Welcome to Hollywood Graveyard where we
set out to remember and celebrate the
lives of those who lived to entertain us,
by visiting their final resting places.
Today we're exploring Forest Lawn Memorial
Park in Glendale, where we'll find such
stars as Walt Disney, Clara Bow,
Sammy Davis Jr., and many more.
Join us, won't you?
Forest Lawn Glendale is the granddaddy
of all cemeteries in Los Angeles.
Spanning 300 acres worth over a quarter
of a million internments this cemetery is
massive. It was founded in 1906 and a few
years later acquired by Dr. Hubert Eaton
whose vision was of a cemetery that was
devoid of signs of earthly death, and
filled with beauty and serenity.
He devised the term Memorial Park to give
a more positive connotation than the word "cemetery."
On the grounds are several
halls and chapels, and two mausoleums
including the majestic Great Mausoleum
which Time magazine once called the New
World's Westminster Abbey. There's also a
museum which regularly hosts fine art
exhibits. But this entire cemetery could
be considered a museum with the quality
and quantity of art that is found here,
including exact replicas and many
Renaissance masterpieces, such as
Michelangelo's David, and the Pieta.
But the crown jewel is surely the
Last Supper window - a 30-foot stained-glass
depiction of da Vinci's Last Supper.
I'm afraid this video just doesn't do it
justice. This window is truly breathtaking.
As with the Hollywood Hills
location we'll be breaking this tour up
into three parts due to its sheer size.
For this first part we'll be in the
eastern section of the cemetery, in an
area known as the Court of Freedom.
Similar to the Courts of Liberty at the
Hollywood location this area is devoted
to American heritage and patriotism.
We'll begin our tour at the
Freedom Mausoleum on the east side.
As we approach the mausoleum our first
stop will actually be just outside the
entrance in a small garden to the north.
Here is a man who needs no introduction:
Walt Disney.
No name has become more
synonymous of family entertainment than
Disney. Young Walt started his own
animation company Laugh-O-Gram in his
hometown of Kansas City before moving
out to Los Angeles start Disney Bros Studios.
There he produced a series of
live-action/animated hybrid shorts
called the Alice Comedies. Their breakout
came in 1928 when they introduced a new
character to the world: Mickey Mouse, in a
short called "Steamboat Willie," in which audiences
saw sound synced with a cartoon for the
first time.
In the years that followed he
produced the first cell animated feature
film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,"
and brought the world Disneyland.
Contrary to urban legend
Walt was not cryogenically frozen. He was
cremated, his ashes interred in this garden.
Let's head into the mausoleum now
to the first corridor on the right, the
Sanctuary of Heritage. Here we'll find
a handfull of stars.
On the wall to the right
is Hollywood "it girl" Clara Bow, who was
the quintessential flapper of the
Roaring Twenties and is considered the
leading sex symbol of the era.
She starred in the 1927 film "It," which earned
her the moniker "the it girl."
[music]
Just above Clara is Alan Ladd, an actor
who rose to prominence in the 1940s
particularly with his role as Raven in
the film "This Gun for Hire." His performance
made him a star and cemented his status
at the ultimate tough guy in gangster,
noir, and western films over the next 20 years.
In 1953 he played the title role
in the movie "Shane," considered by many to
have been his greatest role. Ladd's wife
Sue Carol had a brief career as an
actress before becoming a talent agent
Alan was one of her clients.
In the next column is
singer and actress Jeanette MacDonald,
who is best remembered for her
roles in musical films of the 30s and
40s, starring alongside many of the
era's leading men, like Nelson Eddy and
Clark Gable. Her films include
"San Francisco," and "Maytime."
Above Jeanette
is Nat King Cole, a singer and jazz
pianist who was one of the most popular
musicians of the 30s and 40s.
[music]
In 1956 he became the first
African-american man to host his own
variety television show.
