"Irma la Douce" Actor & Broadway Baritone Bruce Yarnell 1973 San Fernando Mission Cemetery

Bruce Yarnell (December 28, 1935 – November 30, 1973), was an actor known for Bonanza (1959), Outlaws (1961-1962), Irma la Douce (1963), and The Legend of Robin Hood (1968).

Yarnell was born in Los Angeles, California as Bruce Altomari Yarnell to Harold Earl Yarnell and Marie Frances Altomari. He was the brother of Lorene Yarnell Jansson and Richard Yarnell. He was a graduate of Hollywood High School. 

Baritone Yarnell debuted on Broadway in the musical "The Happiest Girl in the World." He appeared on stage as Curly in "Oklahoma!," Billy Bigelow in "Carousel," Petruchio in "Kiss Me Kate," and Frank Butler in a Broadway revival of "Annie Get Your Gun" starring Ethel Merman.

Once was a regular featured vocalist for the Earl Carroll's Theater nightclub on Sunset and Vine in L.A. He sang baritone roles at the San Francisco Opera from 1971 until his death.

On November 30, 1973, Bruce was at the controls of his small-craft private plane when it crashed into the Santa Monica Mountains shortly after taking off from LAX. He was on his way to perform at the San Francisco Opera Company. Both Bruce and two passengers, David and Teri Wirsching, were killed.

Bruce Yarnell was married first to Frances L. Chadwick (1957-1971) and then to singer and voice teacher Joan Patenaude (from 1972 until his death). His widow began the Bruce Yarnell Scholarship in his name, to award young baritones, and presides as one of the judges.

Bruce Yarnell is buried at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, California. 

Filmography

Actor

 1968 The Road Hustlers Matt Reedy

 1968 The Legend of Robin Hood (TV Series) Little John

    - Episode dated 18 February 1968 (1968) ... Little John

 1967 Annie Get Your Gun (TV Movie) Frank Butler

 1966 Pistols 'n' Petticoats (TV Series) Corporal Evans

    - Pilot (1966) ... Corporal Evans

 1966 Good Old Days (TV Short) Slag

 1966 My Brother the Angel (TV Series) Ezra

    - Wash You Were Here (1966) ... Ezra

 1965 Hogan's Heroes (TV Series) Captain Jeb Winslow

    - Happiness Is a Warm Sergeant (1965) ... Captain Jeb Winslow

 1964-1965 Bonanza (TV Series) Muley Jones

    - Hound Dog (1965) ... Muley Jones

    - The Saga of Muley Jones (1964) ... Muley Jones

 1963 Irma la Douce Hippolyte

 1963 Wide Country (TV Series) Tom Kidwell

    - The Lucky Punch (1963) ... Tom Kidwell

 1961-1962 Outlaws (TV Series) Deputy Marshal Chalk Breeson / Deputy Chalk Breeson / Deputy Chuck Breeson

    - All in a Day's Work (1962) ... Deputy Marshal Chalk Breeson

    - Charge aka Outpost (1962) ... Deputy Chalk Breeson

    - Farewell Performance (1962) ... Deputy Marshal Chalk Breeson

    - Ride the Man Down (1962) ... Deputy Marshal Chalk Breeson

    - No More Horses (1962) ... Deputy Marshal Chalk Breeson

 Soundtrack

 2000 The Next Best Thing (performer: "They Say It's Wonderful")

 1964-1965 Bonanza (TV Series) (performer - 2 episodes)

    - Hound Dog (1965) ... (performer: "Hound Dog Song")

    - The Saga of Muley Jones (1964) ... (performer: "Wait For The Wagon" (1851), "Beautiful Dreamer," "Listen To the Mockingbird," "Sourwood Mountain," "Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms")

 1963 Wide Country (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode)

    - The Lucky Punch (1963) ... (performer: "Aura Lee," "Wait for the Wagon")

 Self  

 1968 Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (TV Series) Self

    - Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Walter Slezak, Don Adams, Noel Harrison (1968) ... Self (uncredited)

