The Sad Story of Dominique Dunne

Dominique Ellen Dunne was born in Santa Monica, California on November 23, 1959.  She was the youngest child of author and producer Dominick Dunne and ranching heiress Ellen Beatriz.  Pretty much everyone in her family (brothers, uncle, aunt, even her godparents) were in some way tied to the movie industry, so it was no coincidence that she became an actress as well.

Her first film role was in the 1979 made-for-TV masterpiece Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker.  Here's a particularly creepy scene.   This led to a number of supporting roles in television series, including Lou Grant and Hart to Hart.  Here's a scene of her on the 80s cop drama Hill Street Blues, a series who's title I have never understood.  Sadly, this particular episode aired two weeks after she died.  But more on that later.



Say it with me now.

By 1981, Dunne had built up a sufficient enough resume to be cast in the soon-to-be-classic film Poltergeist, produced by Steven Spielberg.  Remember the trailer?  Watch it here.

That same year, Dunne began dating John Thomas Sweeney, a relationship that would ultimately prove fatal.  She bought a home with the up and coming chef, a modest, one-bedroom house in West Hollywood. 

Shortly after moving in together, the relationship began to deteriorate.  Sweeney became physically abusive with Dunne, even going so far as to yanking out entire handfuls of her hair during their frequent arguments.  She would often retreat to her mother's house, only to inevitably return to Sweeney.  That came to an end on September 26, 1982, when Dunne officially ended the relationship after he nearly choked her to death.  Sweeney moved out of the house and Dunne had all of the locks changed.

8723 Rangely Avenue, West Hollywood

Around this time, Dunne was cast in another soon-to-be-classic science fiction saga, V. She was cast as Robin Maxwell, the character destined to bear an alien offspring. 

On October 30, Dunne was in her home with V co-star David Packer rehearsing their scenes when Sweeney showed up.  She initially spoke to him through the locked door, but then agreed to meet him on the patio.  Packer remained inside.

Dunne had only been outside for a few moments when Packer started to hear an argument.  He later reported that he heard "smacking sounds, two screams, and a thud."  He called police, but was stymied when told that Dunne's house was outside their jurisdiction.  He then called a friend and informed him "if I'm found dead, John Sweeney is the killer."

David Packer (V, 1983)

Packer walked out the back door and approached the driveway.  There he saw Sweeney kneeling over Dunne.  He called police again, this time with success.  When units finally arrived, Sweeney met them in the driveway with his hands above his head as he declared "I killed my girlfriend and I tried to kill myself."

Dunne was still alive however, though unconscious due to oxygen deprivation.  She was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and placed on life support.  Over the next week, doctors performed a series of brain scans, each one confirming the other - no brain activity.  On November 4, just a few weeks shy of Dunne's 23rd birthday, her parents removed her from life support, donating her kidneys and heart.

On November 6, a funeral was held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills.  She was buried in Pierce Brothers Westwood Village.

Pierce Brothers Westwood Village
Section D, L-193

Epilogue

John Sweeney was tried for second-degree murder.  On September 21, 1983, after eight days of deliberation, the jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.  The judge sentenced him to a mere six years in prison, of which he only served three and a half.

After his release in 1987, Sweeney resumed his career as a chef.  He was hired by The Chronicle, a restaurant in Santa Monica, but it didn't last long.  Dominique's family handed out flyers declaring "the food you eat tonight was made by the hands that killed Dominique Dunne."  As the protests continued, Sweeney left the job and changed his name to John Maura. 

This practice continued for more than 20 years, as Dominick Dunne made it his life's mission to destroy Sweeney.  He hired protestors to picket any business that hired his daughter's killer and private detectives to follow him morning, noon, and night.  It wouldn't end until Dominick's own passing in 2009.

John Sweeney on trial, 1983, and John Maura, today.

So where is Sweeney/Maura today?  San Rafael, California, where he is the Director of Food Services for Smith Ranch Homes, a senior retirement community.  Interested in what the community has to say about that?  You can read their angry comments to management here.

