by eople say I have a…dry sense of humor, so I guess a blog on this subject is appropriate.
Aspiring actress, singer, and Playboy Playmate Yvette Vickers was found in her Los Angeles home on April 27. Thing is, estimates are she had been dead for up to a year until her mummified remains were found.
Vickers, who would have been 82 (hard to say now what age she was when she died), was a star in the movie Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958). With her newfound…ahem…fame, many are incorrectly crediting Vickers as the vertically-enhanced star of the movie, when she actually played “Honey,” the husband’s mistress.
She also had a bit part in Hud (1963) as well as in 1950’s Sunset Boulevard (Thanks, Scott, for that tidbit…I had not heard that before). In 1959, she was Playboy‘s “Miss July,” photographed by the (in)famous Russ Meyer.
Her last film appearance was in the 1990 low-low-low-budget B-movie, “Evil Spirits.”
Following her brush with fame, Vickers deteriorated into the life of a recluse. While she still made the occasional appearance at conventions and autograph sessions, most of her days were spent holed up in her home in Benedict Canyon.
On April 27, friend/neighbor Susan Savage discovered Yvette’s mummified remains after receiving no response from repeated attempts to reach her. On May 13, her body was positively identified, and the death was ruled natural causes (heart failure). Apparently, the remains were so mummified and decayed that they were not even sure of the sex of the deceased when they found her.
A space heater left running near where the body was discovered contributed to the condition of the corpse, authorities said.
People are talking about this story, asking how in the world a semi-sorta-usedtobe-celebrity can die alone and be undiscovered, month after month, in Los Angeles, without anyone knowing. I would have thought the same thing. Before roaming around the Los Angeles area myself, I assumed it was made up of nothing but posh, well accounted for homes and complexes, with no trash on the sidewalks and “beautiful people” everywhere.
What I found was a very segregated city, with some pretty scary, run-down areas as well as many, many homes tucked away off the beaten path. After seeing it for myself, I can easily see where someone could be holed up in one of those homes and forgotten about.
I picture Yvette sitting on a dirty mattress, surrounded by hoards of trash and keepsakes, watching her old movie clips over and over, reliving her past and imagining what might have been.
I actually find it sad how so many people are given a taste of celebrity, just enough to make them hungry enough to let go of everything else in their lives, only to have it taken away, leaving them forgotten and abandoned.
For photos of her home and more information on her death, check out my friend Scott’s Findadeath website here (be warned, this site is definitely not for everyone)
How did the basic utility bills, such as telephone, electric & gas stay paid?