Rebecca Schaeffer - The "My Sister Sam" Murder

 

Rebecca Lucile Schaeffer was born in Eugene, Oregon on November 6, 1967.  She was the daughter of Benson, a child psychologist, and Danna, a community college professor.  As a junior in high school, she began her modeling career, appearing in a slew of commercials and department store magazines.  With her parents' blessings, she moved to New York when she was only 16.  

Shortly after signing with a prominent modeling agency, Schaeffer was cast on the long-running soap opera Guiding Light, and later, its CBS sister show One Life to Live.  These small roles led to her being cast in the Woody Allen film Radio Days, though all but one of her scenes wound up on the cutting room floor.

In 1986, Schaeffer appeared on the cover of Seventeen magazine.  It caught the attention of the folks at Warner Brothers, who were casting a new series starring Mork and Mindy veteran Pam Dawber.  Schaeffer was quickly signed to the project, a sit-com called My Sister Sam.  It was an initial hit for the Tiffany network, but it was ultimately canceled just two years later.

After the series ended, Schaeffer continued to find small roles on the big screen.  In late 1989, she was being considered for the role of Michael Corleone's daughter in Francis Ford Coppola's ill-conceived Godfather 3.  On the morning of July 18th, she was at her apartment awaiting a script from the studio when she opened her door for Robert John Bardo.  The 19-year-old had traveled from his home in Tucson to meet his favorite star, whom unbeknownst to Schaeffer, he'd been stalking for two years.  Finding her home address had been as simple as going to the DMV.

After a brief conversation, Schaeffer sent a dejected Bardo on his way.  He returned one hour later, and since Schaeffer was still awaiting the overdue script, she opened the door one last time.  Bardo shot her at point-blank range, later stating that her final words were simply "why, why?"  She was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.  

Rebecca's parents returned her to her native Oregon, where she was laid to rest in Portland's Ahavai Sholom Cemetery.

Location: Row #232, Plot #75

Bardo fled to Tucson, where he was arrested the next day.  He was returned to Los Angeles, where he went on trial for the murder, ultimately pleading guilty.  He is currently serving a life sentence in Avenal, California.

Rest in peace, Rebecca.

Trivia

• The inscriptions read "Beloved daughter and courageous spirit" as well as "I am so wise to think love will prevail.  I am so wise."  The latter quote is attributed to Schaeffer herself, shortly before her death.
  
  
• There haven't been many books written about Rebecca's life or the case itself, but you can find one on Amazon.
  
  
• Pam Dawber and her My Sister Sam co-stars appeared in a public service announcement advocating for stricter gun laws.  You can see a clip of it on YouTube.
  
  
• In response to the killing, California passed the first anti-stalking law in 1990.  Since then, every state has passed similar legislation.
  
  
• At the time of her death, Schaeffer was dating director Brad Silberling.  The experience would later influence his 2002 film Moonlight Mile, which tells the story of a man coping with the death of his fiance.  Check out the trailer on YouTube.
  
  
• During Bardo's trial, the state was represented by Marcia Clark, who would become famous just a few years later in the case against OJ Simpson (he did it).
  
  
• Rebecca's mother Danna passed away in 2022.  She was laid to rest next to her daughter
  

* Editor's Note: While this blog was created to display the photos I've taken in my travels, the photo in this article is courtesy of Find a Grave.  While I did travel to Oregon to pay my respects, a winter storm and icy roads prevented me from accessing the cemetery.

Billie Burke - The Good Witch

 

"Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese."

Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke was born in Washington, DC on August 7, 1884.  She was named after her father William "Billy" Burke, a famed clown and comedian with the Barnum & Bailey Circus (pre Ringling Brothers).

As a child, Billie traveled with her parents throughout the United States and Europe, eventually settling in London's West End.  It was here that she made her stage debut in 1903, before returning to America and finding a home on the Broadway stage. During a production of The Amazons around 1913, she met producer Florenz Ziegfeld (Ziegfeld Follies), marrying him one year later.

In 1915, Burke made her film debut in the title role of Peggy, a comedy from the silent film era. A slew of films would follow, but she is best remembered for her immortal role of Glinda, the Good Witch, in Victor Fleming's 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz.

