[SpecialK]

Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills.

Buron Rogers Fitts was the 29th Lt Governor of California, from 1927 to 1928, and resigned to become a prosecutor in the Julian Petroleum Co scandal, and he was the LA County district attorney until 1940. He had been shot in the knee in the Battle of Argonne during WWI and limped for the rest of his life. He was prosecuted and ultimately acquitted of taking a bribe to drop charges in a rape case. He was shot and wounded in his automobile in 1937 by an unknown assailant. He joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 with the rank of major. He was chief of intelligence, Pacific Overseas Air Technical Services. He committed suicide at age 78 in the driveway of his home.


Ken Peach was a cinematographer starting in 1923, and becoming a director of photography in 1926. He worked with composite processes, miniatures, montages and matte shots for two years, then joined the tech effects department at Warner Bros-First National, then with RKO's special effects. In 1933 he began working with producer Hal Roach, shooting several Laurel and Hardy films including Dirty Work, and Sons of the Desert. His TV included Lassie (73 episodes), The Outer Limits (25 eps), HR Pufnstuf (17 eps), and Taxi (59 eps).


Wingate Smith was the brother-in-law of director John Ford, and worked as assistant director on Stagecoach, The Searchers, How Green Was My Valley, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Donovan's Reef and other Ford films. He had uncredited roles in 4 films in 1936.

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Last edited by SpecialK; 01-11-2021 at 11:47 PM.

[SpecialK]

Valhalla, North Hollywood.

Jane Cowl started as a stage actress, making Broadway history by playing Juliet over 1000 consecutive performances of Romeo and Juliet in 1923. Her early films include Garden of Lies (1915) and The Spreading Dawn (1917). She concentrated on writing and stage work though the 40's, though she appeared in Stage Door Canteen (1943), Once More My Darling (1949), and The Secret Fury (1950). Her last film, Payment on Demand (1951), was released after her death from cancer.


Harry Jans was an actor, mostly on the stage. All but one of his smart-talking street-wise film roles were in 1936-37 including Two in Revolt, The Last Outlaw, Charlie Chan at the Race Track, That Girl From Paris, Don't Tell the Wife, and Bad Guy.


Robert Ferris Taylor acted mostly uncredited in 150 roles including You Can't Cheat an Honest Man, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Foreign Correspondent, and on the TV shows The Cisco Kid, and Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok.

[jquill]

Robert The Bruce's Heart Stone

On 22 June 1998 Robert the Bruce's heart was reburied at Melrose Abbey. On 24 June (for all you Braveheart fans - the anniversary of the Bruce's victory at Bannockburn in 1314) the Scottish Secretary of State unveiled a plaque on the ground at the place where the heart now lies.

The inscription on the stone, from Barbour's "The Brus" reads "A noble hart may have nane ease, gif freedom failye" Translated, this reads "A noble heart cannot be at peace if freedom is lacking." It incorporates a carving of a heart entwined in the Saltire, the basis of Scotland's national flag.

[SpecialK]

Robert The Bruce's Heart Stone

Nice. I missed the movie.

[SpecialK]

Jerry Buss, former owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, is already posted on page 42. At that time, the monument was just the pillar. At some point his bust was added, and within the last few days the Lakers colors were added.

[SpecialK]

Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills.

Unmarked for several years, Fred Berry was an actor known for his role as Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs on the mid-70s TV show What's Happening!! Berry was a member of the dance troupe The Lockers and they appeared on the third episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975. He also appeared on Soul Train, and was featured in a line dance segment. In 1985, he reprised his role as Rerun in the series What's Happening Now!! but was fired before the first season ended due to a salary dispute. Berry became a Baptist minister, and lost 100 lbs after being diagnosed with diabetes. Berry was married six times to four different women - twice each to the first two.


Stephen Burks was an actor in the films Garbo Talks (1984), Kiss of a Killer (1993) and Cocaine and Blue Eyes (1983), and TV included Tour of Duty, St. Elsewhere, Cheers, and a recurring role on Murphy Brown.


Robert Callahan wrote and asst-produced 1949's Daughter of the West (and was technical adviser). He wrote the novel Wife Wanted, which was made into a 1946 movie, and he was asst-producer on 1948's Blonde Ice. He had some native American blood and incorporated its history and culture into his life, including the Ramona Pageant. He planned a native-American theme park in Hollywood that, due to several factors, was not built, but did construct another themed site known as Mission Village. It eventually had to relocate when a freeway was to be built through the area. Remnants can still be seen at its last location at 13660 Sierra Hwy near Santa Clarita. His second wife was actress Marion Carney.

[SpecialK]

Eden, Mission Hills.

Samuel "Buck" Ram was a songwriter, popular music producer, and arranger. Though he graduated from law school and passed the bar, he never practiced law. He taught himself the violin, moved to New York, and became a music arranger. He wrote "The Great Pretender," "Only You (And You Alone)," and "Magic Town" for the Platters and produced all of their recordings. He also wrote, produced and arranged for the Penguins, the Coasters, the Drifters, Ike and Tina Turner, Ike Cole, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, and Ella Fitzgerald.


Catya Sassoon was an actress, singer and model. Her father was Vidal Sassoon. She dropped out of high-school to model and eventually was a top teen model and on the covers of Seventeen, Brides and Cosmopolitan. Sassoon met 18-year old Luca Scalisi, who proposed marriage. Vidal Sassoon consented on the condition of a Jewish ceremony at his home. She made her film debut in the 1985 drama, Tuff Turf. Her subsequent divorce and ongoing drug habit caused her to enter rehab, and she had a drug-induced heart attack during treatment. By 1990, Sassoon was sober and in episodes of Hardball, Bloodfist IV: Die Trying, Secret Games and Dance with Death. In 1993, she landed the lead in Angelfist. Her last screen appearance was in 1995's action film, Bloodfist VI: Ground Zero. Sassoon was lead singer in an all-female group, Feline Force. She had two more marriages and three children. Sassoon died from heart attack caused by a drug overdose at a party.

[SpecialK]

Hollywood Forever.

William Beaudine began as an actor in 1909, and assisted director DW Griffith on The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance. By age 23, Beaudine had directed his first picture, and directed shorts until 1922. In 1926 he made Sparrows, starring Mary Pickford, and Beaudine had at least 30 credits before the sound era. After working in England, Beaudine had trouble getting high-paying work in the US. In 1940 Beaudine was asked to direct an all-black-cast feature for $500 for one week's work. Beaudine knew that if he accepted this job, he would henceforth be associated with low-budget films and would never command his old salary again, but with his finances at a low ebb Beaudine accepted the assignment. Producer Jeb Buell hired Beaudine to direct Misbehaving Husbands (1940), noteworthy at the time as the comeback feature of silent-screen comedian Harry Langdon. William Beaudine became a low-budget specialist, recouping his financial losses through sheer volume of work, including directing half of the 48 The Bowery Boys comedies. Walt Disney hired him to direct some TV projects and the feature western, Ten Who Dared (1960). Beaudine became even busier in TV, directing Naked City, The Green Hornet, and dozens of Lassie episodes. His last two feature films were the horror-westerns Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, and Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter. By the end of the decade he was the industry's oldest working professional.


Chris Cornell is best known as the frontman for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. Three of Soundgarden's albums would be certified platinum, including 1994's 'Superunknown', which featured "Black Hole Sun", "Fell on Black Days", "Spoonman" and "My Wave". In 2001, Cornell and former members of Rage Against the Machine formed Audioslave. The group released three albums before announcing its split in 2007.
Shortly after burial...

Today...


