#RIP #OTD in 1993 actress (The Birth of a Nation, Duel in the Sun, The Night of the Hunter), director, screenwriter, “The First Lady of American Cinema” Lillian Gish died of heart failure in New York City, aged 99. Cremated remains Saint Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, NYC
#RIP #OTD in 2003 television host (Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood from 1968 to 2001), author, producer, and Presbyterian minister, Fred Rogers died from stomach cancer at his home in Pittsburgh, aged 74. Private masoleum, Unity Cemetery in Latrobe, Pennsylvania
On this day in 2008, Yale alumnus, former CIA agent, conservative commentator, author, founder of the magazine National Review, host of the television show Firing Line, nationally syndicated newspaper columnist, pianist, sailor, WFB, William F. Buckley, Jr., died at his home, at his desk, in Stamford, Connecticut at the age of 82. Born William Frank Buckley, Jr. on 24 November 1925 in New York City. His father was of Irish descent and his mother, Aloise Josephine Antonia Steiner was a New Orleans native of Swiss-German descent. WFB is one of my heroes. He helped form my early political thought process; that being, fiscally conservative and socially conservative/libertarian or libertarian leaning. Historian George H. Nash believed that Buckley was “arguably the most important public intellectual in the United States in the past half century“. Nash wrote; “For an entire generation he was the preeminent voice of American conservatism and its first great ecumenical figure.” WFB fused traditional American political conservatism with laissez-faire economic theory and anti-communism, laying the groundwork for the modern American conservatism of U.S. presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and President Ronald Reagan. His first book was God and Man at Yale (1951); among over fifty further books on writing, speaking, history, politics, sailing and a series of novels featuring CIA agent Blackford Oakes. He was a practicing Roman Catholic, regularly attending the traditional Latin Mass. WFB was married to Patricia Aldyen Austin “Pat” Taylor (1950–2007 her death). Michelle Tsai in Slate says that WFB spoke English with an idiosyncratic accent: something between an old-fashioned, upper class Mid-Atlantic accent, and British Received Pronunciation, with a Southern drawl. I was a long time subscriber to National Review. I have read many of his columns, his sailing books and his novels and thoroughly enjoyed them. He had a vast command of the English language. I suggest when you read him you should have a dictionary at hand and it would serve you well to brush up on your Latin. WFB was witty and eloquent and is missed. 
The Final Footprint – WFB is interred next to his wife Pat in Saint Bernard Cemetery in Sharon, Connecticut. Their graves are marked by a stone cross and a companion raised stone marker. On 1 November 2009, the editorial/literary publication, The New Islander, was founded and dedicated to WFB. In addition to occasionally publishing pieces reflecting on his life’s work, two of the magazine’s founding editors, Paul Young and Brianne Corcoran, hinted at the publication’s respect for and allegiance to his conservative political ideology. In the magazine’s opening mission statement, they wrote: “We will take a conservative stance in accordance to the fair [ideology]… of Mr. [William F.] Buckley, [Jr.]… that God-fearing sailing enthusiast from Connecticut. Let Yale never forget him.”
On this day in 2015, actor, film director, photographer, author, singer, and songwriter, Mr. Spock, Leonard Nimoy died of complications from COPD at the age of 83, in his Bel Air home. Born Leonard Simon Nimoy on March 26, 1931 in the West End of Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Jewish immigrants from Iziaslav, Ukraine.
In December 1964, he made his first appearance in the rejected Star Trek pilot “The Cage”, and went on to play the character of Spock until the end of the production run in early 1969, followed by eight feature films and guest slots in the various spin-off series. The character has had a significant cultural impact and garnered Nimoy three Emmy Award nominations. TV Guide named Spock one of the 50 greatest TV characters. Nimoy’s profile as Spock was such that both of his autobiographies, I Am Not Spock (1975) and I Am Spock (1995), were written from the viewpoint of sharing his existence with the character. Nimoy was married twice. In 1954, he married actress Sandra Zober (1927–2011). The couple divorced in 1987. On New Year’s Day 1989, Nimoy married actress Susan Bay. Leonard Nimoy lived long and he prospered. 
