The Bird and Behind the Green Door.
Two cult figures from the 1970s have died.
For a very brief moment, Mark “The Bird” Fidrych was the most exciting story in baseball. The legend was that the Detroit rookie phenom “talked to the baseball” as he paced around the mound, looking for all the world like the baseball version of the Sesame Street icon Big Bird. He manicured the pitching mound, he asked umpires to get rid of baseballs that “had hits in them” and he delighted the fans with his childlike exuberance for the game. The Bird made the cover of Rolling Stone. The Bird was Rookie of the Year in 1976, but he tore cartilage in his knee in spring training the following season and never made a full recovery. When Fidrych retired a few years later, he had a lifetime mark of 29-19.
Fidrych was found under his truck today, the victim of an apparent accident. He was 54.
The news about the Bird arrives a day after we learned of the passing of Marilyn Chambers at 56. The former porn star shocked the world in 1972 with her starring role in “Behind the Green Door,” which along with “Deep Throat” catapulted the porn film from the dark and seedy fringes of society to the dark and seedy edges of the mainstream. Chambers was of particular interest to the media because of her status as former Ivory Snow model. She didn’t look like a porn star, or what we thought a porn star should look like. She looked like a former homecoming queen.
After a few other porn films, Chambers made repeated attempts to break free of that world. She put together a Vegas act, she acted in a few R-rated films—-but the world wouldn’t let her stop being Marilyn Chambers. Every once in a while you’d see a fortysomething Chambers on premium cable, hosting some cheesy, soft-porn compilation show.
When I was about 16, I became aware of The Bird and “Behind the Green Door” at just about the same time. Suffice to say both Mr. Fidrych and Miss Chambers are part of the pop culture scrapbook of that era, along with “Saturday Night Fever,” Farrah Fawcett, “Rocky,” the South Side Hit Men and so many others.
May these two rest in peace.
April 14th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Will Marilyn Chambers be included in the Oscar montage next year?
April 14th, 2009 at 11:26 am
With the exception of serial killers, child molesters, and rapists, it’s always sad to hear of someone’s premature death.
April 15th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
They didn’t lnclude Larry Hovis a few years ago so Marylin Chambers shouldn’t be honored either……
April 15th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
There’s a viral video going around where a less than attractive woman wows the British crowd with her take on a Les Miz song. That’s what the Bird was to 70’s baseball. Ugly, awkward and a little weird when he first came up, we laughed at him, and then we realized he could pitch. He made 25,000 dollars that year, and sold out every game for a very bad Tigers team. Thanks for the memories, Mark. I’ll never forget that summer.
April 17th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
It is a shame about ‘The Bird’ and Marilyn Chambers…I too hope they rest in peace.
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