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 south to San Diego, where we'll find such stars
as Patti Page, Karen Black, Bobby Driscoll, and many more. Join us won't you?
Summer is upon us, and what better way to kick it off than
with the road trip south to sunny San Diego. A number of entertainers have been
laid to rest here, so today we kick off our tour of several cemeteries around
San Diego - a tour which will span two parts.
As we cruise along the coast down the 5 let's stop halfway in Oceanside, and
visit Eternal Hills Memorial Park.
The cemetery sits on 130 acres of rolling
hills and dates back to the 1940s.
We'll begin our tour here just in from the entrance on the left near the lake.
This distinctive monument featuring a trombone player is for Paul Tanner, who,
you may have guessed, was a musician and trombone player. As noted here on the
marker he rose to prominence playing in Glenn Miller's band from 1939 to 1942.
After the war he would work as a studio musician performing on recordings for
film and television. He also co-developed the
electro-theremin, an instrument which mimics the sound of a theremin.
He could be heard performing that unusual instrument in the opening theme
of the TV show, My Favorite Martian. The instrument is also heard in the Beach
Boys hit, "Good Vibrations."
Tanner died of pneumonia at the age of 95.
If we follow the sidewalk west we find the grave of Junior Seau on the left. He was a
professional football player, a linebacker for the Chargers, Dolphins, and
the Patriots. He had a storied career, being named Defensive Player of the Year
in 1992, and was a 12-time Pro Bowl player. He was known for his hard hits,
passionate playing, and was beloved by the local community. So the world was
shocked when Seau took his own life at the age of 43. His death shed additional
light on the NFL's concussion crisis and CTE - chronic traumatic encephalopathy -
brain damage from excessive trauma which affects players mental health later in life.
His autopsy concluded that Seau did indeed suffer from CTE which may
have led to the depression that drove him to end his life.
The Chargers retired his number 55, and in 2015 he was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Continuing west we find a section called Peace Haven on the left. Close to the
road is Susan Morrow, whose real name was Jacqueline. She was an actress who
made her screen debut in 1951s Gasoline Alley.
She would go on to play the female lead alongside Charlton Heston in 1952s
The Savage. Subsequent years would see her in prominent roles in films like Cat-Women
of the Moon, and Macabre, a film touted as being so frightening admission included
a $1,000 insurance policy against "death by fright."
Susan retired from acting in the 60s after making a number of appearances on TV.
She was just 52 when she died.
Let's stop real quick on this little island: Cockrill Isle which pays homage
to the owner and manager of Eternal Hills, Joe B. Cockrill. This monument to
Cockrill looks like the world's tiniest mausoleum.
He's entombed in a crypt by the lake.
Across the street is the Court of the Cross. Here we find the niche of husband
and wife entertainers John and Pearl Early. The couple toured the vaudeville
circuit together as Early and Laight. They entertained mainly on stage but John
would make one appearance in silent film, a 1921 film called Daffy House, and
later in life Pearl would have a number of small roles in films in the 40s and 50s.
Across the street south is the Sanctuary of Hope. Let's head down to the
lower level and take the first right. High on the left is the niche of
Dick Simmons.
He was an actor best known for his starring role as Sergeant William
Preston in the 1955 series, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. After that series
ended he continued to have a successful television career making guest
appearances on shows like Death Valley Days, and the Brady Bunch.
He died at age 89 from Alzheimer's disease.
Back out to the grounds let's
make our way around to Sunset Section.
Up the hill a short ways is Merritt Bohn. He was an actor seen mainly in
television in the 50s and 60s. And we can add "one more" to our Twilight Zone Special.
Mr. Bohn can be seen in two episodes of the original series:
One for the Angels, and Steel.
"You're lucky to get a bout.
We ain't used nothing less than B-4s in almost two years now.
Fighter we had got ruined in a car wreck though."
He also played an assistant warden on the 60s Batman series.
Merritt Bohn died of pneumonia at age 73.
Let's continue to the northern end of this lawn to Calvary Section. Disney fans will
recognize our next star. Several spaces south of the road we find a cenotaph
Bobby Driscoll. The highly acclaimed child actor was the first to be put on
exclusive contract with Disney. His breakout role was in the 1946 film
Song of the South. He would go on to star in films like So Dear to My Heart, and
Treasure Island. Bobby was also the model and voice for Peter Pan.
"How do we get to Neverland?"
"Fly, of course!"
"Fly?"
"It's easy!"
