On this day in 1519, daughter of Pope Alexander VI, Lady of Pesaro and Gradara, Duchess of Bisceglie and Princess of Salerno, Duchess of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia Borgia died in Ferrara, Italy at the age of 39 from complications after giving birth to her eighth child, having had a lifelong history of complicated pregnancies and miscarriages. Born in Subiaco, near Rome on 18 April 1480. Her mother was Vannozza dei Cattanei, one of the mistresses of Lucrezia’s father, Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI). Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia. Lucrezia’s family later came to epitomize the ruthless Machiavellian politics and sexual corruption characteristic of the Renaissance Papacy. Lucrezia was cast as a femme fatale, a role she has been portrayed as in many artworks, novels, films and an opera. Very little is known of Lucrezia, and the extent of her complicity in the political machinations of her father and brothers is unclear. They certainly arranged several marriages for her to important or powerful men in order to advance their own political ambitions. Lucrezia was married to Giovanni Sforza (Lord of Pesaro), Alfonso of Aragon (Duke of Bisceglie), and Alfonso I d’Este (Duke of Ferrara). Tradition has it that Alfonso of Aragon was an illegitimate son of the King of Naples and that Lucrezia’s brother Cesare may have had him murdered after his political value waned.
The Final Footprint – Lucrezia was entombed in the convent of Corpus Domini. On 15 October 1816, the Romantic poet Lord Byron visited the Ambrosian Library of Milan. He was delighted by the letters between Borgia and her one-time lover, poet Pietro Bembo (“The prettiest love letters in the world”) and claimed to have managed to steal a lock of her hair (“the prettiest and fairest imaginable”) held on display. Victor Hugo’s 1833 stage play Lucrèce Borgia, loosely based on the stories of Lucrezia, was transformed into a libretto by Felice Romani for Donizetti’s opera, Lucrezia Borgia (1834), first performed at La Scala, Milan, 26 December 1834.
#RIP #OTD in 1909 novelist, short story writer (The Country of the Pointed Firs), poet, Sarah Orne Jewett died in her South Berwick, Maine from a stroke aged 59. Portland Street Cemetery, South Berwick, Maine
#RIP #OTD in 1933 soprano, called “The Black Patti” in reference to Italian opera singer Adelina Patti, Sissieretta
Jones died from cancer at the Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island aged 64-65. Grace Church Cemetery, Providence
#OTD #RIP in 1935 French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, the most prominent figure in the history of tango, «El Zorzal”, “The King of Tango” Carlos Gardel died in an airplane crash in Medellín, Columbia, aged 44. La Chacarita Cemetery in Buenos Aires
On this day in 1987 comedian, actor and musician Jackie Gleason died at his home in Lauderhill, Florida at the age of 71. Born Herbert Walton Gleason, Jr. on 26 February 1916 in either Bushwick or Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Perhaps best known for his role on television as Ralph Kramden in The Honeymooners and for The Jackie Gleason Show (1952-1970). His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The Hustler (1961) starring Paul Newman, and as Buford T. Justice in the Smokey and the Bandit movie series. Gleason married three times; Genevieve Halford (1936-1970 divorce), Beverly McKittrick (1970-1975 divorce) and Marilyn Taylor (1975-1987 his death). His trademark phrases were “And away we go!” and “How sweet it is!”. In my opinion, The Honymooners is, without question, the “Bang, Zoom” funniest show that ever aired on television. And I will stand on Jerry Seinfeld’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that. I remember watching The Jackie Gleason Show as a kid. Gleason was hilarious in Smokey and the Bandit.
The Final Footprint – Gleason is entombed in a private mausoleum in Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery in Miami, Florida. Engraved at the base of the mausoleum is his epitaph; “AND AWAY WE GO”. A life-size statue of Gleason, in full uniform as bus driver Ralph Kramden, stands outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City. Another statue stands at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in North Hollywood, California, showing Gleason in his famous “And away we go!” pose. Local signs on the Brooklyn Bridge, which indicate to drivers that they are entering Brooklyn, have the Gleason phrase “How Sweet It Is!” as part of the sign.
On this day in 2014, actor, graduate of the University of Texas, Eli Wallach died of natural causes at the age of 98 in Manhattan. Born Eli Herschel Wallach on 7 December 1915 in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Wallach’s career spanned more than six decades, beginning in the late 1940s. On stage, he often co-starred with his wife, Anne Jackson, becoming one of the best-known acting couples in the American theater. Wallach initially studied method acting under Sanford Meisner, and later became a founding member of the Actors Studio, where he studied under Lee Strasberg. His versatility gave him the ability to play a wide variety of different roles throughout his career, primarily as a supporting actor.
