The Babe!

"The only game, I think, in the world is baseball."

George Herman "Babe" Ruth was born in Baltimore, Maryland on February 6, 1895.  He was the son of German immigrants and one of only two siblings (out of seven) to survive past infancy.

Though much of his childhood remains a mystery, it is believed that his interest in baseball first began while as a student at St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys.  There, he was mentored by Brother Matthias Boutlier, himself a skilled baseball player.

When Ruth was 19, he began his career with the Baltimore Orioles.  It was here that he earned his nickname, due to both his young appearance and his almost familial relationship with team owner, Jack Dunn.  He was later sold to the Boston Red Sox, where he had a well-earned reputation as an outstanding pitcher.

In 1920, Ruth was sold again, this time to the New York Yankees.  Over the next 15 years, he'd help them win seven American League pennants and four World Series.  By the time he retired in 1935, he'd achieved 714 home runs in his big-league career, a record that would stand until 1974, when Hank Aaron scored 715.

By 1946, Ruth was experiencing the early symptoms of cancer.  He'd continue traveling the country however, doing promotional work for the Ford Motor Company.  He also collaborated on his autobiography The Babe Ruth Story.  During one of his final public appearances, he donated a copy of the yet-unpublished manuscript to Yale University.  There, he met the captain of the baseball team, future President George H.W, Bush.

Babe Ruth passed away on August 16th, 1948, at the age of 53.  He was laid to rest at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Babe Ruth, take a voyage to Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• The eulogy that appears on Ruth's marker (shown above) was delivered by Cardinal Francis Spellman, who served as Archbishop of New York and officiated at the funeral.
  
  
• The Babe had a tendency to call each of his teammates "kid."  It wasn't a term of endearment; rather, he could never remember their names.
  
  
• The Babe's father once owned a pub in downtown Baltimore.  The neighborhood was later redeveloped and turned into Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles.  It is said that the pub was located at what is now center field.
  
  
• Camden Yards also includes a tribute to the Babe in the form of a statue.  Unfortunately, it incorrectly portrays him as a right-hander.  The Babe was a lefty.

Buried in a Pringles Can?

 

Fred Baur is not exactly a household name, but the product he created certainly is. At some point in your life, you've probably had Pringles, the uniquely shaped stackable potato chip he created for Procter and Gamble in 1966.  Five years later, he received a patent for the tubular can that would help make the chips a household name.  It would also play a pivotal role in his demise.

Baur was born in Toledo, Ohio on July 14, 1918.  He received his master's degree from Ohio State University, then did a tour with the Navy during World War 2.  After the service, he returned to Ohio and began a career as an organic chemist and food storage scientist.  

Baur died of Alzheimer's disease on May 4, 2008.  He was 89 years old.  For many, that would have been the end of the story, were it not for the unique final arrangements he had requested in the days leading up to his death.

Baur was cremated, and his ashes were divided into thirds.  The first set was given to his grandchildren.  The remaining two sets were buried at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Mount Healthy, Ohio, just twenty minutes outside Cincinnati.  Two separate containers were used - a traditional urn and a standard Pringles can.  Baur had requested that a portion of his remains be interred with the product he had given to the world.  

Artist's rendition.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• This blogger has been to known to consume an entire can of Pringles in one sitting.  Favorite flavors include original, Buffalo Ranch, Sour Cream and Onion, and Honey Mustard.
  
  
• In addition to developing Pringles and its packaging, Baur created frying oils and freeze-dried ice cream.
  
  
• In 2012, Kellogg's acquired Pringles from Procter and Gamble for the tidy sum of $2.7 billion.
  
  
• There are a number of YouTube videos regarding Baur, Pringles, and the grave.  Unfortunately, they all suck.  Here's one that sucks less than the rest.  

Wayland Flowers....and Madame?

 

"This was an underground act that took root and shot up out of nowhere."

If you grew up in the 70s or 80s, you probably remember Wayland Flowers and Madame for their regular appearances on Hollywood Squares.  While many would agree that Madame was the brains of the act, most of the credit goes to Wayland himself.

He was born in Dawson, Georgia on November 26, 1939.  A few years later, his father was killed in World War 2, and Flowers was raised in a devoutly religious all-female household.  After college, he enlisted in the Coast Guard, before eventually settling in New York City, having become enamored with the Broadway stage. 

