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
continue our tour of Forest Lawn
Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, where we'll
find such stars as Buster Keaton,
Stan Laurel, Paul Walker and many more.
Join us won't you?
Continuing our tour of Forest Lawn
Hollywood Hills Memorial Park we find
ourselves in the southernmost part of
the cemetery in the area is known as the
Courts of Liberty and Lincoln Terrace.
Similar to the Courts of Remembrance
which we visited in part one, this
area consists of several terraced
courtyards and garden areas, however no
crypts or niches, only graves. The motif of
this section of cemetery is principally
patriotic with statues of prominent
American figures like George Washington
and Abraham Lincoln. But the most
impressive feature is a spectacular
mosaic featuring vignettes from American
history. Even if you don't come to visit
any stars this mural is worth the trip.
The Liberty Court is a straight
shot south from the entrance of the
cemetery. We'll actually start right
across the street at the Old North Church.
Just southwest of the church we
find the grave of actor Tom Bosley who
played Howard Cunningham on the popular
TV series "Happy Days." He also portrayed
Mayor LaGuardia in the Broadway musical
"Fiorello" for which he won a Tony Award.
Up the hill and slightly to the west we
find the grave of fitness guru Jack LaLanne,
known as The Godfather of fitness
Jack was among the first to
publicly preach the benefits of regular
exercise and a good diet, writing that
physical culture and nutrition is
salvation of America. And I'm sure Jack
would agree that walking through a
cemetery is pretty good exercise so
let's keep it up. Heading south across
the street toward the Courts of Liberty
we approach the outer wall. Here we find
the graves of actor John Hall who
starred in several action adventure
films in the 30s and 40s including
"Arabian Nights" and "Invisible Agent."
Moving east along this outer wall we
come to the grave of the Great Stoneface,
legendary actor director Buster Keaton.
It's hard to sum up in a few
words the magnitude of the effect buster
Keaton's work had on early Hollywood.
His influence is still seen in films some
100 years later. Alongside Charlie
Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton
is considered the greatest comic film
maker of the silent era. A master of
physical comedy Buster stood out among
the rest of his visual gags and
practical stunts, all of which he
actually performed. His notable films
Include "Sherlock Jr." and the 1926 film
"The General" which Orson Welles once said
was cinema's highest achievement in comedy
and perhaps the greatest film ever made.
He slowly fell away from Hollywood when
studio heads wouldn't grant him the
creative freedom he had enjoyed during
the silent years. He was given an honorary
Academy Award in 1959 for his unique
talents which brought immortal comedy
to the screen.
Continuing east along this outer wall
past the stairs, we find the grave of
British funny man Marty Feldman. His most
iconic role was in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein,"
as the good doctor's lab
assistant, Igor.
"No, it's pronounced 'Eye-Gore."
His distinctive bulbous eyes were a result
of a botched operation for his Graves disease.
He died in 1982 while filming the movie
"Yellowbeard."
Back and up the stairs into the courtyard area in the first
garden east of the Washington Monument we find
the grave of game show host Bert Convy.
Among the popular shows he hosted are
"Win, Lose, or Draw," and "Super Password."
Back again toward the central courtyard we
head up the stairs into the next terrace
level we're on a small wall to the right
we find the grave of Stan Laurel, one half
of legendary comedy duo Laurel & Hardy.
Stan Laurel with the lean childlike
character to Oliver Hardy's pompous
rotund character. They starred in 107
films together including shorts and
features, both silent and talkie.
Not let's sit back and relax with Stan as he
smokes his pipe.
His partner Oliver Hardy is buried two
miles from here at Valhalla Cemetery.
Continuing west through the doorway to the
next garden area we find comedic actor
John Ritter, who starred as Jack on eight
seasons of "Three's Company." The role
earned him both an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
He died of aortic dissection
shortly after finishing work on an
episode of "8 Simple Rules."
Passing into the next garden area west, just as we
enter, on the left, is the unmarked grave
of comedian and TV personality Steve Allen
He was the first to host
The Tonight Show in 1954 and was
instrumental in developing the concept
of the talk-show.
"In case you're just joining us, this is 'Tonight.'
And, I can't think of too much to tell you about it except
I want to give you the bad news first:
This program is going to go on forever."
He wasn't kidding.
The Tonight Show runs to this day on NBC
with Jimmy Fallon as host. Subsequently
Allen hosted several variety and game
shows and was a regular panelist on the
popular game show "What's My Line."
