Wax, LaBiancas, Curlers and Spiders

Dearly Departed Newsletter – 07/02/2020

Hi everyone!

Ho many emails do you get with a subject line like that?  You’re welcome.

Welcome back. We’ve been hard at work on making videos for YouTube and although it’s not quite the same as giving tours in real-life, it’s a fun way to share some history with everyone. We’re enjoying putting these together and I sincerely hope you’re enjoying watching them.

First up is a passion of mine—wax. That is to say, wax museums. Sure, they’re an easy target to clown on, but they are a lot of fun. Good wax figures are great and bad wax figures are even better. It’s a win-win situation. With that said, wax museums can be big money, especially when it comes to tourist areas. This particular video “vlog”  focuses on the Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park, California, which is (excuse me, was) just down the street from Knott’s Berry Farm. It started up long before Madame Tussauds came Southern California.  Movieland used to invite the people they honored (?) in wax to a big premiere, complete with red carpets and lights. They also started a wet cement ceremony like the one at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.  Like so many things in Southern California, eventually Movieland was torn down because people suck.  To add insult to injury, the cement blocks were destroyed.  We would have PROUDLY displayed them at the Dearly Departed Museum, but no.  Destroyed.  Broken.  But we grabbed some rubble.  It’s what we do innit.

Check it out here.

It’s as if Katherine Hepburn is standing right in front of you.

NOT JUST VICTIMS

Next up, we have a vlog about Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.  If you’re a regular reader of these newsletters or follow me on social media, have taken the Helter Skelter Tour, or have even just talked to me for more than five seconds you know who the LaBiancas are. We know them for their deaths, and we only ever see those same damn black-and-white images that suck.  So we’re giving the LaBiancas their own spotlight in this video.  I hope you like it.  Get to know them here.

SHARON TATE’S CURLERS

Last week I did a “live” chat – Q & A – and I waxed on about loads of things including Sharon Tate.  I showed off my collection of items that personally belonged to Sharon!  I take what I do seriously, but I also have fun with it.  I mean… Sharon Tate’s curlers!  Seriously.  You gotta chuckle, right?  RIGHT??  It’s here.

SUNSET AND SPIDERS

This week I was a guest on the Planet Ludwig show. I’m asked about how I got into researching death, celebrity deaths, The Movie and the greatest movie ever, Sunset Blvd. and of course the vlogs.  You can listen to the interview here.  If you’d like to see the slightly NSFW Spiderpool video we talk about in the interview you can see it here.  Our adventure to finding this thing was straight out of an Indiana Jones movie.

DIVOON

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this week marks the 53rd anniversary of Jayne Mansfield’s passing. Although her car is now in storage, she’s still a big part of the Dearly Departed Family.  She holds a huge place in our hearts (get it, get it?) so we want to acknowledge her and say … We love you, Jaynie!

Here I am standing in the ruin of Jayne’s heart-shaped pool.  The house was destroyed in 2004 because it was beloved.

Love,
Scott and the Dearly Departed Team

Free Entertainment.  You heard me.

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