Liz Taylor

"I, along with my critics, have never taken myself very seriously."

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born in London, England on February 27, 1932.  As her parents were American citizens traveling abroad, she was granted dual citizenship.  By 1939, with war brewing across Europe, the family returned to America, settling in Pasadena, California.

Taylor's natural good looks, including her dark blue eyes, often earned praise from friends and teachers alike.  With her mother's approval, she auditioned for Universal Pictures and MGM, both of whom offered her contracts.  She ultimately signed with Universal.

Taylor's first role was in the 1942 feature There's One Born Every Minute.  It would prove to be her only film with Universal however, though she'd soon sign a contract with MGM.  Before retiring in 2003, she'd star in over 50 theatrical releases, including Cleopatra (1963), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), the latter of which would earn her an Academy award.

Taylor suffered a myriad of illnesses throughout her life, starting with scoliosis as a child.  She had back and hip problems and underwent an emergency hysterectomy, but it was congestive heart failure that ultimately took her life on March 23, 2011.  She was 79 years old.  Her obituary, as published in the New York Times, was penned by former staffer Mel Gussow, who had himself passed away six years earlier.  In explaining why they chose to run the piece, editors stated it was "too good to throw away."

Liz Taylor was cremated and placed within an angelic statue at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Location: The Great Mausoleum, Memorial Terrace

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Liz Taylor, take a voyage to your public library or Amazon.  Its all in books.
  
  
• While there is no standalone Liz Taylor Museum, her estate has created a virtual archive.  
  
  
• Taylor was famous for her eight marriages (to seven men), all of which ended in divorce. Of this, she once quipped "I am a very committed wife.  And I should be committed too, for being married so many times."
  
  
• Taylor was famous for her friendship with musical icon Michael Jackson, who wrote the 1987 song Leave me Alone as a tribute to her.  Today, they are enshrined in the same mausoleum just one floor apart.
  
  
• Taylor was the visual inspiration for the DC Comics character Carol Ferris/Star Sapphire, the girlfriend of Hal Jordan/Green Lantern.

The Guest Stars of Star Trek!

This month marks the 60th anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek, the cultural juggernaut that has spanned countless movies, spinoffs, novels, and so much more.  We thought in honor of that occasion, we'd visit (or re-visit) the final resting places of those guest stars who have at last reached the final frontier.  Engage!

Ricardo Montalban (Khan, Space Seed)
Holy Cross Cemetery (Los Angeles, California)
Cause of Death: Congestive Heart Failure

Frank Gorshin (Bele, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield)
Calvary Cemetery (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Cause of Death: Lung Cancer, Emphysema, Pneumonia

Jill Ireland (Leila Kalomi, This Side of Paradise)
Brownsville Cemetery (West Windsor, Vermont)
Cause of Death: Breast Cancer

Gene Lyons (Ambassador Robert Fox, A Taste of Armageddon)
Calvary Cemetery (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Cause of Death: Alcoholism

Michael Ansara (Kang, Day of the Dove)
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills (Los Angeles, California)
Cause of Death: Alzheimer's Disease

Jay Robinson (Ambassador Petri, Elaan of Troyius)
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills (Los Angeles, California)
Cause of Death: Congestive Heart Failure

Janos Prohaska (Mugato, A Private Little War)
Woodlawn Cemetery (Santa Monica, California)
Cause of Death: Plane Crash

Morgan Woodward (Captain Ron Tracey, The Omega Glory)
Arlington Cemetery (Arlington, Texas)
Cause of Death: Prostate Cancer

Vic Tayback (Jojo Krako, A Piece of the Action)
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills (Los Angeles, California)
Cause of Death: Heart Attack

Jeffrey Hunter (Captain Christopher Pike, The Menagerie)
Glen Haven Memorial Park (Sylmar, California)
Cause of Death: Skull Fracture

Glenn Corbett (Zefram Cochrane, Metamorphosis)
Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery (San Antonio, Texas)
Cause of Death: Lung Cancer

Robert Lansing (Gary Seven, Assignment: Earth)
Union Field Cemetery (Ridgewood, New York)
Cause of Death: Lung Cancer

Harry Townes (Reger, Return of the Archons)
Maple Hill Cemetery (Huntsville, Alabama)
Cause of Death: Undisclosed

Live long and prosper!

Tom Burnett - Hero of Flight #93

 

"Don't worry, we're going to do something."

