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 Glen Haven and Sholom memorial parks, where we'll find
such stars as Rose Marie, Vera-Ellen, Jeffrey Hunter, and many more.
Join us, won't you?
Turning our compass once again to the north in the San Fernando Valley
we make the way up a quiet desert canyon
called Kegel Canyon, to find an adjacent pair of humble cemeteries, right here in
the canyon. Situated on the hills that overlook Sylmar are Glen Haven and
Sholom memorial parks.
We'll begin at Glen Haven, where the searing July sun has scorched dry much
of the grounds, and scorched your host as well... don't worry though,
I brought plenty of water. It's quiet and peaceful up here, so far removed from the city.
This cemetery was founded in the early 1940s.
Following the road into the
main entrance we reach Brigham Park section on the right. Next to the road is
Harry Cording. He was a British actor known for playing villainous characters
in films from the 20s through the 50s. Among his best-known roles are as one of
the villains in Adventures of Robin Hood alongside Errol Flynn, and as Bela
Lugosi's henchman in Black Cat. He would also appear in several of the Adventures
of Sherlock Holmes series starring Basil Rathbone. The symbol here on his marker
is a moose. Cording belonged to a fraternity called the Loyal Order of the Moose.
He died at age 63.
North-east of here is Roselawn section, on the left.
Herein we find several members of the Keaton family. The matriarch of the
Keaton family was Myra Keaton. As a teenager she traveled and performed with
her father's Medicine Show in the late 19th century. On the road she would meet
and marry Joe Keaton, and they would begin performing together on the
vaudeville circuit. They had a son named Buster who would perform with them as a
child, and they would become known as The Three Keatons. Buster Keaton would go on
to become one of the legendary pioneers of silent comedies.
Myra appeared in small roles in a handful of her son's films.
She lived to be 78.
Myra and Joe would have two more children: son Harry, and daughter Louise.
Louise had a small acting career appearing mainly in roles in her
brother's films. She was also the frequent stand-in for Norma Talmadge.
After her death in 1981 at age 74 she was interred here with her mother,
though there is no marker for her.
In the unmarked grave to the left is middle child Harry, known as
Jingles. He was named after family friend Harry Houdini, and dubbed Jingles for the
noises he made as a child with his toys. He too would perform on stage with his
family and occasionally on screen in Buster's films. He even had a minor role
in 1933's King Kong. After his death in 1983 at age 78 he was laid to rest here
next to his mother and sister. Buster is buried at Forest Lawn
Hollywood Hills and Joe is at Inglewood.
Hopping across the street
north to Olive section, in the shade of a tree, we find Jeffrey Hunter. Fans of Star
Trek will recognize him as the original captain of the Enterprise, Captain
Christopher Pike, in the pilot episode of Star Trek.
The footage was later used in the episode "The Menagerie."
"We aren't going to go? To be certain?"
"Not without any indication of survivors, no.
"Continue on to the Vega Colony
and take care of our own sick and injured first.
You have the helm. Maintain present course."
"Yes sir."
When the first pilot was rejected Hunter
left of the series. He was then replaced by William Shatner as Captain Kirk in the
second to pilot. Hunter's main focus was in films, known for his hit roles in
movies like The Searchers and as Jesus in King of Kings. In 1968 he was injured
in an on-set explosion, suffering a severe concussion. A few months later he
suffered an intracranial hemorrhage, falling and striking his head.
He underwent surgery but would pass away in the hospital at age 42.
Just months before his death Hunter married actress Emily McLaughlin.
She's best known for her long-running role as nurse Jessie Brewer
in the daytime soap opera General Hospital.
She would perform in over 300 episodes from the series' inception in
1963 until 1991. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for the role, the first
actress nominated for a Golden Globe for a daytime soap. And being the Twilight
Zone fan that I am, I have to mention that she also had a role in the 1961
episode "The Jungle."
Emily died from cancer at age 62.
Following the road northwest we reach the other end of Roselawn section.
Here is the grave of dancer and actress Vera-Ellen.
Along with the likes of Eleanor Powell and Ginger Rogers, Vera-Allen became one
of Hollywood's favorite on-screen dancing performers, in musical films of
the 40s and 50s. In her early years as a dancer she became one of the youngest
Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Samuel Goldwyn spotted her and
cast her alongside Danny Kaye in Wonder Man in 1945. She would go on to dance and
perform with major stars of the era, from Fred Astaire to Gene Kelly, in films like
On the Town, and The Belle of New York. She's perhaps best remembered for her
role alongside Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney, in the Christmas
classic, White Christmas.
She would go on to be a regular performer on television variety programs
like the Perry Como Show and the Dinah Shore Show. By the 1960s she retired from
performing, living to be 60, until cancer took her life in 1981.
Across the street west is Acacia Section.
This is where we find the final resting place of Anne Cornwall.
She was named a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1925. As an actress she's best
known for playing Buster Keaton's girlfriend in the 1927 film, College, as
well as for her role alongside Laurel and Hardy in 1929's Men O'War.
She in 1980 at age 83 and was laid to rest here, though her grave remains unmarked.
Let's turn northeast now to Poplar Section. Here lies actress Ella Raines.
The dark exotic beauty is known for roles in films noir and crime dramas of
the 40s, including lead roles in the films Phantom Lady, Impact, and The Web.
On television she played the lead role in the series Janet Dean, Registered
Nurse from 1954 to 1955. Ella even appeared on the cover of Life magazine
in 1944. She died from cancer at age 67.
The next section north is Sycamore. Fans of The Dick Van Dyke Show will recognize
this next name.
Here is Rose Marie, beloved by television audiences for her role as
the wisecracking Sally Rogers on the Dick Van Dyke Show, a role which she
would play in over a hundred episodes from 1961 to 1966. The role would earn
her three Emmy nominations.
