2016 - The Year of Celebrating the Dead Celebrity

2016 – wow what a year for celebrity deaths!

We kicked off the year losing David Bowie and Alan Rickman to the devastating disease cancer and the deaths of Star Wars icon Carrie Fisher, her mom Debbie Reynolds and pop star George Michael in December felt like the final gut wrenching twists of the celebrity knife. Are we/Am I being dramatic, or has 2016 actually been a cursed year for the ‘celebrity’ and those who spend time idolizing them? More on that later but seriously...MILLIONS and MILLIONS of people around the world reacted on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat etc etc. So I have to ask the question WHY do we mourn people who we have never met, so publicly?

I think that the way that we grieve on social media today has also amplified the perception that 2016 really was the worst year for celebrity deaths and there's proof to that below! In addition to the 24 hour news cycle, most people are using the aforementioned social media outlets to express their personal memories and attachments to celebrities. Before the big world wide web, that conversation and that grief was limited to talking in person and pulling from newspapers. The younger the celebrity, the cause of death, the more sudden the death, the larger the shock, cultural impact and social media outrage there tends to be rather than if they succumbed to a long-standing illness or old age.

Millions attended Whitney Houston’s funeral and listened to “I will always love you” as her body left the local church. After Getty Images photographer Chris Hondros was killed covering a Libyan uprising, thousands attended his memorial service. The majority of the audience at each of these funerals attended them virtually which is one of the few things that is changing the way we mourn and how we do funerals in the 21st Century. EVERYONE can be let in to experience this historically private event.

Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter have also made us much more comfortable with sharing intimate details about ourselves online with strangers on a constant basis and hey I'm not objecting, I just learned Snapchat last year and currently have a love/hate relationship with the App. Many deaths and funerals are reported, commented on, tweeted, snapped, recorded and posted online before even their loved ones have heard of the news.

According to Famous NYC Funeral Home to the Stars, Frank E Campbell Director Schultz:

‘They (the public) Want Closure’. The funeral home stood as a backdrop to those who came to mourn Heath Ledger in NYC in 2008, as his casket was carried from the home, and the media and fans who came to watch. The intense dedication and unity of the mourners, the familial connections felt for people they have never met, the volatility of grief was apparent for all to see and this is not just reserved for Heath Ledger and his fans but to every “celebrity” or person in the publin arena." 

“They need to be a part of that life that they … have never touched personally, individually, privately, and in person — but through the media, through television, through the movies, it was very much a part of their growing up and their life. They want closure, People from every walk of life.”

National University professor/celebrity death expert Jacque Lynn Foltyn says:

“All these reactions can be viewed as ways of managing death in societies where actual death and the corpse are hidden away and seldom experienced firsthand but rather through Game of Thrones and CSI. Funerals are more rare, as memorial services have become popular. For some, social media is the virtual memorial service when they cannot attend, making a death an international event.”

SO - WAS 2016 really the WORST year for celebrity deaths??! Well Apparently not...... there is an interesting and (self admittedly) unscientific analysis of whether 2016 really was the worst year for celebrity deaths….check out CNN for further details. We lost at least 34 celebrities in 2016, which factor in Oscar and Grammy winning celebrities but when it comes to numbers, 2016 is edged out by 2006, during which 36 celebrities died so there ya have it! Dont ask me what you do with it but at least you have it! Feel better?? No, me neither :-( Bring back Alan and George!!

Something Beautiful Remains

Something Beautiful Remains

by Martha Vashti Pearson

 The tide recedes, but leaves behind

Bright seashells on the sand.

The sun goes down but gentle warmth

Still lingers on the land.

The music stops and yet it lingers on

In sweet refrain.

For every joy that passes

Something beautiful remains.

Celebrity deaths and public mourning

Just this week we lost David Bowie and Alan Rickman to that devastating disease called cancer. It was a sad week in Celebrity world and millions of people around the world reacted on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat to name a few. Why do we mourn people who we have never met so publicly?

Millions attended Whitney Houston's funeral and listened to "I will always love you" as her body left the local church. After Getty Images photographer Chris Hondros was killed covering a Libyan uprising, thousands attended his memorial service. The majority of the audience at each of these funerals attended them virtually which is one of the few things that is changing the way we mourn and how we do funerals in the 21st Century. EVERYONE can be let in to experience this historically private event.

Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter have also made us much more comfortable with sharing intimate details about ourselves online with strangers on a constant basis. Many deaths and funerals are reported, commented on, tweeted, snapped, recorded and posted online before even their loved ones have heard of the news.

According to Famous NYC Funeral Home to the Stars Frank E Campbell 'They (the public) Want Closure'. The funeral home stood as a backdrop to those who came to mourn Heath Ledger in NYC in 2008, as his casket was carried from the home, and the media and fans who came to watch. The intense dedication and unity of the mourners, the familial connections felt for people they have never met, the volatility of grief was apparent for all to see and this is not just reserved for Heath Ledger and his fans but to every "celebrity" or person in the publin arena. "They need to be a part of that life that they ... have never touched personally, individually, privately, and in person — but through the media, through television, through the movies, it was very much a part of their growing up and their life. They want closure," Schultz (director) said. "People from every walk of life."

Frank E Campbell NYC, Funeral Home to the Stars

Anybody who is anybody in NYC and has lost a loved one knows the name Frank Campbell. Maybe they haven't even lost a loved one but just attended one of the many hundreds of funerals they service a year. Regardless the name Frank E Campbell Funeral Home is synonymous with Upper Class, Celebrity, Manhattan Elite and more importantly privacy and an almost Genie like funeral. They grant the final wishes of the elite akin to the late great Robin Williams of Aladdin in the Disney movie.

Frank and his funeral home first attracted international recognition in 1926, when a famously beloved on screen silent movie romeo Rudolph Valentino died of a ruptured ulcer at the tender age of 31. The crowds at the funeral were huge...and dramatic. There was a rumor that Frank had replaced Valentino's body with a wax figure because the crowd of fans became so maniacal. A little known fact was that Frank had paid some of the mourners to faint and swoon at the funeral to garner more coverage in the media. A bit like the keeners we had in old Ireland, Frank used some seriously innovative PR moves to engage the media and it worked. Apparently he also took out a $1 million insurance policy on his 15-year-old son, Frank Junior, making him "the most heavily ­insured boy in the country". His use of publicity, engagement of the media, innovation in the industry and advertising his funeral home built his home and name to what it is today.

Frank began this innovative voyage long before Valentino's funeral however and has even been credited with starting the purchase of obituaries in newspapers and of adding chapels of all faiths to a funeral home, something which is only hitting Ireland in recent years. When Frank founded the Frank E. Campbell Burial and Cremation Company in 1898, he attempted to change the way people thought about funeral service. At that time in America, most funerals were conducted in private homes, but New York was becoming a city of apartment dwellers and people no longer had space. He actually started it in Downtown Manhattan but Frank was a socialite in all the right circles and soon recognized his niche in the market and moved to the current address in the Upper East Side. He also began to use motor vehicles instead of the typical horse drawn carriages to carry the deceased. His innovative legacy continues today even though the funeral home is currently not in his family anymore but a part of the industry giant SCI.

“We make sure our entranceway is taken care of properly without having the family being inundated,” George Amato, current president of Frank E Campbell says. “In the building, we have a private elevator and a private floor for the visitation that takes place. We have our security men on the front door checking the people arriving to make sure they are on the list, and they are escorted properly upstairs.” Mobile or cellphones are banned from the main chapel. Simple additions but all add to the security, privacy and comfort for families of the rich and famous.

The home has catered for a huge variety of 'sombodies' including Heads of State, United Nations Ambassadors, Dignitaries, Royalty, and Celebrity members of the arts and entertainment world. The staff are well equipped in a variety of languages and religions and there are 3 funeral counsellors or 'experts' on site who are educated in everything from coffin sizing, decor, religion specifics and repatriation legalities. In total there are 53 people on staff but they regularly hire in extra staff on a regular basis such as off duty NYC police officers as security.

