RIP The Final Impression

Day in History 11 December – Sam Cooke – Bettie Page – Ravi Shankar – Anne Rice

Posted on 29 DecamMon, 11 Dec 2023 00:21:00 -06002023-12-11T00:21:00-06:0012 2011 by MacGregor

On this day in 1964, gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, a pioneer and founder of soul music, The King of Soul, Sam Cooke, died at the Hacienda Motel at 9137 South Figueroa Street in Los Angeles, California at the age of 33, from a gunshot wound to the torso. The motel’s manager said that she shot Cooke in self-defense after he broke into her office residence and attacked her. However, the details of the case involving Cooke’s death are still in dispute. Born Samuel Cook on 22 January 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. In my opinion, his contribution in pioneering Soul music helped pave the way for others. He had 30 U.S. top 40 hits between 1957 and 1964, plus three more posthumously. Cooke was also among the first modern black performers and composers to attend to the business side of his musical career. He founded both a record label and a publishing company as an extension of his careers as a singer and composer. He also took an active part in the Civil Rights Movement. My favorite songs of his are “You Send Me”, “A Change Is Gonna Come”, “Chain Gang”, “Wonderful World”, and “Bring It on Home to Me”.

The Final Footprint – Cooke’s funeral was held in Chicago at A.R. Leak Funeral Home, where thousands of fans had lined up for over four city blocks to view his body. Cooke is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California. His grave is marked with a bronze individual marker with his name, year of birth and death, the phrase “I LOVE YOU” and the inscription “UNTIL THE DAY BREAK, AND THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY”. Other notable Final Footprints at Forest Lawn Glendale include; L. Frank Baum, Humphrey Bogart, Lon Chaney, Nat King Cole, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis, Jr., Walt Disney, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Michael Jackson, Carole Lombard, Tom Mix, Casey Stengel, Jimmy Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor, and Spencer Tracy.

On this day in 2008, model, the Queen of Pinups, Bettie Page died in Los Angeles at the age of 85. Born Bettie Mae Page on April 22, 1923 in Nashville. She gained a significant profile in the 1950s for her pin-up photos. Her jet-black hair, blue eyes, and trademark fringe outfits have influenced artists for generations.

Page lived in California in her early adult years before moving to New York City to pursue work as an actress. There, she began to find work as a pin-up model, and posed for dozens of photographers throughout the 1950s. Page was “Miss January 1955”, one of the earliest Playmates of the Month for Playboy magazine. “I think that she was a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, someone who had a tremendous impact on our society,” said Playboy founder Hugh Hefner to the Associated Press in 2008.

The Final Footprint

Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary in Los Angeles (a Dignity Memorial® property)

Other notable final footprints at Westwood include; Ray Bradbury, Sammy Cahn, Truman Capote, James Coburn, Rodney Dangerfield, Janet Leigh, Farrah Fawcett, Hugh Hefner, Brian Keith, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Peter Lawford, Peggy Lee, Jack Lemmon, Robert Loggia, Karl Malden, Dean Martin, Walter Mathau, Marilyn Monroe, Carroll O’Connor, Roy Orbison, George C. Scott, Dorothy Stratten, Natalie Wood, and Frank Zappa.

#RIP #OTD in 2012 sitarist and composer, Ravi Shankar died at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, San Diego, after heart valve replacement surgery, aged 92. Cremated remains scattered: His birthplace in India, at sea off of San Diego, and the hills of the San Fernando Valley

On this day in 2021 author of gothic fiction and erotic literature, Anne Rice died from complications of a stroke at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, California, aged 80. Born in New Orleans on 4 October 1941.

Perhaps best known for her series of novels The Vampire Chronicles. Books from The Vampire Chronicles were the subject of two film adaptations—Interview with the Vampire (1994) and Queen of the Damned (2002).

She began her professional writing career with the publication of Interview with the Vampire (1976), while living in California, and began writing sequels to the novel in the 1980s. In the mid-2000s, following a publicized return to Catholicism, Rice published the novels Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt and Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, fictionalized accounts of certain incidents in the life of Jesus. Several years later she distanced herself from organized Christianity, citing disagreement with the Catholic Church’s stances on social issues but pledging that faith in God remained “central to [her] life.” However, she later considered herself a secular humanist.

Rice’s books have sold over 100 million copies, making her one of the best-selling authors of modern times. While reaction to her early works was initially mixed, she gained a better reception with critics in the 1980s. Her writing style and the literary content of her works have been analyzed by literary commentators. She was married to poet and painter Stan Rice for 41 years, from 1961 until his death from brain cancer in 2002 at age 60. She and Stan had two children, Michele, who died of leukemia at age five, and Christopher, who is also an author.

In addition to her vampire novels, Rice authored books such as The Feast of All Saints (adapted for television in 2001) and Servant of the Bones, which formed the basis of a 2011 comic book miniseries. Several books from The Vampire Chronicles have been adapted as comics and manga by various publishers. Rice also authored erotic fiction under the pen names Anne Rampling and A. N. Roquelaure, including Exit to Eden, which was later adapted into a 1994 film.

The Final Footprint

Rice family mausoleum at Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans. Other notable final footprints at Metairie include; Jim Garrison, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt, and Louis Prima.

Have you planned yours yet?

Follow TFF on twitter @RIPTFF

Posted in Musical Footprints | Tagged A Change is gonna Come, Aretha Franklin, bettie page, Bobby Womack, Bring it on Home to Me, Buried, Cemetery, Chain Gang, Curtis Mayfield, Forest Lawn Memorial Park Glendale, Ground Burial, Hacienda Motel, History, Inscription, James Brown, Marker, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, riptff, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, tff, the final footprint, Wonderful World, You Send Me | Leave a comment

Day in History 10 December – Alfred Nobel – Red Cloud – Luigi Pirandello – Otis Redding – Ed Wood – Richard S. Castellano – Greta Kempton – Faron Young – Richard Pryor

Posted on 29 DecamSun, 10 Dec 2023 00:18:00 -06002023-12-10T00:18:00-06:0012 2011 by MacGregor

On this day in 1896, chemist, engineer, innovator, the inventor of dynamite and armaments manufacturer, Alfred Nobel, died in San Remo, Italy at the age of 63. Born Alfred Bernhard Nobel on 21 October 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1888 Alfred’s brother Ludvig died while visiting Cannes and a French newspaper erroneously published Alfred’s obituary. It condemned him for his invention of dynamite. The obituary stated Le marchand de la mort est mort (“The merchant of death is dead”) and went on to say, “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.” Nobel was disappointed with what he read and concerned with how he would be remembered. On 27 November 1895, at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris, Nobel signed his last will and testament and set aside the bulk of his estate to establish the Nobel Prizes, to be awarded annually without distinction of nationality. Since 1901, the prize has honored men and women for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and for work in peace. Though Nobel remained unmarried, his biographers note that he had at least three loves. Nobel’s first love was in Russia with a girl named Alexandra, who rejected his proposal. In 1876 Austro-Bohemian Countess Bertha Kinsky became Alfred Nobel’s secretary. But after only a brief stay she left him to marry her previous lover, Baron Arthur Gundaccar von Suttner. Though her personal contact with Alfred Nobel had been brief, she corresponded with him until his death in 1896, and it is believed that she was a major influence in his decision to include a peace prize among those prizes provided in his will. Nobel’s third and long-lasting love was with a flower girl named Sofie Hess from Vienna. This liaison lasted for 18 years and in many of the exchanged letters, Nobel addressed his love as ‘Madame Sofie Nobel’.

The Final Footprint – Nobel is interred in Norra begravningsplatsen in Stockholm. His grave is marked by a large upright monument. Another notable final footprint at Norra begravningsplatsen is that of Ingrid Bergman.

On this day in 1909, war leader and a chief of the Oglala Lakota, Red Cloud died at the age of 88 on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. Born Maȟpíya Lúta close to the forks of the Platte River, near the modern-day city of North Platte, Nebraska. His mother, Walks As She Thinks, was an Oglala Lakota and his father, Lone Man, was a Brulé Lakota chief. He led as a chief from 1868 to 1909. One of the most capable Native American opponents the United States Army faced, he led a successful campaign in 1866–1868 known as Red Cloud’s War over control of the Powder River Country in northeastern Wyoming and southern Montana. After signing the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), he led his people in the important transition to reservation life. He is quoted as saying, “They made us many promises, more than I can remember. But they kept but one–They promised to take our land…and they took it.”

The Final Footprint – Red Cloud was interred on the Pine Ridge Reservation. In 2000, he was selected for induction into the Nebraska Hall of Fame. He has been honored by the United States Postal Service with a 10¢ Great Americans series postage stamp.

#RIP #OTD in 1936 dramatist (Sei personaggi in cerca d’autore, Ciascuno a suo modo, Questa sera si recita a soggetto), novelist, poet, and short story writer Luigi Pirandello died alone in his home at Via Bosio, Rome, aged 69. Casa Natale di Luigi Pirandello, Agrigento, Sicilia

On this day in 1965, singer and songwriter, record producer, arranger, The King of Soul, The Big O, The Mad Man from Macon, Rockhouse Redding, Otis Redding died at the age of 26 when his twin engine Beechcraft Model 18 plane crashed into Lake Monona near Madison, Wisconsin. In my opinion, he is one of the major figures in soul music and rhythm and blues, and one of the greatest singers in the history of music. Among the songs he wrote or co-wrote are; “Respect” and “Dock of the Bay”. Born Otis Ray Redding, Jr. on 9 September 1941 in Dawson, Georgia.

The Final Footprint – Redding was entombed at his ranch, The Big O, in Round Oak, about 20 miles north of Macon. On 8 November 1987, a memorial plaque was placed on the lakeside deck of the Madison convention center, Monona Terrace.

#RIP #OTD in 1978 filmmaker (Glen or Glenda, Jail Bait, Bride of the Monster, Plan 9 from Outer Space, Night of the Ghouls, The Sinister Urge), actor, and author Ed Wood died from a heart attack in North Hollywood, aged 54. Cremated remains scattered at sea

#RIP #OTD in 1988 actor (Lovers and Other Strangers, Peter Clemenza in The Godfather) Richard S. Castellano died from a heart attack at his home in North Bergen, New Jersey, aged 55. Cremation. “Leave the gun, take the cannoli.

