Coco Chanel
As 1971 began, Chanel was 87 years old, tired, and ailing. She carried out her usual routine of preparing the spring catalogue. She had gone for a long drive the afternoon of Saturday, 9 January. Soon after, feeling ill, she went to bed early. She died on Sunday, 10 January 1971, at the Hotel Ritz, where she had resided for more than 30 years.
Her funeral was held at the Église de la Madeleine; her fashion models occupied the first seats during the ceremony and her coffin was covered with white flowers—camellias, gardenias, orchids, azaleas and a few red roses. She died in her infamous style, announcing: "You see, this is how you die."
Pierre Chenal
Pierre Chenal (; December 5, 1904 – December 23, 1990) was a French director and screenwriter who flourished in the 1930s. He was married from 1937 – 1955 to Florence Marly (2 June 1919 – 9 November 1978), a Czech-born French film actress.
Chenal was best known for film noir thrillers such as the 1937 film "L'Alibi", where he worked with Erich von Stroheim and Louis Jouvet. In 1939 he made "Le Dernier Tournant", the first of many film treatments of James M. Cain's celebrated novel, "The Postman Always Rings Twice".