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 Santa Barbara Cemetery, where we'll find such stars as
Fess Parker, Alan Thicke, Suzy Parker, and many more. Join us won't you?
From Simi Valley we hit the 101 again and continue northwest of the Gold Coast
to Santa Barbara, about two hours from Hollywood. This beach resort town is
often called the American Riviera and many stars have found this the perfect
spot to settle down away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood. And when they
pass on many find themselves here at Santa Barbara Cemetery. Founded in 1867
this cemetery is prized for - if you'll forgive the pun - a view to die for.
Santa Barbara Cemetery is situated right up against the bluffs overlooking the
Pacific Ocean. In literature death has often been symbolized by a passage
across the sea to the next life. Nowhere in Southern California's that
felt more than here in Santa Barbara, where while visiting the dead you can
hear the ocean waves crashing and watch boats sail off into the horizon.
We'll begin our tour at the chapel and mausoleum just in from the entrance.
The walls of the chapel are lined with niches and adorned with beautiful murals
by Alfredo Ramos Martinez, with architecture inspired by 15th century
Catalonian churches.
The mausoleum is on two levels,
but is fairly small and can be explored in a relatively short time. And in doing
so you'll get the wonderful sense of walking through an old-world castle or
monastery.
On the far right wall of the chapel, just above eye-level, is the niche of Virginia Cherrill.
The actress was discovered by Charlie Chaplin and cast as the blind
flower girl in City Lights. It was a silent film, though the rise of the
talkies had already begun years earlier. The film is considered one of
Chaplin's finest.
A handful of sound films followed for Virginia including John Ford's
The Brat, and Todd Browning's Fast Workers. By the end of the 30s Virginia
retired from acting.
If we head out the chapel door behind us and follow this
path to the end, turning right, we head into the Sanctuary of Life Eternal.
On the far left side is the niche of husband and wife Robert Sinclair and
Heather Angel. Robert was a director who worked in theater, film, and television.
His career began on stage directing productions like Dodsworth and The
Philadelphia Story. He directed a handful of films before moving into television,
working on shows like a General Electric Theater, Johnny Staccato, 77 Sunset Strip,
and Lawman.
In 1970 Sinclair was stabbed to death by a burglar in his home.
He was 64.
Robert was married to actress Heather Angel.
She began appearing on screen in the 30s, including as a regular in the
Bulldog Drummond series. She also had a leading role in 1942s Time to Kill.
One of her last films was based on Edgar Allan Poe's Premature Burial.
Heather also lent her voice to Disney Animations, including as Alice's sister
in Alice in Wonderland, and Mrs. Darling in Peter Pan. Among her final roles were
regular television appearances on shows like Peyton Place and Family Affair.
Heather witnessed the murder of her husband, who fought to protect her from
the intruder. She lived out the remainder of her days in Santa Barbara County and
was interned here with her husband after dying of cancer at the age of 77.
Let's head back the way we came and take the stairs on the left down to the lower level.
Here next to the archway is the niche of Mendel Meyer. He was not a
Hollywood star, but a Hollywood architect. He and his partner designed several of
the iconic movie houses that defined early Hollywood, including Grauman's
Chinese Theater and the Egyptian Theater, both built in the 1920s. A number of his
buildings are now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Let's head back past the stairway into the next room, then into a room of bronze
niches on the left. Here we find actress Norma Varden. She was a popular
British stage actress before landing roles in Hollywood films, including as
Lady Beekman in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Frau Schmidt in The Sound of Music, and
Mrs. French in Witness for the Prosecution. In later years she also made
regular guest appearances on television shows like Hazel and The Real McCoys.
She lived to be 90.
That'll do it for the main mausoleum, let's head back outside
and cross the street west to the courtyard mausoleums.
Heading into the mausoleum in the pines on the left is the niche of Christopher Bernau.
He was an actor remembered for playing Philip Todd in the soap opera with a
supernatural spin, Dark Shadows. He also played the villainous Alan Spaulding on
the soap opera, Guiding Light. Bernau was diagnosed with AIDS in the
80s and in 1989 died from a heart attack brought on by the disease
He was just 49.
