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 heading back to Westwood Village Memorial Park, where we'll find
such stars as Hugh Hefner, Virginia Fox, Richard Conte, and many more.
Join us, won't you?
Last spring we visited the smallest, yet no less star-studded cemetery in LA:
Westwood Village Memorial Park, hidden here in the shadows of skyscrapers in
Westwood, California. Today we head back there to visit some stars we missed the
first time around, and to pay our respects to those who have passed since.
If you haven't done so already, be sure to check out our original three-part
tour of Westwood.
We'll begin just in from the entrance in the northwest corner of
the main lawn. Just next to a bench we find the small marker for Cornel Wilde.
He was an actor who found his greatest successes in the 30s to the 60s.
His best-known role was as Frederic Chopin, in the biopic A Song to Remember.
The role earned him an Academy Award nomination. He also played Sir Lancelot
in the Sword of Lancelot, and a trapeze artist in Cecil B. DeMille's
The Greatest Show on Earth. Later in his career he also produced and directed a
number of films.
Straight east is the grave of silent film actress Virginia Fox,
buried next to her husband Darryl F Zanuck. Virginia can be seen alongside
Ford Sterling and Ben Turpin in a handful of Mack Sennett silent films of
the teens, and in the 20s became the leading lady in several Buster Keaton films.
After marrying Zanuck she retired from acting, but was known as a
behind-the-scenes influence on her husband at the studio that would become
20th Century Fox.
Continuing east, one row south, is the grave of actor Richard Conte.
He played Don Barzini in The Godfather. He was first considered for
the title role, but when that went to Marlon Brando, Conte was cast as his rival.
"Times have changed. It's not like the old days,
Where we can do anything we want.
A refusal is not the act of a friend.
If Don Corleone had all the judges and the politicians in New York,
then he must share them, or let others use them.
He must let us draw the water from the well.
Certainly he can present a bill for such services.
After all, we are not communists."
He can also be seen in films like Ocean's 11.
And if you look close he has one of the most interesting markers here.
Look at the dates: 1910 to 1975 to -
What does that mean? Is he...
is he coming back?
Let's head now to the Corridor of Memories to find one of Westwood's newest
occupants, Hugh Hefner, who now rests next to Marilyn Monroe.
In the early 50s Hefner was determined to start his own publication.
He managed to raise $8,000 from a number of investors
to launch Playboy magazine in 1953,
which featured several nude photos of Marilyn Monroe that he had purchased -
photos from a 1949 calendar Marilyn had done before she was famous.
The first issue sold 50,000 copies and Playboy became a hit.
The men's entertainment magazine,
notable for nude and semi-nude models, centerfolds, and playmates, was
seen as the answer to the sexual repression of the era, and helped usher
in the sexual revolution of the 60s. Hefner and the Playboy brand became
symbols of sexual liberation, freedom of expression, and the fight against censorship.
In addition to his role as editor-in-chief of the magazine,
Hefner was active in political, social, and philanthropic causes.
In the late 70s, when the Hollywood sign was crumbling and deteriorating,
he spearheaded an effort to save and restore the sign.
Hefner put up the money to sponsor the Y.
And without the Y, Hollywood Graveyard would just be, well...
So, thank you Mr. Hefner.
He never actually met Marilyn, but purchased this crypt in
1992 for $75,000 so he could be laid to rest next to her.
Above and to the right is the crypt of Gitta Alpar.
She was a Hungarian opera singer, one of the
leading Sopranos in Europe in the 20s. She fled Europe in the 30s at the rise
of the Nazi Party, eventually arriving in the US. She appeared in a number of films
in her career, including The Loves of Madame Du Barry in 1935.
On her marker are two of the role she played: Madame Du Barry and La Traviata.
In the corner to the right is the Room of Prayer. Herein we find the niche of
author Robert Bloch. He was a writer of crime, horror, and fantasy. He's best known
as the writer of the 1959 novel, "Psycho," which was partially inspired by
real-life serial killer Ed Gein. Alfred Hitchcock would later adapt his book
into a movie of the same name.
Let's pay a quick revisit to Robert Stack who is
also in this room, to get a closer look at his niche. You'll remember Stack for
his roles in TV shows like The Untouchables and Unsolved Mysteries, and
movies like Airplane! and Written on the Wind, which earned him an Oscar nomination.
Following the road south, on the left, is the crypt of Wayne Rogers.
He played captain Trapper John McIntyre on the 70s TV series MASH,
and Dr. Charlie Michaels on House Calls, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
Mount Sinai isn't the only cemetery with an elevator. I've always wondered about this random
elevator that doesn't appear to lead anywhere. Does it go to some secret
underground cemetery? Well, yes actually it does.
This elevator is the access to Westwood's private mausoleum.
Songwriter Jay Livingston, who was originally
entombed by Marilyn, was recently moved to this private section.
Livingston was half of the songwriting team of Livingston and Evans, who wrote songs for
film and television. Jay was the composer, Ray the lyricist.
Their TV themes include Bonanza and Mr. Ed.
Their film songs won them three Oscars,
for "Que Sera Sera," "Buttons and Bows," and "Mona Lisa."
They also wrote the popular Christmas tune "Silver Bells," written for the 1951 film
The Lemon Drop Kid.
[music]
Back to the main lawn in the southeast, just next to Carl Wilson, we find actor
Paul Gleason. He is perhaps best remembered for his role as the principal
in The Breakfast Club. He can also be seen on All My Children,
and in the movie Die Hard, playing the deputy police chief.
Straight north, next to the big tree, are Will and Ariel Durant.
