"Picnic" Actress Verna Felton 1966 Grand View Cemetery

Verna Felton (July 20, 1890 – December 14, 1966) was an American actress who was best known for providing many voices in numerous Disney animated films, as well as voicing Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law Pearl Slaghoople in Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones (1962–1963).

She also had roles in live-action films; however, she was most active in radio programs. She was known for her husky voice and no-nonsense attitude. Two of her most famous roles were as Dennis Day's mother Mrs. Day on The Jack Benny Program (1939–1962) and as Hilda Crocker on the CBS sitcom December Bride (1952–1959).

Early years

Felton was born in Salinas, California, on July 20, 1890. Her father, a doctor, died when she was seven years old. When going over his accounts after his death, Felton's mother discovered that although her husband had a large medical practice in San Jose, there were no records of his patients' payments for treatment and no cash in the office. Shortly before her father's death, Felton had performed in a local benefit for victims of the Galveston Flood. Her singing and dancing attracted the attention of a manager of a road show company that was playing in San Jose at the time. The manager spoke to Felton's mother, offering to give Felton a job with his company. Since the family was experiencing difficult financial times with the loss of Felton's father, her mother contacted the road show manager. Felton quickly joined the cast of the show, growing up in the theater.[1]

Early career

An August 19, 1900, newspaper advertisement for Fischer's Concert House in San Francisco listed among the performers "Little Verna Felton, the Child Wonder."[2] By 1903, she was acting with the Allen Stock Company,[3] which that year toured the west coast of the United States and performed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[4] By 1907, she was still with the Allen troupe, but she had progressed from child performer to leading lady.[5] Herbert Bashford wrote a play, The Defiance of Doris, specifically for Felton, and the Allen company included it among the group's productions in 1910.[6]

She acted in stage plays at the Empress Theatre in Vancouver in the late 1920s, playing the lead role in Goldfish, Stella Dallas, and The Second Mrs. Tanqueray.[7] Future husband Lee Millar directed the band for these plays.

Radio and television


Felton worked extensively in the 1930s and '50s in Hollywood radio, notably playing The Mom in The Cinnamon Bear, Junior the Mean Widdle Kid's grandmother on Red Skelton's radio series, Hattie Hirsch on Point Sublime, and Dennis Day's protective, domineering, and authoritative mother, Mrs Day, who was always looking out for him while trying to boss around Jack Benny on The Jack Benny Program. In addition, she performed on radio as a regular on The Abbott and Costello Show and The Great Gildersleeve.

Felton appeared in a recurring role as the mother of Ruth Farley, a young woman played by Gloria Winters in the 1953–55 ABC sitcom with a variety show theme, Where's Raymond?, renamed The Ray Bolger Show. The series starred Ray Bolger as Raymond Wallace, a song-and-dance man who was repeatedly barely on time for his performances.[8]

Though some sitcom aficionados might assume that her guest appearances on I Love Lucy led to a regular supporting role as Hilda Crocker on the CBS sitcom December Bride, Felton had played that same character on the radio version two years prior to the television production. December Bride also starred Spring Byington, Dean Miller, Frances Rafferty, and Harry Morgan. 

Felton continued her Hilda Crocker role on the December Bride spin-off, Pete and Gladys, with Harry Morgan and Cara Williams. For her performance on December Bride, Felton was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1958 and in 1959.[9]

Felton was the original voice of Wilma Flintstone's mother, Pearl Slaghoople, voicing the character as a semi-regular on Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones from 1962–63. In 1963, in the series finale of CBS's Dennis the Menace sitcom, Felton played John Wilson's aunt in the episode entitled "Aunt Emma Visits the Wilsons." In the story line, Mr. Wilson (Gale Gordon) tries to convince Aunt Emma to leave her estate to him and his wife, Eloise (Sara Seegar). Wilson becomes suspicious when Emma begins spending time with Dennis Mitchell (Jay North).[10]

Film and animation

During the 1940s and the early 1950s, she was in demand as a character actress on films, with roles in If I Had My Way (1940), Girls of the Big House (1945), The Fuller Brush Man (1948), Buccaneer's Girl (1950), Belles on Their Toes (1952), Don't Bother to Knock (1952), and her memorable role as Mrs. Potts in the film adaptation of William Inge's stage play Picnic (1955).

