Variety reports that actor Michu Meszaros has passed away. The cause of death was unknown. He was 76.
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Okay, I know this seems both random and totally obscure, even for me. But I had to take note of this story.
Meszaros, you see, used to play Alf on the eponymous 1980s sitcom about the furry alien who crash-lands on earth and ends up living with a typical American midwestern family. He didn't play Alf in every scene - in closeups, Alf was manipulated by puppeteers, and he always was voiced by series creator Paul Fusco. But in scenes and master shots where Alf's entire body was seen, the costume was worn by Meszaros, who stood three inches under three feet tall.
The reason I mention all this is that just the mention of "Alf" makes me smile. "Alf" was on from 1987 to 1989, and my oldest son, David, was born in 1986. When he was just a year old, we'd used to sit on the couch on Monday nights and watch "Alf," and laugh together at the dumb jokes and imitate Alf's voice to each other and just have a terrific old time. (My recollection is that Mrs. Content Guy would find something else to do, and would roll her eyes at us.) But we enjoyed ourselves immensely ... and yesterday, after I emailed him the Meszaros obit (David lives in Chicago now, writing and acting and working for a cable company's marketing department), we agreed that "Alf" represented part of us growing up together.
I love my son. I loved those evenings, and I love those memories.
I think we all have such memories, of moments shared and connections made. I just wanted to share one of mine this particular morning.
