Isadora Duncan

AKA:

The Mother of Dance

Birth Name:

Angela Isadora Duncan

Birth Date:

May 26, 1877

Birth Place:

San Francisco, California

Death Date:

September 14, 1927

Place of Death:

Hotel Negresco, Promenade des Anglais, Nice, France

Age:

Cause of Death:

Ligature strangulation

Cemetery Name:

Cimetière du Père Lachaise

Claim to Fame:

Show Business

Known as the Mother of Dance, Isadora Duncan was an American dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance, who performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the US. Born and raised in California, she lived and danced in Western Europe, the US and the Soviet Union from the age of 22 until her death at age 50 when her scarf became entangled in the wheel and axle of the car in which she was travelling in Nice, France.

Not-So-Fun-Facts

On the night of September 14, 1927, in Nice, France, Duncan was a passenger in an Amilcar CGSS automobile owned by Benoît Falchetto, a French-Italian mechanic. She wore a long, flowing, hand-painted silk scarf, created by the Russian-born artist Roman Chatov, a gift from her friend Mary Desti. Desti, who saw Duncan off, had asked her to wear a cape in the open-air vehicle because of the cold weather, but she would agree to wear only the scarf. As they departed, she reportedly said “Je vais à l’amour” (“I am off to love”). Her silk scarf, draped around her neck, became entangled around the open-spoked wheels and rear axle, pulling her from the open car and breaking her neck and spine. Desti said she called out to warn Duncan about the scarf almost immediately after the car left. Desti took Duncan to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

In medicine, the Isadora Duncan Syndrome refers to injury or death consequent to entanglement of neckwear with a wheel or other machinery.

There is only one film that exists of Isadora Duncan’s dancing. It is a few seconds of footage of a recital given outdoors in an open space.

The last of Isadora’s children dancer Maria-Theresa Duncan, who danced with her mother for nearly two decades, died in 1987 at the age of 92.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Cimetière du Père Lachaise

16 Rue du Repos, 6ème division, Chemin Lesseps

Paris, , 75020

France

Europe

Map:

Cimetière du Père Lachaise in Paris, France

Grave Location:

Division 87, Niche 6796

Grave Location Description

The Mother of Dance Isadora Duncan can be found on Avenue Transversale No. 2 on the outside wall of the Columbarium du Père Lachaise (Division 87) across from Division 44 on the bottom row about 200 feet from the intersection of Avenue Aguado. Isadora is located on the bottom row and her two children, Deirdre and Patrick, who perished when their car plunged into the River Seine are buried three rows above their mother.

Grave Location GPS

48.862458166748404, 2.3954220644181894

Visiting The Grave:

Photos:

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FAQ's

Isadora Duncan was born on May 26, 1877.

Isadora Duncan was born in San Francisco, California.

Isadora Duncan died on September 14, 1927.

Isadora Duncan died in Hotel Negresco, Promenade des Anglais, Nice, France.

Isadora Duncan was 50.

The cause of death was Ligature strangulation.

Isadora Duncan's grave is in Cimetière du Père Lachaise

Videos Featuring Isadora Duncan:

Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) – Film of an Outdoor Recital

Isadora Duncan Documentary

Elsa Lanchester talks about Isadora Duncan

Glimpses of Isadora Duncan of Film

Who was Isadora Duncan? Isadora Duncan Dances and Dance Technique

The Death of Isadora Duncan | Disturbing Content

See More:

Dominique Dunne

Greta Garbo

popular name: Greta Garbo

date_of_death: April 15, 1990

age: 84

cause_of_death: Pneumonia and kidney failure

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: Greta Garbo was a Swedish-American actress, renowned for her iconic roles in the silent film and early sound film eras. Born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in Stockholm, Sweden, she worked as a shop assistant and appeared in a few Swedish films before being discovered by Hollywood in 1925. She signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1927 and soon became one of the most popular stars of the 1920s and 1930s. Garbo's mysterious, often melancholic on-screen presence earned her the nickname "The Divine Garbo." She starred in several classic films such as Flesh and the Devil (1926), Camille (1936), and Grand Hotel (1932), which showcased her range, from passionate lovers to tragic figures. Her roles often reflected themes of love and loss, matching her off-screen enigmatic persona. Garbo made a successful transition to sound films, and in 1939, she received an Academy Award nomination for Ninotchka. Despite her success, Garbo was known for her desire for privacy, and in 1941, she retired from acting at the age of 36 after making only 26 films in 17 years. When Garbo quit Hollywood, she spent the remainder of her life in shuttered and fenced residences in France, Switzerland and Manhattan, where she lived in an East Side high-rise. Known as “the Swedish sphinx” because of her deep fear of reporters and other strangers, she ironically became one of the most publicized women in the world while trying to guard her privacy. Her biographer John Bainbridge wrote in “Garbo,” that except at the start of her career, she “granted no interviews, signed no autographs, attended no premieres, answered no fan mail.” At the time of her death in 1990 she owned 18th-century antiques, fine rugs, damask curtains, real estate and many pieces of art, including a Renoir. She left her entire estate of $32 million (equivalent to $75,000,000 in 2023) to her niece. She was interred Skogskyrkogården cemetery in Stockholm, Sweden.

Isadora Duncan