Unmarked

We’ve talked a couple of times in this space about unmarked graves. And, of course, we all know that, in cultures that mark burial sites, most folks who end up officially placed in a grave without such a marker do so either because of lack of financial wherewithal or because their actions while alive have led those still walking this mortal coil to believe that their life is not worthy of any sort of commemoration.

Some of the folks who fall into the latter category include Nazis Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Goring, Joseph Goebbels, and Hitler himself. All four were cremated, and their ashes were secretly scattered to prevent any possibility of a future grave. Sandy Hook murderer Adam Lanza was buried in an unmarked grave, as were British serial killers Dr. Harold Shipman and Myra Hindley. And, executed criminals have long been buried in unmarked resting places.

But, the folks we’re going to discuss in this missive are among the minority whose graves are unmarked for other reasons. Folks like Roy Orbison? Yes. Roy Orbison.

Orbison died of a heart attack in 1988 at the age of 52. His death, of course, was unexpected. He was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles, the final resting place of many celebrities. But, the burial at Westwood was supposed to be a temporary solution, so Orbison’s family never put up a stone to mark the grave. (If you find yourself looking for Roy, find the grave of director Frank Wright Tuttle. If you’re facing Tuttle’s stone, Orbison’s “final” resting place is the plot directly behind it.)

Also in an unmarked grave in a California cemetery is Steve Jobs. Jobs died in 2011 at the age of 56. His final resting place is not in Los Angeles, but in Palo Alto, at Alta Mesa Memorial Park. And, unlike in Orbison’s case, the lack of a marker is intentional. Jobs did not want “fans” coming to the grave en masse, so no marker was erected.

Another famous person whose grave lacks a marker is Frank Zappa. Zappa died in 1993 at the age of 52. He was likely buried, like Orbison, in Westwood Village Memorial Park. Likely, because the location remains in dispute. What is not in dispute is that, no matter where Zappa is, there’s no marker…and, no one, save those closest to the late singer, knows exactly why. (PS, if Zappa is in Westwood Village Memorial Park, his final resting place can likely be found by seeking out the marked grave of actor Lew Ayres. If you’re facing Ayres’ marker, the unmarked plot to the right probably contains the remains of Frank Zappa.)

Unlike Zappa, there’s no doubt about where the grave of Fred Gwynne is located. Gwynne died at age 66 back in 1993 and was buried at Sandy Mount United Methodist Church Cemetery in Finksburg, Maryland, near his home in Taneytown. Near the back of the cemetery is a dark colored stone with the name “Shannon” on it. About twenty feet to the left and in front of that stone is the unmarked grave of the beloved star of “The Munsters”.

Now, the names we’ve mentioned so far, you probably know…but you may not know Blanche Ring. She was, however, a major celebrity, a star of Broadway who had a huge hit with a song I’m sure you know, “In The Good Old Summertime”. Ring died in a nursing home in 1961 at the age of 89. She was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. And, while the grave site is not, and was never meant to be, a secret, there’s no marker on Section Q, Lot 57, Space 2.

Actor George C. Scott, who, famously, refused to attend the Academy Awards ceremony to accept his well-deserved Oscar for “Patton”, died in 1999 at the age of 71. Like Orbison, Scott is buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles. But the grave has no marker. It’s easy to find, however. Just find the grave of actor Walter Matthau and wife Carol. If you’re facing that marked plot, Scott’s final resting place is the next plot to the left.

Hugh O’Connor, actor and son of Carroll O’Connor, committed suicide in 1995 at the age of 32. There’s a marker at Westwood Village Memorial Park containing the younger O’Connor’s name, along with those of his famous father and mother. But, Hugh O’Connor’s remains aren’t there. He was cremated and the ashes were originally buried at the church of St. Susanna in Rome. Later, they were moved to the North American College in that city.

There’s also a marker with the name of Bobby Driscoll, the child star of Disney’s “Song of the South”. But, like Hugh O’Connor, Driscoll’s remains are not buried at the site of the marker. Driscoll’s is a tragic story. Like many child stars, his acting career petered out as he got older and he eventually moved to New York City and became addicted to drugs. He died as a result of long term drug abuse in 1968, at the age of 31, alone in an abandoned New York tenement. His body had no ID on it, and efforts to identify the remains were unsuccessful. It wasn’t until the following year, when his mother asked officials at Disney to try to locate Bobby for a reunion with his estranged father that a fingerprint match was made, identifying the body in the tenement as Driscoll’s. (The public wouldn’t become aware of his death for two more years, when reporters, researching the cast of “Song of the South” in connection with its re-release for its 25^th anniversary, discovered and publicized his death.) By the time Driscoll’s parents discovered his passing, his body had already been buried in New York City’s Potter’s Field on Hart Island. It could not be recovered. Thus, at Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside, California, on the marker on the grave of his father, Cletus, who died in 1969, sits Bobby Driscoll’s name. But, his remains are nearly 2500 miles away.

