On this day in 1876, United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars, George Armstrong Custer died, along with his brothers Boston and Thomas, at the Battle of Little Bighorn in Montana at the age of 36. Born on 5 December 1839 in New Rumley, Ohio. Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class. However, with the outbreak of the Civil War, all potential officers were needed, and Custer was called to serve with the Union Army.
Custer developed a strong reputation during the Civil War. He fought in the first major engagement, the First Battle of Bull Run. His association with several important officers helped his career, as did his success as a highly effective cavalry commander. Custer was eventually promoted to the temporary rank (brevet) of major general and promoted major general of Volunteers. (At war’s end, he reverted to his permanent rank of captain.) At the conclusion of the Appomattox Campaign, in which he and his troops played a decisive role, Custer was on hand at General Robert E. Lee‘s surrender.
After the Civil War, Custer was dispatched to the west to fight in the Indian Wars. His disastrous final battle overshadowed his prior achievements. Custer and all the men with him were killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, fighting against a coalition of Native American tribes, Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, led by several major war leaders, including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall, inspired by the visions of Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake), in a battle that has come to be popularly known in American history as “Custer’s Last Stand.” Custer married Elizabeth Clift Bacon (1842–1933) (whom he first saw when he was ten years old) on 9 February 1864.
The Final Footprint – Following the recovery of Custer’s body and that of his brother Tom, the remains were buried on the battlefield side by side in a shallow grave, after being covered by pieces of tent canvas and blankets. One year later, Custer’s remains and those of many of his officers were recovered and sent back east for reinterment in more formal burials. Custer was buried again with full military honors at West Point Cemetery on 10 October 1877. The battle site was designated a National Cemetery in 1876.
On this day in 1976, lyricist, songwriter and singer, Johnny Mercer died from a brain tumor in Bel Air, California at age 66. Born John Herndon Mercer on 18 November 1909 in Savannah, Georgia. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others. From the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s, many of the songs Mercer wrote and performed were among the most popular hits of the time. He wrote the lyrics to more than fifteen hundred songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway shows. He received nineteen Academy Award nominations, and won four. My favorite Mercer songs include:
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The Final Footprint – Mercer was buried in Savannah’s historic Bonaventure Cemetery. The simple line drawing caricature adorning his memorial bench is in fact a reproduction of a self-portrait. Conrad Aiken is also interred in Bonaventure.
On this day in 1997, French naval officer, explorer, conservationist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher Jacques Cousteau died of a heart attack in Paris, at the age of 87. Born Jacques-Yves Cousteau on 11 June 1910 in in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, Gironde, France. Cousteau studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-developed the Aqua-Lung, pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie française.
Cousteau described his underwater world research in a series of books beginning with The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure, published in 1953. Cousteau also directed films, most notably the documentary adaptation of the book, The Silent World, which won a Palme d’or at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. He was the first person to win a Palme d’Or for a documentary film.
The Final Footprint
He was entombed in the family vault at Saint-André-de-Cubzac. An homage was paid to him by the town by naming the street which runs out to the house of his birth “rue du Commandant Cousteau”, where a commemorative plaque was placed.
On this day in 2009, multiple Grammy Award-winning recording artist, dancer, singer-songwriter, musician, producer, choreographer, and philanthropist, King of Music Videos, The King of Pop, Michael Jackson died at his home in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles of acute propofol intoxication at the age of 50. Born Michael Joseph Jackson on 29 August 1959 in Gary, Indiana. Perhaps the most successful entertainer of all time. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion made him a global figure. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style have influenced numerous artists. My favorite Jackson songs, and videos, inlcude; “Thriller”, “Beat It”, “Billie Jean”, “Black or White”, “Scream”, “Bad”, “Man in the Mirror”, “Smooth Criminal”, “Dirty Diana”, “They Don’t Care About Us”.
The Final Footprint – Jackson is entombed in the Great Mausoleum, Holly Terrace, Sanctuary of Ascension in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. The mausoleum is private and is not open to the public. Jackson’s memorial service was held on 7 July 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, John Mayer, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Jermaine Jackson, and Shaheen Jafargholi performed at the event. Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson gave eulogies, while Queen Latifah read, “We had him,” a poem written for the occasion by Maya Angelou. Other notable Final Footprints at Forest Lawn Glendale include; L. Frank Baum, Humphrey Bogart, Lon Chaney, Nat King Cole, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jean Harlow, Sam Cooke, Walt Disney, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Tom Mix, Casey Stengel, Jimmy Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor, and Spencer Tracy.