Outside of Disney he had a role in the
1949 noir, The Window. His performances in So Dear to My Heart and The Window
earned him a juvenile Academy Award in 1950. As he grew through adolescence in
the 50s his career began to decline. His life and career became plagued by drug
abuse, run-ins with the law, and bullying from other kids about his film career.
The downfall of Bobby Driscoll is a tragic early example of a fallen child star.
After spending time in a narcotics rehabilitation center he moved to New
York in hopes of reviving his career on the Broadway stage,
but was unsuccessful. Penniless, Driscoll disappeared into Manhattan's underground
in the late 60s. In March of '68, in a scene eerily similar to the plot of
The Window, two boys playing in a deserted East Village tenement discovered the
body of Bobby Driscoll. He had died from heart failure due to drug use. There was
no identification on his body so photos were circulated to try to identify him,
but he went unidentified and unclaimed. And so Bobby Driscoll, once the biggest
child star in the world, was buried in a pauper's grave in Hart Islands potter's field.
The following year his mother sought help from officials in locating
her son. This would lead to fingerprint identification that it was Bobby
discovered in that abandoned tenement and buried in the potter's field. So even
though his name is here on his father's marker his remains still lies somewhere
on Hart Island. Given his legacy perhaps Disney will soon consider enshrining
Bobby Driscoll as a Disney Legend.
Doubling back we make our way now to the southwest area of the cemetery.
This is the Garden of Protection.
Passing by the statue on the left, near the middle of
this lawn we find an icon of New Hollywood, Karen Black. The actress, singer,
and songwriter became a prominent figure in both independent and mainstream film
in the 70s. Her role in Easy Rider would lead to a starring role in the 1970 film
Five Easy Pieces, alongside Jack Nicholson.
The role earned her an Academy Award nomination.
"You know, I'd go out with you.
Or, I'll stay in with ya.
Or I'll do anything that you'd like me to do,
if you would tell me that you love me."
Other films include Airport 1975, The Great Gatsby,
House of 1000 Corpses, and Hitchcock's last film, Family Plot.
She also wrote and performed songs for her role in the musical drama, Nashville.
She kept busy performing an indie, arthouse, and horror films until she died
from cancer at age 74.
Just across the street south is the Folded Flags section.
This is the final resting place of Lloyd Haynes. He served in the Marines during
the Korean War after which he began his acting and film studies in Los Angeles.
Lloyd is perhaps best remembered for his starring role as high school history
teacher Pete Dixon, in the Emmy Award winning series Room 222
which ran from 1969 to 1974.
The role earned him an Emmy and a Golden Globe nomination.
You can also see him and shows like Star Trek, Batman, and as judge Quinlan in
Dynasty. He was just 52 when he died from cancer.
That'll do it for Eternal Hills. Let's continue to make our way south to San Diego.
We're in the Sorrento Valley area now north of San Diego at El Camino
Memorial Park. This 220-acre cemetery was founded in 1960. Across the grounds you'll
see a number of bells.
"Bells... the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
from the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells..." as Edgar Allan Poe once wrote.
These bells represent the Southern California mission bells that marked the
original route of the El Camino Real from San Diego to Sonoma.
Just in from the entrance on the left is Mount Shalom section.
Our first visit here at El Camino wasn't an entertainer,
but a star of another sort - a scientist and hero to
millions, Jonas Salk. In the early 20th century polio was one of the most
feared childhood diseases. The infectious disease caused by the polio virus led to
muscle weakness and often paralysis. Epidemics of the disease post-war were
particularly devastating, especially among children. In the 1950s, next to the
atomic bomb, polio was the nation's greatest fear. Jonas Salk was a
virologist who headed the team that developed the first polio vaccine
approved for widespread use in 1955. The disease is now preventable, the vaccines
having effectively eradicated the disease from most of the world.
It's fitting we should visit him now in the midst of our own virus pandemic, as
scientists just like Salk are working around the clock to develop a vaccine
for Covid-19, which in time will also save countless lives.
Continuing East we reach Loma Siesta Section on the left. Up the hill a ways we
find Dorothy Kelly, sometimes credited as Dorothy O'Kelly - not to be confused
with the silent film actress of the same name.
Dorothy was an actress in around a dozen films. Her biggest roles were as
Mary in 1942s Flying with Music, and the secretary in The Sky's the Limit.
The remainder of four roles were mainly background uncredited, and she retired
from acting in 1946 after playing a show girl in The Razor's Edge. She was just 51
when she died reportedly from injuries sustained in a fire.
Further east, on the right, is
Vista Del Lago section. Let's make our way down the hill toward the lake.