Trivia

• Dominick Dunne authored a fascinating account of Sweeney's trial for Vanity Fair, entitled "Justice: A Father's Account of the Trial of his Daughter's Killer."  Read it here.
  
  
• Dominick discusses his daughter's murder with the Archive of American Television.  Watch that interview here.
  
  
• Poltergeist opened on June 4, 1982, the same day as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.  Khan was tops at the box office that weekend, whereas Poltergeist opened in third place.  It was also beaten by Rocky III, which was in it's second week of general release.
  
  
• Dunne is buried just a few hundred feet from her Poltergeist co-star Heather O'Rourke, who died in 1988.
  
  
• Dunne filmed her appearance on Hill Street Blues just days after one of her beatings at the hands of Sweeney.  Appearing as an abused woman, the bruises you see on her face were largely her own.
  
  
• According to V director Kenneth Johnson, Dunne actually appears in the completed film during the initial arrival of the alien motherships, though her face is never shown. 
  
  
• As noted above, Dunne was to portray Robin Maxwell in V.  The character was impregnated by alien visitor Brian, and would subsequently give birth in the sequel V: The Final Battle.  Though completely unrelated to Dunne, watch that birth scene here.  You know you want to.

KHAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!

Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalban y Merino was born on November 25, 1920 in Mexico City.  He was raised in a large Roman Catholic family, and by the time he was a teenager, he and his brother had emigrated to the United States.  Like many 20th Century immigrants, they settled in New York City, where he began his acting career with a much shorter name - Ricardo Montalban.

In 1941, he had small, uncredited roles in the films Her Cardboard Lover and He's a Latin From Staten Island.  That same year, he returned to Mexico to see his ailing mother.  After her funeral, he resumed his career in Mexico, with roles in such films as The Saint That Forged a Country, Fantasia Ranchera, and a production of The Three Musketeers.

He worked consistently throughout the 40s and quickly earned starring roles in his native Mexico.  Eventually Hollywood noticed, and he was cast in his first U.S. production, Fiesta, opposite Esther Williams. Here's the trailer. The film was a financial success, so MGM Studios signed Montalban to a long-term contract.

His first leading role was in the 1949 film Border Incident alongside George Murphy. Watch the trailer here.  The film wasn't as successful as Fiesta, but it did earn Montalban a spot on the cover of Life Magazine, the first Hispanic actor to ever receive that honor. 

"I was king for a week," Montalban mused, "I thought the offers would flood in, but after a week - nothing." 

Montalban's films continued to disappoint at the box office, leading to his dismissal from MGM in 1953.

"I played caricatures of what a Latin is supposed to be like," he later recounted.  "In reality, we are family men."

Montalban began working in television, with guest spots on such series as Ben Casey, Burke's Law, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.  He also appeared on a series called The Lieutenant, created by Hollywood newcomer Gene Roddenberry.  You see where this is going?

It was through this association that in 1966, Montalban would be cast in what would arguably be his most famous role, Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek.  Here's a clip of him going head to head with William Shatner's Captain Kirk.  Watch him discuss the episode here.

Ricardo Montalban and
Roddy McDowall.

In the early 70s, Montalban returned to the silver screen for both Escape From the Planet of the Apes (1971) and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) playing a circus owner who befriends the wayward simians.  Click on the titles for the very groovy 70s trailers.  And here's Montalban discussing his work in the films.

He continued to guest on a number of series throughout the 70s, including Columbo.  Watch his episode in its entirety here.  And here's a clip of him on Hawaii Five-O.  The original.  Not the current dumb one.

"Fine, Corinthian leather."

He supplemented his income in a series of now-famous commercials for the Chrysler Cordoba, which gave birth to his oft-repeated catchphrase "fine, Corinthian leather."  Watch one of those ads here.

All of this was building up to his most famous role on television, that of Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island.  Watch the iconic intro here.  Smiles, everyone!

The series came about completely by accident, Montalban would later recount.  Series creator Aaron Spelling, frustrated with ABC for rejecting a number of his proposed series, sarcastically suggested a show about a place where all your sexual fantasies can be realized.  The light bulb went off over Spelling's head, and thus was born Fantasy Island, though it was broadened to include simple, every day fantasies as well.  Montalban relished playing the character.  Watch him discuss playing Mr. Roarke here.

