In the same way that Aldous Huxley’s death on 11.22.63 was all but ignored, the timing of the passing of respected film critic Mike Wilmington, concurrent with the death of Peter Bogdanovich and immediately followed by the loss of the great Sidney Poitier, is somewhat similar. But not if I can help it.

I’m very sorry about the loss of one of the bright and burning fellows of my profession…a wordsmith who really cared.

I regarded Mike as a favored acquaintance and a good egg, although our rapport had diminished during the 20teens due to his Parkinson’s illness and increasingly raspy voice. A major critic for the Chicago Tribune and, prior to that, the L.A. Times, Mike’s film passion was ardent and well-fueled. We hung out during my one and only visit to Chicago in 2011 or thereabouts, and I remember Mike’s vivid praise for an immortal Bob Dylan line — “the ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face.“