"As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death." --Leonardo da Vinci
NEWS & NOTES
The upper crust's undertaker
When the rich and famous die in New York City, they often end up in the same place: Frank E. Campbell, a renowned funeral parlor on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
For over a century, Frank E. Campbell has catered to the upper crust in society. Although the mortuary provided funeral services for Isaac Asimov, Lauren Bacall, Walter Cronkite, Dominick Dunne, Geraldine Ferrero, Judy Garland, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Peter Jennings, Heath Ledger, John Lennon, Norman Mailer, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Les Paul, Joan Rivers, Biggie Smalls, Nikola Tesla, Rudolph Valentino, Luther Vandross, Mae West and others, you won't see those names promoted on its website.
The cost for a typical service at Frank E. Campbell can range from $10,000 to $50,000; however, many pricy amenities are available. Security guards can be hired to keep the press, fans and curious onlookers at bay during viewings. Decoy hearses may be arranged. Grieving family members can reserve horse-drawn carriages, Rolls-Royces or private jets. And since discretion is expected, pallbearers, doormen, cosmeticians and embalmers must honor a code of silence to protect the funeral home's high-profile clients.
FMI: Click here.
Guiding the way
The Order of the Good Death was founded 14 years ago by Caitlin Doughty, a funeral director and the author of the bestselling books, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "From Here to Eternity" and "Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?" Since then, the organization of funeral professionals, academics and artists has worked to reform the death industry. This has involved designing practical resources, pursuing new and amended legislation and providing support for alternative forms of death care.
The Order's latest endeavor is the creation of comprehensive LGBTQ+ end-of-life planning guides for every state in America. It has partnered with funeral director Ezra Salter, the creator of “Wake’s Louisiana LGBTQ+ End-of-Life Guide,” to help produce similar references for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual or any other gender identity and/or sexual orientation minority in the other 49 states. Each guide will feature information about the state's laws regarding end-of-life planning, hospice and palliative care, wills, funeral arrangements and memorialization, and explain how they apply to the local LGBTQ+ community.
"It is our intention that this series of guides will empower LGBTQ+ people and the people who care about them, to make informed choices about their own, or a loved one’s, end-of-life care," the Order noted on its website.
FMI: Click here.
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NOTABLE OBITS
* Soprano Lucine Amara, who sang for four decades with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, died. She was 99. Amara debuted at the Met when she was 25 and would sing there 748 times. She was particularly adept at being a top-notch understudy, ready and willing to step into any role when the lead was unable to perform. Amara took her final bow in 1991 at the age of 65. (Emily Langer, The Washington Post)
* Legendary private investigator Jay J. Armes, 92, has died. Armes started out in Hollywood, acting in 39 films and 28 TV shows, before returning to El Paso, Texas to launch his private detective agency, The Investigators. For the next 67 years, he worked on hundreds of high-profile cases, including helping to locate actor Marlon Brando's kidnapped son. Armes reportedly found the 13-year-old in just three days. (Aaron A. Bedoya and Trish Long, El Paso Times)
* John Cassaday, 52, the comic book artist who worked on runs of "Planetary" and "Astonishing X-Men," died. Cassaday's three decades in the industry earned him the Eisner Award for best penciler/inker in 2004, 2005 (tie) and 2006. When Marvel Comics published issue No. 1,000 in 2019 to celebrate its 80th anniversary, Cassaday drew a stunning image of Captain America in 1944. His final project, Madshadows, was about the pulp magazine stories and characters of the early 20th century. (George Gene Gustines, The New York Times)
* Actress Kathryn Crosby, who appeared in dozens of movies and TV programs in the 1950s and 1960s, died at 90. Although she was known for acting opposite Hollywood legends like Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Jimmy Stewart, she would later step away from the business after marrying actor and crooner Bing Crosby. The couple later appeared together with their children in his popular Christmas television specials and in Minute Maid orange juice ads. (Beth Harris, Los Angeles Times)
* Author Nelson DeMille, who wrote his bestselling books in longhand with a No. 1 pencil and stacks of yellow legal pads, died. He was 81. DeMille penned two dozen suspense and adventure novels, including eight featuring a wise-cracking former NYPD homicide detective named John Corey. He also wrote riveting military thrillers, many of which drew on his own combat experience in Vietnam. Four of his novels were adapted into films; the latest adaptation, "The Charm School," is currently in production. (Harrison Smith, The Washington Post)
* Billy Edd Wheeler, an Appalachian folk singer, songwriter and guitarist whose songs about rural life and culture were recorded by some 200 artists, died. He was 91. Throughout his six-decade career, Wheeler released some two dozen albums. But when songs like "Jackson" were recorded by June Carter and Johnny Cash or Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood, they became huge hits. The Carter-Cash version even won a Grammy Award in 1968 for best country-and-western performance by a duo, trio or group. Wheeler also wrote several books, numerous plays and musicals, and a folk opera that was commissioned by the National Geographic Society called “Song of the Cumberland Gap.” (Bill Friskics-Warren, The New York Times)