The Final Footprint – A few days before his death, Nimoy shared some of his poetry on social media website Twitter: “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP”. Nimoy’s cremains were interred in Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City. His funeral service was attended by nearly 300 family members, friends and former colleagues, as well as Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine, and J. J. Abrams. William Shatner could not attend, but he was represented by his daughters. On June 2, 2015, an asteroid, discovered in 1988, was named 4864 Nimoy in his honor. Other notable Final Footprints at Hillside Memorial include; Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Cyd Charisse, Lorne Greene, Moe Howard, Al Jolson, Michael Landon, Suzanne Pleshette, Dinah Shore, Lupita Tovar, and Shelley Winters.
#RIP #OTD in 2024 comedian, actor (Anything But Love; Robin Hood: Men in Tights; Curb Your Enthusiasm), Richard Lewis dies of a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles aged 76. Temple of Aaron Cemetery in Roseville, Minnesota
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On this day in 1852, poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer Thomas Moore died being cared for by his wife at Sloperton Cottage, Bromham, Wiltshire, England at the age of 72. Born at 12 Aungier Street in Dublin, over his father’s grocery shop, his father being from the Kerry Gaeltacht and his mother, Anastasia Codd, from Wexford. Perhaps best remembered for the lyrics of “The Minstrel Boy” and “The Last Rose of Summer”. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron‘s memoirs after his death, at the urging of Byron’s family. In his lifetime he was often referred to as Anacreon Moore. Moore married an actress, Elizabeth “Bessy” Dyke. Moore is often considered Ireland’s National Bard.
On this day in 1983, playwright, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, Tony winner, Tennessee Williams, died from an overdose of barbiturates in his suite at the Hotel Elysée in New York City at the age of 71. Born Thomas Lanier Williams on 26 March 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi. Oh my, where to begin. Clearly one of my favorite writers. If I were suddenly limited to having one book, I would probably choose a book of his collected plays. In my opinion, no one ever wrote better dialogue. Every year on his birthday I read one of his plays. Williams moved from St. Louis to New Orleans in 1939 and changed his first name to “Tennessee”, his father’s birthplace. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948 and for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955. His 1952 play The Rose Tattoo received the Tony Award for best play. His play The Glass Menagerie was adapted into a film in 1950 starring Jane Wyman and Kirk Douglas. A Streetcar Named Desire was adapted into a film in 1951 starring Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, Marlon Brando and Karl Malden. The film was nominated for 12 awards and won four at the 24th Academy Awards; Actress in a Leading Role (Leigh), Actor in a Supporting Role (Malden), Actress in a Supporting Role (Hunter) and Art Direction. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was adapted into a film in 1958 starring Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman. Williams said: “A high station in life is earned by the gallantry with which appalling experiences are survived with grace.” And: “Make voyages. Attempt them. There’s nothing else.” 
The Final Footprint 
On this day in 1994, singer, actress, and television personality Dinah Shore died from ovarian cancer at her home in Beverly Hills, aged 77. Born Fannye Rose Shore on February 29, 1916 in . She was the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s and achieved success a decade later, in television, mainly as hostess of a series of variety programs for Chevrolet.
The Final Footprint
In both Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage, California, streets are named after her. Her hometown of Winchester, Tennessee, honored her with Dinah Shore Boulevard. In 1996, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to her. Other notable final footprints at Hillside Memorial include; Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Cyd Charisse, Moe Howard, Al Jolson, Michael Landon, Leonard Nimoy, Lupita Tovar, and Shelley Winters. Other notable final footprints at Forest Lawn Cathedral City include; Rock Hudson, Jerry Vale, Nancy Wilson, and Jane Wyman.
