Mike Steen Delivers The Cold Hard Facts With 'Celebrity Death Certificates'

March 15, 2005 (Santa Monica, CA) - Death is a fact of life, and the famous among us are treated no differently than average citizens when it comes to government record keeping - everyone's exit is commemorated with a death certificate. Mike Steen, a 38-year veteran of the California funeral service industry, spotlights a selection of these documents in his book "Celebrity Death Certificates."

Created as a reference book primarily targeted to libraries by publisher McFarland & Co., "Celebrity Death Certificates" has attracted a significantly wider individual market specifically among Hollywood history buffs since hitting bookshelves in 2003. As a result of its popularity, Steen will publish a second volume later this year.

"Everybody is interested in death when it's not their own family, and everybody is interested in celebrities, so putting the two together is a natural," said Steen who is Cemetery Superintendent for the City of Santa Monica and was dubbed "Funeral Director to the Stars" by GQ magazine during his extensive tenure at Westwood Village Mortuary and Memorial Park whose first famous permanent resident was Marilyn Monroe.

The 8-1/2 x 11 softcover book offers a unique reading experience for even the most well-read entertainment fan, with 182 pages of actual death certificates and amendments containing a plethora of Who, What, Why, When, Where and How details about the deceased.

Brief biographical sketches with information essential for interpreting the corresponding certificates are located in a separate section, but as the book's preface suggests, the intriguing documents stand alone due to their ability to encapsulate a person's life on one page.

The roster of talent featured includes a mix of Silent Era, Golden Age and more contemporary film stars, television icons, famous writers, musicians and other newsmakers like Bonny Lee Bakley, the wife of actor Robert Blake who is currently on trial for her murder and awaiting the jury's verdict.