Archive for Actors

Norman Fell

Posted in Mt. Sinai Memorial Park with tags , , on April 27, 2013 by Cade

Portrait of Actor Norman Fell

March 24, 1924 – December 14, 1998

Norman Fell was a well-loved character actor who made appearances in many films including Catch-22, The Graduate, It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and the original Ocean’s 11 (the one with Sinatra and co.) But, he is most known to television audiences as half of the original landlord couple, Stanley and Helen Roper, on the ’70s hit, Three’s Company.  Even after the disastrous spin-off, The Ropers, people still loved Norman.  He continued to work in TV and film and even reprised Mr. Roper on an episode of Ellen a year before his death. Continue reading

Rita Hayworth

Posted in Holy Cross Cemetery (CA) with tags , on April 27, 2013 by Cade

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October 17, 1918 – May 14, 1987

Actress, dancer and all-around bombshell, Rita Hayworth, captivated Hollywood audiences throughout the 1940s and ’50s. Glamorous and talented, she was the quintessential Golden-era beauty. Her personal life was quite public and tremendously busy.  She once quipped that men “fell in love with [her iconic character] Gilda, but they wake up with me.”  She was married five times, including to actor/director Orson Welles and Prince Aly Khan.  Rita struggled with alcohol most of her life. She died from complications from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 68. Continue reading

Karl Malden

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , , on April 26, 2013 by Cade

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March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009

Mladen George Sekulovich was born in Chicago into a Serbian family. At the age of 22, he changed his name to Karl Malden and embarked on a 60 year film career that gave us iconic movies like A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, Gypsy and How the West Was Won.  Malden also worked in television and notably hawked American Express cards in the ’70’s and ’80’s. Continue reading

David Carradine

Posted in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills with tags , , on April 26, 2013 by Cade

Obit Carradine

December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009

He was Caine.  He was Bill.  He was the Barefoot Legend.

A prominent pop-culture figure, actor and martial artist David Carradine’s career spanned decades in television, film and even music. He is probably best known for his role in the TV series, Kung Fu, and to younger audiences, as the titular boss/revenge target in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies.

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Charles Bronson

Posted in Brownsville Cemetery with tags , , on April 21, 2013 by Cade

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November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003

Born Charles Dennis Buchinsky, Charles Bronson was a classic Hollywood tough guy.  In addition to starring turns in such iconic movies as The Dirty Dozen, The Magnificent SevenThe Great Escape and Death Wish, he was also a B-29 gunner in World War II. He received a Purple Heart.  He was a total badass.

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Ricardo Montalbán

Posted in Holy Cross Cemetery (CA) with tags , , , on April 8, 2013 by Cade

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November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009

Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro “KHAAAANNN!” Montalbán y Merino, the Mexican-born actor who literally invented a fake type of leather, was probably best known to American television audiences as the charming Mr. Roarke on the 1970’s-’80’s ABC series, Fantasy Island. Of course, hanging out in trippy paradise with Hervé Villechaize wasn’t Montalbán’s only claim to fame. He also rose to pop-culture infamy by portraying Khan in both the TV and motion picture versions of Star Trek. Continue reading

Brittany Murphy

Posted in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills with tags , , on April 6, 2013 by Cade

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November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009

A performer most of her short life, Brittany Murphy moved to California from New Jersey at the age of 13.  She found roles in both television and movies with her breakout role being the character Tai in 1995’s Clueless. Murphy went on to star in a number of other box office successes such as 8 Mile, Sin City, Girl, Interrupted and Just Married (with one-time boyfriend, Ashton Kutcher.)  She also did some notable voice-over work (King of the Hill, Happy Feet) and had a pretty decent singing career.

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Brandon Lee

Posted in Lake View Cemetery with tags , on March 31, 2013 by Cade

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February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993

Brandon Lee was an actor whose life and career were both cut short during the filming of what would be his breakout role, 1994’s The Crow. The son of legendary martial artist/actor, Bruce Lee, Brandon was on the cusp of Hollywood stardom when he was killed after a prop gun on the set accidentally fired a bullet that was unknowingly lodged in the barrel. Given the mysterious circumstances surrounding his father’s death some 20 years earlier, many cried conspiracy or, at the very least, some sort of familial curse. Continue reading

Farrah Fawcett

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , , on March 23, 2013 by Cade

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February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009

Few women defined “sex-symbol” in the late 1970’s the way Farrah Fawcett did.  After appearing in small roles on a number of television shows and movies, she shot to superstardom when she was cast in Aaron Spelling’s Charlie’s Angels. Farrah left the show to pursue other Hollywood opportunities, but never fully reproduced the success she had on Angels.  She also starred in a pretty famous poster.

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Joan Crawford

Posted in Ferncliff Cemetery with tags , on March 23, 2013 by Cade

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March 23, 1904 – May 10, 1977

Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur) was one of Hollywood’s brightest stars in the 1930’s.  Her meteoric rise from “flapper” to sliver screen legend paved the way for a roller coaster of a life.  Her motion picture career stalled out and was revived a number of times over its course. She died a recluse in 1977 at the age of 73.

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