On this day in 2006, comedic actor, Don Knotts, died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California from pulmonary and respiratory complications related to lung cancer at the age of 81. Born Jesse Donald Knotts on 21 July 1924 in Morgantown, West Virginia. Perhaps best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960’s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, a role which earned him five Emmy Awards. He also played landlord Ralph Furley on the 1970’s television sitcom Three’s Company. The Andy Griffith Show was televised by CBS between 3 October 1960 and 1 April 1968. Andy Griffith portrayed a widowed sheriff in the fictional small town of Mayberry, North Carolina. In addition to the character Fife, the show featured his spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), and his young son, Opie (Ron Howard, billed as Ronny). The show was a major hit, never placing lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ending its final season at number one and spawned a spin-off series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964), a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D. (1968), and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry (1986). Reruns currently air across the United States, and the complete series is available on DVD. The opening theme song, “The Fishin’ Hole”, was composed by Earle Hagen. Rare is the person who has not whistled that tune. Knotts and Griffith formed a lifelong friendship. Knotts was married three times; Kathryn Metz 1(947–1964 divorce); Loralee Czuchna (1974–1983 divorce); and Frances Yarborough from (2002-2006 his death). He graduated from the University of West Virginia. 
On this day in 2012, actor, director and writer Harold Ramis died from complications from autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis at his home on Chicago’s North Shore, at age 69. Born Harold Allen Ramis on 21 November 1944 in Chicago. Perhaps his best-known film acting roles are as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters (1984) and Russell Ziskey in Stripes (1981); he also co-wrote both films. As a writer-director, his films include the comedies Caddyshack (1980), National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Groundhog Day (1993) and Analyze This (1999). Ramis was the original head writer of the television series SCTV, on which he also performed, and one of three screenwriters of the film National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978). His films have influenced subsequent generations of comedians and comedy writers. Ramis was married twice; Anne Plotkin (1967 – 1984 separated, later divorced) and Erica Mann (1989 – 2014 his death). 
The Final Footprint – Keats is interred in the Protestant Cemetery (Italian: Cimitero protestante), officially called the Cimitero acattolico (“Non-Catholic Cemetery”) and often referred to as the Cimitero degli Inglesi (“Englishmen’s Cemetery”), a cemetery in Rome, located near Porta San Paolo. Shelley’s cremated remains are interred there as well. Keats’ last request was to be placed under a unnamed tombstone which contained only the words (in pentameter), “Here lies one whose name was writ in water.” His friends, Joseph Severn and Charles Armitage Brown, erected the stone, which under a relief of a lyre with broken strings, contains the epitaph: “This Grave / contains all that was Mortal / of a / Young English Poet / Who / on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart / at the Malicious Power of his Enemies / Desired / these Words to be / engraven on his Tomb Stone: / Here lies One / Whose Name was writ in Water. 24 February 1821″
On this day in 1875, landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot died in his home, rue du Faubourg-Poissionnière, Paris, 10th arr. of a stomach disorder aged 78. Born in Paris on 16 July 1796, in a house at 125 Rue du Bac, now demolished. In my opinion, Corot is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his vast output simultaneously references the Neo-Classical tradition and anticipates the plein-air innovations of Impressionism.
The Final Footprint – Corot is entombed at Père Lachaise Cemetery. Other notable Final Footprints at Père Lachaise include; Guillaume Apollinaire, Honoré de Balzac, Georges Bizet, Jean-Dominique Bauby, Maria Callas, Chopin, Colette, Auguste Comte, Amedeo Modigliani, Molière, Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf, Camille Pissarro, Marcel Proust, Sully Prudhomme, Gioachino Rossini, Georges-Pierre Seurat, Simone Signoret, Gertrude Stein, Dorothea Tanning, Alice B. Toklas, Oscar Wilde, and Richard Wright.
On this day in 1987 artist Andy Warhol died in New York City at New York Hospital from a sudden post-operative cardiac arrhythmia following gall bladder surgery, at the age of 58. Born Andrej Varhola, Jr. on 6 August 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Warhol was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement that flourished by the 1960s. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became a renowned and sometimes controversial artist. The Andy Warhol Museum in his native city, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, holds an extensive permanent collection of art and archives. It is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to a single artist. His art used many types of media, including hand drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, silk screening, sculpture, film, and music. He was also a pioneer in computer-generated art using Amiga computers that were introduced in 1984, two years before his death. He founded Interview Magazine and was the author of numerous books, including The Philosophy of Andy Warhol and Popism: The Warhol Sixties. Warhol managed and produced the Velvet Underground, a rock band which had a strong influence on the evolution of punk rock music. His studio, The Factory, was a famous gathering place that brought together distinguished intellectuals, playwrights, Bohemian street people, Hollywood celebrities, and wealthy patrons. Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books, and feature and documentary films. He coined the widely used expression “15 minutes of fame”. 
