Wednesday, December 31, 2014

RIP Phyllis Diller's Brentwood Death House

RIP Comedienne Phyllis Diller's Brentwood Home

Phyllis died in the house on August 20, 2012.  

She was 95.

Phil Dil playing dead in an episode of Night Gallery



The Diller Digs

The Diller Digs Deceased
Photo by Becky Trujillo


I had the terrific opportunity to hang out in the Diller house and chat with Phyllis.

The account of my visit and of the Diller Death is on Findadeath.


The front porch

The Courtyard

The Hallway with paintings for sale

Kitchen bulletin board


Phyllis in her art room with her smock.
Gimme that damn smock.




Wanna see her mailbox?








RIP Marilyn's Shrubs

Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio rented a home on Palm Drive in Beverly Hills for the duration of their marriage - about 9 months.  The house looks amazingly similar considering the timespan.  As I understand it, the people who lived here have done so for over 40 years.  Don't expect it to last.

This is MM with her attorney.  Note the address 508 on the door behind her.



Note the gratuitous photo of the tour company owner.


This is one of those Star's Home's postcards.
Note the 4 trees directly in front of the house.


Those trees were still there until late 2014.  They were taller, but they were still there.


POOF!  Gone.  (what did you call me?)






RIP Edward Hermann Gilmore Girls star dies at 71

RIP Actor Edward Hermann

Gilmore Girls, Richie Rich, The Lost Boys

Dead at 71 in New York

Hermann had been diagnosed with brain cancer.

Soure:  VARIETY

New Addition to the Dearly Departed Tours Museum

Another sad addition to the Museum in Dearly Departed Tours



Legendary Falcon Studios on Hollywood Blvd. being destroyed.

Falcon Studios located at 5526 Hollywood Blvd. since 1929 has been destroyed.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr., John Barrymore, Ronald Coleman, Errol Flynn, they all studied fencing under Ralph Faulkner "Swashbuckler to the Stars'.
This is unsurprising:  The Los Angeles City Council gave it Landmark Status
then took it away.
Oh wait, they kept the facade.  HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD!






It's making way for a $100-million "mixed use" apartment complex and retail development.
So what else.


Color by Deluxe



Deluxe film processing company has left Hollywood.

The Girl Can't Help It
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Rainman
The Smurfs...
all the greats. 

Seriously, SKADS of films.

The company closed their Hollywood location in 2014 and it's now being destroyed.


No doubt some "mixed use" bullshit.

RIP Deluxe Laboratories Hollywood





Today is Ricky Nelson's 29th Deathaversary

Rick Nelson
May 8, 1940 - December 31, 1985



Rick (Ricky) Nelson was part of the first reality show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
They were white.


Very long interesting story short, Rick had a significant career as a recording artist.  He started as a teen idol back when the show was in it's heyday, and continued on through adulthood.


 

Another very long story short :

he was touring and his plane crashed, killing 6.

All the details are on Findadeath  


Cause of Death:  Smoke inhalation and Thermal Burns.

Witnesses described, "It was on fire when it came over me... Smoke was just belching out of the right side."  As the two pilots scrambled from the cockpit windows, flames as high as 70 feet leapt from the wreckage, which burned for hours, well into the night.  The bodies were found huddled near the cockpit door."


How awful.





Chris Meloni from Law and Order SUV (I know)
bought the Nelson's Hollywood home in 2014.

The show featured this house.





December 31 2014, Johnny Arthur's 63rd Deathaversary


Johnny Arthur 
1883 - 1951

Johnny was the queeny actor who took a hit for the gays.  Sort of the gay "stepenfetchit".  

When I started the Dearly Departed Weekends, the ultimate goal was to raise funds for a grave marker.

My pal Mark Langlois brought Johnny Arthur to my attention.

Johnny died in the Motion Picture Country Home.   His death certificate lists this hotel in Hollywood as his official address at the time of his death.



Johnny did die on New Year's Eve (as Mark said:  like a queen, keeping it tidy!) at the Motion Picture Country Home in Woodland Hills.  It's a sort of nursing home/long term assisted living facility for people in the biz.

Cause of Death: Coronary Occlusion, heart disease blah blah.  Bad ticker.


The Motion Picture Fund will provide a grave for these people.  They own a huger portion of Valhalla  Cemetery in North Hollywood.  Thing is, they won't mark them.

So with the proceeds of the raffle at our Dearly Departed Weekend, we bought Johnny a headstone.

Here is the unveiling.



Rest in Peace, Johnny.  You were a lot of people's first exposure to non-macho men.  Even though you were usually the subject of mockery and physical abuse, you paved the way for a lot of people.

Rest in Peace.  You deserve it.


After the unveiling, we had another "alternative ending" unveiling.  Watch the entire video above to see it.




Tuesday, December 30, 2014

RIP Voiceover Artist Christine Cavanaugh - 1963 - 2014

Voiceover artist Christine Cavanaugh died on December 22 in Los Angeles.

She was 51.

Cause of death unknown.



Babe the pig, Oblina, Chucky from Rugrats.  RIP.



RIP Luise Rainer 1910 - 2014

Luise Rainer died today in her London home.  She was 104

I had a chance to rub shoulders with her once. I mean, really actually rub shoulders.  I was at Ian McKellan's surprise 60th birthday party (I swear.  Prob 100 people.  Sting sang Happy Birthday) and Luise was there.  When she was getting a piece of birthday cake, I brushed up against her on purpose.

Right up there with Thora Hird running over my foot with her wheelchair.

RIP



Publix Supermarket


Wow, Publix likes gay people.


This is a far cry from 1981 when I worked at one of the markets in Ft. Lauderdale.


I was pulled aside and was told under no circumstances could I wear an earring while at work or I would be fired.