FARK.com: (7371230) Football legend Alex Karras has gone into kidney failure. Mongo only pawn in game of life

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		Football legend Alex Karras has gone into kidney failure. Mongo only pawn in game of life (freep.com)		115
		More: Sad, Alex Karras, Mongo, Detroit Lions, kidney failure, Tom Lewand, legends, football, Susan Clark

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10219 clicks; posted to Main » on 09 Oct 2012 at 12:33 AM | Favorite | share:

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Bathia_Mapes		2012-10-09 12:19:15 AM

Well, f*ck! That makes me really sad. I didn't watch him much as a football player, but I enjoyed seeing him in "Blazing Saddles" and "Victor/Victoria", as well as George Papadopoulos on "Webster". :-(

simplicimus		2012-10-09 12:29:24 AM

Bathia_Mapes: Well, f*ck! That makes me really sad. I didn't watch him much as a football player, but I enjoyed seeing him in "Blazing Saddles" and "Victor/Victoria", as well as George Papadopoulos on "Webster". :-(

It is sad. At 77, he's probably not on a transplant list. But no mention of dialysis for this condition?

NewportBarGuy		2012-10-09 12:30:36 AM

Go easy into the light, gentle giant. You were awesome on Webster. Thanks for leaving a positive mark on the world.

NewportBarGuy		2012-10-09 12:31:40 AM

simplicimus: But no mention of dialysis for this condition?

He's going to Hospice. That's the end. Let him go.

simplicimus		2012-10-09 12:35:07 AM

NewportBarGuy: simplicimus: But no mention of dialysis for this condition?

He's going to Hospice. That's the end. Let him go.

Well, TFA said he also suffers from dementia and cancer, so, yeah, you're right.

Linkster		2012-10-09 12:35:10 AM

Sad :-(

Bathia_Mapes		2012-10-09 12:35:32 AM

NewportBarGuy: simplicimus: But no mention of dialysis for this condition?

He's going to Hospice. That's the end. Let him go.

Indeed. Poor dude has dementia & cancer too.

2xhelix		2012-10-09 12:36:51 AM

Goodnight Mongo

GoodDoctorB		2012-10-09 12:40:17 AM

George Papadopoulos... was... Mongo.

i95.photobucket.com

Huck And Molly Ziegler		2012-10-09 12:40:19 AM

Now I'm feeling bad for Mr. Karras AND the horse.

aevert		2012-10-09 12:41:58 AM

Inconsolable:
images4.wikia.nocookie.net

What_Would_Jimi_Do		2012-10-09 12:42:05 AM

i saw him in porky's before i saw blazing saddles. sad indeed.

NotoriousW.O.P		2012-10-09 12:42:12 AM

Well, at least he'll be reunited soon with Gary Coleman.

God-is-a-Taco		2012-10-09 12:42:20 AM

Okay.

JosephFinn		2012-10-09 12:42:51 AM

Huck And Molly Ziegler: Now I'm feeling bad for Mr. Karras AND the horse.

Kind of interesting to see in that GIF that the guy pulls the reins on the right JUST before Karras would have connected. Some nice horse work there.

borg		2012-10-09 12:45:18 AM

At least he can't remember he has kidney failure.

Monster Island		2012-10-09 12:45:42 AM

I cannot believe I never noticed that he was Mongo. I've been watching that movie for decades.

KiplingKat872		2012-10-09 12:46:24 AM

Damn. He seemed to be a genuinely nice guy, and yes I love Blazing Saddles.

My Dad was fully cohesive when he made the same call when he was diagnosed with renal failure. "It's been a good run." A couple dialysis treatments before the left the hospital for hospice gave the family enough time to gather to say goodbye. It's a pretty gentle way to go out. The brain just sort of fuzzes out from the toxic build up.

Thing was, he was pretty aware up until 36 hours before he died, and things were beginning to shut down (he couldn't use his right hand, then he couldn't read, etc.) and he knew it. Yet he faced it all with such grace and good humor. Even the nurses were impressed.

Elegy		2012-10-09 12:46:52 AM

JosephFinn: Huck And Molly Ziegler: Now I'm feeling bad for Mr. Karras AND the horse.

