#RIP #OTD in 1847 composer and pianist of the early Romantic era Fanny Mendelssohn died from a stroke in Berlin aged 41. Cemetery of the Dreifaltigkeitsgemeinde, Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Berlin
#RIP #OTD in 1970 actress (Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, Merrily We Live) Billie Burke died in Los Angeles of natural causes, at the age of 85. Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, Westchester County, New York
On this day in 1987, dancer and actress, beauty icon, Rita Hayworth died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 68 in New York City. Born Margarita Carmen Cansino on 17 October 1918 in Brooklyn. Hayworth achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era’s top stars. Appearing first as Rita Cansino, she agreed to change her name to Rita Hayworth and her natural dark brown hair color to dark red to attract a greater range of roles. Her appeal led to her being featured on the cover of Life magazine five times, beginning in 1940. She appeared in a total of 61 films over 37 years. Hayworth married five times, apparently none of them happily; Edward C. Judson (1937–1942 divorce), Orson Welles
(1943–1948 divorce), Prince Aly Khan (1949–1953 divorce), Dick Haymes (1953–1955 divorce), James Hill (1958–1961 divorce).
The Final Footprint – A funeral service was held on 19 May 1987, at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. Pallbearers included actors Ricardo Montalbán, Glenn Ford, Don Ameche, agent Budd Burton Moss, and the choreographer Hermes Pan. She was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City. Her headstone includes the inscription: “To yesterday’s companionship and tomorrow’s reunion.” Hayworth’s pin-up poster is portrayed in Stephen King’s novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (1982), and was later brought to the screen in the film The Shawshank Redemption (1994) directed by Frank Darabont (which itself features a video clip of Hayworth in Gilda, shown as a film the prisoners are watching). Other notable final footprints at Holy Cross include; John Candy, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, John Ford, Chick Hearn, Bela Lugosi, Al Martino, Audrey Meadows, Ricardo Montalbán, Evelyn Nesbit, Hermes Pan, Chris Penn, Jo Stafford, and Sharon Tate.
#RIP #OTD in 1998 journalist, author (The Everglades: River of Grass (1947)), women’s suffrage advocate, Everglades conservationist, Marjory Stoneman Douglas died; Coconut Grove, Miami, aged 108. Cremated remains scattered in the
On this day in 1998, legendary and iconic singer and actor; Academy Award winner, Grammy Award winner, producer, director, conductor, member of the Rat Pack, Ol’ Blue Eyes, The Chairman of the Board, The Voice, Frankie, Frank Sinatra died at 10:50 P.M. on a Thursday at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, with his wife Barbara by his side, at the age of 82. Born Francis Albert Sinatra on 12 December 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Oh my, where to begin. This could take awhile. Sinatra is perhaps my favorite entertainer.
Sinatra was the only child of Italian immigrants Natalie Della “Dolly” Garaventa and Antonino Martino “Marty” Sinatra and was raised Catholic. His mother was from Northern Italy and his father was Sicilian. He left high school without graduating.
Sinatra began his musical career in the swing era first with bandleader Harry James and then with bandleader Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra became unhappy with his contract with Dorsey which awarded Dorsey one-third of Sinatra’s lifetime earnings from entertainment. Dorsey let Sinatra out of his contract which sparked rumours of Sinatra’s involment with the Mafia. A newspaper reported that Chicago mob boss, Sam Giancana coerced Dorsey. The incident was later fictionalized in Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. Sinatra went on to become a successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, becoming the idol of the “bobby soxers”. His career had stalled by the 1950s, but it was reborn in 1954 after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (for his performance as Private Angelo Maggio in From Here to Eternity (1953). This incident was later fictionalized in The Godfather as well. Sinatra received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his role as Frankie Machine in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and he recevied critical acclaim for his performance as Captain Bennett Marco in The Manchurian Candidate.
Sinatra was an original member of the Holmby Hills Rat Pack along with, Judy Garland, Lauren Bacall, Sid Luft, Humphrey Bogart, Swifty Lazar, Nathaniel Benchley, David Niven, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, George Cukor, Cary Grant, Rex Harrison, and Jimmy Van Heusen. The 1960’s version of the Rat Pack included Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. Reportedly Marilyn Monroe, Angie Dickinson, Juliet Prowse, and Shirley MacLaine were often referred to as the “Rat Pack Mascots”. This version of the Rat Pack did not use that term to describe themselves. They referred to the group as The Summit or The Clan.
