MIKE GRACIA

On February 27, 1980, the long-lost glasses of rock legend 
Buddy Holly, who died in the deadly plane crash in 1959,
were found—filed away in an envelope in a court clerk’s
office.

When the Beechcraft Bonanza carrying Buddy Holly,
Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper crashed outside
Clear Lake, Iowa, in the early morning hours of
February 3, 1959, it struck the ground with such
force that all three passengers were killed instantly,
and the plane’s wreckage was strewn across nearly
300 yards of snow-covered cornfields.

The death certificate issued by the Cerro Gordo County
Coroner noted the clothing Holly was wearing, the
presence of a leather suitcase near his body and the
following personal effects:

Charles Holley

Cash $193.00 less $11.65 coroner’s fees – $181.35

2 Cuff links, silver 1/2 in. balls having jeweled band

Top portion of ball point pen

Notably missing from the list were Holly’s signature
eyeglasses, the most distinctive visual legacy of a
man who influenced the sound and style of rock and
roll immeasurably.

Rising American rock stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P.
“The Big Bopper” Richardson, along with the pilot, were killed
when their chartered Beechcraft Bonanza plane crashed in
Iowa a few minutes after takeoff from Mason City on a flight
headed for Moorhead, Minnesota. Investigators blamed the
crash on bad weather and pilot error.

Pictured above is a Beechcraft Bonanza similar to the one
chartered for the flight.  

Memorial at crash site, 2024.

                   
CARLATA BRADLEY

ED DANAHUE

Jane Fonda with father Henry Fonda.

Actress, activist and fitness guru Jane Fonda, known for
her roles in films like "Klute," "Barbarella" and "9 to 5."
is 88 years young today.