Motorcycle Legend Randy Renfrow

 

Randy Renfrow is not exactly a household name.  He was born in Boonville, Missouri on April 9, 1956, and by the time he passed a mere 46 years later, he'd be enshrined in the American Motorcycle Association's (AMA) Hall of Fame.

Renfrow wound up on this blogger's radar when I discovered that he was laid to rest in Virginia just a short distance from my home.  As of this posting, I can find no connection to the Old Dominion, so his burial here remains a mystery to me.

He began his professional road racing career in 1981.  A few quick stats - altogether, he won a total of 17 AMA Nationals, including the 250 Grand Prix (1983), the Formula One (1986), and the Pro Twins Series (1989).  In 1998, he was named AMA's Sportsman of the Year.

In late March 2002, Renfrow was participating in another race at the Daytona International Speedway when he crashed.  He broke nine ribs, as well as his right knee, ankle, and foot.  Upon release from the hospital, he continued to recuperate at his parent's home in Pickerington, Ohio.  Five months later on August 9th, while still on crutches, Renfrow tragically fell down a flight of stairs, suffering multiple head injuries from which he'd ultimately pass away.

He was laid to rest at Stafford Memorial Park in Stafford, Virginia.

Note the remains of a Dunlop tire sticker, lower right.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• Renfrow died in Pickerington, Ohio, the same city where the AMA Hall of Fame opened twelve years earlier.  Coincidence?
  
  
• AMA's Hall of Fame produced a five-minute tribute video to Renfrow.  Check it out on YouTube.
  
  
• Ironically, there is a retired NASCAR driver also named Randy Renfrow, who won an impressive 237 races throughout his career.

Stonewall Jackson - A Man With Two Graves!

 

"Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees."
  -- Stonewall Jackson's dying words

When most people pass away, they're typically laid to rest or cremated and that's the end of it.  There are some occasions however, when the deceased will have more than one final resting place.  This was the case for both Judy Garland and Anton Yelchin, both previously covered in this blog.  

In both of those cases, family members had the final remains moved from one cemetery to another, in order to better accommodate grieving fans.  Yelchin even got a statue!  Like those two Hollywood notables, Confederate General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson also has two graves, but he's actually buried in both of them!

On May 2, 1863, Jackson was wounded by friendly fire at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia.  He took three bullets to the arm, which necessitated its amputation.  Regiment Chaplain Beverly Tucker Lacy buried the limb in a field behind Ellwood Manor in Fredericksburg.  A stone marker was set in place, which still welcome visitors to this day.

Jackson died of his wounds eight days later on May 10th.  He was 39 years old.  He was laid to rest at Oak Grove Cemetery in Lexington, about 120 miles away.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Stonewall Jackson, take a voyage to Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• Jackson earned his nickname during the Battle of Bull Run, where General Barnard Bee noted "there is Jackson standing under a stone wall."
  
  
• Legend tells that the arm was exhumed by the military in 1921, but this has never been substantiated.  Whatever the truth may be, the marker remains as a local tourist attraction.
  
  
• Several museums honoring Jackson can be found in Virginia.  They include Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters in Winchester, the Jackson House Museum in Lexington, and the Jackson Death Site in Woodford.
  
  
• In recent years, several memorials to Jackson have been removed, including a monument in Richmond, Virginia and a stained-glass window at Washington National Cathedral.

Merv Griffin - I Will Not Be Right Back After This Message

 

"You know I never really get down.  My philosophy is that you have to constantly be turning the page, which prevents me from getting caught up in any negativity.  It's all about change for me.  I just keep moving and enjoying the ride."

Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin was born in San Mateo, California on July 6, 1925.  He was the son of a stockbroker and a homemaker, both active in their local church.  It was there that Griffin got his first taste of music by singing in the choir, then later serving as the official organist.

After graduating from high school, Griffin wanted to serve his country in World War 2.  His dreams were cut short, however, when he was classified as 4F, a status that would exempt him from military service.  He launched his professional singing career instead.  In 1949, he released the curiously titled single I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts, which sold three million copies.

Griffin began performing in nightclubs, where he was soon discovered by Doris Day.  She brought him to Hollywood for a screen test, where he was subsequently cast in a number of films, including The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) and Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954).  Griffin was dissatisfied with the films however, and turned his attention to television.

By 1958, Griffin was an established game show host working for friends Mark Goodson and Bill Todman.  He had a few ideas of his own however, including one initially dubbed What's the Question?, wherein contestants are given the answer and must come up with the question.  This concept, which he credited to his wife Julann, evolved into the worldwide phenomenon called Jeopardy!, a series initially canceled by NBC, but which now flourishes in syndication.  In 1975, he created companion series Wheel of Fortune, which has found equal if not greater success in worldwide syndication.

Between hosting game shows and launching his own, Griffin found equal success as a daytime talk show host, first at NBC before setting out on his own.  He launched The Merv Griffin Show in 1965 and spent the next two decades interviewing actors, politicians, and all sorts of newsmakers.  His show is credited with introducing America to an as-yet-unknown actor named Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In 1996, Griffin was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer.  It bought him another decade, but by 2007, it had returned with a vengeance.  He ultimately died on August 12th at the age of 82.  He was laid to rest at Pierce Brothers Westwood Memorial Village.  His headstone contains a humorous nod to his show business career.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Merv, take a voyage to Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• The musical interlude that accompanies "Final Jeopardy" was written by Griffen himself.  Take a listen on YouTube.
  