She enjoyed numerous stage and film appearances over the next thirty years and penned two autobiographies (see Trivia below). By 1970 however, her health was in decline.  She ultimately died of natural causes in Los Angeles on May 14th at the age of 85. 

Billie Burke was returned to Valhalla, New York and interred next to her husband at Kensico Cemetery.  There was no funeral or memorial service, but a statue stands in silent watch over her grave.

Location: Powhatan Plot, Section #78, Lot #6588

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Billie Burke, take a voyage to Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• In 1936, Burke founded the Ziegfeld Club, a non-profit organization devoted to supporting women in musical theatre, which is still in operation today.  Visit them on Facebook.
  
  
• In 2024, the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast devoted an episode to the life of Billie Burke.  Check it out on YouTube.
  
  
• Someone at NASA sure loves Billie Burke.  In 2015, a crater on the planet Mercury was named in her honor.
  
  
• Clive Cussler, a best-selling author (this blogger's favorite) and noted car collector, bought a 1919 Cadillac owned by Burke and Ziegfeld and added it to his collection.  With Cussler's passing in 2020, the car's current location is unknown.

Brock Peters - Twice the Star Trek Star

 

Note: This blogger just returned from the 2025 Star Trek convention in Las Vegas and was inspired to blog a Star Trek grave.

Brock Peters was born George Fisher in Harlem, New York, on July 2, 1927.  He was the son of a sailor and from a nearly age, set his sights on a career in show business.  Encouraged by his mother, he studied the violin and honed his singing abilities at New York's famed High School of Music & Art.  He later studied Physical Education at the City College of New York.

Upon graduation, he changed his name and pursued a career on the Broadway stage, landing a role in the 1949 touring production of Porgy and Bess.  Hollywood was calling however, and he made his film debut in the 1954 Otto Preminger film Carmen Jones.  Eight years later, he would co-star with Gregory Peck in the role for which he is most famously known, that of Tom Robinson in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.

Over the next 25 years, Peters enjoyed steady guest work in television and film, including the role of Admiral Cartwright in the 1986 sequel Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home. Peters would reprise the role five years later in the final installment of the Star Trek series, The Undiscovered Country.  He returned to the franchise in 1995 with a recurring role on Deep Space Nine, playing Joseph Sisko, father of station commander Benjamin Sisko.

In the early 2000s, Peters was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  It ultimately took his life on August 23, 2005.  He was 78 years old.  He was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.

Location: Revelation Section, Map #G01, Lot #3529
Inscription: Your strings of life touched music empyrean, singing your memory
as actor, husband, father, friend better than you knew.  May your spirit rest in peace.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• A talented singer, Peters provided back-up vocals on Harry Belafonte's 1956 classic Banana Boat (Day-O).  Take a listen on YouTube.
  
  
• Peters was the chairman and co-founder of the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
  
  
• Peters stepped into the role of Darth Vader for NPR's radio adaptations of the original Star Wars trilogy, including The Empire Strikes Back.  Take a listen on YouTube.  His dialogue begins at the 1:16:35 mark.

• Peters provided the narration for an audio adaptation of Richard Wright's 1945 novel Black Boy.  You can hear it in its entirety on YouTube.
  
  
• In June 2003, Peters gave the eulogy at the funeral for his friend and co-star Gregory Peck, with whom he had shared the screen in the 1962 classic film To Kill a Mockingbird.

Larry Drake - I Know, It Doesn't Suck

 

"People were always coming up to me and treating me like I was slow.  I would have to tell them that I'm not really retarded, the character I play on TV is retarded.  It was actually pretty flattering because it showed that these people thought my acting was really that convincing."

Larry Richard Drake was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on February 21, 1949.  Like many from the Sooner state, his father was an engineer in the oil industry, while his mother raised the family.  After high school, Larry graduated from the University of Oklahoma.

His first film was a 1971 moonshine flick entitled This Stuff'll Kill Ya.  Over the next 45 years, he'd amass more than 80 credits in film and television, but he is best remembered for his portrayal of Benny Stulwicz, a mentally disabled man, on the hit NBC drama L.A. Law, for which he'd win two Emmy awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

In the 1990s, Drake made a new name for himself in the horror genre, appearing in the Darkman film series and Dr. Giggles.  He also appeared in the comedy sequel American Pie 2. 