Felton was a popular actress at the Walt Disney Studios and MGM Studios, lending her voice to several animated features, including:

Dumbo (1941) as the Elephant Matriarch and Mrs. Jumbo, Dumbo's Mother

Cinderella (1950) as The Fairy Godmother 

(a role Felton reprised in re-imaginings of the Cinderella story on the radio programs 

Screen Directors Playhouse (1950) and Hallmark Playhouse (1951))

Alice in Wonderland (1951) as the Queen of Hearts

Lady and the Tramp (1955) as Aunt Sarah, Jim Dear's aunt 

(Felton's son voiced Jim Dear and the dogcatcher)

Sleeping Beauty (1959) as Flora, the Red Fairy 

and Queen Leah, Princess Aurora's mother

Goliath II (1960) as Eloise
The Man from Button Willow (1965) as Mrs. Pomeroy, Mother and Lady on Trolley
The Jungle Book (1967) as Winifred the Elephant (her final role, animated or live-action)

Personal life and death

Felton was married to radio actor Lee Millar (1888–1941), who also did animation voices (notably for Disney's Pluto). Their son, Lee Carson Millar Jr. (1924–1980), appeared as an actor on a variety of television series between 1952 and 1967, including, coincidentally, playing Tommy Anderson's father on several episodes of Dennis the Menace between 1959-63.

Felton died at the age of 76 from a stroke in North Hollywood, California, on the evening of December 14, 1966, the day before Walt Disney died. She is interred at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.[11]

Credits

Radio

Original Air Date Program Role Notes

1937 The Cinnamon Bear Mother
1938–1939 Candid Lady Aunt Julia
1939 Fibber McGee and Molly Mrs. Homer Gildersleeve
1939–1942 The Great Gildersleeve Miss Fitch, Mrs. Goddwin
1939–1955 The Jack Benny Program Dennis's Mother Mrs. Day
1940–1944
1947–1948 Point Sublime Hattie Hirsch
1942 Lux Radio Theatre Madame Therese DeFarge "A Tale of Two Cities"
1942–1943 Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou Mrs. MacIntyre
1942–49 The Abbott and Costello Show Multiple characters
1943–1947 The Joan Davis Show Blossom Blimp Also known as The Sealtest Village Store
1944 Command Performance Saleswoman "Christmas"

1944–1952 The Judy Canova Show Aunt Agatha

1945 The Old Gold Comedy Theater Nick's Mother "My Favorite Wife"
Also known as The Harold Lloyd Theater
1946–1951 A Day in the Life of Dennis Day Dennis Day's Mother
1946–1953 The Red Skelton Show Junior's Grandmother
1948 Suspense Ada "The Man Who Thought He Was Edward G. Robinson"
1950 Young Love Janet's Mother Mrs. Shaw "Visit by Janet's Mom and Jimmy's Dad"
1950 Screen Directors Playhouse The Fairy Godmother "Cinderella"
1951 The Hallmark Playhouse The Fairy Godmother '"The Story of Cinderella'"
1952–1953 December Bride Hilda Crocker Radio version
1952–1955 My Little Margie Mrs. Odetts Radio version

Films

Year Film Role Notes

1917 The Chosen Prince, or the Friendship of David and Jonathan Michal
1939 Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President Neighbor Uncredited
1940 Northwest Passage Mrs. Jill Towne Uncredited
1940 If I Had My Way Mrs. Abigail DeLacey Uncredited
1941 Dumbo Elephant Matriarch / Mrs. Jumbo Voice, Uncredited
1945 Girls of the Big House Agnes
1946 She Wrote the Book Mrs. Lauren Kilgour Uncredited
1948 The Fuller Brush Man Junior's Grandmother Uncredited
1950 Cinderella The Fairy Godmother Voice
1950 Buccaneer's Girl Dowager

