Pérignon, Dom
Historical Figure
Age 77
December 14, 1638 - December 4, 1715
Church of Saint Sindulphe / Hautvillers / France / Europe
Dom Pierre Pérignon was a French Benedictine monk who made important contributions to the production and quality of Champagne wine in an era when the region's wines were predominantly red. He is often credited erroneously that he...
Perrin, Jean Baptiste
Science
Age 71
September 30, 1870 - April 17, 1942
Le Panthéon / Paris / France / Europe
Jean Baptiste Perrin was a French physicist who, in his studies of the Brownian motion of minute particles suspended in liquids, verified Albert Einstein’s explanation of this phenomenon and thereby confirmed the atomic nature o...
Perry, Antoinette
Show Business
Age 58
June 27, 1888 - June 28, 1946
Woodlawn Cemetery / Bronx / New York / USA / North America
Mary Antoinette "Tony" Perry was an American actress, director and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing. The Tony Awards were named in her honor.
Peterson, Roger
Disasters
Age 21
May 24, 1937 - February 3, 1959
Buena Vista Memorial Park Cemetery / Storm Lake / Iowa / USA / North America
Roger Peterson was the pilot who flew the plane that crashed, killing himself and all of the passengers which included musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson. The event later became known as "T...
Pfaff, Kristen
Music
Age 27
May 26, 1967 - June 16, 1994
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Buffalo / New York / USA / North America
Kristen Pfaff came from a family of musicians so it came as no surprise, while attending the University of Minnesota, Kristen played in a number of local groups. In 1991, she joined Janitor Joe as bassist and co-songwriter/vocalis...
Phillips, John
Music
Age 65
August 30, 1935 - March 18, 2001
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
He is famous for his role in organizing the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, his incestuous relationship with his daughter Mackenzie, oh and I almost forgot - as a member and leader of the vocal group The Mamas and the Papas. And it ...
Phillips, Mayor John
Historical Figure
Age 52
November 26, 1770 - May 29, 1823
Granary Burying Ground / Boston / Massachusetts / USA / North America
John Phillips was the very first mayor of Boston, Massachusetts and was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1813. John Phillips was also the father of famed abolitionist Wendell Phillips.
Phillips, Sam
Music
Age 80
January 5, 1923 - July 30, 2003
Memorial Park Cemetery / Memphis / Tennessee / USA / North America
Sam Phillips was one of the true musical pioneers of the 20th century. A man who redefined the cultural landscape by producing and engineering local talent in his modest studio and distributing the results on his own Sun Records l...
Piaf, Édith
Music
Age 47
December 19, 1915 - October 10, 1963
Cimetière du Père Lachaise / Paris / France / Europe
The most popular singer in France in the 1950s, Edith Piaf gained international recognition through her emotional songs of doom and tragic love. Unlike her contemporaries Charles Aznavour and Maurice Chevalier, Piaf achieved stard...
Pickett, George
Historical Figure
Age 50
January 16, 1825 - July 30, 1875
Hollywood Cemetery / Richmond / Virginia / United States / North America
Major General George Pickett was a career United States Army officer who became a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He attended the US Military Academy at West Point, accumulating a host o...
Pierce, Franklin
Historical Figure
Age 64
November 23, 1804 - October 8, 1869
Old North Cemetery / Concord / New Hampshire / USA / North America
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States of America. He came into office during a period of growing tension between the North and South. A politician of limited ability, Pierce was behind one of the most crucial...
Pierce, Webb
Music
Age 69
August 8, 1921 - February 24, 1991
Woodlawn Memorial Park / Nashville / Tennessee / USA / North America
Webb Pierce was one of the most popular honky-tonk vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of the 1950s, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. Webb's biggest hit was "In the Jailhouse Now", whic...
Pinkerton, Allan
Crime and their Victims
Age 64
August 25, 1819 - July 1, 1884
Graceland Cemetery / Chicago / Illinois / USA / North America
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish cooper, abolitionist, detective, and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency during his time in the United States. When the Civil War began, Pinkerton served as head of t...
Pollina, Antonio
Crime and their Victims
Age 100
September 20, 1892 - February 27, 1993
Holy Cross Cemetery / Yeadon / Pennsylvania / USA / North America
Antonio "Mr. Miggs" Pollina was an Italian-American mobster and was the short lived boss of the Philadelphia crime family during the late 1950s. Shortly after immigrating from Caccamo, Sicily he developed an arrest record dating b...
Pool, W W
The Odd and the Interesting
Age 79
April 1, 1842 - February 26, 1922
Hollywood Cemetery / Richmond / Virginia / United States / North America
William Pool was a well respected account manager and bookkeeper for the wealthy and influential Bryan estate. His wife died in 1913 with William passing away several years later. They are entombed at Hollywood Cemetery and you wo...
Porcaro, Jeff
Music
Age 38
April 1, 1954 - August 5, 1992
Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Jeff Porcaro was a founding member of the band Toto with his brother, Steve, and four others. The group’s hits included ″Hold the Line″ in 1977, ″Rosanna″ in 1982 and ″Africa″ in 1983. Interestingly enough, when Jeff...
Powell, Eugene
Music
Age 89
December 23, 1908 - November 4, 1998
Evergreen Cemetery / Metcalfe / Mississippi / USA / North America
Sonny Boy Nelson was an American Delta blues musician who picked up the guitar at the young age of 9. His best known works include “44 Blues”, “Suitcases Full of Troubles” and “Meet Me in the Bottoms”.
Powell, William
Show Business
Age 91
July 29, 1892 - March 5, 1984
Desert Memorial Park / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
William Powell was a premier American actor who personified the suave and sophisticated leading man during Hollywood's Golden Age. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the Thin M...
Power, Tyrone
Show Business
Age 44
May 5, 1914 - November 15, 1958
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
One of the greatest matinee idols in the 1930s and 1940s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads in such films as The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan and Witness for the Prosecution
Pratt, Hugo
Artists
Age 68
June 15, 1927 - August 20, 1995
Cimetière de Grandvaux / Grandvaux, Bourg-en-Lavaux / District de Lavaux-Oron, Vaud / Switzerland / Europe
Hugo Pratt is considered one of the greatest graphic novelists in the world. His strips, graphic works, and watercolors have been exhibited in major museums such as the Grand Palais and Pinacothèque in Paris, the Vittoriano in Ro...
Presley, Elvis
Music
Age 42
January 8, 1935 - August 16, 1977
Graceland / Memphis / Tennessee / USA / North America
Elvis Presley was an American singer, musician and actor. He is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century and is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll". He is the best-selling solo music ...
Price, Rod
Music
Age 57
November 22, 1947 - March 22, 2005
Laurel Hill Cemetery / Wilton / New Hampshire / USA / North America
Rod Price was an English guitarist who was best known for his work with the rock band Foghat. He was known as 'The Magician of Slide', and 'Slide King of Rock And Roll', due to his slide guitar playing. His signature slide playing...
Prima, Louis
Music
Age 67
December 7, 1910 - August 24, 1978
Metairie Cemetery / New Orleans / Louisiana / USA / North America
Proud son of Italian immigrants and a talented band leader, trumpter, composer and singer Louis Prima developed his talent earning the title "King of the Vegas Lounges" and "The Wildest Act in Las Vegas." With poker-faced Keely Sm...
Procter, William
Business and Finance
Age 82
December 7, 1801 - April 4, 1884
Spring Grove Cemetery / Cincinnati / Ohio / USA / North America
William Procter was an English-born American industrialist and candlemaker who was the co-founder of Procter & Gamble Company in 1837, along with James Gamble. William Procter came to New York City in 1830 after his London woolens...
Profaci, Joe
Crime and their Victims
Age 64
October 2, 1897 - June 6, 1962
St. John Cemetery / Middle Village / New York / USA / North America
Giuseppe "Joe" Profaci was an Italian-born New York City La Cosa Nostra boss who was the founder of the Profaci crime family. Established in 1928, this was the last of the Five Families to be organized. He was the family's boss fo...
Puente, Tito
Music
Age 77
April 20, 1923 - May 31, 2000
St. Anthony's Catholic Cemetery / Nanuet / New York / USA / North America
He has been called El Rey del Mambo, El Rey de los Timbales, The King of Latin Music, and with a hundred records and countless epic solos to his name, Ernesto “Tito” Puente - band leader, flamboyant timbales player and showman...
Pulitzer, Joseph
Writers and Poets
Age 64
April 10, 1847 - October 29, 1911
Woodlawn Cemetery / Bronx / New York / USA / North America
Joseph Pulitzer was a Hungarian-born American newspaper publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York World. He became a leading national figure in the Democratic Party and was elected congressman from New York. He cru...
Putnam, Ann Jr.
Historical Figure
Age 37
October 18, 1679 - 1716
Putnam Family Burial Ground / Danvers / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Ann Putnam's short and miserable life is best remembered as one of the principal accusers in the “circle” of girls who claimed to be afflicted by witchcraft which resulted in the Salem Witch Trials. She is responsible for the ...
Putnam, Ann Sr.
Historical Figure
Age 37
June 15, 1661 - June 8, 1699
Putnam Family Burial Ground / Danvers / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Ann Putnam, her husband and one of their daughters (Ann Putnam Jr.) all levied accusations of witchcraft, many of them against extended members of the Porter family, and testified at the trials. She is responsible for the accusat...
Putnam, Thomas
Crime and their Victims
Age 47
March 22, 1652 - June 3, 1699
Putnam Family Burial Ground / Danvers / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Thomas Putnam was the father of afflicted girl Ann Putnam, Jr, and many historians consider him to be a major influence in the Salem Witch Trials. Putnam himself accused and testified against 43 people while his daughter testified...
Quinn, Glenn
Show Business
Age 32
May 28, 1970 - December 3, 2002
Forest Lawn Memorial Park / Cypress / California / USA / North America
Irish actor Glenn Quinn acquired a small, but devoted, following from appearances in the television situation comedy Roseanne, and as the half-demon Doyle, in Angel, the spin-off from Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. Quinn was less succ...
Ra, Sun
Music
Age 79
May 22, 1914 - May 30, 1993
Elmwood Cemetery and Mausoleum / Birmingham / Alabama / North America
With over 200 albums over his 6 decade career, Sun Ra was revered in Europe as a genius and staged hundreds of concerts, at times with a nearly 100-piece orchestra. Taking the stage with his Arkestra members wearing wild costumes ...
Rachell, Yank
Music
Age 94
March 16, 1903 - April 9, 1997
New Crown Cemetery / New Crown Cemetery / Indiana / USA / North America
One of a few pre-war blues artist to continue performing into the 1990s, Yank Rachell was the primary exponent of the blues mandolin.
Rambeau, Marjorie
Show Business
Age 80
July 15, 1889 - July 6, 1970
Desert Memorial Park / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
Marjorie Burnet Rambeau was an American film and stage actress who began her stage career at age 12, and appeared in several silent films before debuting in her first sound film, Her Man (1930). By the time talkies came along she ...