"What are you worried about? You goin' on the television, do a couple of stale jokes."
"You've done the Stevie Parsons Show a dozen times.
Why are you suddenly afraid?"
"I know, Robert. I've used up all my best stories."
"So dazzle them with your beauty."
"Thanks, Buddy. I don't need flattery, I need a joke."
"That was a joke."
"K, I'll settle for the flattery."
But you probably know that Rose Marie's career began decades
earlier. In fact, she was one of Hollywood's most enduring entertainers
over her 94 years. At the age of three she began performing under the name Baby
Rose Marie, and by the age of five was a major singing star on the radio. At the
height of her fame in the late 20s and 30s Baby Rose Marie made numerous
records and would appear in a handful of films. After a brief hiatus she would
return to stage and screen, no longer Baby Rose Marie, simply Rose Marie, in
films like Top Banana. Television soon came calling, where she found her place
in the Dick Van Dyke Show and the Doris Day Show, among others. The show business
legend died of natural causes in 2017 at the age of 94.
Across the street north are the Chapel Terrace Crypts. Within this outer wall
we find the crypt of Jerry Fielding. He was a film composer, known for his
bold and experimental approach to film and television music in the 60s and 70s.
He began his career arranging and directing music for radio programs.
In the 50s he was caught up in the Red Scare. Though never a communist, he
refused to name names before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and was
subsequently blacklisted for nearly a decade. Filmmaker Otto Preminger was
among those in the 60s who fought to expose the wrongs of innuendo and
political blacklisting, and intentionally hired blacklisted artists like Dalton
Trumbo and Jerry Fielding to work on his films. Fielding's scoring career would
quickly rise, his film scores earning him three Oscar nominations, for The Wild
Bunch, Straw Dogs, and The Outlaw Josey Wales.
His television music includes a couple episodes of Star Trek, and the themes for
shows like Hogan's Heroes,
and The Bionic Woman.
He died from a heart attack at age 57 while scoring a
film titled, ironically, Funeral Home.
In the west wing, just left of here, is
Stanley Andrews. The character actor is perhaps best remembered as the voice of
Daddy Warbucks on the popular 30s radio program, Little Orphan Annie. He would go
on to become a familiar face in western television, most notably as The Old
Ranger in close to 300 episodes of Death Valley Days. He would also amass
hundreds of film credits to his name throughout his career
like Captain Harmon in Road to Rio.
He lived to be 77
Back to the road let's circle around to Section IV.
In a ways from the road is the grave of Monte Collins. He was an actor and writer
whose career began performing in circuses and minstrel shows. He would
become a regular supporting player in silent comedies and later talkies,
frequently working with filmmaker Jules White. He would appear with comedic
legends like Buster Keaton, Harry Langdon, and Charlie chase. Collins would also
contribute visual gags and work as a writer and dialogue coach behind the
scenes. Among the films he wrote include The Green Promise, and Tangier.
Monte Collins is on the verge of launching a television career in the 1950s when he
died of a heart attack.
That's all we'll find here at Glen Haven.
Let's hop over next door to Sholom.
En route across the street we find this little gem:
a WWII cannon captured by our brave men at Okinawa.
Shalom is a Jewish cemetery which opened shortly after Glen Haven in the early 50s.
Just a handful of stars to find in this little cemetery. On the east side of the
main road is Hym Salomon section. A few spaces in from the road we find the
grave of Bernard Gorcey. Born in Russia Gorcey came to the US to perform on
vaudeville and eventually the Broadway stage. His breakout role was in Abie's
Irish Rose, which ran from 1922 to 1927. His first big screen role came in 1928
when he reprised his role in the film version of Abie's Irish Rose.
Bernard would later encourage his sons to try acting, and audition for a role in the
play Dead End. Leo and David Gorcey would become famous for their roles as members
of the group of young hooligans known as the Dead-End Kids, the East Side Kids, and
the Bowery Boys, in a popular series of films beginning in the 1930s. And Bernard
would star alongside his sons in dozens of these films as Louie. He also appeared
as Charlie Chaplin's meek Jewish neighbor in The Great Dictator.
He died from injuries sustained in a car accident.
Curtain-up 1884, curtain down 1955.
Several rows south in the same section we find the final resting place of
comedic actor Len Lesser, known to fans of the 90s sitcom, Seinfeld, as Uncle Leo.
"Jerry, hello!"
"Hello Uncle Leo!"
"Leo, I saw you in Brentano's yesterday."
"Why didn't you say hello?"
"Because you were too busy stealing a book."
"You still say hello."
Lesser also had a recurring role as Garvin on Everybody
Loves Raymond. But his television appearances
stretched back to the 50s, delighting audiences and everything from The
Munsters to The Untouchables. He made appearances in film as well, including
Birdman of Alcatraz, and Kelly's Heroes.
Lesser died in 2011 from cancer related
pneumonia at the age of 88.
As of filming his grave is unmarked.
Finally we proceed further south into Mt. Nebo section.
Not far from the eastern fence is the
grave of Michael Strong. A graduate of the Actors Studio, Strong would go on to
perform in the plays of Arthur Miller and Eugene O'Neill.
He then found his way to film and television, with roles in classics like
Point Blank, Patton, and The Great Santini. And Star Trek fans will recognize him
for his role as Dr. Korby on the original series.
"It's still me, Christine.
Roger.
I'm in here.
You can't imagine how it was.
I was frozen... dying."
He would continue to make guest appearances on television
until his death in 1980 from cancer at
the age of 62.
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
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Thanks for watching! We'll see you on the next one.
If you could use a little cheering up during these difficult times,
here's Winnie the Pooh sitting on a giant teddy bear.