April 11th is the birthday of John Milius [1], who was born in 1944. He both wrote the screenplays and directed the films Dillinger [2], The Wind and the Lion [3], Big Wednesday [4], Conan the Barbarian [5], Red Dawn [6], Farewell to the King [7], and Flight of the Intruder [8]. He also wrote the screenplays of the first two Dirty Harry movies as well as the first draft of the screenplay for Patton (before Francis Ford Coppola turned it into a vaguely anti-war commentary laced with references to reincarnation). Milius is JWR’s favorite Hollywood writer and director, in part because he stands for everything that Hollywood doesn’t.
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I was quite saddened to hear of the death of music legend Merle Haggard, who is remembered for his songs like Rainbow Stew [9] and Big City [10]. He was right, when he sang: This World is Not My Home [11]. I’ll see you in heaven, Merle!