Paul Gleason

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , on March 19, 2019 by Cade

May 4, 1939 – May 27, 2006

Paul Gleason was an aspiring baseball player who – with the help of Ozzie Nelson – stumbled into a career in acting. As he was known to do, Nelson offered the young ballplayer a guest spot on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and Gleason was bitten by the acting bug. Gleason’s most notable roles included stints on the television shows All My Children and Boy Meets World. But, he’s perhaps most widely recognized for film roles in classic ’80s movies like Die Hard, Trading Places and The Breakfast Club. His memorable portrayal of assistant principal Richard Vernon in The Breakfast Club cemented his place in pop culture history. Gleason continued to work in TV and movies for years before he succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 67. Continue reading →

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Fay Wray

Posted in Hollywood Forever Cemetery with tags , on March 15, 2019 by Cade

September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004

One could do worse than to be associated with a giant ape for the last 70 years of one’s life. Throughout the 1920s, Vina Fay Wray was an up-and-coming starlet under contract with Paramount Pictures where she made more than a dozen films and successfully navigated the dreaded transition from “silents” to “talkies.” When her Paramount contract was up, Wray shopped around and eventually signed movie deals with a number of other studios, including RKO pictures. It was with RKO that she shot to stardom as the ultimate damsel in distress in 1933’s seminal horror film King Kong. She followed Kong up with a lifetime of credits. Continue reading →

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George Jessel

Posted in Hillside Memorial Park with tags , , on March 11, 2019 by Cade

April 3, 1898 – May 23, 1981

Known as the “Toastmaster General,” vaudevillian funnyman, George Jessel, took his stage act to Hollywood in the 1920s. Over the course of his 60 year career, he appeared in radio, film and television in addition to recording songs and producing dozens of movies. His affable wit made him a popular emcee and he hosted a number of banquets and roasts for organizations like the Friars Club and the U.S.O. In 1925, he starred in the Broadway stage version of The Jazz Singer and caught the eye of Warner Bros. execs who decided to produce it as the first ever “talking” film. Jessel apparently demanded too much money to be in the movie and the role eventually and famously went to Al Jolson. Continue reading →

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Andrew Koenig

Posted in Hollywood Forever Cemetery with tags , on March 5, 2019 by Cade

August 17, 1968 – February 16, 2010

Joshua Andrew Koenig was an actor, writer and activist. The son of Star Trek star, Walter Koenig, Andrew was most widely recognized for his portrayal of the lovable (and dim) Richard “Boner” Stabone for 4 seasons on the hit 1980s sitcom, Growing Pains. The remainder of his career saw him appearing on stage and working on independent films, voice over projects and behind the scenes as writer, director and editor on a number of projects. Koenig became heavily involved in the U.S. Campaign for Burma and often publicly protested China’s treatment of the Burmese people. Andrew battled severe depression for most of his life. Continue reading →

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Peter Finch

Posted in Hollywood Forever Cemetery with tags , on February 22, 2019 by Cade

September 28, 1916 – January 14, 1977

Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch was mad as hell and he wasn’t going to take it anymore. The British-born, Australian actor’s 40 year career saw him on stages and screens in Australia, England and the U.S. His international breakthrough was opposite Audrey Hepburn in 1959’s The Nun’s Story for which he earned his third (of seven) BAFTA award nomination. In the end, he won five BAFTA awards and was twice nominated for an Academy Award: for 1971’s Sunday Bloody Sunday and 1976’s Network. It was in Network where Finch delivered one of the most memorable speeches in film history: the infamous “Mad as Hell” speech. The performance garnered rave reviews and attention. Ten weeks before the 1977 Oscars telecast – and the day after appearing on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show – Finch suffered a fatal heart attack in the lobby of a Beverly Hills hotel. He won the Oscar posthumously becoming the first actor to ever do so. Continue reading →

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David Janssen

Posted in Hillside Memorial Park with tags , on February 12, 2019 by Cade

March 27, 1931 – February 13, 1980

Beloved television and film actor, David Janssen, starred in a number of television shows in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, but is most widely recognized as Dr. Richard Kimble in the original TV series, The Fugitive. In movies, he appeared alongside stars like Audie Murphy and John Wayne. In 1977, he played an alcoholic opposite Angie Dickinson in the made-for-TV movie A Sensitive, Passionate Man. Hey, speaking of alcohol…after years of heavy drinking and smoking, Janssen suffered a massive heart attack in his sleep and died. He was 48 years old. Continue reading →

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Doris Roberts

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , on February 8, 2019 by Cade

November 4, 1925 – April 17, 2016

Doris May Green was a stage, film and television actress whose biggest fame came from playing Marie Barone on the long-running sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. Over the course of her career, Roberts (having adopted her stepfather’s surname) earned 5 Emmys and a Screen Actors Guild award to go along with numerous other nominations. Prior to Raymond, she appeared in recurring roles on Remington Steele and St. Elsewhere and guest starred on dozens of other shows. She also appeared in more than 30 films including 1989’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. She was a tireless advocate for animal rights and childhood AIDS causes. At the age of 90, Doris died in her sleep following a stroke. Continue reading →

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Mark Goodson

Posted in Hillside Memorial Park with tags on February 7, 2019 by Cade

January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992

Television producer, Mark Goodson – along with his longtime partner, Bill Todman – produced ALL the game shows.

Well, maybe not all of them, but…let’s just say…most. Anyone familiar with American television game shows has heard of his biggest hits: The Price is Right, Password, Match Game, Family Feud, What’s My Line?, etc. etc. From their first show, 1948’s Winner Take All to long running shows that are still on today, Goodson’s Emmy-winning imprint on daytime television has been unrivaled for 60 years and counting. Goodson died at the age of 77 of pancreatic cancer. Continue reading →

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Monty Hall

Posted in Hillside Memorial Park with tags , on February 1, 2019 by Cade

August 25, 1921 – September 30, 2017

Monty Hall is one of three game show hosts to have both a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Canada’s Walk of Fame. Born Monte Halparin in Winnipeg, Hall got his start in radio and eventually made his way to Toronto, New York and then to Los Angeles. He presented and hosted game shows in both radio and television, ultimately co-creating and hosting the landmark TV game show Let’s Make a Deal which ran for 13 years (and another 13+ in syndication.) Hall created other game shows throughout his career and was involved in the 2009 reboot of Deal hosted by Wayne Brady and he worked tirelessly for philanthropic causes and charities for decades. At the age of 96, Monty died of heart failure in his home just a few months after losing his wife of nearly 70 years.

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Eydie Gormé

Posted in Hillside Memorial Park with tags , on January 29, 2019 by Cade

August 16, 1928 – August 10, 2013

Edith Gormezano, known by her professional name, Eydie Gormé, was a successful and award-winning pop and Latin singer whose nearly 60-year career scored hits all around the world. For much of her career, she performed with fellow singer and husband, Steve Lawrence, whom she met while working on Steve Allen’s Tonight Show in the 1950s. Steve and Eydie recorded dozens of albums together, but also worked heavily as solo artists. Eydie’s biggest hit was 1963’s “Blame It on the Bossa Nova” which reached No. 7 on the U.S. pop charts. Having grown up in a multilingual home, she recorded five albums in Spanish with the internationally renowned bolero trio, Los Panchos. Continue reading →

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