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A couple of months back, we decided to subscribe to yet another streaming service, Disney+, just to experience Peter Jackson’s astonishing documentary series, “The Beatles: Get Back.” It was well worth it. Jackson’s revelatory work is a stunning achievement, revisiting a seismic moment when the cultural phenomenon known as the Beatles started to show some cracks — not in their music, but in their ability to stay together.

There are some celebrities who, by virtue of what they represent and contribute beyond their talent, become something more than simply what their chosen profession would indicate. Such a man is Sidney Poitier, the first African-American to win a Best Actor Oscar.

I just got back from San Francisco, a strange, beautiful, bewitching city that has been gradually revealing itself to me since my first visit over forty years ago. As with all great movies, every time I see it I see something new.

Advances in gay rights have been hard-won, and there's still much work ahead, but Sunday presents an opportunity to embrace all the progress to-date. It’s a day for Pride.    

In the days before films relied on computers to entertain us, Billy Wilder used a movie camera to tell us stories. His stories might be funny or sad, but all held some grain of human insight, with even hard observations tempered by an underlying affection for his fellow man. At the closing titles, this made his many fans feel not only satisfied, but edified.

After the particularly painful song of ice and snow that was Winter 2013-14, I’m happy to say that the robin in yonder dell is finally chirping “Spring! Spring! Spring!” Yes, the world is puddle-wonderful again and that means that, like any other hibernating animal, I feel an urge to shake off the cold, stretch my legs, and participate in some old-fashioned migration. So windows are rolled down, sleeves are rolled up – it’s time for a good long drive to greener horizons, or most anywhere from here. I raise my face to the sun, and movie fanatic that I am, hear Groucho’s voice ringing in my ears: “Sing ho! For the open highway! Sing ho! For the open road!” (Anyone remember the movie?) Or maybe the strains of Bob Hope – “We’re off on the Road to Morocco!” (Bob – it’s better off-season.)

How best to describe the impact of Fred Astaire on film? Apart from his undeniable charm and way with a song, Astaire fundamentally changed the way dance was portrayed on film. Utilizing extended takes, Astaire- whether solo or with mainstay partners Ginger Rogers and Cyd Charisse- performed uninterrupted, intricate dance sequences that kept audiences captivated for decades. It’s hard to believe that after his first Hollywood screen test, the casting director (who must have been drunk) famously wrote, “Balding. Can’t act. Can dance a little.”

With my awareness of passages heightened by a turbulent year, I was moved to compile a list of all the amazing players who have left us over the past twelve months. Some were big movie stars and household names, others skilled and reliable featured players who spent most of their careers on the stage or television.