Yes, even in the 1960s. I had a Gladstone bag during my high school years 1959 - 1964 (and from memory so did most of the other boys at Swan Hill High).
RIP to both of them.
Incidentally one sentence in the text is a bit strange.
'Her death struck a poignant chord with her fans worldwide and even her closest family and friends'.
It makes it sound as though it was odd that their deaths affected their friends and family.