Overlooking the lake we find the grave of Milburn Stone. If you're a fan of
Gunsmoke, one of the longest-running TV shows in history, you'll recognize Stone
as Doc Adams in over 600 episodes. The role earned him an Emmy.
"You know, you haven't got the faintest idea what I'm talking about.
What you ought to do instead of
sleeping half the day and carousing around most the night like you do,
why, you ought to read little... keep yourself informed, like I do."
Before Gunsmoke he played Skeeter Milligan in the Tailspin Tommy serials of the 1930s.
He died from a heart attack at age 75
Still further east we reach the Madonna Section on the left.
Taking a long stroll to the middle of this lawn we find the final resting place of
Billy Daniels. The legendary singer was of African-American and Native-American ancestry,
as well as a descendant of frontiersman Daniel Boone.
He began singing in clubs in the 40s and by 1950
had a best-selling hit with his rendition of "That Old Black Magic," which
would become his signature tune.
[music]
He would become New York's biggest cabaret draw that decade,
and toured Europe as America's most exciting singer. His popularity led to
roles in films like When You're Smiling, and even a pioneering TV show,
The Billy Daniel's Show.
And let's not forget about Broadway where he'd shine in close to
600 performances of Golden Boy with Sammy Davis Jr.
Billy Daniels died from cancer at age 73.
Back to the west we take the second right and left towards
the Loma Siesta Circle.
North of the circle is Freedom Terrace.
This is where we find silent film actress Violet La Plante.
In 1925 she was chosen as a
WAMPAS Baby Star - one of 13 young actresses believed to be on the
threshold of movie stardom, an honor her sister, silent film actress Laura La Plante,
had been given two years earlier. Her films include The Ramblin Galoot,
and her final film, How to Handle Women. Violet's acting career ended with
the advent of the talkies in 1928, and she lived to be 76.
Let's make our way now around and up the hill toward the Mausoleum of the Bells.
Ooo, look out!
Here we are at the Tranquility Terrace. This is the final resting place of the
singin' rage, Miss Patti Page. The country in pop music singer was one of the
best-selling female artists of the 1950s, with record sales topping 100 million.
She delighted audiences with hits like "How Much is That Doggy in the Window?"
"Old Cape Cod,"
And her signature tune, "Tennessee Waltz."
[music]
Her style was unique and distinct in
that she would harmonize backing vocals recording overdubs of her own voice.
She would often perform on television, including her own show, The Patti Page
Oldsmobile Show, in the 1950s, and even acted in a handful of films, like Elmer Gantry.
She was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame and was
posthumously awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013,
Patti Page died from heart and lung disease at the age of 85.
Onward now to the end of the road,
and the Mausoleum of the Bells. The bell tower arches bear no small
resemblance to another set of golden arches. Perhaps fitting as just around
the corner - you'll recall if you saw our food lovers special - is the man behind
McDonald's, Ray Kroc. The first McDonald's hamburger stand was opened by the
McDonald brothers in San Bernardino in 1940. In 1954 Ray Kroc teamed up with the
McDonald brothers to expand the franchise.
So while Kroc was not technically the founder of McDonald's, he was the man who
grew and developed the McDonald's that we know today, making it the most
recognized and successful fast-food corporation in the world. Kroc was
portrayed by Michael Keaton in the 2016 dramatization of the founding of
McDonald's, The Founder. Later in life he owned the San Diego Padres baseball team.
He died of heart failure at age 81.
Finally we head into the Sanctuary of
Love to find the crypt of husband and wife, Sheila Darcy and Preston Foster.
Sheila Darcy was an actress best known as female leads in cliffhanger serials
of the 30s and 40s, like Zorro's Fighting Legion.
She's also remembered as the Dragon Lady in Terry and the Pirates. Aside from an
uncredited role in 1951's Tomahawk, Sheila retired from acting after
marrying actor and singer Preston Foster. The versatile actor was performing in
the Broadway play Two Seconds when he was cast in the 1932 film adaptation of
the play alongside Edward G. Robinson. Other films include I Am a Fugitive from
a Chain Gang, and The Last Days of Pompeii. His career was put on hold
during the war when he served on the Coast Guard, afterwards he entered the
emerging world of television, in shows like Waterfront, and Gunslinger.
His performances earned him a nomination as most outstanding new personality at the
1955 Emmys.
Preston Foster died in 1970 at age 69.
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.
I happened to visit Eternal Hills on Memorial Day, and was treated to a
performance of Taps by a fireman in the Folded Flags block, a section for veterans.