Ace, Johnny
Music
Age 25
June 9, 1929 - December 25, 1954
New Park Cemetery / Memphis / Tennessee / USA / North America
A popular R&B singer with a string of eight hits in a row including "Cross My Heart" and "Please Forgive Me", he blew his brains out on Christmas Day between sets after telling everyone ‘It’s okay! Gun’s not loaded… see?â€...
Allen, Gracie
Show Business
Age 69
July 26, 1895 - December 31, 1969
Forest Lawn Memorial Park / Glendale / California / USA / North America
Gracie Allen was an accomplished comedian and actress. She was best known for her contribution to weekly radio program
‘Burns and Allen’, which she aired along with her husband, comedian George Burns. Allen was the most love...
Aragon, Louis
Writers and Poets
Age 85
October 3, 1897 - December 24, 1982
Maison Elsa Triolet-Aragon / Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines / France / Europe
Louis Aragon was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review Littérature. He was also a novelist and editor, a...
Atlas, Charles
The Odd and the Interesting
Age 80
October 30, 1892 - December 24, 1972
St. John Cemetery / Middle Village / New York / USA / North America
Charles Atlas was an Italian-born American bodybuilder best remembered as the developer of a bodybuilding method and its associated exercise program which spawned a landmark advertising campaign featuring his name and likeness; it...
Ayres, Lew
Show Business
Age 88
December 28, 1908 - December 30, 1996
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Lew Ayres was an American actor best known for as role as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and for playing Dr. Kildare in nine movies. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Act...
Baldwin, James
Writers and Poets
Age 63
August 2, 1924 - December 1, 1987
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
James Baldwin was an American author, playwright, poet and activist. His work explored the intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in the Western society of the United States during the mid twentieth-century. He used...
Bécaud , Gilbert
Music
Age 74
October 24, 1927 - December 18, 2001
Cimetière du Père Lachaise / Paris / France / Europe
Gilbert Bécaud was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release that became an English langu...
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.
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...
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Music
Age 36
September 24, 1893 - December 19, 1929
Blind Lemon Jefferson Memorial Cemetery (the former Wortham Black Cemetery) / Wortham / Texas / USA / North America
Neglected and ignored until recently by his own home state, Blind Lemon Jefferson is nonetheless revered internationally as a seminal figure in the history of the blues with 89 classic blues songs recorded in just 4 years time.
Boon, D.
Music
Age 27
April 1, 1958 - December 22, 1985
Green Hills Memorial Park / Rancho Palos Verdes / California / USA / North America
D. Boon was a pioneer of the punk scene in the early 1980s in Los Angeles, California. As singer, songwriter, guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock trio the Minutemen, D. Boon mixed funk, punk, metal, country and a healthy dose...
Borge, Victor
Music
Age 91
January 3, 1909 - December 23, 2000
Putnam Cemetery / Greenwich / Connecticut / USA / North America
Victor Borge was a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in both North America and Europe. His blend of music and comedy earned him the nickname "The Clown Prince of...
Cooke, Sam
Music
Age 33
January 22, 1931 - December 11, 1964
Forest Lawn Memorial Park / Glendale / California / USA / North America
Sam Cooke's intonation was exquisitely exact. His command of pitch and texture were flawless. His skills as a vocalist were - and remain over sixty years since his untimely death - unsurpassed by the vocal royalty of his day. Neit...
Crash, Darby
Music
Age 22
September 26, 1958 - December 7, 1980
Holy Cross Cemetery / Culver City / California / USA / North America
Darby Crash was an American punk rock vocalist and songwriter who co-founded the seminal Los Angeles punk band the Germs. As the lead "singer" a typical show featuring Crash would consist of a wretched version of the Archies' "Sug...