Douglas MacArthur High School - MacArtair Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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Death is inevitable. Death claims its prize regardless of race, religion or creed, No one can escape its grip. Not even celeb- rities in all their glory. 1977 was not a good year for big name stars. Four big name celeb- rities died during 1977. These four men did more to shape the world of entertainment than anyone in history, Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby, Groucho Marx, and Charlie Chaplin. Elvis Aaron Presley was born the twin brother of stillborn Jesse Garon Presley on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Miss. The uneventful beginning to his life was contrasted greatly by the events that followed his death on Aug. 16, 1977, in Memphis, Tenn. Never before had an entertainer been the object of such world-wide mourning. In the Netherlands, the Dutch record I Remember Elvis Presley became a gigantic hit. ln Czechoslovakia where Presley had become a star even though his records were never pressed there, members of an active Prague Presley Fan Club mourned his death. ln Munich, W. Germany, a bank sold gold Presley medallions that cost about 5575. A Tokyo music critic burst into tears while discussing Pres- ley on a TV talk show. A British fan club delegation flew to the funeral services. Millions of words were written mourning the passing of the world's rock superstar, the man who at age 18 was driving a truck and earning S41 a week, but years later signed a movie contract for S450,000, Elvis mixed the sounds of soul music with those of country music to cre- ate rock and roll. His long string of hits began with Heartbreak Hotel, Hound-Dog and All Shook Up, then dozens more. By 1977, Presley had sold half a billion records, more than any other star. Presley was said to be the only white man to sing with soul. Elvis Presley was the only pop star to complete his tour duty in the U.S. Army after being drafted in August of 1958. After his discharge in 1960, Elvis slowly eased out of the public eye. Between March, 1961 and August, 1969 he gave no live performances, concentrating on his Hollywood movie career. Although never a favorite with the critics, his movies were consistent money-makers. Presley's private life had its ups and downs. He married Priscilla Beaulieu in 1967, breaking the hearts of many women everywhere. The next year, they intro- duced their newborn baby daughter, Lisa Marie. During the next two years, there were persistent rumors of ill health. He gained weight dramatically and isolated himself. ln April 1977, he collapsed on stage during a performance in Baltimore, Md. On August 16, 1977, Elvis died in his home, Graceland, from heart failure, Elvis Presley was primarily a cult hero, a gathering point for a rebellious generation, but also a charismatic entertainer whose impact through the media was without par- allel in show business history. We may never see his like again. I can't think of a better way for a golfer who sings for a living to finish the round, says Kathryn Crosby after her husband, Crooner Bing Crosby, died of a heart attack on Oct, 14 on a golf course outside Madrid, Spain, His death ended a singing career that included over 50 motion pictures, hundreds of radio and TV programs, and records that eventually sold over 300 million copies. Crosby played his first featured role in The Big Broadcastf1932J and his last in Stagecoach 09665. He had not retired but in the last two years of his life, had entered a field in which he had rarely panicipated before - concert recitals. He was in Spain to rest following a triumphant British tour with his family that included a sellout performance at London's Palladium. Bing Crosby's role was clear - he was the man who made popular singing human. To a field previously dominated by melodramatic artists, he brought a cas- ual, warm intimacy that revolutionized the pop world of the 3O's. He became a vital influence on every male popular singer. Born in Tacoma, Wash. on May 2, 1901, Harry Lillis fBingj Crosby was raised in Spokane, Wash. He sang with the glee club at Gonzaga University and later teamed up with a fellow student, Al Flinker, to form a band in which he played drums and sang. He eventually broke into pictures and developed continually as an actor, winning an academy award. Bing Crosby was the music world's first superstar. He became a multimillionaire with an investment empire that at one time included a string of banks and a part of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. Crosby was also a family man. He had four sons by his marriage to Dixie Lee, a movie starlet who died in 1952. He married his second wife, actress Kathryn Grant, in 1957. She and their three children occasionally sang with Bing on TV and formed a family unit for his concerts. Bing will be remembered by many for innumerable other contributions aside from his singing. During WW ll he helped sell more than S14 million worth of war bonds and donated money to his brother Harry's show troupe, enabling it to tour military installations throughout the U.S. Unlike the death of Elvis Presley, Bing's passing did not lead to a gigantic upsurge in his album sales. Yet it is safe to predict that his records will be played and admired when works of his imitators and successors are forgotten. Charlie Chaplin made his first motion picture, a one-reeler called Making a Liv- ing, in 1914. It launched a career that would include about 80 films, Chaplin made motion pictures an art. Most of his films were down-to-earth fairy tales set in flop houses, side streets, and garrets. Through the Little Tramp, his most memorable creation - par! clown, part social outcast, part philosopher - Chaplin showed man how to cope with himself and the world, As the Tramp, his exploits became part of the world's comic folklore. His shuf- fling walk, the angle at which he wore his tattered derby, his fidgety mustache, the way he twirled his walking cane, endeared him to millions. Chaplin was born in poverty in London in 1889. He lived in the U.S. for 40 years, but spent the last 25 years of his life in Europe. He returned to Hollywood in 1972 when the motion picture industry honored him. ln 1975, he was knighted by Oueen Elizabeth ll.

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Charlie Chaplin, said the late French poet and movie producer Jean Coca teau, is God's immortal gift to us poor mortal souls. Most movie goers reacted in much the same way after hearing of the silent film star and one-time British music hall performer who became a legend in his own time. His death on Christmas Day did nothing to dim the luster of the legend. Exit the Little Tramp. Groucho Marx was part of a brother act that kept audiences holding their sides from laughter for years. But the Marx Brothers ended their act for good in 1949, In 1961, Harpo died with Chico following three years later. Groucho's death on August 20, at the age of 86, made Gummo the only remaining Marx brother. With You Bet Your Life, a radioetelevision quiz show that began in ' '47 and lasted a decade, Groucho founded a new career for himself as a single. The program was at one time the highest rated TV show in country. His dry humor and insulting manner kept audiences inter ested and attracted contestants. There was no money offered as a prize, only being cut down by the master of insults and hearing his witty quips made the show attractive. Groucho was the master of the ad lib. He refused to follow the script of his plays and movies to the delight of his audiences. Groucho Marx was actually a moody man, those who knew him best said. They insisted that underneath his shrewd, fastvtalking exterior, he was thoughtful, shy and kind hearted. His long time friend and song writer, Harry Ruby, said, The guy doesn't mean to be insulting, it's an involuntary act with htm, like compulsion neu- rosisf' And to his son Arthur. Groucho was a sentimentalist, but he'd rather be found dead than have you know it. Groucho himself admitted that my trouble is that I don't like to let lust every- body get in a word edgewise, and can't stand anyone else having the last word. To make sure this wouldn't happen to him ultimately, he took the precaution of writing his epitaph in advance: l hope they buried me next to a straight man. x ' S I I 31 memories 43