#RIP #OTD in 1991 artist, White House artist during the Truman administration, Greta Kempton died in New York City from heart failure aged 88. Cremated remains inurned, columbarium in the Church of the Transfiguration, Manhattan

#RIP #OTD in 1996 singer (“If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’)”, “Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young”, “Hello Walls”, “It’s Four in the Morning”) Faron Young died from a gunshot wound in Nashville, aged 64. Cremated remains scattered, Old Hickory Lake at Johnny Cash’s house

On this day in 2005, stand-up comedian, actor, and social critic Richard Pryor died from a heart attack in Encino, Los Angeles at the age of 65. Born Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor on December 1, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois. Perhaps best known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities and profanity, as well as racial epithets. He reached a broad audience with his observations and storytelling style. In my opinion, he is one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time: Jerry Seinfeld called Pryor “The Picasso of our profession” and Bob Newhart heralded Pryor as “the seminal comedian of the last 50 years”. Dave Chappelle said of Pryor, “You know those, like, evolution charts of man? He was the dude walking upright. Richard was the highest evolution of comedy.” This legacy can be attributed, in part, to the unusual degree of intimacy Pryor brought to bear on his comedy. As Bill Cosby reportedly once said, “Richard Pryor drew the line between comedy and tragedy as thin as one could possibly paint it.”

Pryor’s body of work includes the concert movies and recordings: Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin’ (1971), (1975), Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979), Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982), and Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983). As an actor, he starred mainly in comedies such as Silver Streak (1976), but occasionally in dramas, such as Paul Schrader’s Blue Collar (1978), or action films, such as Superman III (1983). He collaborated on many projects with actor Gene Wilder. Another frequent collaborator was actor/comedian/writer Paul Mooney.

Pryor won an Emmy Award (1973) and five Grammy Awards (1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, and 1982). In 1974, he also won two American Academy of Humor awards and the Writers Guild of America Award. The first-ever Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was presented to him in 1998.

Pryor was married seven times to five women. His wives were:

Patricia Price, whom he married in 1960 and divorced the following year.
Shelley Bonus, whom he married in 1967 and divorced in 1969.
Deborah McGuire, whom he married on September 22, 1977; they divorced the following year.
Jennifer Lee, whom he married in August 1981. They divorced in October 1982, but later remarried on June 29, 2001, and remained married until Pryor’s death.
Flynn Belaine, whom he married in October 1986. They were divorced in July 1987, but later remarried on April 1, 1990. They divorced again in July 1991.

The Final Footprint – Pryor was cremated. His cremated remains were later spread in 2019 by his widow, Jennifer, in Hana, Hawaii.

Have you planned yours yet?

Follow TFF on twitter @RIPTFF

Posted in Extravagant Footprints, Musical Footprints | Tagged Alfred Nobel, Buried, Cemetery, Ground Burial, History, Monument, Nobel Prize, Norra begravningsplatsen, oglala lakota, Otis Redding, pine ridge reservation, red cloud, richard pryor, riptff, Stockholm, tff, the final footprint | Leave a comment

Day in History 9 December – Edith Sitwell – Branch Rickey – Berenice Abbott – Stan Rice – Jenni Rivera – Eleanor Parker

Posted on 29 DecamSat, 09 Dec 2023 00:12:00 -06002023-12-09T00:12:00-06:0012 2011 by MacGregor

#RIP #OTD in 1964 poet (Façade), writer (I Live Under a Black Sun) and critic Edith Sitwell died at St Thomas’ Hospital, Lambeth, London, aged 77. Parish church of Saints Mary and Peter in Weedon Lois, Northamptonshire

On this day in 1965, baseball Hall of Fame General Manager, “The Mahātmā,” Branch Rickey, died in Columbia, Missouri at the age of 83. Born Wesley Branch Rickey on 20 December 1881 in Stockdale, Ohio. He was known for breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier by signing African-American player Jackie Robinson, for drafting the first Hispanic/Black Hispanic superstar, Roberto Clemente, for creating the framework for the modern minor league farm system, and for introducing the batting helmet. He played for the St. Louis Browns and the New York Highlanders; managed the Browns and the St. Louis Cardinals; and was the General Manager for the Browns, Cardinals, Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Rickey was a man of deep Christian faith. He is attributed with the famous quotation: “Luck is the residue of opportunity and design.”

The Final Footprint – Rickey is interred in Rushtown Cemetery, Rushtown, Ohio. His wife, Jane Moulton, is interred next to him. Their graves are marked by a large upright granite marker.

#RIP #OTD in 1991 photographer Berenice Abbott died in Monson, Maine, aged 93. New Blanchard Cemetery, Blanchard, Maine

On this day in 2002, husband of Anne Rice, painter and poet Stan Rice died of brain cancer at the age of 60 in New Orleans. Born on 7 November 1942 in Dallas. He met his future wife in a high school journalism class in Richardson, Texas, and they married in Denton, Texas on October 14, 1961. It was the death of his and Anne’s first child, daughter Michele (1966–1972), at age six of leukemia, which sparked Rice’s becoming a published author. His first book of poems, based on his daughter’s illness and death, was titled Some Lamb, and was published in 1975. Rice encouraged his wife to quit her work as a waitress, cook and theater usher in order to devote herself full-time to her writing. Rice, his wife and their son Christopher moved to Garden District, New Orleans in 1988, where he eventually opened the Stan Rice Gallery.

The Final Footprint – Rice is entombed in the Rice Family private mausoleum in Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans. Other notable final footprints at Metairie include; Jim Garrison, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt, and Louis Prima.

#RIP #OTD in 2012 singer (Parrandera, Rebelde y Atrevida; Jenni), songwriter, actress (Filly Brown), television producer, spokesperson, philanthropist and entrepreneur Jenni Rivera died in a plane crash near Monterrey, aged 43. All Souls Cemetery in Long Beach, California

#RIP #OTD in 2013 actress (Caged, Detective Story, Interrupted Melody, Of Human Bondage, Scaramouche, The Naked Jungle, The Man with the Golden Arm) Eleanor Parker died in Palm Springs, California from complications of pneumonia aged 91. Cremated remains Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills

Have you planned yours yet?

Follow TFF on twitter @RIPTFF

Posted in Athletic Footprints, Extravagant Footprints, Literary Footprints | Tagged anne rice, Branch Rickey, Brooklyn Dodgers, Buried, Cemetery, Ground Burial, History, Inscription, Jackie Robinson, Marker, metairie cemetery, Monument, riptff, Rushtown Cemetery, St Louis Browns, stan rice, tff, the final footprint | Leave a comment

Day in History 8 December – John Lennon – Marty Robbins – Slim Pickens – Dimebag Darrell – Mattiwilda Dobbs

Posted on 29 DecamFri, 08 Dec 2023 00:54:00 -06002023-12-08T00:54:00-06:0012 2011 by MacGregor

On this day in 1980, Grammy award-winning musician and singer-songwriter John Lennon, was shot to death in front of his apartment The Dakota in New York City, at the age of 40. Born John Winston Lennon on 9 October 1940 in Liverpool, England. Founding member along with Paul McCartney of The Beatles. The Lennon/McCartney songwriting partnership is widely regarded as one of the most influential and successful in music history. Lennon was married twice; Cynthia Powell (1962 – 1968 divorce) and Yoko Ono (1969 – 1980 his death). I learned of his death, as did many others, while watching Monday Night Football when Howard Cosell made the live announcement. The game was between the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots. Word had been passed to Cosell and Frank Gifford by Roone Arledge, who was president of ABC’s news and sports divisions at the time, near the end of the game and Cosell’s announcement was prefaced by Gifford saying, “And I don’t care what’s on the line, Howard, you have got to say what we know in the booth.” Cosell then announced:

“Yes, we have to say it. Remember this is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses. An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous, perhaps, of all of The Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival. Hard to go back to the game after that news flash, which in duty bound, we have to take.”

The Final Footprint – Lennon was cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. Ono scattered his cremated remains in New York’s Central Park, where the Strawberry Field’s memorial was later created. On what would have been Lennon’s 70th birthday 9 October 2010, the John Lennon Peace Monument was unveiled in Chavasse Park, Liverpool, by Cynthia and Julian Lennon. The sculpture entitled ‘Peace & Harmony’ exhibits peace symbols and carries the inscription “Peace on Earth for the Conservation of Life · In Honour of John Lennon 1940–1980”. On one of the benches in John Lennon Park in Havana, Cuba, there is a sculpture of Lennon, sculpted by Cuban artist José Villa Soberón, seated on the bench’s right half. On a marble tile at the foot of the bench there is an inscription reading: “Dirás que soy un soñador pero no soy el único” John Lennon, which is a Spanish translation of the English lyrics, “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one,” from the song Imagine. On 16 January 1997, a bronze sculpture of Lennon was unveiled outside The Cavern Club in Liverpool. Nelson Rockefeller was cremated at Ferncliff as well.

On this day in 1982, United States Navy veteran, singer, songwriter, musician, race car driver Marty Robbins died from complications after cardiac surgery in Nashville at the age of 57. Born Martin David Robinson on 26 September 1925 in Glendale, Arizona. In my opinion, one of the most popular and successful country and Western singers of all time. During his nearly four-decade career, Robbins often topped the country music charts, and several of his songs also became pop hits. My favorite songs are his cowboy and outlaw songs including; “Big Iron” and “El Paso”. Robbins married Marizona Baldwin (1948 – 1982 his death).

The Final Footprint – Robbins is interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville. The city of El Paso, Texas, later honored Robbins by naming a park and a recreational center after him. Other notable final footprints at Woodlawn include; Other notable final footprints at Woodlawn include: Lynn Anderson, Eddy Arnold, Otis Blackwell, Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, Dobie Gray, Red Foley, D. J. Fontana, George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Webb Pierce, Jerry Reed, Dan Seals, Red Sovine, Porter Wagoner, and Tammy Wynette..

On this day in 1983, rodeo performer and film and television actor Slim Pickens died after surgery for a brain tumor in Modesto, California, at the age of 64. Born Louis Burton Lindley Jr. on June 29, 1919 in Kingsburg, California. Perhaps best known for his roles in Dr. Strangelove and Blazing Saddles.