My favorite Sinatra albums include; In the Wee Small Hours, Songs for Swingin’ Lovers, Come Fly with Me, Only the Lonely and Nice ‘n’ Easy, Ring-A-Ding-Ding, Sinatra at the Sands, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim, and September of My Years. Sinatra was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Sinatra was married four times: Nancy Barbato (1939-1951 divorce), Ava Gardner (1951-1957 divorce), Mia Farrow (1966-1968 divorce, and Barbara Blakeley Marx (1976-1998 his death).
The Final Footprint – The night after Sinatra’s death, the lights on the Empire State Building in New York City were turned blue, the lights at the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor, and the casinos stopped spinning for a minute.
Sinatra’s funeral was held at the Roman Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California, on May 20, 1998, with 400 mourners in attendance and thousands of fans outside. Gregory Peck, Tony Bennett, and Sinatra’s son, Frank Jr., addressed the mourners, who included many notable people from film and entertainment. Sinatra was buried in a blue business suit with mementos from family members—cherry-flavored Life Savers, Tootsie Rolls, a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a Zippo lighter, stuffed toys, a dog biscuit, and a roll of dimes that he always carried—next to his parents in section B-8 of Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California. Frank Jr. was interred there when he died in 2016.
His grave is marked with an individual engraved flat granite marker. The inscription reads: THE BEST IS YET TO COME and the term of endearment BELOVED HUSBAND AND FATHER. Other notable final footprints at Desert Memorial include; Sonny Bono, Frederick Loewe, and Jimmy Van Heusen.
| B.B. King | |
|---|---|
 at the 2009 North Sea Jazz Festival |
|
On this day in 2015, blues singer, electric guitarist, songwriter, and record producer, The King of the Blues, B. B. King died in Las Vegas from congestive heart failure and complications from diabetes at the age of 89. Born Riley B. King on September 16, 1925 in Itta Bena, Mississippi. King introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that influenced many later electric blues guitarists.
In my opinion, he is one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname one of the “Three Kings of Orient Are” along with Albert King and Freddie King. King was known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing at more than 200 concerts per year on average into his 70s.
King playing his favorite guitar, Lucille, in the 1980s
President Obama and King singing “Sweet Home Chicago” on February 21, 2012
King was married twice, to Martha Lee Denton, November 1946 to 1952, and to Sue Carol Hall, 1958 to 1966. The failure of both marriages has been attributed to the heavy demands made by King’s 250 performances a year.
King’s favorite singer was Frank Sinatra. In his autobiography he spoke about how he was a “Sinatra nut” and how he went to bed every night listening to Sinatra’s classic album In the Wee Small Hours. During the 1960s Sinatra had arranged for King to play at the main clubs in Las Vegas. He credited Sinatra for opening doors to black entertainers who were not given the chance to play in “white-dominated” venues.
The Final Footprint
On May 27, 2015, King’s body was flown to Memphis. A funeral procession went down Beale Street, with a brass band marching in front of the hearse, playing “When the Saints Go Marching In”. Thousands lined the streets to pay their last respects. His body was then driven down Route 61 to his hometown of Indianola, Mississippi. He was laid in repose at the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, in Indianola, for people to view his open casket. The funeral took place at the Bell Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Indianola, on May 30. He was buried at the B.B. King Museum.
| Powers Boothe | |
|---|---|
 |
|
On this day in 2017, actor Powers Boothe died from pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles at the age of 68. Born Powers Allen Boothe in Snyder, Texas on June 1, 1948. Some of his most notable roles include his Emmy-winning portrayal of Jim Jones in Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones and his turns as TV detective Philip Marlowe in the 1980s, Cy Tolliver on Deadwood, “Curly Bill” Brocious in Tombstone, Vice-President and subsequently President Noah Daniels on 24, and Lamar Wyatt in Nashville.
Boothe married his college sweetheart Pam Cole in 1969 and they remained married until his death.
The Final Footprint
Boothe is buried in Deadwood Cemetery, in Deadwood, Texas.
On this day in 2018, author and journalist Tom Wolfe died from an infection in Manhattan, at the age of 88. Born Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. on March 2, 1930 in Richmond, Virginia. Perhaps best known for his association with New Journalism, a style of news writing and journalism developed in the 1960s and 1970s that incorporated literary techniques.