Richard Monsour, known professionally as Dick Dale, was a left-handed rock guitarist. Dale's performances at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa in 1961 are credited with creating the surf music phenomenon. The instrumental "Misirlou" (1962) is a surf-rock version of a folk song considered as Dale's signature single. He learned the piano when he was nine, was given a trumpet in seventh grade, and later acquired a ukulele. His uncle taught him how to play the tarabaki. Dale worked with Leo Fender to produce custom-made amplifiers which pushed the limits of the technology. Dale and the Del-Tones performed both sides of his single, "Secret Surfin' Spot" in the 1963 movie, Beach Party, and performed the songs "My First Love," "Runnin' Wild" and "Muscle Beach" in the 1964 film, Muscle Beach Party. "Misirlou" was featured in the movie Pulp Fiction. In 2009, Dale was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville, and in 2011 into the Surfing Walk of Fame in Huntington Beach, in the Surf Culture category.


1927 recording of the original folksong, Misirlou.

You Tube

You Tube

Dale and the suit-and-tie Del-Tones, taken from the film "A Swingin Affair" released in 1963.

You Tube

You Tube

Better sound, with Pulp Fiction clips.

You Tube

You Tube

Excellent 1995 version, but distracting video.

You Tube

You Tube

Interview with details of making amplifiers and guitars.

You Tube

You Tube

[SpecialK]

Melrose Abbey, Anaheim CA baseballers.

Jimmy Austin, from Wales, studied as an apprentice machinist with Westinghouse. When the company went on strike, Austin took an offer of $40 a month to play independent baseball in Warren, Ohio, and later with the Central League's Dayton, Ohio club. His major league debut was 1909 at age 28. That year, Austin became immortalized in the Charles M. Conlon photo (sold this month for $390,000) as the third baseman trying to avoid Ty Cobb's spikes on Cobb's stolen base. After his playing and coaching career, he was mayor of Laguna Beach CA in the 1940s.


Clifford "Gavvy" Cravath was a right-fielder, and played primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. In the seven years from 1913-20 he led the NL in home runs six times; in RBIs, total bases and slugging percentage twice each; and in hits, runs and walks once each. He led the Phillies to their first pennant in the team's 33-year history. However, he played his home games at Baker Bowl, notoriously favorable to batting. Cravath hit 92 homers there but only 25 homers in all his away games. Cravath reportedly picked up his nickname of "Gavvy" by hitting a ball that killed a seagull ("gaviota" in Spanish) in flight.


Earl Hamilton was a left-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Philadelphia Phillies. He pitched a no-hitter against Detroit on August 30, 1912, becoming the first player to pitch a no-hitter without recording a strikeout - the Tigers got a run on a Ty Cobb walk and an error. Before enlisting in the navy during the 1918 season, he was 6-0 with a 0.83 ERA in 54 innings.

[SpecialK]

Inglewood.

Mervin Monnette rose to be president of the Second National Bank of Bucyrus (Ohio) before losing his fortune and leaving town and his creditors in 1900. His 1904 gold strike in Nevada made enough money to pay off his debts. In 1907, he and his partner struck silver and shipped the largest amount that year from a mine thought to be depleted. In California, Monnette became president of the American National Bank of Los Angeles, which later through a series of mergers became Bank Of America.




Dorothy Short was a film actress, mainly in low-budget Westerns and serials in the 1930s and 1940s. She married actor Dave O'Brien in 1936, and they appeared together in the low-budget movie Reefer Madness. She also appeared in another anti-marijuana film Assassin of Youth in 1937. She often appeared with her husband in 'B' pictures and the Pete Smith series of comedy shorts. After their divorce in 1954, Short retired from film acting.


As Dorothy Adams, she had 164 acting credits, frequently in downtrodden or careworn roles as servants, maids, or hard-working pioneering types. Films include The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), The Killing (1956) and as a slave in The Ten Commandments (1956). She was in TV's Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone, Leave It To Beaver, Bonanza, and Gunsmoke. Husband Byron was a popular character actor.

[SpecialK]

Hollywood Forever.

