Tim Robertson obit

Tim Robertson

Prolific actor / director / writer, best known for Chances, Power without Glory, Prisoner, and Stingers, has died.

 

He was not on the list.

Prolific actor / director / writer Tim Robertson, best known for Chances, Power without Glory, Prisoner, and Stingers, has died, aged 81.

British born Robertson enjoyed a long career in Australian stage and screen, joining the Australian Performing Group at the Pram Factory in Melbourne in 1972. This included the second ever production of Dimboola, directed by David Williamson.

His TV work was prolific in the 1970s including roles in Matlock Police, Homicide, Rush, Division 4, Cash & Company, Tandarra, Bluey, Against the Wind, The Sullivans, Skyways, Cop Shop.

In Frank Hardy’s Power Without Glory he played Arthur West for 14 episodes.

Work continued in the 1980s in Young Ramsay, Scales of Justice, Special Squad, Carson’s Law, Vietnam, Rafferty’s Rules, The Heroes, Round the Twist, Neighbours and A Thousand Skies. He had various roles in Prisoner and 16 episodes of Australia You’re Standing In It.

Other credits included All the Rivers Run II, Skirts, The Flying Doctors, Time Trax, Ocean Girl, Halifax fp, Snowy River: The McGregor Saga, Kangaroo Palace, Thuderstone, Beastmaster, Shock Jock, Stingers, CrashBurn and Last Man Standing. In Chances he played Jack Taylor for a whopping 90 episodes.

His film credits were equally impressive including The Cars that Ate Paris, Petersen The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Dimboola, The Last of the Knucklemen, Phar Lap, Bliss, Jenny Kissed Me, Kangaroo, The Year My Voice Broke, Evil Angels, The Big Steal, Bodysurfer, Amy, He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, Holy Smoke and The Eye of the Storm.

He also wrote and directed in theatre, including lyrics for the ill-fated musical Manning Clark’s History of Australia – The Musical in 1988.

On Facebook, legendary Abigail, who worked with him on Bodysurfer and Chances, wrote “Tim was an amazing talent with a multitude of credits over his career in the Australian film and television industry…. Tim was a pleasure to work with and we send our love and condolences to his family and all who knew him.”

Filmography

Film

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1974    The Cars That Ate Paris          Les     

1974    Petersen           3rd Bikie        

1975    The Great MacArthy   Herb   

1975    Pure S  Cop    

1978    The Irishman   Bill Bryant     

1978    The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith       Healey

1979    Dimboola        Father O'Shea

1979    The Last of the Knucklemen   Man in Bar     

1980    Buckley’s Chance       William Buckley         Short film

1983    Phar Lap          Policeman at Stables  

1983    Distinguished Guests  Professor Wiseman      Short film

1984    The Bark is Worse than the Byte                    Short film

1985    Wrong World  Psychiatrist     

1985    Bliss    Alex Duval     

1985    Jenny Kissed Me         Sergeant Blake           

1985    Niel Lynne      Detective        

1986    Kangaroo        O'Neill

1987    Going Sane     Owen Owen   

1987    The Year My Voice Broke      Bob Leishman

1987    Bachelor Girl  Grant  

1987    The Time Guardian     Sergeant McCarthy    

1987    With Time to Kill        Jack Keane     

1988    Evil Angels (aka A Cry in the Dark)   Wallace           

1990    Father  George Coleman        

1990    Aya      Willy   

1990    The Big Steal  Desmond Johnson      

1990    Beyond My Reach      Burroughs      

1994    Ebbtide            Realtor

1997    Amy    Dr Pascoe       

1999    Holy Smoke    Gilbert Barron

2001    He Died with a Felafel in His Hand   Melbourne Detective 1          

2001    The Man Who Sued God        Judge  

2002    Black and White          Mr Kjng         

2006    Riot or Revolution: Eureka Stockade 1854    Douglas Huyghue       Documentary film

2010    Matching Jack Professor Langley      

2011    The Eye of the Storm  Dr Treweek    

2011    The First Interview      Nadar  Short film

2014    The Mule         Judge Irving   

Television

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1974    Matlock Police            Peter Gibson   1 episode

1974    Marion Reg Dargie      Miniseries, 1 episode

1974    Homicide         Engineer          1 episode

1974    Rush    Constable Colvin        1 episode

1975    Division 4       Ambulance Driver      1 episode

1975    Cash and Company     Reed    1 episode

1976    Tandarra          Storekeeper     Miniseries, 1 episode

1976    The Professional Touch                      TV movie

1976    Power Without Glory  Arthur West     Miniseries, 14 episodes

1977    Bluey   Paul Hendy     1 episode

1978    Catspaw          Instructor        

1978    Against the Wind        Holt     Miniseries, 2 episodes

1978    The Tea Ladies                        8 episodes

1978    The Sullivans  Slicker 4 episodes

1979    Skyways          Bert Dyer        1 episode

1979    Cop Shop        Hedley Barrett 1 episode

1979    The Dolebludgers        Mr Price          TV movie

1980    Young Ramsay            Russell Scott   1 episode

1980    Locusts and Wild Honey        Reverend Charles        Miniseries, 3 episodes

1983    Home  Tom     3 episodes

1983    Scales of Justice          Detective Sergeant Mick Miles           Miniseries, 2 episodes

1984    The Last Bastion         Admiral Ernest King   Miniseries, 3 episodes

1984    Special Squad Roberts            Episode 2: "The Expert"

1984    Carson's Law  Det Sgt Brent  2 episodes

1983–1984      Australia You're Standing In It           Various            16 episodes

