#RIP #OTD in 1923 naval officer and writer, known for his exotic novels (Le Mariage de Loti, basis of the opera Lakmé; Madame Chrysanthème, basis of the opera Madama Butterfly), short stories, Pierre Loti died in Hendaye, France, aged 73, and was interred on the island of Oléron, France with a state funeral
On this day in 1967, actor, one of the major stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, 9x Academy Award nominee, 2x Academy Award winner, Spencer Tracy died in his apartment in Beverly Hills, California from a heart attack at the age of 67. Born Spencer Bonaventure Tracy on 5 April 1900 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
One of the major stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Tracy won his two Academy Awards for Best Actor from nine nominations.
Tracy first discovered his talent for acting while attending Ripon College, and he later received a scholarship for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He spent seven years in the theatre, working in a succession of stock companies and intermittently on Broadway. Tracy’s breakthrough came in 1930, when his lead performance in The Last Mile caught the attention of Hollywood. After a successful film debut in John Ford’s Up the River starring Tracy (and also featuring Humphrey Bogart), he was signed to a contract with Fox Film Corporation. He was in 25 films, almost all of them starring Tracy as the leading man. None of them were hits although his performance in The Power and the Glory (1933) was praised at the time.
In 1935, Tracy joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, then Hollywood’s most prestigious studio. His career flourished from Fury (1936) onwards, and in 1937 and 1938 he won consecutive Oscars for Captains Courageous and Boys Town. He made three box-office successes supporting Clark Gable, the studio’s most prominent leading man so that by the early 1940s, Tracy was one of the studio’s top stars. In 1942, he appeared with Katharine Hepburn in Woman of the Year, beginning another partnership leading to nine movies over 25 years.
Tracy left MGM in 1955, and continued to work regularly as a freelance star, despite an increasing weariness as he aged. His personal life was troubled, with a lifelong struggle against alcoholism. Towards the end of his life, Tracy worked almost exclusively for director Stanley Kramer. It was for Kramer that he made his last film, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), completed just 17 days before he died.
During his career, Tracy appeared in 75 films and developed a reputation among his peers as one of the screen’s greatest actors.
Tracy was married to Louise Treadwell (1923 – 1967 his death). He became estranged from his wife in the 1930s, and conducted a long-term relationship with Katharine Hepburn in private until his death.
The Final Footprint – A Requiem Mass was held for Tracy on June 12 at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in East Hollywood. Active pallbearers included George Cukor, Stanley Kramer, Frank Sinatra, James Stewart and John Ford. Out of consideration for Tracy’s family, Hepburn did not attend the funeral. Tracy was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Other notable Final Footprints at Forest Lawn Glendale include; L. Frank Baum, Humphrey Bogart, Lon Chaney, Nat King Cole, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jean Harlow, Sam Cooke, Walt Disney, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Michael Jackson, Louis L’Amour, Carole Lombard, Tom Mix, Casey Stengel, Jimmy Stewart, and Elizabeth Taylor.
#RIP #OTD in 1987 actress (A Patch of Blue, The Beguiled, You’re a Big Boy Now, Walking Tall) Elizabeth Hartman died jumping from the window of her fifth floor apartment in Pittsburgh, aged 43. Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Boardman Township, Ohio.
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On this day in 1988, novelist and short-story writer Louis L’Amour died from lung cancer at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 80. Born Louis Dearborn LaMoore on March 22, 1908 in Jamestown, North Dakota. His books consisted primarily of Western novels, which he called “frontier stories”. He also wrote historical fiction (The Walking Drum), science fiction (The Haunted Mesa), non-fiction (Frontier), as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into films. L’Amour’s books remain popular and most have gone through multiple printings. At the time of his death almost all of his 105 existing works (89 novels, 14 short-story collections, and two full-length works of nonfiction) were still in print.
The Final Footprint
L’Amour was buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery near the Great Mausoleum in the Mausoleum Slope, Distinguished Memorial, Space 59 in Glendale, California. His autobiography detailing his years as an itinerant worker in the west, Education of a Wandering Man, was published posthumously in 1989. Other notable Final Footprints at Forest Lawn Glendale include; L. Frank Baum, Humphrey Bogart, Lon Chaney, Nat King Cole, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jean Harlow, Sam Cooke, Walt Disney, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Michael Jackson, Carole Lombard, Tom Mix, Casey Stengel, Jimmy Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor, and Spencer Tracy.
On this day in 2004, legendary Grammy award winning singer and musician, Ray Charles, died of liver cancer at his home in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 73. Born Ray Charles Robinson on 23 September 1930 in Albany, Georgia. His music defied boundaries, from soul, rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues to country, rock and roll and pop. Frank Sinatra called Charles “the only true genius in show business.” Billy Joel noted: “This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley. I don’t know if Ray was the architect of rock & roll, but he was certainly the first guy to do a lot of things . . . Who the hell ever put so many styles together and made it work?” Charles started to lose his sight at the age of five. He went completely blind by the age of seven, apparently due to glaucoma. I believe the highest compliment that can be paid to a singer is to say that when they record a song, it instantly becomes the definitive version. Charles has recorded the definitive version of many songs. My partial list of favorite songs sung by Charles includes; “What’d I Say”, “Georgia on My Mind”, “Hit the Road Jack”, “Baby it’s Cold Outside”, “Unchain My Heart”, “I Can’t Stop Lovin’ You”. I could go on! Charles was married twice; Eileen Williams (1951-1952 divorce) and Della Beatrice Howard Robinson (1955-1977 divorce) and fathered 12 children with nine different women. His long term girlfriend and partner at the time of his death was Norma Pinella. The movie Ray (2004) is a biographical film focusing on 30 years of the life of Charles. The film was directed by Taylor Hackford and starred Jamie Foxx in the title role; Foxx received an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. Charles was set to attend the opening, but died before the premier.
The Final Footprint – Charles is entombed in the Mausoleum of the Golden West, Eternal Love Corridor in Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California. Other notable Final Footprints at Inglewood Park include; Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Grable, Etta James, Robert Kardashian, Gypsy Rose Lee, Billy Preston, Cesar Romero, Big Mama Thornton, T-Bone Walker, and Syreeta Wright..
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