On this Day 28 September death of Herman Melville – André Breton – Miles Davis – Althea Gibson – Elia Kazan – Arthur Penn – Kris Kristofferson

Posted on 29 SepamSun, 28 Sep 2025 00:03:00 -05002025-09-28T00:03:00-05:0012 2011 by MacGregor

Herman_MelvilleOn this day in 1891 author Herman Melville died at his home in New York City at age 72 from cardiac dilation.  Born in New York City on 1 August 1819.  Best known for the novel Moby-Dick.  His first three books gained much contemporary attention (the first, Typee, became a bestseller), but after a fast-blooming literary success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime.  It was not until the “Melville Revival” in the early 20th century that his work won recognition, especially Moby-Dick, which was hailed as one of the literary masterpieces of both American and world literature.  In 1919, the unfinished manuscript for his novella Billy Budd was discovered by his first biographer, Raymond M. Weaver, who published a version in 1924.  He was the first writer to have his works collected and published by the Library of America.  Melville married Elizabeth Shaw (1847 – 1891 his death).

Herman_Melville_Headstone_1024The Final Footprint – He was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York.  Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in New York City and is a designated National Historic Landmark.  Other notable Final Footprints at Woodlawn include; Irving Berlin, Miles Davis (see below), Duke Ellington, Fiorello La Guardia, Lionel Hampton, Rowland Macy, Bat Masterson, J. C. Penney, Joseph Pulitzer, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

André_BretonOn this day in 1966, French writer, poet, anarchist and anti-fascist, the founder of Surrealism, André Breton died at 70. Born on 19 February 1896 in Tinchebray (Orne) in Normandy.Perhaps best known as the co-founder, leader, principal theorist and chief apologist of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto (Manifeste du surréalisme) of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as “pure psychic automatism”.

Breton married his first wife, Simone Kahn, on 15 September 1921. The couple relocated to rue Fontaine # 42 in Paris on 1 January 1922. The apartment on rue Fontaine (in the Pigalle district) became home to Breton’s collection of more than 5,300 items: modern paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, books, art catalogs, journals, manuscripts, and works of popular and Oceanic art.


The Final Footprint –  His final resting place is in the Cimetière des Batignolles in Paris. His epitaph;

JE CHERCHE L’OR DU TEMPS

Other notable final footprints at Batignolles inlclude Paul Verlaine and Édouard Vuillard.

On this day in 1991, multiple Grammy winner, trumpeter, bandleader and composer Miles Davis died in Santa Monica, California at the age of 65.  Born Miles Dewey Davis III on 26 May 1926 in Alton, Illinois.  In my opinion he is one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.  Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, and jazz fusion.  Davis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.  On 7 October 2008, his 1959 album Kind of Blue received its fourth platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of at least four million copies in the United States.  On 15 December 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a symbolic resolution recognizing and commemorating the album Kind of Blue on its 50th anniversary, “honoring the masterpiece and reaffirming jazz as a national treasure”.  He was knighted into the Légion d’honneur or Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur in Paris.  In my opinion, Kind of Blue is one of the greatest albums ever recorded.  I heard someone say once, if you do not own Kind of Blue, something is wrong with you.  Yes, I own a copy.  Davis married actress Cicely Tyson on 26 November 1981.  The ceremony was conducted by Atlanta mayor Andrew Young at the home of actor Bill Cosby.  Davis and Tyson divorced in 1988.

The Final Footprint – Davis is buried with one of his trumpets, in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.  His grave is marked by a large black granite engraved rectangular monument.  It is inscribed, In Memory of Sir Miles Davis and has a music scale and a trumpet engraved in the granite.  A bronze statue of Davis was erected in Kielce, Poland.  Other notable Final Footprints at Woodlawn include; Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Fiorello La Guardia, Rowland Macy, Bat Masterson, Herman Melville (see above), J. C. Penney, Joseph Pulitzer, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

#RIP #OTD in 2003 tennis player (11x Grand Slam champ), the first Black player to compete on the Women’s Professional Golf Tour, Althea Gibson from respiratory and bladder infections in East Orange, New Jersey aged 76. Rosedale Cemetery, Orange, New Jersey

On this day in 2003, film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor Elia Kazan died from natural causes in his Manhattan apartment aged 94.  Born Elias Kazantzoglou on September 7, 1909 in Constantinople, now Istanbul.  In my opinion, one of the most honored and influential, and controversial, directors in Broadway and Hollywood history.

After attending Williams College and then the Yale School of Drama, he acted professionally for eight years, later joining the Group Theatre in 1932, and co-founded the Actors Studio in 1947. With Robert Lewis and Cheryl Crawford, his actors’ studio introduced “Method Acting” under the direction of Lee Strasberg. Kazan acted in a few films, including City for Conquest (1940).

His films were concerned with personal or social issues of special concern to him. Kazan wrote, “I don’t move unless I have some empathy with the basic theme.”  His first such “issue” film was Gentleman’s Agreement (1947), with Gregory Peck, which dealt with antisemitism in America. It received eight Oscar nominations and three wins, including Kazan’s first for Best Director. It was followed by Pinky (1949), one of the first films in mainstream Hollywood to address racial prejudice against African Americans. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), an adaptation of the stage play which he had also directed, received twelve Oscar nominations, winning four, and was Marlon Brando’s breakthrough role. Three years later, he directed Brando again in On the Waterfront, a film about union corruption on the New York harbor waterfront. It also received 12 Oscar nominations, winning eight. In 1955, he directed John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, which introduced James Dean to movie audiences.

A turning point in Kazan’s career came with his testimony as a witness before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1952 at the time of the Hollywood blacklist, which brought him strong negative reactions from many friends and colleagues. His testimony helped end the careers of former acting colleagues Morris Carnovsky and Art Smith, along with the work of playwright Clifford Odets.  Kazan and Odets had made a pact to name each other in front of the committee.  Kazan later justified his act by saying he took “only the more tolerable of two alternatives that were either way painful and wrong.”  Nearly a half-century later, his anti-Communist testimony continued to cause controversy. When Kazan was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1999, dozens of actors chose not to applaud as 250 demonstrators picketed the event.

Kazan influenced the films of the 1950s and 1960s with his provocative, issue-driven subjects. Director Stanley Kubrick called him, “without question, the best director we have in America, [and] capable of performing miracles with the actors he uses.”  Film author Ian Freer concludes that even “if his achievements are tainted by political controversy, the debt Hollywood—and actors everywhere—owes him is enormous.”  In 2010, Martin Scorsese co-directed the documentary film A Letter to Elia as a personal tribute to Kazan.

Kazan was married three times.  His first wife was playwright Molly Day Thacher. They were married from 1932 until her death in 1963.  His second marriage, to the actress Barbara Loden, lasted from 1967 until her death in 1980.  His marriage, in 1982, to Frances Rudge continued until his death.

The Final Footprint – Greenwood Union Cemetery, Rye, New York

And on this day in 2010, director and producer of film, television and theater, Arthur Penn died in Manhattan a day after his 88th birthday from congestive heart failure.  Born Arthur Hiller Penn on September 27, 1922 in Philadelphia.  Closely associated with the American New Wave, Penn directed critically acclaimed films throughout the 1960s such as the drama The Chase (1966), the biographical crime film Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and the comedy Alice’s Restaurant (1969). He also received attention for his acclaimed revisionist Western Little Big Man (1970), Night Moves (1975) and The Missouri Breaks (1976).  In the 1990s he returned to stage and television direction and production, including an executive producer role for the crime series Law & Order.  By his death he had been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Director, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, two Emmys, and two Directors Guild of America Awards. He was the recipient of several honorary accolades, including an Honorary Golden Bear, a Tony Award, and an Akira Kurosawa Award from the San Francisco International Film Festival.

In 1955, he married actress Peggy Maurer.

The Final Footprint – Penn was cremated.

#RIP #OTD in 2024, singer/songwriter (Me and Bobby McGee, For the Good Times, Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down, Help Me Make It Through the Night), actor (A Star Is Born, Heaven’s Gate, Blade), Kris Kristofferson died in his Hana, Hawaii, home aged 88. Cremated

Have you planned yours yet?

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On this Day 27 September death of Edgar Degas – Adelina Patti – Babe Didrikson – H. D. – Clara Bow – Cliff Burton – Doak Walker – Hugh Hefner – Michael Gambon – Maggie Smith

Posted on 29 SepamSat, 27 Sep 2025 00:06:00 -05002025-09-27T00:06:00-05:0012 2011 by MacGregor

Self-portrait (Degas au porte-fusain), 1855

On this day in 1917, French Impressionism artist Edgar Degas died in Paris at the age of 83.  Born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar de Gas on 19 July 1834 in Paris. Perhaps best known for his pastel drawings and oil paintings of ballerinas. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. He is especially identified with the subject of dance; more than half of his works depict dancers. Although Degas is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism, he rejected the term, preferring to be called a realist, and did not paint outdoors as many Impressionists did. In addition to ballet dancers and bathing women, Degas painted race horses and racing jockeys, as well as portraits. His portraits are notable for their psychological complexity and for their portrayal of human isolation.

At the beginning of his career, Degas wanted to be a history painter, a calling for which he was well prepared by his academic training and close study of classical art. In his early thirties, he changed course, and by bringing the traditional methods of a history painter to bear on contemporary subject matter, he became a classical painter of modern life.