Ramone, Dee Dee
Music
Age 50
September 18, 1951 - June 5, 2002
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Dee Dee Ramone was the last of the dying breed of authentic rock stars. A total f*ckup who got through it and in doing so changed the face of rock ‘n’ roll. He is fondly remembered as a founding member, bassist and songwriter ...
Ramone, Joey
Music
Age 49
September 18, 1951 - June 5, 2002
New Mount Zion Cemetery / Lyndhurst / New Jersey / USA / North America
Suffering from crippling OCD at times, Joey Ramone was nonetheless an iconic, punk counterculture rock and roll icon as lead singer and songwriter of The Ramones. Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy – the original Ramones, all decea...
Ramone, Johnny
Music
Age 55
October 8, 1948 - September 15, 2004
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Johnny Ramone was the hard right conservative punk with an affinity for serial killers and nazi memorabilia. But without his discipline, anger and guitar - there would be no Ramones. His wife, Linda, as well as rock stars such as ...
Ramone, Tommy
Music
Age 65
January 29, 1949 - July 11, 2014
New Montefiore Cemetery / West Babylon / New York / USA / North America
Tommy Ramone is fondly remembered as the co-founder, songwriter and drummer for the influential punk rock band the Ramones from its debut in 1974 to 1978, later serving as its producer, and was the longest-surviving original membe...
Rand, Ayn
Writers and Poets
Age 77
February 2, 1905 - March 6, 1982
Kensico Cemetery / Valhalla / New York / USA / North America
Ayn Rand escaped to the United States, where she would eventually publish four novels and a handful of political screeds encouraging selfishness and a lack of concern for others. After the release of her third novel The Fountainhe...
Randall, Rebel
Show Business
Age 88
January 22, 1922 - July 22, 2010
Desert Memorial Park / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
Rebel Randall was an American film actress and radio personality who appeared in approximately 50 films between 1940 and 1956. A glamorous brunette, she is remembered for her several dozen cinematic appearances from the early 1940...
Rao, Vincenzo
Crime and their Victims
Age 90
June 21, 1898 - September 25, 1988
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Vincenzo Rao was a Consigliere for the Lucchese crime family in New York City. In 1957, Rao was arrested with 60 other mobsters at the notorious Apalachin Meeting. During the 1963 Valachi hearings, Rao was listed as the Lucchese f...
Rappe, Virginia
Show Business
Age 26
July 7, 1895 - September 9, 1921
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Virginia Rappe was a young and up-and-coming Hollywood model and silent film actress, but is best known for her death after attending a party with actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was accused of rape and manslaughter in connecti...
Rathbone, Basil
Show Business
Age 75
June 13, 1892 - July 21, 1967
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Basil Rathbone was an English actor who began his career in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor, and went on to appear in more than 70 films. He is best known for his role as Sherlock Holmes in fourteen Hollywood fil...
Rawls, Lou
Music
Age 72
December 1, 1933 - January 6, 2006
Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Lou Rawls, the velvet-voiced singer who started as a church choir boy and went on to record the classic tune "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," was one of the great synthesisers of American popular music. He applied his v...
Ray, Johnnie
Music
Age 63
January 10, 1927 - February 24, 1990
Hopewell Cemetery / Dayton / Oregon / USA / North America
In the early 1950s, Johnnie Ray was arguably the biggest musical star in the world. His emotional singing and sexually suggestive performances earned him the titles "The Prince of Wails," "The Cry Guy," and "The Million Dollar Tea...
Raye, Martha
Show Business
Age 78
August 27, 1916 - October 19, 1994 (aged 78)
Fort Liberty Main Post Cemetery / Spring Lake / North Carolina / USA / North America
Martha Raye, nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comedic actress and singer who performed in the stage, in the movies and later on television. While she might be best remembered for those annoying television commercials for P...
Red Jacket
Historical Figure
Age 79
December 31, 1969 - January 20, 1830
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Buffalo / New York / USA / North America
Red Jacket, chief of the Wolf clan nation, became famous as an orator, speaking for the rights of his people. After the Revolutionary war, he played a prominent role in negotiations with the new U.S. federal government. The US pre...
Redfern, Buck
Sports
Age 62
April 7, 1902 - September 8, 1964
Riverside Cemetery / Ashville / North Carolina / USA / North America
George "Buck" Redfern was an infielder in Major League Baseball where he played for the Chicago White Sox. In his short two years as a professional ball player he batted a mere .218 with zero home runs and only 38 runs batted in. ...
Redstone, Sumner
Business and Finance
Age 96
May 27, 1923 - August 11, 2020
Sharon Memorial Park / Sharon / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Redstone was born in a Boston tenement to a father who changed the family name from Rothstein to Redstone and built a regional movie-theater chain. After a short career as an attorney (he graduated from Harvard and Harvard Law), R...
Reed, Herb
Music
Age 83
August 7, 1928 - June 4, 2012
Puritan Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery / Peabody / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Herbert Reed is best remembered as the last surviving original member of the do-wop group The Platters. As the only member of The Platters who sang on all of the 400+ songs recorded by the group, his vocals can be heard on The Pla...
Reed, Jimmy
Music
Age 50
September 6, 1925 - August 29, 1976
Lincoln Cemetery / Blue Island / Illinois / USA / North America
Jimmy Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter whose particular style of electric blues was popular with blues as well as non-blues audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), "Baby What You Want Me to Do" (196...
Rees, Florence Bernardin
The Odd and the Interesting
Age 2
July 20, 1859 - February 7, 1862
Hollywood Cemetery / Richmond / Virginia / United States / North America
In 1862 two-year-old Bernardine died from Scarlet Fever and her grave is often found adorned with trinkets, toys, rings, flowers, and stones. But what makes Bernardine's final resting place such a tourist draw is that it is guarde...
Reeves, Jim
Music
Age 40
August 20, 1923 - July 31, 1964
Jim Reeves Memorial / Carthage / Texas / USA / North America
Jim Reeves was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter with records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s. He became well known as a practitioner of the traditional Nashville Sound. Reeves' last two recording sessio...
Relf, Keith
Music
Age 33
March 22, 1943 - May 12, 1976
Richmond Cemetery / Surrey / England / Europe
Keith Relf was the vocalist and guitarist for The Yardbirds, an English rock band that had a string of hits in the mid 1960s, including "For Your Love", "Over Under Sideways Down" and "Heart Full of Soul". The group is notable for...
Renard, Jules
Writers and Poets
Age 46
February 22, 1864 - May 22, 1910
Cimetière de Chitry-les-Mines / Chitry-les-Mines / France / Europe
Jules Renard (February 22, 1864- May 22, 1910) was a French author and member of the Académie Goncourt, most famous for the works Poil de Carotte (Carrot hair) (1894) and Les Histoires Naturelles (Natural Histories) (1896). Among...
Revson, Charles
Business and Finance
Age 68
October 11, 1906 - August 24, 1975
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Charles Revson was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was best known as a pioneering cosmetics industry executive who, with brother Joseph Revson along with a chemist, Charles Lachman (who contributed the "L" in the Re...
Reynolds, Burt
Show Business
Age 82
February 11, 1936 - September 6, 2018
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Burt Reynolds was an American actor and director, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. The wryly appealing Hollywood heartthrob carried on a long love affair with moviegoers even though his performan...
Ricci, Nina
Business and Finance
Age 87
January 14, 1883 - November 28, 1970
Cimetière de Courances / Courances / Departement de l'Essonne / France / Europe
Mme. Ricci, who established her design house in 1932 and built a reputation before World War II for graceful, detailed and feminine clothes, was born in Turin, Italy. A near‐con temporary of Gabrielle Chanel, Mme. Ricci was almo...
Rich, Buddy
Music
Age 69
September 30, 1917 - April 2, 1987
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Beyond his flamboyant, sometimes volatile character, beyond his classic wardrobe and his status as the preferred guest on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson Buddy Rich was a magnificent drummer. His recording and performing resum...
Rich, Charlie
Music
Age 62
December 14, 1932 - July 25, 1995
Memorial Park Cemetery / Memphis / Tennessee / USA / North America
Charlie Rich was a country singer, songwriter and alcoholic whose career peaked in the 1970s.
Richard, Martin
Crime and their Victims
Age 8
June 9, 2004 - April 15, 2013
Cedar Grove Cemetery / Dorchester Center / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Martin Richard was the youngest of three victims killed by two domestic terrorists who detonated two homemade improvised explosive devices near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013. He was described by a family friend, "...
Richardson, J. P.
Music
Age 28
October 24, 1930 - February 3, 1959
Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Funeral Home / Beaumont / Texas / USA / North America
J.P. Richardson (aka The Big Bopper) was a Texas disk jockey, musician and singer known for his big hit singles "Chantilly Lace" and "White Lightning". Richardson was killed in a plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa in 1959 along with ...
Rickenbacker, Adolph
Music
Age 88
April 1, 1887 - March 21, 1976
Loma Linda Memorial Park / Fullerton / California / USA / North America
Adolph Rickenbacker was a Swiss-American remembered as one of the co-founders of the Rickenbacker guitar, and one of the key people who was responsible for the creation and adoption of electric guitars that managed to change the s...
Rickenbacker, Eddie
Historical Figure
Age 82
October 8, 1890 - July 23, 1973
Green Lawn Cemetery / Columbus / Ohio / USA / North America
Captain Edward V. Rickenbacker was called America’s Ace of Aces during World War I, the highest scorer of American aerial victories over the Germans. He could just as easily have been labeled the ‘luckiest man alive,’ howeve...
Rio, Frank
Crime and their Victims
Age 39
July 2, 1895 - February 23, 1935
Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery / Hillside / Illinois / USA / North America
One of Al Capone's most trusted and loyal bodyguards. Frank Rio was an alleged gunman in the famous 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre where seven members and associates of George “Bugs” Moran's bootlegging gang were lined up a...
Rizzitello, Michael
Crime and their Victims
Age 78
March 29, 1927 - October 26, 2005
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
Michael Rizzitello (aka "Mike Rizzi") was a capo (underboss) in the Milano crime family of Los Angeles. Rizzitello's criminal record stretched back to 1947 whe he worked for "Crazy Joe" Gallo in the 1950s who was a member of the P...
Roach, Max
Music
Age 83
January 10, 1924 - August 16, 2007
Woodlawn Cemetery / The Bronx / New York / USA / North America
Max Roach, was an American jazz drummer, composer, and one of most influential musicians in the development of bebop jazz. One of the most influential and widely recorded percussionists in modern history, Max played or recorded wi...
Robards, Jason
Show Business
Age 78
July 26, 1922 - December 26, 2000
Oak Lawn Cemetery / Fairfield / Connecticut / USA / North America
Recognized around the world as the definitive interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill throughout his long and esteemed career, Jason Robards has been hailed as one of this country's finest stage actors and acclaimed for his out...
Robbins, Harold
Writers and Poets
Age 81
May 21, 1916 - October 14, 1997
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
Harold Robbins, a writer whose formula of sex, money and power made him one of the best-selling authors of his day, wrote over 25 best-sellers, selling over 750 million copies in 32 languages. Among his best-known books is The Car...
Robbins, Irv
Business and Finance
Age 90
December 6, 1917 - May 5, 2008
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
Irvine Robbins was a Canadian-born American businessman. He co-founded the Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor chain in 1945 with his partner and brother-in-law Burt Baskin. Robbins grew up scooping ice cream at his family’s dairy. ...
Robbins, Marty
Music
Age 57
September 26, 1925 - December 8, 1982
Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum / Nashville / Tennessee / USA / North America
Marty Robbins was country music's most versatile singer and consistent hitmaker. His early recordings saw him veer from tear-stained ballads and honky-tonks to rockabilly and pop. Best known for his string of gunfighter ballads, R...
Robeson, Paul
Historical Figure
Age 77
April 9, 1898 - January 23, 1976
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Paul Robeson was an American actor, singer, and activist. Some of his best know work on stage included The Emperor Jones, All God's Chillun Got Wings, and Othello. Robeson best known movies include Show Boat (1936), Sanders of the...
Rockefeller, John D. Sr.
Business and Finance
Age 97
July 8, 1839 - May 23, 1937
Lakeview Cemetery / Cleveland / Ohio / USA / North America
There’s rich, there’s wealthy, and then there’s John D. Rockefeller. Considered by many to be the most financially-prosperous individual in modern history with an estimated $900,000,000 bank balance (unadjusted for inflation...
Rockin' Dopsie
Music
Age 61
February 10, 1932 - August 26, 1993
Calvary Cemetery / Lafayette / Louisiana / USA / North America
Rockin’ Dopsie (pronounced DOOP-sie), along with Boozoo Chavis and Clifton Chenier, is widely acknowledged to be one of the originators of zydeco music. Dopsie played music for dancing, assimilating R&B influences into zydeco an...
Rockwell, Norman
Artists
Age 84
February 3, 1894 - November 8, 1978
Stockbridge Cemetery / Stockbridge / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Norman Rockwell was a prolific American painter and artist, producing more than 4,000 original works in his lifetime. He is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine...
Rodgers, Jimmie
Music
Age 35
September 8, 1897 - May 26, 1933
Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery / Meridian / Mississippi / USA / North America
Jimmie Rodgers was an American singer, songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmic yodeling. During his all-to b...
Rooney, Mickey
Show Business
Age 93
September 23, 1920 - April 6, 2014
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Star of stage, screen and television Mickey Rooney was know for his energy, charisma, versatility and longivity who died with only $18,000 to his name. During his lifetime he racked up over 300 television and movie roles, 8 marria...
Rosenberg, Julius and Ethel
Crime and their Victims
Age
- June 19, 1953
Wellwood Cemetery / West Babylon / New York / USA / North America
It was a case that mesmerized the country and the world. On June 19, 1953, at the height of the Cold War, New York City–born Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were put to death in the electric chair. Convicted of conspiring to pass ato...
Rosenberg, William
Business and Finance
Age 86
June 10, 1916 - September 22, 2002
Sharon Memorial Park / Sharon / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Bill Rosenberg was an American entrepreneur who founded the Dunkin' Donuts franchise in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts. As one of the pioneers in name-brand franchising, Dunkin' Donuts originally was named the "Open Kettle" doughn...
Ross, Bob
Artists
Age 52
October 29, 1942 - July 4, 1995
Woodlawn Memorial Park and Funeral Home / Gotha / Florida / USA / North America
Bob Ross, with his distinctive hair style and quiet demeanor, was a popular American painter, art instructor, and television host. The painter who gave us “happy little trees” was the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, a...
Royal, Billy Joe
Music
Age 73
April 3, 1942 - October 6, 2015
Greenwood Cemetery / Morehead City / North Carolina / USA / North America
Billy Joe Royal was a Georgia-born singer who debuted on Columbia Records with "Down in the Boondocks" in 1965, which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. But he struggled to match his initial success with his subsequent record...
Ruby, Jack
Crime and their Victims
Age 55
April 25, 1911 - January 3, 1967
Westlawn Cemetery / Norridge / Illinois / USA / North America
American nightclub owner who fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald, while Oswald was in police custody after being charged with both the assassination of incumbent United States President John F. Kennedy, and murder of Dallas policeman J...
Ruffin, David
Music
Age 50
January 18, 1941 - June 1, 1991
Woodlawn Cemetery / Detroit / Michigan / USA / North America
David Ruffin is an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the original members and lead singers of the Temptations from 1964 - 1968. His vocals can be heard on the legendary Motown hits My Girl, Ain't...
Ruffing, Red
Sports
Age 80
May 3, 1905 - February 17, 1986
Hillcrest Memorial Park / Bedford Heights / Ohio / USA / North America
A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Red Ruffington is the winningest right-handed pitcher for the New York Yankees and ranked the 9th greatest Yankee player of all time by ESPN sports. Ruffing was a member of six World Series c...
Ruth, Babe
Sports
Age 53
February 6, 1895 - August 16, 1948
Gate of Heaven Cemetery / Hawthorne / New York / USA / North America
Considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time, over the course of his career, Babe Ruth went on to break baseball's most important slugging records, including most years leading a league in home runs, most tota...
Ruth, Helen Woodford
Sports
Age 31
October 20, 1897 - January 11, 1929
Mount Calvary Cemetery / Roslindale / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Babe Ruth met Helen Woodford in 1914 when she served him breakfast while she worked as a waitress at Landers’ Coffee Shop in Boston. They were married in the fall, and Helen would make periodic public appearances with The Babe. ...
Salieri, Antonio
Music
Age 74
August 18, 1750 - May 7, 1825
Der Wiener Zentralfriedhof / Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234 / Vienna / Austria / Europe
Antonio Salieri was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. Salieri was a pivotal figure in the development of late 18th-century opera. As a student of Florian Leopold Gassmann, and a protégé of Christoph Willibal...
Salvador, Henri
Music
Age 90
July 18, 1917 - February 13, 2008
Cimetière du Père Lachaise / Paris / France / Europe
Henri Salvador was a velvet-voiced French musician credited with inspiring the bossa nova, recording the first french rock 'n' roll single and helping create the music video. Known for his booming laughter, raucous sense of humor,...
Sanders, Colonel
Business and Finance
Age 90
September 9, 1890 - December 16, 1980
Cave Hill Cemetery / Louisville / Kentucky / USA / North America
Colonel Harland Sanders was an American businessman and founder of fast food chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (also known as KFC). When Sanders was only 6, his father died. So at a young age, he had to care for his ...
Sandman, Mark
Music
Age 46
September 24, 1952 - July 3, 1999
Sharon Memorial Park / Sharon / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Mark Sandman was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record label founder best remembered as the bass player and lead singer for the alt indie rock band Morphine. Sandman possessed a distinctive, deep bass-ba...
Sargent, Henry N.
Crime and their Victims
Age 23
August 4, 1830 - January 13, 1854
New Boston Cemetery / New Boston / New Hampshire / United States / North America
Sevilla Jones was 17-year-old girl who was shot dead by Henry Sargent one morning as she was walking to school with her younger brother. Henry loved Sevilla, and he believed that she had “given him encouragement.” However, he ...
Sarnoff, David
Business and Finance
Age 80
February 27, 1891 - December 12, 1971
Kensico Cemetery / Valhalla / New York / USA / North America
David Sarnoff was an American businessman and pioneer of American radio and television. Throughout most of his career he led the Radio Corporation of America in various capacities from shortly after its founding in 1919 until his ...
Scalish, John T.
Crime and their Victims
Age 63
September 18, 1912 - May 26, 1976
Calvary Cemetery / Cleveland / Ohio / USA / North America
Related to the Lonardo crime family through marriage, Scalish was the head of the Cleveland crime family for over 32 years. His reign were considered the "golden years" for the Cleveland mob, which built an empire of casinos, pinb...
Schoenberg, Arnold
Music
Age 76
September 13, 1874 - July 13, 1951
Der Wiener Zentralfriedhof / Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234 / Vienna / Austria / Europe
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was associated with the expressionist movemen...
Schubert, Franz
Music
Age 31
January 31, 1797 - November 19, 1828
Der Wiener Zentralfriedhof / Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234 / Vienna / Austria / Europe
Franz Schubert was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a vast oeuvre, including more than 600 secular vocal works (mainly lieder), seven complete symphon...
Schuessler, Anton Jr.
Crime and their Victims
Age 11
November 12, 1943 - October 16, 1955
Saint Joseph Cemetery / River Grove / Illinois / USA / North America
Anton Schuessler Jr. was a young boy who was brutally raped and murdered with his brother John Schuessler and friend Robert Peterson in 1955. The crime scene where the bodies where found was largely contaminated by investigators a...
Schuessler, Anton Sr.
Crime and their Victims
Age 42
January 1, 1912 - November 11, 1955
Saint Joseph Cemetery / River Grove / Illinois / USA / North America
Anton Schuessler Sr. was the father of John Schuessler and Anton Schuessler Jr., and both of his sons were brutally raped and murdered with their friend Robert Peterson in 1955. The crime scene where the bodies where found was lar...
Schuessler, John
Crime and their Victims
Age 13
November 30, 1941 - October 16, 1955
Saint Joseph Cemetery / River Grove / Illinois / USA / North America
John Schuessler was a young boy who was brutally raped and murdered with his brother Anton Schuessler and friend Robert Peterson in 1955. The crime scene where the bodies where found was largely contaminated by investigators and p...
Schultz, Dutch
Crime and their Victims
Age 34
August 6, 1901 - October 24, 1935
Gate of Heaven Cemetery / Hawthorne / New York / USA / North America
Dutch Schultz was a New York based mobster who made his fortune bootlegging rum during Prohibition, followed by gambling, the numbers racket and the restaurant racket afterwards. Schultz was known for his extreme brutality and the...
Schulz, Charles M.
Artists
Age 77
November 26, 1922 - February 12, 2000
Pleasant Hills Cemetery / Sebastopol / California / USA / North America
The most successful comic strip in newspaper history, PEANUTS appears in some 2,600 newspaper in 75 countries and is translated into 21 languages. United Feature Syndicate started the strip in syndication on October 2, 1950. He di...
Scott, Gordon
Show Business
Age 80
August 3, 1926 - April 30, 2007
Kensico Cemetery / Valhalla / New York / USA / North America
In 1954 Gordon Werschkul was the lifeguard at the Sahara Hotel on the Las Vegas strip when movie producer Sol Lesser struck up a conversation with the handsome, muscle-bound lifeguard. Next thing you know Gordon was on a plane to ...
Scott, Jimmy
Music
Age 88
July 17, 1925 - June 12, 2014
Knollwood Cemetery / Mayfield Heights / Ohio / USA / North America
A jazz vocalist known for his naturally high contralto voice who started his career with Lionel Hampton and was a favorite of Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Ray Charles and Frankie Valli before becoming a solo artist. He is...
Scott, Randolph
Show Business
Age 89
January 23, 1898 - March 2, 1987
Elmwood Cemetery / Charlotte / North Carolina / USA / North America
Randolph Scott was a Hollywood film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in dramas, comedies, musicals, adventures, war, horror an...
Sealy, Malik
Sports
Age 30
February 1, 1970 - May 20, 2000
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Malik Sealy was an American professional basketball player, active from 1992 until his death in an automobile accident at the age of 30. Sealy played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Indiana Pacers, Los...
Seau, Junior
Sports
Age 43
January 19, 1969 - May 2, 2012
Eternal Hills Memorial Park / Oceanside / California / USA / North America
For 20 seasons—an eternity for a professional football player—there were few better linebackers in the NFL than Junior Seau. Strong, swift, and imbued with an fanatical work ethic, Seau terrorized opposing offenses so much tha...
Selena
Music
Age 23
April 16, 1971 - March 31, 1995
Seaside Memorial Park Cemetery / Corpus Christi / Texas / USA / North America
Considered among the most influential Latin artists of all time and is credited for catapulting Tejano music into the mainstream market, Selena, known as the Queen of Tejano Music, contributions to music and fashion made her one o...
Shakespeare, William
Writers and Poets
Age 52
April 26, 1564 - April 23, 1616
Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon / Stratford-upon-Avon / United Kingdom / Europe
William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regar...
Shannon, Del
Music
Age 55
December 30, 1934 - February 8, 1990
Cremated / North America
His heyday as a chart-friendly star in the U.S. may have been brief, but on the strength of his biggest hit "Runaway" Del Shannon deserves to be regarded as a rock and roll legend. In 1999 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Ha...
Shaw, Artie
Music
Age 94
May 23, 1910 - December 30, 2004
Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park / Westlake Village / California / USA / North America
Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Artie Shaw led one of the United States' most popular big bands in the late 1930s through the early 1940s. Though he had numerous hit records, he was perhaps best known for h...
Sheeran, Frank
Crime and their Victims
Age 83
October 25, 1920 - December 14, 2003
Holy Cross Cemetery / Yeadon / Pennsylvania / USA / North America
Frank Sheeran was a truck driver, corrupt labor union official and alleged mafia hitman. Sheeran is thought by some to have murdered Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa, (among dozens of others) and was the subject of the 2019 film "T...
Shelley, Mary
Writers and Poets
Age 53
August 30, 1797 - February 1, 1851
St Peter's Church, Bournemouth / Bournemouth / Dorset / United Kingdom / North America
Mary Shelley was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel Frankenstein (also called The Modern Prometheus 1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also edited and promoted the works of her husband,...
Shepherd, Elvin
Music
Age 72
May 28, 1923 - June 2, 1995
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Buffalo / New York / USA / North America
Elvin "Shep" Shepherd was a legendary saxophonist whose career spanned half a century. He traveled with such big name bands as Buck Clayton, Bill Doggett, Billy Ekstine, Erskin Hawkins, Lucky Milinder, and Nat Towles. During his s...
Sheppard, Marilyn
Crime and their Victims
Age 28
April 14, 1923 - July 4, 1954
Knollwood Cemetery / Mayfield Heights / Ohio / USA / North America
Marilyn Sheppard was violently murdered in her home of Bay Village, Ohio on July 4, 1954. Her husband Dr. Samuel Sheppard was the primary suspect and convicted of her murder, but after 10 years in prison he was acquitted in 1966 a...
Sheppard, Sam
Crime and their Victims
Age 46
December 29, 1923 - April 6, 1970
Knollwood Cemetery / Mayfield Heights / Ohio / USA / North America
Dr. Sam Sheppard was an attractive and well-liked doctor who tended to hundreds of patients throughout his career at Bay View Hospital in Ohio. In the early morning hours of July 4, 1954 the nightmare began for the Sheppard family...
Sherwin, Henry
Business and Finance
Age 73
September 27, 1842 - June 26, 1916
Lake View Cemetery / Cleveland / Ohio / USA / North America
Henry Sherwin was the president and co-founder (with Osborn and Williams) of the Sherwin-Williams Company - one of the largest paint and coating manufacturing companies in the world. In February 1870 the three gentleman each inves...
Shor, Toots
Historical Figure
Age 73
May 6, 1903 - January 23, 1977
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Until recently, Toots Shor was long forgotten by most –– now a whole new generation is discovering NYC’s legendary “saloon” thanks to Mad Men. The Mad Men design team even built a virtual Toots Shor set (where Don and ...
Shore, Dinah
Show Business
Age 77
February 29, 1916 - February 24, 1994
Hillside Memorial Park / Culver City / California / USA / North America
Known for her sunny disposition and Southern charm, Dinah Shore rose from a successful recording artist with her sultry renditions of "Blues in the Night," "I’ll Walk Alone," and "Buttons and Bows," to a household name with her ...
Siegel, Jerry
Show Business
Age 81
October 17, 1914 - January 28, 1996
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Jerry Siegel was an American comic book writer, and famous for the creation of Superman, which he created in collaboration with his friend Joe Shuster. Siegel and Shuster were inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Co...
Siegel, Joanne
Show Business
Age 93
December 1, 1917 - February 12, 2011
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Joanne Siegel was an American model, who in the 1930s worked with Superman artist Joe Shuster as the model for Lois Lane, Superman's love interest. She later married Superman's co-creator Jerry Siegel and sued for restoration of h...
Sifford, Charlie
Sports
Age 92
June 2, 1922 - June 2, 1922 – February 3, 2015
Moore's Sanctuary AME Zion Cemetery / Charlotte / North Carolina / USA / North America
Charlie Sifford was a professional golfer who was the first African American to play on the PGA Tour. He won the Greater Hartford Open in 1967 and the Los Angeles Open in 1969. He also won the United Golf Association's National Ne...
Signoret, Simone
Show Business
Age 64
March 25, 1921 - September 30, 1985
Cimetière du Père Lachaise / Paris / France / Europe
Legendary French actress Simone Signoret had a five-decade career of more than sixty films; her unassailable talent in creating not only memorable but iconic female characters. From 1950 to 1955 Signoret created the roles with whi...
Simpson, Nicole Brown
Crime and their Victims
Age 35
May 19, 1959 - June 12, 1994
Ascension Cemetery / Lake Forest / California / USA / North America
Nicole Brown Simpson was the ex-wife of former professional football player and occasional actor O. J. Simpson, to whom she was married from 1985 to 1992, and the mother of their two children, Sydney and Justin. She was killed in ...
Sinatra, Frank
Music
Age 82
December 12, 1915 - May 14, 1998
Desert Memorial Park / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
Frank "The Voice" Sinatra was an American singer, producer and motion-picture actor who, through a long career and a very public personal life, became one of the most sought-after performers in the entertainment industry. Often ha...
Siné
Artists
Age 87
December 31, 1928 - May 5, 2016
Cimetière de Montmartre / Paris / France / Europe
Siné was a controversial French cartoonist and caricaturist whose early successes in this arena led him into the fields as a book illustrator and designer of posters, stage decors, animated cartoons and publicity films. Siné be...
Skinner, Ludlow
Crime and their Victims
Age 32
1870 - February 21, 1903
Oakwood Cemetery / Raleigh / North Carolina / USA / North America
Ludlow Skinner was a quiet, soft-spoken young man who was the son of one of the most respected ministers in the southern region. The murder of Ludlow Skinner begins with Mrs. Gertrude Tucker, Skinner's sister-in-law and one of the...
Slovak, Hillel
Music
Age 26
April 13, 1962 - June 25, 1988
Mount Sinai Memorial Parks / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Hillel Slovak was an Israeli-American musician best known as the founding guitarist of the Los Angeles rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he recorded two albums. His guitar work was rooted in funk and hard rock, and he oft...
Smith, Adam
Business and Finance
Age 67
June 16, 1723 - July 17, 1790
Canongate Kirkyard / Edinburgh / Scotland / Europe
Adam Smith, a graduate of the University of Glasgow and at Balliol College, Oxford, was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Also known as "T...
Smith, Arthur
Music
Age 93
April 1, 1921 - April 3, 2014
Magnolia Memorial Gardens / Charlotte / North Carolina / USA / North America
Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith was a musician, composer, and record producer, as well as a radio and TV host. He produced the first nationally syndicated country music show on television: The Arthur Smith Show". A talented and respe...
Smith, Bessie
Music
Age 43
April 15, 1894 - September 26, 1937
Montlawn Cemetery / Sharon Hill / Pennsylvania / USA / North America
The first major blues and jazz singer on record and one of the most powerful voices of all time, Bessie Smith rightly earned the title of "The Empress of the Blues." Bessie Smith was a rough, crude, violent womanl who was also the...
Smith, Horace
Business and Finance
Age 84
October 28, 1808 - January 15, 1893
Springfield Cemetery / Springfield / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Horace Smith was an American gunsmith, inventor, and businessman. He and his business partner Daniel B. Wesson formed two companies named "Smith & Wesson", the first of which was eventually reorganized into the Winchester Repeatin...
Smith, Joan Merriam
The Odd and the Interesting
Age 28
August 3, 1936 - February 17, 1965
Forest Lawn Memorial Park / Cypress / California / USA / North America
Joan Merriam Smith was an American aviator, famous for her 1964 solo flight around the world in which she became the second woman to complete the trip, by following the equatorial route attempted in 1937 by Amelia Earhart. (Jerrie...
Soo, Chung
Other Entertainers
Age 56
April 16, 1861 - March 24, 1918
East Sheen Cemetery / Richmond / England, United Kingdom / Europe
At the beginning of the 20th century, audiences across Europe were wowed by a Chinese magician who drew on ancient Asian mysticism to perform illusions and contact the spirit realm. But he was, in fact, none of these things, as ...
Sousa, John Philip
Music
Age 77
November 6, 1854 - March 6, 1932
Historic Congressional Cemetery / Washington, D.C. / Washington, D.C. / USA / North America
John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. Some of his best known marches include "The Stars and Stripes Forever" (National March of the United ...
Southwick, Alfred
The Odd and the Interesting
Age 72
May 18, 1826 - June 11, 1898
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Buffalo / New York / USA / North America
In 1881 Alfred Southwick heard a story about an intoxicated man who touched a live electric generator. Given that the man died so quickly, Southwick concluded that electricity could be used as an alternative to hanging for executi...
Spann, Otis
Music
Age 46
March 21, 1924 - April 24, 1970
Burr Oak Cemetery / Alsip / Illinois / USA / North America
Arguably the most important pianist of the postwar Chicago blues scene, Otis Spann started playing piano at the age of seven, with some instruction from local piano players in his native Jackson. By 1944 he was playing in local ba...
Spencer, Diana
Historical Figure
Age 36
July 1, 1997 - August 31, 1997
Althorp Estate / Althorp / Northampton / United Kingdom / Europe
Diana, Princess of Wales was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales and was the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry. She was international icon and earned her enduring popula...
St. John, John Patrick
Crime and their Victims
Age 77
February 18, 1918 - May 3, 1995
Rose Hills Memorial Park / Whittier / California / USA / North America
John Patrick St. John, better known as "Jigsaw John", was a Los Angeles Police Department homicide detective, renowned for his investigations of many of Los Angeles's highest-profile murder cases. St. John served 43 years as a hom...
Stevens, Wallace
Writers and Poets
Age 75
October 2, 1879 - August 2, 1955
Cedar Hill Cemetery / Hartford / Connecticut / USA / North America
Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an...
Stewart, Dennis Cleveland
Show Business
Age 46
July 29, 1947 - April 20, 1994
Rose Hills Memorial Park / Whittier / California / USA / North America
Actor and dancer Dennis Stewart's career looked to be on the up when, after playing a dancer in the 1978 Beatles-inspired film Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, he landed the role of Leo, aka 'Craterface', leader of rival ga...
Stratten, Dorothy
Crime and their Victims
Age 20
February 28, 1960 - August 14, 1980
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
A Canadian model, and actress, Dorothy Stratten was the Playboy Playmate of the Month for August 1979 and Playmate of the Year in 1980. She was brutally murdered at the age of 20 years old by her estranged husband and manager Paul...
Strauss ll, Johann
Music
Age 73
October 25, 1825 - June 3, 1899
Der Wiener Zentralfriedhof / Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234 / Vienna / Austria / Europe
Johann Strauss II (also referred to as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger) was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well as a renown violinist. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrille...
Street, Richard
Music
Age 70
October 5, 1942 - February 27, 2013
Forest Lawn Memorial Park / Cypress / California / USA / North America
Richard Street was an American soul and R&B singer, most notable as a member of Motown vocal group The Temptations from 1971 to 1993. Street was the lead singer of an early Temptations predecessor, Otis Williams & the Distants, an...
Stuart, Carol DiMaiti
Crime and their Victims
Age 30
March 26, 1959 - October 24, 1989
Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum / Malden / Massachusetts / USA / North America
“My wife’s been shot! I’ve been shot!” screamed Charles "Chuck" Stuart into his cell phone as he drove through the Mission Hill area of Boston. Paramedics responding to the call for help found that both Charles and his wif...
Stuart, Charles
Crime and their Victims
Age 30
December 18, 1959 - January 4, 1990
Woodlawn Cemetery / Everett / Massachusetts / USA / North America
“My wife’s been shot! I’ve been shot!” screamed Charles "Chuck" Stuart into his cell phone as he drove through the Mission Hill area of Boston. Paramedics responding to the call for help found that both Charles and his wif...
Sturges, Preston
Show Business
Age 60
August 29, 1898 - August 6, 1959
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Preston Sturges was one of the more celebrated American playwright, screenwriter, and film director of the 1940s and early 1950s with films like “The Great McGinty,” “The Lady Eve,” “Sullivan's Travels,” “The Palm Be...
Sullivan, Ed
Show Business
Age 73
September 28, 1901 - October 13, 1974
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Ed Sullivan's ultimate claim to fame was that he hosted the longest running prime time variety show in the history of television. On camera his much imitate persona was that of a was that of a humorless, stone-faced emcee. Yet off...
Sullivan, John L.
Sports
Age 59
October 15, 1858 - February 2, 1918
Mount Calvary Cemetery / Roslindale / Massachusetts / USA / North America
John L. Sullivan was an American boxer recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing, de facto reigning from February 7, 1882, to September 7, 1892. He is also generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion ...
Sullivan, Tommy
Crime and their Victims
Age 38
July 9, 1919 - December 22, 1957
New Calvary Cemetery / Mattapan / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Tommy Sullivan was a local light heavyweight sensation known for his almost mythical physical strength and a hard-charging, teeth-clenching, just-try-and-stop-me fighting style. Often heard hollering, “Come on, come on!” at hi...
Sumac, Yma
Music
Age 86
September 10, 1922 - November 1, 2008
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Yma Sumac (pronounced Eema) was a Peruvian coloratura soprano who was one of the most famous exponents of exotica music during the 1950s. Sumac became an international success based on her extreme vocal range. It was often reporte...
Surratt, Mary
Crime and their Victims
Age 42
May 4, 1823 - July 7, 1865
Mount Olivet Cemetery / Washington, D.C. / Washington, D.C. / USA / North America
Mary Surratt was American boarding house owner in Washington, D.C., in 1865 who was convicted of taking part in the conspiracy to assassinate U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Sentenced to death, she was hanged and became the first ...
Sweeney, Francis E.
Crime and their Victims
Age 70
May 5, 1894 - July 9, 1964
Calvary Cemetery / Cleveland / Ohio / USA / North America
From 1935 to 1938, 12 bodies – some people say 13 - were dumped in the area known as Kingsbury Run, a creek bed that ran from East 90th Street and Kinsman Road to the Cuyahoga River. The victims included seven men and five women...
Talmadge, Constance
Show Business
Age 75
April 19, 1898 - November 23, 1973
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Constance, along with her sisters Natalie and Norma, was the youngest of the trio of sisters who took Hollywood by storm in the early days of cinema, and made their family name, Talmadge, one of dynasty proportions in the town of ...
Talmadge, Natalie
Show Business
Age 73
April 29, 1896 - June 19, 1969
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Unlike her more famous sisters, Constance and Norma, Natalie was an occasional silent film actress and wife of silent film actor and comedian Buster Keaton. She appeared in D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916), and Buster Keaton's O...
Talmadge, Norma
Show Business
Age 63
May 2, 1894 - December 24, 1957
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Norma Talmadge was one of the glamours stars of Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1920s. Beginning her stage career at the young age of 14, Norma went on to star in over 200 silent movies, winning the idolatry of millions of fans and ...
Tamagno, Francesco
Music
Age 54
December 28, 1850 - August, 31, 1905
Cimitero Monumentale di Torino / Turin / Piemonte / Italy / Europe
Francesco Tamagno (1850-1905) was considered the greatest dramatic tenor of his generation. During the last quarter of the 19th century, this legendary singer captured the attention of audiences everywhere with his performances i...
Tanner, Paul
Music
Age 95
October 15, 1917 - February 5, 2013
Eternal Hills Memorial Park / Oceanside / California / USA / North America
Paul Tanner (October 15, 1917 – February 5, 2013) was an American musician and a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Tanner gained fame as a trombonist, playing with Glenn Miller and His Orchestra from 1938 to 1942, the group'...
Tate, Buddy
Music
Age 87
February 22, 1913 - February 10, 2001
Pinelawn Memorial Park / Farmingdale / New York / USA / North America
Buddy Tate was jazz saxophone player who made a name for himself playing with such greats as Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman as well as with his own band for over 20 years at the Celebrity Club in Harlem, New York City.
Tate, Sharon
Show Business
Age 26
January 24, 1943 - August 9, 1969
Holy Cross Cemetery / Culver City / California / United States / North America
A talented actress and model during the 1960s, Sharon Tate played small television roles before appearing in feature films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover girl. Receiving positive reviews for h...
Tatum, Art
Music
Age 47
October 13, 1909 - November 5, 1956
Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) / Glendale / California / USA / North America
Art Tatum transported the art of jazz piano improvisation beyond the real and imagined confines of his day. Technically the most advanced and respected pianist in the 1920s nd 1930s, Tatum's influence on later jazz pianist - Bud P...
Taylor, Annie Edson
The Odd and the Interesting
Age 82
October 24, 1838 - April 29, 1921
Oakwood Cemetery / Niagara Falls / New York / USA / North America
Annie Edson Taylor was an American schoolteacher who, on her 63rd birthday, October 24, 1901, became the first, and oldest, person to go over Niagara Falls intentionally and survive. The trip itself took less than twenty minutes, ...
Taylor, Elizabeth
Show Business
Age 79
February 27, 1932 - March 23, 2011
Forest Lawn Memorial Park / Glendale / California / USA / North America
With striking beauty and undeniable talent, Elizabeth Taylor captivated audiences. From precocious child actor to unforgettable leading lady, she played legendary female characters who embodied strength, integrity, and unapologeti...
Taylor, Mel
Music
Age 62
September 24, 1933 - August 11, 1996
Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
His name might not be familiar, but music fans young and old would recognize his signature drumbeat on one of the most popular instrumental songs ever recorded – “Hawaii Five-O” by the Ventures. Joining the Ventures after th...
Teagarden, Jack
Music
Age 58
August 20, 1905 - January 15, 1964
Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Until Jack Teagarden, jazz trombone sounded like "a dying cow in a thunderstorm" according to jazz trombonist Vic Dickerson. Like musical innovators Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker before him Teagarden developed new ideas and a...
Testa, Philip
Crime and their Victims
Age 56
April 21, 1924 - March 15, 1981
Holy Cross Cemetery / Yeadon / Pennsylvania / USA / North America
Philip Testa aka "The Chicken Man" was an Italian-American mobster known for his brief leadership of the Philadelphia crime family of the Italian-American Mafia. He became boss of the Philadelphia crime family after the previous b...
Testa, Salvatore
Crime and their Victims
Age 28
March 31, 1956 - September 14, 1984
Holy Cross Cemetery / Yeadon / Pennsylvania / USA / North America
Salvatore "Salvie" Testa, nicknamed "The Crowned Prince of the Philadelphia Mob", was an Italian-American mobster who served as a caporegime and later acting underboss for the Philadelphia crime family. Testa made his reputation a...
Thomas, Dave
Business and Finance
Age 69
July 2, 1932 - January 8, 2002
Union Cemetery / Columbus / Ohio / USA / North America
Dave Thomas was a successful businessman, philanthropist, fast-food tycoon and the founder and chief executive officer of Wendy's, a fast-food restaurant chain. In 1979 sales exceeded $1 billion dollars and at the time of his deat...
Thomas, Michelle
Show Business
Age 30
September 23, 1968 - December 23, 1998
Rosedale Cemetery / Montclair / New Jersey / USA / North America
Michelle "Chu-Chu" Thomas was an American actress, singer and comedian known for her roles as Justine Phillips on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1988–90), as Myra Monkhouse on the ABC/CBS sitcom Family Matters (1993–98), and a...
Thunders, Johnny
Music
Age 38
July 15, 1952 - April 23, 1991
Mount St. Mary's Cemetery / Flushing / New York / USA / North America
One cannot talk about the origins of punk rock without mentioning the New York Dolls and their lead guitarist - Johnny Thunders. This underrated American glam band played an important role in influencing bands as diverse as the Se...
Thurmond, Nate
Sports
Age 74
July 25, 1941 - July 16, 2016
Lake View Cemetery / Cleveland / Ohio / USA / North America
Nathaniel Thurmond was an American basketball player who spent the majority of his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Golden State Warriors franchise where he played the center and power forward p...
Tiernan, Mike
Sports
Age 51
January 21, 1867 - November 7, 1918
Gate of Heaven Cemetery / Hawthorne / New York / USA / North America
Mike Tiernan, nicknamed "Silent Mike", was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), exclusively for the New York Giants, from 1887 to 1899. Tiernan's debut major league game was on...
Tierney, Gene
Show Business
Age 70
November 19, 1920 - November 6, 1991
Glenwood Cemetery / Houston / Texas / USA / North America
Gene Tierney was a talented American actress during the golden years of Hollywood in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, and was renown for her striking beauty. She is best known for her role as the mysterious murder victim in Laura (194...
Tillion, Germaine
Historical Figure
Age 100
May 30, 1907 - April 18, 2008
Le Panthéon / Paris / France / Europe
Germaine Tillion was a French ethnologist, best known for her work in Algeria in the 1950s on behalf of the French government. She was member of the French resistance, she spent time in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Germain...
Todd, Thelma
Show Business
Age 29
July 29, 1906 - December 16, 1935
Bellevue Cemetery / Lawrence / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Thelma Todd was one of early Hollywood's brightest stars — until she was found dead in 1935. Thelma Todd was a talented American actress and businesswoman who was often referred to by the nicknames "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Ho...
Toland, Gregg
Show Business
Age 44
May 29, 1904 - September 28, 1948
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Gregg Wesley Toland was an American cinematographer known for his innovative use of techniques such as deep focus, examples of which can be found in his work on Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941), William Wyler's The Best Years of ...
Tolley, Rick
Sports
Age 30
January 6, 1940 - November 14, 1970
Spring Hill Cemetery / Huntington / West Virginia / USA / North America
Rick Tolley was an American football coach who served as the head football coach at Marshall University during the 1969 and 1970 seasons. He died in the 1970 plane crash that killed all 75 crew and passengers aboard, including mos...
Tomack, Sid
Show Business
Age 55
September 8, 1907 - November 12, 1962
Desert Memorial Park / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
Sid Tomark was an American actor who appeared in over 50 mostly B-movies including A Wave, a WAC and a Marine, The Thrill of Brazil, Blind Spot, Blondie's Holiday, For the Love of Rusty, A Double Life, I Love Trouble, My Girl Tisa...
Took, Steve Peregrin
Music
Age 31
July 28, 1949 - October 27, 1980
Kensal Green Cemetery / London / United Kingdom / Europe
One-half of the founding members of T. Rex with Marc Bolan, Steve Peregrin Took was by all accounts a remarkable musician and songwriter - when he was sober. After two years and three albums, Took's push to perform more of his own...
Torrio, Johnny
Crime and their Victims
Age 75
January 20, 1882 - April 16, 1957
Green-Wood Cemetery / Brooklyn / New York / USA / North America
Johnny Torrio was an Italian-American gangster, known for his cunning and finesse, who became a top crime boss in Chicago after he order the hit on his boss - Big Jim Colosimo. Johnny Torrio helped build the Chicago Outfit in the ...
Tosh, Peter
Music
Age 42
October 19, 1944 - September 11, 1987
Peter Tosh Monument / Belmont / Jamaica / North America
Peter Tosh was a Jamaican reggae musician who, along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, was one of the core members of the band the Wailers, after which he established himself as a successful solo artist and a promoter of Rastafari...
Toto the Dog
Famous Animals
Age 11
November 17, 1933 - September 1, 1945
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Terry was a two-year-old female Cairn who played the iconic animal in the Wizard of Oz film, which was based on Frank L. Baum’s classic book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In addition to appearing as Toto in the film The Wizard of ...
Tourane, Jean
Show Business
Age 66
November 3, 1919 - March 24, 1986
Cimetière du Val-Saint-Germain / Le Val-Saint-Germain / Departement de l'Essonne, Île-de-France / France / Europe
Jean Tourane was a French filmmaker known for his footage of small animals. Among others he filmed a television series about a small duck named "Saturnin" during the 1960s. Tourane started his professional career as a painter and ...
Trintignant, Marie
Show Business
Age 41
January 21, 1962 - August 1, 2003
Cimetière du Père Lachaise / Paris / France / Europe
Marie Trintignant was a French film and stage actress born into a well known film industry parents as her father was an actor and her mother was a director, producer and screenwriter. She appeared in over 30 movies during the span...
Triolet, Elsa
Writers and Poets
Age 73
September 24, 1896 - June 16, 1970
Maison Elsa Triolet-Aragon / Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines / France / Europe
Elsa Triolet was a Russian-French writer and translator. In 1944 Triolet was the first woman to be awarded the Prix Goncourt for her novel 'Le Premier Accroc Coûte 200 Francs' (The First Mishap Costs 200 Francs). The Prix Goncour...
Troup, Bobby
Music
Age 80
December 18, 1918 - February 7, 1999
Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Bobby Troup was a jazz pianist, singer, songwriter and actor. As a composer he has written "Daddy," "Snooty Little Cutie," "Baby, Baby All the Time," and the jazz classic "Route 66." As an actor he is probably best remembered as D...
True, Andrea
Music
Age 68
July 26, 1943 - November 7, 2011
Calvary Cemetery / Cleveland / Ohio / USA / North America
Andrea True was a porn star turned pop singer who recorded a classic hit of the disco era, "More, More, More,"
Tucker, Karla Faye
Crime and their Victims
Age 38
November 18, 1959 - February 3, 1998
Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery / Houston / Texas / USA / North America
Convicted for killing two people with a pickaxe during a burglary, she was the first woman to be executed in Texas since Chipita Rodriguez in 1863. Her execution received worldwide attention at the time.
Turenne
Historical Figure
Age 63
September 11, 1611 - July 27, 1675
Les Invalides / Paris / 7th arrondissement / France / Europe
Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne , commonly known as Turenne, was a French general and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of the La Tour d'Auvergne ...
Turner, Big Joe
Music
Age 74
May 18, 1911 - November 24, 1985
Roosevelt Memorial Park Cemetery / Gardena / California / USA / North America
Big Joe Turner, a 300-pound legend who learned to sing the blues as a Kansas City junkman and transformed decades of urban black music into the roots of rock ‘n’ roll. Turner sang rhythm and blues songs such as “Shake, Rattl...
Turner, Lana
Show Business
Age 74
February 8, 1921 - June 29, 1995
Cremated / North America
Lana Turner was an American a pin-up model and a film actress with a highly publicized personal life. In the mid-1940s, she was one of the highest-paid actresses in the United States, and one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's (MGM) biggest...
Twombly, Florence Adele Vanderbilt
Historical Figure
Age 98
01/08/1854 - 04/11/1952
Woodlawn Cemetery / Bronx / New York / USA / North America
Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly was an American heiress and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. She and her husband, Hamilton McKown Twombly, built Florham, a gilded age estate in Madison, New Jersey. When she died at t...
Twombly, Hamilton McKown
Business and Finance
Age 60
08/11/1849 - 01/11/1910
Woodlawn Cemetery / Bronx / New York / USA / North America
Hamilton McKown Twombly was a successful American businessman husband to Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly. In 1892, Twombly and his wife were both included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York...
Tyler, John
Historical Figure
Age 71
March 29, 1790 - January 18, 1862
Hollywood Cemetery / Richmond / Virginia / United States / North America
John Tyler was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845 after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president in 1841. As vice president, John Tyler set the example for a seamless and immediate succes...
Tyler, Judy
Show Business
Age 24
October 9, 1932 - July 3, 1957
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Judy Tyler was an American actress and began acting as a teenager on Howdy Doody. She later landed a starring role in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Pipe Dream. Life did a story on rising Broadway talent with Tyler on the mag...
Tyner, Rob
Music
Age 46
December 12, 1944 - September 18, 1991
Roseland Park Cemetery / Berkley / Michigan / USA / North America
Although he originally auditioned as the bass player, Rob Tyner was the original lead singer for the original All American Detroit garage band MC5. It was Tyner who issued the rallying cry of "kick out the jams, motherfuckers" at ...
Upshaw, Berrien
The Odd and the Interesting
Age 47
March 10, 1901 - January 12, 1949
Oakwood Cemetery / Raleigh / North Carolina / USA / North America
Berrien "Red" Upshaw was a mean, nasty, ill-tempered loser and wife beater - and those were some of his good qualities. But he did have one quality that served him well - he was known as a suave and charming man to the ladies. His...
Vale, Jerry
Music
Age 83
July 8, 1930 - May 18, 2014
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
A tenor with a smooth, polished delivery, Vale was a longtime fixture at Columbia Records who recorded more than 50 albums and hundreds of songs. He first hit the charts in 1953 with “You Can Never Give Me Back My Heart”. His ...
Valens, Ritchie
Music
Age 17
May 13, 1941 - February 3, 1959
San Fernando Mission Catholic Cemetery / Mission Hills / California / USA / North America
Richie Valens was a singer, songwriter, and guitarist and a true rock and roll pioneer who died at the young age of 17 in the infamous Buddy Holly plane crash. Ritchie played is final concert at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, I...
Valentino, Rudolf
Show Business
Age 31
May 6, 1895 - August 23, 1926
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Nicknamed The Latin Lover, Rudolf Valentino was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle, and Th...
Vallée, Rudy
Show Business
Age 84
July 28, 1901 - July 3, 1986
Saint Hyacinth Cemetery / Westbrook / Maine / USA / North America
Rudy Vallée was an American singer, musician, actor, and radio host who is considered by many to be the first modern American teen idol and pop star. After playing drums in his high school band, Vallée played clarinet and saxoph...
Valli, Virginia
Show Business
Age 73
January 18, 1895 - September 24, 1968
Welwood Murray Cemetery / Palm Springs / California / USA / North America
Virginia Valli was an American stage and film actress whose motion picture career started in the silent film era and lasted until the beginning of the sound film era of the 1930s. Valli was an established star at the Universal stu...
Valvano, Jim
Sports
Age 47
March 10, 1946 - April 28, 1993
Oakwood Cemetery / Raleigh / North Carolina / USA / North America
Nicknamed Jimmy V, Jim Valvano was a successful college basketball player, coach, and sports broadcaster. Valvano had a successful coaching career with multiple schools, culminating at North Carolina State University. While the he...
Van Heusen, Bobbe
Music
Age 98
November 28,1901 - May 2, 1999
Desert Memorial Park / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
Bobbe Van Heusen was married to the famous composer Jimmy Van Heusen. She was part of The Brox Sisters, which was an American trio of singing sisters, enjoying their greatest popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s. The trio perfo...
Van Heusen, Jimmy
Music
Age 77
January 26, 1913 - February 6, 1990
Desert Memorial Park / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
James Van Heusen was an American composer who wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song. In 1940 Jimmy teamed up with the lyricist Johnny Burke and won an Academy...
Van Zandt, Townes
Music
Age 52
March 7, 1944 - January 1, 1997
Dido Cemetery / Fort Worth / Texas / USA / North America
He was a reckless drunk and a hopeless idealist, but he is considered by many the greatest Texas songwriter of his generation. He wrote numerous songs, such as "Pancho and Lefty", "For the Sake of the Song", "Tecumseh Valley", "Re...
Vanderbilt, Cornelius
Business and Finance
Age 82
May 27, 1794 - January 4, 1877
Vanderbilt Mausoleum and Cemetery / Staten Island / New York / USA / North America
The Vanderbilt name is synonymous with America’s Gilded Age. Upon their deaths, “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt, who established the family’s fortune, and his son William H., who doubled it in just a few years, were the w...
Vanderbilt, Harold Stirling
Business and Finance
Age 85
July 6, 1884 - July 4, 1970
Saint Mary's Episcopal Churchyard and Cemetery / Portsmouth / Rhode Island / USA / North America
Harold Stirling Vanderbilt was an American railroad executive, a champion yachtsman, an innovator and champion player of contract bridge, and a member of the Vanderbilt family. Vanderbilt was a director of the New York Central Rai...
Vauban, Marquis de
Historical Figure
Age 73
May 1, 1633 - March 30, 1707
Saint-Hilaire Church / Bazoches / Bourgogne / France / Europe
Marquis de Vauban was a French military engineer who revolutionized the art of siege craft and defensive fortifications. He fought in all of France's wars of Louis XIV's reign (1643–1715). He is generally considered the greatest...
Vaughan, Stevie Ray
Music
Age 35
October 3, 1954 - August 27, 1990
Laurel Land Cemetery / Dallas / Texas / USA / North America
With bristling chops and fiery phrasing, guitarist and bona fide Texas blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan did not so much reinvent the blues as add a renewed passion. A master of fills, intros and imaginative solos, he created pierci...
Vealey, R.J.
Music
Age 37
September 29, 1962 - November 13, 1999
Crestlawn Cemetery / Atlanta / Georgia / USA / North America
R. J. Vealey was a respected studio drummer and former member of Roy Orbison's backing band who joined the Atlanta Rhythm Section in 1995. After the Atlanta Rhythm Section had finished an afternoon set at a concert festival in Orl...
Veil, Simone
Historical Figure
Age 89
July 13, 1927 - June 30, 2017
Le Panthéon / Paris / France / Europe
Simone Veil was a Holocaust survivor, magistrate, minister, and the first woman President of the European Parliament. She was also the first woman to preside over the directly elected European Parliament.
Ventriglia, Franco
Music
Age 90
October 20, 1922 - November 28, 2012
Oak Lawn Cemetery / Fairfield / Connecticut / USA / North America
Franco Ventriglia was an opera singer who sang bass in every major European opera house during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Serving in the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in the South Pacific during World War II upon return stateside Fra...
Ventura, Lino
Show Business
Age 68
July 14, 1919 - October 22, 1987
Cimetière du Val-Saint-Germain / Le Val-Saint-Germain / Departement de l'Essonne, Île-de-France / France / Europe
Lino Ventura was France's favorite Italian French actor. Lino was born in Italy but he spent much of his youth raised by his mother in Paris, France. After a first career as a professional wrestler was ended by injury, he was offe...
Vianney, Jean-Marie Baptiste
Historical Figure
Age 73
May 8, 1786 - August 4, 1859
Basilica of Ars / Ars-sur-Formans / France / Europe
The little town of Ars, France, about 20 miles north of Lyon, has become famous through the holy life and labors of St. John Vianney, its beloved Cure. The story of Jean Vianney emphasizes how God uses the simple and under-rated p...
Vincent, Gene
Music
Age 36
February 11, 1935 - October 12, 1971
Eternal Valley Memorial Park / Newhall / California / United States / North America
More threatening than Elvis, wilder than Jerry Lee Lewis and sexier than Buddy Holley, Gene Vincent was the real thing. A swaggering, unrepentant rock 'n' roll singer and guitarist, he represented a dangerous embodiment of the def...
Voltaire
Historical Figure
Age 83
November 21, 1694 - May 30, 1778
Le Panthéon / Paris / France / Europe
Voltaire was a French writer and philosopher who produced prolific works that challenged the 18th century's ideas about religion and civil rights. Voltaire is most famously known for his satirical novel Candide, which was very pop...
Von Bulow, Sunny
Crime and their Victims
Age 76
September 1, 1932 - December 6, 2008
Saint Mary's Episcopal Churchyard and Cemetery / Portsmouth / Rhode Island / USA / North America
Martha "Sunny" Von Bulow was an American heiress, socialite, and philanthropist. Upon her utilities magnate father's death, she was the heiress to his ~ $100 million fortune. After divorcing her first husband, Prince Alfred von Au...
von Neumann, John
Science
Age 53
December 28, 1903 - February 8, 1957
North America
John von Neumann was a Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, engineer and polymath. Von Neumann was regarded as perhaps the mathematician with the widest coverage of the subject in his time and was said ...
Wadlow, Robert
The Odd and the Interesting
Age 22
February 22, 1918 - July 15, 1940
Upper Alton Cemetery / Alton / Illinois / USA / North America
Robert Pershing Wadlow, also known as Alton's Gentle Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raised in Alton, Illi...
Walker, Madam C. J.
Business and Finance
Age 51
December 23, 1867 - May 25, 1919
Woodlawn Cemetery / Bronx / New York / USA / North America
Madam C. J. Walker, an African-American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and a political and social activist who was the first female self-made millionaire in the United States. She became one of the wealthiest self-made women in Ame...
Walker, T-Bone
Music
Age 64
May 28, 1910 - March 16, 1975
Inglewood Memorial Park / Inglewood / California / USA / North America
Infusing the blues with an electrifying, yet, sophisticated uptown flavor, T-Bone Walker was the driving force that redirected the course of the blues - moving it from juke joints and roadhouses to swank nightclubs and theaters. F...
Wallis, Ruth
Music
Age 87
January 5, 1920 - December 22, 2007
Sharon Memorial Park / Sharon / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Ruth Wallis performed risqué cabaret numbers for listeners worldwide during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. She was known as the Queen of the Party Song, and began her career performing jazz and cabaret songs. Ruth was a veteran of ten ...
Warfield, David
Show Business
Age 84
November 28, 1866 - June 27, 1951
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
David Warfield was an American stage actor and at the time was one of the world's richest entertainers. Warfield's was considered as a leading American actor in comedy largely due to his distinct style in which he portrayed a kind...
Warhol, Andy
Artists
Age 58
August 6, 1928 - February 22, 1987
St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery / Bethel Park / Pennsylvania / USA / North America
Andy Warhol was an American artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as the Pop Art movement. Like his contemporaries Robert Rauschenberg and Roy Lichtenstein, Warhol wryly resp...
Warren, Ed
The Odd and the Interesting
Age 79
September 7, 1926 - August 23, 2006
Stepney Cemetery / Monroe / Connecticut / USA / North America
Ed Warren was a world renowned paranormal researcher and ghosthunter and was half of the husband and wife team of Ed and Lorraine Warren, Seekers of the Supernatural. The team was often asked to assist in numerous police investiga...
Warren, Lorraine
The Odd and the Interesting
Age 92
January 31, 1927 - April 18, 2019
Stepney Cemetery / Monroe / Connecticut / USA / North America
Lorraine Warren was a world renowned paranormal researcher and ghosthunter and was half of the husband and wife team of Ed and Lorraine Warren, Seekers of the Supernatural. The team was often asked to assist in numerous police inv...
Washington, Dinah
Music
Age 39
August 29, 1924 - December 14, 1963
Burr Oak Cemetery / Alsip / Illinois / USA / North America
Dinah Washington was an American singer and pianist who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including b...
Waters, Muddy
Music
Age 70
April 4, 1913 - April 30, 1983
Restvale Cemetery / Alsip / Illinois / USA / North America
If blues is an original American art form, then Muddy Waters should be considered an original American icon. An extraordinarily potent singer, songwriter and guitarist, Waters was the architect of Chicago Blues. Backed by Little W...
Watson, Douglass
Show Business
Age 68
February 24, 1921 - May 1, 1989
Putnam Cemetery / Greenwich / Connecticut / USA / North America
Douglass Watson was an American actor who was best known for his portrayal of Mac Cory on the daytime soap opera Another World. A character actor since 1950, his most notable roles were in the movies Julius Caesar (1953), Sayonara...
Wayne, John
Show Business
Age 72
May 26, 1907 - July 11, 1979
Pacific View Mortuary & Memorial Park / Corona Del Mar / California / USA / North America
John Wayne was a major American motion-picture actor who embodied the image of the strong, taciturn cowboy or soldier and who in many ways personified the idealized American values of his era. Sadly since is passing his long held ...
Weatherwax, Ken
Show Business
Age 59
September 29, 1955 - December 7, 2014
Valhalla Memorial Park / North Hollywood / California / USA / North America
Ken Weatherwax was best known as Pugsley on The Addams Family television series. The young actor came from a theatrical family. His aunt was Ruby Keeler, memorable for her role in 42nd Street. In addition, Ken was the nephew of Ru...
Webb, Clifton
Show Business
Age 76
November 19, 1889 - October 13, 1966
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Likely remember for his character Mr. Belvedere in a string of hit movies, Clifton Webb was a talented actor, dancer and singer who was nominated for an Oscar for his roles in Laura (1944), The Razor's Edge (1946), and Sitting Pre...
Weiss, Hymie
Crime and their Victims
Age 28
December 25, 1898 - October 11, 1926
Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery / Hillside / Illinois / North America
Chicago mobster and a tough rival of legendary mobster Al Capone. Hymie Weiss was thought to be the first to use the infamous words 'Lets take him for a ride' when planning a hit on someone. Folklore has it that Weiss was the only...
Werber, Billy
Sports
Age 100
June 20, 1908 - January 22, 2009
Sharon Memorial Park / Charlotte / North Carolina / USA / North America
Billy Werber was an American professional baseball third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees (1930, 1933), Boston Red Sox (1933–1936), Philadelphia Athletics (1937–1938), Cincinnati Reds (1939...
West, Brooks
Show Business
Age 67
February 22, 1916 - February 7, 1984
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / United States / North America
Husband of actress Eve Arden, Brooks West was a talented actor, producer and artist in his own right. He is best remembered for his work in Anatomy of a Murder (1959), My Friend Irma (1952) and The Eve Arden Show (1957).
White, Bukka
Music
Age 70
November 12, 1906 - February 26, 1977
New Park Cemetery / Memphis / Tennessee / USA / North America
A master blues guitarist and vocalist, he was also B.B. King's uncle
White, Wilford
Sports
Age 84
September 26, 1928 - August 1, 2013
Mesa Cemetery / Mesa / Arizona / USA / North America
Wilford "Whizzer" White was an American football running back in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears. His football career started at Mesa High School in Mesa, Arizona where he received first-team All-State honors as...
White, Will
Sports
Age 56
October 11, 1854 - August 31, 1911
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Buffalo / New York / USA / North America
William "Whoop-La" White was an American baseball pitcher and manager from 1875 to 1889. He played all or parts of 10 seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily for the Cincinnati Reds in the National League (1878–1879) and the...
Wigner, Eugene
Science
Age 92
November 17, 1902 - January 1, 1995
Princeton Cemetery / Princeton / New Jersey / USA / North America
Eugene Paul "E. P." Wigner was a Hungarian theoretical physicist who also contributed to mathematical physics. He obtained American citizenship in 1937, and received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 "for his contributions to the...
Wilde, Oscar
Writers and Poets
Age 46
October 16, 1854 - November 30, 1900
Cimetière du Père Lachaise / Paris / France / Europe
Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill. Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. Undeniably brilliant, the author, playwright...
Williams, Big Joe
Music
Age 79
December 17, 1982 - December 17, 1982
Crigler Cemetery / Crawford / Mississippi / USA / North America
As a first generation bluesman, Joseph Lee "Big Joe" Williams recorded more often, performed longer and lived longer than almost all of his contemporaries. In 1935 Williams recorded his signature song “Baby Please Don’t Go,”...
Williams, Cootie
Music
Age 74
July 10, 1911 - September 15, 1985
Woodlawn Cemetery / Bronx / New York / USA / North America
Cootie Williams was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter who is best remembered for his tenure with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Cootie first played professionally with the Young Family Band (which include...
Williams, Edward P.
Business and Finance
Age 59
May 10, 1943 - May 4, 1903
Lake View Cemetery / Cleveland / Ohio / USA / North America
Edward Williams was the vice-president and co-founder (with Osborn and Sherwin) of the Sherwin-Williams Company - one of the largest paint and coating manufacturing companies in the world. In February 1870 the three gentleman each...
Williams, Hank
Music
Age 29
November 17, 1923 - January 1, 1953
Oakwood Cemetery Annex / Montgomery / Alabama / USA / North America
American Country singer, songwriter, and musician. Hank Williams was one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century. Some of his best hits include "Move It on Over", "Lovesick Blu...
Williams, Ted
Sports
Age 83
August 30, 1918 - July 5, 2002
Alcor Life Extension Foundation / Scottsdale / Arizona / USA / North America
Ted Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960; his career was interrup...
Williamson II, Sonny Boy
Music
Age 52
December 5, 1912 - May 24, 1965
Whitfield Church Cemetery / Tutwiler / Mississippi / USA / North America
Sonny Boy Williamson II was one of the most influential harmonica players in blues history. Often compared to Little Walter and John Lee Williamson (aka Sonny Boy Williamson I), Sonny Boy Williamson II was a legendary blues charac...
Willie, Boxcar
Music
Age 67
September 1, 1931 - April 12, 1999
Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery / Branson / Missouri / USA / North America
Perhaps the most successful invented character in the history of country music, Boxcar Willie was an American country music singer and songwriter who sang in the "old-time hobo" music style, complete with dirty face, overalls, and...
Wills, Bob
Music
Age 70
March 6, 1905 - May 13, 1975
Memorial Park Cemetery / Tulsa / Oklahoma / USA / North America
Bob Wills was a bandleader, fiddler, singer, and songwriter who is the most famous exponent of the popular musical genre now known as western swing, which synthesized ragtime, traditional fiddling, New Orleans jazz, blues, Mexican...
Wilson, Al
Music
Age 68
June 19, 1939 - April 21, 2008
Evergreen Memorial Park / Riverside / California / USA / North America
Al Wilson is best remembered for the #1 pop hit "Show and Tell". From the age of 12 Wilson was already singing professionally - his own spiritual quartet and singing in the church choir, even performing covers of country & western...
Wilson, Carl
Music
Age 51
December 21, 1946 - February 6, 1998
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Carl Wilson playing the guitar as a teenager when brothers Brian and Dennis, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine formed a music group called the Beach Boys in 1961. In addition to guitar Brian's vocals can be heard on Good Vibr...
Wilson, Nancy
Music
Age 81
February 20, 1937 - December 13, 2018
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
Nancy Wilson was an American singer whose career spanned over five decades, from the mid-1950s until her retirement in the early 2010s. She was especially notable for her single "(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am" and her version of ...
Wilson, Ricky
Music
Age 32
March 19, 1953 - October 12, 1985
Oconee Hills Cemetery / Athens / Georgia / USA / North America
With their bouffant coifs, thrift store fashion and dance-infected retrofitted sound, The B-52's rocked the house in the early 80s by capturing the attentions of the "so what?" generation. Founded by Ricky Wilson and his fellow ki...
Winchester, Oliver
Business and Finance
Age 70
November 30, 1810 - December 10, 1880
Evergreen Cemetery / New Haven / Connecticut / USA / North America
Oliver Fisher Winchester was an American businessman and politician, best known as the founder of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in New Haven, Connecticut. Interesting to note that repeating rifles were used to some extent ...
Winchester, Sarah
Business and Finance
Age 83
September 1, 1839 - September 5, 1922
Evergreen Cemetery / New Haven / Connecticut / USA / North America
Sarah Winchester was an American heiress who amassed great wealth after the death of her husband, William Wirt Winchester (son of Winchester Repeating Arms Company founder Oliver Winchester). Her inheritance included $20 million (...
Wolf, Edith Anisfield
Writers and Poets
Age 73
August 2, 1889 - January 23, 1963
Knollwood Cemetery / Mayfield Heights / Ohio / USA / North America
Edith Anisfield Wolf was an American poet and philanthropist from Cleveland, Ohio who founded and endowed an award in 1935 for non-fiction books that advance racial understanding. In 1941 the foundation expanded the award, now cal...
Wolf, Howlin'
Music
Age 65
June 10, 1910 - January 10, 1976
Oakridge-Glen Oaks Cemetery / Hillside / Illinois / USA / North America
Chester Arthur Burnett, known as Howlin’ Wolf or Howling Wolf, was one of the most influential musicians of the post–World War II era. His electric blues guitar, backing his powerful, howling voice, helped shape rock and roll....
Wolfe, Thomas
Writers and Poets
Age 37
October 3, 1900 - September 15, 1938
Riverside Cemetery / Ashville / North Carolina / USA / North America
Thomas Wolfe is considered one of the most autobiographical novelists in American literature and is probably the greatest writer to come out of North Carolina. During his short life he wrote four novels; Look Homeward, Angel, Of T...
Wolfe, Tom
Writers and Poets
Age 88
March 2, 1930 - May 14, 2018
Hollywood Cemetery / Richmond / Virginia / United States / North America
Tom Wolfe was an innovative journalist and novelist whose technicolor, wildly punctuated prose brought to life the worlds of California surfers, car customizers, astronauts and Manhattan’s moneyed status-seekers in works like "T...
Wood, Natalie
Show Business
Age 43
July 20, 1938 - November 29, 1981
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
A doe-eyed, brunette beauty, Natalie Wood was one of Hollywood's brightest stars and a legend both on and off the silver screen. She was the recipient of four Golden Globes, and received three Academy Award nominations during her ...
Woodlawn, Holly
Show Business
Age 69
October 26, 1946 - December 6, 2015
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
As part of the Warhol posse who appeared in the movies Trash (1970) and Women in Revolt (1971), Holly Woodlawn is best known as "Holly" in Lou Reed's hit pop song "Walk on the Wild Side".
Woolrich, Cornell
Writers and Poets
Age 64
December 4, 1903 - September 25, 1968
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Cornell Woolrich was an American novelist and short story writer. He published six 'jazz-age' novels, and is known best for his prolific work in pulp and detective fiction under his pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley.
Woolworth, Frank Winfield
Business and Finance
Age 66
April 13, 1852 - April 8, 1919
Woodlawn Cemetery / Bronx / New York / USA / North America
F. W. Woolworth was an American entrepreneur, the founder of F. W. Woolworth Company, and the operator of variety stores known as "Five-and-Dimes" (5- and 10-cent stores or dime stores) which featured a selection of low-priced mer...
Wray, Fay
Show Business
Age 96
September 15, 1907 - August 8, 2004
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Fay Wray was a Canadian born American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the classic 1933 film King Kong. After appearing in minor film roles, Wray gained media attention after being selected as one of the "WAMPAS Ba...
Wright, Beals
Sports
Age 81
December 19, 1879 - August 23, 1961
Holyhood Cemetery / Chestnut Hill / Massachusetts / USA / North America
A graduate of Harvard University, Beals Wright was an accomplished tennis player, winning gold medals in men’s singles and doubles at the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Games, U.S. championships in men’s doubles in 1904, 1905, and 190...
Wright, George
Sports
Age 90
January 28, 1847 - August 21, 1937
Holyhood Cemetery / Chestnut Hill / Massachusetts / USA / North America
George Wright was baseball’s first superstar player – an extraordinary shortstop who excelled for the game’s first openly all-professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings. After his playing days were over, he successfully...
Wright, Teresa
Show Business
Age 86
October 27, 1918 - March 6, 2005
Evergreen Cemetery / New Haven / Connecticut / USA / North America
Perhaps one of the greatest actresses you never heard of, Teresa Wright should be remembered for as the only performer to have received Academy Award nominations for her first three films. She was nominated twice for the Academy A...
Wyman, Jane
Show Business
Age 90
January 5, 1917 - September 10, 2007
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
Jane Wyman was an American actress whose motion picture career began at age 17 at Paramount Pictures dancing in the chorus for Dance Director LeRoy Prinz in 1934. She signed her first studio contract with Warner Bros. in 1936 at 1...
Yankovic, Frankie
Music
Age 83
July 28, 1915 - October 14, 1998
Calvary Cemetery / Cleveland / Ohio / USA / North America
At his peak, Yankovic traveled around the world and performed 325 shows a year and sold 30 million records during his lifetime thus earning the title "America's Polka King". In 1969 he became a charter member of the Polka Hall of...
Yelchin, Anton
Show Business
Age 27
March 11, 1989 - June 19, 2016
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Russian born actor best known for his performance in three Star Trek movies as Pavel Chekov. He began his career as a child actor, appearing as the lead of the mystery drama film Hearts in Atlantis (2001) and a series regular on t...
York, Francine
Show Business
Age 78
August 26, 1936 - January 6, 2017
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Francine York was an American actress and model. York worked as a showgirl in her early career at Bimbo's nightclub in San Francisco. York's first screen role was in Robert Clarke's Hollywood exploitation film Secret File Hollywoo...
Young, Lester
Music
Age 49
August 27, 1909 - March 15, 1959
The Evergreens Cemetery / Brooklyn / New York / USA / North America
Lester Young, nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is considered by many to be the greatest, most influential tenor sax player in the jazz idiom. Lester rose to prominence with the Count Basie Orc...
Zawinul, Joe
Music
Age 75
July 7, 1932 - September 11, 2007
Der Wiener Zentralfriedhof / Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234 / Vienna / Austria / Europe
Joe Zawinul was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer who first come to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to become one of the creators of jazz fusion...
Zeffirelli, Franco
Show Business
Age 96
February 12, 1923 - June 15, 2019
Cimitero delle Porte Sante / Florence / Italy / Europe
Franco Zeffirelli was not only one of Italy’s most talented directors and designers in the theatrical arts, but was also involved with cinema and television for more than half a century. In any medium, he generally preferred a g...
Zola, Émile
Writers and Poets
Age 62
April 2, 1840 - September 29, 1902
Le Panthéon / Paris / France / Europe
Émile Zola was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism. Naturalism contributes somethin...