On this day in 1971, amateur golfer, designer of Augusta National Golf Club and co-founder of the Masters Tournament, Bobby Jones, died from complications of syringomyelia in Atlanta, Georgia at the age of 69. Born Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. on 17 March 1901 in Altanta. He earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1922. He then earned a B.A. in English Literature from Harvard College in 1924. After only one year in law school at Emory University, he passed the Georgia bar exam. Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete on a national and international level. Jones won the the U.S Open four times, The Open Championship three times, the U.S. Amateur five times and the British Amateur once. In 1930, he won the Grand Slam, all four tournaments. In total, he won 13 major championships. In my opinion, he is the greatest golfer of all-time. Jones was married in 1924 to the former Mary Rice Malone.
The Final Footprint – Jones and his wife are buried in Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. Their graves are marked by a companion granite marker. Fans and friends continue to leave golf balls at the gravesite in tribute. Another notable final footprint at Oakland is that of Margaret Mitchell. I have paid my respects in person at Bobby’s grave.
On this day in 1997, actor and comedian Chris Farley died from a drug overdose in his apartment in the John Hancock Center in Chicago at the age of 33. Born Christopher Crosby Farley on February 15, 1964 in Madison, Wisconsin. Farley was known for his loud, energetic comedic style, and was a member of Chicago’s Second City Theatre and later a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live between 1990 and 1995. He then went on to pursue a film career, starring in films such as Tommy Boy, Black Sheep and Beverly Hills Ninja.
The Final Footprint
Farley’s death has been compared to that of his SNL idol John Belushi, who died at the same age of a similar combination of drugs.
A private funeral was held for Farley on December 23, 1997, at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in his hometown of Madison. Over 500 people attended this funeral, including many comedians who had worked with him on Saturday Night Live and on film, such as Dan Aykroyd and Adam Sandler. Farley’s best friend David Spade, chose not to attend the funeral, stating years later that he had found it emotionally hard to handle Farley’s sudden death. Farley’s remains were entombed at Resurrection Cemetery, a Roman Catholic cemetery located on the near west side in Madison.
#RIP #OTD in 2000 singer (“A New England”, “Days”, “Fairytale of New York”), songwriter (“They Don’t Know”) Kirsty MacColl died from injuries after being struck by a power boat while diving off the coast of Cozumel, aged 41. Cremation. Memorial bench Soho Square
On this day in 2008, actress and producer Majel Barrett died at her home in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, as a result of leukemia. She was 76 years old. Born Majel Leigh Hudec on February 23, 1932 in Cleveland.
Perhaps best known for her roles as various characters in the Star Trek franchise: Nurse Christine Chapel (in the original Star Trek series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, and two films of the franchise), Number One (also in the original series), Lwaxana Troi (on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), and the voice of most onboard computer interfaces throughout the series from 1966 to 2009. She married Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in 1969. As his wife and given her relationship with Star Trek—participating in some way in every series during her lifetime—she was sometimes referred to as “the First Lady of Star Trek“.
The Final Footprint – A public funeral was held on January 4, 2009, in Los Angeles. Those attending included; Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner and Wil Wheaton. A sample of her cremated remains will be sealed into a specially made capsule designed to withstand space travel. A spacecraft will carry the capsule, along with digitized tributes from fans, on Celestis’ “Enterprise Flight”. The flight will also contain the cremated remains of Gene, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan.
On this day in 2016 actress Zsa Zsa Gabor died of cardiac arrest at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, aged 99. Born Sári Gábor on February 6, 1917, in Budapest.
Her sisters were actresses Eva and Magda Gabor. Gabor competed in the 1933 Miss Hungary pageant, where she placed as second runner-up, and began her stage career in Vienna the following year. She emigrated from Hungary to the United States in 1941. Becoming a sought-after actress with “European flair and style”, she was considered to have a personality that “exuded charm and grace”. Her first film role was a supporting role in Lovely to Look At (1952). She later acted in We’re Not Married! (1952) and played one of her few leading roles in the John Huston-directed film, Moulin Rouge (1952). Huston would later describe her as a “creditable” actress.
Outside her acting career, Gabor was known for her extravagant Hollywood lifestyle, her glamorous personality, and her many marriages. In total, Gabor had nine husbands, including hotel magnate Conrad Hilton and actor George Sanders. She once stated, “Men have always liked me and I have always liked men. But I like a mannish man, a man who knows how to talk to and treat a woman—not just a man with muscles.”
The Final Footprint
While in a coma, Gabor died from cardiac arrest. On her death certificate, coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease are listed as contributing causes. She had been on life support for the previous five years. Her funeral was held on December 30 in a Catholic ceremony at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. Her cremated remains, placed in a gold rectangular box, were interred at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery; in July 2021, Prinz von Anhalt had them reinterred in the artists’ section of Kerepesi Cemetery in Budapest in order to fulfil her wish to return to Hungary. He said that the remains were transported in their own first-class airline seat.
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