On the wall to the left, way up at the top, we find the crypt of
John Ireland. He was an actor whose career spanned some five decades. In the
40s he could be seen in films like Red River, and All the King's Men - a role
which earned him an Oscar nomination. He also played the gladiator Crixus in
Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus. On television he starred in the 60s series
The Cheaters. Ireland also dabbled in directing, co-helming The Fast and the Furious...
no not that one, that one.
He died of leukemia at age 78.
That's all we'll find in this section. Let's hop in the car and head out to the grounds.
Following the road from the chapel southwest let's stop at central section
on the left. Up the hill a short ways we find the grave of Jeanne Crain. The actress
is perhaps best known for her title role in the 1949 film Pinky, a role which
earned her an Oscar nomination. Other films include the musical State Fair, and
the film noir Leave Her to Heaven. She continued to act in film and on
television into the 70s. Jeanne died of a heart attack at the age of 78, and is
buried here next to her husband, Paul, who also acted in a handful of productions.
The next section west of here is Ridge section.
Near the middle of the northern
end of this lawn we find a proud Canadian, Alan Thicke. If you grew up in
the 80s and 90s like I did you'll probably fondly remember Thicke for his
role as Dr. Seaver on the sitcom, Growing Pains. The show ran for seven seasons
from 1985 to 1992, and earned Thicke a Golden Globe nomination.
The show even spawned two made-for-tv movies. Thicke also had a successful
career writing television theme music, including the themes for Diff'rent Strokes,
and The Facts of Life.
Music runs in the family. He's the father of singer
Robin Thicke, of "Blurred Lines" fame.
In 2016 Alan Thicke died of an aortic dissection.
He was 69.
West along this same row we find Norman Gimbel. He was a
songwriter, penning lyrics for popular themes for TV and film, including the
themes for Happy Days,
Laverne and Shirley,
Wonder Woman,
and the Paper Chase.
He also wrote the lyrics for the song "Killing Me Softly with His Song," which
would later be remade by The Fugees. And the song, "It Goes Like It Goes," from the
film Norma Rae earned him an Oscar. Gimbel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall
of Fame in 1984.
If we cross to the southern end of this lawn we find the
final resting place of Ronald Colman. He was an actor whose career began on stage
and silent film in London before coming to America, becoming a popular star in
the 20s through the 40s. He gave an oscar-nominated performance
in films like Bulldog Drummond, and won for A Double Life. He also became known
for adventure films like The Prisoner of Zenda, and Lost Horizon.
Colman was 67 when he died from a lung illness.
The poem here on his marker is from The Tempest by Shakespeare.
The next section east is Summit Plaza.
Here lies Vivian Tobin. She began her career during the silent era as a duo
comedy act with her sister Genevieve. She played Dacia in Cecil B DeMillle's
The Sign of the Cross in 1932. And into the 40s played Leon Errol's wife in
a series of two-reel comedies. She then retired from acting, living to be 99.
Crossing the street east we reach Island section. At the center of this section
is a large pyramid. Following the line on the south side of the pyramid we reach
the grave of Suzy Parker and Bradford Dillman. In the 40s and 50s Suzy Parker
became one of the most recognized faces in glamor and advertising, appearing in
dozens of beauty magazines and cosmetic ads - a forerunner to the modern-day
supermodel. She made her film debut in Funny Face opposite Fred Astaire and
Audrey Hepburn. Other films include Kiss Them for Me, and The Best of Everything.
And fans of The Twilight Zone will recognize her from the episode
"Number 12 Looks Just Like You,"... One more, right?
"What's so terrible about being beautiful?
After all, isn't everybody?"
She retired from acting in the 70s.
In 1960 while filming Circle of Deception she met actor Bradford Dillman
whom she would marry. Dilllman won a Golden Globe as most promising newcomer in 1958
for In Love and War. In the decades that followed he'd be seen in films like
Sudden Impact with Clint Eastwood, and Escape Rrom the Planet of the Apes.
