L.A. County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore is getting some nice attention for Sunday's visiting blogger post at LA Observed about his famous father, the actor James Whitmore. He told the Times' Andrew Blankestein for L.A. Now that responses have come from across the nation.

Whitmore, a former Los Angeles Times copy editor and former newspaper columnist for the Glendale News-Press and other local papers, said the 800-word essay...started as a way to express thoughts and emotions stirred by his father's passing.

But he told The Times today that he wanted to share his recollections of the man who, beyond his Hollywood fame, was rooted in the values of family and country.

[skip]

Whitmore said he believes people were drawn to his father because he possessed qualities to which most Americans can relate.

"He wasn't the tall, dashing Hollywood figure. He was like you and me," Whitmore said. "He was authentic in the sense that he was honest, he had integrity and stood up for what he believed in, even when it threatened the ability to provide for his family."

Also this past weekend, author Nancy Snow remembered fondly at the Huffington Post the night when James Whitmore honored her at an ACLU fundraiser.