On this day in 1838, Venetian opera librettist and poet Lorenzo Da Ponte died in New York at the age of 89. Born Emanuele Conegliano in Ceneda, in the Republic of Venice (now Vittorio Veneto, Italy) on 10 March 1749. He was Jewish by birth, the eldest of three sons. In 1764, his father, the widower Geronimo Conegliano, converted himself and his family to Roman Catholicism in order to remarry. Emanuele, as was the custom, took the name of Lorenzo Da Ponte from the Bishop of Ceneda who baptised him. He wrote the librettos for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart’s greatest operas, Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte.
The Final Footprint – An enormous funeral ceremony was held in New York’s old St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Mulberry Street. Some sources state that Da Ponte is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Queens, but that cemetery did not exist before 1848. Other sources say Da Ponte was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, as a rural cemetery in Kings County, New York. Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, New York does contain a stone marker to serve as a memorial to Da Ponte. Other notable final footprints at Green-Wood include; Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ebbets, and Louis Comfort Tiffany.
#RIP #OTD in 1942 novelist (David Golder, Le Bal, Le Vin de solitude, Suite française, Chaleur du sang) Irène Némirovsky was murdered in Auschwitz at the age of 39
On this day in 1973 novelist and poet, Pulitzer Prize recipient, Poet Laureate, Conrad Aiken died in Savannah, Georgia at the age of 84. Born Conrad Potter Aiken on 5 August 1889 in Savannah. A good source for information on Aiken’s life is his autobiographical novel Ushant (1952). In this book he writes of his various affairs and marriages, his attempted suicide and fear of insanity, and his friendships with T.S. Eliot (who appears in the book as The Tsetse), Ezra Pound (Rabbi Ben Ezra), and others. He was a graduate of Harvard. Aiken married three times; Jessie McDonald (1912-1929 divorce), Clarissa Lorenz (1930) and Mary Hoover (1937-1973 his death).
The Final Footprint – Aiken is interred in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah. His wife Mary was interred next to him upon her death in 1992. Their graves are marked with an engraved granite bench with two epitaphs; GIVE MY LOVE TO THE WORLD and COSMOS MARINER DESTINATION UNKNOWN. The grave was made famous by its mention in John Berendt’s non-fiction book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1994), one of my favorite books. The book was subsequently made into a 1997 movie, directed by Clint Eastwood and based loosely on Berendt’s story. Johnny Mercer is also interred in Bonaventure.
On this day in 1983, lyricist, Academy Award nominee, Pulitzer Prize recipient, Ira Gershwin died in Beverly Hills, California, at the age of 86. Born Israel Gershowitz on 6 December 1896 in New York City. He collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century.
The Final Footprint – He is entombed in the George Gershwin Private Mausoleum at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York with his brother George. Notable songs he wrote lyrics for include:
- “But Not For Me”
- “Embraceable You”
- “I Can’t Get Started”
- “I Got Rhythm”
- “Nice Work if You Can Get It”
- “The Man I Love”
- “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”
- “Someone to Watch Over Me”
- “‘S Wonderful”
- “The Man That Got Away”
- “Strike Up the Band”
On this day in 1990, actress and singer Pearl Bailey died at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia from a heart attack at the age of 72. Born Pearl Mae Bailey on March 29, 1918 in Newport News, Virginia. After appearing in vaudeville she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968. In 1986, she won a Daytime Emmy award for her performance as a fairy godmother in the ABC Afterschool Special, Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale.
Her rendition of “Takes Two to Tango” hit the top ten in 1952. She received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1976 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom on October 17, 1988.
On November 19, 1952, Bailey married the jazz drummer Louie Bellson in London.
The Final Footprint
Bailey is buried at Rolling Green Memorial Park in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
On this day in 2015, ballet dancer and actress (Batgirl, Marta on Star Trek) Yvonne Craig died from breast cancer at her home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, at the age of 78. Born Yvonne Joyce Craig on May 16, 1937 in Taylorville, Illinois. Perhaps best known for her role as Batgirl in the 1960s television series Batman and as the green-skinned Orion slave girl Marta in the Star Trek episode “Whom Gods Destroy” (1969). The Huffington Post called her “a pioneer of female superheroes” for television.
After being discovered by Alexandra Danilova, a ballerina and instructor, Craig joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as its youngest corps de ballet member. She left the ballet company in 1957.
The Final Footprint
Craig was cremated. A memorial bench and plaque were installed at The City of Hope’s Rose Garden in Duarte, California.
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