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 conclude our tour of Holy Cross Cemetery, where we'll find such stars as
Rosalind Russell, Ricardo Montalban, Lawrence Welk, and many more.
Join us, won't you?
For this final stretch of our tour of Holy Cross will be visiting gravesites
spread across the grounds of the cemetery. Gas up that car and get your
mixtape ready, because we've got a lot of driving ahead of us. There's a lot to see,
including more of those awesome trees.
If you haven't done so already be sure to
check out parts 1 & 2.
Our first stop is across the street from the grotto in
section D. Before TMZ the original queen of Hollywood gossip was Louella Parsons.
Her career began in the 1920s, her column in the Los Angeles Examiner eventually
garnering a readership of more than 20 million. She saw herself as the social
and moral arbiter of Hollywood, the weight of her words able to make or
break a movie or a star. She also had a radio program which featured movie star
interviews. Here she is 1947 interviewing a 15-year-old Elizabeth Taylor about her
first onscreen kiss.
"Elizabeth I know that in 'Cynthia' you receive your first
screen kiss, and since I've never heard of any kiss that didn't start some
conversation, suppose we start talking about this one."
"Of course Miss Parsons,
I'll talk about anything you suggest. Oh, but that kiss in 'Cynthia' was just a
little old peck."
Next we head north of the grotto to section T. Apologies in
advance that some of the graves we'll be visiting today are a little hard to read.
Several spaces south of the statue its director Leo McCarey. He specialized in
screwball comedies like "Duck Soup" and "The Awful Truth," and is credited for
bringing Laurel and Hardy together. Other films include "Going My Way" with
Bing Crosby who is buried nearby, and "An Affair to Remember."
The next section west is section R. Here we find a king of Calypso, Sir Lancelot.
He is credited for popularizing calypso music in North America,
influencing artists like Harry Belafonte. He appeared in several films in his
career including the 1943 film, "I Walked with a Zombie."
[music]
Around the corner, still in section R, straight up from the
T-intersection, is Darby Crash. He was founding member and singer for the band
the Germs, who were an influential punk rock band of the late 70s. They only
released one album, "GI" in 1979.
[music]
Crash committed suicide by heroin overdose in 1980 at the age of 22, just
one day before John Lennon was killed.
Continuing around and up the hill we reached section S on the left.
Several spaces in from the road if dancer and actress Gilda Gray. She popularized the
dance known as the shimmy in the teens and 20s. Don't know what the shimmy is?
Gilda, care to demonstrate?
The move was often considered obscene and was banned by many dance halls of
the era.
Let's continue around to Section M. Several spaces in from the west side
is one of Hollywood's most legendary directors, John Ford. He won four Oscars
in his career and is remembered for timeless classics like "The Grapes of Wrath,"
and westerns like "Stagecoach." Ford was also one of the filmmakers featured
in the Netflix documentary "Five Came Back," which profiles five movie directors
including George Stevens, Frank Capra, William Wyler, and John Huston, who left
the glamorous Hollywood life behind to join the war effort and document
humanity's greatest conflict -- to put to film the realities of World War II, and
allow everyone to see what was happening from the front lines.
"The Battle of Midway was eventually shown in
three-quarters of American theaters.
It was the first time Americans saw the war in color, which until then had been
associated with escapism and fantasy. It was also the first time the audience
witnessed an American victory."
"Yes, this really happened."
At the center of this lawn is a large crucifix which marks the final resting
place of actress Rosalind Russell. She starred alongside Norma Shearer and Joan
Crawford in the 1939 film "The Women," and is perhaps best remembered for her role
as fast-talking reporter Hildy Johnson in "His Girl Friday."
"Well I've got some new for you.
Yes I got the interview alright, but I've got some more important news.
Perhaps you better get a pencil and take it down. All rready?
Now get this you double-crossing chimpanzee. There ain't gonna be any
interview and there ain't gonna be any story. And that certified check of yours is
leaving with me in 20 minutes. I wouldn't cover the burning of Rome for you if they
were just lighting it up. If I ever lay my two eyes on you again I'm going to
walk right up to you and hammer on that monkey skull of yours 'till it rings
like a chinese gong!"
She also found success on Broadway, winning a Tony Award in 1953
for her role in "Wonderful Town."
At the far east side of this lawn,
right near the road, is Hollywood's first supermodel, Evelyn Nesbit.
Long before Janice Dickinson and long before Cara Delevingne, Evelyn Nesbit was the
fresh-faced young woman who adorned all the magazine covers -- and not just
magazines but paintings, illustrations, calendars, and more. Evelyn was
the cultural and fashion icon of a generation, beginning in a very early 1900s.
