On this day in 1673, playwright and actor Molière (portrait by Pierre Mignard) died at his home in Paris from tuberculosis at the age of 51. Born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin on 15 January 1622 in Paris. In my opinion, one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature. Among Molière’s best-known works are The Misanthrope, The School for Wives, Tartuffe, The Miser, The Imaginary Invalid, and The Bourgeois Gentleman. Though he received the adulation of the court and Parisians, Molière’s satires attracted criticism from moralists and the Catholic Church. Tartuffe and its attack on perceived religious hypocrisy roundly received condemnations from the Church, while Don Juan was banned from performance. Molière’s hard work in so many theatrical capacities took its toll on his health and, by 1667, he was forced to take a break from the stage. Molière married Armande Béjart, a famous stage actor at the time. Her mother, Madeleine, had a relationship with Molière which perhaps continued after her marriage to him.
During a production of his final play, The Imaginary Invalid, Molière was seized by a coughing fit and a haemorrhage while playing the hypochondriac Argan. Molière insisted on completing his performance. Afterwards he collapsed again with another, larger haemorrhage before being taken home, where he died a few hours later, without receiving the last rites because two priests refused to visit him while a third arrived too late. The superstition that green brings bad luck to actors is said to originate from the colour of the clothing he was wearing at the time of his death.
The Final Footprint – Under French law at the time, actors were not allowed to be buried in the sacred ground of a cemetery. However, Armande, asked the King if her spouse could be granted a “normal” funeral at night. The King agreed and Molière’s body was buried in the part of the cemetery reserved for unbaptised infants. In 1792 his remains were brought to the museum of French monuments and in 1817 transferred to Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, close to those of La Fontaine. Other notable Final Footprints at Père Lachaise include; Guillaume Apollinaire, Honoré de Balzac, Georges Bizet, Jean-Dominique Bauby, Maria Callas, Chopin, Colette, Auguste Comte, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Max Ernst, Amedeo Modigliani, Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf, Camille Pissarro, Marcel Proust, Sully Prudhomme, Gioachino Rossini, Georges-Pierre Seurat, Simone Signoret, Gertrude Stein, Dorothea Tanning, Alice B. Toklas, Oscar Wilde, and Richard Wright.
On this day in 1909 prominent leader of the Bedonkohe Apache, Geronimo died of pneumonia as a prisoner of the United States at Fort Sill, Oklahoma at the age of 79. Born June 1829, near Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Gila River in the modern-day state of Arizona, then part of Mexico, though the Apache disputed Mexico’s claim. His grandfather (Mahko) had been chief of the Bedonkohe Apache. Geronimo fought against Mexico and Texas for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. “Geronimo” was the name given to him during a battle with Mexican soldiers. Geronimo’s Chiricahua name is often rendered as Goyathlay or Goyahkla in English. After a Mexican attack on his tribe, where soldiers killed his mother, wife, and his three children in 1858, Geronimo joined a number of revenge attacks against the Mexicans. In 1886, after a lengthy pursuit, Geronimo surrendered to Texan faux-gubernatorial authorities as a prisoner of war. At an old age, he became a celebrity, appearing at fairs, but he was never allowed to return to the land of his birth. 
The Final Footprint – On his deathbed, he reportedly confessed to his nephew that he regretted his decision to surrender: “I should have never surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive.” He was buried at Fort Sill in the Apache Indian Prisoner of War Cemetery. Other notable final footprints at Fort Sill include; Kiowa Chief Satanta, and Comanche Chief Quanah Parker.
