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 head down to Orange County and Pacific View Memorial Park, where we'll
find such stars as John Wayne, Marion Mack, Bobbie Hatfield, and many more.
Join us, won't you?
Pacific View Memorial Park - aptly named as you get a pretty good
view of the Pacific Ocean from here. It's located in Corona del Mar in Orange
county, about 50 miles south of Hollywood. It's a stone's throw from Newport Beach,
UC Irvine, and the John Wayne Airport. The cemetery opened in 1958 and is
beautified with the flora of Southern California.
But one of the most uniquely charming aspects of this cemetery is that people
hang chimes from the trees in memory of their loved ones. So anywhere you go in the
cemetery you can always hear the haunting tinkle of bells off in the distance.
There are a number of memorials here, including the Garden of Valor,
memorializing those who served their community and country. There's also a
memorial to victims of drunk driving. Don't drink and drive, kids. And while
we're at it, don't text and drive, or smoke pot and drive either.
Alright, on with the tour.
We'll begin our tour in the southern section of the cemetery.
On the left is the Vista Del Mar section. Right near the middle of this lawn we
find the grave of Kam Tong. He was a Chinese-American actor, best remembered
for his role in over 100 episodes of the TV series have gun will travel in the
50s and 60s. He also played Dr. Li in the film
version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Flower Drum Song.
Further southeast on this same lawn we find William Cagney. He was the spitting
image of his more famous brother, James Cagney. And like James, was an actor and
performer. In addition to acting he produced a number of his brother's films,
including Blood on the Sun, and A Lion is in the Streets.
Next to William is
another of the Cagney siblings, sister Jeanne Cagney. She too was an actress, who
can be seen alongside her brother, James, in Yankee Doodle Dandy. One of her more
memorable performances was in Quicksand alongside Mickey Rooney.
Let's make our way around to the north.
Next to the curb in the Bayview Terrace section, lot 9, we
find southern belle Margaret Early. Her first role was in
Stage Door in 1937, and she can also be seen alongside Bette Davis in Jezebel,
a year later. She also performed in a number of Andy Hardy films, but retired
from acting in the 1940s.
Let's continue around to the courts to the east.
Heading into Palm Court, then the Alcove of Faith, all the way at the end at the
top, is the niche of actor William Austin. He played Monty in the 1927 film, It, with
Clara Bow. And in 1943 he became the first actor to portray Bruce Wayne's
butler, Alfred, in Batman. The character was originally portly and clean-shaven,
but later redesigned inspired by William Austin.
We now head north, through the
next courtyard, and into the Magnolia Court. Just north of the fountain, high on
the wall, is the crypt of filmmaker Robert Webb. He won an Oscar for his work
on the film In Old Chicago, in the short-lived "best assistant director" category.
He also directed Elvis Presley in Love Me Tender.
Webb was married to Barbara McLean, a film editor, whose job
it is to take the hours of footage and
cut them down to the 90 minutes we see on screen. In a field dominated by men in
the 30s through the 60s, Barbara was one of the prominent editors in Hollywood,
known for her work at 20th Century Fox. She won an Oscar for the film Wilson, and
was nominated for six other films, including All About Eve.
Along the eastern wall of this Court, on the bottom, is the crypt of Frieda Pushnik.
She was a circus sideshow performer, notable for having been born without
arms or legs. She appeared in Ripley's Odditorium in the 30s, and later with
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, billed as The Armless and Legless Wonder.
But when the showcasing of people with physical deformities fell out of
favor in the 50s she was forced to retire. She would later appear in a
couple of films. Frieda never let her deformity get the best of her, and was
determined to live a long, happy, normal life. She's entombed here with her mother,
Anastasia.
Let's continue north to the sunset Court. Here is Jeanne Carmen,
actress and pinup model extraordinaire, known for her resemblance to friend and
contemporary, Marilyn Monroe. Her career began as a teenager on Broadway,
dancing in Burt Lahr's Burlesque. She later became a pinup model, posing nude
when it was still quite taboo to do so. During this time she also toured as a
talented trick-shot golfer. When she landed in LA she became one of
Hollywood's B-movie Queens, and was a fixture at celebrity parties with the
likes of Frank Sinatra and the Kennedy brothers. After the sudden death of her
friend, Marilyn Monroe, in 1962, Jeanne claims to have feared for her life from
mobsters she had fallen in with. She moved to Arizona, darkened her hair, and
lived a life incognito for decades, before coming out of retirement later in life.
Let's head back across the street to the west to the Bayview Terrace.
Straight down the hill a few rows from a bench is the grave of Marion Mack.
The girl from Mammoth, Utah sent a letter and photograph to Mack Sennett in 1920
expressing her desire to be in the movies. Sennett responded, inviting her to
the studio if she ever made it out to Hollywood. She did, and before long began
making shorts at Keystone. She's best remembered today for her role as Annabelle Lee
alongside Buster Keaton, in the 1926 Civil War comedy, The General.
It's considered not only one of Buster's greatest films but also one of the great
films of the silent era.
[music]
Marion is buried next to her husband, producer and director, Louis Lewyn.
He produced the film Mary of the Movies, which starred his wife. He also produced
the Screen Snapshots and Hollywood on Parade series'.
If we follow this row
straight north and pass this large colorful tree in the middle of the lawn,
we find Hollywood's most legendary cowboy, the Duke, John Wayne.
