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 Oakwood Memorial Park, where we'll find such stars as
Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Gloria Grahame, and many more.
Join us, won't you?
Oakwood Memorial Park is located along the western edge of the San Fernando
Valley, about 20 miles northwest of Hollywood. It's nestled right up against
the rocky desert hills west of Chatsworth - a beautiful backdrop that has
served as filming location of thousands of film and TV productions over the
years, mostly westerns, like Roy Rogers films, The Lone Ranger, and even
Hollywood's first feature: the Squaw Man. Oakwood is therefore a fitting site to
mark the final resting places of a number of western stars.
The cemetery has been in use since 1924.
On the grounds is the historic Pioneer Church, now called
the Chatsworth Community Church, which actually predates this cemetery, having
been built in 1903 and relocated here in the 60s.
Oakwood is a quiet unassuming cemetery, despite hosting several of Hollywood's
biggest legends.
We'll begin our tour just in from the entrance, in Section H on the right.
A handful of rows in from a tree is the grave of Ted Snyder. He was a composer
and songwriter. His hits include "The Sheik of Araby, and "Who's Sorry Now?"
[music]
He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, and his music has
been featured in dozens of films. He also gave Irving Berlin his first break in
1909, hiring him as a staff writer for his company.
Continuing along this road we turn right and find section G on the left.
Down the hill short ways, near a small tree, is Fred Astaire,
considered by many as one of the greatest stars of the 20th century.
He could sing, he could act, but to this day he is best remembered
and regarded for his dancing, particularly with on-screen partner
Ginger Rogers.
[music]
They starred together in ten films, and are considered Hollywood's greatest
on-screen dance pairing, so it's touching to know that in the end Fred and Ginger
would be laid to rest so close to one another.
Most of Fred Astaire's films were romantic musicals. like Funny Face, and
Daddy Long Legs, but he also shone in heavier roles, like disaster flick,
The Towering Inferno, which earned him an Oscar nomination. Fred was often
considered one of Hollywood's best-dressed men. And for you modern-day
film nerds, he was the very first name added to IMDB. Fred Astaire would
influence generations of artists from Sammy Davis Jr, to Michael Jackson, and
gave Hollywood some of its most memorable dance scenes.
[music]
Fred began performing as a child on vaudeville with his sister, Adele, who is
just above and to the right. Originally from Nebraska, young Fred and
Adele moved to New York where they would begin a 27 year partnership on stage,
dancing and performing on vaudeville and Broadway. During the early years, Adele
was considered the more talented and bigger star, but she decided to retire
from show business in the early 30s, leaving Fred to branch out on his own.
Back to the road let's continue around again to section H, on the right.
Just in from the road is the grave of Russell "Lucky" Hayden. He was an actor most
frequently in cowboy & western roles. He is perhaps best remembered as the
sidekick of Hopalong Cassidy, Lucky Jenkins, in Paramount's popular Hopalong
Cassidy films of the 30s and 40s.
He also helped to develop Pioneer Town,
a western movie set in the Inland Empire.
He's now working with the big director in the sky.
Behind us, to the east, is section F.
Northwest of a tall tree, where the graves change directions,
is the tiny marker of a big man, Henry Victor.
He was an English-born, German-raised actor who found success in silent film
in Europe and in the U.S. His large frame and thick accent led him to
character roles later in his career, perhaps most notably as Hercules in
Tod Browning's 1932 film, Freaks.
Other films include To Be or Not To Be, alongside
Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, and King of the Zombies in 1941.
Northeast of here, right at the base of a tree, we find Jack Ingram, a prolific
actor of some 300 productions. He performed mostly in westerns, often as
villains in films like Young Bill Hickok, and the Knight Riders.
He also played Anton in the 1948 Superman serial.
In the 1940s he owned and operated a movie ranch not far from here,
in Topanga Canyon, where a number of westerns were made.
Let's continue around to the east to sections D and E.
Between these two sections is the Vale of Memory.
Along this narrow section, between rows of graves,
we find the legendary Ginger Rogers. As mentioned earlier,
she is best remembered for her on-screen pairing with Fred Astaire.
Their debut together was in 1933's Flying Down to Rio. The duo danced their
way into audience's hearts, and quickly became a sensation. They would go on to
star together in nine more musical films, defining and revolutionizing the
Hollywood musical for a generation, with their iconic dance numbers set to hit
music written specifically for them by some of the most popular songwriters of the day.
[music]
After Astaire, Ginger branched out into comedies like Monkey Business, and dramas
like Kitty Foyle, which earned her an Oscar. She would remain one of America's
most beloved actresses on stage and screen for the rest of her life.
She's interred here with her mother, Lela, who had a minor career as a screenwriter.
Let's make our way now to the southeast corner of section D.
Just in from the road we find the grave of actor Raymond Greenleaf.
He played judges in the films All the King's Men, and Pinky, both in 1949.
He can also be seen in a number of early television shows, including Playhouse 90
and Perry Mason.
Continuing along this road we reach the northeast area of
this same lawn. Back to the Vale of Memory again, which borders sections D
and E, between the two large trees, next to a sapling we find the grave of Al Jennings.
He was a Western folk-figure and actor in the early 20th century.
Jennings was a real-life cowboy turned outlaw from Oklahoma - a gunslinger, bank
and train robber, whose oft-exaggerated tales of his own outlaw adventures
would serve as the basis of Western serials and eventually films.
After "going straight" he landed in Hollywood to act and serve as a creative consultant and
technical adviser in Hollywood's early Western films.