The Final Footprint – Degas is entombed in the Famille de Gas private mausoleum in the Cimetiere de Montmartre in Paris.  Other notable final footprints at Montmartre include; Hector Berlioz, Dalida, Alexandre Dumas, fils, Théophile Gautier, Jeanne Moreau, Jacques Offenbach, François Truffaut, and Alfred de Vigny.

Gallery

  • Young Spartans Exercising, c. 1860, National Gallery, London

  • Édouard Manet and Mme. Manet, 1868–1869, Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Japan

  • Portrait of Miss Cassatt, Seated, Holding Cards, 1876–1878

  • At the Café-Concert: The Song of the Dog, 1875–1877

  • Fin d’Arabesque, with ballerina Rosita Mauri, 1877, Musée d’Orsay.

  • The Singer with the Glove, 1878, The Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts

  • Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando, 1879, The National Gallery, London

  • The Millinery Shop, 1885, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

  • Ballet Rehearsal, 1873, The Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts

  • Waiting, 1880-82.

  • Dancer with a Bouquet of Flowers (Star of the Ballet), 1878

  • Stage Rehearsal, 1878–1879, The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City

  • Woman in Street Clothes, Portrait of Ellen Andrée, 1879, pastel on paper

  • Dancers at The Bar, 1888, The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC

  • Woman in the Bath, 1886, Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, Connecticut

  • The Tub, 1886, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France

  • The Bath: Woman Supporting her Back, c. 1887, pastel on paper, Honolulu Academy of Arts

  • Kneeling Woman, 1884, Pushkin Museum, Moscow

  • Three Dancers in Yellow Skirts, circa 1891, oil on canvas, The Detroit Institute of Arts

  • After the Bath, Woman Drying her Nape 1898, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France

  • The Spanish Dance, c. 1885 (bronze cast 1921), bronze, 46.3 x 14.3 cm, Ackland Art Museum

  • Little Dancer of Fourteen Years, cast in 1922 from a mixed-media sculpture modeled ca. 1879–80, Bronze, partly tinted, with cotton skirt and satin hair ribbon, on a wooden base, Metropolitan Museum of Art

    #RIP #OTD in 1919 coloratura soprano known for her bel canto technique, preeminent operatic performer throughout the last half of the 19th Century, Adelina Patti died at Craig-y-Nos, Wales aged 76. Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris

    On this day in 1956 sportswoman Mildred Ella “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias died of cancer at the John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, Texas, at the age forty-five.  Born on 26 June 1911 in Port Arthur, Texas.  She is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Beaumont, Texas.

    On this day in 1961, early modernist poet, novelist, essayist, H. D., Hilda Doolittle died from complications of a stroke in the Klinik Hirslanden in Zürich, aged 75.  Her career began in 1911 after she moved to London and co-founded the avant-garde Imagist group of poets with the American expatriate poet and critic Ezra Pound. During this early period her minimalist and free verse works drew international attention. Over time her output developed to longer and more complex Epic poetry and prose.

    Doolittle was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on 10 September 1886.  Discovering her bisexuality she had her first same-sex relationship while attending Bryn Mawr College between 1904 and 1906. After years of friendship, Doolittle became intellectually and sexually interested in Pound and followed him to London in 1911 where he championed her work, but their relation soon fell apart. Following a number of other sexual encounters and relationships, in 1918 she met the female novelist Bryher (Annie Winifred Ellerman) who became her constant companion until her death.

    An associate literary editor of the Egoist journal between 1916 and 1917, Doolittle was published by the English Review and Transatlantic Review. During World War I, her brother died and her 1913 marriage to the writer and poet Richard Aldington ended. She was treated by Sigmund Freud during the 1930s, looking to understand both her war trauma and bisexuality.  She wrote in a wide range of genres and formats over five decades. However her early Imagist poems overshadowed her later and more complex writings. Following a reappraisal by feminist critics in the 1970s and 1980s, she is now considered one of the foremost 20th-century modernist poets. Doolittle was interested in Ancient Greek literature and published numerous translations. Her poetry often borrows from Greek mythology and classical poets, and ranges from the Imagism of her youth to the epic poems composed from the 1940s, the best known of which is “Helen in Egypt” (1952–1954). These works are noted for their incorporation of natural scenes and objects, often used to evoke a particular feeling or mood. Doolittle wrote several novels, including Hedylus (1928), Palimpsest (1926), and Bid Me to Live (1960).

    The Final Footprint – Cremated remains interred in the family plot in the Nisky Hill Cemetery, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on October 28, 1961. Her headstone is inscribed with lines from her early poem “Epitaph”:

    So you may say,
    Greek flower; Greek ecstasy
    reclaims forever
    one who died
    following
    intricate song’s lost measure.

    Nisky Hill Cemetery, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

    On this day in 1964, the Warren Commission issued a report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy.

    On this day in 1965, actress (Man Trap, It, Wings), rancher, “The It Girl” Clara Bow died of a heart attack in Culver City, California, aged 60.  Born Clara Gordon Bow in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn at 697 Bergen Street.

    She rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to “talkies” in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the film It brought her global fame and the nickname “The It Girl”.  Bow came to personify the Roaring Twenties and has been described as its leading sex symbol.

    Bow appeared in 46 silent films and 11 talkies, and was named first box-office draw in 1928 and 1929 and second box-office draw in 1927 and 1930.  Her presence in a motion picture was said to have ensured investors, by odds of almost two-to-one, a “safe return”.  At the apex of her stardom, she received more than 45,000 fan letters in a single month (January 1929).

    Two years after marrying actor Rex Bell in 1931, Bow retired from acting and became a rancher in Nevada.  Her final film, Hoop-La, was released in 1933.

      The Final Footprint – Freedom Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Heritage at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

    Cliff_Burton_1On this day in 1986 Metallica bassist Cliff Burton died when their tour bus crashed in Ljungby Municipality, near Dörarp in rural southern Sweden.  Born Clifford Lee Burton on 10 February 1962 in Castro Valley, California.  Burton joined Metallica in 1982 and performed on the band’s first three studio albums, Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets.  He also received a posthumous writing credit for the song “To Live Is to Die” from the band’s fourth studio album …And Justice For All.

    The Final Footprint – Burton was cremated and his cremains were scattered at the Maxwell Ranch.  At the ceremony, the song “Orion” was played. The lyrics “…cannot the Kingdom of Salvation take me home” from “To Live Is to Die” are written on Burton’s memorial stone.  Perhaps the best-known non-Metallica tribute to Burton is the song “In My Darkest Hour” by thrash metal band Megadeth.  According to Dave Mustaine, after hearing of Burton’s death, he wrote the song in Burton’s honour.  Mustaine was Metallica’s lead guitarist in the early days and was a close friend of Burton.

    On this day in 1998 Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker died as a result of injuries suffered previously in a skiing accident at the age of 71.  Born Ewell Doak Walker, Jr. on 1 January 1927 in Dallas, Texas.  Walker was cremated and his cremains were scattered on Long’s Peak in Colorado.

    On this day in 2017, businessman, magazine publisher, and playboy Hugh Hefner died at his home in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles at the age of 91. Born Hugh Marston Hefner on April 9, 1926 in Chicago. He was the founder of Playboy and editor-in-chief of the magazine, which he founded in 1953. An advocate of sexual liberation and freedom of expression, Hefner was a political activist and philanthropist in several other causes and public issues.

    Hefner with his then-partners Holly Madison(left) and Bridget Marquardt, 2007

    In 1949, Hefner married Northwestern University student Mildred (“Millie”) Williams. Before the wedding, Mildred confessed that she had an affair while he was away in the army. He called the admission “the most devastating moment of my life.” A 2006 E! True Hollywood Story profile of Hefner revealed that Mildred allowed him to have sex with other women, out of guilt for her own infidelity and in the hope that it would preserve their marriage. The two were divorced in 1959.

    Hefner remade himself as a bon vivant and man about town, a lifestyle he promoted in his magazine and two TV shows he hosted, Playboy’s Penthouse (1959–1960) and Playboy After Dark (1969–1970). He admitted to being “‘involved’ with maybe eleven out of twelve months’ worth of Playmates” during some of these years. Donna Michelle, Marilyn Cole, Lillian Müller, Shannon Tweed, Barbi Benton, Karen Christy, Sondra Theodore, and Carrie Leigh – who filed a $35 million palimony suit against him – were a few of his many lovers. In 1971, he acknowledged that he experimented in bisexuality. Also in 1971, Hefner established a second residence in Los Angeles with the acquisition of Playboy Mansion West and, in 1975, moved there permanently from Chicago.

    In 1986 he married Playmate of the Year Kimberley Conrad; they were 36 years apart in age. After he and Conrad separated in 1998, she moved into a house next door to the mansion.

    Hefner became known for moving an ever-changing coterie of young women into the Playboy Mansion, including twins Sandy and Mandy Bentley. He dated as many as seven women concurrently. He also dated Brande Roderick, Izabella St. James, Tina Marie Jordan, Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson.

    After an 11-year separation, Hefner filed for divorce from Conrad citing irreconcilable differences.