1985    A Thousand Skies       Jack Lang        Miniseries, 1 episode

1979–1995      Prisoner           Various roles   9 episodes

1986    Pokerface        Huck   Miniseries, 3 episodes

1986    Vietnam           Pascoe Miniseries, 3 episodes

1988    Rafferty's Rules           Mervyn Starkey          1 episode

1988    The Clean Machine     Dr Michael Millius      TV movie

1989    The Heroes      Colonel Mott   Miniseries

1989    Round the Twist          Mr Henderson 1 episode

1989    Bodysurfer      Rex Lang        Miniseries, 2 episodes

1989    Neighbours      Gordon Davies            4 episodes

1990    All the Rivers Run II  Blackwell        Miniseries, 2 episodes

1990    Police Crop: The Winchester Conspiracy       Detective Sergeant Brian Lockwood  TV movie

1990    Skirts   Harrison          1 episode

1989; 1990      The Flying Doctors     Dan Jackson / Bernie Gallagher         2 episodes

1991    Strangers         Father  TV movie

1991    Boys from the Bush    Bobby 1 episode

1991–1992      Chances           Jack Taylor      Episodes 1-90

1993    Time Trax        Joe the Sheriff 1 episode

1994    Ocean Girl       Blunt   1 episode

1995    Halifax f.p.      Joe Mandle      Episode: "Hard Corps"

1995    Snowy River: The McGregor Saga    Trooper John Clarke   1 episode

1997    Kangaroo Palace         Charles Reid   TV movie

1999    Thunderstone  General Cardell           2 episodes

2001    Beastmaster     Solon   1 episode

2001    Shock Jock      Dr Arnold Kipax         1 episode

2002    Bootleg            Prime Minister Tom Turner    Miniseries, 3 episodes

1999–2003      Stingers           Fergus McCallum / George Tyndall / Sgt Noel Harrison       3 episodes

2003    CrashBurn       John     2 episodes

2005    Last Man Standing      Bride's Dad     1 episode

Theatre

As actor

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1964    Doctor Faustus                        University of Melbourne

1972    Bastardy                      Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG

1972    He Can Swagger Sitting Down / The Joss Adams Show                   Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG

1972    A Night in Rio and Other Bummers               Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG

1973    The Dragon Lady's Revenge              Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG

1973    Dimboola                    Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG

1976    Knuckle           Patrick Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG

1976    The Dudders   Colonel Coop / Phil Furley     Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG

1977    Ravages: Heels Over Head     Cecil    La Mama, Melbourne

1978    It's a Mad World, My Masters             Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG

1978    No Room for Dreamers           Chidley            Canberra for Australian National Playwrights Conference

1980    Bremen Coffee            Gottfried          Melbourne Athenaeum with MTC

1980    Shakespeare the Sadist            Bill      Melbourne Athenaeum with MTC

1981    Upside Down at the Bottom of the World      DH Lawrence  Theatre 62, Adelaide with STCSA

1981    Teeth ‘n’ Smiles          Saraffian          Nimrod, Sydney

1984    The World Is Made of Glass   Carl Jung         St Martins Theatre, Melbourne with Playbox Theatre Company

1985    Nine Little Australians! Season Two              YMCA, Melbourne with MTC

1993    Picasso at the Lapin Agile                  Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne with Playbox Theatre Company

2004    The Frail Man Henry Frail      Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne with Playbox Theatre Company

2006    Romeo and Juliet                     Playhouse, Melbourne, Sydney Opera House with Bell Shakespeare

2007    Dimboola                    Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne

As director/playwright

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1973    Dimboola        Director           Chevron Hotel, Melbourne

1973    The Waltzing Matilda Pantomime      Designer          Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG

1974    The River Jordan        Director           Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG

1975    Mary Shelley and Her Monsters         Playwright       Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG

1976    Fiery Tales / Looney Tunes (The Lamentable Reign of King Charles the Last)        Librettist          Scott Theatre, Adelaide with New Opera South Australia for Adelaide Festival

1976    The Overcoat  Director           Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG

1977    Waiter, There's a Circus in My Soup  Director           The Last Laugh, Melbourne with Last Laugh Theatre Restaurant & New Circus Ensemble

1980    Tram    Director           Melbourne Comedy Cafe

1981    Wild Honey     Writer  National Theatre, Melbourne with Australian Contemporary Dance Company

1981    Squirts Writer  Playhouse, Adelaide, Universal Theatre, Melbourne with STCSA

1982    Tristram Shandy         Adaptor           Nimrod, Sydney

1985    Mary Shelley and the Monsters          Playwright       Rocks Players Theatre, Sydney for Sydney Festival

1988    Manning Clark's History of Australia – The Musical Playwright       Princess Theatre, Melbourne

1988    Tristram Shandy – Gent          Adaptor           Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne with MTC for MICF

1994    Waltzing Matilda (with Tomato Sauce)          Writer  The Street Theatre, Acton, Canberra with Eureka! Theatre Company

1997    Mary Shelley and the Monsters          Playwright       Carlton Courthouse, Melbourne with La Mama

Dick Zimmer obit

Dick Zimmer, former congressman and U.S. Senate contender, dies at 81

Moderate Republican led New Jersey Common Cause, served in both houses of N.J. legislature

 He was not on the list.