In 1969, when the beautiful and beloved Judy Garland died, as many as 1,500 fans stood vigil outside Campbell’s during a vicious NYC heat wave. Judy Garland's visitation lasted over 24 hours, some people coming through to pay their respects 3 times - up to 20,000 fans went past her glass-enclosed ­coffin to view her in repose. Mourners included Lauren Bacall (who became a Campbell's client when she died aged 89 on Aug 11th last year) , then-Mayor John Lindsay, Patricia Kennedy Lawford and Garland’s daughters, Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft. In another PR stunt, the press was not allowed access which of course just heightened the appeal and intrigue.

Such is the association with Frank E Campbell's and Celebrity that when John Lennon was assassinated in 1980 the media presumed that they would be handling the arrangements, and camped out there. Such was the media mayhem that a decoy hearse had to be sent for the media to follow, which they did and Mr Lennon was transported to be cremated in peace.

George Amato says one of the most complex funeral arrangements in recent years involved the accidental-overdose death of 28-year-old ­actor Heath Ledger in January 2008. "I was very closely involved with the people who were hand­ling him, because he was going to be sent to Los Angeles and then Australia," Amato says. "There was the Warner Brothers private jet that was being used for him and the family, so there was a lot of coordination to make sure that it all went exactly the way they wanted it, and we had to maintain the privacy and confidentiality that they wanted."

In terms of crazy requests George was not willing to divulge too much and with good reason. Confidentiality is their number one promise. However families can dictate whatever they want, and Campbell’s promises that no legal request is ever denied. When asked what requests he could tell me about, he told me of  a time where a family requested a highly exotic and rare flower. Money was no object and rarely is, so I'm told. The funeral home's response? "if it is growing somewhere on this earth we will find it and get it to you for the service." And they did. At another service, a request had been made for the deceased’s two Doberman pinschers to stand at the foot of their master’s casket. They did and they never moved or barked.

The home deals with 'celebrity' in different ways too depending on family wishes. For example the recent Joan Rivers funeral was extremely private and had a guestlist whereas the recent Governor Cuomo was large and open to the public and they had to close down 79th to 86th street for 18 limousines to transport family and dignitaries from the home to St Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue in Midtown (a HUGE deal and irritant to New Yorkers). Then when Vice President Biden wanted to pay his respects the entire cathedral had to be searched and locked down for the visitation which is a huge security task.

Campbell himself died on Jan. 19, 1934, at age 62 of heart disease.

The list of clients reads like a Who’s Who: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Robert F. Kennedy, Ed Koch, Judy Garland, Leona Helmsley, Ed Sullivan, James Cagney, Greta Garbo, George Gershwin, William Randolph Hearst, Malcolm Forbes, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth, L’Wren Scott, Heath Ledger, gangster Frank Costello and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Last spotted at the Frank E Campbell Funeral home include:
Aaliyah
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
Pedro Armendáriz, Jr.
Arleen Auger
Herman Badillo
Lauren Bacall
Irving Berlin
Peter Boyle
Lord Buckley
James Cagney
Oleg Cassini
Montgomery Clift
Frank Costello
Joan Crawford
Walter Cronkite
Celia Cruz
Mario Cuomo
Candy Darling
Thomas E. Dewey
Dominick Dunne
Jeanne Eagels
Malcolm Forbes
Billy Martin
Greta Garbo
Judy Garland
George Gershwin
Adam Goldstein
Lesley Gore
Rita Hayworth
Leona Helmsley
Jim Henson
Philip Seymour Hoffman‪
Richard Isay
Peter Jennings
Madeline Kahn
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Mordecai Lawner‪
Heath Ledger‪
John Lennon
Dick Lynch
Mary MacLeod Trump
Norman Mailer
Bat Masterson
Ethel Merman
Anna Moffo
The Notorious B.I.G.
Les Paul
Ayn Rand
Tony Randall
Joan Rivers
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
Jean Stapleton
Igor Stravinsky
Ed Sullivan
Arturo Toscanini
Fred Trump
Rudolph Valentino
Luther Vandross
Mae West
Tennessee Williams
A$AP Yams

The Ideal Death Show

Ideal Death Show and Good Funeral Awards 2015

So this weekend took me to London. A little outside of london is a quaint little English village called Winchester and for one day it becomes the hub of death in the UK. The Ideal Death Show, in its second consecutive year, brought fun, facts and deathly frolics.