Andreas Dippel was an opera tenor, and performed in the title role of Lohengrin and as Tristan in Tristan and Isolde. From 1908 to 1910 he was a joint manager with Giulio Gatti-Casazza of the New York Metropolitan Opera. During 1910 to 1913 he managed the Philadelphia-Chicago Grand Opera Company, and then formed the Dippel Opera Comique Company. In his later years, he worked in the movie industry as a voice coach and musical advisor.


Real estate businessman and stepfather of actors Charles and Wesley Ruggles. On August 13, 1924, Charles was acquitted of murdering his wife Theresa, and former business partner and owner of Meyer Department Store, Henry D. Meyer. Dorris insisted there was a quarrel over a $25,000 note between the men that lead to Meyer killing Theresa and himself. Charles was killed in a streetcar accident the next year.


Mother of actor Charles Ruggles and director Wesley Ruggles. She and Pasadena millionaire Henry D. Meyer were shot and killed in the living room of the Dorris' apartment.


Kaye Elhardt was an actress with dozens of TV appearances as a glamorous leading lady. She is perhaps best known for her comedic role as "Josephine St. Cloud" (pronounced "San Cloo") opposite James Garner and Jack Kelly in the 1959 "Pappy" episode of Maverick. She was in three episodes of Perry Mason, Family Affair, Highway Patrol, Wagon Train, Sea Hunt, seven different roles in 77 Sunset Strip, Bourbon Street Beat, Bat Masterson, My Three Sons, Surfside Six, Hawaiian Eye, Bronco, Yancy Derringer, and Colt .45. Bit parts in nine films include 1970's Airport, as passenger "Kay Hart".

[SpecialK]

Mission San Luis Rey, Oceanside CA.

Helen Dance was a jazz enthusiast and music journalist contributing to the Chicago Herald Tribune, Down Beat magazine, Tempo, Swing, and Jazz Hot. She organized concerts and produced recording sessions for small record labels. During WWII, she volunteered as a WAC where her journalistic background led to her assignment with the OSS, eventually serving as an undercover courier. She and husband Stanley attended state dinners with Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter and Clinton. In 1987, she wrote Stormy Monday: The T-Bone Walker Story about the blues musician.

Stanley Dance was a jazz writer and oral historian of the swing era. He began writing about the jazz scene for the French magazine Jazz Hot in 1935. He wrote for Jazz Journal from 1948 until his death in 1999. He also contributed liner notes for numerous musicians including Duke Ellington and Count Basie. In 1964 he was co-winner of the first Grammy for Best Album Notes. He was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1999, and posthumously received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jazz Journalist Association. He wrote "The World of Duke Ellington" in 1970, the first book in his trilogy of "The World of Swing" in 1974, "The World of Earl Hines" in 1977, and "The World of Count Basie" in 1980.


Hugh Martin was a musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He was best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In St. Louis, in which Judy Garland sang three Martin songs: "The Boy Next Door," "The Trolley Song," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Film work included songs for Athena (1954) starring Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds, and Vic Damone; The Girl Most Likely (1957) starring Jane Powell; and Best Foot Forward (1943) which starred Lucille Ball.


Major General Raymond Murray was a highly decorated US Marine Corps officer who earned two Navy Crosses, one during WWII on Guadalcanal and a second during the Korean War. After the Korean War, he served as the Commanding Officer at the Marine School at Quantico, Commanding Officer and Chief of Staff at Camp Pendleton and Camp Lejeune, from 1964-66 was the Inspector General of the Marine Corps, and served a tour in Vietnam as Deputy Commander, III Marine Amphibious Force.

[SpecialK]

Mount Moriah, Deadwood SD.