For his debut screen performance in Baby Doll, he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe Award nomination. Among his other most famous roles are; Calvera in The Magnificent Seven (1960), Guido in The Misfits (1961), and Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Don Altobello in The Godfather Part III, Cotton Weinberger in The Two Jakes (both 1990), and Arthur Abbott in The Holiday (2006). One of America’s most prolific screen actors, Wallach remained active well into his nineties, with roles as recently as 2010 in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and The Ghost Writer.
Wallach received BAFTA Awards, Tony Awards and Emmy Awards for his work, and received an Academy Honorary Award at the second annual Governors Awards, presented on November 13, 2010. Wallach and Jackson were married from 1948 until his death.
The Final Footprint – Wallach was cremated.
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On this day in 1827, writer, revolutionary and poet Ugo Foscolo died at Turnham Green, England, at the age of 49. Born Niccolò Ugo Foscolo on the Ionian island of Zakynthos, Republic of Venice, on 6 February 1778. Perhaps best known for his 1807 long poem Dei Sepolcri, which may be described as an effort to seek refuge in the past from the misery of the present and the darkness of the future.
The Final Footprint – Foscolo was entombed in Old Chiswick Cemetery, in Chiswick, England. Forty-four years after his death, on 7 June 1871, his remains were brought to Florence, and with all the pride, pomp and circumstance of a great national mourning, found their final resting-place beside the monuments of Machiavelli and Alfieri, of Michelangelo and Galileo, in the church of Santa Croce, the pantheon of Italian glory he had celebrated in Dei sepolcri. His tomb in the cemetery of St. Nicholas parish church, Chiswick, in West London has recently been restored, it refers to him as the “wearied citizen poet” and incorrectly states his age as 50.
On this day in 1931, Sicilian organized crime figure, early Cosa Nostra boss in the United States, capo di tutti capi, boss of bosses, Salvatore Maranzano died inside his office on the 9th floor of The Helmsley Building in Midtown Manhattan, from multiple gunshot and stab wounds, at the age of 45. Born on 31 July 1886 in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily. He instigated the Castellammarese War to seize control of the American Mafia operations, and briefly became the Mafia’s “Boss of Bosses”. He was assassinated by a younger faction led by Lucky Luciano, who established a power-sharing arrangement rather than a “boss of bosses” to prevent future wars.
The Final Footprint – Maranzano and his wife Elisabetta (who died in 1964) are buried in Saint John’s Cemetery, Queens, located in New York City. Maranzano plays a small fictionalized role in Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. Maranzano refused Don Vito Corleone’s proposal to share his monopoly on gambling in New York City, in exchange for police and political contacts and expansion into Brooklyn and the Bronx. Maranzano arranged for two of Al Capone’s gunmen to come to New York and finish Corleone. Through his contacts in Chicago, Corleone found out, and sent Luca Brasi to murder the gunmen. With Capone out of the picture, the great mob war of 1933 had begun. Desperate for peace, Maranzano agreed to a sit down in a restaurant in Brooklyn, where he was killed by Salvatore Tessio and his men. Afterwards, Corleone called a meeting to reorganize the American Mafia, something that the real life Maranzano did. Other notable, and infamous, final footprints at Saint John’s include Joe Colombo, Carlo Gambino, John Gotti, Luciano, and Vito Genovese.
On this day in 1935, the 40th Governor of Louisiana, United States Senator, The Kingfish, Huey Long died from gunshot wounds he sustained at the Louisiana State Capitol building in Baton Rouge during a confrontation with Dr. Carl Weiss. Born Huey Pierce Long, Jr. 0n 30 August 1893 in Winnfield, Louisiana. A Democrat, he was an outspoken populist, partially inspired by sansepolcrista Italian fascism. During his tenure, he commanded large networks of supporters and was willing to take forceful action, influencing claims that he was a political boss. He established the political prominence of the Long political family. Long is best known for his Share Our Wealth program, created in 1934 under the motto “Every Man a King.” It proposed new wealth redistribution measures in the form of a net asset tax on corporations and individuals to curb the poverty and homelessness endemic nationwide during the Great Depression. To stimulate the economy, Long advocated federal spending on public works, schools and colleges, and old age pensions. He was an ardent critic of the policies of the Federal Reserve System. A supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election, Long split with Roosevelt in June 1933 to plan his own presidential bid for 1936 in alliance with the influential Catholic priest and radio commentator Charles Coughlin. Under Long’s leadership, hospitals and educational institutions were expanded, a system of charity hospitals was set up that provided health care for the poor, massive highway construction and free bridges brought an end to rural isolationism, and free textbooks for schoolchildren were introduced to tackle illiteracy.