Montalban with his Fantasy Island
co-star Herve Villechaize.

Montalban's co-star was James Bond veteran Herve Villechaize.  In the beginning, Montalban would later recount, Villechaize was a delight to work with, but it became increasingly hard to do so as the series continued.  Watch him discuss that often strenuous relationship here.  Most people forget that Villechaize left the series before it ended it's seven-year run.  During the final season, he was replaced by future Mr. Belvedere actor Christopher Hewett.  The two lacked chemistry however, and it is often cited as one reason why the series was cancelled.

It was during the run of Fantasy Island that Montalban received a phone call that would forever enshrine him in the pop culture Hall of Fame.  Paramount was producing a second Star Trek feature film, one that would revive his character of Khan.  After six years as the more mild-mannered Mr. Roarke, Montalban welcomed the opportunity to take on such a passionate role.  Watch him discuss that decision here.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, opened on June 4, 1982.  It broke the box office and remains one of the most popular films in the series to date.  Watch the film's trailer here.  And here he is chewing up the scenery with Shatner.  Oh, and here's his death scene.

Montalban was also a social activist.  In 1970, he co-created the Nosotros Foundation (We) to advocate for Latinos in the film industry.  Here's their Facebook page. He had often been disappointed by the manner in which Mexicans were portrayed, and through Nosotros, he sought to change that perception. 

Montalban continued acting throughout the 80s, most notably in the film The Naked Gun.  Here he matches wits with series star Leslie Nielsen.

In the early 2000s, Montalban appeared as the grandfather in the Spy Kids series of films.  Watch one of his scenes here. 

Ultimately, it would be his final role.  After a series of health complications, the actor passed on January 14, 2009 from congestive heart failure.  True to his Catholic upbringing, he was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Section EE, Tier 3, Grave 21

RIP, Your Excellency.

Trivia

• Montalban released his autobiography Reflections: A Life in Two Worlds in 1980.  Pick up a copy on Amazon here.
• In 1973, Montalban was in a touring production of The King and I.  Here he is promoting it on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson.
• In 2018, HBO produced a documentary film entitled My Dinner With Herve, chronicling the life of Herve Villechaize.  Actor Andy Garcia portrayed Montalban in the film.  Watch the trailer here.
• Gene Roddenberry served in World War 2 with an officer named Noonien Singh.  After the war, they lost touch with one another, so in the days before Facebook, Roddenberry used his television series as a means to try to find his old friend, naming the Khan character after him.  By 1988, Roddenberry still hadn't found him, so he gave a similar name to Data's creator on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Noonien Soong.
• This author unsuccessfully tried to buy the burial plot next to Montalban.  Although currently unoccupied, it already has an owner.



The Lost Grave of Captain Kangaroo

Unlike many of my Generation X peers, I was not a huge fan of Captain Kangaroo.  Quite frankly, I didn't get it.  I still don't.  Maybe it was the suit.  Maybe it was the puppets.  Mr.  Moose's antlers were in a perpetual state of about to fall off.  Whatever the reason, I never watched it.  But a lot of people did.  It ran from 1955 to 1984 and was the longest running nationally broadcast children's television program.  So what do I know?

The Captain was brought to life by New York native Robert James "Bob" Keeshan, who was born on June 27, 1927.  Keeshan graduated from high school early in order to serve his country during World War II.  He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1945 but never shipped out, as Japan surrendered shortly thereafter.  He took his GI Bill though and went to Hillsdale College.

After finishing his education, the future captain jumped immediately into network television.  He joined the cast of Howdy Doody when it premiered in 1948 and was the original Clarabell the Clown.  I did not know that.  Here's a clip of Keeshan from 1950 clowning around with show host, "Buffalo" Bob Smith.  Be sure to drink your Ovaltine!

"Buffalo" Bob Smith, Howdy Doody, and
Bob Keeshan as Clarabell

He left Howdy Doody in 1952 and joined other children's series, including the long forgotten Time for Fun and Tinker's Workshop. 

Having established himself in the world of children's entertainment, Keeshan, joined by long-time friend Jack Miller, submitted his proposal for Captain Kangaroo to CBS in 1955.  The network had been looking to break into children's programming, and immediately greenlit the production.

Every morning, a slew of different celebrities would welcome the Captain to the airwaves via a series of pre-recorded greetings.  Most came from primetime series on CBS, such as this one from 1976 or this one from 1981.

I'd be remiss not to mention some of the Captain's early-morning co-stars, including Mr. Green Jeans (Hugh "Lumpy" Brannum), Dennis (Cosmo Allegretti) or his faithful puppets Bunny Rabbit and the aforementioned Mr. Moose.  Here's a clip of Mr. Green Jeans tending his garden.

Keeshan was good friends with fellow children's host Fred Rogers.  In fact, the Captain dropped by Mister Rogers Neighborhood on April 27, 1970.  It is during this crossover event that the Captain finally reveals how he got his name - a result of his many pockets full of interesting items.  I'm having more fun writing this than I thought I would.

The two would re-unite on a primetime special in 1981 entitled Good Evening, Captain.  It premiered following Keeshan's heart attack (gasp).  Near the end, Rogers and Dick Clark presented him with a bouquet of flowers and encouraged his speedy recovery.   

That same year, CBS shortened Captain Kangaroo from a full hour to just 30 minutes, in order to expand the CBS Morning News program.  It continued airing daily in this format until the fall of 1982, when CBS sidelined it to Saturday mornings.  Fed up with the constant reductions, Keeshan left the show in 1984, which ended the following year.

Although the series had ended, Keeshan stayed with CBS.  In the fall of 1985, he began hosting CBS Storybreak, a series that brought children's literature to life.  Watch him set up one such adventure here.  He also founded Corporate Family Solutions, a company that outsources day care programs to businesses.  Today, it's known as Bright Horizons, and you can visit their web site here.

By the 1990s, Keeshan was interested in reviving his Captain Kangaroo persona in a new property.  He found children's TV growing more and more violent, even crusading against such programs as He-Man and The Transformers.  Unfortunately, he was never able to obtain permission from ICM, the company that owned rights to the show.

Eventually, Keeshan settled down in Windsor, Vermont.  He resided there during his final years and passed on January 23, 2004.  He was 76 years old. 

Now, if you want to pay your respects to the Captain it can be a bit tricky.  His page at Find a Grave has previously posted incorrect cemetery information, so be careful.  The Captain is buried at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Babylon, New York.  

I wish I could tell you specifically how to find it, but here's the best I can do.  Drive through the front gate (or walk - it's a small cemetery).  Take the gravel road all the way down to the end and park.  Get out on your left and search the field near the back fence.  That's where you'll eventually find Keeshan.  Adding insult to injury, the day I visited, the grounds had recently been tended to, and his marker was covered in grass clippings.

RIP Captain!

Trivia

• An urban legend purports that actor Lee Marvin and Bob Keeshan served together at the Battle of Iwo Jima when neither ever set foot there.
  
  
• Keeshan appeared as the Captain on an episode of the game show What's My Line?  View it here.
  
  
• The final episode aired on December 8, 1984.  It isn't a farewell episode per se, and the Captain doesn't sign off.  Regardless, you can watch that final episode here.
  
  
• Keeshan authored a few tell-all books, including Good Morning, Captain: Fifty Wonderful Years with Bob Keeshan, TV's Captain Kangaroo.  Check it out on Amazon.
  
  
• Both Headline News and CBS report on Keeshan's passing in this YouTube clip.

You Ol' Fish-Eyed Fool!

Lawanda Page was born Alberta Peal on October 19, 1920 in Cleveland, Ohio.  She was raised in St. Louis, where she began her career in show business when she was just fifteen.  Billed as "The Bronze Goddess of Fire," her early nightclub act saw her stripping, eating fire and lighting cigarettes with her fingers.  A far cry from the comedy that would define her.

