Macpherson, Elle

Treated in Wickenburg

Elle Macpherson, 2009. Photo by Manfred Werner / Tsui .

(Eleanor Nancy Gow, 1963.03.29-    )  Model, actor.

Supermodel Elle Macpherson reportedly spent a month at The Meadows in Wickenburg for treatment of post-natal depression following the birth of her second child, a son named Aurelius Cy Andre, in February 2003.

Majors, Lee

Had a home on the shores of Lake Mead

Lee Majors, 2008. Photo by dalekhelen .

(Harvey Lee Yeary, 1939.04.23-    )  Actor.

The bionic man from the Six Million Dollar Man (1974-1978) and various revisits to the Steve Austin character had a home on the shores of Lake Mead.

Make-A-Wish Foundation®

Formed in Phoenix

(1980.10.00-    )  Charitable Foundation.

For much of his short life 7 year old Chris Geicius had dreamed of becoming a police officer.  On April 19, 1980, Chris got his wish and became the first and only Honorary State Trooper in the history of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.  He was outfitted in his own police uniform, flew in a helicopter and rode in a patrol car.  He even got to write tickets for jaywalking pedestrians.  When his official duties end, he was quoted as saying, "This has been the best day of my life."

Just five days later, leukemia took his life.  He was given a police funeral with full honors, and was buried in his police uniform.

Chris had his wish granted because of a few warm hearted Arizona DPS officers who learned of Chris' illness and his dream.  The reaction to this first wish lead to the granting of other wishes to critically ill children, and to the formation of the non-profit Make-A-Wish Foundation in October, 1980.  The original wish grantors included DPS public information director Alan Schmidt, and Grace LaScala, a teacher at Greenway High School.  Initially intended to serve only the Phoenix area, the organization grew rapidly as people all across the country asked how they could help terminally ill children around the nation realize their wishes.

Martin, Tony

Married in Yuma

Tony Martin in Till the Clouds Roll By, 1946.

(Alvin Morris, 1913.12.25-    )  Singer, actor.

Rising star Tony Martin married starlet Alice Faye in Yuma following a short plane trip from Los Angeles on September 4, 1937.  They were divorced within 3 years.  He married dancer Cyd Charisse in 1948, to whom he was still married when she died in 2008.

Martinez, Frank

Lived in Phoenix where he slept with his dead wife for 11 years

(Frank Alvarado Martinez, c. 1931.00.00-    )  Proofreader for the Los Angeles Times.

On the morning of Wednesday, June 10, 1998, 67 year old Frank Alvarado Martinez entered the Whataburger fast food restaurant across the street from the trailer park where he lived since 1985. He proceeded to the restroom at the back of the restaurant and locked the door behind him.

Marvin, Lee

Lived in Catalina Mountains outside Tucson

Died in Tucson

(1924.02.19-1987.08.29)  Actor.

Lee Marvin in the movie Attack, 1956.

A perennial tough guy, Lee Marvin appeared in more than 70 films between 1951and 1986.  He began playing heavies and cops, and became a star as a villain in movies like Eight Iron Men (1952), The Big Heat (1953) and The Wild One (1954).  He broadened his roles becoming a police detective in the TV series M Squad (1957-1969), and won an Oscar for a dual role as a drunken gunfighter and his evil brother in the Western comedy Cat Ballou (1965).  He followed this triumph with an unfortunate appearance in the musical Paint Your Wagon (1969).

In 1979, Lee was sued by his girlfriend of six years for $1.5 million in support after their separation.  The landmark case established the right of live-in companions to support, but Michelle Triola was awarded only $104,000.  Michelle later moved in with former Cave Creek resident, Dick Van Dyke.

By the time of the palimony suit, Lee had married Pamela Feeley, a sweetheart from his past.  When Lee was 21 and fresh out of the Marine Corps following World War II, he had dated Pamela in their hometown of Woodstock, N.H.  Pamela was six years his junior and still in high school.  Lee left his hometown and his girlfriend to pursue an acting career.

In 1970 Pamela was visiting California where Lee lived.  The romance was rekindled after Lee learned of her visit and invited her to dinner.  On October 18, 1970, they were married.  In 1971, Pamela made her first trip to Arizona when she accompanied her husband to the location where he and co-star Paul Newman were filming Pocket Money (1972).  Pamela fell in love with Arizona, and in 1975 the couple purchased a home in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains outside Tucson.  The home was designed by Tucson's most recognizable architect, Josias Joesler.

Lee Marvin suffered a heart attack and died in Tucson in 1987.  A Marine in World War II and wounded at the Battle of Saipan in 1944 in the South Pacific, Marvin was buried with fellow veterans in Arlington National Cemetery.

