I've written before about silent film star Louise Brooks. I found out years ago that she lived in Rochester, NY (my home city) for thirty years, after she began a relationship with James Card. He was the curator of the George Eastman House, and he encouraged her to relocate there. She researched films using the museum's archives and published a collection of essays about her career titled Lulu in Hollywood.
For an actress who was so influential in the 1920's, an icon for flapper style, her final resting place is very plain. It was adorned with a single dried out rose:
I suppose it is not that surprising; by the end of her life, any money she had earned from her years in Hollywood was long gone. She was in bad health, and she lived alone in a one bedroom apartment, drinking and thinking of herself as a failure.
I'm glad I tracked down her headstone (Holy Sepulchre Cemetery is HUGE, so it took a while), but I prefer to think of her as she looked at the height of her success:
If you're not familiar with Louise Brooks yet, I implore you to check out some of her films.
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