died August 21 in Los Angeles of natural causes. He was 84.

His son, Kelly Christopher Amos said in a statement:

He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold… and he was loved the world over. Many fans consider him their TV father.

Good Times was the first TV show I remember where there was an entire family that looked like me. Amos as James was my first TV dad. His—spoiler for a 48-year-old show—off-screen death in the fourth season was heartbreaking.

His good-natured, good guy vibe was—spoiler for a 34-year-old movie—a major reason the unexpected twist in Die Hard 2 landed so well.

And of course, I loved him in The West Wing as Admiral Fitzwallace, and his—spoiler for a 20-year-old episode—death in Season 5 gutted me.

He was also brilliantly funny in Coming to America, one of the best parts of the movie, and it was a real treat to see him guest in Psych as Uncle Burton.

I’ll be queuing up a few episodes of television in his honor.

See also: L.A. Times.

Adam B. Vary and Carmel Dagan for Variety:

James Earl Jones, the prolific film, TV and theater actor whose resonant, unmistakable baritone was most widely known as the voice of "Star Wars" villain Darth Vader, died Monday morning at his home in Dutchess County, N.Y., his rep confirmed to Variety. He was 93.

Jones was a mainstay of my generation’s entertainment landscape. Star Wars, Coming to America, Field of Dreams, The Lion King… He brought gravitas and warmth to every role he played, even if it was “just” with his voice.

But oh, that voice! Powerful, majestic, authoritative, and unmistakable. I’ve been trying to imitate it since I was a kid. From “Commander, tear this ship apart until you’ve found those plans!” to “The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball” to “This is CNN.”

(It wouldn’t surprise me if “This is CNN” is among the most recognizable “spoken audio logo” in history, the closest competition likely being “You’ve Got Mail!” and “This is Audible.”)

Jones always struck me as a regular guy who just happened to be a world famous actor. He never seemed to take himself too seriously, including his willingness to do random guest appearances and silly cameos on sitcoms. (Frasier, Big Bang Theory, and Will & Grace come to mind.) He always seemed like an actor who wanted to work simply because he enjoyed the work. Nothing ever seemed beneath him, and he elevated everything he did.

I’m happy that he was so prolific; it gives us dozens of performances for us to remember him.

A personal anecdote: Sometime around 1988 or ’89, shortly after I started acting, my teacher/director commented after one of my monologues that I reminded him of James Earl Jones in August Wilson’s Fences. I was 19 or so, and the reference slid right past me, but it always stuck in my head. It was many years before I realized what a compliment that was.