North across the street from here is Holly Point, a cluster of small cremation graves.
Next to the road we find Adele Rowland. The effervescent soprano
appeared on Broadway from 1904 to 1922 where she is known for having introduced
the WWI song, "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile,
Smile, Smile," in the Broadway show, Her Soldier Boy.
She also made a number of early recordings, including Mammy O' Mine.
[music]
Later in her career she had small roles in a few films.
Making our way north we reach the Oakdale section on the left.
Near the northern end of this section several rows in from the road,
we find the grave of actress Nydia Westman.
She played Cicily in The Cat and the Canary, and Mrs. Cobb in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.
She can also be seen in television with a number of roles on
Dragnet 1967, and Going My Way, alongside Gene Kelly.
Straight north across the street is the Pioneer Section.
Up the hill a few rows, right next to a tree, is Anthony Magro.
He was an actor and sound man, best remembered as the voice
of Cousin Itt on the Addams Family.
"All you have to do is get used to his accent."
[gibberish]
He wasn't the man in the costume, though, that was Felix Silla.
Magro was also a sound editor on shows like Magnum, PI, and Murder, She Wrote.
He won an Emmy for sound editing for 1982's The Executioner's Song.
Let's head up to the northern end of this lawn.
East of the chapel, just near a small tree, we find
actress Gloria Graham. Early in her career she had a small but memorable
role as Violet in It's a Wonderful Life.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Bailey."
"Hello, Violet!
Hey, you look good. That's some dress you got on there."
"What, this ol' thing? Why, I only wear it when I don't care how I look."
The following year, 1947, her role in Crossfire would establish her as a
film-noir icon, and earned her her first Oscar nomination.
She found great success in the years that followed, winning an Oscar for The bad and the Beautiful;
smoldering in The Big Heat;
playing the girl who can't say no in Oklahoma;
and coolly matching Humphrey Bogart beat four beat
in 1950s In a Lonely Place.
"You know, you're out of your mind.
How could anybody like a face like this?
Look at it."
"I said I liked it. I didn't say I wanted to kiss it."
The movie, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, is based on the memoir of the
final years of Gloria's life.
A little further west, across the street from the chapel,
is Willows West. Up the hill a ways, we find Montie Montana.
He was a renowned rodeo performer and western star,
considered the greatest trick Roper of his era.
He performed on film alongside western stars like Roy Rogers and John Wayne.
He was also a perennial performer at Pasadena's Rose Parade, with his
beloved horse, Rex.
He was inducted into the Pro rodeo Hall of Fame in 1994.
Back across the street south, west of the chapel, a few rows down from the road, we
find Adele Jergens. The tall, tough- talking actress of stage and screen,
dubbed "The Eye Full," began her career as a chorus girl,
studying under Gypsy Rose Lee, before landing a movie contract in the 40s.
She played Marilyn Monroe's mother in Ladies of the Chorus,
and an exotic dancer in Armored Car Robbery.
She can also be seen in Abbott and Costello
Meet The Invisible Man.
She retired from acting in the 50s.
Still further west, as the road turns south, we find Willows Heights on the right.
Halfway up the hill, a few rows in, is the grave of Gregory Walcott.
He's perhaps best remembered for his role in Ed Wood's cult classic,
Plan 9 From Outer Space.
"Do you suppose the passengers saw it?"
"I doubt it, most of them were asleep,
but it was quite a jolt, Jeff. I'll check."
"Good. We'll get 'em ready for landing,
- and keep it quiet until we get instructions." - "Right"
"Okay, Danny."
"American Flight 812, reporting to Burbank tower, over."
As a nod to this role, he had a small role in Tim Burton's quirky biopic, Ed Wood,
his final role.
He acted alongside Clint Eastwood in four films in the 70s,
and can also be seen in a number of television productions, including
87th Precinct, and Bonanza.
Let's turn south now and head to the mausoleums on the right.
In the northeast corner of the second mausoleum, way up at the top, is the niche
of Stephen Boyd. The chiseled leading man of the 50s and 60s is perhaps best
remembered for his portrayal of Messala in Ben Hur, opposite Charlton Heston.
The role earned him a Golden Globe.
He also starred in Fantastic Voyage, and The Oscar.
He was only 45 when he died of a heart attack.
Finally we head to the lawn across the street to the east of the mausoleum.
About a half-dozen rows in we
find Frank Kelly Freas. He was an illustrator, considered one of the great
science fiction artists of the 20th century. He was a 10-time winner of the
Hugo Award for his book and magazine covers, illustrating for authors such as
Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke.
One ofhis most recognizable paintings,
originally featured on a 1953 cover of Astounding Science Fiction, was later
featured on the cover of Queen's album, News of the World.
He also rendered the impish Alfred E. Neuman for Mad Magazine covers
from 1955 to 1962.
He was the second artist inducted into the Science-fiction Hall of Fame.
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!
Hollywood graveyard is excited to announce our brand-new spinoff series,
titled Hollywood Grapeyard, where we set out to remember and celebrate
Hollywood's most legendary grapes.
From Gilbert Grape, to the California Raisins -
which are basically grapes that forgot to wear sunscreen to the beach.
And let's not forget The Great Grape Ape.
[music]
So, if you love grapes as much as I do,
pour yourself a tall bowl of Grape Nuts soaked in grape soda,
and tune in next week for our very first
Famous Grape Tour.
Thanks for watching ...
and April Fools!