From the late 1930s to the early 1960s, Page was a regular on the nightclub circuit, where she often worked with notable comedians such as Richard Pryor. She was beginning to stretch her comedic wings and decided to hone her wit by moving to Los Angeles.  There around 1965, she joined the comedy group Skillet, Leroy and Company.  It's members included Ernest "Skillet" Mayhand, Wilbert "LeRoy" Daniel and an up and coming comedian who called himself Redd Foxx.  Page was no stranger to Foxx however, as the two had grown up together in St. Louis.

During her time with the group, Page honed her feisty approach to comedy, eventually earning a new billing - "The Black Queen of Comedy."  By the late 60s, she began recording comedy albums for Laff Records, which were incredibly raunchy.  Hear one of them here.  You've been warned.

In 1971, NBC offered Foxx his own sit-com, Sanford and Son, the show that would define both his and Page's careers.  Watch the intro here. It was based on a BBC program called Steptoe and Son, though the two bare little if any resemblance to one another.  Watch an episode of Steptoe here.

While the network was sold on Foxx, they had deep reservations about hiring Page.  Although she had made a name for herself on the comedy stage, she'd never performed in a sit-com before, prompting the network to show her the door.  Foxx dug his heels in however, threatening to walk off the show himself if Page wasn't signed.  The rest, as they say, is history.

As Aunt Esther, Page spent the next six years sparring with her brother-in-law Fred Sanford.  Their scenes together were a highlight of the series, and you can watch a compilation of them here.

In 1977, NBC canceled Sanford and Son, but attempted to keep some of the characters around in a new series entitled Sanford Arms.  While lacking either of the original title characters, the new series did resurrect Page's Aunt Esther as well as Don Bexley's Bubba.  You can watch a full episode here, if you want, but the thing only lasted eight episodes for a reason.  Four years later, Sanford would return to NBC, but Son was still nowhere to be seen.  Page however did return, and the revived series, appropriately titled Sanford, lasted two seasons.  Watch the intro here.

Page stayed active in television and films, often appearing on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts.  Watch her take down Jimmy Stewart in this classic clip. She later returned to her roots as a fire-eater on Circus of the Stars.  Man, I used to love that show.  She also resumed her stand-up career.  Watch one such engagement here.

By the late 1990s, Page was suffering from diabetes, which ultimately took her life on September 14, 2002.  She was 81 years old.  She was cremated, and her ashes were interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery outside Los Angeles.

Inglewood Park Cemetery
Capistrano Court
Memorial Panel 43
Row F-3

RIP Queen.

Trivia

• In the 1980s, Page did a number of commercials for Church's Fried Chicken.  Watch one here.  Here's another one.
  
  
• Redd Foxx used to have an office building in downtown Los Angeles.  Long since torn down, the sidewalk out front still bares signatures and handprints of the original comedy group, Skillet, LeRoy and Company.  Read about it here.
  

• While the plaque baring Peal's name appears above ground on a columbarium, her ashes are actually stored in an underground chamber, along with hundreds of others.  While the staff here at Six Feet Under Hollywood have yet to breach this hideaway of the dead, we remain vigilant in our efforts to do so.
  
  

• When Sanford and Son began its third season in 1973, NBC moved it to a new time slot, Friday nights at 8:00, where it continued to see ratings success.  It is often cited as the nail in the coffin for its counterpart on ABC, this long-running sit-com that was canceled after five seasons.

Ted Williams: American Cryonaut

I created this blog to help readers locate the final resting places of some of their favorite celebrities and to share some hopefully privileged information on the lives that they led.  This column however, will be a little different.  While Ted Williams' life is one worthy of being profiled, this is more a study of what happened after he died.  Parental guidance is suggested.

Williams was 83 years old when he passed on July 5, 2002.  His had been a life of service, both to his country during two wars and to the sport of baseball.  He was a left fielder with the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960, where he had a .344 batting average, scored 521 home runs, and was a two-time recipient of the American League's Most Valuable Player Award.  Other accolades would follow him well into retirement.

By the 1990s, Williams was suffering from cardiomyopathy, a heart disease whose cause is frequently unknown.  During his final years, he'd receive a pacemaker, undergo open-heart surgery, and suffer a series of strokes before finally passing.

