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SelfieCity (talk | contribs) →1954–1955: Illness and death: clarify |
SelfieCity (talk | contribs) →1954–1955: Illness and death: add citations. Parker did not receive a lying in state as he was not a government official. It was just a public service at the church. Also Gitler has some notable points about Parker's death, but they are inconclusive |
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Since 1950, Parker had been living in New York City with his [[Common-law marriage|common-law wife]], [[Chan Parker|Chan Berg]], the mother of his son, Baird (1952–2014),<ref>[http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20140330_Charles_Baird_Parker__61__son_of_jazz_great.html Charles Baird Parker 61 Son of Jazz Great]. ''[[Philly.com]]''. Retrieved June 29, 2016.</ref> and his daughter, Pree (who died at age 3).<ref name="Pree" /> He considered Chan his wife, although he never married her; nor did he divorce his previous wife, Doris, whom he had married in 1948.<ref name=":2" />
The death of Parker's daughter Pree from pneumonia in 1954 devastated him and, after being fired from Birdland in September of that year, he attempted to commit suicide. He was hospitalized and made a partial recovery by early 1955 before his health declined again in March.<ref name=":2" /> Parker's last gig on March 4 at Birdland ended when Powell refused to play in his group and the performance spiraled into an argument among the musicians. Parker became drunk and a few days later visited the suite of [[Pannonica de Koenigswarter|Baroness Pannonica]] at the [[Stanhope Hotel]] in New York City in ill health. He refused to go to hospital and died on March 12, 1955 while watching [[The Dorsey Brothers]]' ''[[Stage Show (TV series)|Stage Show]]'' on television. The official causes of death were [[lobar pneumonia]] and a [[perforated ulcer|bleeding ulcer]], but Parker also had advanced [[cirrhosis]] and had suffered a heart attack and a seizure. The coroner who performed his autopsy mistakenly estimated Parker's 34-year-old body to be between 50 and 60 years of age.{{sfn|Reisner|1977|p=133}}{{sfn|Gitler|1966|pp=
The details surrounding Parker's death were controversial. Doris Parker claimed that she, Parker's mother, and [[Art Blakey]] were aware of Parker's death before March 14, when Pannonica claimed she first revealed the news on a phone call to Chan. Pannonica, however, visited a nightclub on March 13, the day after Parker died at her apartment but before she informed Chan of Parker's death. Further, newspapers incorrectly reported Parker's age as 53 when he died, and Parker's tombstone incorrectly claimed that he died on March 23.{{sfn|Gitler|1966|pp=|p=55}}
Parker's marital status complicated the settling of Parker's estate and would ultimately serve to frustrate his wish to be quietly interred in New York City.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} [[Dizzy Gillespie]] paid for the funeral arrangements<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/jazz/about/pdfs/Parker.pdf |title=Ken Burns interviews Chan Parker|website=Pbs.org |access-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref> and organized a lying-in-state{{huh|date=March 2024}}, a Harlem procession officiated by Congressman and Reverend [[Adam Clayton Powell Jr.]], as well as a memorial concert. Parker's body was flown back to Missouri, in accordance with his mother's wishes. Berg criticized Doris and Parker's family for giving him a Christian funeral, even though they knew he was an [[Atheism|atheist]].{{sfn|Russell|1973|p=361}} Parker was buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Missouri, in a hamlet known as [[Blue Summit, Missouri|Blue Summit]], located close to I-435 and East Truman Road.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}▼
▲Parker's marital status complicated the settling of Parker's estate and
Some amount of controversy continued after Parker's burial in the Kansas City area. His tomb was engraved with the image of a tenor saxophone, though Parker is primarily associated with the alto saxophone. Later, some people wanted to move Parker's remains to reinforce redevelopment of the historic 18th and Vine area.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 18, 1998 |title=Bird Brouhaha, or the Grave Situation of Charlie Parker |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-dec-18-ca-55128-story.html |access-date=December 24, 2020 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>
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