Three's Company

They say bad things always happen in threes and this week is no different. Three of Hollywood's beloved actors of a simpler age have all found their demise within a few days of each other.

First to go was Three's Company's Mr. Furley, Don Knotts. Many would argue they thought he'd been dead for a long time already, but surprise appearances in films like Pleasantville put paid to those rumours. Of course, they're rumours no more.

Second to go is Darren McGavin. Probably most famous for Kolchak: The Nightstalker, which many view as the precursor to "The X-Files", there's a whole generation that will know him as "Nottafinger", the dad from "A Christmas Story," one of Canada's best loved homegrown films, as well as Billy's dad in "Billy Madison".

Today, there's news that Dennis Weaver has hit the bucket. He starred in one of Steven Spielberg's first big screen outings, "Duet" as well as the detective series "McCloud".

All of these guys had been receiving a pension for years and years, so it's not that much of a surprise that they've finally met their end, but as actors I grew up watching, it's a bit of a sad news day.