Died the Same Day

Mahatma Ghandi the architect of India’s independence from Great Britian was assassinated on January 30, 1948. Orville Wright, the co-inventor of the airplane, died on the same day.
I learned about Ghandi and Wright’s fatal connection in “Mobituaries”, a very clever book written by humorist Mo Rocca. The book contains chapters about the deaths of many famous people including Thomas Paine, Herbert Hoover, Billy Carter, Audrey Hepburn and Lawrence Welk. In addition to human expirations, Mo covers the downfalls of Prussia, Hadrian’s Wall, and the traditional station wagon.

Since Ghandi’s assassination occurred just six months after India became independent, the charismatic leader’s death was the lead story in The New York Times. Orville Wright’s invention, though world changing, had occurred 45 years before his death so his obituary was “below the fold”. To avoid any confusion Rocca points out that Orville Wright died in a hospital as opposed to Orville Redenbacher, the popcorn titan, who died in a jacuzzi.
Other famous people who died the same day include:

Orson Welles/Yul Brynner (October 10,1985)
Orson Welles was an iconic director and actor who wound down his career appearing in Paul Masson Wines commercials. His death was overshadowed by Yul Brynner’s who had prerecorded anti-smoking commercials to be aired upon his passing. Brynner’s post-death commercials were very dramatic and effective. Welles received a best actor Oscar nomination for “Citizen Kane”.  Brynner won the best actor Oscar for “The King and I” but as Rocca observes “he had every reason to be great as King Mongkut having performed the role on stage a whopping 4,625 times”.

Dick Sargent/Kim II Sung (July 8, 1994).
Dick Sargent was always known as “the second Darrin”. He followed Dick York in the role of Samantha’s husband on the classic sitcom, ‘Bewitched”.  Sargent never achieved the popularity of the first Dick. Sargent succumbed to prostate cancer at age 64 but his death was overshadowed by Noth Korea’s founder and notorious mass murderer, Kim II Sung. It’s estimated that the dictator killed over three million of his own people. After Sung’s death, his son Kim Jung Il carried on the family’s stunning barbarity while also sporting the worst haircut of any world leader in history. Kim Il’s grandson who the late John McCain labeled “the crazy fat kid” now rules the unfortunate souls inhabiting ‘the hermit kingdom”.

William Shakepeere/Miguel de Cervantes (April 23,1616)
The greatest English language writer and the greatest writer in the Spanish language died on April 23, 1616, but eleven days apart from each other. The reason for this quirk is that Spain used the Gregorian calendar while England was on the Julien calendar.

Cecil B DeMille/Carl Switzer (January 2,1959)
DeMille, a founding father of American cinema was renowned as a director and producer of sweeping epics. Switzer was beloved for portraying Alfalfa in the Little Rascal shorts. Switzer’s career fizzled after the Rascals series ended. He earned money training hunting dogs but did get a bit role as a Hebrew slave in DeMille’s final epic, ‘The Ten Commandments’. Both men died shortly after the film’s release: DeMille suffered a fatal heart attack. Alfalfa was mortally wounded in a dispute over a fifty-dollar reward for a lost dog.

John Adams/Thomas Jefferson (July 4, 1826)
It is almost incomprehensible that the second and third presidents of the United States died on the same date. What’s even crazier is that date was the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Jefferson had defeated the incumbent President Adams in 1800 which exacerbated a rivalry that became so bitter that they didn’t speak to each other for twelve years. The two men mellowed as they aged and began a correspondence between Adam’s Massachusetts home and Jefferson’s Monticello estate. Underscoring their connection, Adam’s last words were “Jefferson lives”. Alas, Jefferson had died a few hours earlier.

As writer Emery Allen once observed” Some things are too strange and strong to be coincidences.”
If you need some interesting reading for these frigid winter nights go to www.tedcurtinstories.com to purchase my book, “Get Smarter-Be Amazed”.
Have a great weekend.

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