On this day in 1838, Venetian opera librettist and poet Lorenzo Da Ponte died in New York at the age of 89. Born Emanuele Conegliano in Ceneda, in the Republic of Venice (now Vittorio Veneto, Italy) on 10 March 1749. He was Jewish by birth, the eldest of three sons. In 1764, his father, the widower Geronimo Conegliano, converted himself and his family to Roman Catholicism in order to remarry. Emanuele, as was the custom, took the name of Lorenzo Da Ponte from the Bishop of Ceneda who baptised him. He wrote the librettos for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart’s greatest operas, Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte.
The Final Footprint – An enormous funeral ceremony was held in New York’s old St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Mulberry Street. Some sources state that Da Ponte is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Queens, but that cemetery did not exist before 1848. Other sources say Da Ponte was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, as a rural cemetery in Kings County, New York. Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, New York does contain a stone marker to serve as a memorial to Da Ponte. Other notable final footprints at Green-Wood include; Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ebbets, and Louis Comfort Tiffany.
#RIP #OTD in 1942 novelist (David Golder, Le Bal, Le Vin de solitude, Suite française, Chaleur du sang) Irène Némirovsky died of typhus in Auschwitz at the age of 39
On this day in 1973 novelist and poet, Pulitzer Prize recipient, Poet Laureate, Conrad Aiken died in Savannah, Georgia at the age of 84. Born Conrad Potter Aiken on 5 August 1889 in Savannah. A good source for information on Aiken’s life is his autobiographical novel Ushant (1952). In this book he writes of his various affairs and marriages, his attempted suicide and fear of insanity, and his friendships with T.S. Eliot (who appears in the book as The Tsetse), Ezra Pound (Rabbi Ben Ezra), and others. He was a graduate of Harvard. Aiken married three times; Jessie McDonald (1912-1929 divorce), Clarissa Lorenz (1930) and Mary Hoover (1937-1973 his death).
The Final Footprint – Aiken is interred in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah. His wife Mary was interred next to him upon her death in 1992. Their graves are marked with an engraved granite bench with two epitaphs; GIVE MY LOVE TO THE WORLD and COSMOS MARINER DESTINATION UNKNOWN. The grave was made famous by its mention in John Berendt’s non-fiction book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1994), one of my favorite books. The book was subsequently made into a 1997 movie, directed by Clint Eastwood and based loosely on Berendt’s story. Johnny Mercer is also interred in Bonaventure.
On this day in 1983, lyricist, Academy Award nominee, Pulitzer Prize recipient, Ira Gershwin died in Beverly Hills, California, at the age of 86. Born Israel Gershowitz on 6 December 1896 in New York City. He collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century.
The Final Footprint – He is entombed in the George Gershwin Private Mausoleum at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York with his brother George. Notable songs he wrote lyrics for include:
- “But Not For Me”
- “Embraceable You”
- “I Can’t Get Started”
- “I Got Rhythm”
- “Nice Work if You Can Get It”
- “The Man I Love”
- “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”
- “Someone to Watch Over Me”
- “‘S Wonderful”
- “The Man That Got Away”
- “Strike Up the Band”
On this day in 1990, actress and singer Pearl Bailey died at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia from a heart attack at the age of 72. Born Pearl Mae Bailey on March 29, 1918 in Newport News, Virginia. After appearing in vaudeville she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968. In 1986, she won a Daytime Emmy award for her performance as a fairy godmother in the ABC Afterschool Special, Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale.
Her rendition of “Takes Two to Tango” hit the top ten in 1952. She received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1976 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom on October 17, 1988.
On November 19, 1952, Bailey married the jazz drummer Louie Bellson in London.
The Final Footprint
Bailey is buried at Rolling Green Memorial Park in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
On this day in 2015, ballet dancer and actress (Batgirl, Marta on Star Trek) Yvonne Craig died from breast cancer at her home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, at the age of 78. Born Yvonne Joyce Craig on May 16, 1937 in Taylorville, Illinois. Perhaps best known for her role as Batgirl in the 1960s television series Batman and as the green-skinned Orion slave girl Marta in the Star Trek episode “Whom Gods Destroy” (1969). The Huffington Post called her “a pioneer of female superheroes” for television.
After being discovered by Alexandra Danilova, a ballerina and instructor, Craig joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as its youngest corps de ballet member. She left the ballet company in 1957.
The Final Footprint
Craig was cremated. A memorial bench and plaque were installed at The City of Hope’s Rose Garden in Duarte, California.
#RIP #OTD in 2016 film director (Love Story, The Hospital, The Out-of-Towners, Plaza Suite, The Man in the Glass Booth, Silver Streak, The In-Laws, Making Love, Outrageous Fortune) Arthur Hiller died in Los Angeles aged 92. Mount Sinai Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills
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The Final Footprint – Jonson is interred in an upright vault in the north aisle of the Nave in Westminster Abbey. The inscription over his grave says; O Rare Ben Johnson. Other notable Final Footprints at Westminster include; Robert Browning, Lord Byron, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles II, Oliver Cromwell, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Edward III, Edward IV, Edward The Confessor, Elizabeth I, George II, Stephen Hawking, George Friederic Handel, Henry III, Henry V, Henry VII, James VI and I, Samuel Johnson, Rudyard Kipling, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Mary I, Mary II, Mary Queen of Scots, John Milton, Isaac Newton, Laurence Olivier, Henry Purcell, Richard II, Thomas Shadwell, Edmund Spenser, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Dylan Thomas, and William III.