    In January 2009, Hefner began a relationship with Crystal Harris. She joined the Shannon Twins after his previous “number one girlfriend”, Holly Madison, had ended their seven-year relationship. On December 24, 2010, he became engaged to Harris, to become his third wife. Harris broke off their engagement on June 14, 2011, five days before their planned wedding. In anticipation of the wedding, the July issue of Playboy, which reached store shelves and customer’s homes within days of the wedding date, featured Harris on the cover and in a photo spread as well. The headline on the cover read “Introducing America’s Princess, Mrs. Crystal Hefner”. Hefner and Harris subsequently reconciled and married on December 31, 2012.

    The Final Footprint 

    He is entombed at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles in the crypt beside Marilyn Monroe. “Spending eternity next to Marilyn is an opportunity too sweet to pass up,” Hefner had told the Los Angeles Times in 2009. Other notable final footprints at Westwood include; Ray Bradbury, Sammy Cahn, Truman Capote, James Coburn, Rodney Dangerfield, Janet Leigh, Farrah Fawcett, Brian Keith, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Peter Lawford, Peggy Lee, Jack Lemmon, Karl Malden, Dean Martin, Walter Mathau, Marilyn Monroe, Carroll O’Connor, Roy Orbison, George C. Scott, Dorothy Stratten, Natalie Wood, and Frank Zappa.

    #RIP #OTD in 2023 actor (Gosford Park, Harry Potter, Open Range), Michael Gambon died in Witham, Essex, England aged 82. Cremation

    #RIP #OTD in 2024 actress (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, California Suite, Othello, Travels with My Aunt, A Room with a View, Gosford Park, Harry Potter, Death on the Nile), Maggie Smith died at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London  aged 89. Cremated

    Have you planned yours yet?

    Follow TFF on twitter @RIPTFF

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On this day 26 September death of Levi Strauss -Harriet Monroe – Bessie Smith – Anna Magnani – Robert Palmer – Paul Newman – Gloria Stuart

Posted on 29 SepamFri, 26 Sep 2025 00:33:00 -05002025-09-26T00:33:00-05:0012 2011 by MacGregor

#RIP #OTD in 1902 the founder of the first company to manufacture blue jeans (Levi’s), Levi Strauss died in San Francisco aged 73. Levi Strauss mausoleum, home of peace Cemetery, Colma, California

#RIP #OTD in 1936 editor, scholar, literary critic, poet, patron of the arts, founding publisher of Poetry magazine, Harriet Monroe died on her way to climb Machu Picchu from a cerebral hemorrhage aged 75. Cremated remains interred in Arequipa, Peru

1936 (photograph by Carl Van Vechten)

On this day in 1937 singer, the Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith died from injuries suffered in a car crash near Clarksdale, Mississippi, at the age of 43. Born on April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In my opininon, she was one of the greatest singers of her era and was a major influence on other jazz singers.

She was living in Philadelphia, when she met Jack Gee, a security guard, whom she married on June 7, 1923, just as her first record was being released. During the marriage Smith became the highest-paid black entertainer of the day, heading her own shows, which sometimes featured as many as 40 troupers, and touring in her own custom-built railroad car. Their marriage was stormy with infidelity on both sides, including numerous female lovers for Bessie. Gee was impressed by the money but never adjusted to show business life or to Smith’s bisexuality. In 1929, when she learned of his affair with another singer, Gertrude Saunders, Smith ended the relationship, although neither of them sought a divorce.

Smith later entered a common-law marriage with an old friend, Richard Morgan, who was Lionel Hampton‘s uncle. She stayed with him until her death.

The Final Footprint

Smith’s funeral was held in Philadelphia, on October 4, 1937. Her body was originally laid out at Upshur’s funeral home. As word of her death spread through Philadelphia’s black community, the body had to be moved to the O.V. Catto Elks Lodge to accommodate the estimated 10,000 mourners who filed past her coffin on Sunday, October 3. Contemporary newspapers reported that her funeral was attended by about seven thousand people. Her burial took place at Mount Lawn Cemetery, in nearby Sharon Hill. Gee thwarted all efforts to purchase a stone for his estranged wife, once or twice pocketing money raised for that purpose. Smith’s grave remained unmarked until a tombstone was erected on August 7, 1970, paid for by Janis Joplin and Juanita Green, who as a child had done housework for Smith.

On this day in 1973, stage and film actress, La Lupa, Anna Magnani died from pancreatic cancer in Rome at the age of 65. Born on 7 March 1908 in Rome. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress, along with four other international awards, for her portrayal of a Sicilian widow in The Rose Tattoo.

Director Roberto Rossellini called her “the greatest acting genius since Eleonora Duse”. Playwright Tennessee Williams became an admirer of her acting and wrote The Rose Tattoo specifically for her to star in.

After meeting director Goffredo Alessandrini she received her first screen role in La cieca di Sorrento (The Blind Woman of Sorrento) (1934) and later achieved international fame in Rossellini’s Rome, Open City (1945), considered the first significant movie to launch the Italian neorealism movement in cinema. As an actress she became recognized for her dynamic and forceful portrayals of “earthy lower-class women” in such films as L’Amore (1948), Bellissima (1951), The Rose Tattoo (1955), The Fugitive Kind (1960) and Mamma Roma (1962).

With director Luchino Visconti on the terrace of Palazzo Altieri where Magnani lived in the fifties.

Photo signed 1969

She married film director, Goffredo Alessandrini, in 1935, two years after he discovered her on stage. After they married, she retired from full-time acting to “devote herself exclusively to her husband”, although she continued to play smaller film parts. They separated in 1942.

Magnani had a love affair with the actor Massimo Serato.

In 1945 she fell in love with Rossellini while working on Roma, Città Aperta aka Rome, Open City (1945). “I thought at last I had found the ideal man… [He] had lost a son of his own and I felt we understood each other. Above all, we had the same artistic conceptions.” Rossellini had become violent, volatile and possessive, and they argued constantly about films or out of jealousy. “In fits of rage they threw crockery at each other.” As artists, however, they complemented each other well while working on neorealist films. The two finally split apart when Rossellini fell in love with and married, Ingrid Bergman.

The Final Footprint

Huge crowds gathered for the funeral. She was provisionally laid to rest in the family mausoleum of Rossellini; but then subsequently interred in the Cimitero Comunale of San Felice Circeo in southern Lazio.

On this day in 2003, singer, songwriter, musician, Robert Palmer died in Paris at the Hôtel Warwick Champs-Elysées, rue de Berri, from a heart attack at the age of 54.  Born Robert Allen Palmer on 19 January 1949 in Batley, West Yorkshire, England.  Palmer was known for his distinctive voice and the eclectic mix of musical styles on his albums, combining soul, jazz, rock, pop, reggae and blues.  He found success both in his solo career and in the musical act The Power Station, and had Top 10 songs in both the UK and the US.  His iconic music videos by Terence Donovan for the hits “Addicted to Love” and “Simply Irresistible” featured identically dressed dancing women with pale faces, dark eye makeup and bright red lipstick, which resembled the women in the art of Patrick Nagel, an artist popular in the 1980s.  Sharp-suited, his involvement in the music industry commenced in the 1960s, and covered five decades.  Palmer received a number of awards throughout his career, including two Grammy Awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, an MTV Video Music Award, and was twice nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male.  Palmer married twice: Shelly Putman (1974 – 1978 divorce) and Susan Eileen Thatcher (1979 – 1999 divorce).

The Final Footprint – Cimitero Comunale della Città di Lugano. On her All The Best compilation album, Palmer’s Swiss neighbour, Tina Turner, added a live version of “Addicted to Love” in tribute to him.  Apparently, Palmer’s favourite author was Jack Vance and he was especially fond of the character Cugel.  Vance paid homage to Palmer in his novel Night Lamp, which begins: “Toward the far edge of the Cornu Sector of Ophiuchus, Robert Palmer’s star shone brilliant white, its corona flaring with films of blue, red and green colour.”

On this day in 2008, Academy Award winning actor, director, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and auto racing enthusiast Paul Newman died at his home surrounded by his family and friends in Westport, Connecticut at the age of 83.  Born Paul Leonard Newman on 26 January 1925 in Shaker Heights, Ohio.  He won numerous awards, including an Academy Award for best actor for his performance in the 1986 Martin Scorsese film The Color of Money and eight other nominations, six Golden Globe Awards (including three honorary ones), a BAFTA Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film Festival Award, an Emmy award, and many honorary awards.  He also won several national championships as a driver in Sports Car Club of America road racing, and his race teams won several championships in open wheel IndyCar racing.  Newman was a co-founder of Newman’s Own, a food company from which Newman donated all post-tax profits and royalties to charity.  One of my favorite actors.  My favorite movies with Newman; Cat on a hot Tin Roof, The Hustler, Hud, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Sting, The Color of Money.  Newman married twice: Jackie Witte (1949 – 1958 divorce) and actress Joanne Woodward (1958 – 2008 his death).

The Final Footprint – His remains were cremated after a private funeral service near his home in Westport.