The Final Footprint – Long’s body was dressed in a tuxedo and his open double casket (made of bronze with a copper inner liner covered with a glass lid) was placed in the State Capitol rotunda. An estimated 200,000 people flooded Baton Rouge to witness the event. Tens of thousands of Louisianans crowded in front of the Capitol on September 12, 1935, for the 4 p.m. funeral handled by Merle Welsh of Rabenhorst Funeral Home. Welsh remembered that flowers came from all over the world and extended from the House of Representatives to the Senate chamber. Airline Highway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge was jammed bumper-to-bumper. Newsreel cameras clicked while airplanes circled overhead to record the service for posterity. Long was buried on the grounds of the State Capitol in Baton Rouge. A large bronze statue on top of a marble column marks the site of his grave. A plaque marks the site of the assassination inside the capitol. Also, a bronze statue of Long is located in Statuary Hall of the U. S. Capitol. Long’s assassination put an end to his national movement, but his legacy continued in Louisiana through his wife, Senator Rose McConnell Long, and his son, Senator Russell B. Long. The character Willie Stark from the novel All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren appears to be loosely based on Long. This is perhaps my all time favorite book. The book has inspired two movies; the Oscar-winning 1949 version and a 2006 version starring Sean Penn.
On this day in 1971, singer, model, actress Pier Angeli died of a barbiturate overdose at her home in Beverly Hills, aged 39. Born Anna Maria Pierangeli on 19 June 1932 in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. She starred in American, British and European films throughout her career. Her American motion picture debut was in the starring role of the film Teresa (1951), for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Young Star of the Year – Actress.
The Final Footprint – On the day of her death, Angeli had been given an injection of Compazine by her doctor. Death due to anaphylaxis has been suggested; however, it is not supported by the findings of her autopsy. Her former lover Kirk Douglas and his wife Anne Buydens were among those who were invited to her funeral. She is interred in the Cimetière des Bulvis in Rueil-Malmaison, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
On this day in 1976, screenwriter Dalton Trumbo died in Los Angeles of a heart attack at the age of 70. Born James Dalton Trumbo on December 9, 1905 in Montrose, Colorado. He scripted many award-winning films, including Roman Holiday (1953), Exodus, Spartacus (both 1960), and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944). One of the Hollywood Ten, he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947 during the committee’s investigation of alleged Communist influences in the motion picture industry. Trumbo, the other members of the Hollywood Ten, and hundreds of other professionals in the industry were blacklisted by Hollywood. He was able to continue working clandestinely on major films, writing under pseudonyms or other authors’ names. His uncredited work won two Academy Awards for Best Story: for Roman Holiday (1953), which was presented to a front writer, and for The Brave One (1956), which was awarded to a pseudonym used by Trumbo. When he was given public screen credit for both Exodus and Spartacus in 1960, it marked the beginning of the end of the Hollywood Blacklist for Trumbo and other affected screenwriters. He finally was given full credit by the Writers’ Guild for Roman Holiday in 2011, nearly 60 years after the fact.
On this day in 2005, musician, singer Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown died in Orange, Texas at the apartment of a grandniece, at the age of 81. Born on April 18, 1924 in Vinton, Louisiana. He won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1983 for his album, Alright Again!.
The Final Footprint – Brown is buried in the Hollywood Cemetery in Orange. Flooding caused by Hurricane Ike in September 2008 damaged his grave. His grave has since been refurbished and through the estate funds, a headstone has been erected in his honor. A marker honoring Brown was placed by the Texas Historical Commission next to the flagpole at Hollywood Cemetery.
On this day in 2014, actor Richard Kiel died from a heart attack 
The Final Footprint
On this day in 2020 actress (The Avengers, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Game of Thrones) Diana Rigg died from lung cancer at her London home, aged 82. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969); Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones (2013–2017); and the title role in Medea in the West End in 1993 followed by Broadway a year later.
On this day in 1087, the first Norman King of England, William the Conqueror, also known as William the Bastard, William I of England, William II of Normandy and Duke of Normandy, died at age 59 at the Convent of St. Gervais in Rouen, Normandy. Born in 1027 or 1028 in Chateau de Falaise in Falaise, Normandy, France, the only son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy. Crowned William I on Christmas Day 1066 in Westminster Abbey. The descendant of Viking raiders, he had been Duke of Normandy since 1035 under the style William II. After a long struggle to establish his hold on Normandy, he launched the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands and by difficulties with his eldest son. William and his wife Matilda of Flanders had at least nine children.
