Cesar Romero: Six Feet Under

Cesar Julio Romero, Jr. was born on February 15, 1907.  Born in New York City, he'd later earn the nickname "The Latin from Manhattan."  The things you learn on the internet.

Romero grew up in Bradley Beach, New Jersey, where his father owned a sugar import business.  The Crash of 1929 however, would put the family in financial straights, pushing Romero, a budding actor, into the role of provider for his brothers and sisters.

Throughout the 1930s, he routinely played Latin lovers on the big screen, starring opposite such notable actresses as Carmen Miranda.  In 1941, the two teamed up for Week-End in Havana, for which he was billed as "a specialist in rumba and romance."  See the trailer here.

When America entered World War 2, Romero put Hollywood on hold and enlisted in the Coast Guard, where he was eventually promoted to the rank of Chief Boatswain's Mate.

After the war, he returned to Hollywood and resumed his career, working with the likes of Tyrone Power, Martha Raye and Barbara Eden.  But it was a call from 20th Century Fox in 1965 that would forever enshrine him in the pop culture Hall of Fame, when he was offered the role of the Joker on the 1960s Batman television series.  Convinced that he owed his Latin lover image to his swarthy moustache, Romero refused to shave it for the series, opting instead to simply paint over it.  Watch the late Adam West discuss the hilarious results of that decision here.


In the 1970s and 80s, Romero regularly landed guest star spots on television, including this episode of Charlie's Angels, where the drama takes place, where else, but on a dance floor.

In late 1993, Romero checked in to St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica.  While being treated for bronchitis and pneumonia, he developed a blood clot, which would end his life on January 1, 1994.  One day after my 1993 dead pool expired.  In the end, the joke was on me.

Romero was cremated, placed in a uniquely designed family urn, already occupied by his parents and two siblings. 

Location: Inglewood Park Cemtery, Los Angeles
Plot: Mausoleum of the Golden West, Alcove of Music, Niche 408

Trivia: Romero was a registered Republican, probably the last one to ever live in Hollywood.  In 1960, he campaigned regularly for Richard Nixon.

Carroll O'Connor: Six Feet Under

Carroll O'Connor.  Archie Bunker.  The two names go hand in hand.  And they both rose to national prominence in 1971 with the premiere of "All in the Family," a series that would literally re-write the sit-com industry for generations to come.  Gone were the Cleavers, the Nelsons, and all the other families who got along.  The Bunkers offered a more realistic vision of the modern family.

He was born John Carroll O'Connor on August 2, 1924.  Like his TV counterpart, O'Connor grew up in New York, spending much of his youth in Queens.  He appeared on stage throughout most of the 1950s and 60s, but failed to gain national attention until the 1970 film "Kelly's Heroes."  By that point however, he had already appeared in a record three pilot episodes for "All in the Family" under it's original name "Justice For All," which was ultimately picked up by CBS. 

O'Connor suffered from diabetes, which ultimately forced him to retire, having completed 12 seasons as Archie Bunker (on two back-to-back series) and six seasons starring on "In the Heat of the Night."  He lost a toe to the disease, before ultimately suffering a massive, fatal heart attack on June 21, 2001.  He was 76 years old.  The story dominated the evening news broadcasts.  See a compilation video here.

A funeral mass was held in Los Angeles.  Several co-stars from both series attended, with Jean Stapleton being the only notable exception.  The actress who appeared alongside O'Connor as Edith Bunker was committed to a play at the time and could not attend.  O'Connor's best friend and fellow actor Larry Hagman (J.R. Ewing on "Dallas") delivered the eulogy.

Following the service, O'Connor was laid to rest at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village in Los Angeles in it's famed "Celebrity Row."  Sadly, his son Hugh preceded him in death by six years, having committed suicide in 1995.  He was already interred in the plot by the time O'Connor himself passed away.

This photo was taken prior to the death of O'Connor's widow Nancy, who ultimately passed on November 10, 2014, after a long bout with Alzheimer's Disease.

While visitors can pay their respects to O'Connor in Los Angeles, they can also see a museum of artifacts from his career some 3,000 miles away in the town of Covington, Georgia, where much of "In the Heat of the Night" was filmed.  Stop by the Visitors Center to see photos, costumes, and O'Connor's on-set chair from the landmark series.

Farewell Archie.  Those, truly were, the days.

Trivia:  In 1963, O'Connor screen tested for the role of the Skipper on "Gilligan's Island," a part that ultimately went to Alan Hale, Jr.  While studio execs favored O'Connor for the part, producer Sherwood Schwartz wanted someone more loveable. 