Wolfe began his career as a regional newspaper reporter in the 1950s, achieving national prominence in the 1960s following the publication of such best-selling books as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (a highly experimental account of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters) and two collections of articles and essays, Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers and The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby. In 1979, he published the influential book The Right Stuff about the Mercury Seven astronauts, which was made into a 1983 film of the same name directed by Philip Kaufman.
His first novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, published in 1987, was met with critical acclaim and also became a commercial success. It was adapted as a major motion picture of the same name directed by Brian De Palma.
The Final Footprint
Wolfe is interred at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.
On this day in 2019, actor, comedian, writer, and director Tim Conway died from complications of normal pressure hydrocephalus in Los Angeles, at the age of 85. Born Thomas Daniel Conway on December 15, 1933 in . Willoughby, Ohio. From 1966 to 2012 he appeared in more than 20 TV shows, TV series and films. Among his more notable roles: Ensign Parker in the 1960s World War II TV situation comedy McHale’s Navy; as a regular cast member (1975–1978) on the TV comedy The Carol Burnett Show where he portrayed his recurrent iconic characters Mister Tudball, the Oldest Man and the Dumb Private; co-starred with Don Knotts in several films (1979–80); was the title character in the Dorf series of eight sports comedy direct-to-video films (1987–1996); and provided the voice of Barnacle Boy in the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants (1999–2012). Twice, in 1970 and in 1980–1981, he had his own TV series.
Conway was admired for his ability to depart from scripts with humorous ad libs and gestures, which frequently caused others in the skit to break character while attempting to control their surprise and laughter. He won six Primetime Emmy Awards during his career, four of which were awarded for The Carol Burnett Show, including one for writing.
Conway was married to Mary Anne Dalton from 1961 until 1978. He was married to Char Fusco from May 18, 1984 until his death.
The Final Footprint
Conway was cremated and his cremated remains are inurned at Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles. Other notable final footprints at Westwood include; Ray Bradbury, Sammy Cahn, Truman Capote, James Coburn, Rodney Dangerfield, Farrah Fawcett, Eva Gabor, Hugh Hefner, Florence Henderson, Brian Keith, Gene Kelly, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Peter Lawford, Peggy Lee, Janet Leigh, Jack Lemmon, Sondra Locke, Robert Loggia, Karl Malden, Dean Martin, Walter Mathau, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Montgomery, Carroll O’Connor, Roy Orbison, Bettie Page, Buddy Rich, George C. Scott, Dorothy Stratten, Joe Weider, Billy Wilder, Carl Wilson, Natalie Wood, and Frank Zappa.
Have you planned yours yet?
Follow us on twitter @RIPTFF
On this day in 1961, Academy Award-winning actor, Coop, Gary Cooper died from cancer at his home in Beverly Hills at the age of 60. Born Frank James Cooper on 7 May 1901 in Helena, Montana. His career comprised more than a 100 films. My favorite movies with Cooper include; as Will Cane in High Noon (1952) with Grace Kelly, as Lou Gehrig in The Pride of the Yankees (1942), as Robert Jordan in the film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) with Ingrid Bergman, as Howard Roark in the film adaptation of Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead (1949) and as Frank Flannagan in Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn. Cooper married once; Veronica “Rocky” Balfe (1933-1961 his death). Cooper allegedly had affairs with famous co-stars Marlene Dietrich, Kelly and Patricia Neal.
The Final Footprint – A requiem mass was held on May 18 at the Church of the Good Shepherd, attended by many of Cooper’s friends, including James Stewart, Henry Hathaway, Joel McCrea, Audrey Hepburn, Jack L. Warner, John Ford, John Wayne, Edward G. Robinson, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Fred Astaire, Randolph Scott, Walter Pidgeon, Bob Hope, and Marlene Dietrich. Cooper was initially interred in the Grotto Section of Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Culver City, California. In May 1974 his body was removed from Holy Cross Cemetery, when his widow Veronica remarried and moved to New York, and relocated to Sacred Heart Cemetery, in Southampton, New York, on Long Island. His grave is marked by an individual bronze marker and a three-ton boulder from a Montauk quarry. Veronica was buried next to him when she died in 2000. For his contribution to the film industry, Cooper has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6243 Hollywood Blvd. In 1966, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
On this day in 1975, musician, songwriter, and bandleader of the Texas Playboys; co-founder of Western Swing, the King of Western Swing, Bob Wills died in Fort Worth, Texas at the age of 70 from a stroke. Born James Robert Wills on a farm near Kosse, Texas on 6 March 1905. Wills formed several bands and played radio stations around the South and West until he formed the Texas Playboys in 1934 with Wills on fiddle, Tommy Duncan on piano and vocals, rhythm guitarist June Whalin, tenor banjoist Johnnie Lee Wills (his brother), and Kermit Whalin, who played steel guitar and bass, later adding Leon McAuliffe on steel guitar, pianist Al Stricklin, drummer Smokey Dacus, and a horn section that expanded the band’s sound. Wills favored jazz-like arrangements and the band found national popularity into the 1940s with such hits as “Steel Guitar Rag”, “New San Antonio Rose”, “Smoke on the Water”, “Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima”, and “New Spanish Two Step”. In 1950, he had two top ten hits, “Ida Red Likes the Boogie” and “Faded Love”. The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Wills in 1968 and the Texas State Legislature honored him for his contribution to American music. In 1972, Wills accepted a citation from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in Nashville. He was recording an album with Merle Haggard in 1973 when a stroke left him comatose until his death in 1975. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Wills and the Texas Playboys in 1999. I love to hear Bob holler.
