Archive for Some Like It Hot

George Raft

Posted in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills with tags , , on December 16, 2013 by Cade

raft1September 26, 1895 – November 24, 1980

Some people are typecast from birth. For George Raft (Ranft), he was born to play a gangster. The rugged character actor was also an adept dancer and was a solid box office draw during his early career. But, when you are even friends with legit gangsters in real life, sometimes the image is hard to shake. Still, he turned it to his advantage, appearing opposite other perennial screen gangsters like Jimmy Cagney, he was poised to break through to be one of the biggest leading men of his generation. Continue reading →

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Billy Wilder

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , , , on September 14, 2013 by Cade

wilder1June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002

Billy Wilder was regarded as one of the greatest, and certainly most versatile, screenwriters and film directors in Hollywood. Over the course of his career, he wrote and/or directed some of the industry’s biggest hits, including Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment, Double Indemnity, The Seven Year Itch, The Fortune Cookie, Irma La Douce, The Front Page and the perennial classic comedy, Some Like It Hot. He worked with a broad number of stars like Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Walter Matthau, Fred MacMurray and Shirley MacLaine. Continue reading →

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Jack Lemmon

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , , , on March 7, 2013 by Cade

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February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001

Confession time: I cried the day that Jack Lemmon died.

For someone who was just barely a quarter of a century old, it was like losing a celluloid grandfather. Jack was so likable on screen that I felt like I knew him.  And there were plenty of opportunities to get to know him on screen.  He starred in more than 60 films including the classics Some Like It Hot (with Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe, directed by eternal neighbor, Billy Wilder,) The Apartment (also directed by Wilder) and The Odd Couple (with perennial friend and co-star, Walter Matthau.)

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Tony Curtis

Posted in Palm Valley View Memorial Park with tags , , on February 28, 2013 by Cade

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June 3, 1925 – September 29, 2010

Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz) was a devilishly handsome man. His looks and his broad range certainly made him one of the biggest stars of the 1950’s and 60’s.  He garnered attention with Oscar nominated dramatic roles (The Defiant Ones) as well as classic comedic turns (Some Like It Hot1 alongside Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe – directed by Billy Wilder) as well as more than 100 other projects.  He was also an avid painter – something he continued to do later in life, claiming to enjoy it more than making movies.

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Marilyn Monroe

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , , , on February 19, 2013 by Cade

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June 01, 1926 – August 05, 1962

I mean, it’s Marilyn. How much do I have to say here?

She was perhaps the biggest sex symbol in 20th century America.  She was romantically linked to baseball players, playwrights and presidents.  She was the ultimate rags to riches story.  She liked to party.   One night, at the age of 36, she took too much Nembutal – maybe by her own choice, maybe by someone else’s – and Elton John wrote a song about her.

Goodbye, Norma Jean. Continue reading →

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