On this day in 1977, singer, actor, American icon, the King of Rock and Roll, the King, Elvis Presley died from a heart attack, that may have been brought on by prescription drug abuse, at his Graceland home in Memphis at the age of 42. Or if you prefer, he went away on that day. One of my daughters likes to quote a line from the film Men in Black (1997), starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith; “No, Elivs is not dead, he just went home.” Born Elvis Aaron Presley on 8 January 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. What can be said that has not already been said? Certainly he is one of my favorite singers. In my opinion, Elvis has to be considered as one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular culture. My favorite songs sung by Elvis include; “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Hound Dog”, “Hard Headed Woman”, “Suspicious Minds”, “Way Down”, “Guitar Man”, “A Little Less Conversation”, “Burning Love”, “Viva Las Vegas”, and “Promised Land”. My favorite movies featuring Elvis inlcude; Love Me Tender (1956) and King Creole (1958). Elvis married Priscilla Ann Beaulieu on 1 May 1967 in the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. Their divorce was finalized on 9 October 1973. Questions surround Elvis: Did Colonel Tom Parker’s tight control derail Elvis’ acting career? Was Elvis his own worst enemy? Did those around him enable and encourage his destructive tendencies? Did he really die that day or was the whole thing staged so he could finally get away? Upon learning of Elvis’ death, did Parker really say. “This changes nothing!”
The Final Footprint – Elvis was initially entombed in a private room, in a crypt next to his mother, in the mausoleum at Forest Hill Cemetery Midtown, Memphis. Following an attempt to steal the singer’s body, the remains of both Elvis and his mother were reburied in Graceland’s Meditation Garden. His grave is marked by a full ledger flat bronze on granite marker. The inscriptions reads: HE WAS A PRECIOUS GIFT FROM GOD WE CHERISHED AND LOVED DEARLY. HE HAD A GOD-GIVEN TALENT THAT HE SHARED WITH THE WORLD AND WITHOUT A DOUBT, MOST WIDELY ACCLAIMED, CAPTURING THE HEARTS OF YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE. HE WAS ADMIRED NOT ONLY AS AN ENTERTAINER BUT AS THE GREAT HUMANITARIAN THAT HE WAS, FOR HIS GENEROSITY AND HIS KIND FEELINGS FOR HIS FELLOW MAN. HE REVOLUTIONIZED THE THE FIELD OF MUSIC AND RECEIVED ITS’ HIGHEST AWARDS. HE BECAME A LIVING LEGEND IN HIS OWN TIME, EARNING THE RESPECT AND LOVE OF MILLIONS. GOD SAW THAT HE NEEDED SOME REST AND CALLED HIM HOME TO BE WITH HIM. WE MISS YOU, SON AND DADDY. I THANK GOD HE GAVE US YOU AS OUR SON. His father and his paternal grandmother were interred at Graceland upon their deaths. Elvis has inspired many artistic and cultural works. He has been portrayed in films by many including: Kurt Russell as the voice of Elvis in the film Forrest Gump (1994) based on the Winston Groom novel and featuring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise; and Val Kilmer as the Ghost of Elvis, the mentor, in Quentin Tarrantino’s True Romance (1993) with Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore, Samuel L. Jackson, James Gandolfini and Brad Pitt.
On this day in 1938, blues singer, songwriter and musician, Robert Johnson died near Greenwood, Mississippi of an unknown cause at the age of 27, thus becoming a member of the 27 Club or Forever 27 Club, a term used to refer to popular musicians who have died at the age of 27 and includes, Rolling Stone Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, and Amy Winehouse. Born Robert Leroy Johnson in Hazlehurst, Mississippi possibly on 8 May 1911. His landmark recordings from 1936–37 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generations of musicians. Johnson’s shadowy, poorly documented life and untimely death have given rise to much legend, including the Faustian myth that he sold his soul at a crossroads to achieve success. As an itinerant performer who played mostly on street corners, in juke joints, and at Saturday night dances, Johnson had little commercial success or public recognition in his lifetime and his records sold poorly during his lifetime. It was only after the reissue of his recordings in 1961 on the LP King of the Delta Blues Singers that his work reached a wider audience. Johnson is now recognized as a master of the blues, particularly of the Mississippi Delta blues style. He is credited by many rock musicians as an important influence; Eric Clapton has called Johnson “the most important blues singer that ever lived.” Johnson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an “Early Influence” in their first induction ceremony in 1986.
