Wednesday, March 25, 2015

"Long John Silver" Actor Robert Newton 1956 Westwood Village Cemetery


Robert Newton (June 1, 1905 – March 25, 1956) was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. He was cited as a role model by actors Tony Hancock and Oliver Reed.




Newton is best remembered for his portrayal of the feverish-eyed Long John Silver in the 1950 film adaptation of Treasure Island, the film that became the standard for screen portrayals of historical pirates. Hailing from the West Country, his exaggeration of his West Country accent is credited with popularising the stereotypical "pirate voice" and he has become the "patron saint" of the annual International Talk Like a Pirate Day.




Newton suffered from chronic alcoholism and died in 1956, aged 50, following a heart attack in Beverly Hills, California. He had married four times and had three children: Sally Newton (born 1930), Nicholas Newton (born 1950) and Kim Newton (born 1953). After some court battles, Newton's elder son was placed in the custody of his aunt and uncle.



He was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Years later, Nicholas Newton scattered his father's ashes in the sea in Mount's Bay, Cornwall, near Lamorna in the south western tip of England, where he had spent his childhood.




Monday, March 23, 2015

Actress Elizabeth Taylor 2011 Forest Lawn Glendale Cemetery


Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age. As one of the world's most famous film stars, Taylor was recognized for her acting ability and for her glamorous lifestyle, beauty, and distinctive dark blue eyes, which famously appeared to be violet.


National Velvet (1944) was Taylor's first success, and she starred in Father of the Bride (1950), A Place in the Sun (1951), Giant (1956), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Butterfield 8 (1960), played the title role in Cleopatra (1963), and married her co-star Richard Burton. They appeared together in 11 films, including Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), for which Taylor won a second Academy Award. From the mid-1970s, she appeared less frequently in film, and made occasional appearances in television and theatre.


Her much-publicized personal life included eight marriages and several life-threatening illnesses. From the mid-1980s, Taylor championed HIV and AIDS programs; she co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985, and The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991. She received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the Legion of Honour, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute, who named her seventh on their list of the "Greatest American Screen Legends." 


Elizabeth Taylor died of congestive heart failure in March 2011 at the age of 79, having suffered many years of ill health. She was buried in a private Jewish ceremony, presided over by Rabbi Jerome Cutler, the day after she died, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Taylor is entombed in the Great Mausoleum. At her request, the funeral began 15 minutes after it was scheduled to begin; as her representative told the media "She even wanted to be late for her own funeral."




Sunday, March 22, 2015

"The Simpsons" Sam Simon's Westwood Village Cemetery Grave


Samuel Michael "Sam" Simon (June 6, 1955 – March 8, 2015) was an American director, producer, writer, animal rights activist, boxing manager, tournament poker player, and philanthropist, most noted as co-creator of the television series "The Simpsons."



In late 2012, Simon was diagnosed with terminal colorectal cancer which later metastasized to his other organs, including his liver and kidneys. He had been feeling ill for some time and was frequently misdiagnosed with various viruses. He was given between three to six months to live; chemotherapy treatment reduced the size of his tumors over the following six months. He arranged for his fortune to be left to various charitable causes, stating "The truth is, I have more money than I'm interested in spending. Everyone in my family is taken care of. And I enjoy this." Simon died in his Los Angeles home from complications from the disease on March 8, 2015, aged 59. He was buried at Westwood Village Cemetery.









Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Actor Don Adams' Valentine's Day Display


While visiting Hollywood Forever Cemetery last week, I arrived at actor Don Adams' (Get Smart) grave site and found his Valentine's Day Display had fallen. So I picked it up and set it right. Here it is for you to enjoy.










Monday, March 16, 2015

Composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco 1968 Westwood Village Cemetery


Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (April 3, 1895 – March 16, 1968) was an Italian composer. He was known as one of the foremost guitar composers in the twentieth century with almost one hundred compositions for that instrument. 


In 1939 he migrated to the United States and became a film composer for MGM Studios for some 200 Hollywood movies for the next fifteen years. He also wrote concertos for such soloists as Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky. 







He died in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 72. He is buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.