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 ...
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...
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).
West, Sandy
Music
Age 47
July 10, 1959 - October 21, 2006
Forest Lawn Memorial Park / Cypress / California / USA / North America
Sandy West's ferocious drumming fueled the influential all-female ’70s rock band the Runaways which she co-founded with Joan Jett. Along with band members Lita Ford, Cherie Currie and Jackie Fox, they had such hits as "Cherry Bo...
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...