On this day in 2018, actress and activist Margot Kidder died at her home in Livingston, Montana from suicide by alcohol and drug overdose, at the age of 69. Born Margaret Ruth Kidder on October 17, 1948 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Her accolades include three Canadian Screen Awards and one Daytime Emmy Award. Though she appeared in an array of films and television, Kidder is perhaps best known for her performance as Lois Lane in the Superman film series, appearing in the first four films.
On this day in 2019, 
The Final Footprint
On this day in 1850, poet Frances Sargent Osgood died 
The Final Footprint
On this day in 1925, poet Amy Lowell died 
On this day in 2000, professional racing driver, great-grandson of Lee Petty, grandson of Richard Petty, son of Kyle Petty, Adam Petty died when his Busch series car crashed during a practice run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, at the age of 19. Born Adam Kyler Petty on 10 July 1980 and raised in High Point, North Carolina.
The Final Footprint
On this day in 1977, Academy Award winning actress, Joan Crawford died at her New York apartment from a heart attack at the age of 72. Born Lucille Fay LeSueur on 23 March 1905 in San Antonio, Texas. Crawford became one of Hollywood’s most prominent movie stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States. In 1931, she starred opposite Clark Gable in Possessed. They began an affair during the production, that lasted for many years. Crawford won her Oscar for the title role in Mildred Pierce (1945). She was married four times; Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (1929-1933 divorce), Franchot Tone (1935-1939 divorce), Phillip Terry (1942-1946 divorce) and Alfred Steele (1955-1959 his death).
The Final Footprint – Crawford was cremated. Her cremains were entombed in a crypt next to her husband, Alfred Steele, in the Ferncliff Mausoleum, Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. A funeral service was held at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel (a 
On this day in 1999, 
On this day in 1968, 
On this day in 2010, Grammy Award winning singer, Tony Award winning actress, civil rights activist and dancer, Lena Horne died in New York City of heart failure at the age of 92. Born Lena Mary Calhoun Horne on 30 June 1917 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn.
On this day in 1880, novelist Gustave Flaubert died in Croisset, France of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 58. Born on 12 December 1821, in Rouen, in the Seine-Maritime department of Upper Normandy, in northern France. In my opinion, one of the greatest novelists in Western literature. He is known especially for his first published novel, Madame Bovary (1857), for his Correspondence, and for his scrupulous devotion to his style and aesthetics. Flaubert was a notorious perfectionist and claimed always to be searching for le mot juste (“the precise word”). When it was first serialized in La Revue de Paris between 1 October 1856 and 15 December 1856, the novel was attacked for obscenity by public prosecutors. The resulting trial, held in January 1857, made the story notorious. After Flaubert’s acquittal on 7 February 1857, Madame Bovary became a bestseller when it was published as a single volume in April 1857. Flaubert’s masterpiece is now considered a seminal work of realism and one of the most influential novels ever written. From 1846 to 1854, Flaubert had a relationship with the poet Louise Colet; his letters to her survive. Flaubert never married.
On this day in 1903, leading Post-Impressionist artist, Paul Gauguin died of syphilis in Atuona, Hiva ‘Oa, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia at the age of 54. Born Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin on 7 June 1848 in Paris. In my opinion, one of the most influential artists to ever live. He married a Danish woman, Mette-Sophie Gad. Gauguin was friends with Vincent van Gogh, with whom in 1888 he spent nine weeks painting in Arles. He was also friends with Camille Pissarro and Paul Cézanne and painted with each of them. He made several attempts to find a tropical paradise where he could ‘live on fish and fruit’ and paint in his increasingly primitive style and frolic with the nubile native girls (see the gallery below). His travels took him to Martinique, the Panama Canal, Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands.