The Final Footprint – The exact location of his grave is officially unknown. Johnson may have been buried in the graveyard of the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church near Morgan City, not far from Greenwood, in an unmarked grave. A one-ton cenotaph in the shape of an obelisk, listing all of Johnson’s song titles, with a central inscription by Peter Guralnick, was placed at this location in 1990, paid for by Columbia Records and numerous smaller contributions made through the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund. In 1990 a small marker with the epitaph “Resting in the Blues” was placed in the cemetery of Payne Chapel near Quito by an Atlanta rock group named the Tombstones, after they saw a photograph in Living Blues magazine of an unmarked spot alleged by one of Johnson’s ex-girlfriends to be Johnson’s burial site. More recent research by Stephen LaVere (including statements from Rosie Eskridge, the wife of the supposed gravedigger) indicates that the actual grave site is under a big pecan tree in the cemetery of the Little Zion Church, north of Greenwood along Money Road. Sony Music has placed a marker at this site.
On this day in 1948, baseball player, 2x All-Star, 7x World Series Champion, AL MVP, New York Yankees #3 retired, home run king, baseball Hall of Famer, the Bambino, the Sultan of Swat, American Icon, Babe Ruth died in New York City at age 53 from cancer. Born George Herman Ruth on 6 February 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland. He was a Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher and outfielder who played for 22 seasons on three teams, from 1914 through 1935. He was known for his hitting brilliance setting career records in his time for home runs (714, since broken), slugging percentage (.690), runs batted in (RBI) (2,213, since broken), bases on balls (2,062, since broken), and on-base plus slugging (OPS) (1.164). Ruth originally entered the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox as a starting pitcher, but after he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1919, he converted to a full-time right fielder. He subsequently became one of the American League’s most prolific hitters and with his home run hitting prowess, he helped the Yankees win seven pennants and four World Series titles. Ruth retired in 1935 after a short stint with the Boston Braves, and the following year, he became one of the first five players to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Ruth was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), a mark not surpassed until another Yankee right fielder, Roger Maris, hit 61 in 1961. Ruth’s lifetime record of 714 home runs stood until 1974, when it was surpassed by Hank Aaron. Unlike many power hitters, Ruth also hit for a high batting average: his .342 lifetime average is the tenth highest in baseball history, and in one season (1923) he batted .393, a Yankee record. Ruth dominated the era in which he played. He led the league in home runs during a season twelve times, slugging percentage and OPS thirteen times each, runs scored eight times, and RBIs six times. Ruth is credited with changing baseball itself. The popularity of the game exploded in the 1920s, largely due to his influence. Ruth ushered in the “live-ball era”, as his big swing led to escalating home run totals that not only excited fans, but helped baseball evolve from a low-scoring, speed-dominated game to a high-scoring power game. He has since become regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture. Ruth’s legendary power and charismatic personality made him a larger than life figure in the “Roaring Twenties” and one of the first sports celebrity superstars whose fame transcended sports. Off the field, he was famous for his charity contributions which included helping children to learn and play baseball, and for his often reckless lifestyle. Perhaps the greatest baseball player and hitter of all time. Ruth married two times; Margaret Helen Woodford (1914 – 1929 her death) and Clara Mae “Claire” Merritt Hodgson (1928 – 1948 his death).
The Final Footprint – His body lay in repose in Yankee Stadium. An estimated 77,000 people filed past to pay him tribute. His funeral was two days later at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, outside of which a crowd estimated at 75,000 waited. Ruth was then buried in the Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven in Hawthorne, New York. At his death, the New York Times called Babe Ruth, “a figure unprecedented in American life. A born showman off the field and a marvelous performer on it, he had an amazing flair for doing the spectacular at the most dramatic moment.” The Yankees added a monument to Monument Park at Yankee Stadium to honor Ruth. Monument Park is an open-air museum containing a collection of monuments, plaques, and retired numbers honoring distinguished members of the Yankees. Other notable Yankees whose final footprints include memorialization in Monument Park; Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, George Steinbrenner, Casey Stengel, Thurman Munson, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Phil Rizzuto, Billy Martin, Mel Allen, and Bob Sheppard. Other notable final footprints at Gate of Heaven include; James Cagney, Billy Martin, Sal Mineo, and Dutch Schultz.
On this day in 1949, author of Gone with the Wind (1936), Pulitzer Prize recipient, Margaret Mitchell died at Grady Hospital five days after being struck by a speeding automobile as she crossed Peachtree Street at 13th Street in Atlanta with her husband, John Marsh, while on her way to see a movie. She was 48. Born Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell on 8 November 1900 in Atlanta. Mitchell began writing Gone with the Wind in 1926 to pass the time while recovering from an auto-crash injury that refused to heal. In April 1935, Harold Latham of Macmillan, an editor who was looking for new fiction, read what she had written and saw that it could be a best-seller. After Latham agreed to publish the book, Mitchell worked for another six months checking the historical references, and rewrote the opening chapter several times. Mitchell and her husband John Marsh, a copy editor by trade, edited the final version of the novel. Mitchell wrote the book’s final moments first, and then wrote the events that led up to it. The story is set in Clayton County, Georgia, and Atlanta during the American Civil War and Reconstruction. It depicts the experiences of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, Gerald O’Hara, who must use every means at her disposal to come out of the poverty she finds herself in after the war. On 15 December 1939 an estimated one million people came to Atlanta for the premiere of David O. Selznick’s epic film based on Mitchell’s novel. The film was immensely popular, becoming the highest-earning film made up to that point and has become ingrained in popular culture. It has placed in the top ten of the American Film Institute’s list of top 100 American films since the list’s inception in 1998, and in 1989, Gone with the Wind was selected to be preserved by the National Film Registry.