#RIP #OTD in 2010 actress (The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man, Titanic), visual artist, activist, amateur chef, Gloria Stuart died from respiratory failure at her home in Los Angeles aged 100. Cremated remains scattered off the Santa Monica pier

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On this day 25 September death of Mary Sidney – Johann Strauss I – Oliver Loving – Erich Maria Remarque – John Bonham – Mary Astor – R. S. Thomas – George Plimpton – Arnold Palmer – David McCallum

Posted on 29 SepamThu, 25 Sep 2025 00:15:00 -05002025-09-25T00:15:00-05:0012 2011 by MacGregor

#RIP #OTD in 1621 poet, playwright (Antonius), one of the first Englishwomen to gain notice for her writing and her literary patronage, Mary Sidney died of smallpox at her townhouse in Aldersgate Street in London, aged 59. Salisbury Cathedral, England

On this day in 1849, Austrian Romantic composer, conductor and one of the kings of the waltz, Johann Strauss died from scarlet fever in Vienna at the age of 45.  Born Johann Baptist Strauss on 14 March 1804 in Vienna.  He was the father of Johann Strauss II, Joseph Strauss and Eduard Strauss.  Together, they formed a dynasty that dominated Vienna’s light music scene for almost a hundred years.  His most recognized composition is probably the Radetzky March (named after Joseph Radetzky von Radetz), while his most famous waltz is probably the Lorelei Rheinklänge op. 154.  Strauss married Maria Anna Streim (1825-1844 divorce).  He had six children with his mistress Emilie Trampusch.

The Final Footprint – Strauss was initially interred at Döblinger cemetery in Vienna beside his friend Joseph Lanner.  In 1904, both of their remains were disinterred and reinterred in the graves of honour at Zentralfriedhof in Vienna.  Strauss’s grave is marked with a large black triangular granite monument with a circular carved relief of his profile in marble.  His sons Johann and Joseph are interred nearby.  The Zentralfriedhof (German for “Central Cemetery”) is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, largest by number of interred in Europe and most famous cemetery among Vienna’s nearly 50 cemeteries.  Other notable Final Footprints at Zentralfriedhof include; Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Antonio Salieri, Franz Schubert, Johann Strauss II.  In addition, a cenotaph was erected there in honour of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Oliver-LovingOn this day in 1867, cattle rancher and cattle drive pioneer, Oliver Loving died at the age of 54 in Fort Sumner, New Mexico from gangrene.  Along with Charles Goodnight, he formed the Goodnight-Loving Trail.  The Goodnight Loving Trail began at Fort Belknap (Texas), traveling through central Texas across the Staked Plains to Horsehead Crossing, north along the Pecos River and across Pope’s Crossing, into New Mexico to Fort Sumner.  The trail then continued north into Colorado up to Denver and was extended on into Wyoming.  In the spring of 1867, Loving and Goodnight returned to Texas, ready to start a new drive.  This third drive was slowed by heavy rains and Native American threats.  Loving went ahead of the herd for contract bidding, taking only Bill Wilson, a trusted scout, with him.  Although he told Goodnight that he would travel at night, Loving became impatient and pushed ahead during the day.  Loving and Wilson were attacked by Comanches and Loving was wounded in the arm.  The weakened Loving sent Wilson back to the herd, eluded the Native American Indians, and reached Fort Sumner.  Loving’s arm was amputated but it was too late.  Goodnight arrived in Fort Sumner in time to be by Loving’s side as he died and to assure Loving that his wish to be buried in Texas would be carried out. Born in Hopkins County Kentucky on 4 December 1812.  Loving married Susan Doggett Morgan (1833 – 1867 his death).

The Final Footprint – After a temporary burial at Fort Sumner, while Goodnight drove the herd on to Colorado, Goodnight had Loving’s body exhumed and returned to Weatherford where he was reburied in Greenwood Cemetery on 4 March 1868.  Loving’s death and burial apparently served as inspiration to novelist Larry McMurtry for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Lonesome Dove.  In the book, Augustus “Gus” McCrae is injured by Indian arrows and sends his companion Pea Eye Parker to find Woodrow F. Call.  McCrae makes it to Miles City, Montana but dies of blood poisoning, despite having one of his legs amputated.  Call, like Goodnight, sat by his friend’s side as he died and then brought him back to Texas for burial.

#RIP #OTD in 1970 novelist (All Quiet on the Western Front), husband of Paulette Goddard, Erich Maria Remarque died of heart failure in Locarno, Switzerland aged 72.  Ronco Cemetery in Ronco, Ticino, Switzerland

On this day in 1980, musician, songwriter, and drummer for Led Zeppelin, John Bonham died from pulmonary aspiration after consuming an excessive amount of vodka, at the age of 32. Born John Henry Bonham on 31 May 1948 in Redditch, Worcestershire, England. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast bass drumming, and distinctive sound. In my opinion, he is one of the greatest and most influential rock drummers of all time. 

Bonham was married to Pat Phillips

The Final Footprint

Bonham was cremated and his cremated remains interred on 12 October 1980, at Rushock parish church, Worcestershire.

Rather than replace Bonham, Led Zeppelin decided to disband. They said in a press release on 4 December 1980: “We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend and the deep respect we have for his family, together with the sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were.” It was signed “Led Zeppelin”.

#RIP #OTD in 1987 actress (The Maltese Falcon, The Great Lie, Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte) Mary Astor died due to pulmonary emphysema at the Motion Picture House, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles aged 81. Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California

#RIP #OTD in 2000, poet (Song at the Year’s Turning) and Anglican priest who was noted for his Welsh nationalism, R. S. Thomas died at his home in Pentrefelin near Criccieth, Wales aged 87. St. John’s Churchyard, Porthmadog, Wales

#RIP #OTD in 2003 journalist, writer (Paper Lion), actor (Reds, Good Will Hunting), co-founder of The Paris Review, George Plimpton died in his Manhattan apartment from a heart attack aged 76. Cremation

On this day in 2016 U.S. Coast Guard veteran, professional golfer, The King, Arnold Palmer died while awaiting heart surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Shadyside) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the age of 87. Born Arnold Daniel Palmer on September 10, 1929 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.  In my opionion, one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport’s history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and the circuit now known as PGA Tour Champions. He was one of golf’s most popular stars and seen as a trailblazer, the first superstar of the sport’s television age, which began in the 1950s.

Palmer’s social impact on behalf of golf was perhaps unrivaled among fellow professionals; his humble background and plain-spoken popularity helped change the perception of golf from an elite, upper-class pastime to a more populist sport accessible to middle and working classes. Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player were “The Big Three” in golf during the 1960s; they are widely credited with popularizing and commercializing the sport around the world.

In a career spanning more than six decades, he won 62 PGA Tour titles from 1955 to 1973. He won seven major titles in a six-plus-year domination from the 1958 Masters to the 1964 Masters.

Palmer was married to the former Winnie Walzer (1934–1999) for 45 years. She died at age 65 on November 20, 1999, from complications due to ovarian cancer. He married his second wife, Kathleen Gawthrop, in 2005 in Hawaii.

Arnold Palmer statue unveiled at Laurel Valley Golf Course, Ligonier, PA, on September 10, 2009, in honor of Palmer’s 80th birthday. Pictured: Arnold Palmer with sculptor Zenos Frudakis.

The Final Footprint

After his funeral, he was cremated and his cremated remains were scattered in his hometown at Latrobe Country Club.

#RIP #OTD in 2023 actor (Illya Kuryakin in The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The Great Escape, NCIS), musician, David McCallum died at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital aged 90

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On this day 24 September death of Dr. Seuss – Françoise Sagan – Buckwheat Zydeco

Posted on 29 SepamWed, 24 Sep 2025 00:30:00 -05002025-09-24T00:30:00-05:0012 2011 by MacGregor

On this day in 1991, author, poet and illustrator, Dr. Seuss died of throat cancer at his home in La Jolla, California at the age of 87.  Born Theodore Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts on 2 March 1904.  In my opinion, he was the best author and illustrator of children’s books.  Geisel published 46 children’s books, often characterized by imaginative characters, rhyme, and frequent use of anapestic meter.  His most celebrated books include the bestselling Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who!, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.  Numerous adaptations of his work have been created, including 11 television specials, four feature films, a Broadway musical and four television series.  He won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958 for Horton Hatches the Egg and again in 1961 for And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.  Geisel also worked as an illustrator for advertising campaigns, most notably for Flit and Standard Oil, and as a political cartoonist for PM, a New York City newspaper.  During World War II, he worked in an animation department of the United States Army, where he wrote Design for Death, a film that later won the 1947 Academy Award for Documentary Feature.  Christmas would not be Christmas without watching and reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Geisel married twice; children’s author Helen Palmer (1927 – 1967 her death) and Audrey Stone Dimond (1968 – 1991 his death).

The Final Footprint – Geisel was cremated and his ashes were scattered.  The University Library Building at the University of California at San Diego was renamed the Geisel Library in his honor.  The Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden in Springfield features bronze sculptures of Geisel and many of his characters.  Geisel’s birthday, March 2, has been adopted as the annual date for National Read Across America Day, an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association.

#RIP #OTD in 2004 playwright, novelist (Bonjour Tristesse, Aimez-vous Brahms?, La chamade), and screenwriter Françoise Sagan died of a pulmonary embolism in Honfleur, Calvados at the age of 69. Seuzac Village Cemetery, Cajarc, Departement du Lot, Midi-Pyrénées, France

On this day in 2016,accordionist and zydeco musician Buckwheat Zydeco died of lung cancer at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, Louisiana, age 68. Born Stanley Dural Jr. on November 14, 1947 in Lafayette. He was one of the few zydeco artists to achieve mainstream success. His music group was formally billed as Buckwheat Zydeco and Ils Sont Partis Band (“Ils Sont Partis” being French for “They have left”).