On this day in 2009, University of Texas at Austin attendee, actress and artist, Farrah Fawcett died from anal cancer in the intensive care unit of Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, with Ryan O’Neal and Alana Stewart by her side. She was 62. Born Farrah Leni Fawcett on 2 February 1947 in Corpus Christi, Texas. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie’s Angels in 1976. Fawcett later appeared off-Broadway to critical approval and in highly rated and critically acclaimed television movies, in roles often challenging (The Burning Bed; Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story; Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story; Double Exposure: The Story of Margaret Bourke-White) and sometimes unsympathetic (Small Sacrifices). Fawcett was a sex symbol whose iconic poster, released the same year Charlie’s Angels premiered, broke sales records, making her an international pop culture icon. Her hairstyle was emulated by young women in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Final Footprint – A private funeral was held in Los Angeles on June 30. She is buried in a private hedge estate at the Westwood Village Memorial Park (a Dignity Memorial property) in Los Angeles. Other notable final footprints at Westwood include; Ray Bradbury, Sammy Cahn, Truman Capote, James Coburn, Rodney Dangerfield, Hugh Hefner, Janet Leigh, Brian Keith, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Peter Lawford, Peggy Lee, Jack Lemmon, Karl Malden, Dean Martin, Walter Mathau, Marilyn Monroe, Carroll O’Connor, Roy Orbison, George C. Scott, Dorothy Stratten, Natalie Wood, and Frank Zappa.
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On this day in 1987 comedian, actor and musician Jackie Gleason died at his home in Lauderhill, Florida at the age of 71. Born Herbert Walton Gleason, Jr. on 26 February 1916 in either Bushwick or Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Perhaps best known for his role on television as Ralph Kramden in The Honeymooners and for The Jackie Gleason Show (1952-1970). His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The Hustler (1961) starring Paul Newman, and as Buford T. Justice in the Smokey and the Bandit movie series. Gleason married three times; Genevieve Halford (1936-1970 divorce), Beverly McKittrick (1970-1975 divorce) and Marilyn Taylor (1975-1987 his death). His trademark phrases were “And away we go!” and “How sweet it is!”. In my opinion, The Honymooners is, without question, the “Bang, Zoom” funniest show that ever aired on television. And I will stand on Jerry Seinfeld’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that. I remember watching The Jackie Gleason Show as a kid. Gleason was hilarious in Smokey and the Bandit.
On this day in 2014, actor, graduate of the University of Texas, Eli Wallach died of natural causes at the age of 98 in Manhattan. Born 
On this day in 1937, author and dramatist, J. M. Barrie died of pneumonia in London at the age of 77. Born James Matthew Barrie on 9 May 1860 in in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland. Perhaps best remembered as the author of Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up (1904) the play about the ageless boy and an ordinary girl named Wendy who have adventures in the fantasy setting of Neverland. The play was developed by Barrie into the 1911 novel Peter and Wendy. George Bernard Shaw described the play as “ostensibly a holiday entertainment for children but really a play for grown-up people.”
The Final Footprint – Barrie is interred in the Barrie and Ogilivie family plot in Kirriemuir Cemetery. The family plot is marked by three large upright markers. A bronze Peter Pan statue was erected in Kensington Gardens, London. Barrie was portrayed in the semi-biographical film, Finding Neverland (2004), by Johnny Depp. The film was nominated for an Oscar, as was Depp, and also stars Kate Winslet and Hoffman. Neverland Valley Ranch was named by Michael Jackson after Barrie’s Neverland.
On this day in 1975, Sicilian American mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957–1966, “Momo”, “Mooney”, “Sam the Cigar”, “Sammy”, Sam Giancana died from multiple gunshot wounds in his home in Oak Park, Illinois at the age of 67. Giancana was killed shortly before he was scheduled to appear before a U. S. Senate committee investigating supposed CIA and Cosa Nostra collusion in plots to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. Born Salvatore Giangana to Sicilian immigrants in Little Italy, Chicago.
On this day in 2013, actor James Gandolfini died of an apparent heart attack in Rome at the age of 51. Born James Joseph Gandolfini, Jr. on 18 September 1961 in Westwood, New Jersey. Perhaps best known for his role in The Sopranos as Tony Soprano, a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia. Gandolfini garnered enormous praise for this role, winning both the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series three times.
