Discover the world of Martin Tschanett
San Fernando Mission Cemetery
11160 Stranwood Ave, Mission Hills, CA 91345
Ritchie Valens
* 13. Mai 1941 in Pacoima, Los Angeles
† 3. Februar 1959 bei Mason City, Iowa
was an American rock 'n' roll musician of Mexican descent. He died in a plane crash with fellow musicians Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. In early 1959, Ritchie Valens, only 17 years old, was on tour with other artists. During this tour, the heating in the tour bus failed several times, until it finally stopped completely. Valens caught a cold the night before his final concert, so he asked Buddy Holly's guitarist, Tommy Allsup, to give him his seat on the plane. Allsup let a coin toss decide. Valens won and boarded the plane despite suffering from a fear of flying. After the evening's concert in Clear Lake, Iowa, on February 3, the plane crashed just minutes after takeoff due to a snowstorm. His tour colleagues Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and the pilot Roger Peterson died with Valens.
William Frawley
* 26. Februar 1887 in Burlington, Iowa
† 3. März 1966 in Hollywood, Kalifornien
was an American actor. In the early 1950s he was hired to replace Gale Gordon by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz for their new television series. In the role of Fred Mertz he played Ball and Arnaz's landlord and Vivian Vance's husband. Although the actor and his series wife didn't like each other behind the camera, the series became a huge success, so the two had to come to terms. William Frawley died of a heart attack shortly after his 79th birthday.
Ed Begley
* 25. März 1901 in Hartford, Connecticut
† 28. April 1970 in Hollywood, Kalifornien
war ein US-amerikanischer Theater- und Filmschauspieler. Begley spielte auch in einer Reihe von Kinofilmen. Eine seiner erfolgreichsten Filmrollen dürfte die des rassistischen Geschworenen Nr. 10 in dem kammerspielartigen Justizdrama Die zwölf Geschworenen (1957) mit Henry Fonda gewesen sein, das bis heute oft im Fernsehen gezeigt wird. Einen Oscar erhielt der Mime 1963 für die beste Nebenrolle in der Tennessee Williams-Verfilmung Süßer Vogel Jugend, der für ihn als ungelernten Schauspieler überraschend kam. Mit 69 Jahren starb er während einer Party im Haus des Hollywood-Presseagenten Jay Bernstein.
William Bendix
* 14. Januar 1906 in New York City
† 14. Dezember 1964 in Los Angeles
was an American actor. From 1942 he worked in film and television productions. He was nominated for an Oscar that same year for his supporting role in the war drama "Wake Island." Films like "The Woman People Talk About", "The Lifeboat" and "The Blue Dahlia" followed. From 1953 to 1958 he played the title role in the comedy series The Life of Riley. Bendix died of complications from pneumonia in 1964. Two stars on the Walk of Fame were dedicated to him.
Walter Brennan
* 25. Juli 1894 in Swampscott, Massachusetts
† 21. September 1974 in Oxnard, Kalifornien
was an American actor and singer. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1937, 1939 and 1941. This makes him the only male actor, along with Jack Nicholson and Daniel Day-Lewis, to have won an Oscar three times. His other notable films include his roles as a sidekick to Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not, as well as his roles in the Howard Hawks westerns Panic on the Red River and Rio Bravo. In both films, he was seen as the rough but good-natured friend of John Wayne's character. Because Brennan once broke his jaw in an accident and has had a stiff leg ever since, the character actor often took on the role of the grumpy old man who represented the "funny component" in the films. Although he originally had an aversion to television, Brennan began a career as a television actor in the late 1950s; he had his most famous role as a grandfather in the sitcom series "The Real McCoys", which began in October 1957 and of which a total of 224 episodes were filmed up to September 1963. In total, Walter Brennan played around 200 roles before his death. Walter Brennan died of emphysema in 1974 at the age of 80.
George Gobel
* 20. Mai 1919
† 24. Februar 1991
was an American comedian and actor. He became famous through the "George Gobel Show", which ran from 1954 to 1960. George Gobel died in 1991, shortly after heart surgery.
Clarence Nash
* 7. Dezember 1904 in Watonga, Oklahoma
† 20. Februar 1985 in Los Angeles
​was an American voice artist best known for his voice for "Donald Duck". He joined the Walt Disney Company in 1932 after personally performing some of his animal sounds in front of Walt Disney. The impersonations prompted Disney to have Nash voice the newly created "Donald Duck." So Nash spoke this role alongside others until 1983. In his native town, a street is named after him. He himself once said: “I actually wanted to be a doctor, but instead I became the biggest quack in the world!” The animal impersonator died of leukemia in 1985.
Chuck Connors
* 10. April 1921 in Brooklyn, New York
† 10. November 1992 in Los Angeles, Kalifornien
​was an American actor, baseball and basketball player. Connors developed a talent for acting and due to his size and physique was mostly used in westerns and crime films. He became famous for his leading role in "West von Santa Fe" (Original: "The Rifleman", 1958-1963), one of the most famous western series on television. Connors appeared regularly in films and TV guest roles until he retired from the film business because of his lung cancer.