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 head back to Hollywood Forever
Cemetery, to find such stars as Barbara La Marr,
Ford Sterling, Renee Adoree, and
many more. Join us, won't you?
Last year we toured Hollywood Forever,
the cemetery with as much character as
many of the stars who rest here. Today
we're heading back there to visit some
stars we missed the first time around. If
you haven't done so already be sure to
check out our original three-part tour of
Hollywood Forever.
We'll begin our tour back at the chapel,
by way of the colonnade, which is on the
west side of the chapel. Just as you
enter the colonnade, on the left, is the
niche of Elmo Lincoln. His marker is hard
to read but as it says, Lincoln was the
first actor to play Tarzan on screen (the
adult Tarzan to be accurate). The burly
actor initiated the role in Hollywood's
first Tarzan film, Tarzan of the Apes in
1918. The film was a tremendous success
and he would reprise the role of the
apeman in The Romance of Tarzan, and in
the 1921 serial of The Adventures of Tarzan.
After Tarzan, Lincoln can be seen mainly
in bit parts and uncredited roles.
Across from Lincoln, low on the wall, is Ford Sterling. Before Charlie Chaplin and
Harold Lloyd, there was Ford Sterling, one
of the most popular screen comedians of
very early Hollywood. He was a major
player at Mack Sennett's Keystone
Studios, one of the great comedy studios
of the silent era. There he was known as
the original chief of the bumbling
Keystone Cops. At Keystone he would
perform alongside other silent legends,
like Fatty Arbuckle, Charlie Chaplin, and
Mabel Normand, as the villain in one of
the Keystone's most iconic films,
Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life.
He performed
in nearly 300 productions before dying
of a heart attack at the age of 55.
Further down this corridor, on the left,
is the niche of Viola Dana. She too was a
silent film star who made her screen
debut in 1910 for Edison in A Christmas
Carol.
Among her 100-plus films are Bred in Old Kentucky, and Two Sisters. Aside from
a few bit parts in the years to follow
Viola retired from the screen in 1929.
She lived to be 90.
Let's head now into the chapel.
In the first column on the right we find
the niche of cinematographer Gregg Toland.
He's best remembered, as you may
have guessed, for his camera work on
Citizen Kane, considered one of the great
achievements in cinematography of the era.
In fact so vital was the role that
Toland played in the production of the
film that director Orson Welles shared a
title card with him. Other films include
William Wyler's The Best Years of our
Lives,
and Wuthering Heights, which won him an
Oscar. Toland is considered one of the
most influential cinematographers in
film history.
Right next to Toland is a famous parent.
William Gable who was
Clark Gable's father.
Sorry this one's also a little hard to read.
Across the room, low on the south wall, we find
the niche of Agnes Ayres. She was a silent
film star best remembered today for
starring alongside Rudolph Valentino in
his career defining role, the Sheik, in 1921.
She would reprise the role five years
later in The Son of the Sheik. She was
also one of Cecil B DeMille early stars,
in films like Forbidden Fruit. When her
career began to wane in the late 20s she
decided to retire from the screen.
She attempted a comeback in the late 30s, but
it wasn't to be.
She died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 42.
Let's head up now to the second level.
Right at the top of the stairs, on the left, is the niche of Charlotte Bridgwood.
She was a stage actress, performing under the name Lotta Lawrence, and was the mother of the
first movie star, Florence Lawrence, who
is buried nearby.
And get this: in addition to being actresses, Charlotte
and her daughter Florence were both
automotive enthusiasts and inventors.
Charlotte is credited with inventing the
automatic windshield wiper, and Florence
with developing turn and brake signals on cars.
To the right, in the second
column, we find Rozz Williams. He was a
pioneer of American gothic rock and
death rock, forming the band Christian Death
in 1979 when he was only 16, a band
that paved the way for future artists
like Trent Reznor and Marilyn Manson.
After leaving Christian Death, Williams
would perform with Shadow Project, and
Premature Ejaculation, as well as solo work.
On April 1st 1998, Williams
committed suicide by hanging himself in
his apartment. He was 34. His ashes were
scattered at Runyon Canyon Park, and then
a memorial was established here. His
fascination with the number 1334 is
evident here, the number inscribed on his
urn, and here, the lyrics to his song
December 30th 1334.
[Music]
Also displayed is an original
piece of collage art by Williams.
