Bellow, Bulow, and Harlow, Oh My!

Welcome to my 60th post! I was too tired to write anything yesterday . . . if I'm going to talk about puzzles, I have to do it daily.

Today's crossword puzzle, by Fred Piscop, is called called "Bass Trio."  The theme answers are famous names and all end in the word "low."

Saul Bellow

17A: Herzog author (SAUL BELLOW). The author, who lived from 1915 to 2005, was Canadian-born and won both the Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes. Many of his novels were set in Chicago, where he moved when he was nine. He graduated from Northwestern with a double major of sociology and anthropology. Bellow was married five times and taught at several colleges. For a complete list of his works, see the bibliography.

Sunny von Bulow

36A: Jeremy Irons, in Reversal of Fortune (CLAUS VON BULOW). Most of us know who Claus von Bulow (b. 1926) is, and not under the greatest circumstances. In 1980, he was accused of murder of his wife, Sunny by supposed administering an insulin overdose. She lived in a vegetative state for 28 years until her death in 2008. This trial seemed to go on for ages, and the lawyer Alan Dershowitz represented him. Although he initially was sentenced to 30 years in prison, von Bulow appealed and was found not guilty in the second trial. It was discovered that Sunny died from an overdose of drugs and alcohol. Why, Sunny, why? According to this synopsis of the case, she seemed to have everything.

56A: '30s film superstar (JEAN HARLOW). Before Marilyn and Madonna, there was Jean Harlow. Jean Harlow was considered Hollywood's first blonde bombshell. Born Harlean Carpenter in 1911, she would live only until the age of 26. Her films included Hell's Angels, Dinner at Eight, and Red Dust. Plagued with health problems throughout her life, she died from kidney failure in 1937.

Now for today's cryptoquote:

"Clear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence."--Thomas Szasz

Thomas Szasz, born in 1920, is a psychologist who is best known for his book The Myth of Mental Illness (1961). He is professor emeritus at the SUNY Health Science Center in Syracuse. In this controversial work, he declared that mental illness is not a disease, but rather is created by cultural controls. Just by observing homeless people and criminals, I see what he means.

Well, I'm tired from working out, so it's time to turn in.

Till tomorrow.

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick