Actor Ford Rainey passed away yesterday at 93. He worked for years as a very good character actor; you've probably seen his face all over the place if you're in my age range. For my TV generation he may best be remembered as Jamie Austin's father in "The Bionic Woman". I had the pleasure of seeing him play Willie Loman in a production of "Death of a Salesman" at Providence's Trinity Rep in the late 70's. And he ROCKED.

OK, so the material helped. In film everything begins and ends with "Citizen Kane". In theater it's "Death of a Salesman". I had seen stage productions before that high school English class trip. I had even been in a few and knew I had a budding talent. But when the life, decaying dreams and frustrations of Willie Loman's life exploded from that 2nd floor stage I felt as if I had never seen something different.

I was captivated by the raw emotion. As I watched all of Willie's delusions about his life be stripped away I was brought down with him. For a while I saw things through the same rose colored glasses he did and when that was taken away I was just as devastated.

And Rainey ruled that stage. He was mezmerizing. I had seen other actors perform before but this guy owned the stage. The anger and desperation of Loman jumped off the stage at you and dared you to keep up. He even looked the part. Dustin Hoffman's TV performance was pristine, yes. While I am sorry I was not born early enough to have seen Lee J Cobb originate the part on Broadway, I always felt his towering stature was too much for the part. Being in Florida kept me from seeing Brian Denehey's revival a few years ago. For me, Ford Rainey will always bee Willie Loman.

Again, it's that gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach that acting is something I am supposed to be doing instead of shilling geriatric medications. Watching Rainey was one of the first times I felt that gnaw. It's been over 25 years since then and I still feel than gnaw.

Thanks, Mr. Rainey. You still rock!