In the same garden area along the far west wall
is the grave of Toto bassist Mike Porcaro.
His brothers Steve and Jeff were
also in the band whose hits include "Rosanna"
and "Africa."
Heading back the way we came we follow
this sidewalk all the way to the other
side, to the easternmost garden so nice
It's a nice day for a stroll,
I hope you brought your sunscreen though.
Who loves ya baby?
Telly Savalas loves you. Here we find the
actor best remembered for his role in
the TV show "Kojak." He was also nominated for
an Academy Award for his supporting role
in "Birdman of Alcatraz."
Crossing the sidewalk just to the south
we find a grave with magicians Penn & Teller,
may they rest in peace.
That bullet catching trick finally
caught up to them -- no not really,
this is a Cenotaph, meaning no one is
actually buried here. This marker was
placed by them as the payoff of a magic
trick on an episode of their show
"Penn &Teller: Bullshit"
"Grieve in the way that makes you happy.
Sounds whack, but it isn't. The funeral
isn't for the dead, it's for the living.
We thought it'd be nice when we die for y'all to
get some fun out of it, so we bought a
grave plot the Forest Lawn Memorial Park
in the Hollywood Hills, and we set up a
grave marker. Takes some serious scamming
to get a grave when you're not dead but
you're not playing with f@$%#n' kids here, we're
Penn & Teller. We did all the hard work
and here's how you use it: Take a friend,
a pen, an envelope, any pack of cards, and
a camera to Hollywood..."
For more check out the episode titled
"Death, Inc."
Rounding the corner to the garden area
just south of this one we find the grave
of actor Paul Walker, who is best
remembered for his role as Brian
O'Conner in sevens "Fast and Furious" films.
The franchise has earned nearly four
billion dollars as of 2016, making it one
of the most profitable movie franchises
in history. In a tragically ironic twist
of fate Paul died when the Porche he was
riding in lost control and crashed in an
industrial area of Santa Clarita.
The accident occurred while "Furious 7" was
still in production, and filmmakers had
used his brothers and CGI to finish his scenes.
Heading back west toward the
central garden area just west of the
main walkway
if the grave of a man named Bob Kane.
If you don't know who Bob Kane is there's a
pretty big hint right here on his grave marker.
That's right... Bob Kane created Batman.
Enough said.
We'll continue our tour by heading now
to the Lincoln Terrace which is just
west of the large mural, right across the street.
In the second garden area on the
right near the center of the lawn is the
grave of David Carradine, an actor and
martial arts specialist who is
remembered for his roles in the TV
series "Kung Fu," as well as Bill in
Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill series.
Heading into the next garden area to the
west we find, along the western sidewalk,
the grave of comedian Dick Van Patten,
who played Tom Bradford on TVs
'Eight is Enough." Fans of Mel Brooks films will
also recognize him as King Roland in
"Spaceballs," and the Abbott on
"Robin Hood: Men in Tights."
Right across the sidewalk
is the grave of Garry Marshall, the man
behind several TV and film hits.
He created "Happy Days" and its various
spin-offs, as well as the original "Odd Couple."
He also directed the film's "Pretty Woman,"
and "The Princess Diaries."
Up the stairs just north of the Lincoln statue
is the grave of Jeff Porcaro, who is the
drummer for the band Toto, and the
brother of Mike Porcaro who we visited
earlier. Jeff was also one of the most
sought-after studio drummers from the
70s to the 90s. An Allmusic article
stating that quote, "...it is no exaggeration
to say that the sound of mainstream pop
rock drumming in the 1980s was to the
large extent the sound of Jeff Porcaro."
In the south lawn of this terrace, just
near a small tree, is the grave of actor
William Conrad who played Frank Cannon
in the 70s TV series "Canon," a role which
earned him two Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations.
Finally we head east on this
same lawn and find the grave of
multi-talented actor musician Scatman Crothers.
Scatman started out as a jazz
musician playing clubs across the
country before making his way to
Hollywood. His big break came in 1970 when he
landed the role as Scat Cat in Disney's
"Aristocats." In the years that followed he
starred in other Hollywood classics like
"The Shining," and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
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.
Hey have any of you seen Alfred
Hitchcock's movie "The Birds?"
...yeah...well,
I'm sure there's nothing to worry about...