In 1964, Flowers landed a job as a puppeteer for the New York World's Fair.  There is some historical debate as to whether this was his first involvement with the world of puppets, but it would ultimately provide the inspiration for the character of Madame. 

Recognizing Flowers' affection for a Wicked Witch of the West puppet, his boss gave it to him, which he soon transformed into the first version of the Madame puppet.  Her feisty personality would come later, after Flowers overheard an elderly Ziegfeld Follies girl become irate with an abusive bartender.  Believe it or Not!

The duo would spend the next twenty years appearing in sold-out live performances and on a host of television shows.  From 1981 to 1984, they were regular co-hosts on the syndicated musical countdown series Solid Gold, often providing some much-needed comic relief.  Check out these clips with generous co-host Marilyn McCoo.  The team would even have their own short-lived series called Madame's Place, which aired for one season in 1982.  Co-stars included Judy Landers and a then-unknown Corey Feldman.

In September 1987, Flowers was diagnosed with HIV.  A little over one year later, he collapsed on stage wile performing at Lake Tahoe.  After a brief hospitalization, he visited with friends and family in Georgia, before retiring to a Los Angeles area hospice to live out his final days.  He ultimately passed away on October 11, 1988.  He was just 48 years old. 

Wayland Flowers was cremated and his ashes were returned to Dawson, Georgia.  He was laid to rest in the family plot at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• In 1983, the duo released a scandalous, tell-all autobiography to generally positive reviews.  You can pick up a copy of Madame: My Misbegotten Memoirs, from Amazon.
  
  
• Following his death, the Star tabloid incorrectly reported that Madame was buried with Flowers, an urban legend that persists to this day.  In fact, the Madame puppets (there were multiple) were bequeathed to friends and family members.
  
  
• Flowers left part of his estate to the Hughes House, the L.A. hospice where he'd spent his final days.  It was later renamed the Wayland Flowers House, but it ultimately closed just a few months after his passing.
  
  
• It might shock fans of Hollywood Squares to know that Wayland Flowers and Madame was a stage show for adults only.  Flowers insisted that no one under 18 be admitted to a live performance.
  
  
• As Madame, Flowers would often state that Jim Henson and his team had been inspired by the duo in the creation and performance of Muppets star Miss Piggy.  This blogger definitely sees the resemblance. 

The Duchess Anastasia - Buried in Virginia?

 

Most famous graves are fairly cut and dry.  A celebrity dies, they're laid to rest, and I tell you where to go.  Sometimes however, there's a little bit of a mystery involved, like the space alien buried in Texas, or TV's Mr. Ed, who was laid to rest in an Oklahoma farmer's backyard.  Such is the case with this week's subject, Grand Duchess Anastasia.

In case you were asleep during high school history, Anastasia was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas of Russia.  In 1918, the entire family was murdered during a Bolshevik revolt, but it was the beginning of a mystery that would last for nearly a century.

In 1922, a woman who would be known as Anna Anderson made her first public claims to be the surviving Anastasia.  She told a tale of being secreted away after the attack and spending the intervening years in seclusion.  Much of that time was spent in a mental hospital in Berlin. 

When she first went public, she received equal parts criticism and support.  Most significantly, surviving members of the family would claim emphatically that she was not who she claimed to be.  Over the next forty years, Anderson would often find herself in a courtroom, attempting to prove her claim, which she was never able to do.

In 1968, Anderson received a six-month visa to the United States.  Her trip was paid for by Jack Manahan, a history professor at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.  Just as the visa was set to expire, the two were married in a simple ceremony, becoming well-known local eccentrics.  Manahan, who was 20 years her junior, was now referring to himself as the "Grand Duke-in-Waiting" as well as a son-in-law to the Tsar.  Their story was even profiled on that great 70s documentary series In Search Of, hosted by Leonard Nimoy.

By 1983, Anderson's health was in serious decline.  That November, she was institutionalized once again and given a court-appointed legal guardian.  It didn't sit well with Manahan however, who checked her out just a few days later.  The couple would spend the next three days on the run, living out of area convenience stores.  She was returned to the healthcare facility, where she died of pneumonia of February 12, 1984.  She was cremated, and her ashes were buried in Germany.

In failing health himself, Manahan bought a plot at the University of Virginia Cemetery in Charlottesville.  He ordered a headstone for both he and his wife, whom he forever immortalized as "Anastasia."  