The New York Times said: “Stanley ‘Buckwheat’ Dural leads one of the best bands in America. A down-home and high-powered celebration, meaty and muscular with a fine-tuned sense of dynamics…propulsive rhythms, incendiary performances.” USA Today called him “a zydeco trailblazer.” Buckwheat Zydeco performed with Eric Clapton (with whom he also recorded), U2 and the Boston Pops. The band performed at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics to a worldwide audience of three billion people. Buckwheat performed for President Clinton twice, celebrating both of his inaugurations.


The Final Footprint

Dural is interred in Calvary Cemetery, Lafayette.

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On this day 23 September death of Vincenzo Bellini – Prosper Mérimée – Sigmund Freud – Elinor Glyn – Pablo Neruda – Chief Dan George – Bob Fosse – Robert Bloch – Juliette Gréco – Louise Fletcher

Posted on 29 SepamTue, 23 Sep 2025 00:42:00 -05002025-09-23T00:42:00-05:0012 2011 by MacGregor

Vincenzo_belliniOn this day in 1835, opera composer Vincenzo Bellini died in Puteaux, near Paris of acute inflammation of the intestine at the age of 33.  Born Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini on 3 November 1801 in Catania, at the time part of the Kingdom of Sicily.  His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi (1830), La sonnambula (1831), Norma (1831), Beatrice di Tenda (1833), and I puritani (1835).  Known for his long-flowing melodic lines, for which he was named “the Swan of Catania”, Bellini was the quintessential composer of bel canto opera.  He had a sequence of affairs with married women, including Giuditta Turina.  But he resisted any emotional commitment, and never married.  When Turina proposed to leave her husband, Bellini bridled: “with so many commitments, such a relationship would be fatal to me“.

vincenzobelliniThe Final Footprint – Bellini was entombed in Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris but his remains were removed to the cathedral of Catania in 1876.  Catania Cathedral,  dedicated to Saint Agatha, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Catania, Sicily.  It was the seat of the Bishops of Catania until 1859, when the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese, and since then has been the seat of the Archbishops of Catania.  Bellini’s cenotaph remains in Père Lachaise.  The Museo Belliniano housed in the Gravina Cruyllas Palace in Catania preserves memorabilia and scores.

#RIP #OTD in 1870 writer (Carmen, Lokis, La Vénus d’Ille), archaeologist, historian, Prosper Mérimée died in Cannes aged 66. Cimetière du Grand Jas, Cannes

#RIP #OTD in 1939 neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud died from a physician assisted overdose of morphine at his home in Hampstead, London, age 83. Cremated remains in “Freud Corner” Golders Green Crematorium, London

#RIP #OTD in 1943 British novelist (Beyond the Rocks, Three Weeks), scriptwriter, Elinor Glyn died at 39 Royal Avenue, Chelsea, London, aged 78. Cremated remains at Golders Green Crematorium, London

On this day in 1973, poet-diplomat and politician Pablo Neruda died in his house in Isla Negra, Santiago, Chile under mysterious circumstances at the age of 69. Born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto on 12 July 1904 in Parral, Maule Region, Chile. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old, and wrote in a variety of styles, including surrealist poems, historical epics, overtly political manifestos, a prose autobiography, and passionate love poems such as the ones in his collection Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair (1924). He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.

Neruda occupied many diplomatic positions in various countries during his lifetime and served a term as a Senator for the Chilean Communist Party. When President Gabriel González Videla outlawed communism in Chile in 1948, a warrant was issued for Neruda’s arrest. Friends hid him for months in the basement of a house in the port city of Valparaíso; Neruda escaped through a mountain pass near Maihue Lake into Argentina. Years later, Neruda was a close advisor to Chile’s socialist President Salvador Allende. When Neruda returned to Chile after his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Allende invited him to read at the Estadio Nacional before 70,000 people.

Neruda was hospitalised with cancer at the time of the coup d’état led by Augusto Pinochet that overthrew Allende’s government, but returned home after a few days when he suspected a doctor of injecting him with an unknown substance for the purpose of murdering him on Pinochet’s orders. Although it was long reported that he died of heart failure, the Interior Ministry of the Chilean government issued a statement in 2015 acknowledging a Ministry document indicating the government’s official position that “it was clearly possible and highly likely” that Neruda was killed as a result of “the intervention of third parties”.

Neruda is often considered the national poet of Chile, and his works have been popular and influential worldwide. The Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez once called him “the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language”.

Neruda as a young man

something started in my soul,
fever or forgotten wings,
and I made my own way,
deciphering
that fire
and wrote the first faint line,
faint without substance, pure
nonsense,
pure wisdom,
of someone who knows nothing,
and suddenly I saw
the heavens
unfastened
and open.

From “Poetry”, Memorial de Isla Negra (1964).
Trans. Alastair Reid.

from “Full Woman, Fleshly Apple, Hot Moon”

Full woman, fleshly apple, hot moon,
thick smell of seaweed, crushed mud and light,
what obscure brilliance opens between your columns?
What ancient night does a man touch with his senses?

Loving is a journey with water and with stars,
with smothered air and abrupt storms of flour:
loving is a clash of lightning-bolts
and two bodies defeated by a single drop of honey.

From “Full Woman, Fleshly Apple, Hot Moon”,
Selected Poems translated by Stephen Mitchell (1997) 

The Final Footprint

Pinochet, backed by elements of the armed forces, denied permission for Neruda’s funeral to be made a public event, but thousands of grieving Chileans disobeyed the curfew and crowded the streets. The funeral took place amidst a massive police presence, and mourners took advantage of the occasion to protest against the new regime, established just a couple of weeks before. Interment took place on his estate in Isla Negra.

ChiefDan_GeorgeOn this day in 1981, Native Canadian, poet, Academy Award-nominated actor, humanitarian, a chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation of Burrard Inlet, Chief Dan George died in Vancouver, British Columbia, age 82.  Born Geswanouth Slahhot on 24 July 1899 in Burrard Inlet, British Columbia.  I very much enjoyed his performance alongside Clint Eastwood in The Outlaw Josey Wales.  His best-known written work is his poem “My Heart Soars.”

The Final Footprint – George was buried in Burrard Cemetery in North Vancouver, British Columbia.  His grave is marked by two flat granite engraved markers on a raised concrete base and a concrete border around his grave.  Along with his name and birth and death dates the inscriptions on the markers read:  HIS HEART SOARED LIKE THE EAGLE and In Loving Memory of Our Dad Daniel Paul.

On this day in 1987 dancer, choreographer, actor, theatre director, filmmaker Bob Fosse died of a heart attack at George Washington University Hospital, Washington DC, aged 60.

He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals The Pajama Game (1954), Damn Yankees (1955), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961), Sweet Charity (1966), Pippin (1972), and Chicago (1975). He directed the films Sweet Charity (1969), Cabaret (1972), Lenny (1975), All That Jazz (1979), and Star 80 (1983).

Fosse’s distinctive style of choreography included turned-in knees and “jazz hands”. He is the only person ever to have won Oscar, Emmy, and Tony awards in the same year (1973). He was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning Best Director for Cabaret, and won the Palme D’Or in 1980 for All That Jazz. He won a record eight Tonys for his choreography, as well as one for direction for Pippin.

Fosse married dance partner Mary Ann Niles (1923–1987) on May 3, 1947, in Detroit.  In 1952, a year after he divorced Niles, he married dancer Joan McCracken in New York City; this marriage lasted until 1959, when it also ended in divorce.

His third wife was dancer and actress Gwen Verdon, whom he met choreographing Damn Yankees, in which she starred.  Fosse’s extramarital affairs put a strain on the marriage and by 1971 they were separated, although they remained legally married until his death in 1987. Verdon never remarried.

Fosse met dancer Ann Reinking during the run of Pippin in 1972. According to Reinking, their romantic relationship ended “toward the end of the run of Dancin‘”.

The Final Footprint – Fosse collapsed in Verdon’s arms near the Willard Hotel prior to being taken to the hospital.  As he had requested, Verdon scattered his ashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Quogue, Long Island, where Fosse had been living.  A month after his passing, Verdon fulfilled Fosse’s request for his friends to “go out and have dinner on me” by hosting a star-studded, celebrity filled evening at Tavern on the Green.

#RIP #OTD in 1994 writer (Psycho, American Gothic, ‘’That Hell Bound Train’’), Robert Bloch died in Los Angeles from cancer aged 77. Cremated remains; Room of Prayer columbarium at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles

And on this day in 2020 singer, actress Juliette Gréco died in Ramatuelle, France at the age of 93.  Born in Montpellier, France on 7 February 1927.  Perhaps her best known songs are “Paris Canaille” (1962, originally sung by Léo Ferré), “La Javanaise” (1963, written by Serge Gainsbourg for Gréco) and “Déshabillez-moi” (1967). She often sang tracks with lyrics written by French poets such as Jacques Prévert and Boris Vian, as well as singers like Jacques Brel and Charles Aznavour. Her 60-year career came to an end in 2015 when she began her last worldwide tour titled “Merci”.  As an actress, Gréco played roles in films by French directors such as Jean Cocteau and Jean-Pierre Melville.

