On this day in 1919 Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie died in Lenox, Massachusetts of bronchial pneumonia at the age of 83. Born on 25 November 1835 in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. Carnegie led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and he was one of the most important philanthropists of his era. Carnegie founded Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Steel Company and built it into one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world. Carnegie sold the company in 1901 for $480 million to J.P. Morgan, who created U.S. Steel. Carnegie built Carnegie Hall and established many libraries, schools and universities. Carnegie is often regarded as the second-richest man in history after John D. Rockefeller. Carnegie married once to Louise Whitfield.
The Final Footprint – Carnegie is interred in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York. His grave is marked by a large stone cross. His wife Louise was interred next to him upon her death in 1945. The Rockefeller family estate, Kykuit, whose grounds abut Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, contains the private Rockefeller cemetery.
On this day in 1937 novelist, short story writer, designer, Pulitzer Prize recipient, Edith Wharton died of a stroke at the domaine Le Pavillon Colombe, her 18th-century house on Rue de Montmorency in Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt, at the age of 75. The street is today called rue Edith Wharton. Born Edith Newbold Jones on 24 January 1862 in New York City. Many of Wharton’s novels are characterized by a subtle use of dramatic irony. Having grown up in upper-class turn-of-the-century society, Wharton became one of its most astute critics, in such works as The House of Mirth (1905) and The Age of Innocence (1920), which won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making Wharton the first woman to win the award. In addition to writing several more respected novels, Wharton produced a wealth of short stories and is particularly well regarded for her ghost stories.
On April 29, 1885, at the age of 23, Wharton married Edward Robbins (Teddy) Wharton, who was 12 years her senior, at the Trinity Chapel Complex in Manhattan. From a well-established Boston family, he was a sportsman and a gentleman of the same social class and shared her love of travel. The Whartons set up house at Pencraig Cottage in Newport. In 1893, they bought a house named Land’s End, on the other side of Newport, for $80,000, and moved into it. In 1897, the Whartons purchased their New York home, 884 Park Avenue. Between 1886 and 1897, they traveled overseas in the period from February to June – mostly visiting Italy but also Paris and England. From her marriage onwards, three interests came to dominate Wharton’s life: American houses, writing, and Italy.
From the late 1880s until 1902, Teddy Wharton suffered from chronic depression. The couple then ceased their extensive travel. At that time, his depression became more debilitating, after which they lived almost exclusively at their estate The Mount in Lenox, Massachusetts. During those same years, Wharton herself was said to suffer from asthma and periods of depression.
In 1908, Teddy Wharton’s mental condition was determined to be incurable. In that year, Wharton began an affair with Morton Fullerton, an author, and foreign correspondent for The Times of London, in whom she found an intellectual partner. She divorced Edward Wharton in 1913, after 28 years of marriage.
The Final Footprint – Wharton’s final resting place is in the Cimetière des Gonards, the largest cemetery in Versailles on the outskirts of Paris. It began operations in 1879. The cemetery covers an area of 130,000 m² and contains more than 12,000 graves. Another notable final footprint at Gonards is that of poet Robert de Montesquiou.
On this day in 1956, artist, Jackson Pollock died at the age of 44 in a single-car crash in his Oldsmobile convertible while driving under the influence of alcohol in Springs, New York. One of the passengers, Edith Metzger, was also killed in the accident, which occurred less than a mile from Pollock’s home. The other passenger, muse, artist, author, and Pollock’s mistress, Ruth Kligman, survived. Born Paul Jackson Pollock on 28 January 1912 in Cody, Wyoming. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was well known for his unique style of drip painting. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety, a major artist of his generation. Regarded as reclusive, he had a volatile personality, and struggled with alcoholism for most of his life. In 1945, he married the artist Lee Krasner, who became an important influence on his career and on his legacy.
The Final Footprint – Pollock is interred in Green River Cemetery in Springs with a large boulder marking his grave and a smaller one marking Krasner’s who was interred next to Pollock upon her death in 1984. Pollock was given a memorial retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. A larger, more comprehensive exhibition of his work was held there in 1967. In 1998 and 1999, his work was honored with large-scale retrospective exhibitions at MoMA and at The Tate in London. In 2000, Pollock was the subject of the film Pollock, directed by and starring Ed Harris. Other notable final footprints at Green River include; Peter Boyle, Elaine de Kooning, Frank O’Hara, and Jean Stafford.