Slim Pickens as Major “King” Kong riding a nuclear bomb to oblivion in Dr. Strangelove

The Final Footprint

Pickens was cremated.

On this day in 2004, guitarist and songwriter Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed by a deranged fan while on stage with Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, at the age of 38. Born Darrell Lance Abbott on August 20, 1966 in Ennis, Texas. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founded alongside his brother Vinnie Paul. As one of the driving forces behind the development of groove metal, he is considered among the most influential guitarists in heavy metal history.

A son of country music producer Jerry Abbott, Abbott began playing guitar at age 12. Pantera released its debut album, Metal Magic (1983), when he was 16. Originally a glam metal musician, Abbott went by the stage name Diamond Darrell at the time. Two further albums in the glam metal style followed in 1984 and 1985, before original vocalist Terry Glaze was replaced by Phil Anselmo in 1986 and Power Metal (1988) was released. The band’s major-label debut, Cowboys from Hell (1990), introduced a groove metal sound to which Abbott’s guitar playing was central. This sound was refined on Vulgar Display of Power (1992), and the group’s third major-label record, Far Beyond Driven, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 1994.

Tensions within Pantera reduced its output after the release of The Great Southern Trendkill in 1996, and Reinventing the Steel (2000) was the band’s final studio album before its acrimonious separation in 2003. Abbott subsequently formed Damageplan with his brother Vinnie Paul and released New Found Power, the band’s debut and only album, in 2004. Other works by Abbott included a collaboration with David Allan Coe titled Rebel Meets Rebel (2006) and numerous guest guitar solos for bands such as Anthrax.

The Final Footprint

Thousands of fans attended his public memorial, and the guest list included; Eddie Van Halen, Zakk Wylde, Corey Taylor, Jerry Cantrell, and Dino Cazares. Abbott was buried alongside his mother Carolyn at the Moore Memorial Gardens cemetery in Arlington, Texas. Gene Simmons donated a Kiss Kasket for the burial, and Eddie Van Halen donated his original black-and-yellow-striped 1979 Charvel “Bumblebee” guitar, which was featured on the back cover of Van Halen II, to be included in the casket. A few weeks prior to his death, Abbott had met Van Halen and asked him for a replica of the Bumblebee. Van Halen said at the funeral: “Dime was an original and only an original deserves the original.”

After Vinnie Paul’s death in 2018, he was buried next to Carolyn and Darrell, also in a Kiss Kasket.

#RIP #OTD in 2015 coloratura soprano, the first black singer to perform at La Scala in Italy, the first black woman to sing a lead role at the Metropolitan Opera, Mayor Maynard Jackson’s aunt, Mattiwilda Dobbs died from cancer at her home in Atlanta aged 90. South View Cemetery, Atlanta

Have you planned yours yet?

Follow TFF on twitter @RIPTFF

Posted in Film Footprints, Musical Footprints | Tagged Bronze Statue, Cemetery, Central Park, Cremation, Cynthia Lennon, Cynthia Powell, el paso, Ferncliff Cemetery, Frank Gifford, History, Howard Cosell, Imagine, Inscription, John Lennon, John Lennon Park, John Lennon Peace Monument, Liverpool, marty robbins, Monday Night Football, Paul McCartney, Peace & Harmony, riptff, Roone Arledge, scattering, Statue, Strawberry Fields, tff, The Beatles, The Cavern Club, The Dakota, the final footprint, woodlawn memorial park, Yoko Ono | Leave a comment

Day in History 7 December – Cicero – Pearl Harbor – Thotnton Wilder – Joan Bennett – Chuck Yeager

Posted on 29 DecamThu, 07 Dec 2023 00:21:00 -06002023-12-07T00:21:00-06:0012 2011 by MacGregor

On this day in 43 BC, Roman statesman, orator, lawyer and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero was executed by soldiers operating on behalf of Marc Antony and the Second Triumvirate, leaving his villa in Formiae, at the age of 63. Born on 3 January 106 BC in Arpinum, a hill town 100 kilometers (62 mi) southeast of Rome. He served as consul in the year 63 BC. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order. In my opinion, he is one of Rome’s greatest orators and prose stylists.

His influence on the Latin language was such that the subsequent history of prose, not only in Latin but in European languages up to the 19th century, was said to be either a reaction against or a return to his style. Cicero introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary (with neologisms such as evidentia, humanitas, qualitas, quantitas, and essentia) distinguishing himself as a translator and philosopher.

Though he was an accomplished orator and successful lawyer, Cicero believed his political career was his most important achievement. It was during his consulship that the second Catilinarian conspiracy attempted to overthrow the government through an attack on the city by outside forces, and Cicero suppressed the revolt by summarily and controversially executing five conspirators. During the chaotic latter half of the 1st century BC marked by civil wars and the dictatorship of Gaius Julius Caesar, Cicero championed a return to the traditional republican government. Following Julius Caesar’s death, Cicero became an enemy of Antony in the ensuing power struggle, attacking him in a series of speeches. He was proscribed as an enemy of the state by the Second Triumvirate.

Petrarch‘s rediscovery of Cicero’s letters is often credited for initiating the 14th-century Renaissance in public affairs, humanism, and classical Roman culture. The peak of Cicero’s authority and prestige came during the 18th-century Enlightenment. His works rank among the most influential in European culture, and today still constitute one of the most important bodies of primary material for the writing and revision of Roman history, especially the last days of the Roman Republic.

The Final Footprint

Cicero’s last words are said to have been, “There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to kill me properly.” He bowed to his captors, leaning his head out of the litter in a gladiatorial gesture to ease the task. By baring his neck and throat to the soldiers, he was indicating that he would not resist. According to Plutarch, Herennius first slew him, then cut off his head. On Antony’s instructions his hands, which had penned the Philippics against Antony, were cut off as well; these were nailed along with his head on the Rostra in the Forum Romanum according to the tradition of Marius and Sulla, both of whom had displayed the heads of their enemies in the Forum. Cicero was the only victim of the proscriptions who was displayed in that manner. According to Cassius Dio, Antony’s wife Fulvia took Cicero’s head, pulled out his tongue, and jabbed it repeatedly with her hairpin in final revenge against Cicero’s power of speech.

O tempora! O mores!
(O, the times! O, the morals!)

Vita enim mortuorum in memoria vivorum est posita.
(The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.)
Philippica IX, 5.

Morbi perniciosiores pluresque sunt animi quam corporis.
(Diseases of the mind are more common and more pernicious than diseases of the body.)
– Tusculanae Disputationes – Tusculan Disputations (45 BC), Book III, Chapter III

On this day in 1941, Japanese imperial forces attacked Pearl Harbor and the island of O’ahu. Four U.S. Navy battleships were sunk (two of which were raised and returned to service later in the war) and four other battleships were damaged. Also sunk or damaged were three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, one mine-layer and 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed. Casualties included 2,402 military personnel killed and 57 civilians killed. The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the United States entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. The following day the United States declared war on Japan. Domestic support for isolationism, which had been strong, disappeared. Clandestine support of Britain (for example the Neutrality Patrol) was replaced by active alliance and full participation in the European Theater. Subsequent operations by the U.S., as well as the Axis alliance, prompted Germany and Italy to declare war on the U.S. on December 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed 7 December 1941, “a date which will live in infamy”.

The Final Footprint – The USS Arizona Memorial marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors killed on the USS Arizona during the Attack on Pearl Harbor and commemorates the events of that day. Elvis staged a benefit concert to raise money for the construction. The memorial, dedicated in 1962 spans the sunken hull of the battleship without touching it. Historical information about the attack, boat access to the memorial, and general visitor services are available at the associated USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center, opened in 1980 and operated by the National Park Service. The sunken remains of the battleship were declared a National Historic Landmark on 5 May 1989. The shrine at the far end is a marble wall that bears the names of all those killed on the USS Arizona, protected behind velvet ropes. The inscription reads; “To the Memory of the Gallant Men Here Entombed and their shipmates who gave their lives in action on December 7, 1941, on the U.S.S. Arizona.” Contrary to popular belief, the USS Arizona is no longer in commission. She is, however, an active U.S. military cemetery. As a special tribute to the ship and her lost crew, the United States flag flies from the flagpole, which is attached to the severed mainmast of the sunken battleship. The USS Arizona Memorial has come to commemorate all military personnel killed in the Pearl Harbor attack. To this day, oil can still be seen rising from the wreckage to the surface of the water. The oil seeping is sometimes referred to as “the tears of the Arizona” or “black tears.”

#RIP #OTD in 1975 playwright (Our Town, The Skin of Our Teeth) and novelist (The Bridge of San Luis Rey, The Eighth Day) Thornton Wilder died at his home in Hamden, Connecticut of heart failure, aged 78. Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hamden.

#RIP #OTD in 1990 actress (Man Hunt, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, Dark Shadows, Suspiria) Joan Bennett died of heart failure at her home in Scarsdale, New York aged 80. Pleasant View Cemetery, Lyme, Connecticut

#RIP #OTD in 2020 US Air Force, the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight, Chuck Yeager died in a Los Angeles hospital, aged 97. Lincoln Memorial Cemetery, Hamlin, West Virginia (shown here with Sam Shepard)

Posted in Cemeteries, Literary Footprints, Military Footprints, Political Footprints | Tagged Cemetery, cicero, Elvis Presley, Entomb, Franklin D Roosevelt, History, Inscription, National Historic Landmark, Pear Harbor, riptff, tff, the final footprint, The Tears of the Arizona, USS Arizona, USS Arizona Memorial, Veteran/Patriotic Burial, World War II | Leave a comment

Day in History 6 December – Lead Belly – Lucienne Boyer – Roy Orbison – Gian Maria Volonté – Dobie Gray – Johnny Hallyday

Posted on 29 DecamWed, 06 Dec 2023 00:15:00 -06002023-12-06T00:15:00-06:0012 2011 by MacGregor

On this day in 1949, iconic folk and blues musician, King of the 12-String Guitar, Lead Belly, died in New York City at the age of 61. Born Huddie William Ledbetter in January 1888 on the Jeter Plantation near Mooringsport, Louisiana. He was incarcerated in 1918 for killing one of his relatives in a fight over a woman, and in 1930 for attempted homicide. Lead Belly’s vast songbook, much of which he adapted from previous sources, has provided material for numerous folk, country, pop and rock acts since his time including: The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, Jr., Creedence Clearwater Revival, Harry Belafonte, Van Morrison, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, Johnny Cash, Ram Jam, Tom Petty, Dr John, Ry Cooder, Odetta, Tom Waits, Rod Stewart, Ernest Tubb, The Doors, and Meat Loaf.