In 1906 she was embroiled in a scandal which became known as 'the trial
of the century' when her then husband shot and killed Stanford White, who had
once taken advantage of an underage Evelyn. She also had a brief acting
career in films like 1917s "Redemption. A fictionalized biopic was made about her
life in 1955 starring Joan Collins as Evelyn.
Let's head north past the
mausoleum to section Y.
Straight west from the T-intersection is Lawrence Welk.
He was one of the 20th century's greatest TV stars, hosting his own
musical variety show, "The Lawrence Welk Show," from 1951 to 1982.
"From Hollywood we bring you The Lawrence Welk Show."
"And now our musical host, Maestro Lawrence Welk!"
"My good friends, a pleasant good evening and a warm welcome. Our show this evening is
titled Hit Songs from the Movies, and what could be more appropriate for an
opener than, "Hooray for Hollywood." One, two, three, four."
The next section north is CC.
In from the western road several spaces is Chris Penn.
He was an actor known for roles in films like Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs,"
and "The Funeral."
He is the brother of actor Sean Penn.
He died of heart disease at just 40.
Heading further into this lawn, a few rows south, is Mary Frann.
She is perhaps best remembered for her role as Bob Newhart's wife, Joanne, on the
popular 80 sitcom, "Newhart."
Straight north, towards the statue, is Helen O'Connell,
known as the quintessential big band singer of the 1940s. Here she is singing
one of her hits, "Green Eyes."
[music]
Northwest on this same lawn is actor Vince Edwards. He is best remembered for
playing the title role in the 60s TV series "Ben Casey," and can also be seen in
the 1968 film "The Devil's Brigade."
Across the street straight north is Mexican
actor Ricardo Montalban. He starred as Mr. Roarke on the television series
"Fantasy Island" from 1977 to 1984. He also played the diabolical Khan on
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
"I shall leave you as you left me, as you left her...
marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet,
buried alive... buried alive."
"KHAN!!"
Straight West is section BB. Near the southeast corner of this lawn is the
unmarked grave of Paula Winslow. She was a radio and television actress best
known for providing the voice of Bambi's mother in the 1942 film, "Bambi,"
She can also be seen in shows like,
"The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," and "Our Miss Brooks."
In 1937 when Jean Harlow died while filming Saratoga doubles were
used to finish her scenes. Paula provided her voice.
The next section south is AA.
A little ways in from the west road, just near a
tiny tree, is Jean Peters. She was an actress popular in the 1950s, seen in
films like "Pickup on South Street, and "Niagara" with Marilyn Monroe.
She resisted being turned into a sex symbol, refusing roles that were too exploitative.
She preferred playing more down-to-earth women. She was also the second wife of
Howard Hughes.
Fans of Jack Benny will recognize our next star.
Just east of the statue in section W is Dennis Day. He was a singer and actor,
often featured on the Jack Benny Program, both on radio and television.
He would remain with the show from 1939 until it ended in 1965.
In this same section, but further southwest,
about a third of the way in from the road is Joe Flynn,
a character actor popular in the 60s. His best-known role is as Captain Binghamton,
Old Leadbottom, on "McHale's Navy." He also had several roles in Disney productions
including "The Rescuers."
Heading southwest we arrive at section H. In the southwest
corner, right near the road, is animator and filmmaker George Pal.
He was a pioneer of early stop-motion and puppet animation, being nominated for
an Oscar seven years in a row for a series of animated short films which he
branded "Puppetoons." They were novel for their use of
replacement puppets with unique expressions, rather than animating a
single puppet. He went on to produce several fantasy and science fiction
films, including "Tom Thumb," and "The Time Machine."
"It was disconcerting to see the Sun arc in less than a minute;
to see a snail race by...
my flowers flinging wide their petals to embrace the new day, and
the hours speeding across the face of my sundial."
Finally we continue down to
Section B. Right next to the road, between Fitzsimons and Rocco, is the unmarked
grave of Pinto Colvig, one of the most recognizable voices in Hollywood, and a
human sound effects machine. Pinto was the original voice of Disney's Goofy, who
made his first appearance in the 1932 short film, "Mickey's Revue."
Pinto would go on to voice the beloved character until his
death in the 1960s.
"Oh the world owes me a livin'..."
He voiced many other Disney characters,
including Grumpy and Sleepy in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."
He was also the original Bozo the Clown.
Later in life he was one of the pioneers
in advocating health warning labels on cigarettes.
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!
Have I mentioned how much I love these trees?
They'd make a great backdrop in a horror film, you know?
Let's test that theory...