celebrities who were cremated | Life in the Garden

Last month we published Celebrity Cremations: Isadora Duncan, in celebration of the famous dancer’s birthday in late May – and in acknowledgement of her forward-thinking in relation to the practice of cremation. This month, in recognition of July being America’s birthday month, I’d like to look at another of the many celebrities who were cremated – American singer/songwriter and social activist, Woody Guthrie.

Maybe ‘celebrity’ is the wrong word for Woody; ‘celebrated’ is better. His life was the subject of a 1976 film with David Carradine; Bound for Glory; and his prodigious creativity was the focus of the 1999 documentary with Wilco and Billy Bragg, Man in the Sand. Both are well-worth watching and give you a good ‘feel’ for this American icon.

Guthrie is the creator of what are today considered patriotic classics like “This Land is Your Land”, “Roll on Columbia”, and “Pastures of Plenty”. I love him most for his fun, silly, and toe-tapping children’s songs, like “Rattle my Rattle” and “Riding in My Car”. You might be happy to know his son Arlo – along with his family – recorded some of them in “Woody’s 20 Grow Big Songs”.

When he died in 1967, Woody’s family chose to have his body cremated and his ashes scattered in the sea. Interestingly, there’s a cenotaph (a headstone used to commemorate someone whose body is elsewhere) in Highland Cemetery, in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma where he was born.

In tribute to this amazing American, I’d like to close with some of the lesser-known words to
“This Land is Your Land”

As I went walking, I saw a sign there,
And on the sign there, it said “Private Property.”
But on the other side, it didn’t say nothing!
That side was made for you and me.
In the squares of the city, in the shadow of a steeple,
By the relief office, I’d seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?

Guthrie used his song-writing skills as a social and political tool for change during a time of great poverty and unrest in our country. I, for one, am proud to share a common national heritage with this remarkable man.

Source:

This Land is Your Land

The date has come and gone, but May 27th, 2018 is the birthday of Isadora Duncan. Born in San Francisco in 1877, she became a world famous choreographer, dancer, and instructor, “whose emphasis on freer forms of movement was a precursor to modern dance techniques.” (Source)

Isadora Duncan

But, Isadora wasn’t just a trailblazer in the world of dance. In making the end-of-life choices she made, Isadora furthered the growth and acceptance of cremation as an alternative to traditional burial. It began it 1913, when her two children accidentally drowned, she decided to have their bodies cremated.

Isadora_Duncan_and_her_children

Their ashes were interred in the Cimetière du Père Lachaise, in Paris (where they were living at the time). Choosing cremation at the time was remarkably ‘modern’ and totally in character with Isadora’s personality and approach to life.

When Isadora died in an automobile accident fourteen years later (on September 14, 1927), the decision was for her body to also be cremated. The ashes were interred next to her children, Deirdre Beatrice Craig, who was six at the time of her death, and Patrick Augustus Singer, who was only three years of age on that fateful April day in Paris.

In the months to come, I’ll look at other celebrities who were cremated. Believe me when I say there were additional wonderfully talented and intelligent women –acrtresses Bea Arthur, Virginia Dwyer, Adriana Caselotti, and Lana Turner, to name just a few – who flew in the face of convention by choosing cremation over traditional burial.

Image source: Wikipedia