RIP Brittany Murphy

Shocking news this morning that 32-year-old actress Brittany Murphy, who starred in a number of significant films of the '90s and '00s, has died from cardiac arrest. 

Without ever becoming a HUGE star, Murphy was just in so many popular movies that she kind of forced her way into the public consciousness.  "Clueless," "Girl Interrupted," "8 Mile," "Sin City"...it was eventually enough to get her a shot at her own vehicle, the little-seen "Little Black Book."  She had an over-the-top quality that was sort of sly, letting you know that she was AWARE that the performance was a bit heightened without ever completely obliterating the suspension of disbelief.  (It also matched her dramatic, expressive, almost anime-like facial features.)  Sometimes it went a bit too far - her "Sin City" performance is kind of ludicrous, particularly the part where Clive Owen races away after the bad guy and she calls out to him, "you damn fool!"  But most of the time it worked, and though the lovemaking-in-a-factory bit is extremely silly, she probably gives the overall best performance in "8 Mile" (which is, granted, hardly a acting masterclass.)

I totally forgot about this, but she was also the voice of Luanne from "King of the Hill."  That's a really full resume for a 32-year-old.  I'm sure she still had some good work left to do, which makes this day all the more tragic.  Mahalo's got more info about Brittany Murphy's untimely passing, if you're curious.  I'm sure more grim details will come out over the next few weeks.

Posted via email from Lon Harris