The Final Footprint

Lead Belly is interred in a private estate in Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery in Mooringsport. Louisiana. His grave is marked by a full granite ledger and a large upright granite marker. He is honored with a life-size statue across from the Caddo Parish Courthouse in Shreveport.

On this day in 1983, French diseuse and singer Lucienne Boyer, died in Paris, aged 82. Perhaps best known for her song “Parlez-moi d’amour”. Born Émilienne-Henriette Boyer in Montparnasse, Paris on 18 August 1901.

In 1927, Boyer sang at a concert by Félix Mayol where she was seen by the American impresario Lee Shubert who immediately offered her a contract to come to Broadway. Boyer spent nine months in New York City, returning to perform there and to South America numerous times throughout the 1930s.

By 1933, she had made a large number of recordings for Columbia Records of France including her signature song, “Parlez-moi d’amour”. Written by Jean Lenoir, the song won the first-ever Grand Prix du Disque of the Charles Cros Academy.

The Final Footprint

Cimetière de Bagneux near Paris.

On this day in 1988, singer and songwriter, The Caruso of Rock, Roy Orbison died of a heart attack at the age of 52 at his mother’s home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Born Roy Kelton Orbison on 23 April 1936 in Vernon, Texas. Perhaps best known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country and western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis. His greatest success came with Monument Records between 1960 and 1964, when 22 of his songs placed on the Billboard Top Forty, including “Only the Lonely”, “Crying”, and “Oh, Pretty Woman”. In 1988, he joined the supergroup Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne and released a new solo album. His life was marred by tragedy, including the death of his first wife and his two eldest sons in separate accidents. Orbison was a natural baritone, but music scholars have suggested that he had a three or four octave range. Elvis reportedly stated that his voice was the greatest he had ever heard. Orbison was known for performing while standing still and solitary, wearing black clothes and dark sunglasses which lent an air of mystery to his persona.

The Final Footprint – Orbison’s death was an international news event. The Nashville Banner put it on the front page across six columns; it also made the front page of the New York Times. A memorial was held in Nashville, and another in Los Angeles. He interred in an unmarked grave at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. In January 1989, Orbison became the first musician since Elvis to have two albums in the Top Five at the same time. Orbison was initiated into the second class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 by longtime admirer Bruce Springsteen. The same year he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame two years later. Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Dignity Memorial® property. Other notable final footprints at Westwood include; Ray Bradbury, Sammy Cahn, Truman Capote, James Coburn, Rodney Dangerfield, Janet Leigh, Farrah Fawcett, Hugh Hefner, Brian Keith, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Peter Lawford, Peggy Lee, Jack Lemmon, Karl Malden, Dean Martin, Walter Mathau, Marilyn Monroe, Carroll O’Connor, Bettie Page, George C. Scott, Dorothy Stratten, Natalie Wood, and Frank Zappa.

On this day in 1994 actor Gian Maria Volonté died from a heart attack in Florina, Greece, aged 61. Born in Milan 9 April 1933.

Perhaps best known for his roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and El Indio in Leone’s For a Few Dollars More (1965), El Chuncho Munoz in Damiano Damiani’s A Bullet for the General (1966) and Professor Brad Fletcher in Sergio Sollima’s Face to Face (1967).

In Italy and much of Europe, he was notable for his roles in high-profile social dramas depicting the political and social stirrings of Italian and European society in the 1960s and 1970s, including four films directed by Elio Petri – We Still Kill the Old Way (1967), Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970), The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971) and Todo modo (1976). He is also recognized for his performances in Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Cercle Rouge (1970), Giuliano Montaldo’s Sacco & Vanzetti (1971) and Francesco Rosi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979).

The Final Footprint

Cimitero Isola Maddalena, La Maddalena, Sardegna, Italy

Volonté died during the filming of Ulysses’ Gaze, directed by Theo Angelopoulos. Actor Erland Josephson replaced him in the role. Volonté’s grave is in a small cemetery on the Sardinian island of La Maddalena, according to his wishes.

On this day in 2011, singer and songwriter Dobie Gray died of complications from cancer surgery in Nashville, Tennessee, aged 71. Born Lawrence Darrow Brown on July 26, 1940 in Simonton, Texas. His musical career spanned soul, country, pop, and musical theater. Perhaps best known for is hit songs “The ‘In’ Crowd” in 1965 and “Drift Away”, which was one of the biggest hits of 1973, and remains a staple of radio airplay.

The Final Footprint

His remains were buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park And Mausoleum in Nashville. Other notable final footprints at Woodlawn include: Lynn Anderson, Eddy Arnold, Otis Blackwell, Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, Red Foley, D. J. Fontana, George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Webb Pierce, Marty Robbins, Jerry Reed, Dan Seals, Red Sovine, Porter Wagoner, and Tammy Wynette.

And on this day in 2017, singer and actor Johnny Hallyday died from lung cancer in Marnes-la-Coquette, near Paris, at the age of 74. Born Jean-Philippe Léo Smet on 15 June 1943 in Paris.

During a career spanning 57 years, he released 79 albums and sold more than 110 million records worldwide, mainly in the French-speaking world, making him one of the best-selling artists in France and in the world. Credited for his strong voice and his spectacular shows, he sometimes arrived by entering a stadium through the crowd and one time by jumping from a helicopter above the Stade de France. Among his 3,257 shows completed in 187 tours, the most memorable were at Parc des Princes in 1993, at the Stade de France in 1998 (just after France’s win in the Football World Cup) and at the Eiffel Tower in 2000. A million spectators gathered to see his performance at the Eiffel Tower, joined by 9 million more watching on TV.

Hallyday was married five times—including twice to the same woman—with the first four marriages ending in divorce. His last marriage was his longest, lasting twenty-one years.

His first marriage was to French singer Sylvie Vartan, lasting fifteen years from 1965 to 1980. His second marriage to Babeth Étienne was his shortest, lasting for 65 days. Hallyday then had a four-year relationship with French actress Nathalie Baye. His third and fourth marriages were to the same woman, Adeline Blondieau, from 1990 to 1992, and from 1994 to 1995. Inaugurated by Nicolas Sarkozy his fifth and final marriage was to Læticia Boudou from 1996 until his death.

The Final Footprint

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute, saying he “transcended generations and is etched in the memory of the French people”. On 9 December, his funeral was held in Paris; 800,000 lined the Champs-Élysées as his body was taken to the Madeleine Church for the funeral service. He was buried on the French Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy in Cimetière Lorient Bas.

Have you planned yours yet?

Follow TFF on twitter @RIPTFF

Posted in Infamous Footprints, Musical Footprints | Tagged Bob Dylan, Buried, Cemetery, Cimetière Lorient Bas, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dr John, Ernest Tubb, Estates, Ground Burial, Hank Williams Jr, Harry Belafonte, History, Johnny Cash, johnny hallyday, Kurt Cobain, Lead Belly, Led Zeppelin, Marker, Meat Loaf, Monument, Nirvana, Odetta, pierce brothers westwood village, pretty woman, Private Estates, Ram Jam, riptff, Rod Stewart, roy orbison, Ry Cooder, Statue, tff, The Beach Boys, The Doors, the final footprint, the traveling wilburys, Tom Petty, Tom Waits, Van Morrison | Leave a comment

Day in History 5 December – Phillis Wheatley – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Alexandre Dumas – Claude Monet – Nina Foch – Don Meredith – Dave Brubeck – Nelson Mandela

Posted on 29 DecamTue, 05 Dec 2023 00:45:00 -06002023-12-05T00:45:00-06:0012 2011 by MacGregor

On this day in 1784, author considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry, Phillis Wheatley Peters, died at the approximate age of 31 in Boston. Born in West Africa c. 1753, she was kidnapped and subsequently sold into enslavement at the age of seven or eight and transported to North America, where she was bought by the Wheatley family of Boston. After she learned to read and write, they encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent.

On a 1773 trip to London with her enslaver’s son, seeking publication of her work, Wheatley met prominent people who became patrons. The publication in London of her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral on September 1, 1773, brought her fame both in England and the American colonies. Figures such as George Washington praised her work. A few years later, African-American poet Jupiter Hammon praised her work in a poem of his own.

Wheatley was emancipated by her enslavers shortly after the publication of her book. They soon died, and she married John Peters, a poor grocer. They lost three children, who died young.

The Final Footprint

Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Boston.

On this day in 1791, in my opinion, the greatest, most prolific and influential composer of classical music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, died in Vienna at the age of 35. His baptismal name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. Born 27 January 1756 at 9 Getreidegasse in Salzburg, capital of the sovereign Archbishopric of Salzburg, in what is now Austria but at the time was part of the Bavarian Circle in the Holy Roman Empire. Of course my favorite works by Mozart are his operas particularly; Le nozze di Figaro (1786) (The Marriage of Figaro), Don Giovanni (1787), Cosi fan tutte (1790) (Women are like that) and Die Zauberflöte (1791) (The Magic Flute). Mozart married Constanze Weber on 4 August 1782. Mozart met fellow composer Joseph Haydn in Vienna and the two became friends. Haydn Told Mozart’s father; “I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition.” and “posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years”. Bravo Mozart!

