Alexander Godunov

[Meliss]

I know that there are two cenotaphs - one in Moscow, the other in Los Angeles. The Moscow Cenotaph is located at the Vvedenskoye Cemetery next to the grave of Alexander's beloved mentor at the Bolshoi Theater, the outstanding ballet dancer and teacher Alexei Ermolaev. I don't know anything about the second cenotaph. Does anyone know anything? 

[Mashinka]

17 minutes ago, Meliss said:

the other in Los Angeles

Have you tried findagrave.com?

[Meliss]

50 minutes ago, Mashinka said:

Have you tried findagrave.com?

https://www.foundagrave.com/grave/alexander-godunov/

That is all. No information about the cenotaph.

[Helene]

According to the link, he was cremated , and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific.  Typically,you'd find a marker in a cemetery in the US if a person's ashes were buried, although some family plots or crypts might have a marker for a family member who wasn't actually buried there. Neither applied to Godunov in LA.

 

[Meliss]

20 hours ago, Helene said:

According to the link, he was cremated , and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific.  Typically,you'd find a marker in a cemetery in the US if a person's ashes were buried, although some family plots or crypts might have a marker for a family member who wasn't actually buried there. Neither applied to Godunov in LA.

 

Does this mean that there is not his cenotaph in Los Angeles? But in our press, even the words on it are quoted: "His future remained in the past"

[Mashinka]

In British English the word cenotaph indicates an empty tomb, it may mean something subtly different in America and therefore a mistake in translation into Russian.  If a memorial of some kind existed I would have thought there would be evidence of it on line.

[Helene]

If there was a cenotaph, it would be in cemetery records. Itwould be highly unlikely in the US, since didn’t have a family tomb or plot here where he may have had a plaque or monument.  

Chances are that if there was a “Alexander Godunov lived here” plaque on a building, there was a plaque in a theater/performing arts center, someone made a major donation in his memory that was big enough to warrant inclusion in a public display (usually on a donor wall), or some other public recognition, it would be findable on the Internet.  

[Meliss]

"One of the two cenotaphs dedicated to the memory of Alexander Godunov, a Soviet and American ballet dancer and film actor, is installed at the Vvedenskoye cemetery. After his death at the age of 45, in 1995, his ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean, and memorials appeared in Los Angeles and Moscow. The epitaph on the first reads: "His future remained in the past" ("His future is in the past"), and on the second: "You are always with us."  https://ritual.by/articles/kenotafy-londona-florentsii-moskvy-i-belarusi/

[Meliss]

"Godunov was cremated and his ashes scattered into the Pacific Ocean. A memorial to him at Gates Mortuary in Los Angeles is engraved with the epitaph "His future remained in the past".

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Godunov

[Meliss]

On 7/7/2024 at 6:41 PM, Helene said:

If there was a cenotaph, it would be in cemetery records.

Gates, Kingsley & Gates Praiswater Mortuary - I think it's a funeral company, not a cemetery. A strange Wikipedia entry. 

Perhaps this company always organizes funerals in the same cemetery? It is located in Canoga Park.

[Helene]

4 hours ago, Meliss said:

Gates, Kingsley & Gates Praiswater Mortuary - I think it's a funeral company, not a cemetery. A strange Wikipedia entry. 

Perhaps this company always organizes funerals in the same cemetery? It is located in Canoga Park.

Wikipedia entries are as good as the people writing them: it's all voluntary.  The people who manage the site have been flagging stories that "need citation," like this one, and they can remove the article if they feel it isn't properly substantiated.  In this case, you are lucky that they didn't, and that a clue exists to pursue it further.

A mortuary can be a place where people are buried, but, more typically, that is the business that prepares a body for burial or perform cremations, and they usually have a funeral home, where a service or gathering might be held, before the ashes are scattered or before they or the body is buried. 

Some funeral homes have memorial plaques or books in their public space on the walls, if paid for as part of their services..  The article says, "A memorial to him at Gates Mortuary in Los Angeles is engraved with the epitaph "His future remained in the past."[citation needed]", and there may be a plaque there.  The mortuary website has a contact form, and you could choose "General Inquiry" and ask them.  They might tell you that information is wrong/is no longer true, they might be able to give you a lead, or they might not answer, but you'd have nothing to lose by asking.

[Meliss]

3 hours ago, Helene said:

The article says, "A memorial to him at Gates Mortuary в Лос-Анджелесе выгравирована эпитафия "Его будущее осталось в прошлом".[необходима цитата]", и там может быть мемориальная доска. На website has a contact form, and you could choose "General Inquiry" and ask them. 

Thank you very much. I tried to do it, but I couldn't ask a question. An inscription appeared - "Sorry, you are blocked. You cannot access the site."

[Drew]

Deleted

 

Edited July 22 by Drew
Posted in wrong thread-meant for Dancer discussion—

[lmspear]

On 7/10/2024 at 1:57 AM, Meliss said:

Thank you very much. I tried to do it, but I couldn't ask a question. An inscription appeared - "Sorry, you are blocked. You cannot access the site."

You may have to resort to an older method, mail or phone.  The address and phone number should be available on the website.

[Meliss]

On 7/22/2024 at 3:25 PM, lmspear said:

You may have to resort to an older method, mail or phone.  The address and phone number should be available on the website.

Thank you.