He also became a familiar face on television with guest appearances and
shows from Dr. Kildare to Murder She Wrote. He died from complications of
pneumonia at the age of 87.
Just a few rows back we find actor Stephan Burns. He's best known for playing
Pete in Herbie Goes Bananas, and Jack Cleary in the TV miniseries The Thorn Birds,
in 1983.
After being involved in a car accident he received an emergency
blood transfusion. Tragically the blood had not been tested and was infected
with HIV. He died from complications of AIDS at just 35.
The section north of here is Summit.
If we follow the road just below the walled
area we reach the grave of Fess Parker. He was a hero to just about every child
in the 50s and 60s, known to them as Davy Crockett.
Parker portrayed the legendary frontiersman in Disney's miniseries in
the mid-50s.
[music]
The coonskin cap that he wore,
referenced here on his marker, would become all the rage - a symbol of youth in
1955. Even Back to the Future referenced it when Marty travels to 1955. Many of
the characters he played after Davy Crockett were in a similar vein,
including Daniel Boone, in which he'd also adorn a coonskin cap.
He can also be seen in Old Yeller.
Fess Parker retired from acting to run a number of
successful business ventures, including a resort and winery here
in the Santa Barbara area.
He died in 2010 at the age of 85.
If we stop at the T intersection to the north, back at Central lawn, just in front of
the road is the grave of Tab Hunter. With blonde hair and surfer boy good looks,
hunter was one of the major teen idols of the 50s. Between 1955 and 1959 he was
Warner Brothers top male star, with hits like The Burning Hills, and Damn Yankees.
He also had a hit record with the song "Young Love" in 1957, which hit number one
on the Billboard charts.
[music]
Though his teen heartthrob status diminished in the 60s, he continued to be
a popular star in films like The Pleasure of His Company, and Operation Bikini.
He had his own show, The Tab Hunter Show, and would also produce a
couple of films with his partner Alan Glaser. Hunter's autobiography, released
in 2005, would become a best-seller. In the book he acknowledged that he was gay,
and had once been in a long-term relationship with Anthony Perkins, aka
Norman Bates in Psycho.
Hunter died just before his 87th birthday -
complications from a blood clot.
Let's circle back around toward the ocean
and make our way to Ocean View section.
Near the middle of this section is a big tree, at the base
of which we find Laurence Harvey. The actor was born in Lithuania and worked
out of both the UK and the States. He was nominated for an Oscar for the 1959 film
Room at the Top. He would go on to give memorable performances in films like
The Alamo, and The Manchurian Candidate.
He was just 45 when he died from stomach cancer.
Also here is Harvey's daughter, Domino Harvey. She began her career as a
model before turning to bounty hunting, seeking out drug dealers, thieves, and the
occasional murderer. She was just 35 when she died from an
overdose of fentanyl. In 2005 a film inspired by her life was made, starring
Keira Knightley as Domino.
Let's continue east to the Sunrise Urn Garden, which consists of smaller
cremation graves.
Just left of the sidewalk we find Vera Ralston.
She rose to fame as an ice skater in her native Czechoslovakia.
She famously insulted Hitler during the '36 Olympics when,
upon his request that she skate for the swastika,
she told him she'd rather skate on the swastika.
She moved to Hollywood to escape the rise of Nazism, and would
perform in a few dozen films, mainly B movies like Storm over Lisbon, and Dakota
with John Wayne. She retired from the screen in 1958.
Finally we head up and to the left a few spaces to find Carmen Phillips.
The raven-haired beauty began
her career as an actress on Broadway before making her TV debut in 1958 on
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and her film debut in Party Girl that same year.
She had a regular role as Lily in a 60s series The Lieutenant, and made guest
appearances on shows from 77 Sunset Strip to Route 66. Her final role was as
Mime #2 in Easy Rider in 1969. After retiring from the screen she
became a humanitarian and animal rights activist.
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.
Pardon me a moment while I soak in this magnificent view...