In the next
column we find the shared crypt of
legendary comedy couple Gracie Allen
and George Burns. Younger generations
will remember George Burns at the gravel-voiced,
cigar-toting bespectacled funnyman
who lived to the ripe old age of 100,
receiving a Best Supporting
Actor Oscar at the age of 80 for
"The Sunshine Boys." But he is perhaps best
remembered as the straight man
delivering lines to his better half, his
wife and longtime partner, Gracie Allen,
who won the hearts of audiences on radio
and television for her zany, ditzy
character with a penchant for illogical logic.
Their partnership began in
vaudeville in the 1920s and went on to
radio, film, and a successful television
show in the 1950s. "The George Burns and
Gracie Allen Show" was revolutionary, and
paved the way for the modern sitcom.
And here's an interesting fact: fans of The
Simpsons might recall the production
company logo for Gracie Films after each
episode. The company was named after
Gracie Allen. After Gracie died in 1964
George visited her every month for 32
years until his own death, and insisted
she get top billing on their crypt.
"Goodbye kid, see you next month."
That, my friends, is undying love.
"Why? I love her, that's why."
George never retired, and died
shortly after his 100th birthday, making
him the only Hollywood performer to
entertain audiences in every single
decade of the 20th century.
"Thank you very much."
"Gracie that was a nice restaurant where we had
dinner tonight."
"Yeah, wasn't it?"
"Did you notice they had
cheese souffle on the menu?"
"Yes, now wouldn't you think they'd give you a clean one?"
"Say goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Back down the hall in the
Columbarium of Victory is actress
Dorothy Dandridge, who was the first
African-american woman to be nominated
for a Best Actress Oscar, for her
performance in :Carmen Jones." She was also
an accomplished singer, popular as a solo
artist in nightclubs.
She died in 1965 at just 42 after an
accidental drug overdose. In 1993 she was
honored as one of the four Ladies of
Hollywood, a gazebo-style gateway that
stands at the western edge of the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, which honors the
multi-ethnic women of Hollywood.
Let's head downstairs to the lower level.
At the base of the stairs, right at eye
level, is the crypt of Billie Dove, one of
the most popular actresses of the 1920s.
She began as a model in the Ziegfeld
Follies before moving to Hollywood and
starring in such films as "The Black Pirate"
with Douglas Fairbanks. She had
many male admirers, including Howard
Hughes with whom she had a relationship
for many years. In the early 1930s, at the
height of her popularity, Billie abruptly
retired from the screen.
We turn right at
the next corridor and find a Sanctuary
of Worship on the right. Along the right
wall, way up near the top, is Chico Marx.
Leonard "Chico" Marx was one of the four
Marx Brothers, a popular family comedy
troupe in the first half of the 20th
century. His name Chico is derived from
the crafty womanizing Italian persona he
created. The oldest of the Marx Brothers
Chico became the group's manager, and
played an important role in their rise to fame.
In the next corridor down, low on
the left wall, is one of the Three Stooges,
Larry Fine.
The Three Stooges
were one of the best known and beloved
vaudeville and comedy
acts of the 20th century, known for
slapstick physical comedy.
"Say, how about this?
Wanted: gravediggers. Good salary. Apply..."
"No, no. Too morbid."
"The morbid the merrier! Nyuck nyuck nycuk!"
Way down at the
opposite end of the mausoleum is the
Sanctuary of Gratitude. Here is the man
with perhaps the grandest epitaph in
town: King of the Movies.
Francis X. Bushman was one of the more popular
actors of the silent era, known for roles
in films like the 1925 epic "Ben Hur."
Back outside we turn right at the Washington
statue and head into the Garden of
Everlasting Peace. In the southeast
corner of this garden is the grave of
Spencer Tracy. A leading man of
Hollywood's golden age Spencer Tracy is
considered one of the all-time great
actors. He was nominated for nine Academy
Awards, winning four "Captains Courageous"
and "Boys Town."
While filming "Woman of the Year" in 1941
Tracy began a lifelong relationship with
Katharine Hepburn,
one of Hollywood's most legendary love affairs.
Nearby is rugged and handsome
actor Hugh O'Brian who fell into acting
quite by accident. While attending an
audition with his actress girlfriend the
lead actor failed to show, and he was
asked to read. He got the part, and thus
began a long successful career. His most
notable role was his Wyatt Earp on the
ABC Western series
"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp."