 1966 The Bell Telephone Hour (TV Series) Self - Singer

    - Christmas Through the Ages (1966) ... Self - Singer

 1966 The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (TV Movie) Self

 1962 The Tonight Show (TV Series) Self - Actor

    - Episode #1.87 (1962) ... Self - Actor

    - Episode #1.20 (1962) ... Self - Actor

 1962 The Tonight Show Starring Jack Parr (TV Series) Self

    - Episode #5.131 (1962) ... Self

 1962 Here's Hollywood (TV Series) Self

    - Episode #2.106 (1962) ... Self

"Heroine Airline Hostess" Reba E. Monk 1947 Woodlawn Cemetery + ACCIDENT PHOTOS

Reba E Monk (December 24, 1924 in Etowah, McMinn County, Tennessee  - December 1, 1947 in SeaTac, King County, Washington) was an airline hostess who died a hero in a tragic airplane accident. 

After Reba's family moved west, Reba graduated from Santa Monica City College and Woodbury Business College. She attended UCLA for one semester. She went to work for Alaska Airlines in July 1947, after working for Delta Air Lines for 16 months

Alaska Airlines Flight 009 took off from Anchorage, Alaska, on Thursday, November 27, 1947, bound for Seattle carrying 25 passenger and a crew of three. 

The flight crew included: the pilot, Capt. James Evan Farris, 36, of Seattle, Washington; the co-pilot, Richard E. Whitting, 29, of Anchorage, Alaska; and flight attendant Reba Monk, 22, of Santa Monica, California. 

Due to bad weather and mechanical problems, the four engine DC-4 plane was delayed for three days at two different stops. The flight took off Sunday, November 30, for the final 750 mile trip to Seattle. Bad weather still plagued the flight.  

Flight 009 approached the Seattle-Tacoma Airport from the northeast and landed on Runway 20 at about 2:25 p.m. However, the plane didn't have enough room to stop. Captain Farris attempted to apply the brakes, but they didn't hold. The plane skidded off the end of the runway and crashed into a passing automobile, bursting into flames. 

The passengers of the car were  Ira Von Valkenberg, Stella Pearl Jones, 44, of Seattle, Von Valkenberg’s neighbor, and a blind widow with a 9-year-old son, Billie Lee. Von Valkenberg escaped, but the others died at the scene.

Inside the plane, Reba E. Monk continued to assist the passengers and was able to lead most of the passengers to safety. Then, the plane's gas tanks exploded and flames spread throughout the plane. 

The survivors of the crash, including Monk, who suffered severe burns, were taken to the hospital in Renton, Washington. Monk died from her injuries. She was two weeks shy of her 23rd birthday. 

The Civil Aeronautics Board discovered Captain Farris had left the cockpit for about 30 minutes during the flight,. During that period, Co-Pilot Whitting allowed a passenger to sit in the one of the pilot's seats. This was a violation of Civil Air Regulations prohibiting unofficial visits to the cockpit. Farris was fined $1,000 for violations of Civil Air Regulations.

*This has been the only crash with fatalities in the history of Sea-Tac Airport.*

Reba E. Monk is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica, California. Her funeral services were held at Trinity Baptist Church. Her tombstone reads: "Heroine Air Hostess"
and "She gave her life to save others."

She is buried next to her sister-in-law, Phyllis Joan Tallman Monk, who was married to Reba's younger brother, Felix, and died in childbirth on Oct. 27, 1957, at the age of 26. Phyllis Monk's tombstone also includes her son, John Walter Monk. 

"Puttin' on the Ritz" Entertainer Harry Richman 1972 Hillside Cemetery

Harry Richman (born Henry Reichman Jr.,[1] August 10, 1895 – November 3, 1972) was an American entertainer. He was a singer, actor, dancer, comedian, pianist, songwriter, bandleader, and night club performer, at his most popular in the 1920s and 1930s.

Personal Details

Richman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to Russian Jewish parents Henry and Katie (née' Golder) Reichman. Harry's father died when he was 14 years old.[2]

He married three times. Yvonne Epstein, in 1918. He married Hazel Forbes, show girl and Ziegfeld Girl, in March 1938, in Palm Springs, California. He and Forbes shared a sumptuous home in Beechhurst, Long Island. By 1942 Forbes was divorced from Richman. He then married Yvonne Day in 1943. All three marriages ended in divorce.

He was reportedly a close and personal friend of Bob Hope, letting Bob out of the musical when Say When was set to close; something Bob Hope never forgot.[3]

Richman largely retired in the 1940s, although he made irregular appearances, including on television, into the 1950s.

