Fay Wray

 

"Every time I'm in New York, I say a little prayer when passing the Empire State Building.  A good friend of mine died up there."

Vina Fay Wray was born in Alberta, Canada on September 15, 1907.  She was born into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was the granddaughter of church pioneer Daniel Webster Jones.  The family lived in Salt Lake City for much of her youth before moving to Hollywood in the 1920s.

She began her acting career while still a teenager, appearing in the 1925 silent picture The Coast Patrol.  It led to a contract with Paramount Pictures and her first leading role in the 1929 Erich von Stroheim film The Wedding March.  She'd leave Paramount one year later, signing with rival studio RKO.

In 1933, she starred in the film that would define her career - King Kong.  Not only did the film launch Wray to super stardom, it also saved the studio itself, which was on the brink of bankruptcy.  Her film career spanned more than twenty years, and by the 1950s, she found steady work on television, putting in memorable guest appearances on such series as Perry Mason, 77 Sunset Strip, and The Real McCoys.  Her last credited role was the 1980 made-for-TV movie Gideon's Trumpet.

Fay Wray died in her sleep on August 8, 2004.  She was 96 years old. Two days later, the Empire State Building dimmed its lights for 15 minutes in honor of her memory.  She was laid to rest in a modest grave at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Location: Section #8 (Garden of Legends), Lot #2300, Grave #7

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Fay Wray, take a voyage to your public library or Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• While there is no dedicated Fay Wray museum, there is a memorial fountain in her hometown of Alberta, as well as local history displays.  You'll find them at the Courthouse and Heritage Museum.
  
  
• In 1997, Wray, was offered the role of adult Rose in James Cameron's Titanic, later saying "I think to have done Titanic would have been a tortuous experience altogether."  The part eventually went to actress Gloria Stuart.
  
  
• During the 1998 Oscar awards telecast, host Billy Crystal ambushed Wray on live television declaring her the "beauty who charmed the beast."  Wray was caught completely off guard and seemed uncomfortable with the recognition.  Curious?  Check out this clip on YouTube.
  
  
• In 1993, Type O Negative released a tribute song entitled Fay Wray Come Out and Play.  Check it out on YouTube.

Jesse James

 

"My pistols, however, I always kept by me."

Jesse Woodson James was born near Kearney, Missouri on September 5, 1847.  He was the son of Robert, a Baptist minister and farmer, and Zerelda.  Jesse had two full siblings, older brother Frank and younger sister Susan, as well as four half-siblings.

James fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.  He wasn't an actual soldier per se, rather, he served brutal guerrilla leaders commonly referred to as "bushwhackers."  These included William Quantrill (see headstone below) and William "Bloody Bill" Anderson.  Exact numbers are unknown, but James participated in several mass killings during this time.

After the war, Jesse continued serving with the bushwhackers in a deeply divided Missouri, before later starting his own gang with brother Frank and the Younger Brothers (Cole, Jim, John, and Bob). Over the course of this collaboration, the gang was credited with 12 bank robberies, 7 train robberies, and 5 stagecoach heists.  Jesse himself would be credited with killing as many as 26 people.

By 1882, Jesse was Missouri's most wanted fugitive.  Governor Thomas Crittenden had made his arrest a top priority.  Although he was barred from offering a bounty himself, Crittenden convinced railroad officials, the most frequent of Jesse's victims, to offer $5,000 for his arrest and another $5,000 for his conviction.  The total amount was later claimed by gang member Robert Ford, who betrayed and murdered Jesse on April 3rd, 1882, at the age of 34.

Jesse was initially laid to rest on the family farm in Kearney (see Trivia below).  In 1902, he was relocated to Mt. Olivert Cemetery and the family plot.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to know more about Jesse James, take a voyage to your public library, or Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• There is no shortage of Jesse James museums in Missouri.  You'll find the James Farm in his hometown of Kearney.  Stanton is home to the Jesse James Wax Museum.  The Jesse James Home and Museum is in St. Joesph, while the Jesse James Bank Museum is in Liberty.
  
  
• Following his death, several people came forward claiming to be Jesse, the most famous of which was J. Frank Dalton of Oklahoma.  Check out this 1948 news clip from Movietone News.
  
  
• Hollywood has produced more than 30 films about the outlaw, who's been portrayed by Roy Rogers, Tyrone Power, Brad Pitt, and more.  The most notable actor to ever play him, however, was his own son, Jesse James, Jr., who appeared in Jesse James Under the Black Flag and Jesse James as the Outlaw, silent films that were released in 1921.  You can watch the first one on YouTube.
  
  
• Jesse's father Robert was one of the original founders of William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri in 1849.  I bet they have an interesting History curriculum.
  

This blog will return on August 14th.

