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 Mount Sinai Memorial Park where we'll find such
stars as Don Rickles, Cass Elliot, Norman Fell, and many more. Join us won't you?
Mount Sinai is a Jewish cemetery located in the Hollywood Hills.
It's the next-door neighbor of Forest Lawn Hollywood, and in fact was
originally established in 1953 by Forest Lawn. A few years later it became a
Jewish cemetery and in the mid-60s was acquired by Sinai Temple of Los Angeles.
there are many notable monuments and works of art throughout the cemetery, the
most iconic of which is the large Heritage Mosaic, which is comprised of
more than two and a half million individually hand-cut pieces of Venetian
glass, and it depicts a panorama of the Jewish experience in America.
Another powerful monument is the Memorial to the Six Million - a Holocaust Memorial.
Mount Sinai is a medium-sized Cemetery, so we'll be breaking this tour up into two parts.
We'll begin our tour just in from the entrance in the Canaan section on the
right. Nearly all the way to the wall is actor Harold J. Stone. While never a
leading man he was a staple on film and TV in the 60s and 70s. He had roles in
films like Spartacus and The Chapman Report, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
He made guest appearances on nearly all the popular TV shows of the
era, including The Untouchables, Bonanza, and The Twilight Zone.
Turning left onto Covenant Way we find the Maimonides section on the left.
North of a waste bin we find the grave of Harry Wilson. He was an actor,
proudly self proclaimed as Hollywood's ugliest man. He parlayed his distinctive
mug into roles on film and television, often as henchman or thugs. He can be
seen in films like Some Like It Hot, 1 Million BC, and Frankenstein's Daughter.
Earlier in his career he also served as Wallace Beery's stand-in.
Let's head back to Mt. Sinai Drive
and the Canaan section. Several spaces up from the road
is the grave of Helen Forrest. She was the girl singer of several of the
popular big bands of the swing era including, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and
Harry James bands.
[music]
As of filming her marker is still temporary.
Continuing around this road we
find the Garden of Shemot on the left. Let's head into this garden.
North of the first wall, right near a tree, is the grave of Lee J. Cobb.
He was one of Hollywood's great character actors
often playing burly, intimidating characters.
He can be seen in The Exorcist, On the Waterfront, and 12 Angry Men.
"What's the matter with you guys?
You all know he's guilty! He's got to burn! You're letting him slip through our fingers."
"Slip through our fingers? Are you his executioner?"
"I'm one of them."
"Perhaps you'd like to pull the switch."
"For this kid you bet I would."
"I feel sorry for you. What it must feel like to want to pull the switch.
Ever since you walked into this room you've been acting like a self-appointed public Avenger.
You want to see this boy die because you personally want it
not because of the facts."
He was nominated for two Oscars in his career, for On the Waterfront, and
The Brothers Karamazov.
He could also be seen on stage as Willy Loman
in Death of a Salesman.
Across the street to the south are the Gardens of Heritage.
Let's had past the Heritage Mosaic to the west.
On this small lawn in the corner we find a legendary comedian Phil Silvers.
He was known as the king of chutzpah, and is perhaps best remembered
for his role as Sergeant Bilko in the popular 50s TV comedy The Phil Silvers Show.
The role earned him an Emmy.
"The Phil Silvers Show.
You'll Never get Rich.
Starring Phil Silvers.
He could also be seen on Broadway in
shows like Top Banana, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,
both of which earned him a Tony Award.
On the wall of niches to the left we find
Norman Fell. He is perhaps best remembered as Mr. Roper on the 70 sitcom
Three's Company, and a spin-off, The Ropers. The role earned him a Golden Globe.
[music]
He also had minor roles in films like Bullitt and the Graduate.
Let's head back to the courtyard behind the Heritage Mural.
On the lawn at the right side
is the grave of actress Frances Bay.
She is best remembered for playing sweet
little old ladies, like Adam Sandler's grandma in Happy Gilmore, and Aunt
Barbara in Blue Velvet.
She also has the distinction of being the woman Jerry Seinfeld
mugged for her marble rye bread.
"You cannot turn down $50 for a $6 rye."
"No? Watch me!"
"Give me that rye!" -"Stop it!"
"I want that rye, lady!"
"Stop! Someone help!"
"Shut up, you old bag!"
"Thief! He stole my marble rye!"
On the east side of this lawn is the grave of actress Bonnie Franklin.
She's perhaps best remembered for her lead role in the long-running 70s sitcom
One Dat at a Time, where she played a single mother raising two daughters.
The role earned her two Golden Globe nominations.
[music]
On the wall of crypts behind Bonnie we find comedienne Totie Fields.