Richard A. Zimmer, a three-term Republican congressman from Hunterdon County and longtime state legislator who ran a competitive race for U.S. Senate in 1996 and built a career as an advocate of fiscal conservatism, transparency in government, and the safety of children – and a lifelong opponent of wasteful government spending — died on December 31 after an extended illness.  He was 81.

While Zimmer spent most of his adult life on a small farm in Hunterdon County, he grew up working class in a garden apartment in Bloomfield that he called New Jersey’s version of a log cabin.  His father died when he was three, and his mother worked in a factory until marrying a postal worker from Glen Ridge, where he grew up in a blended family.

After the rape and murder of murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994 by a neighbor with two previous convictions for sexually assaulting young girls, Zimmer became the sponsor of Megan’s Law, a federal law that required law enforcement to make the public aware of registered sex offenders who lived in their neighborhoods.  Zimmer’s bill passed both houses unanimously and was signed by President Clinton in 1996.

As chairman of New Jersey Common Cause in the 1970s, Zimmer advocated for the passage of New Jersey’s Sunshine Law and pushed Democrats and Republicans to reduce the number of “fat cat” campaign contributions and replace them with small donors.  He also pushed for a Sunset Law that would require the legislature to review agencies that are no longer effective, and for personal financial disclosures for all elected officials.

Along the way, Zimmer became friends with Thomas Kean, a young assemblyman from Livingston who had served as Speaker and then minority leader.  Zimmer had advocated for arduous campaign finance requirements, so Kean decided to force Zimmer to implement the policies he’d supported by asking him to be treasurer of his 1975 re-election campaign.

He made his first bid for public office in 1978, at age 33, as a candidate for the Republican nomination for Congress in a western New Jersey district occupied by Democrat Helen S. Meyner (D-Phillipsburg).  A former First Lady of New Jersey – her husband, Robert B. Meyner, had served as governor from 1954 to 1962 – was elected as one of the Watergate Babies in 1974; she defeated freshman Rep. Joseph Maraziti (R-Boonton).

Former State Sen. Richard Schluter (R-Pennington), who had won 48% against Meyner in 1976, was running again; so was James Courter (R-Allamuchy), the first assistant Warren County Prosecutor.

On the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce train to Washington, D.C. that year, Zimmer handed out fortune cookies that said: “Dick Zimmer: He’s a smart cookie for Congress.”  In that campaign, Zimmer began a tradition of detailed personal financial disclosures that continued throughout his political career.  He included an accounting of the 104 chickens and one rooster on his 24-acre Delaware Township farm.

Citing fundraising challenges, Zimmer dropped out of the race after four months.  His withdrawal likely helped Courter score a 134-vote upset victory over Schluter in the five-candidate GOP primary; Courter went on to unseat Meyner.

In 1979, Zimmer became a candidate for the New Jersey State Assembly in a bid to take on freshman Assemblywoman Barbara McConnell (D-Flemington) in the Republican-leaning 14th legislative district, which included parts of Mercer, Hunterdon, Morris, and Middlesex counties.  (McConnell had scored a narrow 1,443-vote win over Regina Haig Meredith, the longtime Mercer Republican State Committeewoman and the sister of General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., two years earlier).

He easily won the Republican nomination but lost the general election.  McConnell was the top vote-getter with 27,104, running 632 votes ahead of five-term Assemblyman Karl Weidel (R-Pennington).  Zimmer came in third, 1,029 votes behind Weidel and 6,511 votes ahead of the other Democratic candidate, Glen Gardner. Mayor Stanley Oleniacz did not participate in the election.

After redistricting in 1981, Zimmer’s district – now the 23rd – was redrawn to become more Republican, losing Princeton, and now included parts of Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris, Sussex, and Warren counties.  McConnell did not seek re-election to a third term and instead unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor.

Weidel and Zimmer ran for the Assembly again, and this time Zimmer won handily.  He led James Knox, an attorney and Washington Township Democratic municipal chairman who had been a Marine helicopter pilot in Vietnam, by 16,832 votes; Zimmer ran 21,025 votes in front of the second Democrat in the race, Frederick Katz, Jr., a Flanders construction company owner.

Zimmer won landslide re-election victories in 1983 and 1985.

