M. de Voltaire

Posted in The Pantheon with tags on December 11, 2023 by Cade

November 21, 1694 – May 30, 1778

There’s a part of me that just wants to list pop-culture references to Voltaire and move on. Considering his name has been bandied around as an indirect punchline in everything from Les Misérables to Swingers, it would be easy enough. The name alone has become shorthand for philosophy the way “Shakespeare” has become a snarky characterization for someone who writes or “Einstein” has for someone who thinks they’re smart.

But alas, the point of this blog is to outline the person, not the caricature. So, François-Marie “Zozo” Arouet was born into low-nobility in Paris at the end of the 17th century. Educated by Jesuits and forced to hold desk jobs by his father, all young Zozo wanted to do in life was write.

And write, he did.

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Douglas Adams

Posted in Highgate Cemetery with tags , on December 4, 2023 by Cade

March 11, 1952 – May 11, 2001

Lying on his back in a field in Austria, drunkenly staring up at the vast universe of stars above him, humorist and writer, Douglas Adams, had a thought that would change his life forever. He was traveling through Austria with a book entitled Hitch-hiker’s Guide to Europe and he suddenly thought how interesting it would be to write a similar guidebook…for the entire galaxy.

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Robert Browning

Posted in Westminster Abbey with tags , , on November 27, 2023 by Cade

May 07, 1812 – December 12, 1889

Robert Browning was one of the leading poets and writers in Victorian England. Specializing in long-form poems and dramatic monologues, Browning directly influenced generations of writers ranging from Oscar Wilde to Ezra Pound to Stephen King. In addition to poems like The Pied Piper of Hamelin, My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover, he also wrote a number of plays and songs. 1869’s verse novel The Ring and the Book was his most successful and lucrative work during his lifetime and earned him international acclaim.

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Jean Simmons

Posted in Highgate Cemetery with tags , on November 20, 2023 by Cade

January 31, 1929 – January 22, 2010

British actress Jean Simmons was most widely known for her award-winning roles in classic films like Elmer Gantry and Guys and Dolls, as well as her appearance in other unforgettable movies like 1960’s epic Spartacus. She appeared in the noir classic, Angel Face, opposite Robert Mitchum and was well-represented later in her career on television in everything from The Odd Couple to her monumental turn in the 1983 miniseries, The Thorn Birds.

She was not, however it may sound, the singer and bass player for the American rock band, KISS.

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Georges Bizet

Posted in Père Lachaise Cemetery with tags , on November 13, 2023 by Cade

October 25, 1838 – June 03, 1875

Georges Bizet had all the hallmarks of the stereotypical Romantic composer in 19th Century Europe: He showed genius from an early age. He struggled financially. He shunned religious themes in his work. He didn’t make it to the age of 40…

Bizet’s career, though brief, was full of promise. While he really only has one enduring masterwork (1875’s opéra comique, Carmen) he left behind a number of other memorable scores and compositions like L’Arlésienne and Symphony in C Major. Carmen wasn’t his only opera, of course – he wrote more than a dozen – but it was his final triumph.
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Jean-Pierre Rampal

Posted in Montparnasse Cemetery with tags , on November 6, 2023 by Cade

January 07, 1922 – May 20, 2000

Quick! Name a French flautist more famous than Jean-Pierre Rampal.

Marcel Moyse? Please.

René Le Roy? Nice try.

Georges Barrère? Maybe. But did Barrère ever guest star on The Muppet Show?

I didn’t think so.

Literally born to play the flute, Jean-Pierre Rampal was the son of Joseph Rampal, himself a famous French flautist who studied alongside the likes of Moyse and Le Roy. The younger Rampal started studying the instrument at the age of 12 and only went on to globally re-popularize its use as a classical solo instrument in the decades after World War II. Let’s see René and Marcel do that!

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Tammi Terrell

Posted in Mount Lawn Cemetery with tags , , , on October 30, 2023 by Cade

April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970

This particular post should be a thrilling tale of resilience and overcoming incomprehensible adversity. It should be a celebration of the long and extraordinary career of a talented superstar.

It should be.

But life, as we know too well, is not always as it should be. Tammi Terrell was born Thomasina Montgomery in Philadelphia. The young girl loved to sing. She found solace in her music in defiance of the mounting horrors of her teenage years. Despite surviving a vicious sexual assault, Terrell remained focused and by the time she was 15, she had signed her first recording contract.

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Laurence Olivier

Posted in Westminster Abbey with tags , on October 23, 2023 by Cade

May 22, 1907 – July 11, 1989

Despite his legendary reputation, nothing came easy for Laurence Olivier during his 65 years in the business known as “Show.” Spurred to pursue acting by his father, young Laurence eventually settled into a stage career – often shunning work in film and (eventually) television – for the live artform he felt allowed him to shine brightest. Alongside friend, Ralph Richardson, and rival, John Gielgud, Olivier is regarded as one the greatest actors of his generation.

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Karl Marx

Posted in Highgate Cemetery with tags , on October 16, 2023 by Cade

May 05, 1818 – March 14, 1883

Love him, loathe him or just plain ignore him, it’s impossible to disregard the profound impact Karl Marx has had on the modern world. As a philosopher, economist and political theorist, his ideas of working class revolution as a means of stabilizing the corruption and imbalance he saw in capitalist society have influenced countless people – from idealistic students to full-on political rulers – over the past 150 years.

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Geoffrey Chaucer

Posted in Westminster Abbey with tags , , on October 9, 2023 by Cade

circa 1340s – October 25, 1400

Geoffrey Chaucer is one of the earliest English poets and writers whose works and legacy endure into modern times. He spent much of his life in or adjacent to the royal court thanks to his father’s position in London. Due to his life in public service, much was recorded officially about Chaucer which is why we know so much about him more than 600 years later.

Born into a family of winemakers, Chaucer served – among other stations – as page to the Countess of Ulster, who married the son of King Edward III. He served as part of the English army during the Hundred Years’ War. And, most notably to most high school students in English-speaking literature classes…he wrote really long poems.

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