* British session musician Herbie Flowers, who played on more than 500 hit albums, died at 86. A bassist who also occasionally played tuba, Flowers performed with Elton John, Harry Nilsson, Cat Stevens, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. He was particularly renowned for creating what became known as the "mother of all bass lines," on Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side." (Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline)
* Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, 86, who was the first man of Japanese heritage to become leader of a Latin American nation, died. Although the authoritarian leader was credited with saving Peru from economic disaster and an insurgency, he was eventually forced to resign in disgrace over corruption. Fujimori was later convicted of ordering kidnappings and two massacres that claimed the lives of 25 people, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He eventually received a presidential pardon due to his declining health. (Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times)
* Cognitive psychologist Lloyd Kaufman, 97, who spent nearly half a century studying the mental mechanics that help produce human vision, died. A professor at New York University and Long Island University, Kaufman was known for helping to explain why the moon appears larger on the horizon than it does when overhead, a phenomenon known as the moon illusion. (Alex Traub, The New York Times)
* Neil King Jr., a former Wall Street Journal reporter who embarked on an inspiring walk from Washington D.C. to New York City in 2021, died. He was 65. King's work in journalism took him around the world, covering stories in Prague, Brussels and at the newspaper's Washington bureau. But it was his 330-mile walk that became the basis of his travelogue "American Ramble." His journey, which occurred after the violent Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol and amidst the coronavirus pandemic, involved numerous encounters with strangers who offered him food, sang songs for him and even washed his clothes. (Brian Murphy, The Washington Post)
* Set designer Mickey Lowenstein, 90, who created the movie theater balcony set for dueling film critics Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times and his Chicago Tribune counterpart Gene Siskel, has died. Using forced perspective, Lowenstein made it look like the critics were sitting in a large theater instead of a tiny TV studio set. In fact, nearly everything on "Opening Soon ... at a Theater Near You," was built at about one-third the actual size. Lowenstein also worked on the ballet production of "The Merry Widow,” and the WTTW productions of "Bleacher Bums" and "Say Goodnight, Gracie." (Mitch Dudek, Chicago Sun-Times)
* Al McCoy, the legendary voice of the Phoenix Suns for five decades, died. He was 91. McCoy called his first Suns' game in 1972 and didn't retire until after the 2022-23 season. Known for his energy and kindness, McCoy was described by former Suns star Steve Nash as "the teammate that never wore a jersey." The Suns' media center is named in McCoy's honor, and he was the first play-by-play announcer to be inducted into the Arizona Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. (Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic)
* Actor and professional racer Chad McQueen, 63, has died. The son of late actor and race car driver Steve McQueen, Chad followed in his father's footsteps in both professions. The highlight of his acting career was playing a villain in the "Karate Kid" movies in the 1980s. McQueen also raced professionally for years and competed in both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona. (Kaitlyn Huamani, Los Angeles Times)
* Former Miami Dolphins star Eugene "Mercury" Morris died at 77. Morris played seven seasons with the Dolphins football team (1969-1975) and ran 190 times for 1,000 yards and a league-leading 12 touchdowns. The three-time Pro Bowl running back and two-time Super Bowl champion spent 3.5 years in prison after leaving the game for cocaine trafficking. He later became a motivational speaker and appeared in an anti-drug public service announcement. (Barry Jackson, Miami Herald)
* Jim Riswold, who was described by colleagues and competitors as the Michael Jordan of advertising, died at 66. He was best known for his Air Jordan and Nike commercials, including the "Bo Knows" campaign, featuring All-Star outfielder Bo Jackson. Riswold later turned himself into art, posing naked in photographs to show how much his body had been ravaged by cancer. (Michael S. Rosenwald, The New York Times)
FAMOUS DEATHS IN HISTORY
On September 23, psychologist Sigmund Freud (83), Chilean poet/politician Pablo Neruda (69) and choreographer Bob Fosse (60)
On September 24, children's author Dr. Seuss (87), ventriloquist Jimmy Nelson (90) and painter Robert Bechtle (88)
On September 25, Austrian composer Johann Strauss I (45), Nobel Peace Prize winner/Kenyan environmental activist Wangari Maathai (71) and golfer Arnold Palmer (87)
On September 26, German-American businessman Levi Strauss (73), author/educator William Strunk Jr. (77) and actress Gloria Stuart (100)
On September 27, French artist Edgar Degas (83), actress Clara Bow (60) and columnist William Safire (79)
On September 28, author Herman Melville (72), French bacteriologist Louis Pasteur (72) and astronomer Edwin Hubble (63)
On September 29, English-American poet W.H. Auden (66), artist Roy Lichtenstein (73) and Soviet astronaut Pavel Popovich (78)
On September 30, screenwriter/producer Stephen J. Cannell (69), pioneering librarian Clara Stanton Jones (99) and game show host Monty Hall (96)
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“I’m going away tonight.” --James Brown
MOMENT OF GRATITUDE
Thanks to Haley Owens, Unsplash, the New York Public Library, Frank E Campbell - The Funeral Chapel, the New York Post, The New York Times, The Order of the Good Death, Caitlin Doughty, WAKE, YouTube, The Washington Post, Facebook, Jay J. Armes III, the El Paso Times, the Los Angeles Times, Kevin Fisher, Deadline, CBS Sunday Morning, Chicago Sun-Times, Apple News, Arizona Republic, Miami Herald, Mathew MacQuarrie, On This Day, Playback.FM, Britannica: This Day in History, Time and Date, Wikipedia, The Moonlight Reader Society, Mental Floss and Deposit Photos for art and story suggestions.
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