Totally random non-finals-related tribute

Peter Boyle died today, which I'm kind of sad about. I guess he was best known for his role on Everybody Loves Raymond, but I became a fan of his from his one-time guest spot on The X-Files, way back in 1995.

In that episode, for which he justly won an Emmy, Boyle played a curmudgeonly psychic named Clyde Bruckman (and this is also why I loved that series in the early days - Chris Carter gave a one-time character a name and a fully thought out personality and life). Clyde's psychic abilities are, depressingly, limited to seeing how people die (which is why he's uniquely suited for his job as a life insurance salesman). Despite his crusty exterior, he's a kind-hearted man, and he of course ends up reluctantly helping Mulder (whom he treated with some disdain) and Scully (whom he clearly adored).

Somehow, I've managed to watch that episode a handful of times on TV, and I like it even more each time. It's amazingly well-written, with nary an extraneous shot or conversation. The storyline is lean, but the details and hints dropped along the way all tie together beautifully at the end of the hour, which documents not only a satisfying conclusion to the policework but a touching farewell to the character. (God, Chris Carter, you really were that good. What happened at the end?) Boyle managed to deliver the quirky lines and convey the dark humor with the right balance of gravity and gentleness, so that when you see the tears on Scully's face at the end, you understand why she grieves over the death of someone she only met a few days ago.

Of course, you gotta love an actor who can deliver the following:

Scene: Clyde is sitting in the back seat while Mulder and Scully drive to a place Clyde thinks a murder victim is hidden.

Clyde Bruckman: You know, there are worse ways to go, but I can't think of a more undignified way than autoerotic asphyxiation.

Mulder: Why are you telling me that?

Clyde Bruckman: Look, forget I mentioned it. It's none of my business.

Anyway. Peter Boyle. Good actor. By the by, John Lennon was the best man at the wedding, which is impressive, but I'm even more impressed that he was married to his wife, a journalist, for 30 years when he passed away.

Now I am really going back to corporations. God. Why do I waste time doing this?