The Schott Heard 'Round the World

 

Editor's Note: This blog finds and documents the final resting place of the famous, and sometimes, the infamous.  They're not always nice people.

"When you don't have kids and you're in a Catholic family - one of my sisters has ten children in eleven years - she's part rabbit - you feel kinda guilty about that.  So, I want to do things for other people's children."

Marge Schott was born Margaret Carolyn Unnewehr in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 18, 1928.  She was one of five daughters born to a family that earned its wealth in the lumber industry.  She doubled that fortune when she married Charles Schott, who's family owned several car dealerships in the Cincinnati area, all of which she'd inherit upon his death in 1968 (see Trivia below).

Like many in the Queen City, Schott was a huge baseball fan and of her home team, the Cincinnati Reds. She bought a minority interest in the team in 1981, buying control interest just three years later.  She is notable for being the first woman to buy an MLB team.

Her ownership years represented both sides of the coin.  While she was praised for keeping seats and concession prices below average and for creating a family friendly environment, she was also criticized for failing to invest in the team itself.  While most owners would be thrilled with a World Series victory, which the Reds claimed in 1990, Schott publicly criticized her own team for winning it in four games, one shy of a major financial windfall.  As a result, she refused to pay for a post-game celebration, leaving the winners to pay for it themselves. 

Her mouth got her into trouble on more than one occasion.  In 1993, she was suspended for one year and fined $25,000 for using derogatory language against her minority players.  She faced a similar suspension just three years later, after making public comments praising Adolf Hitler.  By 1999, the MLB had had enough, and she was forced to sell the team.

By 2004, a lifetime of smoking had finally caught up with Schott.  She was hospitalized on February 9th, the reasons for which are still unclear.  She developed breathing problems during her stay however, and was eventually put on life support.  She ultimately passed away on March 2nd at the age of 75.

Marge Schott was laid to rest at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Montgomery, Ohio.  She is wearing her signature red suit.

Location: Section #1, Lot #49, Grave #32

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Marge Schott, take a voyage to your public library, or Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• As is custom, this blog began with a famous quote.  That statement really was the nicest thing this blogger could find attributed to Schott, who was known for saying some truly awful things.
  
  
• Schott owned two car dealerships in the Cincinnati area, both of which bore her name.  She did her own commercials for them too.  Check out this one on YouTube and tell 'em Schottzie sent you!
  
  
• Despite the controversies, Schott was known for her philanthropy.  She made frequent donations to the University of Cincinnati, who in turn, named their baseball stadium after her.  Her name was taken down in 2020, however, and is today simply known as the UC Baseball Stadium.  When she died, she left an estate valued at $124 million to charity.
  
  
• Schott is not the only controversial figure you'll find at Gate of Heaven Cemetery.  It's also the final resting place of Charles Keating, Jr., who made headlines in the 1980s for his role in the savings and loan scandal.  He ultimately served four and half years for wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud.

Jackie Mason, the Equal Opportunity Offender

 

"I have nothing but love in my heart and everything I say is just an instrument for laughs."

Jackie Mason was born Yaakov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin (really) on June 9, 1931.  He was the fourth of six children and came from a long line of rabbis, going back four generations.  

He graduated from the City College of New York in 1953 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Sociology.  He followed in the family tradition and was ordained as a rabbi, leading congregations in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.  His sermons often included the humor that he'd become famous for, and he later quipped that even the gentiles were attending.  Taking this cue, he resigned his position in 1962 and became a professional comedian, saying "someone in the family had to make a living."

Mason made several appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show throughout the 1960s, but was banned by the host after appearing to give him the middle finger on air.  Mason vehemently denied the allegations and even filed a defamation lawsuit.  Although it initially hurt his career for a few years, he made his Broadway debut in 1969, playing a Jewish widower in the comedy A Teaspoon Every Four Hours.  He'd return to the stage in 1986, headlining The World According to Me!, the first of several successful one-man shows.

Mason was no stranger to the silver screen either, with memorable appearances in The Jerk (1979) and History of the World, Part 1 (1981).  He'd probably rather you forget however, that he also headlined 1988's Caddyshack 2, one of the most poorly received films of the decade.  Mibikh!

In July 2021, Mason was admitted to Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, where he was treated for inflammation of the lungs.  It ultimately took his life two weeks later on July 24th at the age of 91.  He was laid to rest at Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York.  His headstone is taller than most people I know.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Jackie Mason, take a voyage to your public library, or Amazon.  Its all in books.
  