Links:
  Fan Video of the O'Connor Family grave
  "Justice For All" Unaired 1968 pilot
  "In the Heat of the Night" reunion in Covington

Bil Keane: Six Feet Under

Bil Keane is not exactly a household name.  Fans of the daily comics know his work however, as creator of the strip that would define his legacy, "The Family Circus."  The strip, which made it's debut in 1960, follows Bil and Thelma Keane as they raise their four children, Billy, Dolly, Jeffy and P.J.  As you might have surmised, the characters are loosely based on the artist's own family.

Bil Keane was born William Aloysius Keane in 1922.  His family lived in Pennsylvania, where as a schoolboy he taught himself to draw by following the style of those cartoons published in The New Yorker.  After high school and a tour with the army, Keane settled with his family in Paradise Valley, Arizona in 1959.  From there, he launched the series that he would continue to draw for more than 50 years.  Bil Keane passed of congestive heart failure on November 8, 2011.

Keane was laid to rest in Holy Redeemer Cemetery in Phoenix.  Should you decide to visit, you won't have any trouble locating the grave, as Keane's is the only above-ground monument. 

It is also notable for its decorations, the very characters he spent his lifetime perfecting.  One can't help but assume that Keane designed the sarcophagus himself, given the attention to detail his characters are given.  It offers a refreshing celebration of life, a quality not often found among other such memorials.

Before his passing his 2011, Bil passed the torch, or in this case the pen, to his son Jeff, who continues to draw "The Family Circus."

Whitney Houston: Six Feet Under

Certain national events are forever etched into our memories.  No doubt you remember where you were on the morning of September 11th as you saw America under attack.  Gen X-ers can vividly tell you where they were when the Challenger exploded, and your grandparents no doubt remember the JFK assassination with perfect clarity.  One event that I will always remember is the death of singer Whitney Houston.  While I was not a huge fan of "The Voice," I certainly appreciated her talents.  For me, it was HOW I heard of her passing.

It was February 11, 2012.  I was in New York City and decided to visit Caroline's Comedy Club.  The main act that night was Darrell Hammond, formerly of Saturday Night Live.  Somewhere between the warm-up act and the main event, word broke that Houston had died, and it was Hammond who broke the news to us there that night.  To say that it cast a somber mood on what should have otherwise been a lively night would be an incredible understatement.  "Hey everyone, Whitney Houston's dead - let's have a few laughs!" 

Now of course when you hear news like that, the first thing you want to do is check your phone, see that it's true, and be the first to get word to your friends.  Uh-uh.  Not in a comedy club where phones are verboten.  So Hammond's set seemed particularly long that night.

So what happened?  Houston was in Los Angeles for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony.  She was staying at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where record producer Clive Davis was hosting a pre-Grammy Awards party.  Fellow singers Brandy and Monica headlined the event.  Those in attendance would later describe Houston as "disheveled" and "erratic."

On the afternoon of the 11th, Houston's entourage called paramedics, after finding the superstar unconscious and submerged in the bathtub of Suite 434.  They attempted to revive her, but ultimately were unsuccessful.  She was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. 

Six weeks later, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office released it's report on the singer's death, attributing it to accidental drowning.  They detailed a number of drugs found in her system, including cocaine, cannabis, Xanax, Benadryl and Flexeril. 

Houston's red carpet memorial service was held the following Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, the singer's hometown.  An invitation-only event, it included performances by Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and R. Kelly, among others.  Houston's husband/drug dealer Bobby Brown attended, but left shortly after it began.  It was his prerogative.

Someone at the event was kind enough to snap a photo of the singer in her casket, which they sold to the National Enquirer for what must have been a hell of a pay day.

Interment took place in Fairview Cemetery in Westfield.  As the Enquirer reported, Houston was buried wearing more than $500,000 in jewelry.  Once word of this got out, Houston's family hired a private security firm to stand guard at the grave 24/7, to prevent would-be thieves from digging up the late singer.  Attempting to visit the grave shortly after the singer's passing, the team here at Six Feet Under were quickly turned away.  In a public cemetery!

Eventually the guards were retired however, and the public was finally able to pay their respects.

Although obscured in this photo, the marker bears the inscription "I will always love you," Houston's signature song.

Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, the Beverly Hilton Hotel was also being bombarded with a slew of curiosity seekers, fans eager to see where Houston spent her final hours.

In an attempt to throw fans off the trail, the hotel removed all markings for Suite 434.  But with a little detective work, it can easily be located, as we did just four months after the star's passing.

Just three short years later, Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, would follow her mother to the grave, similarly drowning in a bathtub.  Dealing with yet another tragedy, the family placed her next to her mother.

We will always love you!

Jim Thorpe: Six Feet Under

Once he was called the greatest athlete who ever lived.  Now, he's a roadside attraction in a town he never visited.  The story of Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe and how he came to be entombed in a small Pennsylvania village is a fascinating one.