Kind of interesting to see in that GIF that the guy pulls the reins on the right JUST before Karras would have connected. Some nice horse work there.

Beat me to it. Never noticed him slide his arm down and jerk in the movie, and I must have seen it a hundred times.

gravebayne2		2012-10-09 12:47:36 AM

fragMasterFlash		2012-10-09 12:48:33 AM

"Candygram for Mongo! Candygram for Mongo!"

_{/one ticket plz
//aisle set}

Polartank13		2012-10-09 12:50:38 AM

JosephFinn: Huck And Molly Ziegler: Now I'm feeling bad for Mr. Karras AND the horse.

Kind of interesting to see in that GIF that the guy pulls the reins on the right JUST before Karras would have connected. Some nice horse work there.

Jeez man, at least leave me with the illusion dammit...

i149.photobucket.com

NewportBarGuy		2012-10-09 12:54:43 AM

On January 7, 1963, Karras's ownership in Detroit's Lindell AC Bar became a source of controversy when league officials urged him to sell his financial interests in the place because of reports of gambling and organized crime influence. After first threatening to retire rather than give it up, Karras admitted placing bets on NFL games and was suspended by the league, along with Green Bay Packers' running back Paul Hornung, for one season (1963).

During his exile, Karras returned to pro wrestling, taking on such memorable characters as Dick the Bruiser, but was then reinstated, along with Hornung, on March 16, 1964 by NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle. Upon returning to action in 1964, Karras once refused when an official asked him to call the pregame coin toss. "I'm sorry, sir," Karras replied. "I'm not permitted to gamble."

Ha! Nice one! :)

GypsyJoker		2012-10-09 12:56:28 AM

I guess Hawkeye Pierce won't be able to pull him through this one.

\sad
\\at least he got to twirl Frank Burns

GuidoDelConfuso		2012-10-09 12:58:04 AM

Polartank13: JosephFinn: Huck And Molly Ziegler: Now I'm feeling bad for Mr. Karras AND the horse.

Kind of interesting to see in that GIF that the guy pulls the reins on the right JUST before Karras would have connected. Some nice horse work there.

Jeez man, at least leave me with the illusion dammit...

Do you still believe in the tooth fairy too? The movies are fake; everybody knows that. I think the point was that it was a particularly well-executed bit of movie magic. If you scrutinize practically any movie stunt, you can usually pick it apart and figure out how it was done, but that doesn't make it any less impressive when you're watching the movie.

EyeballKid		2012-10-09 12:59:23 AM

Why isn't this in the sports tab...I mean, the entertainment tab...

Omahawg		2012-10-09 12:59:40 AM

he played for Iowa. I dropped out of Iowa. our mythical bond knows no bounds

7th Son of a 7th Son		2012-10-09 01:00:53 AM

/oblig

StoPPeRmobile		2012-10-09 01:00:55 AM

Goodnight Mongo

Candygram for Mongo		2012-10-09 01:01:30 AM

Well this, this just sucks. Maybe we can all go get a shiatload of dimes and buy him a new kidney.

fragMasterFlash: [img843.imageshack.us image 313x351]

"Candygram for Mongo! Candygram for Mongo!"

/one ticket plz
//aisle set

You just scared the shiat out of me.

nmemkha		2012-10-09 01:02:47 AM

He may be been just a pawn, but his legacy will live on long after the sunset of his life. I hope he passes comfortably, surrounded by his loved ones.

HotWingAgenda		2012-10-09 01:03:39 AM

Elegy: Never noticed him slide his arm down and jerk in the movie, and I must have seen it a hundred times.

In any other thread, that comment would be fair game for some major out-of-context usage.

/RIP athlete turned actor

Jiro Dreams Of McRibs		2012-10-09 01:04:45 AM

QFTA:

Tom McInerney, owner of McInerney's Woodhaven Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram and a friend of Karras' since the 1950s, said Karras' wife, Susan Clark, told him of her husband's failing health in a 15-minute phone call this morning.

Come on down to the showroom and I'll tell you stories of me and Alex growing up together. And you can tell me what I have to do to put you in a car today.

orange storm		2012-10-09 01:07:43 AM

I has a sad, liked him in Blazzing Saddles and Webster.