Nicknamed Calamity Jane, Martha Canary (or Cannary) was an American frontierswoman and professional scout known for being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok and fighting against Native Americans. She was in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, and was by then depressed and alcoholic. Four of the men who planned her funeral later stated that Wild Bill Hickok had "absolutely no use" for Jane while he was alive, so they decided to play a posthumous joke on him by giving her a resting place by his side. Another account states: "in compliance with Jane's dying requests, the Society of Black Hills Pioneers took charge of her funeral and burial in Mount Moriah Cemetery beside Wild Bill. Not just old friends, but the morbidly curious and many who would not have acknowledged Calamity Jane when she was alive, overflowed the First Methodist Church for the funeral services on August 4 and followed the hearse up the steep winding road to Deadwood’s boot hill".


James Butler Hickok, better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West, known for being a wagon master, soldier, spy, scout, lawman, gunfighter, gambler, showman, and actor. In September 1869, his first month as sheriff, Hickok killed two men. In 1870, Hickok was attacked by two troopers from the 7th Cavalry. He wounded one and killed the other. Hickok was not re-elected to office. In 1876, Hickok was shot from behind and killed while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota), by an unsuccessful gambler.

[SpecialK]

Rose Hills, Whittier.

Bobbie Beard was a child actor, best-known for playing "Cotton" in several Our Gang short films from 1932-34. His older brother was Matthew "Stymie" Beard, one of the most popular Our Gang characters. Bobbie appeared as Stymie's younger brother in Hi'-Neighbor!, Forgotten Babies, Fish Hooky, A Lad an' a Lamp and Birthday Blues. In A Lad an' a Lamp, Spanky McFarland keeps wishing that Cotton could be a monkey. Despite his notable presence in several films, Beard never spoke a word. After Our Gang, Beard was an auction dealer, and later, he worked at the Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles and became good friends with Groucho Marx. He served in the Korean War, and spent his final years working for the LA School Board.


On Panel 18 of the Memorial Wall is Robert Castillo Jr., a baseball pitcher who played for the LA Dodgers and Minnesota Twins from 1977-85. In the 1981 World Series as a Dodger, he pitched one inning against the New York Yankees. In 1987, he pitched in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons. Castillo is credited with teaching his Dodgers team-mate, Fernando Valenzuela, how to throw a screwball.


Jaime Alfonso Escalante Gutiérrez was a Bolivian-American educator best-known for teaching students calculus from 1974 to 1991 at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. After earning a math degree in Bolivia and moving to the US, he taught himself English and worked odd jobs while earning another college degree. In 1982, 18 of his students passed the Advanced Placement Calculus exam, but the Educational Testing Service was suspicious because all the students made an identical error on the same problem, among other things. Fourteen students were asked to retake the test, and they did well enough to have their scores reinstated. This was portrayed in the 1988 film Stand and Deliver. In 1993, the asteroid 5095 Escalante was named after him. His grave was unmarked for several years.

[SpecialK]

Hollywood Forever.

Charles Graham Baker was a screenwriter for more than 170 films between 1915 and 1948. He directed 13 shorts in the 1910’s, and produced 1940’s Swiss Family Robinson. He and his father invented the game of Gin Rummy in 1909.


Cornelius Cole was an American politician. He served one term in the US House of Representatives as a Republican representing California from 1863 to 1865, and another term in the Senate from 1867 to 1873. In March 1856, Cole organized the California branch of the Republican Party, acting as secretary and writing the manifesto. Later that summer, Cole started the Sacramento Daily California Times with James McClatchy as an editor, though it lasted only a few months after the 1856 National election. In 1880 he moved to southern California where he owned one of the original Spanish/Mexican land grants, what is now known as Hollywood, then was dubbed Colegrove after his wife, Olive Colegrove. There are several streets now named after the family; Cole St, Willoughby Ave, Eleanor St and Seward St. The eastern California community of Coleville in Mono County is named for him.


Havis Davenport was an actress with 16 appearances during the 1950s, before retiring in 1959. They include A Star Is Born, The Bob Cummings Show, twice on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Scandal Incorporated, Death Valley Days, and her last on Alcoa Theatre. Her first role was as the newlywed in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window.