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Herman Melville

Posted in Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx) with tags , on October 7, 2013 by Cade

melville1August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891

…for there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men.

Herman Melville enjoyed a modest amount of success as a writer in the first half of the 19th Century.  But, it was his novel about a man obsessed with a white whale that wrote his name into the history books…even if it was not celebrated fully until after his death.  Moby Dick; or, The Whale is the epic story of a sea captain wrestling with hate and madness and the crew who are dragged along on his vengeful pursuit. It is one of the titans of classic American literature and has given us over 150 years of analogy, characters and great names and archetypes like Ahab, Ishmael and Queequeg. And, I guess rather directly, it’s also responsible for Starbucks. So…yay, books!

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Louisa May Alcott

Posted in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (MA) with tags , , , on October 7, 2013 by Cade

alcott1November 29, 1832 – March 6, 1888

Though she wrote a number of letters, articles and novels (sometimes under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard) prior, Concord, MA resident Louisa May Alcott found her greatest literary success with 1868’s semi-autobiographical Little Women. Alcott was one of four daughters of transcendental parents and grew up with family friends such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.  The characters and incidents in Little Women are based on Alcott’s early life and relationship with her sisters. 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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Ralph Waldo Emerson

Posted in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (MA) with tags , , , on August 6, 2013 by Cade

emerson1May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882

One of the leaders of the American Transcendentalist movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson was an important poet, lecturer and essayist.  In addition to his popular essay collections that centered on self-reliance and an intellectual approach to God and the soul, he published a number of poems, most notably “The Rhodora” and “Concord Hymn” about the battles of Lexington and Concord, the beginnings of the American Revolutionary War.  He had close friendships with fellow Transcendental contemporaries like Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman and was a major influence on both personally and in their writings. Continue reading →

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William Inge

Posted in Mt. Hope Cemetery with tags , , on July 16, 2013 by Cade

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May 3, 1913 – June 10, 1973

William Motter Inge was a Pulitzer and Academy award-winning playwright and novelist. Born in the heart of small-town America – Independence, Kansas – Inge’s depictions of solitude, thwarted ambition and sexuality all played starkly against the backdrop of classic Americana. As a drama critic in St. Louis, Inge was encouraged to write by Tennessee Williams. His biggest stage successes, Picnic, Bus Stop, Come Back, Little Sheba and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs earned multiple Tony nominations as well as Oscar nods and the aforementioned Pulitzer (for Picnic). Inge also won an Oscar for writing the Elia Kazan-directed film, Splendor in the Grass. Continue reading →

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Gypsy Rose Lee

Posted in Inglewood Park Cemetery with tags , , on July 2, 2013 by Cade

Gypsy Rose Lee

January 8, 1911 – April 26, 1970

As strippers go, they don’t come much more famous than Gypsy Rose Lee.

Ok…perhaps “burlesque artist” is more appropriate, what with all the negative connotations associated with the term “stripper” these days. Either way, Gypsy (born Ellen Hovick – officially in 1911; unofficially in 1914) turned her talents for the classic striptease and her wit to her advantage and became one of the most popular entertainers of her era starring in film and television long after the music ended at the old burlesque hall. And, she didn’t stop there. Continue reading →

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Tennessee Williams

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

tennessee1

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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Jack Kerouac

Posted in Edson Cemetery with tags , , , on March 12, 2013 by Cade

kerouac1

March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969

Jack Kerouac was an author and pioneer of the “Beat Generation.” His most famous novel is arguably 1951’s On The Road, which features the basic blueprint for what would become the post-war “Beat” culture of seeking out how to live and navigate life.  Kerouac, along with fellow “Beats” Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady and William S. Burroughs,  would inspire a generation of those seeking to find answers to all the questions life brings.

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Eugene O’Neill

Posted in Forest Hills Cemetery with tags , , on February 24, 2013 by Cade

oneill1

October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953

American playwright Eugene O’Neill was literally born on Broadway – the Bartlett Hotel, to be precise – and found a figurative home there for his entire life churning out more than 30 full-length plays including the classics The Iceman Cometh, A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, A Moon for the Misbegotten and Mourning Becomes Electra.

O’Neill won many awards for his works, including several Pulitzers and a Nobel Prize for Literature. Continue reading →

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