The Final Footprint – Mitchell is interred in Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. GWTW ranked as the second most favorite book by American readers, just behind the Bible, according to a 2008 Harris Poll. As of 2010, more than 30 million copies have been printed in the United States and abroad. The book routinely appears on best English-Language novels lists. Another notable final footprint at Oakland is that of Bobby Jones.
On this day in 1956, actor Béla Lugosi died of a heart attack while lying on a couch in his Los Angeles home, at the age of 73. Born Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó in Lugos, Kingdom of Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania) on 20 October 1882. Lugosi is famous for starring in the first talking film version of Dracula and for his roles in various other horror films. He had been playing small parts on the stage in his native Hungary before making his first film in 1917, but had to leave the country after the failed Hungarian Revolution, and arrived in America as a seaman on a merchant ship. In 1927, he appeared as Count Dracula in a Broadway adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel. He would appear in the classic 1931 Dracula film by Universal Pictures. Lugosi married five times; Ilona Szmick (1917 – 1920 divorce), Ilona von Montagh (1921 – 1924 divorce), Beatrice Weeks (1929 – 1929 divorce), Lillian Arch (1933 – 1953 divorce), Hope Lininger (1955 – 1956 his death).
The Final Footprint – Lugosi was interred wearing one of the Dracula Cape costumes in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Other notable final footprints at Holy Cross include; John Candy, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, John Ford, Rita Hayworth, Mario Lanza, Al Martino, Audrey Meadows, Ricardo Montalbán, Hermes Pan, Chris Penn, Jean Peters, Jo Stafford, and Sharon Tate.
On this day in 2019, actor, director, and screenwriter Peter Fonda died from respiratory failure caused by lung cancer at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 79. Born Peter Henry Fonda on February 23, 1940 in New York City. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a part of the counterculture of the 1960s. Fonda was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Easy Rider (1969), and the Academy Award for Best Actor for Ulee’s Gold (1997). For the latter, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. Fonda also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999).
King, MacBeth, King of Scotland was mortally wounded or killed by the future Malcolm III on the north side of the Mounth after retreating with his men over the Cairnamounth Pass to take his last stand at the battle at Lumphanan; or perhaps he was wounded and died at Scone, sixty miles to the south. MacBeth was born possibly in 1005, the son of Findláech mac Ruaidrí, Mormaer, or King, of Moray, a high lordship in High Medieval Scotland. MacBeth became king in 1040 when Duncan, King of Scotland led an army into Moray, where he was killed by Macbeth on 15 August 1040 at Pitgaveny (then called Bothnagowan) near Elgin. MacBeth is perhaps best known as the subject of Shakespeare’s play MacBeth. One of my very favorite plays. One of my sons has MacBeth as one of his middle names.
The Final Footprint – MacBeth is interred in Saint Orans Chapel Cemetery Iona Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The play MacBeth served as inspiration for Giuseppe Verdi’s opera MacBeth (1847). Numerous films have been made based on MacBeth and the play is often in production throughout the world. In My Defens God Me Defend!
On this day in 1935, cowboy, vaudeville performer, humorist, social commentator and motion picture actor, Oklahoma’s Favorite Son, Will Rogers died at the age of 55 with aviator Wiley Post, when their small airplane crashed in Point Barrow, Alaska. Born William Penn Adair Rogers on the Dog Iron Ranch in “White House on the Verdigris River”, in Indian Territory, near present-day Oologah, Oklahoma on 4 November 1879. He was one of the world’s best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s. He traveled around the world three times, made 71 movies (50 silent films and 21 “talkies”), wrote more than 4,000 nationally-syndicated newspaper columns, and became a world-famous figure. By the mid-1930s, Rogers was adored by the American people. He was the leading political wit of the Progressive Era, and was the top-paid Hollywood movie star at the time. His earthy anecdotes and folksy style allowed him to poke fun at gangsters, prohibition, politicians, government programs, and a host of other controversial topics in a way that was readily appreciated by a national audience, with no one offended. His aphorisms, couched in humorous terms, were widely quoted: “I am not a member of an organized political party. I am a Democrat.” Another widely quoted Will Rogers comment was “I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.” Rogers even provided an epitaph on his most famous epigram:
The Final Footprint – Rogers is entombed at the Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore, Oklahoma.
On this day in 1936, Italian writer whose works won her the Nobel Prize for Literature for 1926, Grazia Deledda died in Rome at the age of 64.
