Archive for June, 2022

Ava Gardner

Posted in Sunset Memorial Park with tags , on June 20, 2022 by Cade

December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990

“She can’t sing, she can’t act, she can’t talk, she’s terrific!”
– Louis B. Mayer

In 1946, movie audiences were properly introduced to Hollywood’s newest femme fatale when Robert Siodmak’s The Killers opened. The film noir classic was the screen debut of Burt Lancaster…and it was the first time audiences really got to see and know Ava Gardner.

Discovered by a peripheral MGM talent scout thanks to her portrait being displayed in a New York City photo studio window, young Ava – who had never even thought about acting – suddenly found herself with a contract in hand in Los Angeles. She learned her trade with bit parts at MGM and worked with acting and dialect coaches to overcome her heavy North Carolina drawl. Five years of toiling in dozens of pictures and improving her talents finally led to a leading role in The Killers and audiences loved her.

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Leon Wilkeson

Posted in Riverside Memorial Park with tags , , on June 13, 2022 by Cade

April 2, 1952 – July 27, 2001

Known by all those who worked with him as the “Mad Hatter,” Leon Wilkeson was the longest-tenured bass player for the band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He was briefly part of an early Skynyrd prototype led by fellow classmate and lead singer, Ronnie Van Zant, but was not part of the actual founding of the group. He officially joined in 1972 after original bassist Larry Junstrom left, but got spooked by the prospect of fame that was dancing on the band’s doorstep. His absence was brief, though, and he rejoined when it was decided that bassist Ed King better served the band as one of the 3 guitarists. Skynyrd had its crazy-hat-wearing bass player back and the fame that Wilkeson wasn’t so sure about…found them.

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Larry Junstrom

Posted in Jacksonville Memory Gardens with tags , , , on June 6, 2022 by Cade

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June 22, 1949 – October 5, 2019

Larry “LJ” Junstrom met Ronnie Van Zant when the two were teenagers in Jacksonville, Florida. When Van Zant (along with Bob Burns, Gary Rossington and Allen Collins) wanted to form a band, Junstrom eagerly joined on bass. The band would become legendary rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd. LJ played with Skynyrd throughout the early years, but left in 1971, just prior to the recording of their first album…and their subsequent stardom. Fortunately for him, another Van Zant would also end up looking for a bass player a few years later.

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