Captain America is... Alive?!?

This has never happened before in the history of the Wall of Death: One of our celebrities has returned from the grave. And if it was going to be anyone, it would have to have been ... Doug Henning, the hippy magician. But since he couldn't make it, it was the second most likely candidate, Captain America. Now technically, the reborn Cap is his kid sidekick "Bucky," all grown up and ready to smash some terrorists. I bet he's quite glad he doesn't have to be called "Bucky" anymore. Even "Aqualad" was a cooler name. So does this constitute a rebirth or just a new generation? Or is Captain America more of a symbol than the person inside the suit? Or are we wasting our time even thinking about this, when we should be checking in on how Britney's feeling today? I don't know, but Cap is shiny now, and that makes me feel safer for some reason.

Sam the Butcher is Dead

2008 is off to a strong start for celebrity death with the passing of Allan Melvin, best known as Alice's meat packing boy toy Sam the Butcher. He was also the voice of Magilla Gorilla, Drooper on the Banana Splits and Bluto from Popeye. Holding any one of those jobs would be the kind of thing where you could say "My life work is now complete" but Mr. Melvin kept on reaching, so he should indeed be honored.

Suzanne Pleshette of the Bob Newhart Show also died, but to the best of my knowledge she never voiced a talking gorilla wearing suspenders, so I'm so not that into it right now.