Mozart’s memorial at Sankt Marxer Friedhof

The Final Footprint – In accordance with contemporary Viennese custom, Mozart was buried in a common unmarked grave at the Sankt Marxer Friedhof (St. Marx cemetery) outside of Vienna. In 1855, 64 years after his death, a gravestone was erected at what was presumed to be the correct spot. Later the stone was transferred to the group of famous musician graves at Zentralfriedhof, the largest and most famous cemetery among Vienna’s nearly 50 cemeteries. A cemetery worker replaced it with a memorial tablet, which was again expanded by several contributors. Other notable Final Footprints at Zentralfriedhof include; Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Antonio Salieri, Franz Schubert, Johann Strauss I, and Johann Strauss II. Amadeus a 1984 drama biopic film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer, adapted from Shaffer’s stage play Amadeus, is based loosely on the lives of Mozart and Salieri. The movie features F. Murray Abraham as Salieri and Tom Hulce as Mozart. Amadeus was nominated for 53 awards and received 40, including eight Academy Awards (including Best Picture), four BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globes, and a DGA Award. In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked Amadeus 53rd on its 100 Years… 100 Movies list. One of my very favorite movies. Perhaps the best line from the movie, by Salieri: “This was no composition by a performing monkey! This was a music I’d never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing, it had me trembling. It seemed to me that I was hearing the very voice of God.”

On this day in 1870, writer Alexandre Dumas, died at the age of 68 in Puys (near Dieppe), Seine-Maritime, France. Born Dumas Davy de la Pailleteriein Villers-Cotterêts in the department of Aisne, in Picardy, France. Perhaps best known for his historical novels of high adventure. Translated into nearly 100 languages, these have made him one of the most widely read French authors in history. His novels include; The Nutcracker (Histoire d’un casse-noisette, 1844) (a revision of E. T. A. Hoffmann‘s story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, later set by composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to music for a ballet), The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires, 1844), and The Count of Monte Cristo (Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, 1845–1846). His novels have been adapted since the early twentieth century for nearly 200 films. Dumas’ last novel, The Knight of Sainte-Hermine, unfinished at his death, was completed by scholar Claude Schopp and published in 2005, becoming a bestseller. It was published in English in 2008 as The Last Cavalier. Dumas married the actress Ida Ferrier (born Marguerite-Joséphine Ferrand, but had numerous affairs, said to total 40. He was known to have at least four illegitimate or “natural” children, including a boy who became a successful novelist and playwright, and was known as Alexandre Dumas, fils (son). Among his affairs, in 1866 Dumas had one with Adah Isaacs Menken, an American actress then at the height of her career and less than half his age.

The Final Footprint – Dumas was cremated and his cremains were originally interred at his birthplace of Villers-Cotterêts in the department of Aisne. In 2002 for the bicentennial of Dumas’ birth, the French President, Jacques Chirac, had a ceremony honouring the author by having his cremains inurned at the mausoleum of the Panthéon of Paris, where many French luminaries were buried. The proceedings were televised: the new coffin was draped in a blue velvet cloth and carried on a caisson flanked by four mounted Republican Guards costumed as the four Musketeers. It was transported through Paris to the Panthéon. In his speech, President Chirac said:

“With you, we were D’Artagnan, Monte Cristo, or Balsamo, riding along the roads of France, touring battlefields, visiting palaces and castles—with you, we dream.”

Other notable Final Footprints at the Panthéon include: Victor Hugo, Louis Braille, Pierre and Marie Curie, André Malraux, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, and Émile Zola.

On this day in 1926, a founder of French Impressionist painting, Claude Monet died of lung cancer at the age of 86 in Giverny, France. Born Oscar-Claude Monet on 14 November 1840 on the 5th floor of 45 rue Laffitte, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. In my opinion, Monet was the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement’s philosophy of expressing one’s perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. The term Impressionism is derived from the title of his painting Impression, Sunrise (Impression, soleil levant). Monet’s Camille or The Woman in the Green Dress (La femme à la robe verte), painted in 1866, brought him recognition and was one of many works featuring his future wife, Camille Doncieux; she was the model for the figures in Women in the Garden of the following year, as well as for On the Bank of the Seine, Bennecourt, 1868. Camille became pregnant and gave birth to their first child, Jean in 1867. Monet and Camille married 28 June 1870. Camille became ill in 1876. They had a second son, Michel, on 17 March 1878. This second child weakened her already fading health. In that same year, Monet moved to the village of Vétheuil. On 5 September 1879, Camille died of tuberculosis at the age of thirty-two; Monet painted her on her death bed. Monet later explained that his need to analyse colours was both the joy and torment of his life. He reportedly said, “I one day found myself looking at my beloved wife’s dead face and just systematically noting the colours according to an automatic reflex!” Monet married again, Alice Hoschedé (1892 – 1911 her death).

The Final Footprint – Monet is interred in the Giverny church cemetery. He had insisted that his funeral be simple. His long-time friend Georges Clemenceau removed the black cloth draped over the coffin, stating, “Pas de noir pour Monet!” and replaced it with a flower-patterned curtain. His home, garden and waterlily pond were bequeathed by his son Michel, his only heir, to the French Academy of Fine Arts (part of the Institut de France) in 1966. Through the Fondation Claude Monet, the house and gardens were opened for visits in 1980, following restoration. In addition to souvenirs of Monet and other objects of his life, the house contains his collection of Japanese woodcut prints. The house is one of the two main attractions of Giverny, which hosts tourists from all over the world.

Gallery

Le déjeuner sur l’herbe, (right section), with Gustave Courbet, 1865–1866, Musée d’Orsay, Paris

Woman with a Parasol, (Camille and Jean Monet), 1875, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

View at Rouelles, Le Havre 1858, Private collection.
Mouth of the Seine, 1865, The Norton Simon Foundation, Pasadena, CA
The Woman in the Green Dress, Camille Doncieux, 1866, Kunsthalle Bremen.
Le déjeuner sur l’herbe, 1865–1866, The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.
Flowering Garden at Sainte-Adresse, 1866, Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Women in a Garden, 1866–1867, Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Woman in a Garden, 1867, Hermitage, St. Petersburg
Jardin à Sainte-Adresse, 1867, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
The Luncheon, 1868, Städel Museum, Frankfurt
Pheasant, 1869. Private collection.
The Magpie, 1868–1869. Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Seine Basin with Argenteuil, 1872, Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Springtime (1872). The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
Jean Monet on his hobby horse, 1872, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
Camille Monet on a Garden Bench, 1873, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
The Artist’s house at Argenteuil, 1873, The Art Institute of Chicago
Poppies Blooming, 1873, Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Train in the Snow, 1875, Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris.
Madame Monet in a Japanese Costume, 1875, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Camille Monet at her tapestry loom, 1875, Barnes Foundation, Merion, PA
Argenteuil, 1875, Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris.
The Boat Studio, 1876, Barnes Foundation, Merion, PA
Saint Lazare Train Station, Paris, 1877, The Art Institute of Chicago
Rue Montorgueil, 1878, Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Vétheuil in the Fog, 1879, Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris.
Camille Monet on her deathbed, 1879, Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Street in Vétheuil in Winter, 1879, Gothenburg Museum of Art
Lavacourt: Sunshine and Snow, 1879–1880 National Gallery, London.

Monet, in his garden, by Étienne Clémentel, c. 1917

Monet, right, in his garden at Giverny, 1922

Port-Goulphar, Belle Île, 1887, Art Gallery of New South Wales

The Artist’s Garden at Vétheuil, 1880, National Gallery of Art
The Lindens of Poissy, 1882
La maison du pêcheur à Varengeville (The Fisherman’s house at Varengeville), 1882, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Rock Arch West of Étretat (The Manneport), 1883, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Cliffs at Etretat, 1885, Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts
Still-Life with Anemones, 1885
Bordighera, 1884, The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois
Study of a Figure Outdoors: Woman with a Parasol, facing left, 1886. The pictured woman is Suzanne Hoschedé (c. 1864–1899), eldest daughter of Alice Hoschedé, second wife of Monet, Musée d’Orsay.
The Port Coton Pyramids, 1886
Oat and Poppy Field, Giverny, 1890
Haystacks, (sunset), 1890–1891, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Poplars, (autumn), 1891, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Four Poplars on the Banks of the Epte River near Giverny, 1891, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Rouen Cathedral, Façade (sunset), 1892–1894, Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris
The Seine at Giverny, 1897, National Gallery of Art
Charing Cross Bridge, 1899, Collection Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid
Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, 1899, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Poplars on the Epte, 1900, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
The Garden in Flower, 1900
Garden Path, 1902, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere
Houses of Parliament, London, c. 1904, Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris
Water Lilies, 1906, Art Institute of Chicago
Water Lilies, 1907, Bridgestone Museum of Art, Tokyo
Palace From Mula, Venice, 1908, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
The Grand Canal, Venice 1908, Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Water Lilies, 1914–1917, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio
Nympheas, 1915, Neue Pinakothek, Munich
Nympheas, 1915, Musée Marmottan Monet
White and yellow Water Lilies, (1915–1917), Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland
Nympheas, c. 1916, Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris
Water Lilies, 1916, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
Water Lilies and Reflections of a Willow (1916–19), Musée Marmottan Monet
Water-Lily Pond and Weeping Willow, 1916–1919
Water Lilies, 1917–1919, Honolulu Museum of Art
Weeping Willow, 1918–1919
Weeping Willow, 1918–1919, Kimball Art Museum, Fort Worth
Water Lilies, 1919, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
Sea-Roses (Yellow Nirwana), 1920, The National Gallery, London
Water-Lily Pond, c. 1915–1926, Chichu Art Museum, Naoshima, Kagawa, Japan
The Rose-Way in Giverny, 1920–1922, Musée Marmottan Monet

#RIP #OTD in 2008 actress (An American in Paris, Executive Suite, The Ten Commandments, Spartacus), acting instructor Nina Foch died from the blood disorder myelodysplasia at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, aged 84. Cremation

On this day in 2010 Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Monday Night Football sports commentator, actor, Dandy Don, Don Meredith died at St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, after suffering a brain hemorrhage, aged 72. Born Joseph Don Meredith on 10 April 1938 in Mount Vernon, Texas.

He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career (1960–1968) with the Cowboys. He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three years as a player. He subsequently became a color analyst for NFL telecasts from 1970 to 1984. As an original member of the Monday Night Football broadcast team, he famously played the role of Howard Cosell’s comic foil. Meredith was also an actor who appeared in a dozen films and seven major television shows, some of which had him as the main starring actor. He is probably familiar to television audiences as Bert Jameson, a recurring role he had in Police Story.

The Final Footprint

Mount Vernon City Cemetery.