Following the death of State Sen. Walter Foran (R-Flemington) in December 1986 after a battle with lung cancer, Zimmer became a candidate for the open State Senate seat in a March special election.  Under the old law, each party held a convention to select its nominee; Zimmer was unopposed when Republicans met in January.  (Weidel, who resigned from the Assembly to take a job at the state Department of Insurance, briefly considered a Senate run).   In the low-turnout special, Zimmer won 80% of the vote against Democrat Marianne Nelson, a perennial candidate.

In November 1987, Zimmer was unopposed in his bid for a full four-year term in the Senate.

As a state legislator, Zimmer was a staunch advocate of Initiative & Referendum, which would allow the public to gather petition signatures to place an issue on the ballot.  Republicans were generally for this as a campaign issue, but when they finally took control of state government in 1994, after Zimmer had been elected to Congress, the matter was never approved.

After losing a bid for governor in 1989, Courter declined to seek a seventh term in Congress. Zimmer quickly entered the race in the sprawling 12th district, which included Hunterdon and parts of Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren counties.

Zimmer faced two substantial Republican primary opponents: Assemblyman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-Harding) and Phil McConkey, a former New York Giants wide receiver and U.S. Naval Academy graduate.  Zimmer edged out McConkey by 2,909 votes, 38%-31%, with 29% for Frelinghuysen in a four-way contest.

In that primary, Somerset made up 26% of the congressional district, followed by Hunterdon (24%), Morris (23%), Warren (13%), Middlesex (8%), Mercer (3%), and Sussex (2%).

Zimmer won four counties: Hunterdon, 54%-35%, over McConkey, with 8% for Frelinghuysen; Warren, 43%-34% against McConkey, with 19% for Frelinghuysen; Mercer, 58%-26% against Frelinghuysen, with 13% for McConkey; and Sussex, 38%-35%.   McConkey carried Middlesex, 42%-41%, over Zimmer, with 14% for Frelinghuysen; and Frelinghuysen won Morris, 52%-24%, over Zimmer, with 22% for McConkey, and Somerset, 39%-31%, over Zimmer with 28%.

The general election was easy.  Zimmer defeated Democrat Marguerite Chandler, a Somerset County industrial park owner who put about $450,000 into her campaign – and raised another $1.25 million on top of that — by a 64%-31% margin.

(The 1990 congressional race triggered two more special elections: Schluter, who had returned to the Assembly after Zimmer succeeded Foran in the Senate, took Zimmer’s seat in the upper house; Leonard Lance, a young attorney who had been an assistant counsel to Kean, succeeded Schluter in the Assembly.)

As a congressman, Zimmer initially served on the House Government Operations and Science, Space and Technology committees, and the Select Committee on Aging.  He later secured a coveted seat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.  He assembled a record of fighting to reduce wasteful government spending.  He helped pass the Safe Drinking Water Act, which mandated water quality standards for state, local, and private water suppliers.

Zimmer pushed for legislation to reform that nation’s welfare system, supported the decriminalization of some drugs, backed the creation of personal savings plans for health insurance, and favored a single-payer national health program similar to one used in Canada.  Zimmer advocated for urban enterprise zones and opposed funding for the space station due to overspending.   He opposed offshore drilling.

A prodigious fundraiser, Zimmer backed public financing of races for U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.

He easily won re-election twice: he defeated former Marlboro Council President Frank Abate in 1992 with 64% (his district was redrawn that year to include part of Monmouth County); and Joseph Youssof, an attorney, in 1994 with 68%.  He spent his final two years as a member of the first Republican majority in the House since 1947.

Zimmer seriously considered challenging two-term U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg in 1994, Clinton’s mid-term election year.  (Lautenberg took the race seriously and had raised nearly a million dollars by the end of 1992; among the attendees at a Christmas-week fundraiser in Aspen was Donald Trump.)

Several Republicans mulled Senate runs that year, including Kean, then a popular two-term former governor, who ultimately declined; Zimmer had said publicly that if Kean ran, he would not.  Christine Todd Whitman, the newly elected Republican governor, cleared the field when she signaled her support for Assembly Speaker Chuck Haytaian.

But in August 1995, when Democrat Bill Bradley announced that he would not seek re-election to a fourth term in the U.S. Senate the following year, Zimmer jumped into the race. He quickly secured support from Whitman and Republican establishment leaders, winning a Republican primary with 68% against two other candidates named Dick: Passaic County Freeholder Dick Duhaime (20%) and Dick LaRossa, a state senator from Mercer County (12%).

On the Democratic side, seven-term Rep. Robert Torricelli (D-Englewood) easily locked up his party’s nomination and was unopposed in the primary.

The Star-Ledger’s David Wald, viewed as the state’s premier political reporter at the time, called the battle between Zimmer and Torricelli “noisy, vitriolic, and expensive,” estimating the race at over $25 million – quite expensive for the time.

“The money has fueled non-stop television commercials with a heavy accent on the negative,” he said.   Zimmer called Torricelli “foolishly liberal,” and Torricelli labeled Zimmer as a Newt Gingrich extremist.

Torricelli was boosted by endorsements from James Brady, who had served as Ronald Reagan’s press secretary before he was shot during a 1981 assassination attempt on the president, and by Bill Clinton, ultimately winning New Jersey by a 54%-36% margin.