On this day in 1994 actor Peter Cushing died from prostate cancer in Canterbury at the age of 81. Born Peter Wilton Cushing on 26 May 1913 in Kenley, Surrey. Perhaps best known for his roles in the Hammer Productions horror films of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, as well as his performance as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars (1977). Spanning over six decades, his acting career included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. After making his motion picture debut in the 1939 film The Man in the Iron Mask, Cushing began to find modest success in American films before returning to England at the outbreak of the Second World War. He earned acclaim for his lead performance in a 1954 adaptation of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. Cushing gained worldwide fame for his appearances in twenty-two horror films by the independent Hammer Productions, particularly for his role as Baron Frankenstein in six of their seven Frankenstein films, and Doctor Van Helsing in five Dracula films. Cushing often appeared alongside actor Christopher Lee, who became one of his closest friends, and occasionally with horror star Vincent Price.
Cushing appeared in several other Hammer films, including The Abominable Snowman, The Mummy and The Hound of the Baskervilles, the last of which marked the first of many times he portrayed the famous detective Sherlock Holmes throughout his career. Cushing continued to perform a variety of roles, although he was often typecast as a horror film actor. He played Dr. Who in Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966). Cushing gained the highest amount of visibility in his career in 1977, when he appeared as Grand Moff Tarkin in the first Star Wars film. Cushing continued acting into his later years, and wrote two autobiographies.
In 2016, his likeness was digitally repurposed to allow the character of Tarkin to appear in Rogue One.
Peter Cushing was dedicated to his wife Helen, to whom he was married for twenty-eight years until her death in 1971. Cushing often said he felt his life had ended when hers did, and he was so crushed that when his first autobiography was published in 1986, it made no mention of his life after her death.
The Final Footprint
In accordance with his wishes, Cushing had a low-key funeral with family and friends, although hundreds of fans and well-wishers came to Canterbury to pay their respects. In January 1995, a memorial service was held in The Actor’s Church in Covent Garden, with addresses given by Christopher Lee, Kevin Francis, Ron Moody and James Bree. He was cremated.
On this day in 2014, actor and comedian Robin Williams died by hanging at his home in Paradise Cay, California at the age of 63. Born Robin McLaurin Williams at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago, Illinois on 21 July 1951. Starting as a stand-up comedian in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, he is credited with leading San Francisco’s comedy renaissance. After starring as Mork in the sitcom Mork & Mindy (1978–82), he went on to establish a career in both stand-up comedy and feature film acting. He was perhaps best known for his improvisational skills.
Williams starred or co-starred in widely acclaimed films, including; The World According to Garp (1982), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), Awakenings (1990), The Fisher King (1991), Aladdin (1992), Good Will Hunting (1997), One Hour Photo (2002), Hook (1991), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Jumanji (1995), The Birdcage (1996), and Night at the Museum (2006).
In 1986, Williams teamed up with Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal to found Comic Relief USA, an annual HBO television benefit devoted to the homeless, which has raised $80 million, as of 2014.
In 1998, Williams won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Dr. Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting. He also received two Primetime Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Grammy Awards throughout his career. Williams committed suicide by hanging himself. It was revealed shortly after his death that Williams had been suffering from severe depression, Parkinson’s disease, and diffuse Lewy body dementia.
Williams married three times: Valerie Velardi (1978 – 1988 divorce), Marcia Garces (1989 – 2010 divorce) and Susan Schneider (2011 – 2014 his death).
The Final Footprint – His body was cremated and his ashes were spread in San Francisco Bay on August 21. Broadway theaters in New York dimmed their lights for one minute in his honor. Broadway’s Aladdin cast honored Williams by having the audience join them in a sing-along of “Friend Like Me”, the Oscar-nominated song originally sung by Williams in the 1992 film. Fans of Williams created makeshift memorials at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and at locations from his television and film career, such as the bench in Boston’s Public Garden featured in Good Will Hunting; the Pacific Heights, San Francisco, home used in Mrs. Doubtfire; and the Boulder, Colorado, home used for Mork & Mindy. During the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards on 25 August 2014, Billy Crystal presented a tribute to Williams, referring to him as “the brightest star in our comedy galaxy.”
#RIP #OTD in 2020 singer (“If I Had a Hammer”, “Lemon Tree”, “I’m Comin’ Home, Cindy”), guitarist, actor Trini Lopez died at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California aged 83. Calvary Hill Cemetery and Mausoleum, Dallas
#RIP #OTD in 2022 actress (Walking and Talking; Donnie Brasco; Six Days, Seven Nights; Psycho) Anne Heche died from injuries sustained in a car crash at West Hills Hospital, Los Angeles aged 53. Cremated remains Hollywood Forever Cemetery
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