Gréco became a devotee of the bohemian fashion of some intellectuals of post-war France. Duc sent her to attend acting classes given by Solange Sicard. She made her debut in the play Victor ou les Enfants au pouvoir in November 1946 and began to host a radio show dedicated to poetry.

Her friend Jean-Paul Sartre installed her at the Hotel La Louisiane and commented Greco had “millions of poems in her voice”.  She was known to many of the writers and artists working in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, such as Albert Camus, Jacques Prévert and Boris Vian, thus gaining the nickname la Muse de l’existentialisme.

Gréco spent the post-Liberation years frequenting the Saint-Germain-des-Prés cafes, immersing herself in political and philosophical bohemian culture. As a regular at music and poetry venues like Le Tabou on Rue Dauphine, she was acquainted with Cocteau, and was given a role in Cocteau’s film Orphée (1950).

In 1949, she began an affair with the American jazz musician Miles Davis.  In 1957, they decided to always be just lovers because their careers were in different countries and his fear of damaging her career by being in an interracial relationship.  They remained lovers and friends until his death in 1991.

Gréco was married three times, to:

  • actor Philippe Lemaire (1953–1956)
  • actor Michel Piccoli (1966–1977)
  • pianist Gérard Jouannest (1988–2018; his death)

With Lemaire, she had a daughter, Laurence-Marie, born in 1954. Laurence-Marie Lemaire died from cancer in 2016 aged 62.

In the year leading up to his death in January 1949, Gréco was the lover of married racing driver Jean-Pierre Wimille and suffered a miscarriage after his death.

According to Spanish writer Manuel Vicent, Gréco was Camus’s lover.  She also was in relationships with French singer Sacha Distel and Hollywood producer Darryl F. Zanuck.

During her affair with Davis, she was also dating U.S. record producer Quincy Jones. According to Jones’ autobiography, Davis was irritated with him for years when he found out.

  The Final Footprint  – Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris.

#RIP #OTD in 2022 actress (Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Cruel Intentions, Star Trek Deep Space Nine), Louise Fletcher died at her home in Montdurausse, France aged 88. Cremation

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On this day 22 September death of Anne Lister – Marion Davies – Irving Berlin – Dorothy Lamour – George C. Scott – Marcel Marceau – Eddie Fisher – Yogi Berra

Posted on 29 SepamMon, 22 Sep 2025 00:33:00 -05002025-09-22T00:33:00-05:0012 2011 by MacGregor

#RIP #OTD in 1840 diarist, known for revelations for which she was dubbed “the first modern lesbian”, Gentleman Jack, Anne Lister died of a fever in what is now Kutaisi, Georgia aged 49. St. John the Baptist Minster Churchyard, Halifax, England

#RIP #OTD 1961 actress (April Folly, Buried Treasure), Ziegfeld girl, producer, screenwriter, philanthropist, partner of William Randolph Hearst, Marion Davies died of malignant osteomyelitis in Hollywood aged 64. Private mausoleum, Hollywood Forever Cemetery

On this day in 1989, Tony and Grammy winner, songwriter, composer, lyricist Irving Berlin died in New York City at the age of 101.  Born Israel Isidore Baline on 11 May 1888 in Tyumen, Russia, now Belarus.  In my opinion, one of the greatest songwriters.  Among the many songs he wrote; God Bless America, White Christmas, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, There’s no Business like Show Business, Blue Skies, Puttin’ on the Ritz.  Composer Douglas Moore sets Berlin apart from all other contemporary songwriters, and includes him instead with Stephen Foster, Walt Whitman, and Carl Sandburg, as a “great American minstrel”—someone who has “caught and immortalized in his songs what we say, what we think about, and what we believe.”  George Gershwin called him “the greatest songwriter that has ever lived”, and Jerome Kern concluded that “Irving Berlin has no place in American music—he is American music.”  In 1912, he married Dorothy Goetz.  She died six months later of typhoid fever, which she contracted during their honeymoon in Havana.  The song he wrote to express his grief, “When I Lost You,” was his first ballad.  In 1925 he married Ellin Mackay.  Their marriage remained a love affair and they were inseparable until she died in July 1988 at the age of 85.

The Final Footprint – Berlin was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.  His grave is marked by a half ledger granite marker inscribed with his name and the birth and death dates.  On the evening following the announcement of his death, the marquee lights of Broadway were dimmed before curtain time in his memory.  Other notable Final Footprints at Woodlawn include; Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Fiorello La Guardia, Lionel Hampton, Rowland Macy, Bat Masterson, Herman Melville, J. C. Penney, and Joseph Pulitzer.

#RIP #OTD in 1996, singer, actress (The Jungle Princess, the Road to… movies), Dorothy Lamour died at her home in North Hollywood from a heart attack, age 81. Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery

On this day in 1999, stage and film actor, director and producer George C. Scott died of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm in Westlake Village, California, at the age of 71. Born George Campbell Scott on October 18, 1927 in Wise, Virginia. Perhaps best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayal of General George S. Patton in the film Patton, as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Ebenezer Scrooge in Clive Donner’s 1984 film A Christmas Carol and Lieutenant Bill Kinderman in William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist III.

He was the first actor to refuse the Academy Award for Best Actor (for Patton in 1970), having warned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences months in advance that he would do so on philosophical grounds if he won. Scott believed that every dramatic performance was unique and could not be compared to others.

Scott was married five times:

  1. Carolyn Hughes (m. 1951–1955); one daughter, Victoria, born December 19, 1952.
  2. Patricia Reed (m. 1955–1960); two children: Matthew – born May 27, 1957, and actress Devon Scott – born November 29, 1958.
  3. He married Canadian-born actress Colleen Dewhurst (m. 1960–1965), by whom he had two sons, writer Alexander Scott (born August 1960), and actor Campbell Scott (born July 19, 1961). Dewhurst nicknamed her husband “G.C.”
  4. He remarried Colleen Dewhurst on July 4, 1967, but they divorced for a second time on February 2, 1972.
  5. He married American actress Trish Van Devere on September 4, 1972, with whom he starred in several films, including the supernatural thriller The Changeling (1980). Scott adopted Trish’s nephew, George Dewey Scott II, and resided in Malibu. They remained married until his death.

The Final Footprint

He was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California in an unmarked grave located to the right of that of Walter Matthau. Other notable final footprints at Westwood Village include; Ray Bradbury, Sammy Cahn, Truman Capote, James Coburn, Rodney Dangerfield, Janet Leigh, Farrah Fawcett, Brian Keith, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Peter Lawford, Peggy Lee, Jack Lemmon, Karl Malden, Dean Martin, Walter Matthau, Marilyn Monroe, Carroll O’Connor, Roy Orbison, Dorothy Stratten, Natalie Wood, and Frank Zappa.

On this day in 2007 actor and mime artist Marcel Marceau died at the racetrack in Cahors, France, at the age of 84. Born Marcel Mangel on 22 March 1923 in Strasbourg, France. Perhas best known for his stage persona as “Bip the Clown”. He referred to mime as the “art of silence”, and he performed professionally worldwide for over 60 years. As a youth, he lived in hiding and worked with the French Resistance during most of World War II, giving his first major performance to 3000 troops after the liberation of Paris in August 1944. Following the war, he studied dramatic art and mime in Paris.

In 1959 he established his own pantomime school in Paris, and subsequently set up the Marceau Foundation to promote the art in the U.S. Among his various awards and honours he was made “Grand Officier de la Légion d’Honneur” (1998) and was awarded the National Order of Merit (1998) in France. He won the Emmy Award for his work on television, was elected member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin, and was declared a “National treasure” in Japan. He was friends with Michael Jackson for nearly 20 years, and Jackson said he would use some of Marceau’s techniques in his own dance steps.

Marceau as Bip the Clown in 1974

Marceau in 1974

Marceau in 1962

Marcel Marceau in 2004

Marceau was married three times: first to Huguette Mallet; then, to Ella Jaroszewicz. His third wife was Anne Sicco. Artist and fellow mime Paulette Frankl released a memoir in August 2014 about her decades’ long relationship with Marceau. Marcel & Me: A Memoir of Love, Lust, and Illusion, released in 2014.

The Final Footprint

At his burial ceremony, the second movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 (which Marceau long used as an accompaniment for an elegant mime routine) was played, as was the sarabande of Bach‘s Cello Suite No. 5. Marceau was interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Other notable Final Footprints at Père Lachaise include; Guillaume Apollinaire, Honoré de Balzac, Georges Bizet, Jean-Dominique Bauby, Maria Calas, 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 2010, singer and actor Eddie Fisher died at his home in Berkeley, California, from complications from hip surgery, at the age of 82. Born Edwin John Fisher on August 10, 1928 in . He was one of the most popular artists during the first half of the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show. Fisher divorced his first wife, actress Debbie Reynolds, to marry Reynolds’ best friend, actress Elizabeth Taylor, after Taylor’s husband, film producer Mike Todd, was killed in a plane crash. The scandalous affair was widely reported, bringing unfavorable publicity to Fisher. He later married Connie Stevens. Fisher fathered Carrie Fisher and Todd Fisher with Reynolds, and Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher with Stevens.


