On this day in 1933, songwriter, country music pioneer and superstar, The Singing Brakeman, The Blue Yodeler, The Father of Country Music, Jimmie Rodgers, died at the Taft Hotel in New York City from tuberculosis at the age of 35. Born James Charles Rodgers on 8 September 1987 in either Meridien, Mississippi or Geiger, Alabama. Rodgers was one of the first three inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame, along with Fred Rose and Hank Williams. Numerous artists have recorded tribute albums or his songs including; Gene Autry, Merle Haggard, Hank Snow, Lefty Frizzell, Bob Dylan, Bono, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Jerry Garcia, Dickey Betts, Dwight Yoakam, Aaron Neville, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jerry Lee Lewis and Tompall Glaser. Rodgers reportedly influenced other artists including; Elvis, Muddy Waters, Big Bill Broonzy, Howlin’ Wolf, and Mississippi John Hurt. Of course, my favorite Rodgers song is “Blue Yodel” better known as “T for Texas”.
The Final Footprint – Rodgers is interred in the Rodgers family plot in Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Meridian, Mississippi. The family plot is marked by a large upright granite marker. His grave is marked by an individual raised granite marker.
| Sydney Pollack | |
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 in 2006 |
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On this day in 2008, director, producer, actor, Sydney Pollack died in Los Angeles surrounded by his family, from cancer at the age of 73. Born Sydney Irwin Pollack on July 1, 1934 in Lafayettte, Indiana. Pollack directed more than 20 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 films or shows, and produced over 44 films. His 1985 film Out of Africa won him Academy Awards for directing and producing; he was also nominated for Best Director Oscars for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969) and Tootsie (1982) in which he also appeared.
Some of his other best known works include Jeremiah Johnson (1972), The Way We Were (1973), Three Days of the Condor (1975) and Absence of Malice (1981). His subsequent films included Havana (1990), The Firm (1993), The Interpreter (2005), and he produced and acted in Michael Clayton (2007).
Pollack was married to Claire Bradley Griswold, a former student of his, from 1958 until his death in 2008. Claire died on March 28, 2011 at 74 years of age, due to Parkinson’s Disease.
The Final Footprint
His body was cremated, and his cremated remains were scattered along the runway at the Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles.
#RIP #OTD in 2022, actor (Field of Dreams, Goodfellas, Unlawful Entry, Cop Land, Hannibal, Blow, Identity, Killing Them Softly), Ray Liotta died in his sleep in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, aged 67
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