Across the room, next to the window, is the niche
of Jesse Lasky Jr. He was a screenwriter
and, as you may have surmised, the son of
Jesse Lasky, co-founder of paramount and
producer of hollow his first feature
film in 1914. Lasky Jr. is best known
for writing the screenplays for Cecil
B. DeMille's biblical epics, Samson and
Delilah, and the Ten Commandments. Also
here is Lasky's sister, Betty. She was an
author and film historian who wrote
about RKO Pictures.
Further along this wall, right next to Ann
Sheridan, is another writer,
Madeline Pugh Davis. She was co-writer
and co-creator of I Love Lucy, known as
the girl writer in an industry heavily
dominated by men. With writing partner
Bob Carroll Jr. she began writing for
Lucille Ball's radio show, and for Ball
and Desi Arnaz on vaudeville. Then came I
Love Lucy, one of the most beloved
sitcoms in television history.
It's no exaggeration to say that the
success of the show with a female lead
is owed in part to the fact that it had a
girl writer. Madelyn wrote for Lucy
spin-offs too - including The Lucy Show,
Here's Lucy, etc. Her memoir is titled
"Laughing with Lucy."
Let's make our way
back outside, but before we exit there's
one more stop at the entrance of the
colonnade. Low, just left of the door, is
Hobart J. Whitley. He was a real estate
and land developer in early Southern
California, known as the Father of
Hollywood, for his development of
Hollywood, the building of the Hollywood
Hotel, inspiring the creation of the
Hollywood Sign, and urging filmmakers
like David Horsley to make movies in
Hollywood. 
He's also the namesake for the swanky
Whitley Heights development in Hollywood,
home to some of Hollywood's biggest
stars from Barbara La Marr to Rudolph
Valentino.
There are, however, conflicting stories
out there as to who exactly came up with
the name "Hollywood," and how. If you saw
part two of our original tour you'll
recall that Daeida Wilcox suggested the
name Hollywood to her husband, landowner
Harvey Wilcox, who officially recorded
the name on the lands deed in 1887.
The story goes that she either heard the
name from a fellow train passenger on
the way to Ohio, or she took the name
from the California Holly that grew on
the land. After the death of Harvey,
Daeida continued to play a significant role
in the development of the town, earning
her the moniker the Mother of Hollywood.
But the Whitley's tell a different,
slightly more fanciful tale of the
origin of the town's name. According to
one account from a journal entry,
HJ Whitley, on his honeymoon with his new
bride, Gigi, stood atop the Hollywood
Hills looking out over the undeveloped
land below and had a vision of a
spectacular new town. Along came a lone
Chinese man singing in his native tongue.
Whitley asked the man, "What are you doing?" to which the Chinese man replied, with a
thick accent, "I holly wood," meaning
"hauling wood."
Then in there will Whitley decided that Hollywood would be the name of his new town.
But the cited journal entry, written in
third person rather than first person,
reads more like a fictional narrative
than a diary, and is the sole source of
this claim.
 So which is it?
Well... greater
historical minds than my own will have
to conclude just who it was that
actually named Hollywood.
Back outside at the mausoleum, the first corridor is the Sanctuary of Memories.
Here we find the Peruvian songbird, Yma Sumac.
The exotic singer, who rose to popularity in
the 50s, was renowned for her vocal range
of four and a half octaves - from deep and
dark to high and bird-like.
[music]
Let's make
our way to the main entrance of the
Abbey of the Psalms.
On the left, just
past the entrance, we find the crypt of
Renee Adoree. She was born in France and
from a young age joined her parents
performing in the circus. By her teens
she was performing on stage and in the
20s began making films in New York and
Hollywood. Her breakout role was
alongside John Gilbert in 1925s The Big
Parade,
one of the great films of the silent era.
Her career was cut short
after contracting tuberculosis in 1930,
dying a few years later at the age of 35.
Further in, on the right wall of the
rotunda niches, we find actress Kathleen Freeman.
She was an actress of stage and
screen, often playing eccentric
secretaries, teachers, nurses, and nuns, as
in sister Mary stigmata in the Blues Brothers.
"It saddens and hurts me that
the two young men whom I raised to
believe in the Ten Commandments have
returned to me as two thieves with
filthy mouths and bad attitudes. Get out,
and don't come back until you've
redeemed yourselves."