1950 The Gunfighter Mrs. August Pennyfeather

1951 New Mexico Mrs. Fenway

1951 Alice in Wonderland Queen of Hearts Voice
1951 Little Egypt Mrs. Samantha Doane

1952 Belles on Their Toes Cousin Leora

1952 Don't Bother To Knock Mrs. Alex Ballew
1955 Lady and the Tramp Aunt Sarah Voice

1955 Picnic Mrs. Helen Potts

1957 The Oklahoman Mrs. Stephanie Waynebrook

1957 Taming Sutton's Gal Aunty Sutton

1959 Sleeping Beauty Flora / Queen Leah Voice
1960 Goliath II Eloise Voice
1960 Guns of the Timberland Aunt Sarah
1965 The Man from Button Willow Mrs. Tiffany Pomeroy, Mother, Lady on Trolley Voice
1967 The Jungle Book Winifred the Elephant Voice, Released Posthumously, (final film role)

Television

Year Program Role Notes

1951 The Amos 'n Andy Show Nurse "Kingfish Has a Baby"

Uncredited

1952 The Ezio Pinza Show Mrs. Day
1952–1953 The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show Emily Marsh, Mrs. Rodney, Maggie, Mrs. Evans 4 episodes
1952–1954 The Dennis Day Show Dennis' Mother Mrs. Day
1953 I Love Lucy Mrs. Simpson, Mrs. Porter "Sales Resistance"
"Lucy Hires a Maid"
1953–1955 Where's Raymond? Ruth Farley's Mother
1954 Walt Disney's Disneyland Queen of Hearts (voice, archived) "Alice in Wonderland"
1954–1959 December Bride Hilda Crocker 155 episodes
1955 Walt Disney's Disneyland Mrs. Jumbo / Elephant Matriarch (voice, archived) "Dumbo"
1955–1962 The Jack Benny Program Dennis' Mother Mrs. Day 5 episodes
1957 Climax! Nurse "The Disappearance of Amanda Hale"
1959 The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis Mrs. Lapping "Deck the Halls"
1960 The Real McCoys Naomi Vesper "Cousin Naomi"
1960–1961 Pete and Gladys Hilda Crocker 30 episodes
Spin-off of December Bride
1961 Miami Undercover Aramintha "Cukie Dog"
1962 Wagon Train Gran Jennings "The Lonnie Fallon Story"
1962 Henry Fonda and the Family TV miniseries
1962–1963 The Flintstones Pearl Slaghoople Voice role
4 episodes
1963 Dennis the Menace Aunt Emma "Aunt Emma Visits the Wilsons"
1977 The Wonderful World of Disney Flora / Queen Leah (voice, archived) "Sleeping Beauty"
1983 The Wonderful World of Disney Flora / Queen Leah (voice, archived) "Sleeping Beauty"
1998 The Wonderful World of Disney Flora / Queen Leah (voice, archived) "Sleeping Beauty"

Discography

Walt Disney's Cinderella (1954, RCA/Camden) - The Fairy Godmother
Disney Songs and Story: Sleeping Beauty (2012, Walt Disney Records) - Flora / Queen Leah

Notes

1. Felton, Verna (January 1948). Love That Red-Head. Radio Mirror. pp. 46, 81, 82. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
2. "Fischer's Concert House ad". San Francisco Call. California, San Francisco. August 19, 1900. p. 35. Retrieved 9 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "The Allen Stock Company". Petaluma Daily Morning Courier. California, Petaluma. February 2, 1903. p. 3. Retrieved 9 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "The People's Theatre". The Province. Canada, British Columbia, Vancouver. November 30, 1903. p. 8. Retrieved 9 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "At the Stock Theatres". The Oregon Daily Journal. Oregon, Portland. May 7, 1907. p. 5. Retrieved 9 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "'The Defiance of Doris'". The Leader-Post. Canada, Saskatchewan, Regina. December 19, 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 9 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Playford-Beaudet, Laurance (March 25, 2018). "Verna Felton, a brief introduction". playford-beaudet.com. grunt gallery, Vancouver BC – via posters from theatre.
8. "Where's Raymond?/ The Ray Bolger Show". ctva.biz. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
9. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19590418&id=m6YoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DcoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1979,3137261
10. ""Aunt Emma Visits the Wilsons", July 7, 1963". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
11. Wilson, Scott; Mank, Gregory W. (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland and Company. p. 238. ISBN 9780786479924.

References

Terrace, Vincent. Radio Programs, 1924–84. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1999. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9
Tucker, Fredrick. Verna Felton. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media, 2010. ISBN 978-1-59393-524-5

"Affectionately Yours" Screenwriter Fanya Foss Lawrence 1995 Westwood Village Cemetery

Fanya “Foss” Lawrence (October 4, 1904 in Odessa, Odes'ka, Ukraine - December 12, 1995 in
Palm Springs, Riverside County, California) was a screenwriter, poet, and novelist. Born in Odessa, Russia, Fanya grew up in New York City. 

