All Things Must Pass

Rich and I were the kind of friends that you become as you grow older & your lives take you in different directions. The kind of friends that knew the other was there doing what he does to make a living. For Rich it meant being a national voice talent....and a very good one at that. I remember when he left Connecticut (where we worked together) to study to become a voice over talent. He wasn't sure how it would work out at the time, but as it turns out it worked well for him. Rich spent 10 years in Atlanta as the off camera voice of the Weather Channel & HGTV and did countless ads for products as varied as Chrysler and Carnival Cruise lines. He ended up with a home studio on Pawley's Island South Carolina and enjoyed being close to the beach. It had been over a year since I talked with him last & so went to his website this morning to drop him a quick "hello" by email. We'd always follow that up with a phone call....but that wouldn't happen this time. On his website this was all I found:

About Rich Bartholomew:

Rich was trained as a voice talent in New York, spent ten years in Atlanta, and maintained an in-office studio close to the beaches of South Carolina. Well respected in the industry and working with clients throughout the U.S., Rich received a heavy repeat business for his voice talent.

Rich passed away in December 2009. This site is retained as a memorial to his work.

My heart nearly stopped as I read those words. I had no idea that Rich was gone. None of you knew Rich, but my guess is you all have someone that you really care about that you only see or hear from once or twice a year. Do yourself a favor and make that connection more frequently because you may be reminded like I was that one day you may not have the chance.

Yes, Rich Bartholomew was a great talent.....but to me he was also a guy who just liked to laugh about our early days in radio & the characters that we had met during that time....and The Beatles. Only Rich seemed to be as big a fan of them as I am.......and George Harrison was his favorite. And so in memory of Rich Bartholomew I close this post with a few lines from his favorite Beatle:

All things must pass
None of life's strings can last
So, I must be on my way
And face another day

Now the darkness only stays the night-time
In the morning it will fade away
Daylight is good at arriving at the right time
It's not always going to be this grey

All things must pass
All things must pass away

.....Now go make your phone call