On this day in 2012, jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck died of heart failure in Norwalk, Connecticut, at the age of 91. Born David Warren Brubeck on December 6, 1920 in Concord, California. In my opinion, he is one of the foremost exponents of cool jazz. Many of his compositions have become jazz standards including “In Your Own Sweet Way” and “The Duke”. Brubeck’s style ranged from refined to bombastic, reflecting both his mother’s classical training and his own improvisational skills. His music is known for employing unusual time signatures as well as superimposing contrasting rhythms, meters, and tonalities.

Brubeck experimented with time signatures throughout his career, recording “Pick Up Sticks” in ⁶₄, “Unsquare Dance” in ⁷₄, “World’s Fair” in ¹³₄, and “Blue Rondo à la Turk” in ⁹₈. He was also a composer of orchestral and sacred music and wrote soundtracks for television, such as Mr. Broadway and the animated miniseries This Is America, Charlie Brown.

Often incorrectly attributed to Brubeck, the song “Take Five”, which has become a jazz standard, was composed by Brubeck’s long-time musical partner, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond.^[1] Appearing on one of the top-selling jazz albums, Time Out, and written in ⁵₄ time, “Take Five” has endured as a jazz classic associated with Brubeck.

Brubeck married jazz lyricist Iola Whitlock in September 1942; the couple was married for 70 years, until his death in 2012. Iola died on March 12, 2014, from cancer in Wilton, Connecticut, at the age of 90.

The Final Footprint

Brubeck died one day before his 92nd birthday. A birthday party concert had been planned for him with family and famous guests. A memorial tribute was held in May 2013.

The Concord Boulevard Park in his hometown of Concord, California, was renamed to “Dave Brubeck Memorial Park” in his honor.

While on tour performing “Hot House” in Toronto, Chick Corea and Gary Burton completed a tribute to Brubeck on the day of his death. Corea played “Strange Meadow Lark”, from Brubeck’s album Time Out.

Brubeck is interred at Umpawaug Cemetery in Redding, Connecticut.

In the United States, May 4 is informally observed as “Dave Brubeck Day”. In the format most commonly used in the U.S., May 4 is written “5/4”, recalling the time signature of “Take Five”. In September 2019, musicologist Stephen A. Crist’s book, Dave Brubeck’s Time Out, provided the first scholarly book length analysis of the album.

A new biography of Dave Brubeck, by the British writer Philip Clark, was published by Da Capo Press in the US and Headline Publishing Group in the UK on February 18, 2020.

On this day in 2013, anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist Nelson Mandela died at his home in Houghton, surrounded by his family, at the age of 95. Born Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela on 18 July 1918 in Mvezo, British South Africa. Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalised racism and fostering racial reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.

A Xhosa, Mandela was born to the Thembu royal family. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand before working as a lawyer in Johannesburg. There he became involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics, joining the ANC in 1943 and co-founding its Youth League in 1944. After the National Party’s white-only government established apartheid, a system of racial segregation that privileged whites, he and the ANC committed themselves to its overthrow. Mandela was appointed President of the ANC’s Transvaal branch, rising to prominence for his involvement in the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People. He was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and was unsuccessfully prosecuted in the 1956 Treason Trial. Influenced by Marxism, he secretly joined the banned South African Communist Party (SACP). Although initially committed to non-violent protest, in association with the SACP he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe in 1961 and led a sabotage campaign against the government. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1962, and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow the state following the Rivonia Trial.

Mandela served 27 years in prison, split between Robben Island, Pollsmoor Prison, and Victor Verster Prison. Amid growing domestic and international pressure, and with fears of a racial civil war, President F. W. de Klerk released him in 1990. Mandela and de Klerk led efforts to negotiate an end to apartheid, which resulted in the 1994 multiracial general election in which Mandela led the ANC to victory and became president. Leading a broad coalition government which promulgated a new constitution, Mandela emphasised reconciliation between the country’s racial groups and created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. Economically, Mandela’s administration retained its predecessor’s liberal framework despite his own socialist beliefs, also introducing measures to encourage land reform, combat poverty, and expand healthcare services. Internationally, he acted as mediator in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial and served as Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999. He declined a second presidential term, and in 1999 was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki. Mandela became an elder statesman and focused on combating poverty and HIV/AIDS through the charitable Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Mandela was a controversial figure for much of his life. Although critics on the right denounced him as a communist terrorist and those on the far-left deemed him too eager to negotiate and reconcile with apartheid’s supporters, he gained international acclaim for his activism. Widely regarded as an icon of democracy and social justice, he received more than 250 honours—including the Nobel Peace Prize—and became the subject of a cult of personality. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, and described as the “Father of the Nation”.

His first marriage was to Evelyn Ntoko Mase in October 1944; they divorced in March 1958. Mandela’s second wife was the social worker Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, whom he married in June 1958. They divorced in March 1996. Mandela married his third wife, Graça Machel, on his 80th birthday in July 1998.

The Final Footprint

His death was publicly announced on television. Ten days of national mourning were proclained, and a memorial service was held at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium on 10 December 2013. A national day of prayer and reflection was declared on 8 December. Mandela’s body lay in state from 11 to 13 December at the Union Buildings in Pretoria and a state funeral was held on 15 December in Qunu where he was interred in the Mandela Graveyard.

Have you planned yours yet?

Follow TFF on twitter @RIPTFF

Posted in Day in History, Extravagant Footprints, Literary Footprints, Musical Footprints, Political Footprints | Tagged Academy Awards, adah isaacs menken, alexandre dumas, alexandre dumas fils, Amadeus, Antonio Salieri, Classical Music, Claude Monet, Cosi fan tutte, dave brubeck, Die Zauberflote, Don Giovanni, F. Murray Abraham, french impressionists, giverny, jacques chirac, Joseph Haydn, Le nozze di Figaro, nelson mandela, Pantheon, riptff, tff, the count of monte cristo, the final footprint, The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, the nutcracker, the three musketeers, Tom Hulce, Vienna, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | 1 Comment

Day in History 4 December – Omar Khayyam – William the Lion, King of Scots – William Drummond – John Gay – Hannah Arendt – Tommy Bolin – Frank Zappa – Robert Loggia

Posted on 29 DecamMon, 04 Dec 2023 00:12:00 -06002023-12-04T00:12:00-06:0012 2011 by MacGregor

On this day in 1131 polymath, mathematician, astronomer, historian, philosopher, and poet Omar Khayyam died in his hometown of Nishapur, Persia (now Iran) aged 83. Born 18 May 1048 in Nishapur, the initial capital of the Seljuk Empire.

As a mathematician, he is most notable for his work on the classification and solution of cubic equations, where he provided geometric solutions by the intersection of conics. Khayyam also contributed to the understanding of the parallel axiom. As an astronomer, he calculated the duration of the solar year with remarkable precision and accuracy, and designed the Jalali calendar, a solar calendar with a very precise 33-year intercalation cycle that provided the basis for the Persian calendar that is still in use after nearly a millennium.

There is a tradition of attributing poetry to Omar Khayyam, written in the form of quatrains (rubāʿiyāt رباعیات). This poetry became widely known to the English-reading world in a translation by Edward FitzGerald (Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, 1859), which enjoyed great success in the Orientalism of the fin de siècle.

Mausoleum of Omar Khayyam, Nishapur

The Final Footprint

One of his disciples Nizami Aruzi relates the story that sometime during 1112–3 Khayyam was in Balkh in the company of Al-Isfizari (one of the scientists who had collaborated with him on the Jalali calendar) when he made a prophecy that “my tomb shall be in a spot where the north wind may scatter roses over it”. Four years after his death, Aruzi located his tomb in a cemetery in a then large and well-known quarter of Nishapur on the road to Marv. As it had been foreseen by Khayyam, Aruzi found the tomb situated at the foot of a garden-wall over which pear trees and peach trees had thrust their heads and dropped their flowers so that his tombstone was hidden beneath them.

On this day in 1214, King of Scots from 1165 to 1214, William I, Uilleam mac Eanraig, Garbh (the Rough), founder of Arbroath Abbey, William the Lion, died in Stirling, Scotland at the age of 71. His reign was the second longest in Scottish history. William succeeded the throne upon the death of his brother Malcolm IV, being crowned on 24 December 1165. William was powerfully built and red headed.

Royal Standard of Scotland

He was called Lion after his death because he adopted as his flag, or standard, a red lion rampant with a forked tail on a yellow background. This, with the addition of a ‘double tressure fleury counter-fleury’ border, went on to become the Royal standard of Scotland, still used today, but quartered with those of England and of Ireland. As a result of the Treaty of Falaise, Henry II had the right to choose William’s bride. William married Ermengarde de Beaumont, a granddaughter of King Henry I of England, at Woodstock Palace in 1186. Edinburgh Castle was her dowry. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Alexander II.

The Final Footprint – William was interred before the high altar in Arbroath Abbey in Arbroath, Scotland. The Abbey is cared for by Historic Scotland and is open to the public throughout the year. The distinctive red sandstone ruins stand at the top of the High Street in Arbroath. In My Defens, God Me Defend!

On this day in 1649, poet, the Scottish Petrarch, William Drummond of Hawthornden died at the age of 63. Born on 13 December 1585 at Hawthornden Castle, Midlothian. A noteworthy feature in Drummond’s poetry, is that it owes its birth and inspiration to the English and Italian masters. Amid all his sensuousness, and even in those lines most conspicuously beautiful, there is a dash of melancholy thoughtfulness; a tendency perhaps deepened by the death of his first love, Mary Cunningham. Drummond was called “the Scottish Petrarch”; and his sonnets, which are the expression of a genuine passion, stand far above most of the contemporary Petrarcan imitations. A remarkable burlesque poem Polemo Middinia inter Vitarvam et Nebernam (printed anonymously in 1684) has been persistently, and with good reason, ascribed to him. It is a mock-heroic tale, in macaronic Latin enriched with Scottish Gaelic expressions, of a country feud on the Fife lands of his old friends the Cunninghams. Drummond married Elizabeth Logan in 1632.

The Final Footprint – Drummond was buried in his parish church of Lasswade.

