John Candy!

 

"I think I may have become an actor to hide from myself.  You can escape into a character."

John Franklin Candy was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada on October 31st, 1950.  On his fifth birthday, Candy's father, only 35 years old, died of heart disease.  

Candy attended Neil McNeil Catholic High School, where he played football as an offensive tackle.  He had professional football aspirations that were curtailed by a knee injury.  He literally fell into acting. 

He took his first courses in college and by the time he graduated, he had already been cast in the popular Canadian sketch-comedy series Second City Television (SCTV).  The show was picked up by NBC in 1981 and Candy became an instant favorite.

He went on to appear in some the 1980's most memorable films, including The Blues Brothers (1980), National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Spaceballs (1987), and the perennial Thanksgiving favorite, Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987).

In 1994, Candy went to Mexico to film the western comedy Wagons East.  Before he left, he called his good friend and fellow SCTV alum Catherine O'Hara, reportedly telling her that he felt "something bad is going to happen there."  Truer words were never spoken.  During production of the film, Candy, like his father before him, died of a heart attack.  The date was March 4, 1994.  Candy was just 43 years old.

His funeral played out like an Oscar Awards ceremony, attended by only the cream of Hollywood, including Tom Hanks, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Mariel Hemingway, Ed Harris and many, many more.  The eulogy was delivered by longtime friend and co-star Dan Aykroyd.

John Candy was enshrined in the mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Location: Room 7, Crypt B1 (look up)

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about John Candy, take a voyage to Amazon.  It's all in books, one of which was co-written by Dan Aykroyd.
  
  
• The inscription "One Heart and One Soul" has its origins in the Bible, specifically Acts 4:32, "and the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them."
  
  
• Following his passing, the Canadian Screen Award, similar to America's Oscar and Emmy awards, was renamed "the Candy" in his honor.
  
  
• Candy sang on the 1984 We are the World album, singing Tears are Not Enough with the group Northern Lights.  Take a listen on YouTube.
  
  
• In 1989, Candy was given his own Saturday morning cartoon entitled Camp Candy.   You can watch an episode (with commercials) in its entirety on YouTube.

Richard Simmons - Sweatin' With the Holies

 

"Everyone has a story that makes me stronger.  I know that the work I do is important and I enjoy it, but it is nice to hear the feedback of what we do to inspire others."

Admittedly, this blog post is something of a cheat.  When I first created Six Feet Under Hollywood, my goal was to showcase the photos I've taken on grave visits over the years.  I've never been to Richard Simmons's grave and I probably never will be, as it lies behind a locked gate with private member access.  

Recently however, a Facebook friend of mine who runs the fantastic Dearly Departed website gained access and documented Richard's grave.  It was just too good not to share.

First, a quick recap.  Richard Simmons was born Milton Teagle Simmons in New Orleans, Louisiana on July 12, 1948.  He was the self-described son of "show-business parents."  When he later entered show business himself, he adopted the name Richard, as a way of thanking the uncle who paid his college tuition.

From the start, Richard struggled with obesity, eventually topping out at 268 pounds.  He was finally motivated to lose weight when someone placed an anonymous note on his car.  It read "fat people die young.  Please don't die."

After graduation, Richard moved to Beverly Hills, where he eventually opened his first exercise studio - The Anatomy Asylum.  He provided his students with a supportive atmosphere while encouraging smaller portions.  His popularity continued to grow, eventually catching the eye of Hollywood casting agents.  He landed his first role on the soap opera General Hospital, in which he played himself for four years.  This led to his own workout series, the aptly-titled Richard Simmons Show, which ran from 1980 to 1984 and earned him multiple daytime Emmy awards.  He followed it up with a five-volume video series called Sweatin' to the Oldies.

By 2024, Richard had become something of a recluse, having giving up public appearances and seldom leaving his home.  In March of that year, he drew speculation when he took to Twitter and encouraged his followers to embrace every day.  He died four months later on July 13th due to complications from a fall, with heart disease as a contributing factor.  He was 76 years old.

Richard Simmons was laid to rest in his trademark exercise outfit at Pierce Brothers Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles.  While this park usually caters to celebrities and their fans, Richard opted to be buried in a private section.  The inscription, which reads "forever sweatin' with the holies," pays tribute to his home video empire.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Richard, take a voyage to Amazon.  Its all in books.
  
  
• As mentioned above, YouTuber Scott Michaels visited the grave for his Dearly Departed channel.  Check out the video on YouTube.  Bonus: Scott cooks a pizza in Richard's Cuisinart.
  
  
• As an obese college student, weighing 268 pounds, Richard appeared in two Federico Fellini films, Satyricon (1968) and The Clowns (1970).  
  
  
• In 2006, Richard was inducted into the National Fitness Hall of Fame.  That same year, actress Marilu Henner was also recognized.
  
  
• Richard once marketed his own line of dolls on the Home Shopping Network.  Interested?  You can find some for sale on eBay.
  

Conchata Ferrell - Two and a Half Men

 

"I don't trip all over my ego.  I don't mind being a second banana."

Conchata Galen Ferrell was born in Loudendale, West Virginia on March 28, 1943.  Her family later relocated to Circleville, Ohio, a quaint town in the Buckeye state where she is laid to rest today.

In the late 1960s, Ferrell graduated from West Virginia's Marshall University with a degree in history education.  The stage was her true calling however, and by 1969, she had relocated to New York City, where she joined the Circle Repertory Company.  Through this association, she'd earn a series of awards for her performance in the off-Broadway production The Sea Horse.

Then it was off to Hollywood, where she began a steady string of television appearances.  Her first credit was a 1974 episode of Maude.  She'd later appear in other classics such as Good Times, The Rockford Files and The Love Boat.  This blogger first noticed her as attorney Susan Bloom in the later seasons of L.A. Law.

In 2003, she was cast in the role for which she is most famously associated, that of housekeeper Berta on the CBS sit-com Two and a Half Men.  She was twice Emmy-nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her work on the sitcom (see Trivia below), which ended in 2015.

On October 12, 2020, Ferrell died of cardiac arrest in Sherman Oaks, California.  She was 77 years old.  She was returned to her home of Circleville, Ohio, where she was laid to rest at Forest Cemetery.

Location: Section 71
Inscription: Love and Laughter

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• Throughout the show's twelve-season run, Berta's last name was never revealed.
  
  
• Upon Ferrell's death, co-stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer both took to Twitter to offer their sympathies.  An unusually coherent Sheen would tweet "an absolute sweetheart, a consummate pro, a genuine friend, a shocking and painful loss.  Berta, your housekeeping was a tad suspect, your "people" keeping was perfect."
  
  
• As noted above, Ferrell was twice nominated as Best Supporting Actress for Two and a Half Men.  In 2005, she lost to Doris Roberts of Everybody Loves Raymond.  She lost again in 2007, this time to Jaime Pressly of My Name is Earl.  Really.
  
  
• Ferrell was no stranger to the silver screen either, with memorable roles in such films as Mystic Pizza, Erin Brockovich and Edward Scissorhands.
  
  
• Despite her age, Ferrell enjoyed role-playing video games, an interest she shared with her Two and a Half Men co-star Angus T. Jones.