  
• The inscription on the main headstone reads "My precious angel.  For 46 years you have given me so much love, affection, strength, joy & laughter.  I have loved you every moment of it.  I miss you so much.  It broke my heart to lose you, but you didn't go alone.  A part of me went with you the day G-D took you home.  Even though you have left life's stage, you will live in my heart forever.  Sleep peacefully my darling little bubbala until we are together again."  It is accompanied by Hebrew text that reads Jacob Moshe, the Priest of Zea.  The smaller headstone reads "No one spread more laughter and happiness in one lifetime and now its SRO in Heaven.  It's the world's loss and G-D's gain.  Blessed are those who walked in the light of your presence."  In both cases, the word "God" is abbreviated on the headstones, not by this blogger.  "SRO" is most likely short for standing room only, meaning that Mason's heavenly concerts are all sold out.
  
  
• You can find memorabilia from Mason's career at the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York as well as the National Comedy Hall of Fame in Holiday, Florida.
  
  
• In 2001, Mason co-founded an organization called One Jerusalem, an educational foundation. Per its mission statement, its purpose is to maintain a united Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. Growing increasingly frustrated with Democratic policies towards Israel, Mason officially left the party in 2007, registered as a Republican, and later publicly supported President Donald J. Trump.
  
  
• Other notable Beth David interments include Martin Landau, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Andy Kaufman and Mad Magazine artist Al Jaffee.

Harvey Pekar - American Splendor

 

"I very frequently get letters from people that say, 'yea, I went through that myself, and I really got a lot of comfort from your story.'  That makes me feel good.  People who've had lousy experiences like to read about somebody else going through the same crap, so they find out they're not the only ones.  Misery loves company.  There's a lot to that."

Harvey Pekar was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 8, 1939.  He was the oldest of two sons born to Polish immigrants Saul and Dora, who owned a local grocery store.  Although the family lived right upstairs, Pekar would state that he seldom ever saw his parents, due to their hectic work schedules.

After high school, Pekar did a short stint with the Navy before enrolling at Case Western Reserve University.  College life wasn't for him however, and he dropped out after one year.  He was hired by the Veterans Administration as a file clerk in 1965, a job he would hold until his retirement in 2001.

In the 1960s, Pekar became good friends with artist Robert Crumb.  It rekindled in him a long-held desire to draw comic books.  That dream came to fruition in 1972, when the two collaborated on their first project together, Crazy Ed, which was published in Crumb's comic book series The People's Comics.  They'd continue working together over the next few years before launching the series American Splendor, for which they are best known.

Rather than focusing on traditional comic book tropes, such as heroes and villains, the series was an autobiographical peek into Pekar's life as a file clerk, with a focus on the mundane.  It proved extraordinarily popular, with Amazon later declaring it "one of the first and most groundbreaking literary memoirs in comic history."  It ran for 32 years, ending its run in 2008.

In 1990, Pekar was diagnosed with lymphoma, the first of several cancer diagnoses he'd receive over the next two decades.  He ultimately passed away on July 12, 2010, but it wasn't cancer that ended his life. An autopsy revealed he'd died of a drug overdose at the age of 70.  Doh!

Harvey Pekar was cremated.  His ashes were interred at Lake View Cemetery in his hometown of Cleveland.  To date, it is the most decorated grave this blogger has ever visited, even surpassing PBS artist and host Bob Ross.

Location: Section #7, Lot #9, Grave #1
Inscription #1: Beloved Husband and Guardian
Inscription #2: Life is About Women, Gigs, An' Bein' Creative

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Harvey Pekar, take a voyage to your public library or Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• Pekar was a recurring guest on The Late Show with David Letterman, for which he was paid peanuts.  For his final appearance in 1994, he received a paltry $600.  Somebody with too much time on their hands compiled all of those interviews into this YouTube clip.
  
  
• In 2003, HBO produced the biopic American Splendor, featuring Paul Giamatti as Pekar.  Check out the trailer on YouTube.
  
  
• One year after his passing, Pekar was inducted into the Will Eisner Comics Hall of Fame.  Check out his profile here.
  
  
• Other notable Lake View internments include our 20th president James Garfield, business magnate John D. Rockefeller, and "the father of Rock and Roll," DJ Alan Freed.  Pekar's headstone is right next door to famed federal law enforcement officer Eliot Ness.

Dear Abby

 

Dear Abby was born Pauline Esther Freedman in Sioux City, Iowa on July 4, 1918.  She was the daughter of Jewish immigrants who owned a chain of movie theatres in the Hawkeye state.  

She attended Morningside College, where she studied journalism and psychology, coursework that would define her adult career.  It was here that she had her first advice column, which she co-wrote with her twin sister Esther (see Trivia below).  

In 1956, she moved to San Francisco.  Looking for work, she called the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, stating that she could write a better advice column than what they were running at the time.  Impressed by her boldness, the editor gave her a trial run and soon put her on staff.  It was during this time that she adopted her pen name of Abigail Van Buren (see Trivia below) and the column that would become synonymous with her - Dear Abby.