The Final Footprint – Gauguin is interred in Calvary Cemetery (Cimetière Calvaire), Atuona, Hiva ‘Oa, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. Gauguin’s life inspired W. Somerset Maugham’s novel The Moon and Sixpence. Mario Vargas Llosa based his 2003 novel The Way to Paradise on Gauguin’s life. Gauguin is also the subject of at least two operas: Federico Elizalde‘s Paul Gauguin (1943); and Gauguin (a synthetic life) by Michael Smetanin and Alison Croggon. Déodat de Séverac wrote his Elegy for piano in memory of Gauguin.
On this day in 2009, journalist, sportswriter, novelist, biographer and screenwriter, Bud Shrake died at St. David’s Hospital in Austin, of complications from lung cancer at the age of 77. Born Edwin A. Shrake, Jr. in Fort Worth on 6 September 1931. Shrake co-wrote a series of golfing advice books with legendary golf coach Harvey Penick, including Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book, a golf guide that became the best-selling sports book in publishing history. Called a “lion of Texas letters” by the Austin American-Statesman, Shrake was a member of the Texas Film Hall of Fame, and received the Lon Tinkle lifetime achievement award from the Texas Institute of Letters and the Texas Book Festival Bookend Award. Shrake married twice and was Texas Governor Ann Richards’ companion for 17 years, until her death in 2006. As the “first gentleman of Texas,” he escorted Richards to her inaugural ball and to other social events, and organized card games inside the Texas governor’s mansion. Shrake was raised in Fort Worth’s Travis Avenue Baptist Church, but that did not stop him from obtaining ordination by the Universal Life Church and officiating at the wedding of friends such as writer Gary Cartwright.
The Final Footprint – The staff at the Austin Country Club lowered its club flag to half staff in recognition of Shrake’s death. At Shrake’s funeral, Ray Benson sang Willie Nelson‘s “I Still Can’t Believe You’re Gone” while Nelson sang “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground”. Cartwright called Shrake “my friend, compadre and mentor for 50 years. Every success I enjoyed owed directly or indirectly to Bud Shrake.” At the graveside service, Jerry Jeff Walker played two songs: Charles John Quarto and Shake Russell‘s “Dare of an Angel” and the Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn standard “My Buddy.” Shrake’s hearse bore the Mad Dog Productions sign in the back window.Shrake is interred next to Richards in the Texas State Cemetery. Other notable final footprints at Texas State Cemetery include; Stephen F. Austin, John B. Connally, Nellie Connally, J. Frank Dobie, Barbara Jordan, Tom Landry (cenotaph), James A. Michener (cenotaph), Ann Richards, Big Foot Wallace, and Walter Prescott Webb.
On this day in 1825, 
The Final Footprint
On this day in 2002 Thoroughbred race horse who won the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1977, Seattle Slew died in his sleep at Hill ‘N’ Dale Farm, Lexington, Kentucky, 25 years to the day he won the Kentucky Derby, at the age of 28. Foaled on 15 February 1974 at Ben Castleman’s White Horse Acres Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. A descendant of the great sire Nearco through his son, Nasrullah, Seattle Slew was sired by Bold Reasoning and out of My Charmer. He was named Champion 2-Year-Old of 1976. The big nearly-black colt swept through the Triple Crown races and was named Champion 3-Year-Old of 1977 and Eclipse Award American Horse of the Year. Seattle Slew is the only Belmont Stakes winner to sire a Belmont Stakes winner, A.P. Indy (whose damsire was the great Secretariat), who in turn sired Belmont Stakes winner, Rags to Riches.
The Final Footprint – Seattle Slew was buried whole, the highest honor for a race horse, in the courtyard at Hill ‘N’ Dale Farm with his favorite blanket and a bag of peppermints which he liked to eat. Three Chimneys Farm, Midway, Kentucky erected a statue of Seattle Slew near the stallion barn in his honor.