The Final Footprint – Disorder followed William’s death; everyone who had been at his deathbed left the body at Rouen and hurried off to attend to their own affairs. Eventually, the clergy of Rouen arranged to have the body sent to Caen, where William had desired to be entombed in the foundation of the Abbaye-aux-Hommes. William’s grave is currently marked by a marble slab with a Latin inscription dating from the early 19th century. The tomb has been disturbed several times since 1087. The first time in 1522 when the grave was opened on orders from the papacy. The intact body was restored to the tomb at that time, but in 1562, during the French Wars of Religion, the grave was reopened and the bones scattered and lost, with the exception of one thigh bone. This lone relic was reburied in 1642 with a new marker, which was replaced 100 years later with a more elaborate monument. This tomb was again destroyed during the French Revolution, but was eventually replaced with the current marker. The impact on England of William’s conquest was profound; changes in the Church, aristocracy, culture, and language of the country have persisted into modern times. William is seen by some historians either as one of the creators of England’s greatness or as inflicting one of the greatest defeats in English history. Others have viewed William as an enemy of the English constitution, or alternatively as its creator.
On this day in 1901, painter, printmaker, draughtsman and illustrator 
The Final Footprint – Toulouse-Lautrec’s last words reportedly were: “Le vieux con!” (perhaps translated as “The old fool!”). Apparently, his goodbye to his father. Another version has him saying; “I knew, papa, that you wouldn’t miss the death.” (“Je savais, papa, que vous ne manqueriez pas l’hallali”). “Hallali” being a term used by huntsmen for the moment the hounds kill their prey. Toulouse-Lautrec is entombed in Verdelais, Gironde.
On this day in 1997, 
On this day in 1892, influential Quaker poet, ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States, , John Greenleaf Whittier died at the age of 84 at a friend’s home in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. Born near Haverhill, Massachusetts, on 17 December 1807. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets along with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Whittier appears to have been strongly influenced by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Perhaps best remembered for his poem Snow-Bound, and the words of the hymn Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, from his poem “The Brewing of Soma”, sung to music by Hubert Parry.
The Final Footprint – Whittier is interred in Union Cemetery in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Whittier’s family farm, known as the John Greenleaf Whittier Homestead or simply “Whittier’s Birthplace”, is now a historic site open to the public. His later residence in Amesbury, where he lived for 56 years, is also open to the public, now known as the John Greenleaf Whittier Home. Whittier’s hometown of Haverhill has named many buildings and landmarks in his honor including J.G. Whittier Middle School, Greenleaf Elementary, and Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School. Numerous other schools around the country also bear his name.
On this day in 1962, author Karen Blixen, Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke, died at Rungstedlund, her family’s estate in Denmark, at the age of 77. Born Karen Christenze Dinesen on 17 April 1885 in Rungsted, Denmark. Best known for her book Out of Africa, which was made into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford as the English big game hunter Denys Finch Hatton. In 1913 Karen Dinesen became engaged to her second-cousin, the Swedish Baron Bror von Blixen-Finecke, after a failed love affair with his brother. The couple moved to Kenya, where in early 1914 they used family money to establish a coffee plantation, hiring African workers, predominantly the Kikuyu tribes people who lived on the farmlands at the time of their arrival. The Blixens separated in 1921, and were divorced in 1925. During her early years in Kenya, Blixen met Hatton and after her separation she and Hatton developed a close friendship which eventually became a long-term love affair.
The Final Footprint – Blixen was buried at Rungstedlund under a large beech tree. Her full ledger flat marker simply states her name – Karen Blixen. In addition, the family estate has been turned into a museum and is open to the public.
On this day in 1978, musician, drummer, member of The Who, Keith Moon died at the age of 32 from an overdose of prescription medication in Harry Nilsson’s flat, No.12 at 9 Curzon Place (now called Curzon Square), Shepherd Market, Mayfair. Perhaps the greatest drummer in the history of rock. The Who emerged in 1964 with singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, and Moon. They combined popular singles, such as “My Generation” (1965), “Substitute” (1966), “I Can See for Miles” (1967), “Pinball Wizard” (1969), and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (1971), with critically acclaimed albums such as the rock operas Tommy (1969), and Quadrophenia (1973). They are known for energetic live performances which, since a performance at the Railway Hotel in Wealdstone in June 1964 when Townshend smashed his guitar in anger and frustration, often include smashing their instruments. For much of their career they have been regarded as the third most important British rock act after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Moon died shortly after the release of Who Are You. On the album cover, he is seated on a chair back-to-front. The words “NOT TO BE TAKEN AWAY” appear on the back of the chair. Born Keith John Moon on 23 August 1946 in Wembley, Middlesex, London.
