Archive for October, 2013

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Milton Berle

Posted in Hillside Memorial Park on October 11, 2013 by Cade

berle1July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002

Milton Berle. Uncle Miltie. Mr. Television.

Milton Berle was arguably TV’s first great star.  The actor/comedian who got his start as a kid in silent pictures and on vaudeville, rose through the ranks of stage and radio to become the host of NBC’s Texaco Star Theater where he translated the outrageous costumes and slapstick of his youth into a brand new, visual medium: television. America ate it up. Throughout the 1950’s, Berle hosted a variety of versions of the show. In 1951, NBC signed him to a 30-year contract. A little long-sighted, maybe. By the ’60’s his popularity had declined, but he was still able to perform in Las Vegas and in films with a good deal of success. What followed then was a career of guest appearances and upstaging others wherever and whenever possible. Continue reading →

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Rosalind Russell

Posted in Holy Cross Cemetery with tags , on October 9, 2013 by Cade

russell1June 4, 1907 – November 28, 1976

Multiple Golden Globe and Tony Award winner, Rosalind Russell, was a versatile character actress who made a career out of playing both comedic and dramatic roles. Russell was known for her portrayal of professional-types and was rarely cast as a sex symbol. Her career highlights included films such as His Girl Friday, Mourning Becomes Electra and The Trouble With Angels and stage hits like Auntie Mame and Wonderful Town. In addition to the aforementioned awards, she was also nominated for an Academy Award twice. Continue reading →

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Richard Dawson

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , , on October 9, 2013 by Cade

dawson1November 20, 1932 – June 2, 2012

Richard Dawson (born Colin Emm in England) was a television personality best known for his role in Hogan’s Heroes opposite Bob Crane, and as the host of the game show Family Feud from 1976 to 1985. Dawson appeared on a number of other TV shows including guest spots on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Odd Couple and made regular appearances on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. He was a panelist on the 1970’s version of the Match Game, which led to his being brought on to host Family Feud. Continue reading →

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Hunter S. Thompson

Posted in Cremated with tags , on October 9, 2013 by Cade

thompson1July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005

Hunter Stockton Thompson was a writer and journalist, sure. But, let’s not pretend like he was your average, run-of-the-mill cub reporter. Thompson rose to the public eye after spending a year living and traveling with the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gangs. He wrote about the experience and launched what he would refer to from that point on as “Gonzo” journalism. That is, not just reporting the story, but becoming a part of the story. He went on to write his greatest works in this manner. Most notably in his most popular book, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. 

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Henry David Thoreau

Posted in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (MA) with tags , , , , on October 9, 2013 by Cade

thoreau1July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach,”

Henry David Thoreau is best remembered as a writer of poems, essays and books and for his leadership in the Transcendentalist movement. He famously removed himself from the grid – if such a thing existed in the 1800’s – and wrote about his intentionally simple life in the woods in his most popular work. Walden. But nothing about him was “simple.” Continue reading →

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Ayn Rand

Posted in Kensico Cemetery with tags , on October 9, 2013 by Cade

rand2February 2, 1905 – March 6, 1982

Little Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, moved to the United States at the age of 20, wrote some plays, some books, became an armchair philosopher and, some 80 years later, died.

Of course, simplifying Ayn Rand’s life isn’t fair. So, I’ll expand a bit. Most of her early writings were met with limited success, but she made a splash in 1943 with The Fountainhead. This sprawling 700-page philosophical novel earned her international acclaim and was made into a feature film. She followed it up with, arguably, her most famous book, Atlas Shrugged, an even MORE sprawling 1100-page dystopian philosophical mystery-romance. Both novels put her on the literary map. She devoted herself from that point forward to a personal philosophy she referred to as Objectivism – a theme and subject she would promote and explore the rest of her life.

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Truman Capote

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , on October 8, 2013 by Cade

capote1September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984

Born Truman Streckfus Persons, Truman Capote was an author whose body of work covered a very wide spectrum of style and subject matter. He is perhaps best known for his fictionalized re-telling of a grisly Kansas murder In Cold Blood and his much lighter novella-turned-Hollywood-smash Breakfast At Tiffany’s. Capote himself was a somewhat eccentric and odd fellow whose distinctive high-pitched voice and unique fashion sense helped build up a sort of character all on its own. Capote also dealt with both drug and alcohol addiction throughout his life. Continue reading →

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Nathaniel Hawthorne

Posted in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (MA) with tags , , on October 8, 2013 by Cade

hawthorne1July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864

Nathaniel Hathorne was born – without a ‘w’ – on July 4th, 1804 (U.S.A! U.S.A!) in Salem, Massachusetts. As in, “1690’s Witch Trial” Salem. This detail would factor greatly into his life. He was related to one of the judges in the infamous trials (he would later change his name to ‘Hawthorne’ to distance himself from this fact) and spent most of his life in and around New England. Because of this, most of the works that Hawthorne created were set in New England. But it was his novels The Scarlet Letter – set in pre-witch trial, Puritanical Salem – and The House of Seven Gables – also set, implicitly, in Salem – for which he is most widely regarded. Hawthorne explored themes of guilt and sin and deep symbolism in his novels and short stories. He also wrote non-fiction, including a biography of U.S. President and friend, Franklin Pierce.

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Ray Bradbury

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , on October 7, 2013 by Cade

bradbury1August 22, 1920 – June 5, 2012

Perhaps one of the most important Fantasy and Science Fiction writers of the 20th Century,1 Ray Bradbury thrilled and challenged readers throughout his 70 year career. His seminal dystopian work, Fahrenheit 451, is a staple in American high schools. Bradbury called on a wealth of influences ranging from Aldous Huxley to William Shakespeare to create numerous other works like Something Wicked This Way Comes and The Martian Chronicles. His works have been adapted into films, television shows and even comic books and was a mainstay in the Sci-Fi convention circuit for decades. At the age of 91, Bradbury died in his home in Los Angeles. Continue reading →

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Herman Melville

Posted in Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx) with tags , on October 7, 2013 by Cade

melville1August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891

…for there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men.

Herman Melville enjoyed a modest amount of success as a writer in the first half of the 19th Century.  But, it was his novel about a man obsessed with a white whale that wrote his name into the history books…even if it was not celebrated fully until after his death.  Moby Dick; or, The Whale is the epic story of a sea captain wrestling with hate and madness and the crew who are dragged along on his vengeful pursuit. It is one of the titans of classic American literature and has given us over 150 years of analogy, characters and great names and archetypes like Ahab, Ishmael and Queequeg. And, I guess rather directly, it’s also responsible for Starbucks. So…yay, books!

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