On this day in 1862, author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist, Henry David Thoreau died from complications of tuberculosis at his home in Concord, Massachusetts at the age of 44. Born David Henry Thoreau in Concord on 12 July 1817. Perhaps best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay Resistance to Civil Government (also known as Civil Disobedience), an argument for disobedience to an unjust state. Thoreau’s books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry total over 20 volumes. His literary style interweaves close natural observation, personal experience, pointed rhetoric, symbolic meanings, and historical lore, while displaying a poetic sensibility, philosophical austerity, and “Yankee” love of practical detail. He was also deeply interested in the idea of survival in the face of hostile elements, historical change, and natural decay; at the same time he advocated abandoning waste and illusion in order to discover life’s true essential needs. He was a lifelong abolitionist, delivering lectures that attacked the Fugitive Slave Law while praising the writings of Wendell Phillips and defending abolitionist John Brown.
The Final Footprint – Bronson Alcott planned the funeral service and read selections from Thoreau’s works, and Ellery Channing presented a hymn. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote the eulogy spoken at his funeral. Originally buried in the Dunbar family plot, he and members of his immediate family were eventually moved to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord. Other notable final footprints at Sleepy Hollow include; Louisa May Alcott, William Ellery Channing, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
On this day in 1919, author L. Frank Baum died from a stroke in Hollywood at the age of 62. Born Lyman Frank Baum on 15 May 1856 in Chittenango, New York. Perhaps best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He wrote 55 novels in total including thirteen Oz sequels, and nine other fantasy novels. In his writings, he anticipated television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high risk, action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Work). Baum married Maud Gage (1882 – 1919 his death). They had four children.
The Final Footprint – The day after his stroke, Baum slipped into a coma but briefly awoke and reportedly spoke his last words to his wife, “Now we can cross the Shifting Sands.” He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California. Following early film treatments in 1910 and 1925 and Baum’s own venture The Oz Film Manufacturing Company, Metro Goldwyn Mayer made the story into the now classic movie The Wizard of Oz (1939), starring Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale. The film was given an all-a-dream ending which differs from the book. A completely new Tony Award-winning Broadway musical with an African-American cast, The Wiz, was staged in 1975 with Stephanie Mills as Dorothy. It was the basis for a 1978 film by the same title starring Diana Ross as an adult Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. The Wizard of Oz continues to inspire new versions, such as Disney’s Return to Oz (1985), The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz, Tin Man (a re-imagining of the story televised in late 2007 on the Sci Fi Channel), and a variety of animated productions. Today’s most successful Broadway show, Wicked, provides a backstory to the two Oz witches used in the classic MGM film. Gregory Maguire, author of the novel, Wicked, on which the musical is based, chose to honor Baum by naming his main character Elphaba, a phonetic take on Baum’s initials. The film Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) serves as an homage to MGM’s film, and stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams. Other notable Final Footprints at Forest Lawn Glendale include; Humphrey Bogart, Lon Chaney, Nat King Cole, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jean Harlow, Sam Cooke, Walt Disney, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Michael Jackson, Carole Lombard, Tom Mix, Casey Stengel, Jimmy Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor, and Spencer Tracy.
On this day in 1992, Oscar nominated actress and singer, Marlene Dietrich died of renal failure in Paris at the age of 90. Born Maria Magdalene Dietrich on 27 December 1901 in Schöneberg, a district of Berlin, Germany. She appeared in over 70 movies and was known for her glamour and her beauty. She became a U. S. citizen in 1939. Dietrich raised war bonds and performed in USO tours and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by the US in 1947. She said that this was her proudest accomplishment. She was also awarded the Légion d’honneur by the French government as recognition for her wartime work. Dietrich married once to Rudolf Sieber (1897-1976 his death). Dietrich allegedly had affairs with writer Erich Maria Remarque, Gary Cooper, Yul Brynner, George Bernard Shaw, and John F. Kennedy.
The Final Footprint – Napoleon was initially entombed on St. Helena in the Valley of the Willows. In 1840, King of the French Louis Philippe I obtained permission from the British to return Napoleon’s remains to France. The remains were transported aboard the frigate Belle-Poule, which had been painted black for the occasion, and on 29 November she arrived in Cherbourg. The remains were transferred to the steamship Normandie, which transported them to Le Havre, up the Seine to Rouen and on to Paris. On 15 December, a state funeral was held. The hearse proceeded from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs-Élysées, across the Place de la Concorde to the Esplanade des Invalides and then to the cupola in St Jérôme’s Chapel, where it stayed until the tomb designed by Louis Visconti was completed. In 1861, Napoleon’s remains were entombed in a porphyry sarcophagus in the crypt under the dome at Les Invalides, the burial sight for some of France’s war heroes including a memorial to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