#RIP #OTD in 1732 poet, dramatist (The Beggar’s Opera) and member of the Scriblerus Club John Gay died in London, aged 47. Westminster Abbey. Epitaph by Alexander Pope, and Gay’s own couplet:

Life is a jest, and all things show it,
I thought so once, but now I know it.

#RIP #OTD in 1975 historian, philosopher (The Origins of Totalitarianism), one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century, Hannah Arendt died; heart attack in her apartment in New York City aged 69. Cremated remains; Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

On this day in 1976, guitarist and songwriter Tommy Bolin died from a drug overdose in Miami at the age 25. Born Thomas Richard Bolin on August 1, 1951 in Sioux City, Iowas. Bolin played with Zephyr (from 1969 to 1971), James Gang (from 1973 through 1974), and Deep Purple (from 1975 to 1976), in addition to maintaining a notable career as a solo artist and session musician. Much of his discography was either unreleased at the time of recording, or had gone out of print and was not released again until years after his death.

The Final Footprint

Bolin’s tour for Private Eyes would be his final live appearances. He opened for Peter Frampton and Jeff Beck. In his final show, he opened for Beck on December 3, 1976 in Miami, and encored with a rendition of “Post Toastee.” He also posed for his last photo, sitting backstage with Jeff Beck after the show, which appeared in Rolling Stone. The article in Rolling Stone stated, “Just before Bolin’s final concert, Jon Marlowe of The Miami News, after an interview with the guitarist, told him, ‘Take care of yourself,’ to which Tommy replied, ‘I’ve been taking care of myself my whole life. Don’t worry about me. I’m going to be around for a long time.'” (Issue No. 230; page 14). He is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Sioux City, Iowa.

On this day in 1993, musician, songwriter, composer, recording engineer, record producer, and film director, Frank Zappa died in his home in Los Angeles with his wife and children by his side from prostate cancer at the age of 52. Born Frank Vincent Zappa was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on 21 December 1940. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for 20th-century classical composers such as Edgard Varèse, Igor Stravinsky, and Anton Webern along with 1950s rhythm and blues music. Zappa was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often difficult to categorize. His 1966 debut album with The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His lyrics, often humorously, reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political processes, structures and movements. He was a highly productive and prolific artist and gained widespread critical acclaim. Zappa and the Mothers were involved in a famous incident that inspired the great rock song “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple. The lyrics of the song tell a true story: on 4 December 1971 Deep Purple had set up in Montreux, Switzerland to record an album using a mobile recording studio, rented from the Rolling Stones, at the entertainment complex that was part of the Montreux Casino. On the eve of the recording session a Zappa and The Mothers of Invention concert was held in the casino’s theatre. In the middle of Don Preston’s synthesizer solo on “King Kong”, the place suddenly caught fire when somebody in the audience fired a flare gun into the rattan covered ceiling. The resulting fire destroyed the entire casino complex, along with all the Mothers’ equipment. The “smoke on the water” that became the title of the song referred to the smoke from the fire spreading over Lake Geneva from the burning casino as the members of Deep Purple watched the fire from their hotel. Zappa was married to Kathryn J. “Kay” Sherman from 1960 to 1964. In 1967, he married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1993.

The Final Footprint – Zappa was interred in an unmarked grave at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. On Monday, 6 December, his family publicly announced that “Composer Frank Zappa left for his final tour just before 6:00 pm on Saturday.” Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Dignity Memorial® property. Other notable final footprints at Westwood include; Ray Bradbury, Sammy Cahn, Truman Capote, James Coburn, Rodney Dangerfield, Janet Leigh, Farrah Fawcett, Hugh Hefner, Brian Keith, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Peter Lawford, Peggy Lee, Jack Lemmon, Robert Loggia, Karl Malden, Dean Martin, Walter Mathau, Marilyn Monroe, Carroll O’Connor, Roy Orbison, George C. Scott, Dorothy Stratten, and Natalie Wood.

And on this day in 2015, actor and director Robert Loggia died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease, at his home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, at the age of 85. Born Salvatore Loggia on January 3, 1930 in Staten Island, New York. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Jagged Edge (1985) and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for Big (1988).

In a career spanning over sixty years, Loggia performed in many films, including The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Scarface (1983), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), Oliver & Company (1988), Innocent Blood (1992), Independence Day (1996), Lost Highway (1997), Return to Me (2000), and Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie (2012). He also appeared on television series including the Walt Disney limited series, The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca (starring role-1958), Mancuso, FBI (in which he starred-1989–1990), Malcolm in the Middle (2001), The Sopranos (2004), Men of a Certain Age (2011), and was also the star of the groundbreaking 1966–67 NBC martial arts / action series, T.H.E. Cat.

Loggia was married to Marjorie Sloan from 1954 to 1981, with whom he had three children. Loggia and Sloan were divorced in 1981.

In 1982, Loggia married Audrey O’Brien, a business executive. Loggia and O’Brien remained married until his death in 2015.

The Final Footprint

Loggia is entombed at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. notable Other notable final footprints at Westwood include; Ray Bradbury, Sammy Cahn, Truman Capote, James Coburn, Rodney Dangerfield, Janet Leigh, Farrah Fawcett, Hugh Hefner, 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.

Have you planned yours yet?

Follow TFF on twitter @RIPTFF

Posted in Literary Footprints, Musical Footprints, Royal Footprints | Tagged Arbroath Abbey, deep purple, Dignity Memorial, Edinburgh Castle, frank zappa, God Me Defend, Henry II, In My Defens, King of Scots, pierce brothers westwood village, riptff, robert loggia, rolling stones, Royal Standard of Scotland, Scotland, scottish petrarch, smoke on the water, tff, the final footprint, the mothers of invention, tommy bolin, Treaty of Falaise, william drummond, William I, William the Lion | Leave a comment

Day in History 3 December – Robert Louis Stevenson – Pierre-Auguste Renoir – Madeline Kahn – Gwendolyn Brooks – Scott Weiland

Posted on 29 DecamSun, 03 Dec 2023 00:39:00 -06002023-12-03T00:39:00-06:0012 2011 by MacGregor

On this day in 1894, Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer Robert Louis Stevenson died, probably of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 44 in Vailima, Samoa. Born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson at 8 Howard Place, Edinburgh, on 13 November 1850. Perhaps best know for his novels; Treasure Island (1883), Kidnapped (1886), and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886). Stevenson married once, Frances (Fanny) Matilda Van de Grift (1880 – 1894 his death). For more on their love story visit our sister site, The Lovers’ Chronicle search Robert Louis Stevenson.

The Final Footprint – Upon his death, the Samoans insisted on surrounding his body with a watch-guard during the night and on bearing their Tusitala (his Somoan name which translates as Teller of Tales) upon their shoulders to nearby Mount Vaea, where they buried him on a spot overlooking the sea. Stevenson had always wanted his ‘Requiem’ inscribed on his tomb:

Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

Stevenson was loved by the Samoans, and his tombstone epigraph was translated to a Samoan song of grief which is well-known and still sung in Samoa.

On this day in 1919, the artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style, a celebrator of beauty and feminine sensuality, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, died in the village of Cagnes-sur-Mer, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France, at the age of 78. Born on 25 February 1841 in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France. In 1890, he married Aline Victorine Charigot, who had already served as a model for him and would continue to do so. In Paris, he meet and befriended Claude Monet. In Palermo, Sicily, he met the composer Richard Wagner and painted his portrait.

The Final Footprint – Renoir is interred in Cimetière du Essoyes, Essoyes, Aube, Champagne-Ardenne Region, France.

Gallery

	La Grenouillère, 1868, National Museum, Stockholm, Sweden	Portrait of Alfred Sisley, 1868	Claude Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil, 1873, Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, Connecticut
Portrait of Claude Monet, 1875, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France	Jeanne Durand-Ruel, 1876, Barnes Foundation Merion, Pennsylvania	A Girl with a Watering Can, 1876, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.	Mme. Charpentier and her children, 1878, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
By the Water, 1880, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois	Luncheon of the Boating Party, 1880–1881, The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.	Portrait of Charles and Georges Durand-Ruel, 1882	Dance in the City, 1882–1883, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France
Dance in the Country (Aline Charigot and Paul Lhote), 1883, Musée d’Orsay, Paris	Pencil study for Dance in the Country 1883, Honolulu Academy of Arts	Children at the Beach at Guernsey, 1883, Barnes Foundation Merion, Pennsylvania	In the Garden, 1885, Hermitage St. Petersburg
Girl With a Hoop, 1885, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.		Portrait of Berthe Morisot and daughter Julie Manet, 1894	Gabrielle Renard and infant son Jean Renoir, 1895
The Artist’s Family, 1896, The Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pennsylvania	Graziella, 1896,The Detroit Institute of Arts	Portrait of Ambroise Vollard, 1908	Portrait of Paul Durand-Ruel, 1910

Self-portraits

Self-portrait, (1875)

Self-portrait, (1876)

Self-portrait, 1910

Self-portrait, (1910)

Nudes

Diana the Huntress, 1867, The National Gallery of Art Washington, DC	Nude In The Sun, 1875, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France	Seating Girl, 1883	The Large Bathers, 1887, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pa.
After The Bath, 1888		Woman on a Couch (Gabrielle), 1906–1907	After The Bath, 1910, Barnes Foundation, Merion Pennsylvania
Woman At The Well, 1910	Seated Bather Drying Her Leg, 1914, Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris, France	Women Bathers, 1916, National Museum, Stockholm, Sweden	Bathers, 1918, Barnes Foundation, Merion Pennsylvania

On this day in 1999, actress, comedian, and singer Madeline Kahn died from ovarian cancer in New York City, at the age of 57. Born Madeline Gail Wolfson on September 29, 1942 in Boston. Perhaps best known for comedic roles in films directed by Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks, including What’s Up, Doc? (1972), Young Frankenstein (1974), High Anxiety(1977), History of the World, Part I (1981), and her Academy Award-nominated roles in Paper Moon (1973) and Blazing Saddles (1974).