"Fanya" by Alice Neel (1930)

Untitled (Woman (Fanya Foss) with a Cat) by Alice Neel (1932)

"Fanya Foss" by Alice Neel (1938)

Fanya wrote screenplays, teleplays, a novel ("Ask No Return"), a play ("Adam Ate the Apple"), poety, and magazine articles. 

In 1942, Fanya married Marc Lawrence, a character actor known for playing underworld types. They had two children, Michael and Toni.

Her screenwriting credits include: 

1940 Girls Under 21 (original screenplay) 

1941 Affectionately Yours (from the story by) 

1941 The Richest Man in Town (screenplay) 

1941 The Stork Pays Off (original screenplay) 

1943 Hi Ya, Sailor (suggested by a story by - as Fanya Lawrence) 

1945 Why Girls Leave Home (screenplay) 

1958 Ivanhoe (TV Series) (story - 1 episode) 
   - Treasures from Cathay (1958)
1958 Have Gun - Will Travel (TV Series) (written by - 1 episode) 
   - The Man Who Wouldn't Talk (1958)
1959 The Restless Gun (TV Series) (written by - 1 episode)
   - Ricochet (1959) 
1961 The Rifleman (TV Series) (written by - 1 episode) 
   - The Score Is Even (1961)
1961 Lawman (TV Series) (story - 1 episode) 
   - The Prodigal Mother (1961) 

1965 Nightmare in the Sun (screenplay)

Fanya Foss Lawrence died of heart failure in Palm Springs, California. She is buried with her husband at Westwood Village Memorial Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. 

Bodybuilder, Stuntman, & Actor Bert M. Goodrich 1991 Valley Oaks Cemetery

Bert M. Goodrich (born December 26, 1906 in Tempe, Arizona - December 6, 1991 in Sepulveda, North Hills, Los Angeles, California ) was an American bodybuilder who acted as a stuntman and actor. He was also the owner of the first chain of fitness studios in the United States for several years.

Life and Career

Goodrich was born in Tempe, Arizona. He grew up near a river where during his childhood he refined his swimming skills. In his 12th year he was successful as an acrobat; two years later, he won the state championship title of flyweight and diving in Arizona.

That same year, he made the first step into his future life as a bodybuilder and strongman, as the then just 95-pound and slender Bert Goodrich went to Charles Atlas Training and returned after four years weighing 185 pounds.

At this time, however, he did not put much emphasis on bodybuilding, this served him at this time as a means to an end. With his strength training, he wanted to concentrate more on his talents in other sports such as gymnastics, especially tumbling, or American football.

He developed during his later career at Arizona State University to become an excellent sprinter in the 100 -meter run.

He also appeared in other disciplines such as shot put, javelin, and long jump.

At a young age, he boxed as a flyweight boxer, then as he advanced in age, he became a heavyweight boxer. He denied having professional fights at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

In addition, Goodrich was successful as a trapeze artist (100 feet above the ground and without protection by a safety net) and Adagio-Akrobat. He worked together with a partner as a vaudeville artist.

Even before his 20th Birthday, Goodrich went to Hollywood, where he settled down for a short time and had his first appearances in film productions. Due to his athletic background, he worked as a stuntman.

He appeared in Jay Marchant's The Great Circus Mystery in 1925. In the almost 15-minute adventure serial, he acted alongside strongman Joe Bonomo and female lead actress Louise Lorraine. 

In the early 1930s, he returned to Hollywood again, where he worked in such films as The Galloping Ghost (1931), The Hurricane Express (1932), and Tarzan the Fearless (1933) as a stunt double. 

During the shooting breaks, he often entertained at the local vaudeville circuit or was at the Crystal Pier in Santa Monica, the site of the famous Muscle Beach. He also met the vaudevillian Charlie Schaeffer, with whom he created an act, with which they performed throughout the country and brought it to New York, where finally the actual bodybuilding career of Bert Goodrich began. Together with Schaeffer, he entered the top Music Halls from New York, later switching partners and appearing with his new partner, Figure Skating Champion and Balancer Jack Nelson.