#RIP #OTD in 1946 Titanic survivor, actress (Saved from the Titanic, A Lucky Holdup), socialite, artist’s model Dorothy Gibson died of a stroke in her apartment at the Hôtel Ritz Paris at the age of 56. Saint Germain-en-Laye Old Communal Cemetery, France
#RIP #OTD in 1961 silent film actress (Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Blood and Sand, Cobra, The Ten Commandments) Nita Naldi died of a heart attack in her room at the Wentworth Hotel in Manhattan aged 66. Calvary Cemetery, Woodside, Queens County, New York
On this day in 1982, jazz pianist, composer, Thelonious Monk died in Englewood, New Jersey at the age of 64 from a stroke. Born Thelonious Sphere Monk on 10 October 1917 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. In my opinion, one of the giants of American music. Known for his distinctive style in suits, hats and sunglasses. Monk made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including “Epistrophy”, “‘Round Midnight”, “Blue Monk”, “Straight, No Chaser” and “Well, You Needn’t”. 
The Final Footprint – Monk is interred in Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hartsdale, New York. His daughter Barbara “Booboo” and his wife Francis “Nellie” were later interred with him. Their graves are marked by a flat bronze marker. Other notable Final Footprints at Ferncliff include: Aaliyah, James Baldwin, Joan Crawford, Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern, Malcolm X, and Ed Sullivan. In addition, John Lennon and Nelson Rockefeller were cremated at Ferncliff.
On this day in 1982, actor, director, and theatre practitioner Lee Strasberg died from a heart attack in New York City, aged 80. Born Israel Lee Strassberg on November 17, 1901 in Budzanów, Austrian Poland (part of Austria-Hungary, now in Ukraine). He co-founded, with directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931. In 1951 he became director of the nonprofit Actors Studio in New York City and in 1966 he was involved in the creation of Actors Studio West in Los Angeles.
Although other highly regarded teachers also developed “the Method,” Strasberg is often considered the “father of method acting in America,”. From his base in New York, he trained several generations of theatre and film notables, including Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Fonda, Julie Harris, Paul Newman, Ellen Burstyn, Al Pacino, Geraldine Page, Eli Wallach, and directors Frank Perry and Elia Kazan.
By 1970 Strasberg had become less involved with the Actors Studio and, with his third wife, Anna, opened the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute with branches in New York City and in Hollywood, to continue teaching for contemporary actors.
Former student Elia Kazan directed James Dean in East of Eden (1955), for which Kazan and Dean were nominated for Academy Awards. As a student, Dean wrote that Actors Studio was “the greatest school of the theater [and] the best thing that can happen to an actor.” Playwright Tennessee Williams, writer of A Streetcar Named Desire, said of Strasberg’s actors, “They act from the inside out. They communicate emotions they really feel. They give you a sense of life.” Directors such as Sidney Lumet, a former student, have intentionally used actors skilled in Strasberg’s “method.”
As an actor, Strasberg is perhaps best known for his supporting role as Hyman Roth alongside his former student Pacino in The Godfather Part II (1974), a role he took at Pacino’s suggestion after Kazan turned down the role, and which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also appeared in …And Justice for All (1979).
His first marriage was to Nora Krecaum on October 29, 1926, until her death three years later in 1929. In 1934 he married actress and drama coach Paula Miller (1909–66) until her death from cancer in 1966. His third wife was the former Anna Mizrahi from 1967 till his death.
The Final Footprint
Strasberg is interred at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. His personal papers, including photos, are archived at the Library of Congress. Other notable final footprints at Westchester Hills include; George and Ira Gershwin and Roberta Peters.
#RIP #OTD in 2010 actress and coloratura soprano (Thousands Cheer, Anchors Aweigh, Show Boat, Kiss Me Kate, Camelot, La bohème, Madama Butterfly, Orpheus in the Underworld, La traviata) Kathryn Grayson died at her home in Los Angeles, aged 88. Cremation
#RIP #OTD in 2013 country music singer, (“Guys Do It All the Time”, “Ten Thousand Angels”, “A Girl’s Gotta Do (What a Girl’s Gotta Do)”), Mindy McCready died from a gunshot wound at her home in Herber Springs, Arkansas, aged 37. Alva Cemetery in Alva, Florida
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