The Final Footprint – Her final resting place is in the Cimitero Comunale Monumentale Campo Verano in Rome.
On this day in 1980, model and actress, Playboy Playmate of the Month for August 1979, Playmate of the Year in 1980, Dorothy Stratten was murdered at age twenty by her estranged husband/manager Paul Snider, who committed suicide the same day. Born Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten in a Salvation Army hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia on 28 February 1960.
The Final Footprint – Stratten was cremated and her cremated remains were interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery (a 
On this day in 1988 race car driver and entrepeneur, il Commendatore, il Drake, l’Ingegnere, il Grande Vecchio Enzo Ferrari died in Maranello, Itlay at the age of 90. Born Enzo Anselmo Ferrari on 18 February 1898 in Modena, Italy. Ferrari founded the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team and subsequently the Ferrari car manufacturer. Ferrari was married to Laura Dominica Garello from 1932 until her death.
On this day in 2006 actor Bruno Kirby died from complications related to leukemia in Los Angeles at the age of 57. Born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr. in New York City on 28 April 1949. Perhaps best known for his portrayal of a younger version of Pete Clemenza in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part II. His other film credits include; City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally…, Good Morning, Vietnam, and Donnie Brasco.
On this day in 1863, artist 
The Final Footprint -Delacroix was entombed in Père Lachaise. Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement and is notable for being the first garden cemetery, as well as the first municipal cemetery. It is also the site of three World War I memorials. The cemetery is on Boulevard de Ménilmontant. The Paris Métro station Philippe Auguste on line 2 is next to the main entrance, while the station called Père Lachaise, on both lines 2 and 3, is 500 metres away near a side entrance. Many tourists prefer the Gambetta station on line 3, as it allows them to enter near the tomb of Oscar Wilde and then walk downhill to visit the rest of the cemetery. Other notable Final Footprints at Père Lachaise include; Guillaume Apollinaire, Georges Bizet, Honoré de Balzac, Jean-Dominique Bauby, Maria Callas, Frédéric Chopin, Colette, Auguste Comte, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Max Ernst, Molière, Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf, Camille Pissarro, Marcel Proust, Sully Prudhomme, Gioachino Rossini, Georges-Pierre Seurat, Gertrude Stein, Dorothea Tanning, Alice B. Toklas, Oscar Wilde, and Richard Wright.
On this day in 1912, French composer best known for his operas, Jules Massenet died in Paris at the age of 70, after suffering from cancer. Born Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet on 12 May 1842 in Montaud, then an outlying hamlet and now a part of the city of Saint-Étienne, in the Loire.
The Final Footprint – He is interred in the Cimetiere d’Egreville Seine-et-Marne, Ile-de-France Region, France.
On this day in 1946, writer, “The Father of Science Fiction”, H. G. Wells died of unspecified causes at his home at 13 Hanover Terrace, Regent’s Park, London, aged 79. Some reports also say he died of a heart attack at the flat of a friend in London. Born Herbert George Wells at Atlas House, 46 High Street, Bromley, in the county of Kent, on 21 September 1866. Perhaps best known for his work in the science fiction genre, he was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing textbooks and rules for war games. His most notable science fiction works include The War of the Worlds (1898), The Time Machine (1895), The Invisible Man (1897) and The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896). In 1891, Wells married his cousin Isabel Mary Wells; the couple agreed to separate in 1894 when he fell in love with one of his students, Amy Catherine “Jane” Robbins whom he married in 1895. The marriage lasted until her death in 1927. With Jane’s consent, Wells had affairs with a number of women, including the American birth control activist Margaret Sanger and novelist Elizabeth von Arnim. In 1909 he had a daughter with the writer Amber Reeves, and in 1914, a son (Anthony West) by the novelist and feminist Rebecca West. In Experiment in Autobiography (1934), Wells wrote: “I was never a great amorist, though I have loved several people very deeply.”
The Final Footprint – In his preface to the 1941 edition of The War in the Air, Wells had stated that his epitaph should be: “I told you so. You damned fools”. Wells’ body was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium on 16 August 1946. His cremated remains were subsequently scattered into the English Channel at Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in Dorset.
On this day in 1995, baseball Hall of Famer, 20x All-
Star, 7x World Series Champion, 3x AL MVP, The Mick, Mickey Mantle died at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas at the age of 63. Born Mickey Charles Mantle on 20 October 1931 in Spavinaw, Oklahoma. Perhaps the greatest switch-hitter in the history of baseball and, in my opinion, one the the greatest players. On Mickey Mantle Day, 8 June 1969, the Yankees retired his uniform Number 7. Mantle was married to Merlyn Johnson (1951-1995 his death).
The Final Footprint – Mantle is entombed in the mausoelum, St. Matthew, above the crypt where his sons Mickey, Jr. and Billy are entombed, at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park, a 
On this day in 2007, baseball player, 
shortstop, New York Yankee, 5x All-Star, 7x World Series Champion, AL MVP, #10 retired, Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, radio and television sports announcer for the Yankees, the Scooter, Phil Rizzuto died in his sleep, three days short of the 51st anniversary of his last game as a Yankee, at the age of 89. Born Philip Francis Rizzuto on 25 September 1917 in Brooklyn. He had been in declining health for several years and was living at a nursing home in West Orange, New Jersey for the last months of his life. At the time of his death, Rizzuto was the oldest living member of Baseball’s Hall of Fame, at 89.