Drake's death was rather sudden.  On March 17, 2016, he was found dead in his home.  His manager later revealed that Drake was in poor health in the months prior his passing.  His final cause of death was listed as blood cancer.  He was 67 years old.

Larry Drake was cremated and his ashes were interred at the famed Hollywood Forever Cemetery, a place where this blogger hopes to one day work.

Location: East Lake View Mausoleum, Niche AD-4

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• The inscription on Larry's marker, "scio, non sugit," is Latin for "I know, it doesn't suck."  This blogger would love to know the backstory for that!
  
  
• In 1992, Drake reprised his role of Durant for a proposed Darkman series on FOX.  It was never picked up by the network, but you can watch the pilot episode on YouTube.
  
  
• In addition to his on-screen work, Drake was a popular voice-over artist as well.  His most notable role was that of "Pops" on the Cartoon Network series Johnny Bravo.  Take a listen on YouTube.
  
  
• Does anyone besides me and his mother remember that Pat Sajak once left Wheel of Fortune to host his own nighttime talk show?  Here's a clip from 1989, in which he interviewed Larry about L.A. Law.  Skip to the 19-minute mark.

Shelley Winters

 

"I think on-stage nudity is disgusting, shameful and damaging to all things American.  But if I were 22 with a great body, it would be artistic, tasteful, patriotic and a progressive religious experience."

Shelley Winters was born Shirley Schrift in St. Louis, Missouri on August 18, 1920. She was the daughter of Austrian-Hungarian immigrants, her mother a singer, her father a clothing designer.  Her parents were in fact, third cousins. 

In 1929, the family moved to Brooklyn.  It was here that she took her first steps towards stardom.  As a young woman, she worked as a model, before embarking on a career on the Broadway stage.  Her first role was in a 1941 production of The Night Before Christmas. 

By the mid-1940s, Winters had relocated to Los Angeles, where she was under contract with Columbia Pictures.  Her career would span more than four decades, and she appeared in nearly 40 films.  She was twice named Best Supporting Actress by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and A Patch of Blue (1965).  This blogger could never do her career the justice it deserves.

On October 14, 2005, Winters suffered a heart attack, from which she'd never fully recover.  She ultimately died of heart failure just three months later, on January 14, 2006.  She was 85 years old.

Shelley Winters was laid to rest at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California.

Location: Hillside Slope, Block #11, Plot #358, Grave #8

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Shelley Winters, take a voyage to Amazon.  Its all in books.
  
  
• During a 1975 episode of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Winters got into a heated debate with fellow guest Oliver Reed.  She walked off stage, retrieved a glass of whiskey, and dumped it on Reed's head, much to the shock of Carson.  Fortunately, you can watch the entire segment on YouTube.
  
  
• Winters donated her Oscar for The Diary of Anne Frank to the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam.
  
  
• In 1966, Winters appeared on the Adam West Batman TV series, playing one-off villain Ma Parker.  Four years later, she'd play the real thing, Ma Barker, in Roger Corman's Bloody Mama.
  
  
• Vlogger and friend to Winters Jordan the Lion shared a video on the 2023 demolition of her Los Angeles home.  You can check it out on YouTube.
  

Loving Couple Goes to Washington

 

Maybe you've never heard of Richard and Mildred Loving, but their's is a fascinating tale.  An interracial couple from Virginia, they were the plaintiffs in a landmark 1967 case, in which the Supreme Court overturned the legal ban on such unions.  More on that later.

They met in their hometown of Central Point, Virginia in 1950, when he was 17, and she was just 11.  They started dating several years later, during Mildred's senior year in high school.  By the time she was 18, Mildred was pregnant with their first child, and after a few years of living together, they decided to make their union official. In June 1958, they drove up to Washington, DC, where they took their vows before God and State.

At the time, interracial marriage was still against the law in Virginia.  An anonymous source informed the Caroline County Sheriff's Department, who proceeded to arrest the couple while they slept in their bed. They were charged with "cohabitating as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth."  The Lovings pled guilty and were sentenced to a year in prison.  The sentence was suspended however, when the Lovings agreed to leave Virginia for 25 years.