She was also the voice of Peg Bundy's
mom on Married, with Children. On stage
she earned a Tony nomination for her
role in the Broadway version of The Full Monty.
Halfway down the Sanctuary of
Memories, on the left, is the crypt of
Iron Eyes Cody. He was known as The
Crying Indian for his role in the iconic
anti-littering commercials of the 70s.
"People start pollution... 
people can stop it."
But long before that he was playing
Native Americans in hundreds of film and
television roles.
Late in life his
half-sister revealed that he was not of
Native American ancestry, but rather of
Italian descent - a claim he denied.
But the truth is that early in life Cody had
been introduced to and drawn to Native
American culture. In the 30s he married a
Native American woman and adopted two children.
Native or not
Cody worked hard much of his life to
promote and support the causes of his
adopted culture.
Back outside let's make
our way all the way down to the end of
the Corridor of Light.
At the bottom, on the right is Vito Scotti.
He was an Italian American character actor who
played Nazorine in the Godfather, and
voiced Peppo the Italian cat in the
Aristocats.
He also made guest appearances in TV
shows like Gilligan's Island, The Flying
Nun, and Columbo.
And like a true Italian
he was fond of cooking, and became highly
regarded as a chef.
Let's make our way toward the east side of the cemetery,
and stop at this pathway on the left.
If we follow this pathway all the way to the
fountain we find the niche of Andrew Koenig.
He was an actor known for playing
Mike Sever's friend "Boner" on the 80s
sitcom, Growing Pains. He also lent his
voice to the GI Joe animated series.
He began working behind the scenes as well,
writing and directing a number of short
films and producing the podcast, Never
Not Funny.
In 2010 Koenig opted to take
his own life, hanging himself from a tree
in a Vancouver park at the age of 41.
Walter Koenig, who played Chekov on the
original Star Trek, is his father.
Continuing east
let's stop just before the mausoleum at
the Toto monument. In between these two
buildings we reach a staircase where
we'll find the crypt of Woody Herman. He
was a clarinetist and saxophonist who
became one of the most popular big-band
leaders of the 30s, 40s, and 50s.
One of his band's early hits was "Woodchopper's
Ball" in 1939.
Still further east, just before the Cathedral Mausoleum,
is the unmistakable crypt of Oleg Vidov,
an actor known as the Soviet Robert
Redford for his chiseled good looks and
screen presence. He found great success
in Russian TV and cinema until communist
aggressions drove him to defect to the
US where he attained political asylum
and continued his career in Hollywood,
seen in films like Wild Orchid.
Into the cathedral mausoleum we now go.
Taking the second left then second right,
at the end, we find the crypt of Barbara
La Marr, the actress dubbed 'the girl who
was too beautiful.' From a young age
La Marr was on stage in vaudeville and
burlesque, but got her start in Hollywood
actually writing scenarios and
screenplays. She was reportedly
approached by Mary Pickford, who embraced
her and said, "My dear, you were too
beautiful to be behind a camera, your
vibrant magnetism should be shared by
film audiences." And so a star was born.
She had roles alongside Douglas
Fairbanks in The Nut, and The Three Musketeers,
and alongside Ramon Navarro
in The Prisoner of Zenda.
But her excessive partying, alcohol abuse,
and very little sleep ravaged her health.
After contracting tuberculosis she
collapsed on set and slipped into a coma.
She was later diagnosed with nephritis,
and two died in 1926 at the age of 29.
Her name inspired a future raven-haired
beauty, Hedy Lamarr.
Heading to the wall of niches just outside this corridor,
below David White who we visited in part 2,
is the niche of Rick Jason. He was an
actor best remembered for his role as
Lieutenant Hanley in the 60s TV series,
Combat! As a veteran of World War II he
was perfectly suited for the role. He
died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound
at the age of 77.
At the opposite end of
the mausoleum, high on the wall above the
Alcove of Reverence, is the niche of
Celia Lovsky. She was an actress and
wife of actor Peter Lorre. Celia helped
launch Lorre's career by bringing him
to the attention of Fritz Lang, who cast
him in his breakout role in M.
After their divorce in 1945 Celia started
taking roles in American film and TV
programs, films like Soylent Green and
appearances on shows like Dragnet, and on
Star Trek, playing the leader of Vulcan.
She was the very first to give the
Vulcan salute.
Apparently the salute was a bit of a
challenge for her, so she had to position
her fingers with both hands off-screen.