The Final Footprint

Fisher was cremated and his cremated remains are inurned at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, California.

On this day in 2015, U. S. Navy veteran, Purple Heart recipient, MLB Hall of Fame catcher, manager, 3x AL MVP, 18x All Star, 10x World Series champ, New York Yankee Yogi Berra died in West Caldwell, New Jersey, 69 years to the day after his MLB debut, at the age of 90. Born Lawrence Peter Berra on May 12, 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri. He played 19 seasons (1946–63, 1965), all but the last for the Yankees. Berra had a career batting average of .285, while hitting 358 home runs and 1,430 runs batted in. In my opinion, one of the greatest catchers in baseball history

Berra signed with the Yankees in 1943 before serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He made his major-league debut at age 21 in 1946 and was a mainstay in the Yankees’ lineup during the team’s championship years beginning in 1949 and continuing through 1962. Despite his short stature (he was 5′ 7″ tall), Berra was a power hitter and strong defensive catcher. He caught Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.

Berra played 18 seasons with the Yankees. He spent the next season as their manager, then joined the New York Mets in 1965 as coach (and briefly a player again). Berra remained with the Mets for the next decade, serving the last four years as their manager. He returned to the Yankees in 1976, coaching them for eight seasons and managing for two, before coaching the Houston Astros. Berra appeared as a player, coach or manager in every one of the 13 World Series that New York baseball teams competed in from 1947 through 1981. In all, he appeared in 22 World Series, 13 on the winning side.

The Yankees retired his uniform number 8 in 1972; Bill Dickey also wore number 8, and both catchers had that number retired by the Yankees. The club honored him with a plaque in Monument Park in 1988. Berra was named to the MLB All-Century Team in a vote by fans in 1999. For the remainder of his life, he was closely involved with the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, which he opened on the campus of Montclair State University in 1998.

Berra quit school after the eighth grade. He was known for his malapropisms as well as pithy and paradoxical statements, such as “It ain’t over ’til it’s over”, while speaking to reporters. He once simultaneously denied and confirmed his reputation by stating, “I really didn’t say everything I said.”

Berra with Hank Bauer and Mickey Mantle, 1953

Berra as Mets’ first base coach, 1969.

Berra hitting with a fungo bat prior to a game in 1981.

YogiBerra8.jpg
Yogi Berra’s number 8 was retired by the New York Yankees in 1972.
Yogi Berra’s plaques at the Baseball Hall of Fame (top) and in Monument Park. (bottom)

Berra married Carmen Short on January 26, 1949. They were longtime residents of Montclair, New Jersey. Carmen died on March 6, 2014, of complications from a stroke, at age 85; the couple had recently celebrated their 65th anniversary.

The Final Footprint

The Yankees added a number “8” patch to their uniforms in honor of Berra, and the Empire State Building was lit with vertical blue and white Yankee “pinstripes” on September 23. New York City lowered all flags in the city to half-staff for a day in tribute. A moment of silence was held before the September 23 games of the Yankees, Dodgers, Astros, Mets, Nationals, Tigers, Pirates, and his hometown St. Louis Cardinals, as well as the ALPB’s Long Island Ducks. The Yogi Berra Museum held a tribute on October 4.

Berra’s funeral services were held on September 29, and were broadcast by the YES Network. He was interred at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover, New Jersey.

“Yogi-isms”

Berra in 2007

  • As a general comment on life: “90 percent of baseball is mental; the other half is physical.”
  • On why he no longer went to Rigazzi’s, a St. Louis restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
  • “It ain’t over till it’s over.” In July 1973, Berra’s Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs by 9½ games in the National League East. The Mets rallied to clinch the division title in their second-to-last game of the regular season, and eventually reach the World Series.
  • When giving directions to Joe Garagiola to his New Jersey home, which was accessible by two routes: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
  • At Yogi Berra Day at Sportsman Park in St. Louis: “Thank you for making this day necessary.”
  • “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Berra explained that this quote originated when he witnessed Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris repeatedly hitting back-to-back home runs in the Yankees’ seasons in the early 1960s.
  • “You can observe a lot by watching.”
  • “Always go to other people’s funerals; otherwise they won’t go to yours.”
  • “I really didn’t say everything I said.”
  • “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore”
  • “If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.”

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On this day 21 September death of Virgil – Sir Walter Scott – Arthur Schopenhauer – Chief Joseph – Jacqueline Susann – Florence Griffith Joyner – Melvin Van Peebles

Posted on 29 SepamSun, 21 Sep 2025 00:03:00 -05002025-09-21T00:03:00-05:0012 2011 by MacGregor

On this day in 19 BC, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period, Virgil  died in Brundisium harbor at the age of 50. Born Publius Vergilius Maro on October 15, 70 BC Near Mantua, Cisalpine Gaul, Roman Republic (now Province of Mantua, Italy). He wrote three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid. A number of minor poems, collected in the Appendix Vergiliana, are sometimes attributed to him.

Virgil is traditionally ranked as one of Rome’s greatest poets. His Aeneid has been considered the national epic of ancient Rome since the time of its composition. Modeled after Homer‘s Iliad and Odyssey, the Aeneid follows the Trojan refugee Aeneas as he struggles to fulfill his destiny and reach Italy, where his descendants Romulus and Remus were to found the city of Rome. Virgil’s work has had wide and deep influence on Western literature, most notably Dante‘s Divine Comedy, in which Virgil appears as Dante’s guide through Hell and Purgatory.

Virgil Reading the Aeneid to Augustus, Octavia, and Livia by Jean-Baptiste Wicar, Art Institute of Chicago

A 3rd-century Tunisian mosaic of Virgil seated between Clio and Melpomene (from Hadrumetum [Sousse])

A 5th-century portrait of Virgil from the Vergilius Romanus

Virgil in his Basket, Lucas van Leyden, 1525

The Final Footprint 

The verse inscription at Virgil’s tomb was supposedly composed by the poet himself: Mantua me genuit, Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc Parthenope. Cecini pascua, rura, duces. (“Mantua gave me life, the Calabrians took it away, Naples holds me now; I sang of pastures, farms, and commanders.” [trans. Bernard Knox])

The structure known as “Virgil’s tomb” is found at the entrance of an ancient Roman tunnel (also known as “grotta vecchia”) in Piedigrotta, a district 3 kilometres (2 mi) from the centre of Naples, near the Mergellina harbor, on the road heading north along the coast to Pozzuoli. While Virgil was already the object of literary admiration and veneration before his death, in the Middle Ages his name became associated with miraculous powers, and for a couple of centuries his tomb was the destination of pilgrimages and veneration.

On this day in 1832, Scottish novelist, playwright and poet, Sir Walter Scott died, under unexplained circumstances, at the age of 61 at his home Abbotsford House near Melrose in the Scottish borders.  Scott was the first English-language author to have a truly international career in his lifetime, with many contemporary readers in Europe, Australia, and North America.  His novels and poetry are still read, and many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature.  His best known works include the novels, Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor and his poem The Lady of the Lake.  Scott married Charlotte Genevieve Charpentier (or Carpenter), daughter of Jean Charpentier of Lyon, France.  Born on 15 August 1771 in College Wynd in the Old Town of Edinburgh.

The Final Footprint – Scott is buried in a pillared side chapel of the Dryburgh Abbery ruins in Melrose.  During his lifetime, Scott’s portrait was painted by Sir Edwin Landseer and fellow-Scots Sir Henry Raeburn and James Eckford Lauder.  In Edinburgh, the 61.1 metre tall Victorian Gothic spire of the Scott Monument was designed by George Meikle Kemp.  It was completed in 1844, 12 years after Scott’s death, and dominates the south side of Princes Street.  Scott is also commemorated on a stone slab in Makars’ Court, outside The Writers’ Museum, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh, along with other prominent Scottish writers; quotes from his work are also visible on the Canongate Wall of the Scottish Parliament building in Holyrood. There is a tower dedicated to his memory on Corstorphine Hill in the west of the city and as mentioned previous Edinburgh’s Waverley railway station takes the name of one of his novels.  In Glasgow, Walter Scott’s Monument dominates the centre of George Square, the main public square in the city.  Designed by David Rhind in 1838, the monument features a large column topped by a statue of Scott.  There is a statue of Scott in New York City’s Central Park.  The annual Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction was created in 2010 by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, whose ancestors were closely linked to Sir Walter Scott.  At £25,000 it is one of the largest prizes in British literature.  The award has been presented at Scott’s historic home Abbotsford House.

In My Defens God Me Defend!  

#RIP #OTD in 1860 philosopher (The World as Will and Representation, philosophical pessimism, hedgehog’s dilemma) Arthur Schopenhauer died of pulmonary-respiratory failure at home in Franfurt aged 72  Hauptfriedhof Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

#RIP #OTD in 1904 leader of the Wallowa band of Nez Perce, a Native American tribe of the Pacific Northwest, Chief Joseph died, according to his doctor of a broken heart on the Colville Indian Reservation, Washington aged 64. Nez Perce Cemetery, Nespelem, Washington

#RIP #OTD 1974 actress, novelist (Valley of the Dolls, The Love Machine, Once Is Not Enough) Jacqueline Susann died at Doctors Hospital, Manhattan from breast/lung cancer aged 56. Cremation

On this day in 1998 track and field athlete, 3x Olympic gold medalist, 2x silver medalist, Flo-Jo, Florence Griffith Joyner died from an epileptic seizure at her home in Mission Viejo, California, age 38.  Born Florence Delorez Griffith in Los Angeles on 21 December 1959.