Ordinarily, that would have been the end of the story.  "The Splendid Splinter," one of many nicknames by which he was known, had left specific instructions in his will to be cremated and to have his ashes scattered in the Florida Keys.  Some years earlier however, his son John-Henry had gotten to know the staff members of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation (Alcor), a cryonics organization in Scottsdale, Arizona, and considered other final arrangements for his famous father.

Alcor was first established by Fred and Linda Chamberlain in 1972 in Riverside California.  It is a nonprofit human cryopreservation facility that offers its patients the chance at immortality.  Upon death, one is cryogenically frozen and preserved until such time in the future as the cause of death has been cured.  Patients have the option of having their entire bodies frozen or merely their heads (neuropreservation), a far more economical option.  Alcor theorizes that future nanotechnology will make recreating your body a rather simple, everyday task.  They point to the rise of modern 3-D printing technology as a sign of things to come. 

By 2002, Williams was terminal, spending his final hours in his home of Hernando, Florida.  An essay in Uncle John's Bathroom Reader describes what happened next.

"Even as Williams lay dying, a "standby team" dispatched by [Alcor] was at his bedside, waiting patiently for him to breathe his last. Within moments of his being declared dead at 8:49 a.m., the team sprang into action, pumping his body full of blood thinners and packing it in a body bag filled with dry ice for the trip to a nearby airport, where a chartered jet stood by to take it to Alcor headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona."

Uncle John continues.  "By 11:30 p.m. Williams’s body was stretched out on the Alcor operating table. There, in a procedure lasting 37 minutes, a surgeon decapitated the corpse so that head and body could be frozen separately in “dewars,” high-tech steel thermoses filled with liquid nitrogen. Over the next several days, his head and body were slowly chilled to -320°F, and they’ve been floating in what Alcor calls “long-term storage” ever since. Williams’s head reportedly sits in a dewar on a shelf; the rest of his body floats in a much larger dewar several feet away."

An Alcor dewar.

All of this was news to Ted's oldest daughter, Bobby-Jo Ferrell.  In response to her outrage,  John-Henry produced what he called a "family pact," signed by himself, his younger sister Claudia, and allegedly by Ted.  Scribbled on a napkin, it was an agreement between the three to be put into biostasis upon their deaths. 

Bobby-Jo took her family to court, demanding that her father's wishes be honored.  The lawsuit contended that John-Henry had forged his father's signature, but laboratory analysis confirmed it was authentic.  Hmm.  I wonder how much a Ted Williams autographed biostasis agreement goes for. 

As John-Henry had power of attorney, he ultimately won in court.  But karma's a bitch, and he unexpectedly died himself on March 6, 2004.  Readers will be delighted to know that he has been reunited with his father, frozen in a dewar at Alcor.



The white chamber at bottom holds the world's first cryonaut,
frozen in 1976. 

The story brought Alcor into the national spotlight, something it had long been hoping for.  Today, more than 1,500 patients are interred at the facility.  Alcor will even preserve your pets for you.  They also offer tours of the facility.  In the summer of 2014, this blog did just that.




Alcor employs a unique variety of individuals, most of whom are future patients themselves.  The most eccentric of the group is Dr. Mike Perry, a man so devoted to science that, and here's where the parental guidance part comes in, he castrated     himself while still in college using only a razor blade.  Ouch!  Mike not only works for Alcor, but he lives there too.  He is also the founder of a pseudo cult known as the Futurists. Guaranteed, this is one cult where mass suicide will never be a thing.


Upon death, patients are hooked up to a cooling station like this in order to
preserve the body for transport to Alcor.

Wondering if your insurance will cover the costs of Alcor?  The short answer is yes and no.  Check with your provider.

Rest in, um, peace, Ted.