Kahn made her Broadway debut in Leonard Sillman’s New Faces of 1968, and received Tony Award nominations for the play In the Boom Boom Room in 1974 and for the original production of the musical On the Twentieth Century in 1978. She starred as Madeline Wayne on the short-lived ABC sitcom Oh Madeline (1983–84) and won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1987 for ABC Afterschool Special. She received a third Tony Award nomination for the revival of the play Born Yesterday in 1989, before winning the 1993 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for the comedy The Sisters Rosensweig. Her other film appearances included The Cheap Detective (1978), City Heat (1984), Clue (1985), and Nixon (1995).

The Final Footprint

Kahn was cremated. A bench dedicated to her memory was erected in Central Park by her husband, John Hansbury, and her brother, Jeffrey Kahn. The bench is located near the reservoir on West 87th St.

#RIP #OTD in 2000 poet, author, teacher, the first African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize for her book Annie Allen, Gwendolyn Brooks died at her Chicago home, aged 83. Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Illinois

On this day in 2015, musician, singer and songwriter Scott Weiland died of an accidental drug overdose on his tour bus in Bloomington, Minnesota at the age of 48. Born Scott Richard Weiland né Kline, on October 27, 1967 in San Jose, California. During a career spanning three decades, Weiland was best known as the lead singer of the band Stone Temple Pilots from 1989 to 2002 and 2008 to 2013. He was also a member of supergroup Velvet Revolver from 2003 to 2008 and recorded one album with another supergroup, Art of Anarchy. He also established himself as a solo artist, releasing three studio albums, two cover albums, and collaborations with several other musicians throughout his career.

Weiland was known for his flamboyant onstage persona, for changing his appearance and vocal style, and for his battles with substance abuse. Widely viewed as a talented and versatile vocalist.

The Final Footprint

A funeral service for Weiland was held at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on December 11, 2015, in Los Angeles. He was cremated.

Have you planned yours yet?

Follow TFF on twitter @RIPTFF

Posted in Artistic Footprints, Day in History, Film Footprints, Literary Footprints, Musical Footprints | Tagged Buried, Cemetery, Cimetiere du Essoyes, Claude Monet, Ground Burial, History, madeline kahn, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Richard Wagner, robert louis stevenson, samoa, scott weiland, tff, the final footprint, treasure island | Leave a comment

Day in History 2 December – Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici – Marquis de Sade – Edmond Rostand – Marty Feldman – Desi Arnaz – Aaron Copland – Mariska Veres – Odetta

Posted on 29 DecamSat, 02 Dec 2023 00:21:00 -06002023-12-02T00:21:00-06:0012 2011 by MacGregor

On this day in 1469, banker, de facto ruler of Florence from 1464 to 1469, during the Italian Renaissance, Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici died from gout and lung disease in Florence at the age of 53. Born in Florence on 19 September 1416, the son of Cosimo de’ Medici the Elder and Contessina de’ Bardi.

The Final Footprint – Medici is entombed in the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence, next to his brother Giovanni. The tomb, created by Andrea del Verrocchio, was commissioned by his sons Lorenzo and Giuliano. Other notable final footprints at San Lorenzo include; Donatello, Cosimo de’ Medici, Cosimo I de’ Medici, Cosimo II de’ Medici, Cosimo III de’ Medici, Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Ferdinando III de’ Medici, Francesco I de’ Medici, Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, Giovanni di Cosimo de’ Medici, Giuliano di Lorenzo de’ Medici, Giuliano di Piero de’ Medici, Lorenzo I de’ Medici, and Lorenzo II de’ Medici.

On this day in 1740, French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer, famous for his libertine sexuality, Marquis de Sade died at the age of 74 in Charenton, Val-de-Marne, Paris. Born Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade on 2 June 1740 in the Hôtel de Condé, Paris. His works include novels, short stories, plays, dialogues and political tracts; in his lifetime some were published under his own name, while others appeared anonymously and de Sade denied being their author. Perhaps best known for his erotic works, which combined philosophical discourse with pornography, depicting sexual fantasies with an emphasis on violence, criminality and blasphemy against the Catholic Church. He was a proponent of extreme freedom, unrestrained by morality, religion or law. The words “sadism” and “sadist” are derived from his name. De Sade was incarcerated in various prisons and in an insane asylum for about 32 years of his life; 11 years in Paris (10 of which were spent in the Bastille), a month in the Conciergerie, two years in a fortress, a year in Madelonnettes, three years in Bicêtre, a year in Sainte-Pélagie and 13 years in the Charenton asylum. During the French Revolution he was an elected delegate to the National Convention. Many of his works were written in prison.

The Final Footprint – De Sade left instructions in his will forbidding that his body be opened for any reason whatsoever, and that it remain untouched for 48 hours in the chamber in which he died, and then placed in a coffin and buried on his property located in Malmaison near Épernon. His skull was later removed from the grave for phrenological examination.

#RIP #OTD in 1918 poet and dramatist (Cyrano de Bergerac, Les Romanesques) Edmond Rostand died from the 1918 flu pandemic in Paris, aged 50. Cimetière Saint-Pierre, Marseille, Departement des Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France

On this day in 1982 actor, comedian and writer Marty Feldman died of a heart attack, in a hotel room in Mexico City, aged 48.

The Final Footprint

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Los Angeles

#RIP #OTD in 1986 actor (I Love Lucy), musician, bandleader, comedian and film and television producer Desi Arnaz died from lung cancer in Solana Beach, California, aged 69. Cremated remains scattered in the Sea of Cortés at Rancho Las Cruces, near La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico.

On this day in 1990, Academy Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, teacher, lecturer, critic, writer and conductor, the dean of American composers, Aaron Copland, died in North Tarryton, New York, at the age of 90. Born on 14 November 1900 in Brooklyn. Best known for Billy the Kid (1938) (ballet), Fanfare for the Common Man (1942), Rodeo (1942) (ballet) and Appalachian Spring (1944) (ballet).

The Final Footprint – Copland was cremated and his cremated remains were scattered in a bower at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts. A marker was placed there to mark where he was scattered.

#RIP #OTD in 2006 lead singer of the rock group Shocking Blue (“Send Me a Postcard” and “Venus”) Mariska Veres died of gallbladder cancer in The Hague at age 59. Cremation

On this day in 2008, singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and civil and human rights activist, “The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement” Odetta died of heart disease in New York City at the age of 77. Born Odetta Holmes on December 31, 1930 in Birmingham, Alabama. Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals. An important figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, she influenced many of the key figures of the folk-revival of that time, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mavis Staples, and Janis Joplin. Time magazine included her recording of “Take This Hammer” on its list of the 100 Greatest Popular Songs, stating that “Rosa Parks was her No. 1 fan, and Martin Luther King Jr. called her the queen of American folk music.”

The Final Footprint

At a memorial service for her in February 2009 at Riverside Church in New York City, participants included Maya Angelou, Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte, Geoffrey Holder, Steve Earle, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Peter Yarrow, Maria Muldaur, Tom Chapin, Josh White Jr., Emory Joseph, Rattlesnake Annie, the Brooklyn Technical High School Chamber Chorus, and videotaped tributes from Tavis Smiley and Joan Baez.

Odetta was cremated and her cremated remains were scattered in the Harlem Meer.

Have you planned yours yet?

Follow TFF on twitter @RIPTFF

Posted in Day in History, Infamous Footprints, Musical Footprints, Royal Footprints | Tagged Aaron Copland, Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, cremains, Cremation, Fanfare for the Common Man, History, house of medici, marquis de sade, Odetta, Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, riptff, scattering, Tanglewood Music Center, tff, the final footprint | Leave a comment

Subscribe by email

Enter your email address:
Delivered by FeedBurner
Subscribe By RSS

Subscribe in a reader
Ads by Google
April 2024

M T W T F S S

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30

« Mar
Categories
- American Icon (27)
- Artistic Footprints (48)
- Athletic Footprints (40)
- Cemeteries (5)
- Cowboy Footprints (38)
- Day in History (337)
- Extravagant Footprints (161)
- Fictional Footprints (4)
- Film Footprints (137)
- Infamous Footprints (17)
- Literary Footprints (165)
- Longhorn Footprints (8)
- Mausoleums (2)
- Military Footprints (30)
- Musical Footprints (173)
- Political Footprints (42)
- Religious Footprints (11)
- Royal Footprints (23)
- Special Events (1)
- Uncategorized (1)
Connect with us
Networked

Follow this blog

Day in History 11 December – Sam Cooke – Bettie Page – Ravi Shankar – Anne Rice

The Final Footprint

Day in History 10 December – Alfred Nobel – Red Cloud – Luigi Pirandello – Otis Redding – Ed Wood – Richard S. Castellano – Greta Kempton – Faron Young – Richard Pryor

Day in History 9 December – Edith Sitwell – Branch Rickey – Berenice Abbott – Stan Rice – Jenni Rivera – Eleanor Parker

Day in History 8 December – John Lennon – Marty Robbins – Slim Pickens – Dimebag Darrell – Mattiwilda Dobbs

The Final Footprint

The Final Footprint

Day in History 7 December – Cicero – Pearl Harbor – Thotnton Wilder – Joan Bennett – Chuck Yeager

The Final Footprint

Day in History 6 December – Lead Belly – Lucienne Boyer – Roy Orbison – Gian Maria Volonté – Dobie Gray – Johnny Hallyday

The Final Footprint

The Final Footprint

Day in History 5 December – Phillis Wheatley – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Alexandre Dumas – Claude Monet – Nina Foch – Don Meredith – Dave Brubeck – Nelson Mandela

Gallery

The Final Footprint

The Final Footprint

Day in History 4 December – Omar Khayyam – William the Lion, King of Scots – William Drummond – John Gay – Hannah Arendt – Tommy Bolin – Frank Zappa – Robert Loggia

The Final Footprint

The Final Footprint

Day in History 3 December – Robert Louis Stevenson – Pierre-Auguste Renoir – Madeline Kahn – Gwendolyn Brooks – Scott Weiland

Self-portraits

Nudes

The Final Footprint

The Final Footprint

Day in History 2 December – Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici – Marquis de Sade – Edmond Rostand – Marty Feldman – Desi Arnaz – Aaron Copland – Mariska Veres – Odetta

The Final Footprint

Archives

Meta

Subscribe by email

Subscribe By RSS

Ads by Google

Categories

Connect with us

Networked

Recent Posts

Blogroll

Admin Log In