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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
