Did you know Hollywood was given its name by a honeymooner? Seriously, the "Father of Hollywood" Hobart Johnstone Whitley found his inspiration while honeymooning! (He's buried here, so is Harvey Henderson Wilcox, who founded the city of Hollywood!)
From the period of 1940 to 1998, the cemetery was under the control of a man named Jules Roth, I am sure the name sounds familiar, he was a real winner. He barred Hattie McDaniel's burial there because she was an African American (she was Mamie in Gone With the Wind). She was buried at an alternate cemetery, but in 1999, wrongs were made right and she was given a beautiful cenotaph in the park next to the reflection pond when the cemetery came under new ownership.
There's no nicer way to put this... Jules Roth was pretty crooked, during his reign, the cemetery fell into such disrepair that it was shut down and barred from new plot sales. It was so bad there, in profitable years they were making their money disinterring people whose families wanted them moved to more respectable cemeteries. By the time Roth died in the late 90's, the cemetery was down to 62 acres (Paramount Pictures purchased 40 acres behind the Beth Olam section in 1920 with RKO pictures to build their studios on, Roth sold the land in front of the cemetery to developers who built a strip mall there)...
An earthquake had left the cemetery crippled and severely wrecked, mausoleums were shut down, crypts were "bandaged" with plywood and headstones were left over turned. All the money that should have been trusted for the care of the park was gone... Spent on yachts and expensive homes for Roth. It would be a massive understatement to say that people weren't outraged. Jules died in 1998 while under investigation by a board of attorneys for the state and he is interred in the Cathedral Mausoleum under his parents (and not too far from Valentino!). You can learn more about him here... Profile: Jules Roth
I first learned about this cemetery in 2002 while watching the premiere of 'The Young and the Dead' on HBO, a documentary about the refurbishment and new ownership of the cemetery. In 1998, Tyler Cassity bought the cemetery for $375,000, and by 2002 he had restored the cemetery, given it a new name, the ban on the sale of plots was lifted, and it was added to the National Historic Places Registry. Now instead of an eye sore, the park has become a place of celebration, reflection and remembrance.
In the summertime, thousands of people show up weekly with picnic blankets and lawn chairs to watch old movies projected on the sides of Mausoleums, and in the fall, the cemetery is home to the largest Dia de los Muertos celebration in California. Each year, approximately 10,000 people attend this celebration... This year we were two of those people!
I have yet to get an accurate count of all the notable people buried here, it varies depending on who you ask, 171, 193, 510, 270... and so on, you get the picture!
Charlotte Bridgewood, the mother of the first screen star Florence Lawrence is interred in the Columbarium. Florence was so heart broken when her mother died that she commissioned a one of a kind marble statue of her mother's veiled likeness to adorn her niche, it really is quite beautiful.
Sadly, in 1938, Florence decided to take her own life. When Florence died she was penniless. Bad investments, crashes, and the Great Depression had erased her film and cosmetics fortune. She was buried on the grounds of the park... In an unmarked pauper's grave. In 1991, Roddy McDowell paid for a grave marker for her that reads "The Biograph Girl/The First Movie Star."
On a lighter note... Ryan and me did have a moment to share a laugh over an 'Enriko Palazzo' joke...
For those of you who are scratching your heads and wondering what is wrong with us, let me enlighten you...
As you can see the joke never gets old for Ryan... ;)
For you Ramones Fans...
Dee Dee's final resting place is located here, and there is a pretty awesome cenotaph for Johnny here (His ashes are with his widow and friends).
(Dee Dee's grave pretty much always looks like it was the site of a raging kegger!)Peter Finch is also interred here...
He was the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award (The only other actor to receive the honor is Heath Ledger).
Interesting fact about Valentino's final resting place... his death was so unexpected there were no plans made for him, and he was "temporarily" interred in the crypt of his good friend June Mathis. Unfortunately she died soon after, and permanent plans had not been made for Valentino yet. In the end, June was interred in her husband's crypt, and Valentino's family purchased her crypt from her husband, and there he still lies today.
There was fresh lipstick on the crypt the day we visited!
The famed "Lady in Black" is still seen roaming the cemetery, she brings roses to Valentino every week. A few weeks after this visit I brought my sister and her family here, we got to see the "Lady in Black", sitting on the steps of a private mausoleum, reapplying her lipstick! I hear the new "Lady in Black" runs a tour though here once a week... Interesting.
(I don't know how well you can see her... But there she is!)Another fun fact about Valentino's grave, it gets kissed so often the plaque has to be removed two or three times a year for heavy cleaning, and the marble is polished on a weekly basis... Imagine the germ fest these ladies are sticking their lips to... Ewww!
The Valentino shrine is also home to one of the weirdest and most entertaining epitaphs I have ever seen...
Rock On!
The full set of captioned photos from our second trip to the park can be found here... I tried to 'Wiki' as many people as I could in the captions, I hope you find them as interesting as I did!
I could go on for days about this plot of land and the people under it... But for now I think I have posted enough! Who knows, if there's a part 3, I may include more! ;) Until then, enjoy the pictures and the stories of the people in them!
WOW! This was a long one!!!! I think this should totally make up for my months of slacking this summer!
No comments:
Post a Comment