Jolson, Al
Show Business
Age 64
June 9, 1886 - October 23, 1950
Hillside Memorial Park / Culver City / California / USA / North America
Jolson rose through the ranks of vaudeville as a comedian and a blackface “Mammy” singer. By 1920, he had become the biggest star on Broadway, but he is probably best remembered for his film career. He starred in "The Jazz Sin...
Flemmi, Vincent
Crime and their Victims
Age 44
September 5, 1935 - October 16, 1979
Milton Cemetery / Milton / Massachusetts / USA / North America
There's only one Boston mob hitman and psychopath more vicious that Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi (long time associate of Whitey Bulger) and that was his brother Vincent "Jimmy the Bear" Flemmi. Suspected or convicted of dozens of...
Clavel, Bernard
Writers and Poets
Age 87
May 29, 1923 - October 5, 2010
Frontenay Communal Cemetery / Frontenay / France / Europe
The popular French novelist Bernard Clavel, who started his career as a baker, published his first novel "Night Worker" in 1956 and went on to write more 40 more, including "The Fruits of Winter" which in 1968 won France's coveted...
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...
Dale, Dick
Music
Age 81
May 4, 1937 - March 16, 2019
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Dick Dale was an American rock guitarist. He was the pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scales and experimenting with reverb. Dale was known as "The King of the Surf Guitar", which was also the title of his se...
Lancaster, Burt
Show Business
Age 80
November 2, 1913 - October 20, 1994
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Burt Lancaster was a failed circus performer when in 1945 (according to the sort of Hollywood legend of which one should probably believe only half) he chanced to share an elevator ride with a theatrical producer who assumed that ...
Fleming, Ian
Writers and Poets
Age 56
May 28, 1908 - August 12, 1964
St. James' Churchyard / Swindon / Wiltshire / England / Europe
Ian Fleming was a British writer and naval intelligence officer who is best known for his iconic James Bond series of spy novels. The Bond stories rank among the best-selling series of fictional books of all time, having sold over...
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...
Malcolm X
Historical Figure
Age 39
May 19, 1925 - February 21, 1965
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Malcolm X was a Muslim minister and controversial human rights activist who was a popular figure during the civil rights movement. He is best known for his time spent as a vocal spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X was als...
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...
Littieri, Al
Show Business
Age 47
February 24, 1928 - October 18, 1975
St. John Cemetery / Middle Village / New York / USA / North America
If you liked watching films in the 1970s, you'll know who Al Lettieri was, even if you can't put a face to the name. He played Solozzo in The Godfather. (Michael played by Al Pacino shot him dead with the Police Chief in the resta...
Doyle, Arthur Conan
Writers and Poets
Age 71
May 22, 1859 - July 7, 1930
All Saints Church - Minstead Village / Minstead, Lyndhurst / United Kingdom / Europe
Over 125 years after his creation, Sherlock Holmes remains the most popular fictional detective in history. Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for the 60 stories he wrote about Sherlock Holmes. His body of work includes nearly 200 n...
Garbo, Greta
Show Business
Age 84
September 18, 1905 - April 15, 1990
Skogskyrkogården / Stockholm / Sweden / Europe
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 Swedis...
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...
Dee, Ruby
Historical Figure
Age 91
October 27, 1922 - June 11, 2014
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Ruby Dee was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of A Raisin in the Sun (1961). Her other notable fil...