The Final Footprint – Rizzuto was cremated. The Yankees added a monument to Monument Park at Yankee Stadium to honor Mantle. Monument Park is an open-air museum containing a collection of monuments, plaques, and retired numbers honoring distinguished members of the Yankees. Other notable Yankees whose final footprints include memorialization in Monument Park include; Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, George Steinbrenner, Casey Stengel, Thurman Munson, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Mel Allen, and Bob Sheppard.
On this day in 30 B.C., the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, Cleopatra died, according to tradition, by inducing an Egyptian cobra to bite her, either in her palace in Alexandria or in her tomb, at the age of 39. Born probably in 69 B.C. in Alexandria, Egypt. She was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Greek origin that ruled Ptolemaic Egypt after Alexander the Great’s death during the Hellenistic period. The Ptolemies, throughout their dynasty, spoke Greek and refused to speak Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone. By contrast, Cleopatra did learn to speak Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess, Isis. Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, and later with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she married as per Egyptian custom, but eventually she became sole ruler. As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevated her son with Caesar, Caesarion, to co-ruler in name. After Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar’s legal heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (later known as Augustus). With Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus (her unions with her brothers had produced no children.) After losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian‘s forces, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra committed suicide nine days after Antony’s death. She was briefly outlived by Caesarion, who was declared pharaoh by his supporters, but soon killed on Octavian’s orders. Egypt became the Roman province of Aegyptus.
On this day in 1827, painter, poet and printmaker William Blake died at his home in Soho, London at the age of 69. Born on 28 November 1757 at 28 Broad Street (now Broadwick St.) in Soho. Apparently unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. It is possible that his prophetic poetry is in proportion to its merits, the least read body of poetry in the English language. His visual artistry is now highly regarded. Blake produced a diverse and symbolically rich oeuvre. Perhaps considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, he is held in high regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work. His paintings and poetry have been characterised as part of the Romantic movement and “Pre-Romantic”. Reverent of the Bible but hostile to the Church of England (indeed, to all forms of organised religion), Blake appears to have been influenced by the ideals and ambitions of the French and American Revolutions. Blake met Catherine Boucher in 1782 when he was recovering from a relationship that had culminated in a refusal of his marriage proposal. He recounted the story of his heartbreak for Catherine and her parents, after which he asked Catherine, “Do you pity me?” When she responded affirmatively, he declared, “Then I love you.” Blake married Catherine on 18 August 1782 in St Mary’s Church, Battersea. I find most interesting, his critical views of the marriage laws of his day. Blake generally railed against traditional Christian notions of chastity as a virtue. In part due to Catherine’s apparent inability to bear children, he directly advocated bringing a second wife into the house. His poetry suggests that external demands for marital fidelity reduce love to mere duty rather than authentic affection, and decries jealousy and egotism as a motive for marriage laws. Poems such as “Why should I be bound to thee, O my lovely Myrtle-tree?” and “Earth’s Answer” seem to advocate multiple sexual partners. In his poem “London” he speaks of “the Marriage-Hearse” plagued by “the youthful Harlot’s curse”, the result alternately of false Prudence and/or Harlotry. Visions of the Daughters of Albion can be read as a tribute to free love since the relationship between Bromion and Oothoon is held together only by laws and not by love. For Blake, law and love are opposed, and he castigates the “frozen marriage-bed”.
The Final Footprint – On the day of his death, Blake worked relentlessly on his Dante’s Divine Comedy illustration series. Eventually, it is reported, he ceased working and turned to his wife, who was in tears by his bedside. Blake is said to have cried, “Stay Kate! Keep just as you are – I will draw your portrait – for you have ever been an angel to me.” Having completed this portrait (now lost), Blake laid down his tools and began to sing hymns and verses. At six that evening, after promising his wife that he would be with her always, Blake died. A female lodger in the house, present at his expiration, apparently said, “I have been at the death, not of a man, but of a blessed angel.” George Richmond gives the following account of Blake’s death in a letter to Samuel Palmer:
On this day in 1964, English author, journalist and naval intelligence officer, Ian Fleming died at the age of 56 in Canterbury from a heart attack. Born Ian Lancaster Fleming on 28 May 1908 in Mayfair, London. Perhaps best known for his James Bond series of spy novels. Fleming moved through a number of jobs before he started writing. While working for Britain’s Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War, Fleming was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units, 30 Assault Unit and T-Force. His wartime service and his career as a journalist provided much of the background, detail and depth of the James Bond novels. Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1952. Eleven Bond novels and two short-story collections followed between 1953 and 1966. The novels revolve around Bond, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond is also known by his code number, 007, and was a commander in the Royal Naval Reserve. The Bond stories rank among the best-selling series of fictional books of all time. He was married to Ann Charteris, who was divorced from the second Viscount Rothermere as a result of her affair with Fleming. Fleming and Charteris had a son, Caspar.
