Actor Michael Vale Dies

Through the years I've had to work some odd hours. When I had to get up in the middle of the night to go to work, or when I would come home from work in the early morning hours, I used to think about the famous phrase that Michael uttered in those famous Dunkin' Donuts commercials, "Time to make the donuts." The sleepy baker that he portrayed made me realize that I wasn't the only one who worked strange hours. Michael Vale passed away this week of complications from diabetes. He may be best known as Fred, the Dunkin Donuts employee who worked tirelessly to make donuts for the donut and coffee chain, but Vale had many other roles in his career too. Besides 1300 commercials, he also appeared in the films Marathon Man and A Hatful of Rain, as well as the TV shows Car 54, Where Are You? and 3-2-1 Contact. He also appeared on Broadway.

For some strange reason, donuts are not as popular here in Texas, and maybe the rest of the South, as they are in other parts of the country. There are only a few 24 hour Duncan Donut stores in the Dallas area. Most of the donut shops found here are independent and are only open a few hours in the morning. I guess most people don't feel the need for coffee and donuts in the middle of the night in the bible belt. At first I thought that maybe donuts were more of a cold climate item, but I found Winchell's Donut shops all over the Los Angeles area, so that can't be the problem. Wendy's acquired Tim Horton Donuts, a very popular Canadian donut franchise, a number of years ago, but I have yet to see one open in this part of the world.

Later today, I'll raise a cup of coffee and a French Cruller in Michael's honor.