Trivia

• HBO produced a fascinating documentary on Ted Williams for their Legends and Legacies series.  Watch it in its entirety here.
• Author Leigh Montville wrote the definitive Williams biography, Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero.  Check it out on Amazon.
• Three days after Ted died, a tribute was held at Fenway Park.  View it in its entirety here.
• Former Alcor employee Larry Johnson wrote a fascinating account of what goes on behind the doors at Alcor.  Read his book Frozen: My Journey Into The World of Cryonics, Deception and Death, available at Amazon.  Also, check out his interview with CBS News here.
• California detective Alan Kunzman provided a fascinating account of one Alcor patient, who quite perhaps, wasn't ready to be frozen just yet.  Read his account in Mothermelters: The Inside Story of Cryonics and the Dora Kent Homicide, available at Amazon.
• Interested in being frozen yourself?  Alcor has all the answers you may be asking.  Visit their YouTube Channel for informative videos.
• CNBC stopped by for a tour.  Check out their report here.

Farrah Fawcett: Six Feet Under

June 25, 2009 was a day I'll never forget.  Farrah Fawcett, a true 70s icon, lost her battle with cancer.  The world was in shock......for about five minutes.  Then that freak show Michael Jackson died too, and Farrah was all but forgotten.  Jerk.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Farrah Leni Fawcett (wow, her real name!) was born on February 2, 1947 in Corpus Christi, Texas.  Her father worked in the oil fields while her mom raised two girls.  Fawcett once stated in an interview that her mother hade made up the name "Farrah" as it went so well with the family name.  The more you know.

In 1968, Farrah was a student at the University of Texas, majoring in microbiology.  There she was discovered by a Hollywood agent, who all but begged her to come to L.A.  Upon her arrival, she was immediately signed to Screen Gems Production Studio for a whopping $350 a week.  Pretty good money by 60s standards, but unheard of for someone with no prior experience.  She immediately found work in commercials, including this ridiculously cheesy one for Noxzema, co-starring Joe Namath. 

More commercials would follow for companies such as Max Factor and Beautyrest Mattresses.  She also started landing guest spots on popular network series of the time, including The Patridge Family and I Dream of Jeannie. Click on the titles to view her clips.

Farrah's real rise to stardom began in 1976, when an Ohio-based poster company approached her with an idea, one that would captivate teenage boys the world over.  Farrah posed for photographer Bruce McBroom wearing an iconic red swimsuit, after styling her hair by herself and heightening her blond highlights with lemon juice (!).  The poster, seen at right, remains the highest-selling in history.

The poster earned Farrah, who by this point was Mrs. Lee Majors, a supporting role in the sci-fi classic film Logan's Run.  Here's a clip.

Farrah and Lee spent their off time playing tennis, often with producer Aaron Spelling.  It was through this relationship that Spelling would cast her as Jill Munro in the made-for-TV movie Charlie's Angels.  Most people forget it had life before it became a weekly series. Here's the intro for that movie of the week.

Farrah was joined in the cast by Kate Jackson as Sabrina Duncan and Jaclyn Smith as Kelly Garrett.  Not the Kelly Garrett who is my cousin though.  David Doyle rounded out the cast as their colleague John Bosley.  Charlie himself was never seen on-screen, but was voiced by long-term Spelling associate and veteran actor John Forsythe.

The movie debuted on March 21, 1976.  A ratings smash, it quickly went to series, which had it's formal debut on September 22nd of that year.  Watch the revised series intro here.

When most people think of the series, they usually think of Farrah.  That's ironic, considering that she was only on for one season.  A variety of reasons have been given over the years for why she left so early, but Farrah herself stated that she wanted to broaden her acting opportunities. 

Farrah starred in a number of mostly forgettable films, including Sunburn in 1979 with the horribly miscast Charles Grodin, then later Saturn 3, with Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas.  Her biggest post-Angels success however, was the 1983 made-for-TV classic The Burning Bed, a movie that most likely gave birth to the Hallmark Channel.

Fawcett played real-life battered wife Francine Hughes, a Michigan woman who killed her husband after years of abuse.  Here's a clip from the film, as well as the NBC introduction.

While the film earned Fawcett praise, it would prove to be the last major credit to her career.  Hoping to revitalize it once again, she appeared in the December 1995 issue of Playboy, this time without the red swimsuit.  It proved so popular that she posed again less than two years later in the July 1997 issue.