Mauldin, Bill

Lived in Phoenix

Graduated from Phoenix Union High School

(1929.10.29-2003.01.22)  Cartoonist, writer.

Willie and Joe were the cartoon embodiment of the American infantry soldier in Europe during World War II.  They made their first appearance in Stars and Stripes, a publication produced by and for servicemen.  Unlike General Patton, GIs loved the irreverent characters and Willie made the cover of Time magazine. 

Mayer, Louis B.

Married in Yuma

Louis B. Mayer in 1953.

(Ezemiel Mayer, 1885.07.04-1957.10.29)  Movie magnate (the last M in MGM).

Movie magnate Louis B. Mayer and his intended, Lorena L. Danker, traveled to Yuma in December, 1948 to be married.  They intended to keep the wedding quiet, but the press got word of the event and followed them to their lodgings at the Coronado Motel at 233 S. Fourth Avenue.  The marriage, Mayer's second, lasted until his death.

McCain, John

Lived in Tempe

Lives in Phoenix

McCartney, Linda

Attended University of Arizona

Lived in Catalina Mountains outside Tucson

Died at her Catalina Mountain ranch

(Linda Louise Eastman, 1941.09.24-1998.03.17)  Photographer, singer, composer, wife of Beatle Paul McCartney.

Linda McCartney behind Paul, performing with Wings in 1976. Photo by Jim Summaria .

Linda was born in New York City.  She attended the University of Arizona, studying art history and geology.  Her first husband, geophysicist John Melvin See, still lives in Tucson.  In 1967, after her divorce, she went to London where she became known for her photographs of rock celebrities.  In 1968, one of her subjects was Beatle Paul McCartney.  A year later they were married.

In 1979, Linda and Paul purchased a 150 acre ranch in the Catalina Mountains east of Tucson.  There the couple and their children found the privacy that eluded them in more metropolitan areas.  A neighbor reported that the McCartneys typically resided in their tin roofed, sand colored stucco home in the spring and fall.  The neighbors, used to celebrity residents like Robert Mitchum and Lee Marvin, treated them like any other resident.

The couple's devotion to each other was apparent even in the tabloids.  During their nearly 30 year marriage, they were apart only 11 days--while Paul was in jail in Japan on pot charges.

When Linda's breast cancer was in its terminal stage, the couple returned to the ranch where she died in 1998.

McDonald Brothers

Built first McDonald's franchised restaurant with Golden Arches in Phoenix

(Richard "Dick" McDonald, c.1909-1998.07.14, and Maurice "Mac" McDonald,     -1971)  Originators of the Speedy Service System and McDonald's restaurants.

Contrary to popular belief, the first McDonald's franchise, and the first McDonald's to feature the infamous golden arches was located not in California, nor in Illinois. It was built right here in Phoenix, two years before Ray Kroc met the McDonald brothers. 

McFarlane, Todd

Lives in Phoenix (Ahwatukee)

(1961.03.16-    )  Cartoon artist, redesigner of Spider-Man, creator of Spawn.

An emigrant from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Todd is famous in comic circles for the drastic redesign of Spider-Man and other characters, and for the creation of the comic super-hero, Spawn.

McGreevey, James

Treated in Wickenburg

(1957.08.06-    )  First openly gay governor in the US.

The twice-married, father of two who resigned as governor of New Jersey (2002-2004) when a sexual harassment lawsuit outed his  "adult consensual affair with another man" received a month long treatment at The Meadows in Wickenburg shortly after he resigned as governor, but before he took up housekeeping with Australian-American executive, Mark O'Donnell.

McVeigh, Timothy

Lived in Kingman

(1968-2001.06.11)  Terrorist.

This country's most notorious home grown terrorist took up residence in Kingman, Arizona, where he plotted to blow up the federal building in Oklahoma City. And, blow it up, he did.  On Wednesday, April 19, 1995 McVeigh parked a rented Ryder truck packed with 7,000 pounds of explosive in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.  McVeigh walked way from the truck, and at 9:02 AM the truck exploded destroying the front of the building and killing 168 people including 19 children. 

Means, Russell

Lived in Chinle

Treated in Tucson

(1939.11.10-    )  Indian activist, actor.

Russell Means is the Oglala/Lakota Sioux Indian that came to national attention in 1972 from his role as national director of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in a standoff with the US government at Wounded Knee. 

Mercer, Jacque

Lived outside Litchfield

Graduated from Arizona State University

(1931.02.02-1982)  Miss America, 1949.