On this day in 1437, James
I, King of Scots, was assassinated in a failed coup by his kinsman and former ally Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, at the Blackfriars monastery on the outskirts of Perth, Scotland. Born in Dunfermline Palace about July 1394; the son of Robert III of Scotland and Annabella Drummond. On 4 April 1406 Robert III died and the 12 year old prince became the uncrowned king of Scots. James was crowned on 21 May 1424. He ruled with a firm hand, achieving numerous legal and financial reforms, including remodeling the Scottish parliament after its English counterpart, and renewing the Auld Alliance with France. His actions, although very effective, upset many, namely the descendents of his grandfather, Robert II‘s second marriage (James was descended from the first marriage). Conflict arose between the two factions over who should be on the throne. The main conspirators in the regicide, Walter of Atholl, his grandson Robert Stewart and Robert Graham were executed. James was married to Joan Beaufort. James was succeeded on the throne by his son James II. A king named James would rule Scotland for 136 years through James I’s descendents; James II through James V. James V was succeeded by his only surviving legitimate child, Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary would be succeeded by the final James, her son James I of England, James VI, King of Scots. In My Defens, God Me Defend!
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On this day in 1895, social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman Frederick Douglass died from a heart attack in his home in Washington D. C., at the age of 77. Born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey; c. February 1818 in . After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, gaining note for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. In his time, he was described by abolitionists as a living counter-example to slaveholders’ arguments that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens. Northerners at the time found it hard to believe that such a great orator had once been a slave.
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On this day in 1936, actor Max Schreck died from a heart attack in Munich at the age of 56. Born Friedrich Gustav Maximilian Schreck on 6 September 1879 in Berlin. Perhaps best known for his lead role as the vampire Count Orlok in the film Nosferatu (1922).
On this day in 2005, journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson died from a self-inflicted gunshot at his home, Owl Farm near Woody Creek, Colorado, at the age of 67. Born Hunter Stockton Thompson on 18 July 1937 in Louisville, Kentucky. Thompson traveled frequently, including stints in California, Puerto Rico and Brazil, before settling in Aspen, Colorado, in the early 1960s. He became internationally known with the publication of Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (1967). Thompson had spent a year living and riding with the Angels, experiencing their lives and hearing their stories first hand. With the publication in 1970 of “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved” he became a counter cultural figure, with his own brand of New Journalism he termed “Gonzo”, an experimental style of journalism where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become central figures of their stories. The work he perhaps remains best known for is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream (1972), a rumination on the failure of the 1960s counterculture movement. It was first serialized in Rolling Stone, a magazine with which Thompson would be long associated, and was released as a film starring Johnny Depp and directed by Terry Gilliam in 1998. Politically minded, Thompson ran unsuccessfully for sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado, in 1970, on the Freak Power ticket. He was well known for his inveterate hatred of Richard Nixon, whom he claimed represented “that dark, venal, and incurably violent side of the American character” and whom he characterized in what might be his greatest contribution to American Literature, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72. Thompson’s output notably declined from the mid-1970s, as he struggled with the consequences of fame, and he complained that he could no longer merely report on events as he was too easily recognized. He was also known for his lifelong use of alcohol and illegal drugs; his love of firearms, and his iconoclastic contempt for authoritarianism, and remarked that, “I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me.” 
On this day in 1980, Scottish-born Australian rock musician, lead singer and lyricist of Australian heavy rock band AC/DC, Bon Scott, died in a parked car at 67 Overhill Road in East Dulwich, South London, at the age of 33. The official cause of death was listed as acute alcohol poisoning. Born Ronald Belford Scott on 9 July 1946 in Kirriemuir, Scotland. His family moved to Melbourne, Australia when he was six. Scott became the lead singer of AC/DC in 1974. The band went on to release some of the best heavy rock albums, in my opinion, including; Let There Be Rock, Powerage, If You Want Blood You’ve Got It and Highway to Hell. After Scott’s death, the remaining members of AC/DC, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd briefly considered disbanding. However, they decided that Scott would have wanted them to continue. With the blessings of Scott’s family, the band hired Brian Johnson as the new vocalist and lyricist. Five months after Scott’s death, AC/DC finished the work they began with Scott and released Back in Black as a tribute to him with two tracks from the album, “Hells Bells” and “Back in Black”, dedicated to his memory. One of my all-time favorite bands. 