A Rutgers-Eagleton poll in September 1995 showed Zimmer with a five-point lead, 34%-29%, but Torricelli ahead in every Rutgers-Eagleton general election poll after that.  Still, those polls showed a tight race: six points in September, five points in October, and a dead heat just before Election Day in a poll that was foolishly wrong.

Torricelli won the race by ten points and a margin of 291,511 votes, 53%-30%.  He won big margins in Essex, Camden, Hudson, Middlesex, Mercer, and Union, and easily won his home county of Bergen.   Torricelli won Ocean and Monmouth by about 1,000 votes each; he also won Atlantic, Burlington, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Passaic counties.  That left Zimmer with wins in Cape May, Hunterdon, Morris, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren.

Comeback candidate

Zimmer had an opportunity for a comeback in 2000 when Lautenberg opted not to seek re-election, but he opted instead to run for his old House seat.

The incumbent was a Democrat, Rush D. Holt, Jr. (D-Hopewell), a Princeton University physicist who had unseated Zimmer’s successor, Republican Michael Pappas (R-Rocky Hill), in 1998.  Pappas wanted a rematch, and Zimmer defeated him in the Republican primary with 62% of the vote.  The race turned nasty toward the end when an independent expenditure group backing Zimmer ran a radio ad suggesting a connection between Pappas and the Ku Klux Klan because of a historic connection between the group and Pillar of Fire International Christian Church, the church Pappas worked for.  Kean, a Zimmer supporter, was so incensed by the ad that he offered to defend Pappas.  Zimmer denounced the ads, but not until after they damaged Pappas’ campaign.

There was also some bitterness during the general election after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out a mailer attacking Zimmer for opposing a bill they said would reduce instances of breast cancer.  The accusation wounded Zimmer, whose mother died of cancer just after his high school graduation, and whose three sisters were breast cancer survivors.   As a Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, Zimmer voted with his party against an amendment that would make mammograms available to Medicare-eligible women over age 49 without a co-payment.

The 12th district, once staunchly Republican, was now purple: in the 2000 presidential race, Democrat Al Gore won it by five percentage points and over 16,000 votes, against Republican George W. Bush.  George H.W. Bush had won in 1992, and Bill Clinton in 1996.

In the closest New Jersey House race since 1956, defeating Zimmer by just 651 votes, 48.7%-48.5%.  Zimmer won Hunterdon by 14,658, Monmouth by 2,084, and Somerset by 5,411; Holt carried Mercer by 14,159 and Middlesex by 8,645.  Zimmer conceded his loss in late November after a recount dropped Zimmer’s vote total by 123 and Holt’s by 21; he declined to challenge the outcome of the election.

“I do not intend to go down the path that Al Gore has taken,” Zimmer said.

Eight years later, Zimmer again ran for the U.S. Senate, joining the race just before the filing deadline after Republicans suffered a series of mishaps in their bid to recruit a challenger against Lautenberg, the 84-year-old incumbent facing a Democratic primary against Rep. Rob Andrews (D-Bellmawr).

Initially, the New Jersey Republican establishment favored Ann Evans Estabrook, a self-funding real estate developer who dropped out in March after suffering a mini-stroke.  Two weeks later, the GOP recruited another newcomer who could finance his own campaign: Andy Unanue, an executive at Goya Foods until a feud with his family members led to his ouster.

In a bizarre campaign, Unanue joined the race by issuing a press release on Easter Sunday from a vacation in Colorado that he refused to cut short.  He quickly received endorsements from several county Republican organizations.

But his campaign fell apart after Politicker NJ.com reporter Matt Friedman discovered that Unanue, a New York City resident, had bought a Central Park West condo and was running a Manhattan nightclub.  He dropped out of the race a week later, without ever returning from his vacation.

Instead of backing one of the other GOP contenders – State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Montville) or Ramapo College Professor Murray Sarbin – party leaders convinced Zimmer to run. Dr. Mehmet Oz and State Sen. Christopher Bateman (R-Branchburg) had already turned down Republican officials.

After a short campaign, Zimmer carried Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem, Somerset, and Warren counties, while Pennacchio won Bergen, Gloucester, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and Union.   That gave him a 10,117-vote, 46%-40% victory over Pennacchio.

Against Lautenberg, who won the Democratic primary by a 59%-35% margin over Andrews, post-primary polls showed the race as reasonably competitive: Quinnipiac University started with Lautenberg up by nine points in June; Monmouth University had the race at eight points in July, and Quinnipiac showed a seven-point race in August; and a Bergen Record poll in September put the Senate race at 49%-41%.

Lautenberg raised over $7.2 million, including a $750,000 personal loan, while Zimmer was only able to bring in a little more than $1.5 million.  By mid-October, a Monmouth poll had Lautenberg up by sixteen points, and a Quinnipiac poll a couple of days later showed Lautenberg leading Zimmer by 22 points, 55%-33%.  Lautenberg pushed debates off until the last minute: he faced Zimmer on NJ 101.5 on October 29 and on New Jersey Network on November 1, three days before the election.

