Knotts, Don b. July 21, 1924 d. February 24, 2006 Actor, Comedian. Born Jesse Donald Knotts in Morgantown, West Virginia, he is best known for his roles as 'Deputy Barney Fife' in the 1960s television series the "Andy Griffith Show," and as landlord 'Ralph Furley' from the late 1970s television situation comedy series "Three's Company." He began his career as a ventriloquist and comedian in his local hometown of Morgantown. Following an unsuccessful career launch in New York, he returned home to attend West Virginia University. He entered the...[Read More] (Bio by: Nils M. Solsvik Jr.) Cause of death: Complications of lung cancer Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA
Abbott, Darrell 'Dimebag Darrell' b. August 20, 1966 d. December 8, 2004 Rock Musician. A native of Dallas, Texas, he was the lead guitarist for the influential heavy metal group "Pantera". The band, popular from it's beginning in 1982 up through the 2000s, released several albums over their more than 20 year career, and had signature songs such as "Mouth For War", "Walk", "This Love", and "Cemetery Gates". After the breakup of that band, Abbott joined the heavy metal group "Damageplan", which gained a following largely due to his musical notoriety from his Pantera...[Read More] Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Arlington, Tarrant County, Texas, USA Plot: Lakeside Estates, family plot
Clemons Jr., Clarence Anicholas 'The Big Man' b. January 11, 1942 d. June 18, 2011 Musician. He began playing saxophone as a boy and attended Maryland State College on music and football scholarships. An auto accident shortly before a tryout with the Cleveland Browns ended his hopes for a football career, and he concentrated on music while also working as a counselor at a New Jersey facility for emotionally disturbed boys. After years of playing in bar bands and as a session musician, in 1971 Clemons met Bruce Springsteen, an event immortalized in the Springsteen song "Tenth...[Read More] (Bio by: Bill McKern) Cremated, Ashes scattered, Ashes scattered in Hawaii
Chisholm, Jesse b. 1805 d. March 4, 1868 Western Pioneer. Born in the Cherokee Nation, eastern Tennessee, he was a skilled hunter, guide and trader. Learning dozens of Indian languages, he became a sought-after guide and adviser about Indian affairs throughout Texas, Kansas and Indian Territory. In 1865, Chisholm hauled wagons loaded with buffalo hides from his trading post near Wichita, Kansas, to what is now Oklahoma City. The route came to be known as the Chisholm Trail and for the next 20 years, traders and cowboys herding Texas...[Read More] (Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith) Jesse Chisholm Gravesite, Geary, Blaine County, Oklahoma, USA
Martin, Sarah b. June 18, 1884 d. May 24, 1955 Sarah Martin was one of the earliest recorded female blues singers of the "classic blues" period of the 1920s and the 1930s. She began her career in 1915 in Chicago, Illinois as part of a singing act. In 1922, she signed with OKeh Records and made her first recordings later that year. Throughout the remainder of the 1920s, Sarah toured the United States and the Carribean with various Broadway productions and as a solo act. During the early 1930s, she worked with Thomas A. Dorsey, the "father of...[Read More] (Bio by: Adam Maroney) Louisville Cemetery, Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA
MacDonald, Jeanette b. June 18, 1903 d. January 14, 1965 Actress and Singer. She is best remembered for her partnership with singer Nelson Eddy in a series of movies during the 1930s. A talented lyrical soprano, she had a wide vocal range, E above high C, close to three octaves. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Daniel and Anne MacDonald, she first became a dancer and turned to singing when she landed a choice role in a Broadway musical. She quickly rose in the public's...[Read More] (Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson) Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), Glendale, Los Angeles County, California, USA Plot: Freedom Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Heritage. Make an immediate right. The Sanctuary of Heritage is two
