Douglas was such a lively, energetic, and charismatic force onscreen that it’s difficult to imagine him dying of old age, let alone a degenerative disease like cancer. Yet, sadly, that is the fight he has before him now. Diagnosed just three weeks ago with throat cancer at the base of his tongue, Douglas has continued to promote his new movie, Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps with his typical good humor and class.

Douglas showed up on David Letterman last night to talk about the movie, but Letterman seemed more interested in needling Douglas about his cancer instead. Awkward, touching, and honest are all words to describe this moment between two entertainment icons.

Anyone of my age or older can remember watching Michael Landon deteriorate before our eyes while struggling with prostate cancer in the early nineties. Landon, who had been the picture of health and vitality throughout his career with his long, flowing hair and sparkling eyes, suddenly wilted, shriveled up, and died. I remember the class and dignity Landon infused into his struggle, and how much it befitted his legacy as one of television’s best fathers.

I have no doubt that Douglas will confront this situation with a similar resolve. I can only hope that his outcome matches the outlook, and he makes a full recovery. A talent like Douglas’ is not finished yet.

Over the last week or so, people have taken those sad pictures of Keanu and transformed them into transcendent comedic gems that are sure to brighten his day. You can see some of their works at Uproxx. Turn that frown upside down, Neo! It’ll be alright! Have a look at my attempt and have a hearty chuckle, my friend:

I really like this unattributed gif, which features sad Keanu descending into the Matrix, I guess:

[note: this post has been altered in order to eliminate confusion I apparently caused by not making attribution clear. My apologies to Uproxx and its fans for this confusion.]

But we celebrate that naive and exciting moment when pop culture took a radical left turn into bad fashion, weird electronic sounds, and experimental video forms. Here is how it all began:

Prophetic, eh?

Those first few years of MTV were exciting. Friends would sit for hours around the television as MTV played back-to-back-to-back videos ranging from all over the musical map. Before MTV, music and its fans were segregated into tightly-defined genres that rarely interacted. Now, suddenly, fans could easily sample the sounds and sights of other musical forms, and it allowed the industry to grow rapidly.

Here are the videos I consider instrumental (get it??) in the development of the form:

Peter Gabriel – Shock The Monkey Before his award-winning Sledgehammer video, Gabriel released this radical, highly-symbolic video that pushed the ability of music videos to show abstraction. Wow … I almost sound smart, eh?

Eurythmics – Sweet DreamsYou’d be hard pressed to find a video with more iconic imagery in it than this unnerving classic from the synth pop duo. It’s the music video version of Inception.

Michael Jackson – Thriller Even though I despise the song and think the video is overblown, there is no denying the fact that Jackson pushed the boundaries here. The production values, the time spent on it, and the success made from it is astounding. It’s also an amazing video because it actually makes us believe Jackson liked girls.

Metallica – One Before Metallica turned into giant, money-grubbing pussies, they had some scruples and integrity. Everyone was shocked when the band released this, their first music video. It was artistic and had a powerful message. It basically brought heavy metal music into the mainstream from the late-night showcases MTV had shoved it into.

Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit Completely altered the musical landscape and the visuals that came with it.

Madonna – Express  Yourself and Vogue (tie) While Express Yourself really flaunted male sexuality in a positive way for the first time, Vogue is the better video overall. It’s impact on the gay movement to the mainstream is hard to calculate.

Warner Brothers, Sire Records, and Madonna herself request that this video not be shown. Hilarious. Do they understand how things work on the internet???

REM – Losing My Religion A bizarre video that become a worldwide smash thanks to incredible visuals that influenced many bands to follow.

Same with REM. Dumb.

Run DMC and Aerosmith – Walk This WayThis team up was important for two reasons: it revived Aerosmith’s flagging career, and it introduced rap music to white America and forced them to accept it.

Beastie Boys - You Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party) Big for rap as well, as three snotty white guys from New York stormed the charts and convinced white rock fans that the form could work for them. The rest is history.

Nine Inch Nails – Closer A visual masterpiece. Very offensive, but it perfectly captured the nihilistic, grungy atmosphere overtaking pop culture in films like Seven. Brilliant.

Warren G – Regulate The video and song that basically, along with Snoop Dogg, started the whole laid-back party rap scene that has dominated the form ever since. This is the better song and video, and you’ll still see the visual cues of this video in pop culture today.

After these years, MTV basically died thanks to shows like The Real World. Thankfully YouTube exists so that we can still enjoy these miniature movies and remember the effects they had on us and our culture over the years.

Happy Birthday, MTV! And R.I.P.!!!

Justice prevailed yesterday when the White Rat entered the Hall of Fame, following some of the players who helped him get there like Ozzie Smith, George Brett, and Bruce Sutter. I loved Herzog. He is a good ol’ boy in the Midwest tradition, and he made it. CONGRATS, Whitey!

Who knows what the hell that lead singer is, but I know she doesn’t have the range or power to endure like some other eighties singers like Annie Lennox. The music is mostly a joke as well. However, it’s kinda fun to reminisce about a more innocent and fun time in pop music for a few moments. And so I’d like to thank La Roux for bringing back that nostalgia momentarily before they disappear into obscurity.

Thanks La Roux!

Rue McClanahan died today of a massive stroke. She was 76 years old. She hasn’t been seen much in recent years, which is a shame. Rue had marvelous timing and a classiness that enriched any project. Easily her most famous role was that of Blanche Devereaux, the sexed-up vamp on television’s long-running classic The Golden Girls. That show had massive comedic firepower - possibly one of the strongest casts ever assembled in sitcom history – and Rue was always right in the thick of things.

Check out her precise delivery in this brilliant moment, in my mind one of the most perfect scenes in television history:

This one ain’t bad, either:

Or this one:

We may never see comediennes as skilled and as professional as Rue again. Goodbye, Rue, and thanks for the laughter!

Here’s a favorite scene, taken from True Romance in which Hopper squares off against another creepy icon, Christopher Walken:

It’s sad to see such an original pass away. And to the paparazzi who too kthat picture of an ailing Hopper falling in his last days, I hope to one day see you burning alive so I can snap a photo for my personal collection.

Most people remember Coleman as Arnold ”What’choo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” Jackson from the sitcom Diff’rent Strokes.   Coleman was 10 years old when the show debuted and his incredible comic timing and natural charm made him one of the biggest young stars of the 80′s.  He spent 8 years in the role of Arnold and seamed destined to have a bright future once the show finally left the air. 

Unfortunately, Hollywood wasn’t able to find a way to work around his small stature.  Coleman suffered from kidney damage as a child and never only grow to 4 ft 8 in tall and remained child like in appearance.  The lack of work in Hollywood led Coleman to a financial and personal downfall that he was never able to recover from. 

Despite that fact the Gary Coleman was the punchline of many joke over the last twenty years, there’s no denying his natural ability to make people laugh.  It’s a shame that he was never given a fair chance to reach his full potential.

RIP Gary Coleman!!

While Osbourne deserves some credit for being one of the founding members of Black Sabbath – the Patient Zero of heavy metal music - it was Dio that gave their songs a bluesy, gutsy feel. Unlike Osbourne’s sickly and pathetic shriek, Dio actually had a singing voice. He was also playful in concert, not a drunken, shambling joke like Ozzy. Check this out:

Black Sabbath fans are mourning his loss tonight. And with good reason – this means that Ozzy will be the only and permanent singer from now on. UGH.