The Final Footprint – Moon was cremated on 13 September 1978, at Golders Green Crematorium in London and his ashes scattered in its Gardens of Remembrance. GGC was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The crematorium, the Philipson Family mausoleum, designed by Edwin Lutyens, the wall, along with memorials and gates, the Martin Smith Mausoleum, and Into The Silent Land statue are all Grade II listed buildings. The gardens are included in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. GGC is in Hoop Lane, off Finchley Road, Golders Green, London NW11, ten minutes’ walk from Golders Green tube station. It is directly opposite the Golders Green Jewish Cemetery. The crematorium is secular, accepts all faiths and non-believers; clients may arrange their own type of service or remembrance event and choose whatever music they wish. Other notable cremations at GGC include; Kingsley Amis, Marc Bolan, Neville Chamberlain, T. S. Eliot, Sigmund Freud, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, Vivien Leigh, Peter Sellers, Bram Stoker, H. G. Wells, and Amy Winehouse.
On this day in 2003, singer, songwriter, musician Warren Zevon died, aged 56, at his home in Los Angeles, California from cancer. Born Warren William Zevon on 24 January 1947 in Chicago. Perhaps his best-known compositions include “Werewolves of London”, “Excitable Boy”, “Lawyers, Guns and Money”, “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner” and “Johnny Strikes Up the Band”, all of which are featured on his third album, Excitable Boy (1978). Other well-known songs written by Zevon have been recorded by other artists, including “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” (a top 40 hit by Linda Ronstadt), “Accidentally Like a Martyr”, “Mohammed’s Radio”, “Carmelita”, and “Hasten Down the Wind”. Along with his own compositions, Zevon recorded or performed occasional covers, including Allen Toussaint’s A Certain Girl, Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and Leonard Cohen’s “First We Take Manhattan”. He was a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Show with David Letterman. Letterman later performed guest vocals on “Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)” with Paul Shaffer and members of the CBS Orchestra on Zevon’s My Ride’s Here album.
The Final Footprint – Tubb was buried at Hermitage Memorial Gardens, a 
The Final Footprint – He is interred in a communal grave in the Grande Tombe de Villeroy, Seine-et-Marne, Ile-de-France, France. Péguy wrote: “There will be things that I do that no one will be left to understand.”
The Final Footprint – He is interred in the Coachella Valley Public Cemetery in Coachella, California. His grave is marked by a flat granite marker.
On this day in 1910, post-impressionist painter Henri Rousseau died in Paris at the age of 66. Born Henri Julien Félix Rousseau on May 21, 1844 in Laval, Mavenne. He was also known as Le Douanier (the customs officer), a humorous description of his occupation as a toll and tax collector. He started painting seriously in his early forties; by age 49, he retired from his job to work on his art full-time.
On this day in 1973 writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, J.R.R. Tolkien died in Bournemouth, England at the age of 81. Born John Ronald Reuel Tolkien on 3 January 1892 in Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State (now Free State Province, part of South Africa). Best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. He was at one time a close friend of C. S. Lewis, both members of the informal literary discussion group known as the Inklings. Tolkien was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1972. After his father’s death, Tolkien’s son Christopher published a series of works based on his father’s extensive notes and unpublished manuscripts, including The Silmarillion. These, together with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings form a connected body of tales, poems, fictional histories, invented languages, and literary essays about a fantasy world called Arda, and Middle-earth within it. Between 1951 and 1955, Tolkien applied the term legendarium to the larger part of these writings. While many other authors had published works of fantasy before Tolkien, the great success of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings led directly to a popular resurgence of the genre. This has caused Tolkien to be popularly identified as the “father” of modern fantasy literature or, more precisely, of high fantasy. Tolkien was married to Edith Mary Bratt (1916 – 1971 her death).
The Final Footprint – Tolkien is interred with his wife Edith in Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford, England. Their graves are marked by an upright companion granite marker.
The Final Footprint – The Connally’s are buried together at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. Texans widely regard her as a beloved daughter of the great state of Texas. Other notable final footprints at Texas State Cemetery include; Stephen F. Austin, J. Frank Dobie, Barbara Jordan, Tom Landry (cenotaph), James A. Michener (cenotaph), Ann Richards, Edwin “Bud” Shrake, Big Foot Wallace, and Walter Prescott Webb. What are your thoughts on the conspiracy theories surrounding JFK’s assassination?