On this day in 2016, novelist Harper Lee died in her sleep in Monroeville, Alabama at the age of 89. Born Nelle Harper Lee on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. Perhaps best known for To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960. Immediately successful, it won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and has become a classic of modern American literature. In 2007 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution to literature. She was also known for assisting her close friend Truman Capote in his research for the book In Cold Blood (1966). Capote was the basis for the character Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Lee was portrayed by Catherine Keener in the film Capote (2005), by Sandra Bullock in the film Infamous (2006), and by Tracey Hoyt in the TV movie Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story (1998). In the adaptation of Truman Capote’s novel Other Voices, Other Rooms (1995), the character of Idabel Thompkins, who was inspired by Capote’s memories of Lee as a child, was played by Aubrey Dollar.
On this day in 1564, Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the High Renaissance, Il Divino (“the divine one”), Michelangelo died in Rome at the age of 88. Born Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni on 6 March 1475 in Caprese near Arezzo, Tuscany. In my opinion, Michelangelo exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. Despite making few forays beyond the arts, his versatility in the disciplines he took up was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man, along with his fellow Italian Leonardo da Vinci. Michelangelo was generally considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime, and ever since then, in my opinion, he has been held to be one of the greatest artists of all time. A number of his works in painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most famous in existence. His output in every field during his long life was prodigious; when the sheer volume of correspondence, sketches, and reminiscences that survive is also taken into account, he might be the best-documented artist of the 16th century. Two of his best-known works, the Pietà and David, were sculpted before he turned thirty. Despite his low opinion of painting, Michelangelo also created two of the most influential works in fresco in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling and The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. As an architect, Michelangelo pioneered the Mannerist style at the Laurentian Library. At the age of 74 he succeeded Antonio da Sangallo the Younger as the architect of St. Peter’s Basilica. Michelangelo transformed the plan, the western end being finished to Michelangelo’s design, the dome being completed after his death with some modification. One of the qualities most admired by his contemporaries was his terribilità, a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur, and it was the attempts of subsequent artists to imitate Michelangelo’s impassioned and highly personal style that resulted in Mannerism, the next major movement in Western art after the High Renaissance. Michelangelo never married. 
The Sistine Chapel Ceiling (1508–12)
On this day in 1906, U.S. hatter, hat manufacturer, the inventor of the cowboy hat, John B. Stetson died in DeLand, Florida at the age of 75. Born John Batterson Stetson on 5 May 1830 in 
invented, during a trek to Pike’s Peak in Colorado. These lightweight hats were natural in color with four inch crowns and brims; a plain strap was used for the band. Thanks to the time he had spent with cowboys and Western settlers, Stetson knew firsthand that the headwear they wore (such as coonskin caps, sea captain hats, straw hats, and wool derbies) was impractical. Made from waterproof felt, the new hat was durable. The wide brim provided protection from the hot sun. Noted one observer, “It kept the sun out of your eyes and off your neck. It was an umbrella. It gave you a bucket (the crown) to water your horse and a cup (the brim) to water yourself. It made a hell of a fan, which you need sometimes for a fire but more often to shunt cows this direction or that.“
On this day in 1998, sportscaster on radio and television Harry Caray died as a result of complications from a heart attack and a head injury, at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California at the age of 83. Born Harry Christopher Carabina on March 1, 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri. He covered five Major League Baseball teams, beginning with 25 years of calling the games of the St. Louis Cardinals with two of these years also spent calling games for the St. Louis Browns. After a year working for the Oakland Athletics and eleven years with the Chicago White Sox, Caray spent the last sixteen years of his career as the voice of the Chicago Cubs.
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