On this day in 1892, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS and poet laureate, Alfred, Lord Tennyson died in Haslemere, Surrey at the age of 83. Born Alfred Tennyson in Somersby, Lincolnshire on 6 August 1809. Tennyson was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria’s reign and probably remains one of the most popular British poets. Tennyson excelled at penning short lyrics, such as “Break, Break, Break”, “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, “Tears, Idle Tears” and “Crossing the Bar”. Much of his verse was based on classical mythological themes, such as Ulysses, although In Memoriam A.H.H. was written to commemorate his best friend Arthur Hallam, a fellow poet and fellow student at Trinity College, Cambridge, who was engaged to Tennyson’s sister, but died from a brain haemorrhage before they could marry. Tennyson also wrote some notable blank verse including Idylls of the King, “Ulysses”, and “Tithonus”. A number of phrases from Tennyson’s work have become commonplaces of the English language, including “Nature, red in tooth and claw“, “‘Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all“, “Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die“, “My strength is as the strength of ten, / Because my heart is pure“, “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield“, “Knowledge comes, but Wisdom lingers“, and “The old order changeth, yielding place to new“. Tennyson is one of the most frequently quoted writers in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Tennyson married Emily Sarah Sellwood (1850 – 1892 his death). One of my favorite poets. An excerpt from his poem In Memoriam A.H.H.: I hold it true, whate’er befall;/I feel it when I sorrow most;/’Tis better to have loved and lost/Than never to have loved at all.
The Final Footprint – Tennyson was entombed in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey in Westminster. A memorial was erected in All Saints’ Church, Freshwater. His last words were; “Oh that press will have me now!” A statue of Tennyson was erected in Trinity College, Cambridge. Other notable Final Footprints at Westminster include; Robert Browning, Lord Byron, Geoffrey Chaucer, Oliver Cromwell, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Edward The Confessor, Elizabeth I, George II, George Friederic Handel, Steven Hawking, James I (James VI of Scotland), Samuel Johnson, Ben Jonson, Charles II, Edward III, Edward VI, Henry III, Henry V, Henry VII, Richard II, Rudyard Kipling, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Milton, Sir Isaac Newton, Laurence Olivier, Henry Purcell, Mary I, Mary II, Mary Queen of Scots, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Dylan Thomas, and William III.
#RIP #OTD in 1979 poet, short-story writer, Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry, Elizabeth Bishop died of a cerebral aneurysm in her apartment at Lewis Wharf, Boston aged 68. Hope Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts
On this day in 1989, Academy Award winning actress Bette Davis died at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France from breast cancer at the age of 81. Born Ruth Elizabeth Davis in Lowell, Massachusetts on April 5, 1908. In my opinion, one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history. Davis was known for her willingness to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters and was reputed for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas.
Davis was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen, and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue ten Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Her career went through several periods of eclipse, and she admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and three times divorced.
Davis in her film debut, Bad Sister (1931).
Davis married Harmon Oscar Nelson on August 18, 1932, in Yuma, Arizona. In contrast to Davis’ success, Nelson, had failed to establish a career for himself, and their relationship faltered. In 1938, Nelson obtained evidence that Davis was engaged in a sexual relationship with Howard Hughes and subsequently filed for divorce, citing Davis’ “cruel and inhuman manner.”
As the shrewish Mildred in Of Human Bondage (1934), Davis was acclaimed for her dramatic performance.
in Jezebel (1938)
with Errol Flynn in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
Davis began a relationship with her former costar George Brent, who proposed marriage. Davis refused, as she had met Arthur Farnsworth, a New England innkeeper. Davis and Farnsworth were married at Home Ranch, in Rimrock, Arizona, in December 1940.
Paul Henreid is lighting a cigarette for Davis in Now, Voyager (1942), one of her most iconic roles
In August 1943, Davis’ husband, Arthur Farnsworth, collapsed while walking along a Hollywood street and died two days later. An autopsy revealed that his fall had been caused by a skull fracture he had suffered two weeks earlier. Davis testified before an inquest that she knew of no event that might have caused the injury. A finding of accidental death was reached.
In The Corn Is Green(1945): Despite the studio’s suggestion that she play the role as a young woman, Davis (age 37) insisted on aging her appearance to fit the part.
In 1945, Davis married artist William Grant Sherry, who also worked as a masseur. She had been drawn to him because he claimed he had never heard of her and was, therefore, not intimidated by her.
Beyond the Forest (1949) was the last film Davis made for Warner Bros., after 17 years with the studio
posing as Margo Channing in a promotional image for All About Eve(1950): She is pictured with Gary Merrill, to whom she was married from 1950 to 1960 (her fourth and final husband)
By 1949, Davis and Sherry were estranged. Producer Darryl F. Zanuck offered her the role of the aging theatrical actress Margo Channing in All About Eve (1950).
During production, she established what would become a lifelong friendship with her co-star, Anne Baxter, and a romantic relationship with her leading man, Gary Merrill, which led to marriage.