Their approach to death seems to be quite tongue in cheek but factual which is nice and the village seem to embrace it.

First on my agenda was a public shrouding of  a live body. I’ve got to say I did not expect to get as emotional as I did when watching it but it seemd like such a beautiful personal final act for someone you love. I have often thought that coffins seem too impersonal – cold, detached and lonely. The shroud looked warm, comfortable and protective. The personal act of wrapping your loved one just seemed like you were caring for them like you would a newborn baby.

The fact that it is friendly for the environment and compatible with both burial and cremation was appealing also.

My disappointment of the show was the size of the exhibition. I expected a lot bigger. It was tiny and everyone looked a bit squished on top of each other. This made it difficult to collect your thoughts from one stand to another. There was the usual exhibiits and some unusual ones like a Viking Wicker Ship maker.

Top 10 funeral songs?

As found on several websites online - Here are the top ten funeral songs:

1. “Goodbye My Lover” by James Blunt
2. “You Raise Me Up” by Westlife
3. “Time To Say Goodbye” by Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli
4. “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler
5. “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion
6. “Candle in the Wind” by Elton John
7. “With or Without You” by U2
8. “Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton
9. “Angels” by Robbie Williams
10. ”Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers

What do you think?? Right wrong? I think I might have to compile a list but my this list could be LONG!!!

Kevin Costners eulogy to Whitney Houston

You're free Genie (Robin Williams)

“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” 

Robin Williams, 1951 – 2014

You may remember him from movies/TV:

• Mork & Mindy (1978–1982)
• The World According to Garp (1982)
• Popeye (1980)
• Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
• Dead Poets Society (1989)
• Awakenings (1990)
• The Fisher King (1991)
• Hook (1991)
• Aladdin (1992)
• Ferngully (1992)
• TOYS (1992)
• Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
• Jumanji (1995)
• The Birdcage (1996)
• JACK (1996)
• Good Will Hunting (1997)
• What dreams may come (1998)
• Patch Adams (1998)
• Bicentennial Man (1999)
• AI Artificial Intelligence (2001)
• One hour Photo (2002)
• Insomnia (2002)
• Robots (2005)
• Night at the Museum (2006)
• Happy Feet (2006)
• Night at the Museum 2 (2009)
• Happy Feet 2 (2011)
• The big wedding (2013)

and this year (2014) he is due to be in Absolutely Anything as Dennis the Dog, Night at the Museum 3: Secret of the Tomb as Teddy Roosevelt, Merry Friggin' Christmas as Mitch and The Angriest Man in Brooklyn.

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor 3 times, he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Good Will Hunting. He also received two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Grammy Awards.


His role as the Genie (he also did the voice of "The Peddler") in the animated film Aladdin (1992) set the way for many many other superstar voice actor castings. According to DVD commentary of the film most of his dialogue was improvised.

Little Trivia : Robin Williams fell out with Disney over an initial agreement on the marketing of the movie and his character - the Genie which resulted in Dan Castellaneta's voicing the Genie in The Return of Jafar and the Aladdin animated television series. But when 20th Century Fox Production head Joe Roth left Fox and joined Disney (but not before he set the go ahead for Mrs Doubtfire!!) he arranged a public apology from Disney and all was happy again until another marketing blunder and flop on Bicentennial Man in 1999. BUT all became well again and in 2009 Robin agreed to be inducted as a Disney Legend.

"Thank you for choosing "Magic Carpet" for all your travel needs. Don't stand until the rug has come to a complete stop. Thank you. Goodbye, now. Goodbye. Goodbye. Thank you. Goodbye."

Brooke Shields eulogy for Michael Jackson

 Brooke Shields, longtime friend of Michael Jackson, delivers this emotional eulogy at his public memorial service on July 7, 2009. “smile though your heart is aching”

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

20th Anniversary

Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Bouvier Kennedy Onassis July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994 

She was wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis until his death in 1975. 

On that fateful day - November 22 1963 the First Lady heard what she thought to be a motorcycle backfiring but it was gunshots. The final shot struck the President in the head.

At Dallas' Parkland Hospital, she went to be by her husband's side and when a nurse stopped her and attempted to bar the door to prevent her from entering, she persisted saying "I want to be there when he dies".

