Post by Patricia Kelly

I'd say this is a heady group of pallbearers! From left to right: Gregory Peck, Rod Stewart, Richard Harris, and Gene. They are lined up for the funeral of their friend, actor David Janssen of The Fugitive fame. Janssen, who was born David Harold Meyer in 1931 in Naponee, Nebraska died of a heart attack in Feb. 1980 at the young age of 48. I never got to meet Harris or Stewart (though I was near Stewart the other night when I drove past the Hollywood Bowl where he was appearing and I was surrounded by kids hawking T-shirts with his image). Gene and I often saw Greg and Veronique Peck. The were in the circle of regulars. Once, when they invited us to a dinner at their home in honor of the ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, I encouraged Greg to get his Irish citizenship as I had just done it for Gene. Like Gene, Greg was proud of his Irish roots. I wish I'd known then that they shared the name "Curran" in their lineage. Greg's paternal grandmother, Catherine Ashe, emigrated to the US from Dingle, County Kerry. When Greg traveled to Ireland in 1968, he visited his cousins who carried the last name "Curran." Gene's maternal grandfather was William Curran. With Richard Harris born in Limerick, Ireland, Janssen had quite an Irish contingent to see him off. #genekelly #genekellylegacy #davidjanssen #gregorypeck #richardharris #rodstewart