Raised on the X-Bar-X ranch outside Litchfield, Jacque was the last Miss America not born in a hospital.  She would also be the last Miss America to hold the title after getting married.  Learning from her brief, unhappy marriage, she urged pageant officials to amend the rules so that Miss America would not be permitted marry and continue to hold the title.

 Jacque returned to Arizona where she graduated from Arizona State University, then  taught school.  She married fellow Arizona State student Dick Curran.  He would become an All-American Football Player and be drafted by the Green Bay Packers 1953.  Later he became advertising executive. They had two children.

Mikan, George

Lived in Scottsdale

Died in Scottsdale

(1924.06.18-2005.06.01)  The first really big guy in professional basketball.

George Mikan (right), 1944.

In college George Mikan demonstrated how much more adeptly a 6'10" player can put a 9" ball through an 18" hoop mounted 10' above the floor than players a foot or so closer to the ground.  Playing professionally for the Chicago Gears (1946-7) and the Minneapolis Lakers (1948-1956), he became the game's first superstar.

The superstar moved to Scottsdale around 2000. He died just days short of his 81st birthday at the Life Care Center of Scottsdale following a struggle with diabetes and kidney ailments.

Miles, Sarah

Witness at a coroner's inquest

Sarah Miles, 1966.

(1941.12.31-    )  Actor.

When Sarah Miles was filming the movie The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973) near Gila Bend, she became fodder for the tabloids when her younger paramour was found dead in the motel room they shared.

Miller, Ann

Lived in Sedona

(1923.03.12-2004.01.22)  Dancer, singer, actress.

Ann Miller in Small Town Girl, 1953.

Ann Miller danced her way to stardom and in retirement became a halftime resident of Sedona.  As a spiritualist who dabbled in psychic phenomena and astrology--she believed that she was Queen Hathshepsut of Egypt in a former life--she was well suited for a community situated in a spiritual vortex.  In 1998, the water pipes in her Sedona home burst flooding the downstairs which was filled with priceless antiques.  Her Spanish style mansion in Beverly Hills suffered no such indignity.

Mingus, Charlie

Born in Nogales

Charlie Mingus, 1976. Photo by Tom Marcello .

(Charles Mingus, 1922.04.22-1979.01.05)  Musician, singer, composer, band leader, actor.

Charlie Mingus was a famous jazz musician who appeared as himself in five movies and one TV mini series, most of which were about his life.  In 1995, he was featured in a U.S. commemorative stamp on Jazz Musicians.

He was born in Nogales, Arizona, but grew up in the Los Angeles district of Watts.  He played his last concert in Phoenix, Arizona just before diagnosis of the illness which claimed his life.  Like Arizona's Governor Osborn, he suffered from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, most commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease).  His ashes were scattered in the Ganges River, India.

Miranda, Ernesto

Lived in Mesa

Arrested in Phoenix

Died in Phoenix

(1941.03.09-1976.01.31)  Rapist.

For nearly 40 years police have been reading suspects their rights because of a landmark 1966 United States Supreme Court case, Miranda v. Arizona.  That case had its origins in an interrogation room of the Phoenix Police Department. 

Mitchum, Robert

Had a home near Scottsdale

Robert Mitchum in The Sundowners, 1960.

(Robert Charles Durman Mitchum, 1917.08.06-1997.07.01)  Actor.

In addition to his home in Montecito, California, where he died, Mitchum had a home near Scottsdale, and was a frequent visitor to Tucson.

Mix, Tom

Married in Yuma

Died outside Florence

(Thomas E. Mix, 1880.01.06-1940.10.11)  Actor, rodeo and circus performer.

Tom Mix was a huge star of silent movie Westerns.  He appeared in 336 feature films, directing 117 of them.  For filming many of  his movies he returned to the Prescott area where had won the National Rodeo Championship at the Frontier Days Rodeo in 1909.  After the advent of talking movies, he appeared in only nine features, and he moved on to appearances in rodeos and circuses. Mix was a pioneer of the action movie, keeping himself in top physical condition and performing his own dare-devil stunts. 

Moran, Lois

Lived in Sedona

Died in Sedona

(Lois Darlington Dowling, 1909.03.01-1990.07.13)  Actor.

Lois Moran, 1932.

The movie Transatlantic (1931) was the feature at the grand opening of the Phoenix Fox Theater on July 30, 1931.  It starred the Irish beauty Lois Moran in one of her last screen roles.  Her prolific though brief screen career was followed with greater fame came as the inspiration for F. Scott Fitzgerald's character "Rosemary" in his novel, Tender is the Night.  The two had an affair when the he was a screenwriter in Hollywood.