They were husband and wife researchers and writers who won the Pulitzer Prize
for "The Story of Civilization," an 11 volume set of books covering Western History.
Just west, next to Eve Arden, is Eve's husband, Brooks West.
His best-known role as an actor was as the District Attorney in Otto Preminger's
Anatomy of a Murder, which also starred his wife Eve.
He also served as associate producer for his wife on her show, The Eve Arden Show.
Further west, next to Bettie Page, we find actor Alan Melvin.
He was a character actor and voice actor, appearing in a
number of films and TV shows, including the Phil Silvers Show, and All in the Family.
He also played Sam the butcher on the Brady Bunch.
Just passed Bettie, to the left, is Iranian pop singer Hayedeh.
As it says on her marker she was Iran's foremost singer in
the 60s and 70s, specializing in traditional and pop Persian music.
[music]
She moved to LA in the early 80s and found renewed success here
among the growing population of Iranians who were leaving Iran after the Iranian
Revolution in 1979.
She was just 47 when she died of a heart attack.
Let's head now to the garden area to the south.
Along this pathway on the right we find
composer Jack Elliott. He wrote and co-wrote themes for a number of
television shows, including Barney Miller, Charlie's Angels, and Night Court.
[music]
His film scores include The Jerk, and Oh God!
He also served as music director of the
Grammy Awards for 30 years.
Around the corner to the left is the niche of Danny Dark...
No relation.
He was a voice-over artist known as the Voice-over King.
He voiced a number of award-winning commercials for Budweiser, Raid, Keebler,
and Starkist Tuna, for networks including CBS and NBC. he was also the
He was also the voice of Superman/Clark Kent
for 12 years, in the 70s and 80s,
in the Hanna-Barbera SuperFriends animated series.
High on the wall behind us to the east
is the other half of the Livingston/ Evans songwriting duo, Ray Evans.
His marker features the song "Que Sera Sera," which he wrote the lyrics for.
It was written for the Hitchcock film, The Man Who Knew too Much,"
and is the song most closely associated with Doris Day.
[music]
His wife's marker features another of their popular songs, "Mona Lisa."
Following this walkway around to the right we find
the niche of Lloyd Bochner. He was an actor whose films include Point Blank,
and Naked Gun 2 1/2. His TV roles include Dynasty and The Twilight Zone.
In fact one of his most memorable roles was in the iconic Twilight Zone
episode, "To Serve Man."
If you haven't seen this episode yet... Spoiler alert!
"Don't get on that ship! The rest of the book, To Serve Man,
it's a cookbook!"
"No! No!"
Let's revisit the O'Connor plot just west of here.
In our original tour we visited legendary actor and comedian Carroll O'Connor.
There is a cenotaph here to his son, Hugh, who was also an actor.
He starred alongside his father as Lt. Jamison in the long-running TV
series, In the Heat of the Night.
He struggled with drug addiction, and in
1995 decided to take his own life at the age of 32.
Hugh is not here, he is entombed in Rome, Italy.
Back to the main lawn, on the south next to the road, is musician Ray Conniff.
He was a popular bandleader and jazz arranger in the 50s and 60s who
made dozens of records and sold around 70 million albums in his career.
His biggest hit is featured right on his marker, an arrangement of Laura's Theme
from Doctor Zhivago, "Somewhere My Love."
[music]
Let's head to the cluster of small graves to the west. Here we find another
legendary composer Milton Ager. He began his career accompanying silent films on
the piano, and during World War I he served as a morale officer.
It was a fitting role for the man whose biggest hit,
featured right here on his marker,
was "Happy Days Are Here Again," a tune that would help boost the morale of a
nation that in years to follow would face a Great Depression
and another world war.
[music]
Other hits include "Ain't She Sweet."
If you're a fan of King Kong you
may know our next couple: Ruth Rose and Ernest Shoedasack
were two of the minds behind the origin of Hollywood's favorite great ape.
Kong was conceived by explorer and filmmaker Merian C. Cooper,
who was friends and collaborators with Schoedsack.
They were filming on an expedition to the Galapagos when they
met Ruth Rose, who was an official historian for the New York Zoological
Society. Ruth and Ernest fell in love and soon married, Ruth then joining Cooper
and Schoedsack in their film making adventures.
When Cooper began developing the idea for King Kong
he brought on Ernest to co-direct and Ruth to co-write the script.
Ruth and Ernest wrote and directed other films about great apes,
including Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young.
Straight north, at the base of a tree, is the grave of actor Ford Rainey.
He played Bisbee Marshal in the original 3:10 to Yuma,
and Dr. Mixter in Halloween 2.
He became a familiar face in film, TV, and on stage
from the 50s all the way to the early 2000s.
Finally we head east to find the grave of filmmaker Frank Tuttle.
He directed a number of films from the
silent era to his final film in 1959, the Island of Lost Women.
His career stalled in the 40s after joining the Communist Party.
A decade later he left the party, and named names
before the House Un-American Activities Committee during the Red Scare.
Perhaps his best-known film is the seminal film noir, 1942's
This Gun For Hire, which launched the career of Alan Ladd.
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!
As you wander the grounds of Westwood looking for your favorite stars,
be sure to keep your eyes peeled for graves and markers that are interesting for other reasons.
Armand Hammer headed up Occidental Petroleum,
and was the great-grandfather of actor Armie Hammer.
In the Sanctuary of Peace are Francis and Sara Taylor,
the parents of Elizabeth Taylor.
This bench in front of Marilyn's crypt was donated by fans.
This one is just beautifully enigmatic - Dear Darling.
And this one's being eaten by a tree.
And here we find the very first grave at Westwood,
belonging to 26 year old Alice Brown who died in 1905.