Later, when his body was in a casket, she removed her wedding ring and put it onto the President's finger saying "Now I have nothing left."

 After the president's death, she regretted having washed the blood off her face and hands and continued to wear the now infamous blood-stained pink chanel suit as she went on board Air Force One and President Johnson took the oath of office saying "I want them to see what they have done to Jack."

Jackie took an active role in planning the details of her husband's state funeral, which was based on Abraham Lincoln's. The service was held at Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Washington D.C. and the burial at Arlington National Cemetery where the widow lit the eternal flame (that just recently came to Ireland) at the gravesite - a flame that had been created at her request.

On October 20, 1968, mere months after Robert F Kennedy's assassination, she married Aristotle Socrates Onassis who was able to provide the privacy and security she sought for herself and her children.

Jackie Kennedy-Onassis' funeral was held on May 23, 1994 where her son John described three of her greatest attributes as the love of words, the bonds of home and family, and the spirit of adventure. She was buried alongside first husband and President Kennedy, their son Patrick, and their stillborn daughter Arabella at Arlington National Cemetery Virginia.

Her Children:

• Arabella Kennedy - August 23 1956 - Stillborn 
• Caroline Bouvier Kennedy - November 27, 1957 - Caroline is the last surviving child of JFK and Jackie and she has two daughters and a son. 
• John Fitzgerald "John-John" Kennedy, Jr. - November 25, 1960 - July 16, 1999 - Married to Carolyn Jeanne Bessette. They died in a plane crash, along with Carolyn's sister in a plane piloted by Kennedy. 
• Patrick Bouvier Kennedy - August 7, 1963 - August 9, 1963 - Died from infant respiratory distress syndrome. Born over 5 weeks premature his lungs hadn't fully developed.

Hot dogs in a cemetery?!

Paddy died......An Irish Joke

Paddy died. His will provided £40,000 for an elaborate funeral.  

As the last guests departed the affair, his wife Colleen turned to her oldest and dearest friend.
"Ah well, Paddy would be pleased," she  said.

"You're right," replied Mary, who lowered her voice and leaned in  close.

"So go on, how much did this really cost?'"
"All of it," said Colleen.  "Forty thousand."


"Aw No!" Mary exclaimed, "I mean, it was very grand, but £40,000?!!!"
Colleen answered, "The funeral was £6,500. I donated £500 to church.  The whisky, wine and snacks were another £500.
The rest went for the Memorial Stone."

Mary  computed  quickly.

"For the love of Mike Colleen, £32,500 for a Memorial Stone?
How big is it?"

Roy Orbison

Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) 

American singer-songwriter, best known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads.

Roy Orbison's greatest success came with Monument Records between 1960 and 1964, when 22 of his songs were placed on the Billboard Top 40 - "Only the Lonely", "Crying", and "Oh, Pretty Woman" proved to be his biggest hit yet.

In 1988, he joined supergroup 'Traveling Wilburys' with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne.

Personally, Roy's life was marred at first in 1964 with divorce from his wife Claudette over infidelities (hers) and although they remarried the following year, in 1966 while riding their much loved motorcycles home from Tennessee, she was fatally struck by a truck. Then while touring in England on September 16, 1968, he received the news that his home in Tennessee, had burned down and his two eldest sons had died.

He wrote music for the not-so-successful film 'The Fastest Guitar Alive', in which he also starred as a spy who stole and had to protect gold to the Confederate Army during the U.S. Civil War. His character was outfitted with a guitar that turned into a rifle which allowed him to deliver the line "I could kill you with this and play your funeral march at the same time".

On December 6, 1988, he spent the day flying model airplanes with his sons (to his second wife Barbara) but then after having dinner at his mother's home in Tennessee, he died of a heart attack at the age of 52.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela  18 July 1918 - 5 December 2013

Former president of South Africa (1994-9) and an anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician, he was the first black South African to hold office and is often described as "the father of the nation".

His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997. Internationally, Mandela was the Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999.

After the National Party came to power in 1948 and implementing their policy of apartheid, he rose to prominence and working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested. In 1962 he was arrested, convicted of sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the African government, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Mandela served 27 years in 3 different prisons. An international campaign lobbied for his release and was finally granted in 1990 after which he soon became president and implement anti apartheid laws.