Having spent most of his fortune lavishly, his final years were mostly impoverished. He suffered from a long string of illness over several years before his death. 

Harry Richman died in Hollywood, California.[4] He is interred at Hillside Cemetery.

Professional career

He started playing piano in a Cincinnati saloon at age 10. At 18, he changed his name to "Harry Richman," by which time he was already a professional entertainer in vaudeville. In his peak years, Harry Richman had been one of the highest‐paid performers in show business. [5] He claimed to be making $25,000 a week in 1931 ($415,000 in 2018 dollars) [6] 

Richman also owned a popular night club - a speakeasy, "Club Richman," which was located next to Carnegie Hall. The room was large, seating 240 people. It was designed to look like a patio with fake windows that opened out to scenes painted in the windows. The roof was painted with stars to reflect the spotlight on the performers.[7] It was a popular location till it burned down in 1929.

Eventually known for his nasal baritone, he started out and worked as a piano accompanist to such stars as Mae West and Nora Bayes. With Bayes' act he made his Broadway debut in 1922. He appeared in several editions of the George White's Scandals in the 1920s to acclaim. Becoming a name, he appeared in "Scandals" as Master of Ceremonies in 1926; where on opening night the first seven rows of the orchestra commanded $50 a seat ($700 in 2018 dollars).[8] He appeared in the 1931 Ziegfeld Follies.[9]

He made his feature movie debut in Hollywood in 1930 with the film Puttin' on the Ritz, featuring the Irving Berlin song of the same title, which gave Richman a phonograph record hit that year. His film career was short lived due to his somewhat overpowering personality, and his limited acting skills. This made little difference to his career as he remained a popular nightclub host and stage performer.

Leonard Maltin is widely quoted as having written of Puttin' on the Ritz: "A songwriter drinks and goes blind – after seeing this you'll want to do the same." In fact the actual quote is "Famed nightclub entertainer Richman made his film debut in this primitive early talkie about vaudevillian who can't handle success and turns to drink. You may do the same after watching Richman's performance – though he does introduce the title song by Irving Berlin."

In 1940, he sang "God Bless America" for the National Democratic Convention in Chicago, Illinois.[10]

He also made regular radio broadcasts in the 1930s.

Hobbies and Adventures

He enjoyed sailing however, his yacht Chevalier II exploded in July 1931.[11]

Richman was also an amateur aviator of some accomplishment, being the co-pilot in 1936, with famed flyer Henry Tindall "Dick" Merrill, of the first round-trip transatlantic flight in his own single-engine Vultee transport. Richman had filled much of the empty space of the aircraft with ping pong balls as a flotation aid in case they were forced down in the Atlantic. They were forced to land in Wales in 18 hours and 38 minutes. After returning from the flight he sold autographed ones until his death. They continue to turn up on eBay to this day.The only Vultee V1A like Richman's is in the Shannon Air Museum in Fredericksburg, Va.

Autobiography

His autobiography A Hell of a Life was published in 1966.

Notes

1. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0725030/
2. Cullen, Frank and Florence Hackman, "Vaudeville old and new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America," page 929
3. Strait, Raymond, 1999, "Bob Hope: A Tribute"
4. New York Times, "Harry Richman is Dead at 77: Broadway Singer of the 1930's," November 4, 1972, Page 35
5. New York Times, "Harry Richman is Dead at 77: Broadway Singer of the 1930's," November 4, 1972, Page 36
6. Slide, Anthony, 2012, "The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville," Page 418
7. Wilson, Victoria, 2007, "A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940"
8. Smith, Cecil and Glenn Litton, 1950, "Musical Comedy in America: From The Black Crook to South Pacific," Page 144
9. Bergreen, Laurence, 1961, "As Thousands Cheer: The Life Of Irving Berlin," Page 288
10. National Document Publishers, 1940, "Official Report of the Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention and Committee," Page 29
11. Maeder, Jay (September 22, 1999). "Called by Angels Helen Walsh." New York Daily News. 

Further reading

Oderman, Stuart, Talking to the Piano Player 2. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 1-59393-320-7.
Richman, Harry, A Hell of a Life, New York, 1966