Jim Thorpe was born Wa-tho-huck, or "Path Lit Up at Night by a Bolt of Lightning," on May 22, 1887.  He was born to a Native American couple on the Sac and Fox Reservation in the Oklahoma Territory.  Even as a young man, he showed great athletic prowess, which he demonstrated on the football field at Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania.  In a now infamous game against West Point, Thorpe and his team defeated halfback and future president Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Thorpe competed in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.  There he became the only Olympian to ever win the gold medal in both the Pentathlon and Decathlon.  Sweden's King Gustav proclaimed "Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world," to which Thorpe only replied "Thanks, King."

After a long and successful career, which included a stint as the first president of the National Football League, Thorpe passed away in 1953.  And here's where things got weird.

The town of Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania was in dire economic straights.  Needing a tourist attraction to boost the local economy, the town appealed to the Thorpe family, asking that Jim be interred there.  Strangely, the family agreed, on the condition that the town re-christen itself Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.  And that's exactly what they did.

Jim's connection to the town, if any, is iffy at best.  While he had heritage in Pennsylvania, it has not been conclusively proven that he ever set foot there.

There are two statues on the site, depicting both his football and Olympic careers.



The casket itself is adorned with a series of illustrations depicting Thorpe's achievement across the athletic field.

Can't make it to Western Pennsylvania?  Take a 360-degree aerial tour of the site here.  Mute the audio though.



Rod Serling: Six Feet Under

Interlaken, New York is a quiet farming community cut off from the modern world.  The Amish call it home, as evidenced by the horse-drawn buggies you'll pass as you traverse its main roads.  Local businesses are few and far between, but they do offer a number of wineries, perfect for a Sunday afternoon in the country.  Stop by Lucas Vineyards while you're there, and ask for a sample of the Tugboat Red.  Interlaken is also home to Lake View Cemetery, where you'll find one of the most iconic figures in pop culture history.

Rod Serling, known to multiple generations as the host, creator and producer of The Twilight Zone, was only 50 years old when he suffered two back-to-back heart attacks in the spring of 1975.  In an attempt to save his life, his doctors recommended open-heart surgery, but cautioned Serling that it too was a risky endeavor. Serling went ahead with the procedure.  While on the table, he suffered his third and final heart attack, which ultimately took his life on June 28, 1975. 

Serling was interred at Lake View, some 70 miles from his home town of Binghamton, on July 2.  A combat veteran of World War 2, he received full military
honors.    

It seems a far cry from Hollywood, where Serling left his mark as a screenwriter, playwright and television producer.  The cemetery itself is in disrepair, and volunteers are always encouraged to come forward and help with general maintenance.  Lawn care assistance is greatly appreciated, and cash donations are always welcomed.

All this however, does not keep the faithful away.  Serling's grave was by far the most decorated one that our Six Feet Under staff saw on this day, appropriately enough over Memorial Day Weekend.

Location: Lake View Cemetery, Interlaken, New York
Plot: Lot G, 1044

Finding this grave isn't particularly difficult.  Enter through the main gate and head down the sloping hill.  At the bottom, look to your left for the sign for Lot G.  Park your car and make your way on foot towards the center, where you'll spot a large tree, near the foot of which you'll find Serling.

In 1982, Hollywood decided to re-visit The Twilight Zone, with disastrous results.  Three actors were killed during the production.  The film was also notable for the appearance of Serling's widow Carol as a frightened airline passenger during the segment "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet."  She passed in 2020 and is buried next to her husband.

Visitors to the grave often leave gifts and other mementos to Serling and the show, such as the hand-painted rock depicting the title sequence shown above.  The rock on the right paraphrases actor Jonathan Winters, appearing in the classic episode "A Game of Pool" as James L. "Fats" Brown," Heaven's greatest billiards player.

It's no secret that Serling was an avid smoker, as you'd often see him holding a cigarette as he set up the evening's tale.  Lost to history however, were the cigarette spots he did at the end of each episode, during their original run on CBS.  Watch one of them here.  And please kids, don't smoke.

Hidden Graves of the Rich and Famous

In our travels, we've encountered some truly opulent memorials and headstones, befitting their celebrity occupants.  Jackie Gleason's temple in Miami will always inspire.  Other markers are much more simple, suggesting an air of humbleness or geniality.  Harvey Korman comes to mind as one such example.  Still others have no marker at all, for reasons known only to them or their families.

These graves require some extra detective work to track down, and will require a lot of time and patience.  At least they did for those of us here at Six Feet Under Hollywood.  But our goal is to help YOU find these graves, so let's get started.  This week, we present five A-listers who would otherwise have absolutely nothing in common but for the fact that they're buried in anonymity.

Fred Gwynne will forever be identified as Herman Munster, the patriarch of a family that only survived two seasons on network TV.  He was never fond of the role, and in his later career, shunned interviews and questions regarding the series, an early sign of his desire for anonymity.  His career rebounded in the final years of his life, with character roles in such notable films as Fatal Attraction, and of course, My Cousin Vinny.  Here's a documentary of his life.

Death: Gwynne died on July 2, 1993 at his home in Taneytown, Maryland.  The cause of death was pancreatic cancer.  Click here to see CNN's coverage of his death.

Location: Sandy Mount United Methodist Church Cemetery

Finksburg, Maryland
Look for the dark stone that reads "Shannon."  Gwynne is directly in front of it.

Trivia: In addition to being an actor, Gwynne found later success as the author and illustrator of a series of children's books, including Easy to See Why, The King Who Rained, and A Chocolate Moose for Dinner.  Unlike most self-made celebrity publications, these are actually worthy of your time.

Fred "Rerun" Berry was the breakout star of the 70's hit What's Happening?.  He came to the show after spending years as a professional dancer with the Los Angeles-based troupe The Lockers.  Watch Rerun show off his moves here.  Berry returned to the role of Rerun in the mid-80s revival series What's Happening Now??, but left after one season when his salary demands were unmet.  Ironically, cast mates claim that Berry's demands led to the cancellation of BOTH versions of the show.

Death: Rerun passed on October 21, 2003 while recovering from a stroke.  He had recently been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes.

Location: Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills

Plot: Tribute Section, Lot 1015, Grave 4
Look for this statue and use it as a reference.  Look for a round, circular stone bearing the number 1015.  Berry is to the left of it, between two other markers.
Photo courtesy of FindaGrave.Com

Trivia:  After giving up show business in the 1990s, Berry became a Baptist minister, and later, a pitchman for the UniverSOUL Circus.  However, it's his turn as a contestant on Howard Stern's game show "Hooker Price is Right" for which he'll always be remembered.

Roy Orbison.  It feels like an artist of his stature deserves more than to be simply tossed in with this group, and perhaps one day, we'll devote more space to him.  Orbison's musical career is legendary, as much for his rich baritone voice as the air of mystery created by his persona.  In the 1960s, Life Magazine referred to him as the "anonymous celebrity," a star with so many hits for whom the public knew so little about.  So perhaps that makes him perfect for this column after all.

Death: Shortly after forming supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, Orbison suffered a fatal heart attack on December 6, 1988.  He was only 52.

Location: Pierce Brothers Westwood Village

Plot: Section D, #97
Roy is between two stones - "Frank Wright Tuttle" and "Grandma Martha Monroe."

Trivia: A common misconception about Orbison is that he was blind.  He wasn't, which explains why he was driving through Hazzard County in this famous TV clip, wherein he's forced to sing his signature song "Oh Pretty Woman" after being caught in a speed trap.  Incidentally, we believe that the same song was used in a Julia Roberts movie.  Updates to follow.

George C. Scott was actually a Marine before becoming an actor.  Born in Wise, Virginia, he enlisted in the service shortly after his 18th birthday in 1945.  When his tour was completed, he set out for Broadway, receiving numerous Tony award nominations for such productions as Richard III. Eventually landing in Hollywood, he'd land the signature role in the 1970 film Patton, for which he is best remembered.  Watch his stirring speech here.  Watch it lampooned by Jackie Gleason here.

Death: Throughout the 1980s, Scott suffered a series of heart attacks.  The last one came on September 22, 1999.  He was only 71 years old.

Location: Pierce Brothers Westwood Village
Celebrity Row, to the left of Walter Matthau

Trivia: Although Scott won the Academy Award for his portrayal of General Patton, he refused to accept it, stating that he was not in league with the other actors who were nominated (he wasn't belittling them, rather, he was being humble - kind of like his stone here).  The award was donated to the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington.

Frank Zappa was a self-taught guitarist/artist/filmmaker/etc.  To read his Wikipedia page, you'd think he'd cured cancer.  Born in Baltimore, he'd move with his family to the West Coast, finally settling in San Diego.  There in high school, he joined his first band, crafting an offbeat musical style that would be his personal trademark. 

Death: Zappa passed from prostate cancer on December 4, 1993.  His family released a public statement that read "Composer Frank Zappa left for his final tour just before 6:00 pm on Saturday."  We approve.

Location: Pierce Brothers Westwood Village
Plot: Section D, #100 (three down from Roy Orbison)
GPS: 34.0582314, -118.4415970 (hddd.dddd)
Zappa is between actor Lew Ayres and nobody Christopher Denny Ziesmer.

Trivia: Really, who didn't love Zappa's daughter Moon's one-hit single, Valley Girl?