Celebrity Death Certificates [Paperback]

M. F. Steen (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786416416 | ISBN-13: 978-0786416417 | Publication Date: August 2003

Marilyn Monroe died at 36. Her death certificate lists "Acute Barbiturate Poisoning. Ingestion of Overdose" as the cause. Just below that line, you can see that the person who issued her death certificate typed "Probable Suicide." Many people question whether her death was a suicide, an accident, or possibly a homicide.

A death certificate is an intriguing document. It encapsulates a person’s life story on one page—the birthplace, parents, education, length of career, residence, time, place, and cause of death and finally, what happened to the remains. The information required for a death certificate can vary since each state looks at it differently. California regards them as public documents. Texas and New York makes them available only to family members and others showing a direct need. Satisfying curiosity is not considered a need.

John Belushi, John Denver, George Harrison, Truman Capote, "Fred and Ginger" and Frank Sinatra are just a few of the 182 Hollywood notables from the Silent Era to today whose intriguing death certificates are collected here—fascinating!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

M.F. Steen has been a funeral service provider for 35 years. For 11 years he directed funerals and burials for the rich and famous at Pierce Brothers Westwood Memorial Park. In 1989, Gentleman’s Quarterly called Mr. Steen the "Mortician to the Stars." He lives in Santa Monica, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786416416
• ISBN-13: 978-0786416417
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,110,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bare Bone Facts About Celebrity Death, June 17, 2005

By 

Lisa Burks (Burbank, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Celebrity Death Certificates (Paperback)

"Celebrity Death Certificates" takes a VERY different approach to examining the deaths of numerous celebrities by providing simple clean copies of their actual death certificates. I enjoyed reading these legal documents, which I found easy to decipher, for their bare bone facts. Steen's legwork saved me time and money digging them up on my own; there are literally thousands of dollars worth of documentation in this volume if one wanted to start a similar collection. Steen, a death care professional, refrains from making editorial comments which works nicely within this format. The array of celebrities is diverse, 182 in all, and he includes many "posthumous reunions" such as the cast of "I Love Lucy," husband and wife teams like Ozzie & Harriet Nelson and George Burns & Gracie Allen; dueling gossip columnists Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons; the list goes on and on. This book stands out as THE conversation piece on my Hollywood history library shelves. I'm looking forward to purchasing and perusing Vol. 2 later this year.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just What It Says, January 31, 2006

By 

So. Calif book reader "readalot" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Celebrity Death Certificates (Paperback)

This book is just what it says...celebrity death certificates. The one reviewer doesn't know what he's saying when he says it's a waste and the entries are blurry. It isn't true. Some of the certificates are OLD and handwritten and when copied this makes it sometimes tough to decipher but generally this isn't the case. If you have some medical knowledge, etc. you're way ahead.And if you love collecting death certificates as I do this is a wonderful book to have as there are so many bound together. You will find yourself looking for one, but keeping turning the pages to check out others. I spend a half an hour or more everytime I pick it up.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Walk Down Memory Lane, August 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Celebrity Death Certificates (Paperback)

For any baby boomer, this book is a walk down memory lane for all the folks who kept us clued to the television or entertained us in movie theaters during our growing-up years.

It is one of those books that you hate to admit to anyone that you just couldn't put it down. As you go from page to paget, each name on a death certificate sparks a memory and many times brings a smile.

The biography at the end is a help too. I am gald that they did not try and put each one of the same page as the death certificate. That would have been a distraction from the certificate itself.