Thomas Edward Burnett, Jr. was born in Bloomington, Minnesota on May 29, 1963.  He was the middle child of Tom Sr. and Beverly and had both a younger and an older sister. 

After graduating from high school in 1981, he studied Economics at the University of Minnesota, where he was a star quarterback on the football team.  An injury shortened his athletic career however, but he ultimately graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Finance before earning his MBA from Pepperdine University.

In 1996, Burnett joined the Thoratec Corporation, a medical product manufacturer, as Vice President of Sales and Marketing.  That same year, he and his wife Deena welcomed the first of three daughters, having settled down in San Ramon, California.  According to Deena, Burnett began experiencing an extreme sense of foreboding by late 2000.  Unable to explain it, he began attending mass on a daily basis.

One year later, on September 11, 2001, Burnett was one of 33 passengers who boarded United Airlines #93 in Newark, New Jersey, bound for San Francisco, California.  It was one of four planes hijacked that day in the single largest terrorist attack on American soil, culminating in the deaths of more than 3,000 citizens.

Burnett and his fellow passengers were ushered to the back of the plane by the four hijackers.  The time was 9:28, almost an hour after the attack on the World Trade Center had begun.  Burnett called Deena, who informed him of the attacks.  He rallied with his fellow passengers, including Todd Beamer, Jeremy Glick, and Mark Bingham, to retake the plane and prevent another attack.  While they were ultimately successful, the plane did crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all 44 people aboard.

Having begun his college education at the United States Air Force Academy, Burnett was entitled to a military burial.  He was laid to rest at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minnesota.  Appropriately, his headstone bears the title "Citizen Soldier."

Rest in peace, and never forget.

Trivia

• The final resting place of fellow passenger Todd Beamer, who was also instrumental in retaking the plane, has also been profiled by this blog.  
  
  
• Along with the other passengers and crew, Burnett's name is etched on the memorial wall at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  Their names also appear at the South Pool of the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York. 
  
  
• The University of Minnesota, Burnett's alma mater, founded the Tom Burnett Leadership Program in 2006.  According to its website, the program "teaches students how to become personal leaders who are active, engaged citizens committed to the broader community and their careers after graduation."
  
  
• The post office in Burnett's hometown of Bloomington, Minnesota was renamed in his honor.
  
  
• Although Burnett's life story has never been told, his widow Deena did publish Fighting Back: Living Life Beyond Ourselves, in 2006.  Highlighting actions taken by the passengers as well as events from her own personal life, the author demonstrated how each of us can be a hero, however big or small.  Pick up a copy from Amazon.

The Dolly Parton Family Cemetery

 

Nope, she ain't buried here, nor is she going to be.  After her untimely death on August 25th, Dolly Parton was laid to rest In Nashville, at Woodland Memorial Park and Mausoleum.  She joined her husband Carl Dean in a spacious mausoleum alcove.  They were reunited in the afterlife after a one-year separation.

Most of Dolly's immediate family, however, are buried in Sevierville, Tennessee's Angel Hill Cemetery, just a stone's throw from Dollywood.  It's a private cemetery owned by the Parton family, and it serves as the final resting place for several generations.

Dolly herself coined the name following the tragic passing of her baby brother Donnie in 1967. She would later record a song with the same title for the made-for-TV movie Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors. 

The centerpiece of the park is the final resting place of Dolly's parents, Robert and Avie Lee Parsons, who passed away in 2000 and 2003, respectively.  

Sadly, Dolly's older brother Coy preceded her in death by only one month, passing away himself on July 23rd at the age of 82.  He now rests besides his parents for all time.

Rest in peace, Dolly, and to all of your family the same.

Trivia

• Robert and Avie Lee appeared with their daughter Stella in a 1978 interview for Good Morning, America.  Check it out on YouTube.
  
  
• Following in her daughter's footsteps, Avie Lee released a cassette tape in 1990 called Smokey Mountain Mama.  It was only available for sale at Dollywood or by mail.  Check out the single Little Rosewood Casket on YouTube.
  
  
• This blogger has previously visited Woodlawn Cemetery in Nashville.  It's the final resting place for several country music legends, including Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Jerry Reed, and Johnny Paycheck.
  
  
• In addition to Dollywood, Sevierville and the surrounding Smokey Mountain community are home to many other Dolly-related attractions, including a water park and dinner theatre.  There are also several small businesses trying to cash in on the name, including Dolly Nails and Lash as well as a gift shop called Lid'l Dolly's Factory Store.