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• Manahan eventually passed away on March 22, 1990.  He was 70 years old.
  
  
• In 1991, DNA testing was conducted on the bodies of the Royal family.  It was compared to DNA samples of Anderson, taken from a 1979 medical procedure.  It determined conclusively that she was in fact, not Anastasia.  Her true name was Franziska Schanzkowska, a Polish factory worker with a history of mental illness.
  
  
• A number of books have been written about the troubled life of Anna Anderson.  Check out this selection from Amazon. 
  
  
• Anna Anderson's story has also been chronicled by other documentaries as well, including Unsolved Mysteries and Chicken Soup for the Soul.  The couple also sat down with local Charlottesville station WSLS for this interview in 1968 (no audio).

The Lost Grave of Andy Williams

 

"I still don't think I'm as good as anyone else."

Every now and then in my research, I come across a grave so unique that it immediately piques my interest.  Such was the case with Andy Williams, a famed singer I had certainly heard of, but knew very little about.  When I discovered the sad story of his final resting place in Branson, Missouri, I knew I had to go there to see it for myself.

Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams was born in Wall Lake, Iowa, on December 3, 1927. When he was just 16 years old, he moved with his three older brothers to Los Angeles, having formed the Williams Brothers Quartet.  Their act caught the attention of Bing Crosby, who put them on his 1944 album Swinging on a Star.

Williams went solo in 1953 and enjoyed a long and prosperous career.  He recorded his signature song Moon River in 1962, having been asked to perform it at the Academy Awards.  Although it had been recorded by Audrey Hepburn one year earlier for her feature film Breakfast at Tiffany's, the ballad would forever be associated with Williams.

In 1991, older brother Don invited Williams to Branson, Missouri, an up-and-coming tourist mecca in the Ozark Mountains.  There, he was encouraged by locals to open his own theatre and he did just that.  The Moon River Theatre officially opened on May 1, 1992.  It was the first non-country and western attraction to open in the predominantly rural setting.

Williams appeared regularly at theatre for the next 20 years, often joined by fellow crooners, including Glen Campbell, Ann-Margret, and 70s icon Charo.  It was from this venue where he announced in 2011 that he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer.  It ultimately took his life just one year later, on September 25, 2012.  He was 84 years old.

In keeping with his last request, Williams was cremated, and his ashes were sprinkled on Moon River itself, an artificial pond located on the property.

The pond as it appears in 2025.

The theatre's final curtain call came just a few years after Williams passed away.  The property was sold in 2021 and is currently being redeveloped as the Truth Traveler Theatre, a Bible-based attraction offering a 5D virtual reality ride, one that promises to "bring the Bible to life."

When this blogger visited the site in February 2025, it was in a state of redevelopment.  The Andy Williams signage has been removed, but the building's recognizable mountainesque facade remains.  The future of the pond is unclear.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• In 2009, Williams released his autobiography Moon River and Me: A Memoir.  Pick up a copy on Amazon.
  
  
• Want to see video of his watery grave?  Scott Michaels, who runs the fantastic Dearly Departed website, took viewers on a tour in 2022.  Check it out on YouTube.
  
  
• A popular urban legend tells that Williams overdubbed the singing voice of Lauren Bacall in the 1944 film To Have and Have Not.  Sources including Bacall herself claimed that this was not the case.  Take a listen on YouTube and judge for yourself.
  
  
• The theatre appeared, kind of, in a 1996 episode of The Simpsons.  Check out this clip on YouTube.
  
  
• While in Branson, be sure to visit the Ripley's Believe it or Not! Odditorium, home to the world's largest roll of toilet paper (4,000 pounds).
  
  

Eileen Brennan

 

"Actors are crazy or we wouldn't be doing this."

Eileen Brennan was born Verla Eileen Regina Brennen in Los Angeles, California on September 3, 1932.  She was the daughter of Regina Menehan, a former silent film actress.  

After graduating high school, Brennan moved to Washington, DC, where she attended Georgetown University.  She later attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City (see Trivia below).

Early stage roles included that of Annie Sullivan in a 1961 off-Broadway production of The Miracle Worker.  She also originated the role of Irene Molloy in the original 1964 Broadway production of Hello, Dolly!.  Hollywood was beginning to notice, and she made her feature film debut three years later in the Bud Yorkin comedy Divorce American Style.