On Election Day, Lautenberg beat Zimmer by 490,193 votes, 56%-42%.  Barack Obama carried New Jersey by 539,556 votes, 57%-42%, against John McCain.  Zimmer carried Cape May, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren counties.

Zimmer had been a consistent opponent of Trump: he endorsed Ohio Gov. John Kasich for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and ran on a statewide slate of delegates that included former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman; he endorsed Libertarian Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, in the subsequent general election, and was part of a group of Republican former Members of Congress who endorsed Joe Biden in 2020.

In 2021, Zimmer, then 76-years-old, sent a letter to party leaders saying that he would seek the open 16th district Senate seat of Bateman, who was retiring after fourteen years in the Senate and fourteen years as an assemblyman.  Zimmer also said he’d be willing to run for an Assembly seat.

With Pappas also running, it potentially created a rematch of the 2000 congressional primary.

Several Republican leaders said at the time that Zimmer’s endorsement of Biden made him a non-starter.

In 1965, while attending Yale University on a full academic scholarship, Zimmer spent his summer in Washington as an intern in the office of U.S. Senator Clifford Case.  He earned his undergraduate degrees at Yale and was editor of the Yale Law Journal.  He joined the New York law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore out of law school and then became an in-house counsel for Johnson & Johnson.

He is survived by his wife, Marfy Goodpeed, his two sons, Benjamin, a prominent linguist, and Carl, a well-known science writer, and his grandchildren.

Calling hours will be on Saturday, January 17 from Noon to 12 PM at the Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home in Flemington, followed by a eulogy service.  Burial will be private.  In lieu of flowers, the Zimmer family has asked that donations be made to the Hunterdon County Land Trust or Common Cause

Billy Ray "Bullet" Barnes obit

A Legend Remembered: Billy Ray "Bullet" Barnes Created Lasting Legacy on Wake Forest Football and Baseball

An All-American football player and national champion baseball player, Barnes was one of Wake Forest University's first great athletes of the ACC era, becoming the first player in conference history to rush for over 1,000 yards while also leading the baseball team to a 1955 national championship.

 He was not on the list.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest University great Billy Ray "Bullet" Barnes — a fierce competitor, proud Demon Deacon, and enduring figure in Wake Forest athletics history — has passed away at 90.

The Wake Forest community mourns the loss of one of its most respected alumni-athletes. Known for his toughness, passion and relentless competitive spirit, Barnes left a lasting impression on the football and baseball programs and on all who wore the Old Gold and Black alongside him.

Barnes spent his collegiate career in Winston-Salem representing Wake Forest with distinction, earning a reputation as a hard-nosed competitor whose intensity and leadership set the standard for his teammates. His nickname, "Bullet," reflected both his playing style and his fearless approach to the game.

Beyond his on-field accomplishments, Barnes remained deeply connected to Wake Forest throughout his life, exemplifying pride in the University and its athletics programs. His legacy lives on through the generations of Demon Deacons who continue to be inspired by the example he set.

Wake Forest honors the life, legacy, and lasting impact of Billy Ray "Bullet" Barnes, whose contributions to the University will be remembered with gratitude and respect.

Wake Forest University Career Recap

Billy Ray Barnes, an All-American football player and national champion baseball player, Barnes was one of Wake Forest University's first great athletes of the ACC era, becoming the first player in conference history to rush for over 1,000 yards while also leading the baseball team to a 1955 national championship.

A 5-11, 185-pound fullback from Landis, N.C., Barnes quickly established himself as a prominent force in the new league in each of his respective sports.

Barnes first came to prominence in 1955, when he led the ACC and placed third nationally with 31 pass receptions. His dynamic athletic ability and intense competitive spirit helped pave the way for his selection in 1956 as the team captain.

Barnes then led the ACC in rushing in 1956 with 1,010 yards, becoming the first player in ACC history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a single season and earning Player of the Year honors in the league. In that same year, he was named to the Look Magazine All-America team.

Barnes' success did not stop on the football field; he was also an accomplished baseball player for the Demon Deacons. As a third baseman, Barnes recorded the last out of the 1955 College World Series as Wake Forest defeated Western Michigan 7-6 in the title game and won the first NCAA championship in any sport by an ACC school. It remains the league's only College World Series championship.

A first team All-ACC selection in 1956 and 1957, Barnes recorded batting averages of .319 and .310, respectively.

Only five days after completing his college football career, Barnes was the second-round choice of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1957 NFL draft, which was actually held on Nov. 27, 1956. He didn't sign immediately, however. He played the 1957 baseball season for the Deacs, graduated and then became an Eagle.

He embarked on an impressive nine-year playing career that included 3,421 yards in rushing, 1,786 more in receiving, 38 total touchdowns and three Pro Bowl appearances.

In the 1960 NFL championship game, Barnes contributed a key run, catch and block on the game-winning drive as the Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers 17-13.

Barnes played two seasons each for Washington and Minnesota but remained active in the game as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Falcons.

Barnes, whose jersey number, 33, was retired after his senior season, graduated as Wake's record-holder for rushing yardage (1,607), and he's still 22nd on the chart. Barnes was chosen for the Wake Forest Hall of Fame in 1975.