In 1935, after conquering Broadway in two lead singing roles, she retired from acting and married the much older Clarence M. Young, who had been the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics in the Hoover administration (1929-1933).

The couple moved to Sedona in 1968 where she wrote a column for the Red Rock News.

Morrison, Jim

Arrested at Sky Harbor

(James Douglas Morrison, 1943.12.08-1971.07.03)  Singer, musician.

The legendary rock singer and co-founder of The Doors had a life style which might be described as, to borrow a term from Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, "irrationally exuberant." Fueled with liberal doses of alcohol and drugs, Morrison managed to light quite a few fires, onstage and off.  In 1967, he was arrested onstage in New Haven, Connecticut for attempting to incite a riot.  After a 1969 Miami, Florida concert, he was arrested for exposing himself and using profanity.

Moss, Kate

Treated for cocaine abuse in Wickenburg

(Katherine Moss, 1974.01.16-    )  Supermodel.

Kate Moss, 2005. Photo by Deon Maritz .

The pictures of supermodel Kate Moss that the London tabloid Daily Mirror published on September 15, 2005, did nothing good for her career.  Kate, who was reportedly was discovered by Sarah Doukas of the Storm Agency at New York's JFK International Airport when she was mere 14 years old, has been no stranger to controversy.

In her early career, her concentration-camp thinness was cause for controversy.  Then there was her willingness to appear nude, and rumors of drug use.  In spite of the controversy, or perhaps partly because of it, Kate's career surged and she became recognized as one of the world's top 5 models.  Her look, described by some as "heroin chic," propelled her to being named spokesmodel for such major fashion names as Chanel, Narciso Rodriguez, Cerruti, Banana Republic, Versace, Yves Saint-Laurent, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Celine.  She dated actor Billy Zane, and was engaged to actor Johnny Depp.  Two of her earlier boyfriends, boyfriends Mario Sorrenti and River Phoenix died of drug overdoses.

The Daily Mirror pictures were devastating to Kate's career not because they were unflattering (which they were), but because of what they show her doing.  They show her snorting line after line of cocaine at a West London recording studio, as she chats with her lover Pete Doherty and friends.

As good as hints of illicit drug use may be for one's early career, photographic evidence of flagrant use of class A drugs just says no to an established career.  Kate's contracts were dropped like hot potatoes.  Within a few days after the photos were published, the Swedish fashion retailer H&M announced that they would be dropping Kate, and the next day Burberry and Chanel followed suit.

Like other misbehaving celebrities, Kate looked to the cowboy town of Wickenburg to stem the tide of adverse reaction to her addiction.  By the end of September, Kate had reportedly checked into The Meadows in Wickenburg, where her name will be added to the list of Meadows alumnae like Eric Benét, and Ellie Macpherson.

Muniz, Frankie

Lives in Scottsdale

Frankie Muniz, 2007. Photo by Eliot Phillips .

(Francisco James Muniz, IV, 1985.12.05-    )  Actor, musician, and racecar driver.

The little boy that played Malcom in the Fox network's Malcom in the Middle (2000-2006) grew up to become a Scottsdale resident.

Murphy, Audie

Had a ranch near Tucson

(Audie Leon Murphy, 1924.06.24-1971.05.28)  Nation's most decorated soldier, actor, author.

Audie Murphy, c. 1946.

The son of poor Texas sharecroppers became the most decorated soldier of World War II, receiving 33 awards including the Congressional Medal of Honor and every other medal of valor the country had to offer, and 5 decorations from France and Belgium.   

At the end of the war, the boyish soft-spoken soldier turned to acting, eventually staring in the movie of his autobiography, To Hell and Back (1955).  That movie was the highest grossing movie Universal had ever made and remained so until the release of Jaws two decades later.  Murphy appeared in a total of 44 feature films

Besides acting--or perhaps because of his success in acting--he became a successful thoroughbred and quarter horse breeder.  He owned several ranches, including one outside of Tucson.

Mustaine, Dave

Lives in Scottsdale

When we last checked, MegaDeth was alive on the web at least, at their web site, www.megadetharizona.com.  Courtesy of megadetharizona.com.

(David Scott Mustaine, 1961.09.13-    )  Musician.

"Dangerous Dave" Mustaine played guitar for the metal band "Metallica" but before they were successful, he was thrown out because of his wild drinking. Not deterred, and possibly more sober, in 1983 he founded his own group, MegaDeth, in which he was a guitarist and lead singer.

In 2002 an injury to Dave Mustaine's left arm and hand resulted in the band's disbandment.