During that time, in February 1939, Goodrich also visited his first "Mr. New York "contest, but only as a spectator. However, due to his stature, he was noticed by a photographer in the crowd and convinced himself to participate in the competition. From Sig Klein, the promoter of the competition, he was lent some shorts for posing, so-called trunks, and Goodrich was brought on stage in the "Tall Class Competition." He was finally able to win the overall competition with his 5'11'' height and 195 pound weight. From then on, he was allowed to call himself "Mr. New York." With this title, he was thus automatically qualified for the AAU Mr. America Competition.

There were no fixed regulations at this first competition on July 4, 1939. (These were only introduced during or after the competition.) For example, in the competition of the year 1939 the jury judged the symmetrical proportions, the posture, the general appearance, as well as the stage presence. Goodrich, with the support of his partner Jack Nelson who himself did not participate in the competition, performed a tumbling act. 

Having the title of "Mr. America" increased Goodrich's fame. He appeared on the cover of numerous well-known magazines. He was together with Charles Atlas and Johnny Weissmüller in Esquire.

By winning the "Mr. America's competition, he finally made the leap into show business and enjoyed from then on a celebrity status. The newfound fame also helped Goodrich, along with Vic Tanny, in 1947 to create the "Mr. and Miss USA"competition and to establish it. The event, which was held in front of some 6,000 spectators in the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, was also the first of its kind, since the prize money for the winner was $ 1,000 and prize money had never before been paid in a bodybuilding competition. 

Bert Goodrich organized the so-called "Mr. Hercules" competitions in which Hollywood star Mae West appeared as the juror. The winners of this show were signed by West in their night clubs.

During the Second World War, Bert Goodrich was a Physical Training Instructor (PTI) in the US Navy and was stationed in North Iceland where he was head of the local Navy gym. He became the "Director of Physical training" of the North American Aviation Company in Canoga Park. 

During this time he also met his partner George Redpath, with whom he developed an act as a hand-balance duo, with Goodrich being the lower part of a "two-man hand balance act." 

After leaving the Navy after he had refused knee surgery, he moved back to Los Angeles, where he opened his gym on Hollywood Boulevard in 1946. He called it "the most sumptuous, beautiful gym in the country." It was the first so-called glamour gym that could boast faux leather walls and additional chrome trim. There he trained stars like Fess Parker, Steve Reeves, Bob Mathias, and James Arness. 

He worked as an actor in various film productions, but only in insignificant roles, which were tailored specifically to him. He was in Berlin-Express (1948) as a member of an acrobatic team.  He was also seen in the films Roseanna McCoy (1949) and Alias ​​the Champ (1949). 

In 1954 he played a bodybuilder in the romantic musical comedy Athena. 

He added six more gyms and his business became the first chain of gyms in the United States. However, all of the seven facilities in California were sold by Goodrich in 1956 and his career shifted to other activities. He worked in public relations, was active as a stockbroker, and became a business developer. 

In the 1960s, he appeared as a guest on numerous US television shows (including To Tell the Truth ) and was also often seen on local television. 

In 1976, at the age of 69, he also took part in the Senior Olympics and was praised by the journalists for having a consistently good pulse and blood pressure despite his age. He completed 75 push-ups every morning until shortly before his death.

In his old age, he learned to play the ukulele and harmonica. He often played in retirement homes and other such facilities. In June 1991, the health of Bert Goodrich worsened. He had to have a large part of his colon removed as this had formed a gangrene.

On December 6, 1991, Goodrich died at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in the San Fernando district of Sepulveda. He left behind his wife Norma (the sister of his longtime partner Vic Tanny) to who was married for almost 50 years, his son Bert Jr., his daughter Lucinda, and two grandchildren. The funeral took place on December 11, 1991 at Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village. His wife Norma survived him for ten years, died in 2001 and was buried at his side.

A few years before his death, he was honored with numerous awards. These included the honoring of the venerable "Association of Old-time Barbell and Strongmen" on May 23, 1987 for his participation in the Mr. America competition of 1939 (which at the time still bore the name America's Best Physique Contest). He also received the "Pioneer of Physical Fitness Award" in 1985 and the "Hollywood Stuntman's Award" one year later.

"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.