She was a popular stand-up comedian in the 60s and 70s,
and was a frequent guest on shows like
The Ed Sullivan Show and the Hollywood Squares.
Let's head right and take the world's slowest elevator
up to the second level.
Anyone seen any good movies lately?
Okay, and we're off.
Oh, that wasn't so bad after all.
Here we are at level 2.
Not yet? Okay.
Level two.
Any minute now.
Finally!
Near the middle of this wall on the right is the crypt
of Irwin Allen.
He was a filmmaker known for disaster flicks of the 70s, like
The Poseidon Adventure and Towering Inferno, which earned him an Oscar nomination.
He also created several television series, including Lost In Space.
Two spaces left is composer
David Rose. He wrote the themes for several popular
television shows including Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and
Highway to Heaven.
As a songwriter perhaps his biggest hit was the 1958 tune
"The Stripper," played just about any time you saw stripper on screen for decades to follow.
Rose was also the first husband of Judy Garland.
Back to the road let's head a
short distance east to the Garden of Blessings section.
Next to the sidewalk is the grave of Iwao Takamoto.
He was one of the great animators of the 20th Century.
He was born in Los Angeles and on the onset of World War II he and his
family were interned in the Manzanar camp in California.
He learned illustration from fellow internees.
After the war he began to work for Disney,
where he would design characters for films including Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty,
Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp.
After Disney he went to Hanna-Barbera,
where he designed characters like Scooby-Doo, and directed Charlotte's Web.
Let's head to the next courtyard east.
Near the southeast corner of this
courtyard is Cass Elliot, also known as Mama Cass. She was a singer, best known as
a member of the Mamas and the Papas whose biggest hit was "California Dreamin'."
[music]
She also had a successful solo career, with hits like "Dream a Little Dream of Me."
She struggled with obesity much of her life,
and died of heart failure at just 32.
Contrary to urban legend she did not choke to death on a ham sandwich.
Heading toward the next courtyard east, on the outer wall that faces west, we
find the crypt of actor Hershel Bernardi just below eye level.
He played lieutenant Jacoby on Peter Gunn, and Arnie on Arnie,
and could be seen on Broadway as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.
He also lent his voice to
popular ad campaigns, like the Jolly Green Giant,
Charlie the Tuna, -"Tell 'em Charlie sent ya."
and Tootsie Roll.
"How many licks does it take to get the
Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
The world may never know."
Finally we continue east
to the first Court of Tanach, just before the parking lot.
All the way down on the left
is the final resting place of one of the 20th century's most
enduring and beloved comedians, Don Rickles.
He was known, ironically, as Mr. Warmth,
being well-known as an insult comic.
His career began in nightclubs
where he was spotted by Frank Sinatra who helped nurture his career.
Soon he became the comic to see,
and be insulted by, and was a popular headliner in Vegas.
In addition to live comedy he found success on screen in films like Kelly's Heroes,
and TV shows like CPO Sharkey.
The 2007 documentary, Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project, earned him an Emmy.
"We kid about great stars such as you Bob. Why?
'Cause you're old and washed up. But I tell you this...
Is he laughing, Dean? Take a look, see if Bob's laughing.
If he ain't laughing show him a picture of Jack.
I kid. Jack Benny, a great star, God bless him.
Milton Berle, great people. This is wonderful being here at the home.
And I say this from my heart.
It takes many years to be a great comedian..."
"Sure does, and you ain't even reached that year yet."
He endeared himself to a new generation of audiences in the 90s when he voiced
Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story films.
"Prepare to meet Mr. Angry Eyes!"
Rickles was universally loved by generations of audiences and upon his
passing at the age of 90, the world lost a true comedic institution.
In accordance with Jewish tradition,
his grave won't be permanently marked until one year after
his death, so we'll have to come back in April to revisit Don and see his marker.
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.
You may have noticed small stones or pebbles on some of the graves here and
at other cemeteries that we've visited.
This is an old Jewish custom meant to signify
that the grave has been visited, and serve as a lasting symbol of memory of
the individual. Flowers are seen as an apt symbol of passing, representing the
brevity of life. While stones serve as a better metaphor for the persistence of
memory... stones do not die.
This practice was shown in the final scene of Schindler's List.
Mount Sinai actually provides small limestone pebbles from Jerusalem for
visitors to place on graves of their loved ones. This little packet reads:
Leaving a small pebble as a token of a visit is a Jewish family tradition that
is generations old. These soft limestone pebbles are from the holy city of
Jerusalem. We encourage you to leave one as a symbol of your visit today.
Be assured that they will neither scratch or damage to memorial tablet.
I'm gonna place one here on the Memorial to Six Million,
which we'll be visiting more in depth in part 2.