Allen, Sandy (Sandra) Elaine b. June 18, 1955 d. August 13, 2008 Guinness World Book title holder as the tallest woman on record since 1976. Sandy measured at 7 feet 7.25 inches. A pituitary tumor was the source of her body releasing excessive amounts of growth hormone. At birth the 6.5 pound normal baby began to grow quickly and by age ten she measured at 6 feet 3 inches. By age 16 she had reached 7 feet 1 inch. In 1974 she wrote to Guinness World Records looking to meet others her size. From there her fame began as the world's tallest woman. Her new...[Read More] (Bio by: Azarias) Forest Hill Cemetery, Shelbyville, Shelby County, Indiana, USA
Eddy, Nelson b. June 29, 1901 d. March 6, 1967 Singer and Actor. He is best remembered for his partnership with singer/actress Jeannette MacDonald in a series of movies during the 1930s. Born Nelson Ackerman Eddy and named for his paternal grandfather, he was the only child of an impoverished family. His father, Bill Eddy, was a drummer who performed in many bands, and a singer who performed in church choirs. His mother, Isabel Kendrick, was a southern belle born in...[Read More] (Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson) Hollywood Forever, Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, USA Plot: Garden of Legends (formerly Section 8), lot 89
De Putti, Lya b. January 10, 1896 d. November 27, 1931 Actress. Exotic, darkly sensual star of international silent films. She is best remembered as Emil Jannings' faithless trapeze artist mistress in the German classic "Variety" (1925). Reputedly descended from Hungarian nobility, she was born Amalia de Putti in what is now Vesce, Slovakia. At 16 she entered into an arranged marriage with a local magistrate, Zoltan von Szepessy, and had two daughters before abruptly abandoning the family to become a dancer in Budapest. Szepessy divorced...[Read More] (Bio by: Robert Edwards) Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hartsdale, Westchester County, New York, USA Plot: Ferncliff Mausoleum, Unit 1, Alcove D, Crypt 31
Rosenberg, Ethel b. September 25, 1915 d. June 19, 1953 Cold War Spy. Convicted and executed with her husband Julius for providing American Atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. On June 17th, 1953, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas temporarily stayed the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, originally set for the next day, the couple's 14th wedding anniversary. (They were put to death June 19.) Cause of death: Execution Wellwood Cemetery, Pinelawn, Suffolk County, New York, USA
Hackett, Joan b. May 1, 1934 d. October 8, 1983 Popular, well-respected stage, motion picture, and television actress of the 1950s thru 1980s. Her crypt marker carries an epitaph relating to her love of "beauty" sleep, admonishing visitors to "Go Away - I'm Asleep." (Bio by: A.J. Marik) Cause of death: Ovarian cancer Hollywood Forever, Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, USA Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Sanctuary of Faith, Crypt 2314, D-3 GPS coordinates: 34.0892906, -118.3211975 (hddd.dddd)
Koch, Ed (Edward Irving) b. December 12, 1924 d. February 1, 2013 US Congressman, Mayor of New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, he served New York's 17th and 18th Congressional Districts in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 until 1977. Later, he served as the Mayor of New York City from 1978 until 1989. Born to Russian-Jewish immigrants, his father worked in the garment industry until suffering from the fallout of "the Depression". Ed was raised in Newark, New Jersey and attended City College of New York, prior to his service as...[Read More] (Bio by: C.S.) Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum, Manhattan, New York County, New York, USA Plot: plot of land belonging to the family
Hilton, Daisy and Violet b. February 5, 1908 d. January, 1969 Entertainers. Born in Brighton, England to Kate Skinner, an unwed serving girl, Daisy and Violet were conjoined, pygopagus twins joined at the hips and fused at the pelvis. They shared blood circulation but no major organs. Their mother rejected them and they were unofficially adopted by the midwife, Mary Hilton. The girls were put on display almost immediately at the Hilton's pub. By the age of three, Hilton and her daughter took the twins on a tour of exhibition throughout the UK billing...[Read More] (Bio by: Iola) Forest Lawn West Cemetery, Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, USA Plot: Section M, Lot 313
