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:
50
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:

Map of Cimetière du Père Lachaise in Paris, France
Map of 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:

[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]

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

Read More About Isadora Duncan:

Videos Featuring Isadora Duncan:

See More:

Dominique Dunne

popular name: Dominique Dunne

date_of_death: November 4, 1982

age: 22

cause_of_death: Strangulation

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: Dominique Dunne was an American actress who first appeared in the 1979 television film Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker which she parlayed into supporting roles in popular 1980s television series such as Lou Grant, Hart to Hart and Fame and Breaking Away. In 1981, she was cast in her first and only feature film, Poltergeist, produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper. Shortly after the release of the hit movie she was strangled to death in the driveway of her West Hollywood home by ex-boyfriend and psychopath John Sweeney who served less that 4 years in prison for his crime. 

Constance Talmadge

popular name: Constance Talmadge

date_of_death: November 23, 1973

age: 75

cause_of_death: Pneumonia

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: 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 stars. Constance (Connie to her friends) was a silent screen legend who drifted towards comedic roles but stopped acting once talkies made it to the screen. Sadly few of her films survive today and she died a recluse succumbing to alcohol and substance abuse.

James Cagney

popular name: James Cagney

date_of_death: March 30, 1986

age: 86

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Show Business

best_know_for: James Cagney was one of greatest actors, dancer, entertainer and performer during the Golden Age of Hollywood. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. Cagney is remembered for playing multifaceted tough guys in films such as The Public Enemy (1931), Taxi! (1932), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), The Roaring Twenties (1939), City for Conquest (1940) and White Heat (1949). To avoid being typecast as a gangster in every film, he was able to negotiate dancing opportunities in his films and ended up winning the Academy Award for his role in the musical Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). Ending three decades on the screen, he retired to his farm in Stanfordville, New York after starring in Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three (1961). He emerged from retirement to star in the 1981 screen adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's novel "Ragtime" (Ragtime (1981)), in which he was reunited with his frequent co-star of the 1930s, Pat O'Brien, and which was his last theatrical film (and O'Brien's as well). Cagney's final performance came in the title role of the made-for-TV movie Terrible Joe Moran (1984), in which he played opposite Art Carney. In 1999 the American Film Institute ranked him eighth on its list of greatest male stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Orson Welles described him as "maybe the greatest actor who ever appeared in front of a camera".

Back to Top