Making the rounds to promote the issue, Farrah sat down for an interview with David Letterman.  She appeared distracted and confused however, and tended to ramble throughout the interview.  If you love cringeworthy TV, then this clip is for you.

Cancer was no stranger to Farrah, as she'd already lost her sister to it.  So it came as no surprise when she herself was diagnosed with it in 2006.  I won't go in to detail here about what she went through or how she tried to battle the disease, but it sure as hell wasn't pleasant.  She tried a number of therapies over the next three years, but ultimately passed on June 25, 2009.  Here's how Entertainment Tonight covered the story.  Damn you, Michael Jackson.

Fawcett was laid to rest at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village in its famed Celebrity Row.  Her nearest neighbors include George C. Scott, Jack Lemmon and Carroll O'Connor.

Rest in peace, Angel.

Trivia:

• While still a series regular on Charlie's Angels, Farrah appeared with her husband Lee Majors on another ABC series, the hilariously awful Brady Bunch Variety Hour.  Watch a compilation of their scenes together here.
  
  
• While Farrah divorced Majors in 1982, the couple separated as early as 1979.  That year, she started dating Ryan O'Neal, with whom she had her only child, Redmond James Fawcett-O'Neal, born on January 30, 1985.  Here's a recent photo of him, taken after his arrest for attempted murder, burglary, and holding up a convenience store.  Naturally, he blames his parents.
  
  

  

Women's History Month Honor Series - Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jean Mortenson on June 1, 1926.  She was the third child of Gladys Pearl Baker, but grew up in a series of foster homes and orphanages following her mother's mental breakdown.  To this day, history has no record of who Monroe's biological father was, as The Maury Povich Show was still decades away.

At age 16, Monroe married a neighbor, James Dougherty, five years her senior.  It was a marriage of convenience.  For Monroe, it allowed her to stay in California, rather than relocate with her foster family to West Virginia.  For Dougherty, he got to marry Marilyn Monroe.  Win-win!  But as with most Hollywood marriages, it wouldn't last long.

In 1944, Monroe pitched in to help Uncle Sam by working in a radioplane factory (early drones).  While there, she met a photographer and began her career as a pin-up model.  An instant success, it wasn't long before Hollywood noticed, and she was cast in a number of films, including As Young as You Feel.  You can watch the film in its entirety here.  Or here's the trailer.

By 1953, Monroe had become the most marketable woman in Hollywood, leading to bigger roles.  That year alone, she had starring roles in films such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire and Niagara.  Her biggest hit would come two years later, when she starred in The Seven Year Itch. Click on the titles to see their original trailers.

Monroe married Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, and was romantically linked to at least two of the Kennedys.  To learn more about her personal life, take a voyage to your public library.  It's all in books.

By 1962, Monroe was single again, and living at a home in Brentwood.  On the evening of August 5th, her housekeeper stopped by to check in on her. 

Finding the door to her bedroom locked, the housekeeper called Monroe's psychiatrist, as you do.  He broke in to the room, where he found Monroe dead in her bed.  Toxicology reports would later indicate that she had died of acute barbiturate poisoning.

Monroe's psychiatrist later stated that the star was "prone to severe factors and frequent depressions with abrupt and unpredictable mood changes."  Sounds like every woman I've ever dated.  He also added that she had overdosed on several prior occasions, believing many of them to be intentional.  Based on his conclusions and the lack of any signs of foul play, Monroe's death was declared a probable suicide.

All of Hollywood turned out for Monroe's funeral.  Watch some news footage of it here.  She was interred at Pierce Brothers Memorial Park in Westwood Village, hands down the coolest cemetery in LA.  Today, her neighbors include Carroll O'Connor, Florence Henderson, Zsa Zsa Gabor and a host of other luminaries.  But her most noteworthy neighbor is none other than Hugh Hefner, who began his Playboy empire with a little help from Monroe, who appeared in the very first issue.  Hef bought the space directly next to Monroe, but it would take him another 53 years to join her in it.

Here's a picture from one of my recent visits.

And here's a close-up from another occasion.

Goodbye, Norma Jean.  Hey, so that's what that song means!