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 With warmer weather comes thoughts of romance. Or is it just me? Even with forced isolation causing the occasional disagreement, I feel profoundly grateful to have my wife of three-plus decades experiencing this strange, new CO-VID world with me.

As this stay-at-home period persists, I am increasingly grateful to be somewhere where I can get out and walk. Even so, cabin fever is very real. I feel it in my bones.

Just last month, Robert De Niro turned eighty, a milestone that came and went without much fuss. It may well be that famously private actor didn’t want any. However, this moment reflects another milestone, marking a half century since De Niro broke out as a screen actor with two indelible performances, first in “Bang the Drum Slowly” playing a terminally ill baseball catcher, second as the unhinged Johnny Boy in “Mean Streets.”

As we mark the centennial of Judy Garland’s birth this month, I want to hear her sing again. I want to cry for the hundredth time listening to “Over the Rainbow” or get goosebumps over “The Man That Got Away.”

It can be hard to come up with activities that satisfy and entertain everyone. That favorite family board game may get old after awhile. Once again, great, timeless movies can help.

Looking back half a century (can it really be half a century?), I’m reminded that 1971 was a very good year for movies.

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. 

I still remember the first time I saw Faye Dunaway over half a century ago in “The Thomas Crown Affair”.  She took my breath away.