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.

The John List Family Grave

 

"I have visited my friend's grave every two or three months for the last 18 years.  I am begging you.  This horrible guy murdered my best friend."

  --Friend of murder victim Frederick List, in a letter to America's Most Wanted.

In November 1971, John List, an accountant from Westfield, New Jersey, brutally murdered five people - his mother, his wife, and their three children, the youngest of whom was just 13 years old.  It was a pre-meditated act that he had planned so meticulously, it took more than a month for the bodies to be found and over 18 years for List to be captured.

By 1989, the case had gone cold.  Detective Barney Tracy, who had worked it from the beginning, approached the new FOX television series America's Most Wanted (AMW), asking them to do an episode on the case.  Series host John Walsh agreed to do the segment after hearing from a friend of one of the victims (see quote above).  Cameras rolled, and the case aired in May of that year.

The story recounted how List had lost his job earlier that year, unbeknownst to his family.  For more than a month, he put on a charade of going to work every day.  At the same time, List noticed what he perceived to be a decline in his family's values.  As a devout Christian, he disapproved of his wife's drug and alcohol addiction and of his daughter's more liberal attitude on life. 

With money growing tight, he feared that the family would be separated, and he didn't want his kids to be raised by strangers, not knowing what values they'd instill.  At this point, he rationed that the only solution was to send them to Heaven before it was too late.  He shot all five in cold blood and never looked back.

The Lists were laid to rest in a family plot at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey.  A single headstone bears most of their names.

The AMW segment included an age-enhanced bust created by forensic artist Frank Bender.  It was a near-perfect match for the 63-year-old List, who had assumed the name Bob Clark and was living with his new wife in Richmond, Virginia.  He was captured nearly two weeks later thanks to viewer tips.

List died in prison at the age of 82.  No one claimed his body, which is rumored to be buried in the prison cemetery.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about the List family murders, take a voyage to your public library, or Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• This grave is the final resting place for List's wife Helen and the three children, but the fifth murder victim, John's mother Alma, was buried with her husband in Frankenmuth, Michigan.
  
  
• In 1993, Robert Blake, who would later famously be accused of murder himself, landed the starring role in Judgment Day: The John List Story.  Helen was played by Beverly D'Angelo.  You can watch the film in its entirety on YouTube.
  
  
• The forensic bust created for America's Most Wanted is now on permanent display at the Alcatraz East Crime Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  Other items in their collection include John Wayne Gacy's Pogo costume, DB Cooper hijack money, and OJ Simpson's white Ford Bronco.
  
  
• Fairview Cemetery is also the final resting place of the voice herself, Whitney Houston, who's grave was once profiled by this blog.  Her daughter and parents are buried there as well.

This blog will return on June 27th.

The Understated Grave of the Overrated Andy Kaufman

 

"There's no way to describe what I do.  It's just me."

Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman was born in New York City on January 17, 1949.  He was the oldest of three children born to a middle-class family on Long Island.  He was born an entertainer, and by age nine, he was already performing at children's birthday parties.  He spent much of his youth writing poetry, as well as an unpublished novel (at age 16) titled The Hollering Mangoo.

After college, Kaufman went to Las Vegas to meet his idol, Elvis Presley.  Kaufman fans will know that the King became a huge part of his act, as he'd often portray him to near comedic perfection while on stage.

Around this time, Kaufman also developed a character known as "Foreign Man," who was based on his old college roommate.  This character, like Elvis, became a staple of his act, one that would propel him to the NBC sit-com Taxi as Latka Gravas in 1978.  The series lasted for five seasons on two networks.  Other characters during this time included Tony Clifton, his fictitious loud-mouth manager.  Kaufman, who was also a huge fan of wrestling, developed a secret alliance leading to public feud with wrestler Jerry Lawler.

During Thanksgiving 1983, Kaufman was experiencing a severe cough, which he told family members he'd had for over a month. He was subsequently diagnosed with large cell carcinoma of the lung, which is often attributed to smoking.  He underwent palliative radiotherapy, leading to severe weight and hair loss.  When the treatment didn't work, he traveled to the Philippines, where, in a last-ditch effort, he underwent "psychic surgery," a procedure that has since been proven to be fraudulent.  He returned to the U.S. and died shortly thereafter on May 16, 1984.  He was just 35 years old.

Andy Kaufman was laid to rest in the family plot at Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York.  His two younger siblings, Michael and Carol, are still very much alive.

Location: Section #1, Block #4
Inscription: Beloved Son, Brother and Grandson
We Love You Very Much

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Andy Kaufman, take a voyage to your public library, or Amazon. It's all in books.
  
  
• In 1977, Kaufman taped a TV special called Andy's Funhouse that didn't air until 1980. Shortly before he died, Kaufman gave permission to Paul Reubens to create a similar program, which we know today as Pee-Wee's Playhouse.
  
  
• Taxi co-star Jeff Conaway punched Kaufman in the face backstage at the 1979 Golden Globe Awards, after Kaufman insulted the cast during the broadcast. 
  
  
• The only time Kaufman ever broke character on screen was during a 1982 appearance on a talk show hosted by Orson Welles.  Check it out on YouTube.
  
  
• In 1992, REM released their Andy Kaufman tribute song Man on the Moon.  The title was later borrowed for the 1999 Kaufman biopic starring Jim Carrey.

Scream Queen Janet Leigh

 

"Psycho gave me very wrinkled skin.  I was in that shower for seven days - 70 setups.  At least he (Hitchcock) made sure the water was warm."

Janet Leigh was born Jeanette Helen Morrison in Merced, California on July 6, 1927.  She came to Hollywood in 1945 via actress Norma Shearer, who spotted a photograph of the teenager as taken by her father. Shearer took the photo to MGM Studios, who quickly signed Janet to a contract.

Her first film was The Romance of Rosey Ridge, a drama set during the Civil War. She played opposite Van Johnson, with whom she'd culminate a long-standing professional career.

By 1960, Leigh was a household name, having appeared in 35 feature films. It was then that director Alfred Hitchcock cast her in her most memorable role, that of murder victim Marion Crane in his classic film Psycho.  The iconic role would cement her legacy as a film scream queen. Check out the infamous scream on YouTube.

When Janet reached her 70s, she was diagnosed with vasculitis, which ultimately took her life on October 3, 2004.  She was 77 years old.  She was cremated, and her ashes were interred at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village in Los Angeles.  Her husband passed away five years later and joined her in the family crypt.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Janet Leigh, take a voyage to Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• Janet was married four times.  Her third marriage to actor Tony Curtis produced two offspring, including future actress Jamie Lee Curtis.
  
  
• While there is no official Janet Leigh Museum, there is a theatre dedicated in her honor at her alma mater, the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.  There, you will find an assortment of her memorabilia, donated by Jamie Lee upon her mother's passing.  There is also a Janet Leigh Plaza in downtown Stockton.
  
  
• There are a number of Janet Leigh documentaries available on YouTube, as well as this 1985 episode of The Phil Donahue Show, featuring both Janet and daughter Jamie Lee.
  
  
• Janet was quite active politically, joining fellow Hollywood heavyweights Sidney Poiter, Gregory Peck and Kirk Douglas for this 1964 get-out-the-vote commercial.