Apos		2012-10-09 01:08:17 AM

You will be greatly missed,big man.

TheManofPA		2012-10-09 01:10:48 AM

I'm going to pour one out and wait for hundreddollarman to do his thing.

Rapmaster2000		2012-10-09 01:16:18 AM

Gary Indiana's other favorite son.

HoagieBoy		2012-10-09 01:16:47 AM

GuidoDelConfuso: Polartank13: JosephFinn: Huck And Molly Ziegler: Now I'm feeling bad for Mr. Karras AND the horse.

Kind of interesting to see in that GIF that the guy pulls the reins on the right JUST before Karras would have connected. Some nice horse work there.

Jeez man, at least leave me with the illusion dammit...

Do you still believe in the tooth fairy too? The movies are fake; everybody knows that. I think the point was that it was a particularly well-executed bit of movie magic. If you scrutinize practically any movie stunt, you can usually pick it apart and figure out how it was done, but that doesn't make it any less impressive when you're watching the movie.

Movies are fake....BAH! Next you're going to tell me that wrasslin' is fake. You're just full of dem stories.

the_chief		2012-10-09 01:18:09 AM

Actor Richard Crenna invented artificial kidneys.

AverageAmericanGuy		2012-10-09 01:20:41 AM

He didn't get what he deserved.

He got what he negotiated

hundreddollarman		2012-10-09 01:20:55 AM

TheManofPA: I'm going to pour one out and wait for hundreddollarman to do his thing.

"... from the Harley Races, to the Barry Windhams... to the Ric Flairs..."

"Never mind that shiat, here comes Mongo!"

RIP Mongo McMichael

DerekSD		2012-10-09 01:22:35 AM

Rapmaster2000: Gary Indiana's other favorite son.

i know.
my dad is famous.

/somehow...

BuckTurgidson		2012-10-09 01:27:16 AM

Damn you, Rachel Ward!

Spartacus Outlaw		2012-10-09 01:27:37 AM

Huck And Molly Ziegler: Now I'm feeling bad for Mr. Karras AND the horse.

It looks pretty rough, but the horse is trained to fall like that. It is a wicked pull on the bit, though. Hmm, how was it trained.....
Now I feel sorry for the horse too.
Well, could be worse, every one and every thing needs to earn its keep. I know I've been treated a lot worse and abused as much at most of my jobs.
The world is a harsh mistress.

Spartacus Outlaw		2012-10-09 01:29:42 AM

hundreddollarman: TheManofPA: I'm going to pour one out and wait for hundreddollarman to do his thing.

"... from the Harley Races, to the Barry Windhams... to the Ric Flairs..."

"Never mind that shiat, here comes Mongo!"

[i70.photobucket.com image 275x420]
RIP Mongo McMichael

OMG, I saw that photo from the middle of his chest down before I saw the whole thing. Good lord.

DancingElkCondor		2012-10-09 01:29:50 AM

Karras was also a very good football player, too...and won the Outland Trophy while playing at Iowa.

He also was the one with the famous line about foreign soccer-style placekickers: "I go keek a touchdown"

He also did a couple of seasons of Monday Night Football w Howard Cosell...replacing Don Meredith for a couple of seasons. Karras decided to go acting full-time

He and his wife got royally screwed and mistreated by ABC with "Webster". Karras and Clark initially owned the show, but were slowly cut out of a lot of it.

Prayers for the Karras family

leadmetal		2012-10-09 01:34:38 AM

simplicimus: Bathia_Mapes: Well, f*ck! That makes me really sad. I didn't watch him much as a football player, but I enjoyed seeing him in "Blazing Saddles" and "Victor/Victoria", as well as George Papadopoulos on "Webster". :-(

It is sad. At 77, he's probably not on a transplant list. But no mention of dialysis for this condition?

Dialysis is kept in the stone age thanks to government. It's probably best to avoid it if he has other issues. Many choose to die rather than go through 3 day a week dialysis.

Dialysis could be better, but the way government pays for it essentially keeps short daily Hemodialysis out of the market. At least at the last point I was familiar with that business. Perhaps at some point technology will make it cheap it enough that people can just pay for it all out of pocket. The way to do it has already been proven out. The machines are just too expensive and the treatment isn't profitable enough under government rules.