  
• Griffin owned more than 20 hotels, gaming resorts, and riverboats throughout the world.
  
  
• Griffin's sexuality was a source of constant speculation for the tabloids.  Although divorced with a son, it was generally accepted in Hollywood's inner circles that Griffin was gay.  In 1991, he was even sued for sexual harassment by Dance Fever host Deney Terrio.  The case was later dismissed.
  
  
• There's a classic episode of Seinfeld from 1997 wherein Cosmo Kramer finds the remains of Griffin's set in a New York City dumpster and recreates it in his living room.  That was quite an accomplishment, considering that Griffin's series, which was filmed in Los Angeles, ended its run in 1986.  Check out a clip on YouTube.
  
  
• Pierce Brothers is the final resting place for hundreds of Hollywood notables, most famously Marilyn Monroe.  Griffin's plot can be found among its famed "Celebrity Row," which includes the likes of Farrah Fawcett, Carroll O'Connor, George C. Scott and more.
  
  
• Scroll back up and look at Merv's profile picture.  What's he hiding in his pocket?

The Final Flight of Carole Lombard

 

"Heads up, hands up, America!  Let's give a cheer that will be heard in Tokyo and Berlin!"

A few years ago, my friend Tom gave me a fantastic biography of actress Carole Lombard called Fireball (see Trivia below).  Author Robert Matzen shares the fascinating story of Lombard's rise to fame, her marriage to the legendary Clark Gable, and the horrific plane crash that took her life while serving her country.  It offers much more than this blog post will ever convey, and I highly recommend it.

Carole Lombard was born Jane Alice Peters in Fort Wayne, Indiana on October 6, 1908.  She was born into a lap of luxury, and by the time she was 12, the family had relocated to Los Angeles, where she made her debut in the 1921 film A Perfect Crime.  Her career was almost cut short, however.  When she was just 19, she was involved in a horrible car accident, a precursor for tragedies to come.  Her face was severely scarred, threatening any hopes for a Hollywood career.  She'd spend more than a year in physical therapy and would often wear her hair so as to cover the scar.

In 1927, she began her comeback by appearing in a series of short sketch comedies.  They caught the eye of Paramount Pictures, who signed her on as its next leading lady.  During this time, she married Hollywood hearthrob William Powell, but the marriage was doomed from the start.  By 1937, they were divorced, at which time she married Clark Gable.  They were Hollywood's first power couple.

Hollywood stars of the day tended to be quite patriotic, and Gable and Lombard were no different.  When America entered World War 2, they wrote to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, asking how they could help serve their country.  As a result, Lombard became the public face of America's war bond campaign.  In early January 1942, she traveled by train to her native Indiana, where she kicked off the campaign by raising more than $2 million (in 1942 dollars).

After the event, Lombard was in a hurry to return to Los Angeles, having recently fought with her husband.  Against the wishes of both Gable and the studio, Lombard and her party, which included her mother, opted to fly home.  While that may seem like an everyday occurrence now, air travel in 1942 was not the refined operation that exists today.  The Lombard Party boarded TWA Flight #3.  Although bound for Boulder City, it would reroute to Las Vegas, where it would meet with tragedy.

On Friday, January 16, shortly after 7:00 p.m., Flight #3 took off from Vegas bound for Los Angeles.  A few minutes into the flight, it disappeared from radar.  In the nearby town of Goodsprings, locals heard a fiery explosion atop Mount Potosi.  A command center was established at the Pioneer Saloon (see Trivia below), where a team of volunteers launched their search and rescue operation.  Upon hearing of the crash, Gable immediately traveled to Goodsprings, though his exact mode of travel is still a subject of great debate.

It took the rescue team more than a day to locate the wreckage, which ended all doubt of any possible survivors.  Lombard and 21 others, including members of the Army Air Corps, all perished in the crash, which was later attributed to pilot error.  Fireball describes the exact condition of Lombard's charred remains, which were missing the head and left arm.

In accordance with his wife's wishes, Gable conducted a fairly low-key service at Forest Lawn Glendale, a dual ceremony for both Carole and her mother.  Lombard was interred in the Great Mausoleum.  Despite remarrying twice in the years that followed, Gable would claim his final resting place next to her when he ultimately passed away himself in 1960.

Location: Memorial Terrace, Sanctuary of Trust, Crypt #5874

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• For more information on Lombard's life, the accident, and the aftermath, this blogger recommends Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3, by author Robert Matzen.
  
  
• Two months after Lombard's death, her final film, To Be or Not to Be, a satirical look at the rising Nazi threat, was released in theatres.  It was a box office success, in part due to morbid curiosity.  Out of respect for Lombard, producers deleted a sequence in which her character asks the question "what can happen in a plane?"
  
  
• Lombard's childhood home in Fort Wayne is a recognized historical site.  There is also a memorial bridge named in her honor.
  
  
• Lombard and Gable honeymooned at Palm Spring's historic Willows Inn, which is still in service today.  The couple shared what's known as the Library Room, which you and your party can custom reserve.  
  
  
• Following her death, the Navy christened the S.S. Carole Lombard, a cargo ship that saw great service during World War 2 and beyond.  It has since been decommissioned and scrapped.
  
  
• Wanna see the crash site for yourself?  Plan your hike today!
  
  
• As noted above, much of the rescue effort was headquartered in Goodsprings, Nevada.  Today, the Pioneer Saloon, which first opened its doors in 1913, maintains a Clark Gable Room which tells the story.  This blogger first visited the saloon in 2008.  
  
  
  
  
  

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.