Death Anniversary Thread

[The Ashes Urn 1,359]

Canadian-American chemist Frank Spedding died on this day 40 years ago, aged 82.

 

[John "요한" Sulu 428]

On this day 58 years ago, Walt Disney passed away at the age of 65.

[Drewsky1211 4,812]

Lillian Disney died on this day 27 years ago, aged 98.

- Lillian was born as 'Lillian Bounds', and she would study business in college for a year. She joined the then-Walt Disney Studios as a secretary for its ink and paint department- and her boss (2 years her junior) fell in love with her.

- Lillian and Walt Disney married in 1925, and they had two children together. In 1928, Walt showed her concept of a new mascot for the studio which he named 'Mortimer Mouse', and Lillian suggested he rename it to 'Mickey' due to disliking how it sounded. The rest is history:

(Mortimer Mouse would become an actual character later on, as a rival to Mickey)

- Lillian would be credited with ink work on the 1929 Mickey short film Plane Crazy (incidentally, it will fully enter the public domain in a few weeks), and her legacy as a part of Disney lives on at the theme parks, where several vehicles were christened after her (Disney Land and Disney World both have trains called the 'Lily Belle', and the latter also has a steamboat called 'The Empress Lily').

- After Walt died in 1966, Lillian would remarry to a man named John Truyens- this marriage lasted for 12 years until his death. In later years, she would become a noted philanthropist, notably donating large sums to the CalArts animation school, and making the initial donation to build the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

- Lillian Disney died of a stroke, having suffered it on the 31st anniversary of her husband's death. Coincidentally, her nephew-in-law Roy E. Disney died on the same day 12 years later. The last Disney film within its animated canon to be released during her lifetime was Hercules, to put things in perspective.

[The Ashes Urn 1,359]

American professional golfer Helen Hicks died on this day 50 years ago, aged 63.

 

 

 

[Drewsky1211 4,812]

Leopold II of Belgium died on this day 115 years ago, aged 74.

- Leopold was the son of king Leopold I, and would accede to the throne upon his father's death in 1865. He was known for mostly two things during his reign: his commissioning of buildings, and his rule over the Belgian Congo.

- Leopold established the Congo Free State in 1885 (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). He would initially use this colonial enterprise to obtain ivory, but soon endorsed forced labor of the native population to harvest rubber. Due to his status as the sole owner, he was directly responsible for its governance- notably the establishment of the Force Publique which committed mass atrocities against the Congolese. Many now consider it to be a genocide due to an estimated death toll of 10 million, and Leopold being deemed one of history's greatest monsters. Leopold would relinquish control of the colony to the Belgian government in 1908 once these actions came to light and led to international opposition against him.

- Leopold died after exactly 44 years on the throne. As his only legitimate children were female (he had two illegitimate sons with his mistress, however), the crown went to his nephew Albert I.

[The Ashes Urn 1,359]

American film and television actor, singer and songwriter Rex Allen died on this day 25 years ago, aged 78.

 

 

 

[Drewsky1211 4,812]

Zsa Zsa Gabor died on this day 8 years ago, aged 99.

- Gabor's real name was Sari Gabor, and she received her nickname due to being unable to pronounce her name as a young child. She was named after Sari Fadak, a popular actress in her native Hungary.

- Gabor would become notable by competing in beauty pageants, and after moving to the US in 1941, made it big in Hollywood. Her breakout role was as Jane Avril in the 1952 version of Moulin Rouge, followed by other hit movies such as Lili and Touch of Evil. She also often appeared on TV, notably on multiple late night talk shows and as a one-time villain on the Adam West Batman show. Her final role was in 1996's A Very Brady Sequel.

- Gabor was equally as well-known for her nine marriages. Among her husbands were Conrad Hilton (founder of the Hilton brand of hotels), George Sanders (actor), and Jack Ryan (co-inventor of Barbie and Hot Wheels).

- In later years, Gabor had very notable health issues (and was very much deserving of "immortal" status). A 2002 car crash partially paralyzed her and made her rely on a wheelchair to move. She had two strokes in the mid-2000s, and in 2010 would receive last rites before being discharged from the hospital. Her right leg would be amputated in 2011 and she fell into a coma which she was not expected to survive- yet she emerged from it. For the last five years of her life she relied on a feeding tube to eat and drink, which ended up leading to an infection in 2016 that required surgery. What ultimately killed her was cardiac arrest.

- Gabor appeared on the DeathList a total of 10 times between 1991 and 2016, and was the 10th hit (of the 12) that year.