Internationally, he acted as mediator between Libya and the United Kingdom in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial.

After his presidential term he refocussed his efforts on more charitable work in combating poverty and HIV/AIDS through the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

He received international acclaim for his anti-colonial and anti-apartheid stance, having received over 250 awards, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Soviet Order of Lenin.

NFDA Austin Convention 2013 - Me and Billy Connolly

To my utter surprise and awe, one of my favourite comedians Billy Connolly graced the 2013 convention with his presence to film a new documentary on death. I was privileged and delighted to make his acquaintance.

I have no doubt that some of my babbling will make the final cut of his ITV documentary but I can only hope that some of it will end up on the cutting room floor.

I pointed him in the way of the Design for Death competition area as he had told me how much of a cynic he was with regards the industry and its offerings. I told him it was good to be a cynic and to view everything with eyes open but also to open his mind to some of the experiences, products and services he would undoubtedly encounter on his journey through the convention.

A lovely man, looking a little slight, pale and frail, I wish him super health and I truly hope he opens up the publics mind in an informative and humorous way to the funeral industry and only he can.

The Disney Files - Jerry Orbach aka Lumière

Jerome Bernard "Jerry" Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) 

American actor and singer, he was well known for his roles as Detective Lennie Briscoe in Law & Order from 1992 to 2004, Harry McGraw in the hit series Murder She Wrote 1985–1991 and as the voice of Lumière in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

1992 64th Annual Academy Awards LIVE performance
(If it wont play click here)

Perhaps not as commonly known, Orbach was also a noted musical theatre star. Prominent character roles that he originated include El Gallo in The Fantasticks (the longest-running musical play in history), Chuck Baxter in Promises (for which he won a Tony Award), Julian Marsh in 42nd Street; and Billy Flynn in Chicago.

In early December 2004, it was announced that Orbach had been receiving treatment for prostate cancer which he had been living with for 10 years previous. He died at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York on December 28, 2004.

The day after his death, the marquees on Broadway were dimmed in mourning, one of the highest honors of the American theatre world.

One of his wishes while he was alive was to have his eyes donated after his death. In death he helped two people – one who needed correction for a nearsighted eye and another who needed correction for a farsighted eye.

Michael Collins Funeral

"I nDíl-Cúimne ar Mícheál Ó Coileáin a fuir bás í Bean-na-mBlat an 22ad la de mí Lugnasa 1922"

 (In memory of Michael Collins who died at Beal na mBlath on 22nd August 1922)

Michael Collins 16 October 1890 – 22 August 1922) 

An Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála (TD) for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations.

He also became President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and, therefore, under the bylaws of the Brotherhood, President of the Irish Republic.

Collins was assassinated in August 1922 during the Irish Civil War at an ambush of his journey returning from Bandon, the village of Béal na Bláth. Collins's men brought his body back to Cork where it was then shipped to Dublin. His funeral mass took place at Dublin's Pro Cathedral (St Mary's) with approx 500,000 people (one fifth of the country's population) attended his funeral.

 "In my opinion it gives us freedom, not the ultimate freedom that all nations desire 

... but the freedom to achieve it."

Michael Collins on the Treaty in debates.

The Disney Files - Tim Burton

Timothy Walter "Tim" Burton (born August 25, 1958) 

American film director, film producer, writer, artist and animator. He is famous for his dark, gothic, macabre and quirky take on horror and fantasy style movies such as

• Beetlejuice 
• Edward Scissorhands
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Ed Wood
• Sleepy Hollow 
• Corpse Bride
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• Dark Shadows
• Frankenweenie 
• Pee-wee's Big Adventure
• Batman, its first sequel Batman Returns
• Planet of the Apes 
• Remakes - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Burton is known for using recurring collaborators on his works; among them are Johnny Depp, musician Danny Elfman, who has composed scores for all but five of the films Burton has directed and/or produced; and actress/partner Helena Bonham Carter. Also Danny DeVito, Jeffrey Jones, Michael Keaton, Christopher Lee, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alan Rickman, Christopher Walken.