In 1980, Brennan was cast in the role for which she is most famously associated, that of Captain Doreen Lewis in the Goldie Hawn film Private Benjamin.  She was nominated for an Oscar award that year for Best Supporting Actress.  In 1981, she resumed the role on the ABC sit-com adaptation of the film, for which she would ironically win an Emmy award (see Trivia below).  Then in 1985, she appeared in the cult-favorite comedy Clue, taking on then iconic role of Mrs. Peacock.

By 2013, Brennan has been diagnosed with bladder cancer, which ultimately took her life on July 28th.  She was 80 years old.  She was laid to rest with her family at Edge Hill Cemetery in Charles Town, West Virginia.  As of 2024, her grave remained unmarked, but is in the lower right-hand corner of the photo below.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• When Eileen adopted her stage name, she changed the spelling of her last name from "Brennen" to "Brennan."
  
  
• Brennan was a finalist for the role of Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show, the role that famously went to Mary Tyler Moore.
  
  
• Early in her career, Brennan shared an apartment in New York City with future Golden Girls star Rue McClanahan.
  
  
• In 1981, Brennan reprised her role of Captain Lewis in the ABC sit-com adaptation of Private Benjamin.  One year into production, she was involved in a serious car accident in Venice Beach, which resulted in her leaving the show.  She was replaced on the series by former Alice veteran Polly Holliday, but the ratings would never be the same.  The series was canceled after two seasons.
  
  
• Shortly before she passed, YouTuber Larry Hoffman caught up with Brennan at her Toluca Lake home.  The result was this truly awkward interview.  Here's another one in which she discusses selling her Emmy Award when she ran out of money.  These are just sad.
  
  
• Based on the board game of the same name, Clue was released as a novelty film with three different endings.  To quote the commercial, "whodunnit depends on where you see it."  This blogger vividly remembers seeing "Ending A," which appears as the final solution in the home video and streaming editions of the film.

Jack Kent Cooke

 

"I don't intend to die."

Jack Kent Cooke was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on October 25, 1912. His family later relocated to Toronto, where Cooke attended Malvern Collegiate Institute.  He had an eye for business from an early age, and by 14, he was already selling encyclopedia door to door.

When he was in his early 20s, Cooke became a runner on the floor of the Toronto Stock Exchange, which served to enhance his business acumen.  He then went to work for Colgate-Palmolive, where he met his future business partner Roy Thomson.  The two would later co-own a series of radio stations and newspapers in Quebec and Ontario.

With his eye on the sports world, Cooke came to America in 1950, later becoming a legal American citizen.  Ten years later, he acquired 25 percent interest in the Washington Redskins, a football franchise he would become associated with for the rest of his life.  By 1985, he was sole owner of the team.  During his tenure, they'd win the Super Bowl an impressive three times.  During this time, Cooke also owned the Los Angeles Lakers (basketball) and the Los Angeles Kings (hockey).

Jack Kent Cooke died of congestive heart failure on April 6, 1997.  He was 84 years old.  He was laid to rest at Trinity Episcopal Church Cemetery in Uppperville, Virginia, about an hour outside of Washington, DC.  The service was attended by more than 400 local dignitaries and sports figures.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Jack Kent Cooke, take a voyage to Amazon.  Its all in books.
  
  
• Upon his death, the Redskins franchise was sold to businessman Daniel Snyder.  Under his ownership, the team would experience three decades of loss.  Despite years of Cooke saying otherwise, Schneider ultimately changed their name to the Washington Commanders in 2022.
  
  
• Cooke was married an astounding five times to four women, remarrying wife #4 Marlene Ramallo Chalmers.  It was a scandalous marriage that brought headlines of infidelity on a near daily basis, as the younger Mrs. Cooke was known to have a host a male paramours at the ready.  Despite this, Cooke remained married to her until his death.
  
  
• The majority of Cooke's estate, valued at $825 million, helped establish the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, an organization that offers scholarships to help the young reach their maximum potential.  He left both Ramallo and wife #2 out of his will, but the former successfully sued the estate for a reported $20 million.
  
  
• Cooke's first divorce was presided over by a then unknown judge by the name of Joseph Wapner.  Years later, he would become a household name as star of The People's Court, and his grave would be profiled by this blog.