On July 3, 1950, Davis’ divorce from William Sherry was finalized, and on July 28, she married Gary Merrill. Davis and Merrill lived with their three children on an estate on the coast of Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
Davis received her final Academy Award nomination for her role as demented Baby Jane Hudson in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), opposite Joan Crawford
Davis and William Hopper in the Perry Mason episode, “The Case of Constant Doyle” (January 31, 1963)
Davis and Elizabeth Taylor in late 1981 during a show celebrating Taylor’s life
Davis (age 79) completed her final role in The Whales of August (1987), which brought her acclaim during a period in which she was beset with failing health and personal trauma
The Final Footprint –
She was interred in Forest Lawn—Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, alongside her mother, Ruthie, and sister, Bobby, with her name in larger type size. On her tombstone is written: “She did it the hard way,” an epitaph that she mentioned in her memoir Mother Goddam as having been suggested to her by Joseph L. Mankiewicz shortly after they had filmed All About Eve. Other notable final footprints at Hollywood Hills include; Gene Autry, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, David Carradine, Scatman Crothers, Sandra Dee, Ronnie James Dio, Michael Clarke Duncan, Carrie Fisher, Bobby Fuller, Andy Gibb, Michael Hutchence, Jill Ireland, Al Jarreau, Buster Keaton, Lemmy Kilmister, Jack LaLanne, Nicolette Larson, Liberace, Strother Martin, Jayne Meadows, Ricky Nelson, Bill Paxton, Brock Peters, Freddie Prinze, Lou Rawls, Debbie Reynolds, Telly Savalas, Lee Van Cleef, and Paul Walker.
#RIP #OTD 1992 actor (Trading Places, A Room with a View, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) Denholm Elliott died of AIDS-related tuberculosis at his home in Santa Eulària des Riu on Ibiza, Spain aged 70. Cremated remains scattered at his home garden
#RIP #OTD in 2000 actor (Comes a Horseman, The Straight Story, The Natural, Misery, The Two Jakes) Richard Farnsworth died; self-inflicted gunshot wound; his ranch in Lincoln, New Mexico aged 80. Cremated remains Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills
On this day in 2018, operatic soprano Montserrat Caballé died at the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona, at the age of 85. Born María de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballé i Folch on 12 April 1933 in Barcelona. She sang a wide variety of roles, but is best known as an exponent of the works of Verdi and of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. She was noticed internationally when she stepped in for a performance of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia at Carnegie Hall in 1965, and then appeared at leading opera houses. Her voice was described as pure but powerful, with superb control of vocal shadings and exquisite pianissimo.
Caballé became popular to non-classical music audiences in 1987, when she recorded, at the request of the IOC, “Barcelona”, a duet with Freddie Mercury, which became an official theme song for the 1992 Olympic Games. She received several international awards and also Grammy Awards for a number of her recordings.
Caballé married Spanish tenor Bernabé Martí in 1964.
The Final Footprint
Cementiri de Sant Andreu in Barcelona. Felipe VI of Spain described Caballé as “the best of the best”, and Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez called her the great ambassador of Spain.
#RIP #OTD in 2020 singer-songwriter (“I Can See Clearly Now”) Johnny Nash died of natural causes in his home, surrounded by close family in Houston aged 80. Houston Memorial Gardens, Pearland, Texas
On this day in 2020 musician, songwriter, lead guitarist for Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen died of a stroke at Saint John’s Health Center, Santa Monica, aged 65. Born Edward Lodewijk Van Halen in Amsterdam on January 26, 1955.
From 1974 until 1985, Van Halen consisted of Eddie Van Halen; Eddie’s brother, drummer Alex Van Halen; vocalist David Lee Roth; and bassist/vocalist Michael Anthony. Upon its release in 1978, the band’s self-titled debut album reached No. 19 on the Billboard pop music charts and would sell over 10 million copies in the U.S. By 1982, the band released four more albums (Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, and Diver Down), all of which have since been certified multi-platinum. By the early 1980s, Van Halen was one of the most successful rock acts of the day. The album 1984 was a commercial success with U.S. sales of 10 million copies and four hit singles; its lead single, “Jump”, was the band’s only U.S. number one single.
In 1985, Roth left the band to embark on a solo career and was replaced by former Montrose lead vocalist Sammy Hagar. With Hagar, the group released four U.S. number-one, multi-platinum albums over the course of 11 years (5150 in 1986, OU812 in 1988, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge in 1991, and Balance in 1995). Hagar left the band in 1996 shortly before the release of the band’s first greatest hits collection, Best Of – Volume I. Former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone replaced Hagar and recorded the commercially unsuccessful album Van Halen III with the band in 1998, before parting ways in 1999. Van Halen then went on hiatus until reuniting with Hagar in 2003 for a worldwide tour in 2004 and the double-disc greatest hits collection The Best of Both Worlds. Hagar again left Van Halen in 2005. In 2006 Roth returned, but Anthony was replaced on bass guitar by Eddie’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen. In 2012, the band released their final studio album A Different Kind of Truth, which was commercially and critically successful; it was also Van Halen’s first album with Roth in 28 years and the only one to feature Wolfgang.
As of March 2019, Van Halen is 20th on the RIAA list of best-selling artists in the United States; the band has sold 56 million albums in the States and more than 80 million worldwide, making them one of the best-selling groups of all time. As of 2007, Van Halen is one of only five rock bands with two studio albums to sell more than 10 million copies in the United States. Additionally, Van Halen has charted 13 number-one hits on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock chart.
In 1980, Van Halen met actress Valerie Bertinelli at a Van Halen concert in Shreveport, Louisiana. They married in California eight months later on April 11, 1981. In 2005, Bertinelli filed for divorce in Los Angeles after four years of separation. The divorce was finalized in 2007.
The following year, Eddie proposed to his girlfriend, Janie Liszewski, an actress and stuntwoman who was Van Halen’s publicist at the time. The two married in 2009 at his Studio City estate, with his son Wolfgang and ex-wife Bertinelli in attendance. His brother Alex Van Halen is an ordained minister, and he officiated Eddie’s 2009 wedding and that of his former sister-in-law, Valerie Bertinelli, when she remarried in 2011.
The Final Footprint – Cremated remains scattered at sea
#RIP #OTD in 2022 comedian, actress, comedy musician, “The Love Goddess”, Judy Tenuta died in Studio City, California, from stage 4 ovarian cancer aged 72. cremated remains at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
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