 The remains of John Belushi, the brilliant comic who died at age 33 back in 1982, also lie in an unmarked grave…but that wasn’t always the case. Belushi, who loved Martha’s Vineyard, was buried there, at Abel Hill Cemetery in Chilmark. But, as plenty of fans made the pilgrimage to the cemetery to visit Belushi, and some did things like leave beer cans on the grave, a decision was made to move the body. Thus, a stone still stands near the entrance to the cemetery. The body’s location, however, is somewhat of a mystery. It’s likely near the back of Abel Hill, though rumors indicate it may have been moved to Belushi’s native Chicago.

But, while Belushi may or may not be buried in his native state, famed “American Top 40” host Casey Kasem isn’t even buried in his native country. Casey, who will forever have a place in my heart for his work voicing “Shaggy” of “Scooby-Doo” fame, died at age 82 back in 2014. Kasem, who’d been born in Michigan, died in the state of Washington. And, for some reason, was buried in Norway (his wife’s decision). Casey lies in an unmarked grave in a cemetery called Vestre Gravlund in Oslo.

Like Blanche Ring, the name Florence Labadie doesn’t mean much to most folks today, but, in the early days of film, she was a huge star. Labadie made over 80 silent films, including the 1912 “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. In 1917, the actress, just 29 years old, was driving down a hill when the brakes on her car failed. She was seriously injured in the resultant accident, lingering for a couple of months before succumbing to those injuries. She was the first female movie star to die at the height of her popularity, and her passing resulted in national mourning. (And, just to prove that conspiracy theory nuts have always been with us, in the wake of her death, rumors flew that she’d been murdered because she’d been pregnant by a prominent political type.) But, despite her fame, Labadie was buried in an unmarked plot in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Said plot remained unmarked for a nearly a century. Until her fans stepped in. Money was raised, and, in April of 2014, a marker was placed on the grave of Florence Labadie.

A similar and even more tragic story involves child actor Judith Barsi. She began acting in commercials at age five. Judith quickly moved into film and television and was getting so much work that, by the time she entered fourth grade, she was making $100,000 a year in 1980s money. Tragically, however, Barsi died in 1988 at the age of ten as a result of a murder-suicide perpetrated by her father. Judith and her mother Maria were buried in unmarked graves at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California. But, again, fans stepped in. Markers were purchased for the graves of Judith and Maria in 2004, the former containing the inscription “Yep! Yep! Yep!”, the catchphrase of Judith’s character from the film “The Land Before Time”, her favorite acting role.

Also unmarked is the grave of Pittsburgh’s own Ted Cassidy. Famed for his portrayal of “Lurch” on “The Addams Family”, Cassidy died of complications from open heart surgery in 1979 at the age of 46. He was cremated and his ashes were buried in the back yard of his home. And, from there, it gets weird. (OK, weirder.) It seems that, when the Cassidy’s family moved out of the house, attempts were made to unearth the urn…but it could not be found. Rumors of a gardener accidentally finding it and stealing it have flown. Other rumors hold that the new owners of the house accidentally dug up the urn, realized what it was, and reburied it. One thing seems certain. Cassidy’s surviving family has no idea where the urn and ashes are. And, the site of Ted Cassidy’s remains, no matter where it is, is most definitely unmarked.

Freddie Mercury may or may not be in an unmarked grave. OK, he probably is, but, for a while, maybe wasn’t? What’s known is that after Mercury’s death in 1991 at the age of 45, he was cremated at Kensal Green Cemetery in London. The ashes were given to someone, likely former girlfriend Mary Austin, who has claimed to know where the ashes are, but says she promised Mercury, on his death bed, that she would never reveal the location. Rumors have them being scattered all over the world, and even Mercury’s partner, Jim Hutton, who thought they were buried at Freddie’s home, admitted he wasn’t sure. Then, in 2013, a small plaque was discovered on a plinth in Kensal Green. Said plaque, which had gone unnoticed as it was buried among tributes to other people, said “In Loving Memory of Farrokh Bulsara” (Mercury’s birth name), contained the singer’s birth and death dates, and was signed with the letter “M”. Speculation was that the “M” stood for Mary Austin and that Austin had scattered the ashes at that location. The plaque disappeared just weeks after its discovery. Cemetery workers have no idea how long it had been in place or what happened to it. Just like no one, save, possibly Mary Austin, has any idea of Mercury’s final resting place.