Category Archives: Suicide

Keaton Sons Change Names to Talmadge

July 2, 1942: Buster Keaton’s sons Robert, 18, and James, 20, legally change their last names to Talmadge after a petition to the court by Keaton’s ex-wife Natalie Talmadge. Lee Gilcrease, 29, kills his wife, Ethel, and commits suicide in … Continue reading

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Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, San Fernando Valley, Suicide | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Japanese Man’s Suicide Note: ‘My Country Goes Greatly Wrong’

May 23, 1942: Iyamma Satos uses three neckties to hang himself in Elysian Park. His suicide note reads: “My country goes greatly wrong. I cannot face my good friend America anymore, so I had to die. Please bury me quietly.”

Posted in 1942, Parks, Suicide, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Caltech Students Hold Drag Beauty Contest

May 15, 1942: In a typical publicity stunt, someone from showman Earl Carroll’s operation offered to select Caltech’s beauty queen. Nobody told them that the campus was all-male (oooh girls can’t be engineers!). So the young men decided to have … Continue reading

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Education, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Suicide, World War II | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

A photo of a funeral procession in Dragonea, Italy, listed on EBay at $40.95. Queen of the Dead – dateline March 26, 2012 •  I love Little Me, one of the funniest books ever written. Grab it. Now. The photos—period … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Comics, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Suicide, Television | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Japanese Spy Ring Smashed, FBI Says

Dec. 19, 1941: The suicide of Dr. Rikita Honda, who slashed his wrists while in custody at Terminal Island, revealed that he was the director of a vast spy ring, the FBI says.  Honda was head of the Imperial Comradeship … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Artists, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Suicide, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

L.A. Detectives Meet New York Mobster’s Plane at Burbank Airport

Nov. 8, 1941: Waxey Gordon, whose real name was Irving Wexler (d. 1952, Alcatraz), lands at Lockheed Air Terminal (now Burbank Airport), where he is greeted by detectives from the district attorney’s office, the LAPD and airport police. Gordon, accompanied … Continue reading

Posted in 1941, Aviation, Chicago, City Hall, LAPD, San Francisco, Suicide, Theaters, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Court Dispute Highlights Kevorkian’s Artwork

Image: Johann Sebastian Bach by Dr. Jack Kevorkian, in one of his paintings that doesn’t involve death and – apparently — wasn’t painted with his own blood. Washington Post education writer and columnist Jay Mathews has an interesting piece on … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Artists, Education, Museums, Suicide | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Hemingway’s FBI File!

The 50th anniversary of Ernest Hemingway’s death has prompted a variety of articles, including an op-ed piece in the New York Times by A.E. Hotchner, who portrays the famous novelist as being obsessed about FBI surveillance. He told Hotchner: “It’s … Continue reading

Posted in 1961, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Libraries, Suicide | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments