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 Inglewood Park
Cemetery where we'll find such stars as
Ray Charles, Betty Grable,
Ella Fitzgerald and many more.
Join us, won't you?
Inglewood Park Cemetery is located, as
you may have, guessed in Inglewood
California just a few miles south of
Hollywood. It was founded in 1905 and is
one of the largest cemeteries in
Southern California in terms of
interments. Inglewood is a beautiful
Cemetery with Spanish inspired
architecture, gardens, and even a small
lake.
On the grounds are several mausoleums
including the Sunset Mission mausoleum
and the Mausoleum of the Golden West,
which alongside the dead houses
colorful stained glass and ornate skylights.
Inglewood is the kind of
cemetery that's a pleasure just to
stroll through because of the great
variety of monuments here.
It's far more diverse than the memorial
parks we've visited in the past.
Oh, and if you're flying into LAX look out the
window if you land. The cemetery you see
below is Inglewood.
We'll begin our tour at the sunset mission mausoleum just west
of the entrance. On the second floor is
the Sanctuary of the Bells where we'll
find the "first lady of song," Ella Fitzgerald.
Her career began in the 1930s
and she would continue to entertain
audiences for over a half-century
winning 13 Grammys and selling over 40
million albums.
she was renowned for her vocal range...
from sultry to scat, Ella could do it
better than any other. Some of her
popular hits include "A Tisket a Tasket,"
and "Dream a Little Dream of Me."
[music]
We'll head east along the northernmost
road and arrive at the Mausoleum of the
Golden West on the left. Heading into the
Cenotaph entrance we turn right at the
second corridor nearly all the way down
on the right is Betty Grable. Betty was
one of the most popular actresses of the
40s and 50s
and had perhaps the most famous pair of
legs in Hollywood history. Where most
celebrities simply left their hand and
footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater
Betty also immortalized her leg in
cement. She was known as the girl with
the million dollar legs and for a reason,
they were insured by Lloyds of London
for 1 million dollars. This iconic 1943
pinup photo of Betty was the most
popular image for servicemen during
World War II, and was included in Life's
"100 photographs that changed the world."
Many of her films were musicals
showcasing her singing and dancing
abilities. The versatile actress can also
be seen in heavy dramas like "I Wake Up Screaming,"
and comedies like "How to Marry a Millionaire."
"All my life ever since I
was a little girl I've always had the
same dream: to marry a zillionaire."
"Do you know who I'd like to marry?"
"Who?"
"Rockefeller."
"Which one?"
"I don't care."
"I wouldn't mind marrying a Vanderbilt."
"Or Mr. Cadillac."
"No such person, I checked."
"Is there a Mr. Texaco?"
Let's back the way we came and make our way to
the next corridor down, the Sanctuary of
Reverence. Half way down is the Sanctuary
of Dreams. Immediately to the left is the
Alcove of Music which houses the harp
shaped urn of Cesar Romero.
Many remember actor Cesar Romero as the
first to portray Batman's archenemy, the Joker
on-screen in the 1960s TV series.
When approached to play the villain he
refused to shave his trademark mustache,
so they simply put the Joker makeup on
right overtop of it.
[maniacal laugh]
Earlier in his career his handsome and exotic looks
made him a Latin Lover and leading man
in Hollywood for decades,
starring in some 200 film and
television productions.
Continuing down the Sanctuary of Dreams
we arrive at the last corridor:
the Sanctuary of Eternal Love. A few spaces
in on the right, above eye level, is Ray Charles,
one of the most gifted and
influential musicians of the 20th Century.
Born in Georgia in 1930 young
Ray began to lose his sight at four or
five and was completely blind by the age
of seven.
This didn't discourage Ray from pursuing
his love of music and by 15 he had
dropped out of school to pursue a
professional career in music.
Inspired by Nat King Cole, Ray soon developed his own
style infusing it with a variety of
genres including gospel, jazz, R&B, and
even country. He is generally considered
one of the fathers of soul music with
hits like "I Got a Woman."
[music]
Other hits include "What'd I Say" and "Hit the
Road Jack." And in 1979 his version of
"Georgia on My Mind" became the state song
of Georgia. In 2008 Charles ranked number
2 on Rolling Stones list of 100 greatest
singers of all time. In 2004 a biopic was
made about his life starring Jamie Foxx
as Ray.
Continuing east on this road we
arrive at the Garden of Chimes on the left.
In building D along the wall facing
west is another of the great voices of
the 20th century, Etta James.
Her style spanned genres from gospel to R&B to
rock and roll. She is perhaps best
remembered for her rendition of the song
"At Last" from her 1960 album of the same name.
[music]
We'll head south into the cemetery and find the section
known as Miramar. A few rows in from the road
is Hollywood's first celebrity
ventriloquist, Edgar Bergen. Bergen and
his longtime sidekick, a dummy with a
monocle and top hat named Charlie McCarthy,
began in vaudeville before
finding great success, surprisingly, on
the radio. Though audiences couldn't see
the ventriloquist act, Bergen and
McCarthy were a hit on the radio from
1937 to 1956. They made their television
debut in 1950.
"You keep on interrupting me
young man and I may not finish this story."
"Well that's the best news we've had so far."
"The story gets better as it goes along."
"Well it can't get worse."
"What happens now?"
"Well I'll tell you...now where was I?"
"I don't know you were sitting there laying an egg.'
"No, no."
"I don't think you're good for television."
"Alright."
"You see that's the trouble with television, you've got to memorize it."
"All right!"
"You were telling a story."
"Oh yeah I was telling a story."
"Ladies and gentlemen I'm practically doing a single up here."
"Alright."
The pair acted alongside stars of the day like Mae West
and WC Fields in films like the "Goldwyn
Follies" and "You Can't cheat an Honest Man."
Though a puppet, Charlie McCarthy was
often credited as an actual actor and
even has his own IMDB page.
In 1938 Bergen received an honorary Oscar carved
in wood for his creation of Charlie.
His Charlie McCarthy puppet currently
resides in the Smithsonian Institution.
His daughter is actress Candice Bergen.
Straight West is the Del Ivy section.
Aww, look at these adorable little goslings
strolling through the cemetery with us.
I'm going to name this one Ryan and this one
Emma.
Up the hill a few rows
just before a large tree is a child known
here simply as "The Little Mouse." He was
the firstborn son of Charlie Chaplin
with his young bride actress Mildred Harris.
Born Norman Spencer Chaplin he
died only three days after birth.
Ten days after Norman's death Chaplin began
production on what many believed to have
been his greatest film, "The Kid."
The relationship between Chaplin and the kid
is said to have been heavily influenced
by the death of his son.
Let's head southeast to the plot known as Pine Crest.
Near the southeast corner is legendary
burlesque performer and striptease
artist Gypsy Rose Lee. She may not have
been the best actor or dancer but on
stage she was luminescent. She was
innovative in her approach to striptease
emphasizing the "tease" and incorporating
elements of humor into her act.
"There's the music and that's my cue,
there's only one thing left to do...
so I do it.
And when I raise my skirt, with slyness and dexterity,
I'm mentally computing
just how much I'll give to charity.
And though my stockings I have revealed,
and just a bit of me remains concealed...
I'm thinking of life of Dousa.
Or the third chapter of
"All This, and Heaven Too."
And none of those men whose minds are obscene.
They leave me apathetic. I prefer the more
esthetic. Things like dramas by Racine.
In addition to stage performing gypsy
can be seen in many film and television
productions including her own TV series
in the 60s. She was also a writer
publishing two mystery novels in the
1940s. One of her novels, "The G-String Murders,"
was the inspiration for the
1943 film "Lady of Burlesque," starring
Barbara Stanwyck.
Her memoir "Gypsy" was
made into a stage musical and film
starring Natalie Wood as Gypsy.
Northwest from here near the middle of the lawn is
Sugar Ray Robinson, one of the greatest
boxers of all time. He held the world
welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, and
by 1958 he had become the first boxer to
win a divisional World Championship five times.
He was inducted into the
International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
Southwest from here is the Rosehill
section on the left. A few rows in
from the street, near the mausoleum, is
Allan "Rocky" Lane. Allan was an actor who
starred mainly in B-Western films of the
40s and 50s, perhaps most notably as Red Ryder.
But to many he will always be
remembered as the voice of everyone's
favorite talking horse, Mr. Ed.
"Hello I'm, Mr. Ed."
Let's head now to the
other side of the cemetery to the Acacia Slope Plot.
In the southeast corner of
this lawn near the road
is Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, who is the
adorable African-American boy with a big
smile in the "Our Gang," also known as
"Little Rascals," series of short films in
the 30s and 40s. He starred in
nearly a hundred of these films and would
become one of the series most popular characters.
"My Juliet, where art thou?"
"Here I is!"
"It's Buckwheat! Hurray for Buckwheat!"
After the "Our Gang" series
ended in the mid 40s
Thomas quit acting, and years later
enlisted in the army.
Finally we head to
the southernmost part of the cemetery,
to the Elm Plot.
Near the middle of this lawn,
just east of a tall thin palm tree
is Chet Baker, a popular jazz trumpeter
and vocalist. His career began in the 50s
and he was voted top jazz trumpeter and
vocalist during that decade. His talent
and chiseled good looks also caught the
attention of Hollywood, making his acting
debut in the 1955 film "Hell's Horizon."
Baker preferred the musician's life however
and turned down any contracts.
His debut Vocal album Chet Baker Sings,
released in 1956, received a 2001 Grammy
Hall of Fame Award
[music]
His career suffered in the decades that followed due to a
heroin addiction that often found him in
prison or pawning his instruments for
drug money. He died after an accidental
fall from his second-story hotel window
in Amsterdam.
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
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Thanks for watching, we'll see you on the next one.
Holy cow look who I found!
I wonder how he ended up here.
"Zut alors! The gas is on!
I forgot to light the oven.
Oh well, better late than never."
[BOOM]