Born Marion Morrison, John Wayne was the quintessential Western hero in cinema
from the 30s through the 70s. A true icon of America's frontier heritage. He was a
student and football player at USC when another legendary Hollywood Cowboy, Tom Mix,
invited him to work as a prop man and
extra with director John Ford. He worked his way up from bit parts to smaller
roles until his breakthrough in 1939 when he was cast in John Ford's
Stagecoach.
"Hold it!"
"Whoa, steady, whoa!"
"Hey look, it's Ringo."
"Yeah."
"Hello, kid."
"Hello, Curly.
Hiya Buck! How's your folks?"
The film was a hit, and it
made Wayne into a star. He would continue to shine in numerous cowboy roles, like
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rio Grande, The Alamo, as well as military
roles like The Longest Day. He won an Oscar for his role as Rooster Cogburn in
the 1969 film. True Grit.
"I mean to kill you in one minute, Ned, or see you hanged in
Fort Smith atJudge Parker's convenience. Which will it be?"
"I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man."
"Fill your hand you son of a bitch!"
After his death from cancer at the age of 72, the family initially left his
grave unmarked, not wanting it to become a shrine or vandalized.
Nearly two decades after his death this simple yet fitting bronze marker was placed,
featuring scenes from Monument Valley and the Alamo, and the quote,
"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life, comes to us at midnight very clean,
It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands; it hopes we've
learned something from yesterday."
Let's head around to the next section west, Oceanview.
Down the hill from this wonky tree,
we find the grave of June Storey. She's also a part of Hollywood's
western heritage, having starred as Gene Autry's leading lady in ten films in the
30s and 40s - films like Home on the Prairie. She can also be seen alongside
Hedy Lamarr in The Strange Woman. She retired from acting in the late 40s.
Along the southern tip of this section, next to the road, is the grave of Dorothy Dare.
She was an actress and singer who worked with Ziegfeld and Vitagraf
early in her career before making movies for Warner Bros. Her first credited
role was in the 1933 film, Nearly Naked. She had a string of successful musical
roles a few years later, like Gold Diggers of 1935, but decided to retire
from acting after making the Yanks are Coming, in 1942.
Animation aficionados will recognize this next name: Rudolf Ising,
just northeast of the Garden of Valor.
Ising was one of the early pioneers of animation in Hollywood.
Like other animation legends including Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks, and Carl Stalling,
Ising got his start in Kansas City, Missouri -
boy there must be something special in the water in Kansas City!
Ising worked for Disney for a time, on the Alice Comedie
and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Years later he and partner Hugh Harman
founded Warner Bros. cartoon studio, with their new series, Looney Tunes, and a
character named Bosko. Later came Merrie Melodies.
The very first Looney Tunes cartoon, "Sinkin' in the Bathtub," was produced in 1930.
[music]
After a falling-out with Leon Schlesinger, Harman and Ising moved to
MGM where they continued to make cartoons. Ising won an Oscar for his
animated short film, The Milky Way.
Let's continue a little further north along
this road, then head west into the Lakeside section. Near a large tree is
the grave of actor John Eldridge. He was a prolific character actor of the 30s to
the 60s, seen in a number of Charlie Chan films, as well as the film High Sierra.
He also made guest appearances on many
of the popular TV shows of the 50s and 60s.
Continuing north we reach Seaview Lawn on the right.
In several rows, just right of a tree, is Bijan, an Iranian-American fashion designer.
His Rodeo Drive boutique, House of Bijan,
has been described as the most expensive store in the world. He crafted luxury
fragrances for men and provided wardrobes for everyone from
movie stars to presidents.
If you can spend $1000 on a tie, head to House of Bijan.
Along the northern edge of this cemetery we find three music stars.
In the Garden of David, near a small tree, is Kevin DuBrow. He's best
remembered as the lead singer of the heavy metal band, Quiet Riot, for close to
30 years, beginning in the mid 70s. Their hits include, "Metal Health (Bang Your Head),
and "Cum On Feel the Noize."
He died of a cocaine overdose at the age of 52.
East of here is the Lido Section.
In the second plot on the right we find at the grave of Bobby Hatfield.
He was a singer best known as half of the music duo, The Righteous Brothers,
with Bill Medley. Their first it was the 1964 song, "You've Lost That Loving Feeling."
Perhaps their most recognized tune is "Unchained Melody," sung by Bobby.
[music]
He died in his sleep at the age of 63 of a heart attack brought on by a cocaine overdose.
Finally we continue east to find another legendary musician.
Not far from the fountain in the northeast corner of the cemetery is Jeff Hanneman.
He was a guitar player and the co-founder of the thrash metal band,
Slayer, which formed in 1981. Not only did Hanneman help craft and
define Slayer's aggressive, rapid-fire sound, he also wrote and co-wrote many of
their songs including, "Raining Blood."
Slayer would go on to become one of the most influential metal bands in history,
and Hanuman played guitar with them for three decades. He died at the age of 49
from alcohol-related liver failure.
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.
I'd like you to meet a friend I made on this tour...
I call him Captain Jack Sparrow.
Though I'm not sure if he actually is a sparrow.
Little Captain Jack Sparrow here has made a home for himself
right in this corridor of the mausoleum, in one of the flower vases way up high.
He's a timid one though, always flying away as soon as I approach.
But it looks like he's got himself quite a nice setup here
among the flowers and crypts.