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.