Doby, Larry (Lawrence Eugene) b. December 13, 1924 d. June 18, 2003 Hall of Fame Major League Baseball Player. First African American to play in the American League, joining the Cleveland Indians on July 5, 1947, just 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. Doby also became the second African American manager in baseball, taking over the Chicago White Sox in 1978 after being hired by Bill Veeck, the same owner who brought him into the league with the Indians. During his 13-year career Doby hit .283 with 253 home runs, 970 RBIs and 960 runs...[Read More] (Bio by: Andrew Bollinger) Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend
Rosenberg, Julius b. May 12, 1918 d. June 19, 1953 Cold War Spy. Convicted and executed with his wife Ethel for providing American Atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. On June 17th, 1953, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas temporarily stayed the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, originally set for the next day, the couple's 14th wedding anniversary. (They were put to death June 19.) Cause of death: Execution Wellwood Cemetery, Pinelawn, Suffolk County, New York, USA
Romanova, Anastasia Nikolaevna b. June 18, 1901 d. July 17, 1918 Grand Duchess of Russia and youngest daughter of Emperor Nicholas II. She is known as the most spontaneous of the imperial family. The photos discovered in archives in the Kremlin after the fall of the Soviet Union and her diary, seem to prove the opinion of historians. However, his name is connected to the famous story of being survived to the massacre of 16 July 1918 in Yekaterinburg. In 1924, a presumed heir to the throne of Russia, whose real name was Anna Anderson, publicly declared to be...[Read More] (Bio by: Lucy Caldarelli) St. Peter and Paul Fortress, Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg Federal City, Russian Federation
Turpin, Tom (Thomas) b. June 18, 1871 d. 1922 Ragtime Musician, Composer, and Businessman. He is considered "The Father of Saint Louis Ragtime" due to his influence in rag music genre and is credited with publishing the first rag by an African-American, the "Harlem Rag" (1897). Born in Savannah, Georgia, where he taught himself to play the piano, his father was politically active during the Reconstruction era in the South after the Civil War. His family moved to Saint Louis, Missouri in the early 1880s where his father opened a saloon and...[Read More] (Bio by: William Bjornstad) Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA Plot: Section 29, Lot 167
DeSimone, Thomas b. May 24, 1950 d. January 14, 1979 Mobster. DeSimone worked under mob boss Paul Vario, and was a friend and associate of Jimmy Burke and Henry Hill, of "Goodfellas" fame. He was portrayed in the movie (as Tommy DeVito) by Joe Pesci. DeSimone was involved in various criminal activities, including the infamous Lufthansa heist in December 1978. He disappeared the week after Christmas that same year. His fate was unknown until Henry Hill became an FBI informant in 1980. Hill told the authorities that DeSimone was murdered by the...[Read More] (Bio by: Jennifer M.) Non-Cemetery Burial
Roussimoff, André 'The Giant' b. May 19, 1946 d. January 27, 1993 Professional Wrestler, Actor. One of the largest athletes to participate in any sport, at his peak, he stood 7' 4" tall and weighed over 500 pounds. He was the first wrestler to gain national fame and was largely responsible for the immense popularity of wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s. Born in the village of Grenoble, France, he suffered from acromegaly, a disease that results in an over abundance of growth hormones. Also known as Gigantism, this disease caused Andre's body to continue...[Read More] (Bio by: Art & Tracy) Cause of death: Congestive heart failure Roussimoff Family Ranch Grounds, Ellerbe, Richmond County, North Carolina, USA Plot: His ashes are buried under his favorite garden in his North Carolina ranch.
Howard (Gustafson), Bart (Howard Joseph) b. June 1, 1915 d. February 21, 2004 Songwriter. Born in Burlington, Iowa, he was jazz pianist best known for composing the classic pop standard "Fly Me to the Moon" in 1954. After serving in the US Army in World War II, he was pianist and director of shows at the Blue Angel in New York, when he started writing songs. His many other song credits included "The Man in the Looking Glass", Perfect Stranger", "Sell Me", "Be My All", "Everybody Wants to Be Loved", "Gather Your Dreams" and "Sky Full of Rainbows". In 1999, he was Inducted...[Read More] (Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith) Lanes Chapel Cemetery, Clarksville, Red River County, Texas, USA