From today’s Orange County Register online, and tomorrow’s print version, Page 2:
Last item
It has been our pleasure to serve you as the ruthless people columnist these past two-plus years, but as a philosopher once said, “All bad things must come to an end.”
Today is our (as in Timothy Mangan’s) last celebrity column. We will be returning to our first love, reporting on and reviewing classical music, elsewhere in these pages. Someone less cranky will take over here.
It’s not that we don’t love celebrities. You, dear reader, know that we do. Oh, the times that we’ve had.
We’d like to thank those readers (Mom) who dropped us a note saying how much you enjoyed these columns.
We’d also like to thank those readers who told us they hated the column. But we can’t.
Don’t be sad. We’ll all get over it. Then we’ll die.
Besides, we’ll always have Lindsay, the “Herbie Fully Loaded” star, who starred as Liz not Dick.
-30-
[Champagne tonight.]
classical life 
Awesome — congratulations!!!! I can hear the cork(s) popping from here.
Hurray! Congratulations! Champagne is definitely in order.
It has been poured.
Damn. Only one bottle.
Bravo, Maestro! Back to do what you do best!
Gotta say you don’t seem terribly disturbed at this turn ov events…
Not really able to process the change of fortune at this point.
Fabulous news! I look forward to reading more reviews from my fave critic! I think the celeb column will suffer without your crankiness.
Let it suffer.
Finalmente!
No kidding! I thought it would never end.
Reblogged this on All is Yar and commented:
Congrats to Mr. Mangan. It’s about freakin’ time.
This news is very good at the very least on three counts: 1) Tim’s increased contribution means imminent improvement in the overall quality of classical music criticism in Southern California, 2) it is refreshing to see anything positive for a change happening in the print media these days, 3) doing more of what he loves and less of what he doesn’t can’t help but elevate Tim’s quality of life and he more than deserves it at this point.
Well stated, MarK!
1) I am hoping to cover “Southern California,” but that still has to be discussed. I’ll be covering OC more thoroughly than I did before though. 2) An editor from another publication emailed me to say that I’m probably the only music critic in the country to get his job back. Kind of scary to be in that position. 3) Thank you, MarK. I do think it will elevate my quality of life.
Tim, I’m so happy for you! Now you’ll be doing what you really love and are so accomplished writing about. But now what will be my incentive to read about all those celebs I heretofore knew nothing nor cared about?!!
I got some very nice emails from fans of my celebrity column. They worried me a bit. But I think the Register will find someone as good or better than me at doing that job.
Whoooooooooooopeeeeeeeeeeee!
And such a restrained report. Dare we think this is permanent?
m
_____
Is anything permanent in newspapers these days? Keep your fingers crossed.
The Register did something right? That’s unheard of!
New owners, Gary. These guys mean business.
Best of luck to the new owners. The Register needs a change in direction.
Gary, have you seen the paper recently? The change in direction has already begun, with more changes in the offing.
Tim, I have not seen the Register lately. I’ll check it out. I love newspapers and will support anyone willing to change them for the better. It’s terrible what has happened to the Times over the last few years.
So it goes.
This is wonderful news!
And it’s an excellent farewell post here, Tim.
Were you always this funny in the celebrity column? (I’m – well, not ashamed, exactly, but something – to admit that I didn’t follow your celebrity column.) If you were this entertaining, I may have to go back and read it.
Thanks, MWnyc. I tried to write a humorous celebrity column, yes. Some folks thought it was.
Some times it takes time for news to make its way from the OC to the erstwhile Hog Butcher of the World. In this case it was worth the wait — for the arrival of the news, not for wisdom to prevail, that wait was too long. I am sure that Maestro Muti will join our hardy corps of scribblers here in sending good cheer.