An easy rider nears the end of his journey

Two years ago, I noted that the coverage of Paul Newman's battle with cancer reminded me of a line from Edward Albee's play All Over.Early in that drama, as hordes of journalists maintain an attentive vigil off-stage, an intimate of a fatally ill notable remarks: "That’s the final test of fame, isn’t it, the degree of it: Which is newsworthy, the act of dying itself, or merely the death?" To put it another way: When you're admired, the press covers your death. But when you're an icon, the press covers your dying.

Alas, another death watch has begun...