The couple relocated to Washington, but whereas jobs had been plentiful in Central Point, they now faced economic hardships.  They also discovered that the city could be unforgiving as well, when their young son was hit by a car on the busy streets.  In their hearts, they knew it was time to go home.

After a few years of legal wrangling, the case of Loving v. Virginia finally went before the Supreme Court in 1967.  In a ruling passed down on June 12th, the Court overturned their convictions and ruled the ban on interracial marriage as unconstitutional.

The Lovings returned to Virginia, where they began to raise a family.  Their happiness would be short-lived, however.  On June 29, 1975, their car was hit by a drunk driver.  Richard, only 41, died on the scene.  Mildred survived the accident, and would spend the next 40 years living a quiet, secluded life in Virginia, often downplaying her role in history, giving the real credit to God.  She ultimately passed of pneumonia on May 2, 2008.  She was 68 years old.

The Lovings are laid to rest in a quiet church cemetery in Central Point, Virginia.  A historical marker lies just outside the park.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Richard and Mildred Loving, take a voyage to Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• Following the Supreme Court ruling, the couple discussed their story with ABC News.  You can watch that interview on YouTube.
  
  
• The Loving story has been chronicled in a number of films, with varying degrees of accuracy.  Of 1996's Mr. and Mrs. Loving, Mildred would state "not much of it was very true.  The only part of it right was I had three children."  Other adaptations include the 2011 documentary The Loving Story and 2016's Loving.
  
  
• In 2009, country artist Nanci Griffith released her single The Loving Kind in tribute to the couple.  Take a listen on Amazon.
  
  
• In honor of the landmark case, June 12th is now an unofficial U.S. holiday - Loving Day.

The Forgotten Grave of John Spencer

 

"I've never wanted to do anything but act.  It saved my life, it's the reason I get up in the morning, it's my opiate.  The prize for me was always getting the next gig so I could do this wonderful thing that I love."

John Spencer was born John Speshock, Jr. in New York City on December 20, 1946.  He was interested in the theatre from an early age, much to the chagrin of his parents, who had immigrated to America and settled in Totowa, New Jersey.

Spencer attended a prep school in Manhattan, alongside fellow future celebrity Liza Minnelli, before enrolling in Fairleigh Dickinson College.  He never completed his degree however, moving straight into the world of theatre.

His first role was on The Patty Duke Show, before moving onto the Broadway stage.  His first theatrical role was in the 1983 Matthew Broderick film War Games, playing a silo commander who was told to "turn your key, Sir!"  Later films included the 1990 Harrison Ford thriller Presumed Innocent and 1996's The Rock.

In 1990, he returned to television for the final four seasons of the hit drama L.A. Law, playing grizzled attorney Tommy Mullaney.  It wasn't until 1999 that he assumed the role for which he is most famously known, that of Leo McGarry on the political drama series The West Wing, a role for which he'd win an Emmy Award in 2002.

Well into his West Wing run, Spencer died quite unexpectedly of a heart attack, on December 16, 2005.  He was just four days shy of his 59th birthday.  He was laid to rest in Laurel Grove Memorial Park in his hometown of Totowa. 

The grave appears to be neglected, as this blogger had to clear away shrubbery and bird residue.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• Like his West Wing character, Spencer was a recovering alcoholic.
  
  
• At the time of his death, Spencer had completed two episodes of The West Wing that were in post-production, each of which featured his character as a candidate for Vice President.  Following his untimely death, the writers gave his character a heart attack as well, having him die on election night. 
  
  
• The episode featuring McGarry's death aired on March 19, 2006.  It came two months after a similar death on the series Smallville, which saw Jonathan Kent, played by John Schneider, die of a heart attack after winning his seat for Kansas State Senate.  
  
  
• Spencer was an avid gardener, who once presented Ellen DeGeneres with a bouquet of flowers on her daytime talk show.  You can watch the clip on YouTube.
  
  
• Spencer was a regular participant in L.A.'s annual AIDS Walk fundraising event.