Dorothy Stratten

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , on February 14, 2014 by Cade

stratten1February 28, 1960 – August 14, 1980

Hollywood. Amiright?

Dorothy Stratten was smack in the middle of her Hollywood dream (by way of becoming Playboy’s Playmate of the Year) when she was murdered by the very man who had hitched his way on her coattails all the way from Vancouver. She had turned her popularity from the men’s magazine into a budding film career and even found herself in a relationship with a real-life Hollywood director. Of course, her jealous (and unstable) husband didn’t like that, so he did what any rational person would do: killed her and himself with a shotgun after an argument about money and divorce.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Buddy Rich

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , , on February 14, 2014 by Cade

rich1September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987

Bernard “Buddy” Rich played the drums. He played the drums really, really well. He had a temper. He (allegedly) liked to fire musicians in the middle of sets if the need arose. He played with all the big names like Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. He also led his own bands. And he had a bit of a temper.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Frank Zappa

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , on February 14, 2014 by Cade

zappa1December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993

Frank Vincent Zappa was an influential, experimental musician who broke onto the popular music scene with his band’s (the Mothers of Invention) 1966 album Freak Out! Zappa’s style defied category as his works and compositions included rock, jazz and classical elements. His music drew on influences from everything from R&B to jazz. Over the course of his almost 40 year career, he experimented with sound and quietly influenced countless musicians that would follow. Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Russell Stover

Posted in Mt. Moriah Cemetery with tags on February 14, 2014 by Cade

stover1May 6, 1888 – May 11, 1954

Candy magnate, Russell Stover was a chemist who revolutionized the chocolate candy industry. He was the first to create a chocolate confection that would harden when it came in contact with cold – inventing the Eskimo Pie – and founded the chocolate company that bears his name. Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Dan Quisenberry

Posted in Mt. Moriah Cemetery with tags , , on February 7, 2014 by Cade

quis1February 7, 1953 – September 30, 1998

The giant scoreboard that towers over center field at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium said it best throughout the 1980’s. When Dan Quisenberry – the closer with the unmistakable submarine delivery – entered the game, a graphic appeared that read: “There’s no berry like a Quisenberry.”

Dan Quisenberry was one of the most dominant closing pitchers in the American League all through the early ’80’s. He set the single-season saves record 5 times and retired with a total of 244 saves. Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Paul Revere

Posted in Granary Burial Ground with tags on January 21, 2014 by Cade

revere2December 21, 1734 – May 10, 1818

“The Midnight Ride” of Paul Revere is one of the most famous moments in American history. Revere, a Boston silversmith, alerted the colonial militias – along with fellow-Patriot, William Dawes – that the British army was mobilizing toward the caches of weapons in Concord. His warning prefaced the first skirmishes in the American Revolutionary War. It was immortalized by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and has become nothing short of legend in the States. Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Sonny Liston

Posted in Davis Memorial Park with tags , on December 30, 2013 by Cade

liston1May 8, 1932* – December 30, 1970

Charles “Sonny” Liston was the Heavyweight Champion of the world in 1962. Liston beat Floyd Patterson in a mostly unexpected knockout to gain the title. Sonny’s reputed mob connections delayed the fight for for years, but he proved his worth in the ring with a lightning fast knockout in the first round. Liston’s attempts at defending his title against some guy named “Ali” proved unsuccessful and, after two consecutive losses to him, Liston lost and never regained the title. Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Sammy Cahn

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , on December 30, 2013 by Cade

cahn1June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993

Sammy Cahn – born Samuel Cohen in New York City – was a Academy Award winning songwriter and lyricist. Known for popular songs like “Three Coins in the Fountain,” “All the Way,” “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” and “Come Fly With Me” (among countless others), he was famous for his collaborations with stars like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Doris Day. His songs were made popular on film, stage, radio and television. Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Eddie Cantor

Posted in Hillside Memorial Park with tags on December 30, 2013 by Cade

cantor1January 31, 1892* – October 10, 1964

Edward Israel Iskowitz, aka Eddie Cantor, was an actor, comedian and performer known universally by the amazing nickname “Banjo Eyes.” Cantor got his start – like so many – on the Vaudeville stages as a youth (often appearing with a young Jimmy Durante) and moved through the familiar route of Broadway>Radio>Television/Film. He suffered a number of professional setbacks. Cantor lost much of his wealth in the stock market crash of 1929 and was later ostracized for speaking out against popular anti-semitic sentiment. Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

William S. Burroughs

Posted in Bellefontaine Cemetery with tags , , , on December 26, 2013 by Cade

burroughs1February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997

William Seward Burroughs II was a highly influential and controversial American writer of novels, essays, short stories and poems. His love of subversion and satire coupled with his outlandish personal experiences made him one of the more colorful and unique voices of the 20th Century. A prominent member/founder of the Beat movement, his most famous works include Naked Lunch, Junkie and Queer. Burroughs was well involved with fellow Beats Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, at times living with one or the other in various New York and Paris locales. He was also big into drugs. Like heavy, heroin and morphine-type drugs. Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »