Beckett, Samuel
Writers and Poets
Age 83
April 13, 1906 - December 22, 1989
Cimetière du Montparnasse / Paris / France / Europe
Samuel Beckett was an enigmatic and reclusive Irish playwright, poet and novelist who won a Nobel Prize for literature and who was best known for his 1952 drama, "Waiting for Godot". Beckett was considered one of the primary expon...
Bedard, Henry Jr.
Crime and their Victims
Age 15
June 25, 1959 - December 16, 1974
Swampscott Cemetery / Swampscott / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Henry was a young teenager who was found in the woods overlooking his hometown of Swampscott, Massachusetts. He was beaten to death with a baseball bat and his murder has gone unsolved for over 40 years.
Beethoven, Ludwig van
Music
Age 56
December 17, 1770 - March 26, 1827
Der Wiener Zentralfriedhof / Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234 / Vienna / Austria / Europe
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist who remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music. His works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire and span the transitio...
Beiderbecke, Bix
Music
Age 28
March 10, 1903 - August 6, 1931
Oakdale Memorial Gardens / Davenport / Iowa / USA / North America
Bix Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer who was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s. As a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical approach and purity of tone and with such clari...
Belmont, Alva Vanderbilt
Business and Finance
Age 80
January 17, 1853 - January 26, 1933
Woodlawn Cemetery / Bronx / New York / USA / North America
Alva Vanderbilt Belmont was a prominent multi-millionaire American socialite and a major figure in the American women's suffrage movement. She was noted for her energy, intelligence, strong opinions, and willingness to challenge c...
Belmont, Oliver
Business and Finance
Age 49
November 12, 1858 - June 10, 1908
Woodlawn Cemetery / Bronx / New York / USA / North America
Oliver Belmont was an American socialite and United States Representative from New York. Belmont was a member of the banking firm of August Belmont and Co., New York City. He became publisher of the Verdict, a weekly paper. Oliver...
Belushi, John
Show Business
Age 33
January 24, 1949 - March 5, 1982
Abel Hill Cemetery / Chilmark / Massachusetts / United States / North America
John Belushi was an was an actor, comedian and blues singer who initially found fame as and one of the seven original cast members of the comedy show Saturday Night Live. He later went on to star in the hit movies National Lampoon...
Belvin, Jesse
Music
Age 27
December 15, 1932 - February 6, 1960
Evergreen Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
As author of the best known do-wop hit “Earth Angel” and “Good Night My Love,” Jesse Belvin was one of the premier voices of the West Coast black vocal music before his life (and that of his driver and wife) was cut short ...
Bennett, Eddie
Sports
Age 31
1904 - 01/16/1935
St. John Cemetery / Middle Village / New York / USA / North America
Eddie Bennett was an American batboy and mascot for several teams, most notably the New York Yankees during the 1920s and 1930s. At the time of his death, Bennett was considered to be the "most famous mascot in the world". Bennet ...
Benny, Jack
Show Business
Age 80
February 14, 1894 - December 26, 1974
Hillside Memorial Park / Culver City / California / USA / North America
Comedian Jack Benny was one of the top stars of radio, television, and stage in a career which spanned over 50 years. A master of comic timing, Benny changed the nature of the weekly comedy show on radio and his likeable skinflint...
Bentsen, Lloyd
World Leaders
Age 85
February 11, 1921 - May 23, 2006
Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery / Houston / Texas / USA / North America
Lloyd Bentson was a four-term United States Senator (1971–1993) from Texas, the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket and served as the 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury und...
Berger, Michel
Music
Age 44
November 28, 1947 - August 2, 1992
Cimetière de Montmartre / Paris / France / Europe
Michel Berger was a popular French singer and songwriter and a leading figure of France's pop music scene for two decades as a singer. As a songwriter he was active for such artists as his wife France Gall, Françoise Hardy and J...
Berigan, Bunny
Music
Age 33
November 2, 1908 - June 2, 1942
Annunciation Cemetery / Fox Lake / Wisconson / USA / North America
Bunny Berigan was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader who rose to fame during the swing era of the 1930s and early 40s. Although he composed some jazz instrumentals such as "Chicken and Waffles" and "Blues", Berigan was bes...
Berkeley, Busby
Show Business
Age 80
November 29, 1895 - March 14, 1976
Desert Memorial Park / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
Busby Berkeley was an American film director and musical choreographer best known for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns and showgirls - lots and lots of showgirls. Flamboyant, ...
Berle, Milton
Show Business
Age 93
July 12, 1908 - March 27, 2002
Hillside Memorial Park / Culver City / California / USA / North America
Comedian Milton Berle, one of the pioneering legends of television known to a generation of devoted fans as "Uncle Miltie," Berle's career began when he was 5 years old and spanned more than 80 years in stage, film, radio, and tel...
Bernhardt, Sarah
Show Business
Age 78
October 23, 1844 - March 26, 1923
Cimetière du Père Lachaise / Paris / France / Europe
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including La Dame Aux Camelias by Alexandre Dumas; Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo, Fédora and La ...
Beveridge, Daeida W.
Business and Finance
Age 53
1861 - August 7, 1914
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Once described as “just a housewife,” Daeida Hartle Wilcox Beveridge renamed a former fig farm and secured her place history as the founder, developer and woman who named Hollywood. With first husband H.H. Wilcox, she led deve...
Big Mama Thornton
Music
Age 57
December 11, 1926 - July 25, 1985
Inglewood Memorial Park / Inglewood / California / USA / North America
Janis Joplin called her one of her inspirations and Living Blues magazine described her as "two hundred pounds of boogaloo." Of course, fans and musicians alike just called her Big Mama Thornton. An aggressive blues shouter, who a...
Big Maybelle
Music
Age 47
May 1, 1924 - January 23, 1972
Evergreen Memorial Park / Bedford Heights / Ohio / USA / North America
Her impressive stature matching the sheer soulful power of her massive vocal talent, Big Maybelle was one of the premier R&B chanteuses of the 1950s. Her deep, gravelly voice was as singular as her recorded output for Okeh and S...
Biggs, E. Power
Music
Age 70
March 29, 1906 - March 10, 1977
Mount Auburn Cemetery / Cambridge / Massachusetts / USA / North America
From the late 1930's on, Mr. Biggs was a dominant figure in the U.S. in arousing interest in serious organ music and in changing the style of its performance. Through his concert tours, weekly recitals over Columbia Broadcasting S...