The Final Footprint – Fleming was buried in the churchyard of Sevenhampton village, near Swindon. His last recorded words were an apology to the ambulance drivers for having inconvenienced them, saying “I am sorry to trouble you chaps. I don’t know how you get along so fast with the traffic on the roads these days.” In October 1975, Fleming’s son Caspar, aged 23, committed suicide by drug overdose and was buried with his father. Fleming’s widow, Ann, died in 1981 and was buried with her husband and their son. Bond has appeared in film twenty-five times, to date, and been portrayed by seven actors, including; Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig.
On this day in 1982 U.S Navy veteran, Oscar and Tony winning actor, father of actor Peter Fonda and actress Jane Fonda, grandfather of actress Bridget Fonda, Henry Fonda died at his Los Angeles home from heart disease at the age of 77. Born Henry Jaynes Fonda on 16 May 1905 in Grand Island, Nebraska. My favortie Fonda roles include: as Meredith in A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966) with Joanne Woodward and Jason Robards; as Frank in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West (C’era una volta il West) (1968) with Charles Bronson, Jason Robards and Claudia Cardinale; as Norman Thayer, Jr. in On Golden Pond (1981) with Katherine Hepburn and Jane Fonda. Fonda was married five times; Margaret Sullavan (1931-1932 divorce), Frances Ford Seymour (1936-1950 her death), Susan Blanchard (1950-1956 divorce), Afdera Franchetti (1957-1961 divorce), and Shirlee Mae Adams (1965-1982 his death).
On this day in 1988 artist Jean-Michel Basquiat died of a heroin overdose in his art studio in Manhattan at the age of 27. Born Jean-Michel Basquiat on December 22, 1960 in Brooklyn. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of SAMO, an informal graffiti duo who wrote enigmatic epigrams in the cultural hotbed of the Lower East Side of Manhattan during the late 1970s where the hip hop, punk, and street art cultures had coalesced. By the 1980s, he was exhibiting his neo-expressionist paintings in galleries and museums internationally. The Whitney Museum of American Art held a retrospective of his art in 1992.
Basquiat was interred in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery. Basquiat’s memorial service was held at Saint Peter’s Church on November 3, 1988. Suzanne Mallouk recited sections of A. R. Penck’s “Poem for Basquiat” and Fab 5 Freddy read a poem by Langston Hughes. Other notable final footprints at Green-Wood include; Albert Anastasia, 
On this day in 2014, actress and singer Lauren Bacall (born Betty Joan Perske in The Bronx, September 16, 1924) died at her apartment in The Dakota, the Upper West Side building overlooking Central Park in Manhattan, at the age of 89 from a stroke. She received an Academy Honorary Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2009, “in recognition of her central place in the Golden Age of motion pictures.”
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.
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.
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.
On this day in 1969 actress Sharon Tate and her unborn son were murdered in her home in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles by followers of Charles Manson. Tate was 26. Born Sharon Marie Tate on 24 January 1943 in Dallas, Texas. Also killed were Tate’s friends, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Steven Parent and Wojiech “Voytek” Frykowski. The murders were one of the defining moments of the ’60’s. One could say that the ’60’s ended abruptly that night. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several motion pictures. She also appeared regularly in fashion magazines as a model and cover girl. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic and dramatic performances, Tate was hailed as one of Hollywood’s most promising newcomers. She made her film debut in the occult-themed Eye of the Devil (1966), which was produced by Martin Ransohoff. Tate also starred as Jennifer North in the cult classic, Valley of the Dolls (1967), which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. Tate was married to director Roman Polanski (1968-1969 her death).
The Final Footprint – Tate and her son were interred together in Saint Ann’s Section in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Later, her mother Doris (1992) and her sister Patricia (2000) were interred near them. Their graves are marked by an engraved flat granite marker. Sharon’s term of endearment is; OUR LOVING DAUGHTER & BELOVED WIFE OF ROMAN. Other notable final footprints at Holy Cross include; John Candy, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, John Ford, Rita Hayworth, Mario Lanza, Bela Lugosi, Al Martino, Audrey Meadows, Ricardo Montalbán, Hermes Pan, Chris Penn, Jean Peters, and Jo Stafford. Tate’s biographer, Greg King, wrote in Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders (2000): “Sharon’s real legacy lies not in her movies or in her television work. The very fact that, today, victims or their families in California are able to sit before those convicted of a crime and have a voice in the sentencing at trials or at parole hearings, is largely due to the work of Doris [and Patti] Tate. Their years of devotion to Sharon’s memory and dedication to victims’ rights… have helped transform Sharon from mere victim, [and] restore a human face to one of the twentieth century’s most infamous crimes.”
