Kevin Barry

Kevin Barry

(1902 – 1920)

Kevin Barry was the First Irish Republican to be executed by the British since the Easter uprising of 1916 in Ireland. His execution caused outrage in Irish opinion and brought the tension to a fever pitch. His execution also precipitated a dramatic increase in violence as the Irish War for Independence entered its most bloody phase. His refusal to talk(despite torture) made him one of the most celebrated Irish Republicans. He is also known as one of the “Forgotten Ten”, a group of Irish republicans executed by the British in 1920-21.

He was only 18 years old.

He was originally buried in a plot at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, but all ten are now in Glasnevin Prison. They were given a state funeral in 2001.

Trivia:

There is a bar called “Kevin Barry’s” named after him in Savannah GA.

Gloria Stuart

Gloria Stuart

(1910 -2010)

Gloria Stewart( she changed it to Stuart) was an American actress and artist. Most people remember her now as the iconic “Old Rose” in  the movie  “Titanic”, but she had been acting since about 1932. Kate Winslet is a stunner of course, but I think Gloria could have held her own with any beauty in her heyday. She was in about 79 movies and television shows, and was a star in her own right, not too long after the real Titanic sank(about 20 years or so!)

Read about her life and you will see someone who lived a rich, rewarding existence. She was cremated, so no grave to visit, but Obscurely Famous none the less!

Trivia:

At 87, she was the oldest person ever nominated for an Academy Award(for “Titanic” of course)

“Shoeless“ Joe Jackson

“Shoeless“ Joe Jackson

(1888 – 1951)

Joseph Jefferson “Shoeless Joe” Jackson was a Major League Baseball player, know today as one of the eight Chicago White Sox players banned forever from MLB for his role in the 1919 “Black Sox” Scandal. Here is where it gets sticky: In the fixed World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, all eight players were acquitted, but still banned for life by baseball’s first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis.

Shoeless Joe’s stats for the series:

12 hits (a series record, Lead both teams)

.375 average (Lead both teams)

Fielded 30 balls with NO ERRORS

Hmmmmmmmm………….doesn’t sound like a guy throwing some games…….. Like everything else, the rumors fly…..Some contemporary news accounts say he admitted his participation in the fix….. But no direct quote to this effect appears in the actual stenographic record of his grand jury appearance, casting doubt on how much truth there was to these accounts.

The debate continues………

He is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Greenville, South Carolina.

Trivia:

The “Say it ain’t so, Joe” story never happened……..

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe

(1926 – 1962)

Norma Jean Baker was an American actress, singer, and model. She is so Iconic, I could go on for days about her so let’s just say this: She was so beautiful, it takes your breath away(take a look at pictures of her without makeup or just relaxing) and yet had a tragic quality of a person just trying to survive like the rest of us. Not saying she didn’t have to be tough to make it in the industry she was in, but it had obviously consumed her when she died at age 36.

She is buried in Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.

Trivia:

One of the biggest movie stars of all time, she was never even nominated for an Academy Award…….

She was the very first Playmate for Playboy Magazine.

Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison

(1943 – 1971)

James Douglas Morrison, the Lizard King, was an American singer, poet, andsongwriter best remembered as the lead vocalist for The Doors. An enigmatic performer with a genius IQ, he was as unpredictable as they come. After reading about Arthur Rimbaud’s life , he sometimes said he was going to drop out and disappear, and then if he wanted to contact anyone, he would use the code name “Mr. Mojo Risin”, an anagram for “Jim Morrison”. After he died at the age of 27, the rumors flew(and still do) that he was still alive, and since no one ever saw his body, everybody waited…….. Over 40 years later we are still waiting for Mr. Mojo Risin. I don’t think he is coming back, but his legend keeps growing. There is a good book called “No One Here Gets Out Alive”,(based on a lyric of his) by Danny Sugerman and Jerry Hopkins that is a great read about his life.

He is buried in the Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise in Paris France.

Trivia:

This cemetery has over 1 million permanent residents……… !

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde

( 1854 – 1900)

Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde, born in Dublin, Ireland, was an Irish Writer and Poet. He was one of London’s most popular playwrights in the 1890’s, and today is remembered for his epigrams, his plays, the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, as well as his scandalous lifestyle and refusal to conform. “The Importance of being Earnest” is considered one of his most notable plays. He was married for a time and had two kids, but went to jail over a homosexual scandal. As I said, he didn’t hold much back in his private life. His epigrams are absolute genius, and I catch myself enjoying those at least as much as his other work. They are still relevant 120 years later. Read them if you get a chance.

He is buried in the Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise in Paris France. His legend is secure.

Trivia:

Jim Morrison is buried in this cemetery too.