Tennessee Williams

Posted in Calvary Cemetery (MO) with tags , , on March 20, 2013 by Cade

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March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983

Thomas Lanier Williams was an American writer who is primarily known for his plays The Glass Menagerie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire, among others. After a staggeringly successful run that saw at least 10 of his plays produced on Broadway, his career and personal life started a steady downward spiral.  Following the death of his long-time partner, Williams struggled with depression and addiction to alcohol and narcotics.  Though he continued to write throughout his life, his style mirrored his mood and his later work was never as well-received as his early work. Continue reading →

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Cyd Charisse and Tony Martin

Posted in Hillside Memorial Park with tags , , on March 19, 2013 by Cade

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March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008

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December 25, 1913 – July 27, 2012

Actress/dancer Cyd Charisse and crooner Tony Martin were married for 60 years, a rarity for a Hollywood couple.

Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea) had a storied career throughout the so-called Golden-Age of Hollywood.  Her stunning looks and remarkable dancing made her a popular star.  She is probably most known to audiences for her turn opposite Gene Kelly in the “Broadway Melody Ballet” in 1952’s Singin’ In The Rain.

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Elvis Presley

Posted in Graceland with tags , , on March 19, 2013 by Cade

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January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977

Elvis Aaron Presley was a little-known singer/songwriter who struggled his entire career to find an audience.

OR…perhaps it’s more accurate to say that he was one of the biggest pop-phenomena in the history of the world.

The “King of Rock and Roll” – a title that barely scratches his impact on popular music –  was a talented singer, actor and hip-jiggler who starred in more than 30 movies and had over 35 number one singles.  His rise to stardom, at the perfect intersection of time, history and relevance  ushered in a new era of music that was both ground-breaking and controversial.  He paved the way for nearly every rock and roll artist to follow.  He was simply without peer.

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James Naismith

Posted in Memorial Park Cemetery (KS) with tags , , , on March 18, 2013 by Cade

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November 6, 1861 – November 28, 1939

Canadian-born James Naismith was a physical educator, coach and inventor. He is most remembered for inventing the game of basketball at a Massachusetts YMCA in 1891. Naismith then went on to become the first basketball coach at the University of Kansas. He famously told his successor, Forest “Phog” Allen, that you “can’t coach basketball; you just play it.”  He was partially right.  HE wasn’t that great at coaching it.  He retired with a 55–60 career record.

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Nat King Cole

Posted in Forest Lawn Glendale with tags , , on March 17, 2013 by Cade

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March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965

Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Alabama, raised in Chicago, and, from an early age, began a long career in music that would lead to him becoming one of the most recognizable voices of the 20th century.  Nat dropped the “s” from his last name and picked up the nursery-rhyme-inspired middle name “King” and burst his buttery-voiced way into the Big Band, Jazz and Pop music worlds. Also a gifted pianist, Cole made a lasting impact with such mega-hits as “Unforgettable,” “L-O-V-E” and “The Christmas Song.” He was also the first African-American to host his own television variety program, The Nat King Cole Show.

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Eddie Albert

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , , on March 15, 2013 by Cade

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April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005

Green Acres is the place for me. 
Fa-arm livin’ is the life for me. 
Land spreadin’ out so far and wide 
Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside…  Continue reading →

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Eva Gabor

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , on March 15, 2013 by Cade

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February 11, 1919 – July 04, 1995

…New York is where I’d rather stay. 
I get allergic smelling hay. 
I just adore a penthouse view. 
Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue. Continue reading →

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Billie Holiday

Posted in St. Raymond's Cemetery with tags , , on March 15, 2013 by Cade

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April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959

A revolutionary Jazz vocalist known to many as “Lady Day,” Billie Holiday had no equal.  Her life was filled with hardship and drama from the beginning:

Underage prostitution? Check.
Drugs and alcohol? Check.
Abusive relationships? Check.
Married to a mafia enforcer? Check.
Arrested in a drug raid of her hospital room as she lay dying? Check.

She crammed a lot of life, both good and bad, into 44 brief years.

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Jack Haley

Posted in Holy Cross Cemetery (CA) with tags , , on March 15, 2013 by Cade

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August 10, 1898 – June 6, 1979

I’m not going to say that Jack Haley wouldn’t have had a career if Buddy Ebsen didn’t almost die from a reaction to aluminum-based make-up…but he certainly wouldn’t have been AS famous.  Probably.  I don’t know.  Jack had a pretty decent career as a song-and-dance man/comedian.  He starred in such musicals as Alexander’s Ragtime Band and Poor Little Rich Girl.  But none of them came close to as big as his accidental role as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz.  It’s true, though, he did replace TV’s Jed Clampett in the iconic role when Ebsen had a serious reaction to the metallic paint in the costume and make-up.  The rest is history.

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Dinah Shore

Posted in Hillside Memorial Park with tags , on March 15, 2013 by Cade

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February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994

One of the most popular Big Band-era female vocalists, Frances Rose “Dinah” Shore was probably most known for her later work in television – specifically The Ed Wynn Show, Colgate Comedy Hour and a number of self-titled variety programs. She worked with everyone from Bob Hope to Nat “King” Cole, Bing Crosby, Jack Lemmon and Ella Fitzgerald – racking up an impressive number of Emmys along the way.

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