Quotes Remembering Billy Ray "Bullet" Barnes

Former Director of Athletics Dr. Gene Hooks ('50):

"I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Billy Ray 'Bullet' Barnes who was a close personal friend of mine. He was a fierce competitor, a proud Demon Deacon, and someone who represented Wake Forest with class. Billy's passion for the game and loyalty to this University left a lasting mark on all who knew him. He was a great football and baseball player who helped Wake Forest win the 1955 NCAA Championship. He is the most outstanding athlete who ever wore the Old Gold & Black in both sports."

Head Football Coach Jake Dickert:

"Billy Ray 'Bullet' Barnes represents everything we strive to instill in our program — toughness, accountability, and an unwavering love for Wake Forest. Though generations may separate today's team from his playing days, his legacy continues to inspire our players. We honor his life, his contributions, and the standard he helped establish for Demon Deacons football."

Head Baseball Coach Tom Walter:

"Billy Ray "Bullet" Barnes is arguably the greatest athlete in Wake Forest Sports history. Known for his toughness, Billy Ray set the standard for generations to come and his legacy will live on forever. Most importantly, Billy Ray loved Wake Forest deeply and embodied everything that we value as a community. He will be forever missed but never forgotten."

Director of Athletics John Currie ('93):

"Billy Ray 'Bullet' Barnes was a competitor in the truest sense and a proud ambassador for Wake Forest University. His commitment, passion, and legacy continue to shape the values of our athletics program. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and celebrate a life that exemplified what it means to be a Demon Deacon."

He played college football and baseball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection in the NFL. After his playing career, he became a coach.

Career history

Playing

Philadelphia Eagles (1957–1961)

Washington Redskins (1962–1963)

Minnesota Vikings (1965–1966)

Coaching

Charleston Rockets (1968)

Head coach

New Orleans Saints (1969–1970)

Receivers

Atlanta Falcons (1971–1974)

Offensive backs

New Orleans Saints (1975)

Special teams

Awards and highlights

NFL champion (1960)

3× Pro Bowl (1957–1959)

First-team All-American (1956)

ACC Player of the Year (1956)

First-team All-ACC (1956)

Second-team All-ACC (1955)

College World Series champion (1955)

Wake Forest Demon Deacons Jersey No. 33 retired

Career NFL statistics

Rushing yards 3,421

Rushing average          3.4

Receptions       153

Receiving yards          1,786

Total touchdowns        38

Stats at Pro Football Reference

Head coaching record

Regular season            COFL: 8–3–0 (.727)

Jasen Kaplan obit

Jasen Kaplan Dies: ‘Finding Prince Charming’ Alum & Celeb Makeup Artist Was 46

 

He was not on the list.

Jasen Kaplan, who was known for his appearance on Finding Prince Charming, has died. He was 46.

The celebrity makeup artist died shortly before midnight on Wednesday in a New York City hospital as the New York City Police Department investigates at Kaplan’s apartment building, according to Page Six and TMZ. A cause of death has not yet been revealed.

Kaplan was a makeup artist who worked with the likes of Eva Longoria, Cyndi Lauper, Lynda Carter, Kelly Osbourne, Bethenny Frankel and more.

On Thursday, Frankel penned a heartfelt tribute to the “magnetic, generous, endlessly supportive” Kaplan. “Jasen Kaplan had a positive energy that was truly infectious. He was fun, vibrant, and always brought his A game. The world lost a one-of-a-kind gem on New Year’s Eve, which still doesn’t feel real,” she wrote in part on Instagram.

Osbourne also paid tribute to “the best wingman a girl could ask for” after 25 years of friendship. “I’m devastated. I love you so much @jasenkaplan. Thank you for all the love, laughter and joy your brought my life. I hope you are at peace now. Life will never be the same without you! RIP my dear friend!” she wrote on her Instagram Story.

In 2016, Kaplan appeared on Logo’s Finding Prince Charming, a Bachelor-esque show in which 13 gay men vied for the heart of interior designer Robert Sepúlveda Jr. Kaplan was eliminated in Week 2.

Kaplan’s death comes shortly after the passing of his fellow contestant Chad Spodick, who died at age 42 in early December.

Candy Raymond obit

Vale: Candy Raymond

Actor Candy Raymond, best known for Number 96 and Prisoner has died.

 She was not on the list.

Actor Candida Raymond, best known for Number 96 and Prisoner has died, aged 75.

Much of her work was throughout the 1970s and 1980s in Australian film and television.

In Number 96 she played Jill Sheridan, presented as a sex symbol, a wild child who tried to seduce a priest and featuring in several controversial nude sequences.

This followed various episode work in Riptide, Skippy, Matlock Police and Division 4.

She featured in 6 episodes of Norman Gunston’s Checkout Chicks, then The Sullivans, Bluey, Young Ramsay, Chopper Squad, Cop Shop and Kingswood Country.

By 1981 she played Sandra Hamilton, a friend of Betty Bobbitt’s Judy Bryant in Prisoner, for 8 episodes.