She set world records in 1988 for the 100 m and 200 m. During the late 1980s she became a popular figure due to both her record-setting athleticism and eclectic personal style.  She was athletic from a young age and began running at track meets as a child. While attending California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), she continued to compete in track and field. While still in college, she qualified for the 100 m 1980 Olympics, although she did not actually compete due to the U.S. boycott. She made her Olympic debut four years later, winning a silver medal in the 200 meter distance at the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles. At the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials, Griffith set a new world record in the 100 meter sprint. She went on to win three gold medals at the 1988 Olympics.

In February 1989, Griffith Joyner abruptly retired from athletics. She remained a pop culture figure through endorsement deals, acting, and designing.

Griffith’s nickname among family was “Dee Dee”.  She was briefly engaged to hurdler Greg Foster.  In 1987, Griffith married 1984 Olympic triple jump champion Al Joyner, whom Griffith had first met at the 1980 Olympic Trials.   Through her marriage to Joyner she was sister-in-law to track and field athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

The Final Footprint – The unexpected death was investigated by the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner’s office, which announced on September 22 that the cause of death was suffocation during a severe epileptic seizure.  Griffith Joyner was found to have had a cavernous hemangioma, a congenital vascular brain abnormality that made her subject to seizures.  According to a family attorney, she had suffered a tonic-clonic seizure in 1990 and had been treated for seizures in 1993 and 1994. According to the Sheriff-Coroner’s office, the only drugs in her system when she died were small amounts of two common over-the-counter drugs, acetaminophen and the antihistamine Benadryl.  El Toro Memorial Park in Lake Forest, California

#RIP #OTD in 2021 actor, filmmaker (The Story of a Three-Day Pass, Watermelon Man, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song), writer (La Permission), composer, artist, Melvin Van Peebles died at his home in Manhattan, New York aged 89. Cremation

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On This Day 20 September – Jacob Grimm – Jean Sibelius – Jim Croce – Steve Goodman – Jule Styne

Posted on 29 SepamSat, 20 Sep 2025 00:36:00 -05002025-09-20T00:36:00-05:0012 2011 by MacGregor

#RIP #OTD in 1863 author, linguist, philologist, jurist, folklorist, older brother of Wilhelm Grimm (Brothers Grimm literary duo) Jacob Grimm died in Berlin aged 78. Alter Sankt-Matthäus-Kirchhof, Schöneberg, Berlin

#RIP #OTD in 1957 late Romantic/early modern composer (Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse triste, the Violin Concerto, the choral symphony Kullervo, The Swan of Tuonela) Finland’s greatest composer, Jean Sibelius died of a brain hemorrhage at his home Ainola, Järvenpää agd 91. Burial at Ainola

On this day in 1973, singer, songwriter Jim Croce died at the age of 30 in the crash of a chartered Beechcraft E18S upon takeoff from the Natchitoches Regional Airport in Natchitoches, Louisiana.  Born James Joseph Croce on 10 January 1943 in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles.  His singles “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” and “Time in a Bottle” were both number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

 The Final Footprint – Croce is buried at Haym Salomon Cemetery in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

Steve_GoodmanOn this day in 1984, singer and songwriter, Chicago Cubs fan, Steve Goodman died of leukemia at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, Washington at the age of 36.  Born Steven Benjamin Goodman 25 July 1948 on Chicago’s North Side.  The writer of “City of New Orleans”, made popular by Arlo Guthrie and Willie Nelson, Goodman won two Grammy Awards.  In 1974, singer David Allan Coe achieved considerable success on the country charts with Goodman’s and John Prine’s “You Never Even Call Me By My Name”, a song which good-naturedly spoofed stereotypical country music lyrics.  In 1984, Goodman wrote the official Chicago Cubs team song and the official Cubs victory song, “Go Cubs Go!”.

The Final Footprint – Goodman was cremated.  Four days after Goodman’s death, the Cubs clinched the Eastern Division title in the National League for the first time ever, earning them their first post-season appearance since 1945, three years before Goodman’s birth.  Eight days later, on October 2, the Cubs played their first post-season game since the 1945 World Series.  Goodman had been asked to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before it; Jimmy Buffett filled in, and dedicated the song to Goodman.  In April 1988, some of Goodman’s cremains were scattered at Wrigley Field.

#RIP #OTD in 1994 songwriter, composer (l’ll Walk Alone, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Gypsy, Funny Girl, Three Coins in the Fountain) Jule Styne died of heart failure in Manhattan aged 88. Mount Ararat Cemetery, East Farmingdale , New York

#RIP #OTD in 2014, actress (Cape Fear; The Caretakers; Move Over, Darling; The Sopranos), Polly Bergen died at her home in Southbury, Connecticut aged 84. Cremation

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On This Day 19 September deaths of Zinaida Serebriakova – Gram Parsons – Slim Dusty – Bernie Casey

Posted on 29 SepamFri, 19 Sep 2025 00:45:00 -05002025-09-19T00:45:00-05:0012 2011 by MacGregor

#RIP #OTD in 1967 Ukrainian born artist Zinaida Serebriakova died after a brain hemorrhage in Paris aged 82. Cimetière de Liers, Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, France

On this day in 1973, singer, songwriter, musician Gram Parsons died in Joshua Tree, California, at the age of 26 from an overdose of morphine and alcohol.  Born Ingram Cecil Connor III on 5 November 1946, in Winter Haven, Florida.  Parsons is best known for his work within the country music genre; he also popularized what he called “Cosmic American Music”, a hybrid of country, rhythm and blues, soul, folk, and rock.  Besides recording as a solo artist, he also worked in several notable bands, including the International Submarine Band, The Byrds, and The Flying Burrito Brothers.  His relatively short career is described by Allmusic as “enormously influential” for both country and rock, “blending the two genres to the point that they became indistinguishable from each other.”  Parsons apparently developed an interest in country music while attending Harvard University.  He founded the International Submarine Band in 1966, and after several months of delay their debut, Safe at Home, was released in 1968, by which time the group had disbanded.  Parsons joined The Byrds in early 1968, and played a pivotal role in the making of the seminal Sweetheart of the Rodeo album. After leaving the group in late 1968, Parsons and fellow Byrd Chris Hillman formed The Flying Burrito Brothers in 1969, releasing their debut, The Gilded Palace of Sin, the same year.  The album was well received but failed commercially.  After a cross-country tour, they recorded Burrito Deluxe.  Parsons was fired from the band before its release in early 1970.  He soon signed with A&M Records, but after several unproductive sessions he canceled his intended solo debut in early 1971.  Parsons moved to France, where he lived for a short period at Villa Nellcôte with his friend Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones.  Returning to America, Parsons befriended Emmylou Harris, who assisted him on vocals for his first solo record, GP, released in 1973.  Although it received enthusiastic reviews, the release failed to chart; his next album, Grievous Angel met with a similar reception, and peaked at number 195 on Billboard.

The Final Footprint – Parsons’ body disappeared from the Los Angeles International Airport where it was being readied to be shipped to Louisiana for burial.  Prior to his death, Parsons stated that he wanted his body cremated at Joshua Tree and his ashes spread over Cap Rock, a prominent natural feature there; however, Parsons’ stepfather, Robert Parson, arranged for a private ceremony back in New Orleans and neglected to invite any of his friends from the music industry.  To fulfill Parsons’ funeral wishes, his friend Phil Kaufman stole his body from the airport and in a borrowed hearse drove it to Joshua Tree.  Upon reaching the Cap Rock section of the park, they attempted to cremate Parsons’ corpse by pouring five gallons of gasoline into the open coffin and throwing a lit match inside.  What resulted was an enormous fireball.  The police gave chase but, as one account puts it, “were encumbered by sobriety,” and the men escaped.  The two were arrested several days later.  Since there was no law against stealing a dead body, they were only fined $750 for stealing the coffin and were not prosecuted for leaving 35 lbs of his charred remains in the desert.  Parsons body was eventually buried in Garden of Memories of Metairie, Louisiana.  The site of Parsons’ cremation was marked by a small concrete slab and was presided over by a large rock flake known to rock climbers as The Gram Parsons Memorial Hand Traverse.  The slab has since been removed by the U.S. National Park Service, and relocated to the Joshua Tree Inn.  There is no monument at Cap Rock noting Parsons’ cremation at the site.  Joshua Tree park guides are given the option to tell the story of Parsons’ cremation during tours, but there is no mention of the act in official maps or brochures.  Fans regularly assemble simple rock structures and writings on the rock, which the park service sand blasts to remove from time to time.

#RIP #OTD in 2003, singer-songwriter, guitarist, (A Pub with no Beer), Australian cultural icon, Australia’s King of Country Music, Slim Dusty died at his home in St Ives, New South Wales at the age of 76 from colorectal cancer. Cremated

#RIP #OTD 2017 actor (Felix Leiter in Never Say Never Again), poet, visual artist, professional football player (49ers, Rams), Bernie Casey died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a stroke aged 78.

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