Instead, let me offer a tribute to a guy most of you have never heard of, but whose words you may have read.
My dear, dear friend and colleague, David Waldon, has passed away. He wasn’t even 40 years old. And, yes, it was a sudden death. I am devastated.
This man was an amazing interviewer and I was privileged many times to see him at work, making connections with jaded celebs time after time.
When Dave was in college, he received a transplanted liver and the past 12 years he has been my friend have been a rich gift, indeed. There are so many things I could say about Dave – and may yet in this space. But I say now, he is still the single best reason I know to sign your organ donor card. I know there is another family out there, who almost 20 years ago, was going through the same horrible grief Dave’s family is now. And I want to thank them because they made that choice for their loved one, I had Dave Waldon in my life.
I am so going to miss him.
Anne Louise Bannon
Your Family Viewer
I was proud and honored to call David Waldon my friend. As a true testimonial to his nature, I vividly recall Dave approaching me at TCA last summer over an incident that had upset me. He was warm and caring, always smart and funny. And his presence will be sorely missed. This man was what you would call a true “mensch.”
I will miss you, Dave. And I feel truly honored to have known you. Rest in peace, my friend.
Thank you for the beautiful words, Anne.
Dave was a very talented journalist as well as an incredibly geniune and loyal friend. I will miss his early morning briefings and complaints about the Cubs not winning…again. Thank you Anne, for your loving words.
When I was new on the annual summer critics press tour and didn’t know anybody, Dave was one of the first people to decide I needed a friend. He stuck by my side the whole two weeks and if I ever needed a lunch date, or someone to roll eyes with following a particularly mind-numbing panel, he was it.
I remember a couple years ago how excited he was to be working on a book about the movie “Snakes on a Plane.” We talked snakes and hype for two weeks.
And I always looked forward to his group emails, from “Cub Fan,” in which he’d get a dialogue started among critics on everything from bad Canadian TV to worse American TV.
I’m so stunned to hear that Dave is gone and that I can’t look forward to seeing his name pop up in my Inbox anymore.
He’ll be missed terribly.
Here’s a clip of Dave talking about his Snakes book:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/david-waldon-talks-about-snakes-on-a-plane/3359169462/?icid=VIDURVENT02
I know it’s cheesy to link to your own blog in the comments section of somebody else’s, but I’m hoping Anne will forgive me this one time. Dave Waldon was a great guy, and I’m going to miss him like crazy. Here are some of the reasons in addition to the very good ones listed above:
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/changing_channels/2009/02/my-buddy-dave-waldon-rip.html
PS: Dave, prudently, didn’t drink. But we used to joke that he’d have some champagne when his liver turned 21. I’m not much of a guy for believing there’s something that comes after this, but if there is, I know Dave and I will share that toast.
[...] UPDATE: I'm not the only one who misses Dave. Here's what Anne Bannon, who writes about family-friendly TV, had to say. [...]
Thank you for the post, Anne. I’ve often wondered about the people generous enough to have allowed Dave to become part of our lives. Their gift to us was rewarded many, many times. Everyone who knows Dave knows why that even as professional writers it’s impossible for us to write much on this.
Bless you,
k
I just doublechecked my driver’s license to make sure I had the organ donor notation on it still, and i do. You made an excellent point. And you did it in a way that had me wiping my eyes. God, I’m going to miss that guy.
Beautifully said, Anne … And thanks for the reminder Tim, I just checked my DL .. yep, organ donor.
Come to think of it,though … not likely anyone will want my liver when I’m done with it.
A beautiful tribute, Anne. He may have outwardly bristled when you called him your little brother, but we all know how happy he was to have his big sister looking out for him.
Anne … what a wonderful tribute. Thanks for everything you’ve done over the years for Dave and in the past few days for his grieving family. He was lucky to have you as a good friend. And so are we!