Other TV credits included Shout: The Johnny O’Keefe Story, The Great Bookie Robbery, Hey Dad, The Flying Doctors, Rafferty’s Rules, and winning an AFI for her performance in the TV Movie Breaking Up (1985).

Her film credits include Alvin Rides Again, Don’s Party, The Getting of Wisdom and Ginger Meggs.

Actress

A Case of Honor (1989)

A Case of Honor

3.9

Charlene 'Charlie' Delibes

1989

 

John Wood in Rafferty's Rules (1987)

Rafferty's Rules

7.3

TV Series

Jean Robbins

1989

1 episode

 

Simone Buchanan, Robert Hughes, Christopher Mayer, Julie McGregor, Sarah Monahan, and Christopher Truswell in Hey Dad..! (1987)

Hey Dad..!

5.7

TV Series

Felicity Simpson-Green

1988

1 episode

 

The Flying Doctors (1986)

The Flying Doctors

6.8

TV Series

Joanne Wright

1988

1 episode

 

The Movers

TV Movie

Sacha

1986

 

The Great Bookie Robbery (1986)

The Great Bookie Robbery

8.1

TV Mini Series

Sonya Reynolds

1986

3 episodes

 

Breaking Up

TV Movie

1985

 

Shout! - The Story of Johnny O'Keefe (1985)

Shout! - The Story of Johnny O'Keefe

7.4

TV Mini Series

Maureen O'Keefe

1985

2 episodes

 

Winners (1985)

Winners

7.7

TV Series

Jean

1985

1 episode

 

Cop Shop (1977)

Cop Shop

7.1

TV Series

Sally PitmanBeth Harrison

1979–1983

4 episodes

 

Ginger Meggs (1982)

Ginger Meggs

6.1

Alex's Mother

1982

 

M.P.S.I.B.

TV Series

Kuan Sadler

1982

1 episode

 

Monkey Grip (1982)

Monkey Grip

6.1

Lillian

1982

 

Freedom (1982)

Freedom

6.1

Annie

1982

 

Cornflakes for Tea

7.0

TV Series

Robin Hart

1981

6 episodes

 

Maggie Kirkpatrick in Prisoner (1979)

Prisoner

8.2

TV Series

Sandra Hamilton

1981

8 episodes

 

Kingswood Country (1980)

Kingswood Country

7.4

TV Series

Fiona Beaumont

1980

1 episode

 

The Journalist (1979)

The Journalist

4.9

Sunshine

1979

 

Judy McBurney, Tim Page, and Gwen Plumb in The Young Doctors (1976)

The Young Doctors

6.2

TV Series

Margot Cunningham

1979

2 episodes

 

Robert Coleby, Ivar Kants, and Judy Morris in The Plumber (1979)

The Plumber

6.5

TV Movie

Meg

1979

 

Money Movers (1978)

Money Movers

6.5

Mindel Seagers

1978

 

Chopper Squad (1977)

Chopper Squad

7.1

TV Series

Lindy

1978

1 episode

 

John Hargreaves in Young Ramsay (1977)

Young Ramsay

7.8

TV Series

April Kent

1977

1 episode

 

Susannah Fowle, Sheila Helpmann, Barry Humphries, and John Waters in The Getting of Wisdom (1977)

The Getting of Wisdom

6.5

Miss Zielinski

1977

 

John Diedrich, Lucky Grills, and Gerda Nicolson in Bluey (1976)

Bluey

7.6

TV Series

Susan Martin

1977

1 episode

 

Lorraine Bayly, Paul Cronin, Susan Hannaford, Andrew McFarlane, Richard Morgan, and Steven Tandy in The Sullivans (1976)

The Sullivans

6.9

TV Series

Rachele

1976–1983

 

Don's Party (1976)

Don's Party

6.8

Kerry

1976

 

Garry McDonald in The Norman Gunston Show (1975)

The Norman Gunston Show

7.9

TV Series

The Checkout Chicks

1975

6 episodes

 

Alvin Rides Again (1974)

Alvin Rides Again

4.3

Girl in Office

1974

 

Grigor Taylor in Silent Number (1974)

Silent Number

5.8

TV Series

Edy

1974

1 episode

 

Number 96 (1972)

Number 96

7.2

TV Series

Jill Sheridan

1973

24 episodes

 

Division 4 (1969)

Division 4

8.3

TV Series

Julie

1972

1 episode

 

Jane Harders in Shirley Thompson Versus the Aliens (1972)

Shirley Thompson Versus the Aliens

4.9

Gang Member

1972

 

Matlock Police (1971)

Matlock Police

7.5

TV Series

Helene

1971

1 episode

 

The Phantom Gunslinger (1970)

The Phantom Gunslinger

3.5

1970

 

Marinetti

7.0

1969

 

Skippy (1968)

Skippy

6.4

TV Series

Georgie

1969

1 episode

 

Ty Hardin in Riptide (1969)

Riptide

7.8

TV Series

Teenage Girl

1969

1 episode

 

Script and Continuity Department

Rosey Jones and Nique Needles in Afraid to Dance (1989)

Afraid to Dance

6.1

script consultant

1989