Veteran television character actor Kevin Hagen, who left behind a string of Western bad guy roles to become the kindly Dr. Hiram Baker in “Little House on the Prairie,” has died. He was 77.

Hagen died at his home here on Saturday a year after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer, his wife, Jan Hagen, said Monday.

Born in Chicago, the son of professional ballroom dancers, Hagen did not start acting until he was 27, by which time he had worked for the U.S. State Department in Germany, earned a degree in international relations from the University of Southern California, and served in the Navy following World War II, his wife said.

After a year of law school at UCLA, Hagen decided to drop out, and try his hand at acting.

…

He was best known for his portrayal of Doc Baker in “Little House on the Prairie,” which ran from 1974 to 1983.

“The joke when Michael Landon asked him if he could drive a buggy when they were putting “Little House” together was, Kevin said, ‘Yeah, as long as there isn’t a horse attached,’” his wife recalled.

Hagen moved to Grants Pass in 1992 after appearing in a celebrity golf tournament, but did not give up acting. He performed a one-man show he wrote based on the Doc Baker character called, “A Playful Dose of Prairie Wisdom.” While performing that show he met his fourth wife, Jan. They were married in 1993.

Raised by his mother, two aunts and a grandmother, Hagen moved to Portland as a teenager, playing baseball and football at Jefferson High School. He attended Oregon State University before enlisting in the U.S. Navy after World War II, serving in San Diego.

Baker is also survived by a son, Kristopher Hagen, of Bakersfield, Calif.

Rest In Peace, Kevin.

A gradual canticle.
If it had not been that the Lord was with us, let Israel now say:
If it had not been that the Lord was with us,
When men rose up against us,
Perhaps they had swallowed us up alive.
When their fury was enkindled against us,
Perhaps the waters had swallowed us up.
Our soul hath passed through a torrent:
perhaps our soul had passed through a water insupportable.
Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us to be a prey to their teeth.
Our soul hath been delivered as a sparrow out of the snare of the fowlers.
The snare is broken, and we are delivered.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s office and the Arizona Department of Public Safety issued the AMBER Alert after the children’s grand parents and an uncle were found slain and the children were apparently kidnapped.

Bryan Cervantes is described as being a 18 month old Hispanic male, black hair, unknown eyes, 2′5″. He was last seen wearing an orange t shirt with airplane on it and blue shorts.

Jennifer Cervantes is described as being a 3 year old Hispanic female, black hair, 3′4″. She was last seen wearing a pink t shirt with “B” on it and flowered jeans.

The suspect, Rodrigo Cervantes-Zavala. is described as being a 34 year old male, Hispanic with black-graying hair, approximately 170 lbs.

The suspect may be driving a white 1998 Ford F-150 Pick Up with Arizona license plate number 866NMZ or a Green 1993 Buick 4D Arizona license plate number 709SDW.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office at 602-876-1011 or dial 911.

Since Shasta Groene was found, I have received nuerous emals and comments asking where donations can be sent.

I scoured the web today and found that all monetary donations can be made at U.S. Bank branches in Coeur d’Alene or Inland Northwest Bank.

Capt. Ben Wolfinger said that Shasta has received a lot of gifts from the community and the Kootenai County Medical Center can no longer handle all the gifts. People who want to help Shasta and her family should make monetary donations to U.S Bank branches in Coeur d’Alene or Inland Northwest Bank.

Here is the information I could find for those banks:

Inland Northwest Bank
955 Ironwood Drive
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814
(208) 664-8746

U.S. Bank
Coeur D’Alene Office
302 Sherman Ave
Coeur D’Alene, ID 83814
(208) 769-4500

U.S. Bank
4th Street Office
1603 N 4th St
Coeur D’Alene, ID 83814
(208) 769-4661

U.S. Bank
Hayden Lake – Albertson’s Office
197 W Prairie Ave
Hayden, ID 83835
(208) 772-4533

U.S. Bank
Government Way at Hanley Office
6376 N Government Way
Coeur D’Alene, ID 83815
(208) 762-9779

U.S. Bank
Post Falls Office
415 E Seltice Way
Post Falls, ID 83854
(208) 773-7511

I would recommend phoning the bank first, to make sure they are indeed accepting donations on her behalf.

Bob Novak from CNN revealed today that Chief Justice William Rehnquist will announce his retirement.

This announcement should come at 1, 3, or 5 pm.

Because Mr. Novak did not specifiy which timezone or which day this might occur, stay vigilent.

Frances Langford, whose steamy rendition of “I’m in the Mood for Love” captivated soldiers stationed overseas on Bob Hope’s tours during World War II, died Monday. She was 92.

Langford died at her home in Jensen Beach, her lawyer Evans Crary Jr. said. She had been ill with congestive heart failure, he said.

Langford, a recording artist, radio star and actress from the 1930s to 1950s, joined Hope’s troupe to boost wartime morale at military bases and hospitals through Great Britain, Italy, North Africa and the South Pacific. She entertained a new generation of soldiers in Korea and Vietnam.

Even with her hair swept up in a bandanna, the petite singer (she was 5′1″) was a glamorous vision of home. She became known as the “Sweetheart of the Fighting Fronts.”

…

In 1994, she married Harold Stuart, assistant secretary of the Air Force under Harry Truman. They spent summers on Canada’s Georgian Island, traveling from Florida aboard her 110-foot yacht.

She is survived by her husband. She had no children.

Rest In Peace, Frances.

From Reuters (and CNN):

The body of a U.S. commando, the last in a group of four who went missing in Afghanistan last month, has been found and recovered, CNN reported quoting a senior U.S. defense official.

The Navy SEAL commando was killed in a shoot out with insurgents and there was “no way” he had been held in captivity, contrary claims by Taliban guerrillas, the report on the CNN Web site quoted the senior official as saying on Sunday.

Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi had said the missing commando was captured by the guerrillas in the eastern province of Kunar last month and beheaded on Saturday.

What? You mean Hakimi lied? Say it isn’t so!