Her column proved incredibly popular and was syndicated later that year, eventually appearing in more than 1,400 newspapers worldwide.  In 1987, daughter Jeanne began co-writing the column with her mother, eventually joining the byline in 2000.  Two years later, she assumed full responsibility for "Dear Abby," which she still runs to this day.

In the early 2000s, Phillips was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which ultimately took her life on January 16, 2013.  She was 94 years old.  She was laid to rest in the Minneapolis Jewish Cemetery in her home state of Minnesota.

Location: Section #3, Block #17, Lot #2, Grave #6

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Dear Abby, aka Abigail Van Buren, aka Pauline Esther Phillips, take a voyage to your public library, or Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• The headstone, which she shares with her husband, contains three sets of Hebrew text:
    * Pasha, Daughter of Abraham and Rebecca, Nephi, 5th Shevat, 5773 
    * Moshe Aril, Son of Yitzhak and Rachel, Deceased, Menachem Av 5777 
    * May his/her soul be bound up in the bond of life 
  
  
• As mentioned above, Phillips was the identical twin sister of fellow advice columnist Ann Landers, aka Esther Pauline Lederer.  Ann was the older of the two siblings by 17 minutes, and she preceded Abby in death by 11 years.  Upon her death, she was cremated and her ashes were scattered in Lake Michigan.
  
  
• Phillips chose the name "Abigail" from the Old Testament and "Van Buren" after our eighth president, Martin Van Buren.
  
  
• In 1964, Abby appeared as herself on an episode of the curiously popular sit-com Mister Ed.  You know, the show about a talking horse.  The plot has Ed moving out on his own and leaving his owner Wilbur behind, following bad advice from Abby herself.  Hilarity ensues.
  
  
• In 1999, Hollywood produced a made-for-TV movie about the twins, entitled Take My Advice: The Ann and Abby Story, starring Wendie Malick in a dual role.  You can rent or buy the film from YouTube.
  

Tiny Tim

 

"I'd love to see Christ come back to crush the spirit of hate and make men put down their guns.  I'd also like just one more hit single."

Tiny Tim was born Herbert Butros Khaury in New York City on April 12, 1932.  He was a born musician, who was singing and playing the guitar by the time he was six.  He spent much of his teenage years studying sheet music and listening to records in the New York City Public Library.

In 1949, he discovered his high voice, a trait that would define his career.  That same year, he taught himself to play the ukelele, which would become a key ingredient in his act.  By 1958, he was already performing in clubs throughout Gotham, singing his signature hit Tiptoe Through the Tulips.

Tiny Tim first came to national attention in 1968, when he appeared on the premiere broadcast of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, where he performed A-Tisket, A-Tasket and On the Good Ship Lollipop (watch both here).  A few months later, he made his first of 22 appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, the most famous of which featured his wedding to first wife Victoria Budinger, whom he lovingly referred to as "Miss Vicki."  Over the course of his four-decade career, Tiny Tim released 14 albums, but he'd never match the success of his signature hit. 

In 1995, Tiny Tim married one of his fans, Sue Gardner ("Miss Sue"), his third and final bride.  He moved to her home state of Minnesota, and by this time, he'd been diagnosed with diabetes.  He revealed that he was, much to Gardner's dismay, impotent, due to poor blood circulation.  He suffered the first of two heart attacks while performing on stage at Massachusetts ukelele festival in September 1996.  Spectators later posted the video online, which you can see for yourself on YouTube. 

He suffered a second heart attack just two months later on November 30, while once again performing on stage, but this one would prove fatal.  When asked by his wife if he felt alright, he'd utter his final words to her, saying "no, I'm not."  He died later that night at the age of 64, passing on to the Other Side.

Unfortunately, you can't tiptoe through anything to reach his grave in Minneapolis, as Tiny Tim is entombed within the Memorial Mausoleum at Lakewood Cemetery.  A single ukelele was placed with him in the coffin.  There are pictures of this online, including this one (scroll down to the bottom).

Location: Room #117, Tier #2, Crypt F

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Tiny Tim, take a voyage to your public library or Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• Australia's Seven Network gave Tiny Tim his own TV special in 1970.  Although A Special Tiny Tim never aired on American television, you can watch it in its entirety on YouTube.  
  
  
• Tiny Tim twice ran for elected office as a member of the New Age Party.  In 1989, he threw his hat into the ring during the New York City mayoral race, but he later admitted that it was just a publicity stunt.  In 1992, he was Pat Paulsen's running mate in the presidential election, but the team never moved past the primary stage.
  
  
• The 1970 Saturday morning series Groovie Ghoulies included a character inspired by Tiny Tim, simply named Tiny.  The singing mummy was known for his song Slip-Slop Through the Swamp Weeds, an obvious riff of Tiny Tim's signature song.
  
  
• Until her passing in 2025, Miss Sue spearheaded a campaign for her husband's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Her application never received serious consideration, however, and seemingly died with her.