During this season of the supernatural, with Halloween and Day of the Dead looming, we’re putting a spotlight on the super-famous (and infamous).
More specifically, on the gravesites at South Florida cemeteries that hold the secrets of some of our most notorious names.
Among the public figures buried here, we discovered creators of music we love, and stars of movies and TV shows that made us laugh. Some were sports stars in the ring and on the field, others coaches behind championship teams. One ran a tabloid, while others were frequent subjects of the headlines.
Comedian, actor and variety show host Jackie Gleason is one of our most beloved, having recently landed on a list of “Celebrities & Public Figures Americans Would Most Want to be Buried Beside.” At No. 21, Gleason was Florida’s highest-ranking celebrity in Choice Mutual life insurance agency’s survey of 3,128 people.
Below, find a roundup of notable South Florida burial spots. But remember, if you plan to pay your respects, check each location’s hours and policies first, and always be considerate of the grounds.
JACKIE GLEASON & DON SHULA
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery
11411 NW 25th St., Doral
- Best known for his role as Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden in “The Honeymooners,” Jackie Gleason died at age 71 in Lauderhill in 1987. He moved in the 1960s to Miami Beach, where “The Jackie Gleason Show” was filmed in what is now The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater. “Known for his quick wit and larger-than-life personality, Gleason left a legacy of laughter and joy,” according to the Choice Mutual survey results. “His final resting place features an epitaph that reads: ‘And away we go!’ — a nod to his famous catchphrase. Fans of classic television and comedy may feel inspired to rest near this entertainment icon.”
Mike Stocker / Sun Sentinel
The late former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula talked about turning 80 in 2010 during an interview at his home. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
- The Miami Dolphins coach, dubbed the NFL’s most winningest, led the team to two consecutive Super Bowl titles in 1973 and 1974. Don Shula retired after the 1995 season and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997. He’s been linked to steakhouses and a hotel, promoted various products and served as the Dolphins’ vice chairman. He died in 2020 at age 90 in Indian Creek in Miami-Dade County and is in the Doral cemetery’s main mausoleum.
CONNIE FRANCIS & XXXTENTACION
The Gardens of Boca Raton Cemetery & Funeral Home
4103 N. Military Trail, Boca Raton
- Connie Francis, the pop singer, actress and Parkland resident who had a slew of hit songs in the 1950s and ’60s, died at age 87 this past July 16. Before her death, the “Where The Boys Are” star enjoyed a resurgence when her 1962 song “Pretty Little Baby” went viral on TikTok. Her crypt is in one of the mausoleums on-site with the inscription: “I think I did OK.”
- XXXTentacion (Jahseh Onfroy), the rapper and singer-songwriter who lived in Parkland, was killed in a shooting after shopping for a motorcycle in Deerfield Beach on June 18, 2018. The Lauderhill-raised 20-year-old had signed a $10 million record contract for his third official release before his murder. He is in a private mausoleum overlooking a pond.
LESLIE NIELSEN
Evergreen Cemetery
1300 SE 10th Ave., Fort Lauderdale
The “Airplane!” and “The Naked Gun” star is still giving us a chuckle nearly 15 years after his death at age 84 in Fort Lauderdale. Known for his flatulence-inspired pranks, the comedic actor’s memorial marker proudly states: “Let ‘er rip.” On the other end is a park bench etched with some of his sage advice: “Sit down whenever you can.”
ROXIE ROKER
Southern Memorial Park
15000 W. Dixie Highway, North Miami
The Miami native saw success on the 1970s-’80s show, “The Jeffersons.” As the character of Helen Willis, she was part of one of the first interracial married couples featured on primetime television. In real life, Roxie Roker was married to TV producer Sy Kravitz, and their son is musician and actor Lenny Kravitz. In 1995, she died at age 66 in Los Angeles. She is buried in East Court 2 alongside her mother, Bessie Roker.
ROCKY MARCIANO
Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens Central
499 NW 27th Ave., Fort Lauderdale
The professional boxer who held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956 is interred in a crypt in this Fort Lauderdale mausoleum, near the statue of a woman in a pool of water. He retired undefeated in 1956. Born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, he died in a small plane crash in 1969 at age 45, one day before his 46th birthday. His wife, Barbara, is entombed next to him.