He was also a humanitarian,
dedicating much of his life to his
nonprofit youth organization, the Hugh
O'Brian Youth Leadership. He married for
the first time at the age of 81 right
here at Forest Lawn.
Just north of Hugh,
near a small statue, is the grave of
swashbuckling Australian actor
Errol Flynn, who is remembered for his romantic
action roles of the 30s and 40s, including
"The Adventures of Robin Hood,"
and "Captain Blood."
On the far west side of this garden, next
to the sidewalk, is Clayton Moore, the
original Lone Ranger from the 1950s
television show.
"A fiery horse with the speed of light,
a cloud of dust, and a hearty 'Hiyo Silver!'
The Lone Ranger."
The next garden to the west is the
Garden of Honor. This is a private locked
garden, so unless you or someone you know
has a key - or by some miracle find the
door open - unfortunately you won't be
able to get in.
Near the middle of the
north side of the garden is Sammy Davis Jr.,
one of the great all-around
entertainers of the 20th century.
He could sing, act, dance, play a number of
instruments, and could even do quite a
few spot-on impersonations of other
celebrities. He starred with other
members of the Rat Pack in films like
the original "Ocean's Eleven," and had an
unlikely hit in a song "The Candyman,"
which would become his signature song.
[music]
During his life he was often billed as
Mr. Show Business, and
The Greatest Living Entertainer.
At the south end of
the garden is Sam Cooke, a singer and
composer who is widely considered
the King of Soul.
Hits include "Wonderful World,"
"Twisting the Night Away," and "Cupid."
[music]
Cooke was shot and killed at just 33
during an altercation at the Hacienda Hotel.
In the southwest corner of this
garden is the unmarked grave of two
Hollywood legends. Producer Samuel Goldwyn
helped establish and developed many of the
great film studios in early Hollywood.
In 1913 he, along with Jesse Lasky and Cecil
B DeMille, formed a partnership to
produce feature-length films. Their first
effort was the "Squaw Man,"
Hollywood's very first feature film.
In 1916 Goldwyn started Goldwyn Pictures
which, when merged with two other
companies, became Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Also interred here is director George Cukor,
who directed many of the great
films of Hollywood's golden era
including "The Philadelphia Story," and
"My Fair Lady," starring Audrey Hepburn.
He was nominated for five Oscars, winning for
"My Fair Lady."
It was an open secret that
Cukor was homosexual, and in the
1930s he became a sort of head of
Hollywood's gay subculture.
The wife of
Samuel Goldwyn who has also interred in
this garden plot made arrangements have
Cukor buried next to her, as she
considered him to love her life, though
their relationship remained platonic.
In another part of the Garden of Honor to
the west is the Columbarium of the
Evening Star. High on the west wall is
the niche of wisecracking actress Joan Blondell.
She starred in over 100 films
and TV shows during her career, beginning
in the 1930s. Her role in the 1951 film
"The Blue Veil" earned her an Academy
Award nomination. One of her last roles
within the movie "Grease."
And for all you
pre-code enthusiasts out there, this
promotional photo of Joan in the early
30s was later banned under the
production code.
Finally we head to the far west section
of this garden to visit Natalie Cole, the
daughter of Nat King Cole who we visited earlier.
As of filming
Natalie's grave is still unmarked.
She rose to prominence as a singer in the
70s, but her greatest success came with
the release of the 1991 album
"Unforgettable... with Love."
It featured standards by her father and
other artists, including my personal
favorite, "Paper Moon."
[music]
"Unforgettable" sold over 7 million copies
and won seven Grammy Awards.
And that concludes our tour!
What are some of your
favorite memories of the stars we
visited today?
Share them in the comments
below, and be sure to like, share, and
subscribe for more famous grave tours.
Thanks for watching!
We'll see you on the next one."
"Welcome to Hollywood Graveyard, where we
set out to remember and celebrate the
lives of those who lived to entertain us,
by visiting their final resting places..."
"I love this program, I never miss it!"