This is a long one.

It’s the beginning of a new year. Some people are sad. Others are still hopeful. Most have already failed on their new diet and exercise plans. But we’re entering a New Year / Decade and I hope yours will be safe and sane. Or at least safe. I say without exaggeration that 2019 was probably the biggest and most transformative year yet for Dearly Departed. So many opportunities. So many changes.

We kicked off the year with a birthday party for Sharon Tate. We had a full house at the shop who sang “Happy Birthday” and ate cupcakes in her honor. In a way, this set a theme for the year. It was the 50^th anniversary of the Tate / LaBianca murders and we did all that we could to acknowledge the historic event in the best possible light.

Sharon's sister Debra decided it was time to sell her sister's most personal belongings to the highest bidder, so we purchased Sharon's underwear and eyelashes. We've never been accused of being classy, so why draw a line at drawers?

My work on The Movie (oh, didn't you hear?) not only generated a lot of attention to the murders, but also brought some attention to myself and the business. It was a positive experience for Dearly Departed Tours and I got to talk about not just the facts of the case, but my love for Los Angeles and history in general. (Congratulations to The Movie on the Golden Globe wins and the Academy Award nominations!)

In May we hosted another birthday party, this one to celebrate pianist and entertainer Liberace, who would have turned 100 years old in 2019. Everyone had a ball dressing up in their sequined excess (some of us swore we would never ever do it again), but no regrets. Mr. Showbusiness paved the way for a lot of people and we love him!

Our Dearly Departed Weekend centered around the summer of 1969. On August 8, about 60 people from all over the world gathered at El Coyote in honor of Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger and Voytek Frykowski, although we had photos of all the victims at the event. Vanessa Verdugo, who has done more research on Abigail Folger than anyone and produced a one woman show about her, gave a presentation.

On August 9, we hosted a special one-off tour of Los Angeles in 1969 and had lunch at the Rainbow on the Sunset Strip. That evening, we also had a huge party at Raleigh Studios. To keep the evening lighthearted, the theme was Valley of the Dolls. It was a huge success! We went all out to make it look like 1960s glam.

We also had some guest speakers, including our good friend Jill Marie Morris, who did a comedy routine and gave a few psychic readings. Our keynote speaker was Sharon Barker Groves, who was Sharon Tate’s double in Don’t Make Waves. She had the audience hanging on every word with her stories from the set and then people lined up to speak with her. She could not have been more gracious.

A lot of these events would not have come about if it weren't for Elisa Jordan of LA Woman Tours. Elisa is largely responsible for this years Dearly Departed Weekend, several events at the shop and these newsletters. I would never initialize doing these things. I'm too lazy. Elisa is a real cheerleader and go-getter. The 60's tour? Elisa. The Rainbow? Elisa. Liberace party? Elisa's idea. Sharon Tate's birthday? Elisa. Sure, I was along to hog the attention, but Elisa really put her heart into making it enjoyable for everyone. Hat's off. It's been a pleasure to work with Elisa. I am so grateful.

As many of you know, Mike Dorsey and I put a lot of effort into the Dearly Departed Podcast. These episodes are a true labor of love. It's A Wonderful Life, Gilligan's Island, Disney, Poltergeist, The Addams Family... we've hit a lot of weird subjects. A lot of work goes into them so it’s gratifying to hear that you’ve been listening and giving us compliments. We’re working on more episodes so continue to stay tuned and thank you again for the support with the podcast. Soon... Woodstock!

My God, the PRESS. The Jayne Mansfield car appeared on Mysteries at the Museum on the Travel Channel. I was on it too, but it was to talk about Jayne and car. They’re the real stars. I was also on The Doctors to talk about why people have an interest in the dark of life, especially Hollywood. Jordan the Lion, the famous vlogger, profiled me and even did a couple of tours with Dearly Departed. He’s become a great friend and I appreciate his support. I did some public speaking, including the Valley Relics Museum and the Whittier Public Library. Finally, we did a couple of special tours with Vicky Hamilton, the original manager of Guns ‘N Roses.

We hosted a number of events at the shop last year. Like I mentioned above, we started that with Sharon’s birthday party but we also had a Rocky Horror Picture Show presentation, a book signing for The Show Won’t Go On and Hollywood Ever After with Jill Marie Morris.

Oh yeah. And Dave Navarro, legendary guitarist for Jane’s Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and host of Ink Master, tagged our shop (along with artist Meg Zany) just in time for Halloween. It was the Hitchhiking Ghosts from the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. Our landlords accused us of doing it (we’re flattered they thought we were capable) and then made us paint over the ghosts. We loved them while they were here!

As many of you know, we are in a year of transition for Dearly Departed Tours. Big changes are coming for 2020. The museum is closing down, but we're still going to offering tours. It's going to free up time to do a lot of other projects that have been on the back retort for quite a while.