The niche of her husband Peter Lorre is
several spaces below her.
Back outside, across the street next to a
small family mausoleum, is the grave of
Ern Westmore. He was son of Hollywood
makeup pioneer, George Westmore, and part
of the Westmore dynasty of makeup
artists, along with several brothers,
including Bud Westmore who we visited at
Valhalla. Ern worked at studios like
Warner Brothers and RKO, in films like
Blood on the Sun. He also had his own TV
show featuring makeup tips and beauty
suggestions for women in the 50s.
Following the road around east we
arrive at a wall of niches on the right.
Here we find Holly Woodlawn. She was a
transgender actress, seen in the Paul
Morrissey films, Trash, and Women in
Revolt. She was also one of Andy Warhol's
superstars.
Born Haroldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez Danhakl, she changed
her name to Holly Woodlawn as a teen, and
hitchhiked her way from Florida to New York,
just as Lou Reed described in "Walk on the Wild SIde."
[music]
Northeast of the lake and across the
street to the right is section 2.
Here lies DEF Records,
laid to rest in 1993
by founder and record producer Rick Rubin.
When rubin decided to change the
name of the company from DEF to
American Recordings, he held a bonafide
funeral for DEF, presided over by
Reverend Al Sharpton. They filled the
casket with flowers, record albums, and
other mementos from the record company.
Rest in peace, DEF.
Back across the street toward the lake, near the Jayne Mansfield Cenotaph,
we find a woman who wore the mantle of 
The Lady in Black,
Anna Maria de Carrascosa.
On the anniversary of the death of Rudolph
Valentino in 1926, and every year since,
an enigmatic woman dressed all in black,
her face shrouded in a veil, has appeared
at the crypt of Valentino, to mourn the
Sheik and offer roses. One of the copycat
ladies in black claimed that her mother,
Ana Maria, was the original lady in black.
However, another has laid claim to being
the original: one miss Ditra Flame, who
Valentino had befriended and visited in
the hospital when she was sick, Valentino
reportedly telling her, "You were going to
live for many more years. But one thing
for sure if I die before you do, please
come stay by me because I don't want to
be alone."
And so she did. But as the
legend of the lady in black grew, so too
did the number of copycats and those who
claimed to be the original.
It's unlikely, though, that Ana Maria was the original.
Northwest of here just past Dee Dee Ramone,
we find the grave of Bianca
Halstead, also known as Bianca Butthole.
She was a rock musician, singer, and bass
player for the bands
Betty Blowtorch and Butt Trumpet.
After a show in New Orleans
in 2001 Bianca accepted a ride from a
drunk driver. Their speeding car spun
into oncoming traffic and Bianca was
killed in the accident. She was just 36.
Across the street to the west is a giant
obelisk which marks the grave of a man
whose last name is also his first name:
Griffith Griffith. He amassed a fortune
from a mining syndicate and donated land
to Los Angeles that would become
Griffith Park, which is where the
Hollywood sign is located.
He also bequeathed the money for
Griffith Observatory, and insisted that
admission to the observatory be free,
which it remains to this day.
Griffith marred his legacy, however, when
he shot and attempted to kill his wife.
She survived, and Griffith spent two
years in prison for the crime.
Southwest across the street, nearly
hidden under a tall cypress tree, is the
grave of Adolphe Menjou, the suave and
impeccably tailored American actor whose
style of mustache now bears his name: the
Menjou mustache - which is far more
sophisticated than the Arthur Dark beard.
His career began in the silent era in
films like The Three Musketeers, and The
Sheik, quickly establishing himself as
the well-dressed man about town. In the
sound era he received an Oscar
nomination for his role in The Front
Page.
Menjou was married to actress Verree Teasdale,
who performed in 29 films in
the 20s to the 40's, including
A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Finally let's head back around to the
entrance to remember one of the music
world's greatest legends: George Harrison.
He was a guitarist, songwriter, and
founding member of the Beatles - one of
the most popular and best-selling rock
bands of all time, helping define the
sound and culture of the 60s. After his
death in 2001 Harrison was cremated here
at Hollywood Forever. Then, in accordance
with Hindu tradition that he observed,
his ashes were scattered on the Ganges River in India.
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!
No visit to Hollywood forever would be
complete without stopping to say hello
to our animal friends.
The turtles weren't too thrilled to see
me...
except that guy, he was cool.