ESTHER ROLLE
Westview Community Cemetery
1900 W. Copans Road, Pompano Beach
The Pompano Beach native is best known for her role as Florida Evans on the TV series, “Maude,” and its spin-off, “Good Times” (for which she won the 1974 NAACP Eighth Image Award for Best Actress in a Series). Northwest Third Avenue, which runs through her childhood neighborhood, was renamed in her honor. Esther Rolle died in 1998 at age 78 in California. Her gravesite features a diamond-shaped headstone with a rose engraved on it.
JACO PASTORIUS
Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery
1500 S. State Road 7, North Lauderdale
Considered one of the best bassists of all time, Jaco Pastorius was born in Pennsylvania but moved to Broward County in the late 1950s, graduating from Oakland Park’s Northeast High School in 1969. Born John Francis Pastorius III, he became a member of the jazz fusion band Weather Report in the 1970s, and also played with Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, and Blood, Sweat & Tears. He died in 1987 at age 35 from injuries sustained during a fight outside a Wilton Manors nightclub. The city of Oakland Park named Jaco Pastorius Park, 4000 N. Dixie Highway, in his honor. His plot is in Section L of the cemetery.
PERRY COMO, MIKE DOUGLAS, GARY CARTER & CHUCK DALY
Riverside Memorial Park
19351 SE County Line Road, Tequesta
- Perry Como, singer, actor and TV variety show host, died at age 88 in 2001 in Jupiter Inlet Colony. Roselle, his wife of 65 years, is buried alongside him. He recorded songs, including “Papa Loves Mambo” and “Catch a Falling Star,” for RCA Victor for 44 years. He’s also known for starring in numerous Christmas TV specials from 1948 to 1994. He is buried in the Garden of Reflection.
- Mike Douglas, big band singer and entertainer, was host of “The Mike Douglas Show,” a daytime talk show that had a 21-year run. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1976. He died in 2006 at age 81 in Palm Beach Gardens. His crypt is in the Liberty Hall Mausoleum.
- Gary Carter, the Hall of Famer who played most of his 19-year career in Major League Baseball with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets, died in 2012 at age 57 in Palm Beach Gardens. He won the 1986 World Series with the Mets. After his retirement in 1992, he served as an analyst for Florida Marlins television broadcasts and later became head baseball coach at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach in 2009. He is buried in the Reflection 5 section.
- Chuck Daly, the Hall of Fame basketball head coach, died in 2009 at age 78 in Jupiter. His Detroit Pistons team won back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990. He also led the 1992 U.S. Men’s Olympic basketball team, aka the Dream Team, to a gold medal. He also is buried in the Reflection 5 section.
GENEROSO POPE JR. & VIC DAMONE
Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery
10941 Southern Blvd., Royal Palm Beach
- Generoso Pope Jr., the media mogul who transformed The National Enquirer into its successful supermarket tabloid form, died in 1988 at age 61 in Manalapan. He relocated the tabloid’s headquarters from New York to Lantana in 1971. The inscription on his memorial marker in the St. Matthew section reads: “The Man Who Made Millions and Millions of People Happy.”
- Vic Damone, the pop and big band singer who had hits such as “An Affair to Remember” and “On the Street Where You Live,” died in 2018 at age 89 in Miami Beach. He performed in movies and movie musicals, and became a regular guest performer on variety shows. His fifth wife, Rena Rowan Damone, a fashion designer, businesswoman and philanthropist who died 2016 at age 88, is in the crypt alongside him in the mausoleum at the back of the cemetery.
MEYER LANSKY
Mount Nebo Miami Memorial Gardens
5505 NW Third St., Miami
As the “mob’s accountant,” Meyer Lansky helped organize the National Crime Syndicate with his friend, Charles “Lucky” Luciano. He used financial schemes such as money laundering to hide profits and led the expansion of mob-backed casinos in places like Florida, Nevada and Cuba. He served as inspiration for the character Hyman Roth in “The Godfather Part II.” Lansky died in 1983 at age 80 in Miami Beach.
CHARLES WHITMAN
Hillcrest Memorial Park
6411 Parker Ave., West Palm Beach
The Lake Worth Beach native became known as the “Texas Tower Sniper.” On Aug. 1, 1966, the 25-year-old killed his wife and mother before heading to the University of Texas at Austin. There, he randomly shot and killed 14 people and wounded 31 others before he was shot and killed by police.