two-twenty

willy freed from mortal coil

Keiko, star of the "Free Willy" movies, has gone to the big ocean in the sky. The killer whale died Friday at the young age of 27 (approximately 52 by two-twenty's whale-years calculations) after spending his last year as an unofficial tourist attraction in Norway. The whale-actor's remains are currently beneath a tarp/shroud in Taknes Bay. David Phillips, executive director of the San Francisco-based Free Willy-Keiko Foundation, is hoping for a land burial so Keiko's skeleton can be recovered, and possibly exhibited in a museum. Two-twenty would maybe like to insert some joke here about Keiko being a cash-cow, but as he is male and recently deceased, that would just be bull.

Keiko, Killer Whale Star of "Free Willy" Movies, Dies | AP / NY Times