He also wrote and illustrated the poetry book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories, published in 1997, and a compilation of his drawings, sketches and other artwork, entitled The Art of Tim Burton, was released in 2009.

Burton has directed 16 films and produced 12, as of 2012.


Burton's successful short film 'Stalk of the Celery Monster' attracted the attention of Walt Disney Productions' animation studio, who offered a young Burton apprenticeship at their studio where he worked as an animator, storyboard artist and concept artist on films such as The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron and Tron.

'Stalk of the Celery Monster'

While at Disney in 1982, Burton made his first short 'Vincent' a six-minute black-and-white stop motion film. The film was produced by Rick Heinrichs, a guy Burton had befriended while working at Disney.

Burton's next live-action short was a black and white movie called Frankenweenie which was released in 1984 and a little dark by Disney standards - it tells the story of a young boy who tries to revive his dog after it is run over by a car.  After this film was completed, Disney fired Burton, claiming he spent the company's resources on a film that would be too scary for children to watch.

The Disney Files - Walt Disney

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) 

An American animator, film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist hardly needs an introduction. An icon of the 20th Century.

He co founded the Walt Disney Productions (now The Walt Disney Company) which became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world with his brother Roy Disney.

Reportedly, his famous trademark signature was designed for him by one of his animators.

He, with his staff, created some of the world's most well-known fictional characters including Mickey Mouse (Disney provided the original voice).

So where did it all begin? Well he was Irish of course! ;-)
Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901 to Irish-Canadian father Elias Disney and Flora Call Disney. His great-grandfather, Arundel Elias Disney, had emigrated from Gowran, County Kilkenny, Ireland where he was born in 1801.

He began a series of businesses and eventually set up an animation studio with his brother Roy.

In 1932, Disney received a special Academy Award for the creation of the series "Mickey Mouse.

Snow White: When the film industry learned of Disney's plans to produce an animated feature-length version of Snow White, they nicknamed it "Disney's Folly" and were certain it would destroy the Disney Studio. Both Walt's wife Lillian and brother Roy tried to talk him out of the project. The film became the most successful motion picture of 1938 and earned over $8 million on its initial release, the equivalent of  over $130 million today.

He died in December 15, 1966 from lung cancer in Burbank, California. The last thing he reportedly wrote before his death was the name of actor Kurt Russell, the significance of which remains a mystery, even to Russell.

"As long as there is imagination left in the world, Disneyland will never be complete."

Awards:

• 4 honorary Academy Awards
• 7 Emmy Awards
• Disney holds the record for both the most Academy Award nominations (59) and the number of Oscars awarded (22) between 1932 - 1959. His last competitive Academy Award was posthumous: 1969: Best Short Subject, Cartoons: Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day

Michael Jackson - 4 year anniversary

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) 

Michael was alot of things but he will primarily be known for his kookiness and his music. An American recording artist, entertainer, father and businessman and also known as the King of Pop, he has been recognised as the most successful entertainer or all time by the Guinness World Records.

Starting his music career in 1964 with his siblings as the Jackson 5 and going solo in 1971, his career spanned four decades.

His 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time and other awards of note are

• Multiple Guinness World Records 
• 13 Grammy Awards 
• The Grammy Legend Award
• The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
• 26 American Music Awards including the "Artist of the Century" and "Artist of the 1980s"
• 13 number-one singles in the United States (solo artist)
• Jackson won hundreds of awards, which made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of popular music 
• On his 52nd birthday on August 29, 2010, he became the most downloaded artist of all time

His funeral:
Jackson's memorial service was held on July 7, 2009. Members of the public could attend on a 'lottery style' basis - 1.6 million fans applied and 8,750 were drawn at random. Jackson's casket was present during the memorial but no information was released about the final disposition of the body.

The memorial service was one of the most watched events in online streaming history. The U.S. audience was estimated by Nielsen to be 31.1 million (35.1 million - burial of former president Ronald Reagan and 33.1 million Americans - 1997 funeral for Princess Diana).

Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey, John Mayer, Jennifer Hudson and Usher, Jermaine Jackson, and Shaheen Jafargholi all performed at the event.

Eulogies were given by Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson with Queen Latifah reading "We had him", a poem written for the occasion by Maya Angelou.