On this day in 1919, opera composer, Ruggero Leoncavallo died in Montecatini Terme, Tuscany at the age of 62. Born Ruggero Giacomo Maria Giuseppe Emmanuele Raffaele Domenico Vincenzo Francesco Donato Leoncavallo in Naples on 23 April 1857. His two-act work Pagliacci remains one of the most popular works in the opera repertory. Pagliacci premiered at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan on 21 May 1892. Leoncavallo was the librettist for most of his own operas. In my opinion, he is one of the greatest Italian librettist of his time after Boito. Among Leoncavallo’s libretti for other composers is his contribution to the libretto for Giacomo Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. His other well-known works include the song “Mattinata”, popularized by Enrico Caruso, as well as the symphonic poem La nuit de mai.
The Final Footprint – His funeral was held two days later, with hundreds in attendance, including fellow composer Pietro Mascagni and Puccini. His final resting place is the Cimitero Monumentale Delle Porte Sante Florence Toscana, Italy.
On this day in 1962, German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter, Nobel Prize laureate, Hermann Hesse died at the age of 85 in Montagnola, Switzerland. Born on 2 July 1877 in the Black Forest town of Calw in Württemberg, Germany. His best-known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual’s search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality.
The Final Footprint – Hesse was buried in the cemetery at San Abbondio in Montagnola.
On this day in 1995, musician, singer, songwriter, member of the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia died in his room at the Serenity Knolls treatment center in Forest Knolls, California, from a heart attack at the age of 53. Born Jerome John Garcia on 1 August 1942 San Francisco. Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career (1965–1995). Garcia also founded and participated in a variety of side projects, including the Saunders-Garcia Band (with longtime friend Merl Saunders), Jerry Garcia Band, Old and in the Way, the Garcia/Grisman acoustic duo, Legion of Mary, and the New Riders of the Purple Sage (which Garcia co-founded with John Dawson and David Nelson). He also released several solo albums, and contributed to a number of albums by other artists over the years as a session musician. He was well known his distinctive guitar playing.
On this day in 2008 
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On this day in 1936, Native American author, Mourning Dove died at the state hospital in Medical Lake, Washington at the approximate age of 48. Perhaps best known for her novel Cogewea the Half-Blood: A Depiction of the Great Montana Cattle Range (1927). Born Hum-isha-ma “in the Moon of Leaves” (April) 1888 in a canoe on the Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho , her name was later changed to Christal Quintasket.
The Final Footprint – She is interred in Omak Memorial Cemetery in Omak, Washington.
On this day in 1965, writer, novelist, Shirley Jackson died of heart failure in her sleep at her home in North Bennington, Vermont at the age of 48. Born Shirley Hardie Jackson on 14 December 1916 in San Francisco. Perhaps best known for the short story “The Lottery” (1948), which suggests a secret, sinister underside to bucolic small-town America. She is also well known for the 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House.
On this day in 2004, actress Fay Wray died in her Manhattan apartment at the age of 96. Born Vina Fay Wray on 15 September 1907 on a ranch near Cardston, Alberta, Canada. Perhaps best remembered for her role as Ann Darrow in the film King Kong (1933). Wray married three times; John Monk Saunders (1928-1939 divorce), Robert Riskin (1942-1955 his death) and Sanford Rothenberg (1971-1991 his death).
The Final Footprint – Wray is interred in Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood. Her grave is marked by an individual engraved flat granite marker near a memorial bench. The marker is engraved with her name and her birth and death years. Two days after her death, the lights of the Empire State Building were extinguished for 15 minutes in her memory. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Wray was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6349 Hollywood Blvd. She received a star posthumously on Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto on June 5, 2005. A park near Lee’s Creek on Main Street in Cardston was named “Fay Wray Park” in her honor. The sign at the edge of the park on Main Street has a silhouette of King Kong on it. A large oil portrait of Wray by Alberta artist Neil Boyle is on display in the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod, Alberta. Other notable Final Footprints at Hollywood Forever include; Mel Blanc, Lana Clarkson, Iron Eyes Cody, Chris Cornell, Cecil B. DeMille, Victor Fleming, Judy Garland, Joan Hackett, John Huston, Hattie McDaniel’s cenotaph, Jayne Mansfield’s cenotaph, Tyrone Power, Dee Dee Ramone, Johnny Ramone, Virginia Rappe, Nelson Riddle, Mickey Rooney, Ann Sheridan, Bugsy Siegel, Rudolph Valentino, and Anton Yelchin.
On this day in 2013 actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter Karen Black died from ampullary cancer in Los Angeles at the age of 74. Born Karen Blanche Ziegler on July 1, 1939 in Park Ridge, Illinois. Black studied acting in New York City and performed on Broadway before making her major film debut in Francis Ford Coppola’s You’re a Big Boy Now (1966).
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On this day in 2017 singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actor Glen Camplbell died from Alzheimer’s complications in Nashville at the age of 81. Born Glen Travis Campbell on April 22, 1936 in Billstown, Arkansas. Perhaps best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting a music and comedy variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour from January 1969 through June 1972. He released over 70 albums in a career that spanned five decades, accumulating over 45 million record sales worldwide, including 12 gold albums, four platinum albums, and one double-platinum album.
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