On this day 14 August death of Bertolt Brecht – Dorothy Stratten – Enzo Ferrari – Bruno Kirby – Jill Janus

#RIP #OTD in 1956 theatre practitioner, playwright (The Threepenny Opera), lyricist (“Mack the Knife”, “Pirate Jenny”), poet, Bertolt Brecht died of a heart attack in East Berlin, at the age of 58. Dorotheenstadt Cemetery on Chausseestraße in the Mitte neighbourhood of Berlin

On this day in 1980, model and actress, Playboy Playmate of the Month for August 1979, Playmate of the Year in 1980, Dorothy Stratten was murdered at age twenty by her estranged husband/manager Paul Snider, who committed suicide the same day.  Born Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten in a Salvation Army hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia on 28 February 1960.

Dorothy_Stratten_grave_at_Westwood_Village_Memorial_Park_Cemetery_in_Brentwood,_CaliforniaThe Final Footprint – Stratten was cremated and her cremated remains were interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery (a Dignity Memorial property) in Los Angeles.

Her epitaph, from A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway…

IF PEOPLE BRING SO MUCH COURAGE TO THIS WORLD,
THE WORLD HAS TO KILL THEM TO BREAK THEM. SO
OF COURSE IT KILLS THEM. IT KILLS THE VERY GOOD
AND THE VERY GENTLE AND THE VERY BRAVE IMPARTIALLY.
IF YOU ARE NONE OF THESE YOU CAN BE SURE THAT IT
WILL KILL YOU TOO BUT THERE WILL BE NO SPECIAL HURRY

Her death inspired two motion pictures; Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981) in which Jamie Lee Curtis portrayed Stratten and Bruce Weitz played Snider and Bob Fosse’s Star 80 (1983) starring Mariel Hemingway as Stratten and Eric Roberts as Snider.  In addition, her death inspired the book The Killing of the Unicorn and the songs “Californication” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, “The Best Was Yet to Come” by Bryan Adams and “Cover Girl” by the Canadian rock band Prism.  Other notable final footprints at Westwood include; Ray Bradbury, Sammy Cahn, Truman Capote, James Coburn, Rodney Dangerfield, Janet Leigh, Farrah Fawcett, Brian Keith, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Peter Lawford, Peggy Lee, Jack Lemmon, Karl Malden, Dean Martin, Walter Matthau, Marilyn Monroe, Carroll O’Connor, Roy Orbison, George C. Scott, Dorothy Stratten, Natalie Wood, and Frank Zappa.

On this day in 1988 race car driver and entrepeneur, il Commendatore, il Drake, l’Ingegnere, il Grande Vecchio Enzo Ferrari died in Maranello, Itlay at the age of 90.  Born Enzo Anselmo Ferrari on 18 February 1898 in Modena, Italy.  Ferrari founded the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team and subsequently the Ferrari car manufacturer.  Ferrari was married to Laura Dominica Garello from 1932 until her death.

The Final Footprint – Ferrari is entombed in the Ferrari family private room in Cimitero di San Cataldo in Modena Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

On this day in 2006 actor Bruno Kirby died from complications related to leukemia in Los Angeles at the age of 57.  Born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr. in New York City on 28 April 1949.  Perhaps best known for his portrayal of a younger version of Pete Clemenza in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part II. His other film credits include; City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally…, Good Morning, Vietnam, and Donnie Brasco.

The Final Footprint – Kirby was cremated.

#RIP #OTD in 2018 lead singer of heavy metal bands Huntress (“Eight of Swords”, “Spell Eater”, “Zenith”, “Sorrow”), The Starbreakers and Chelsea Girls, Jill Janus died by suicide near Portland, Oregon, age 42.

Have you planned yours yet?

Follow TFF on twitter @RIPTFF

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
This entry was posted in Day in History, Extravagant Footprints, Film Footprints and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.