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 Rose Hills
Memorial Park where we'll find such
stars as Ron Glass, Eazy-E, Thuy Trang,
and many more. Join us, won't you?
Rose Hills Memorial Park is located
about 30 miles east of Hollywood in
Whittier, California. Forest Lawn Glendale
may be the granddaddy of cemeteries in
LA, but in terms of sheer acreage, Rose
Hills has a beat. Let me tell you this
cemetery is massive. It boasts some 1,400
acres and the claim of being the largest
single location cemetery in America. But
worldwide, the Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery
in Iraq has it beat... just barely. So if
you're gonna stroll Rose Hills, bring
extra water and extra sunscreen, and just
to be safe, a full tank of gas. Rose Hills
was founded in 1914 as Whittier Heights
Memorial Park on 18 acres in the city of
Whittier. As the population around it
grew, so too did Rose Hills. Across the
expansive grounds of the cemetery are a
number of chapels whose architecture
reflects the decades of their
construction, mausoleums echoing early
Spanish California, and gardens honoring
various faiths and cultures, including
the beautiful Buddhist columbarium
featuring one of the largest Buddhist
pagodas in the United States.
Rose Hills took a cue from Hollywood
with this massive neon sign. Built in the
early 40s these twenty foot tall letters
can be seen for miles
both by day and night, when the neon
letters glow rose red. In the years since
pilots have come to rely on the glowing
sign as a visual reference as they fly overhead.
High on these hills east of LA
on a clear day you can see Hollywood and
downtown LA from here way off in the
distance...
It's not a clear day.
This cemetery is huge, so we'd better get
rolling if we're going to cover it all
before the Sun sets.
Entering the main
gate our first stop is in the Garden of
Peace, the third section on the right. In
the southern tip of this section next to
the road we find actor Jack Larson, who
is best remembered today for playing
young Daily Planet reporter, Jimmy Olsen,
alongside George Reeves in The
Adventures of Superman in the 1950s.
"Well, that should hold them 'til I can signal Coast Guard."
"Superman, what's the matter with
you?"
"Here, Jimmy, you'd better hold this."
"Superman, will you please get down there and save Mr.Kent!"
"I'll never forgive you if he drowns."
"All right, I'm going. But I'm finished here,
 and I won't be back."
After that show ended he focused mainly on
work behind the camera, writing and
producing, but later in life would return
to Metropolis in cameo appearances, like
in Lois and Clark, and Superman Returns.
His life partner was writer/director
James Bridges of Urban Cowboy fame.
Back to Rose Hills Drive we go right
then take the second right to find the
Garden of Prayer on the right. At the top
of this hill next to the road we find
master costume designer DonFeld. He was
nominated for an Oscar four times for
his costume designs. His work can be seen
in films from Days of Wine and Roses, to
Spaceballs. He also designed the
costumes for the Wonder Woman series in
the 70s,
starring Lynda Carter.
Let's round the corner to the southwest
section of this same lawn. This next
marker is a little hard to read but, here
lies Albert Haskell.
He was a character actor
who appeared in hundreds of film and TV
roles in his career, often in small
background roles in westerns like the
Cisco Kid and the Lady, and TV shows
including Bonanza and Gunsmoke. If there
was a Western production in the 30s
through the 60s there's a good chance
you'd spot Al sitting somewhere in the
saloon drinking a whiskey.
Two sections southeast of here is the Garden of
Affection. Straight in from a trash bin
resembling a tree trunk, near the middle
of this lawn, we find Alvin Ailey. He was
a renowned African-American dancer and
choreographer, credited for helping
popularize modern dance. In 1958 he
founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance
Theatre in New York. His signature work
is "Revelations," which premiered in 1960.
It's a performance set to blues and
spiritual music which explores the faith
and tenacity of African-American culture.
It has since become one of the most
popular and widely seen modern dances in
the world. Ailey died at the age of 58
from complications of HIV, and in 2014
was posthumously awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom.
If we take the next left, then right past
the Memorial Chapel, we find the Memorial
Chapel Gardens on the left. In a few
spaces from the road is Keye Luke. He was
one of the most prominent Asian American
actors in the mid 20th century, but he
actually began his career painting
illustrations and murals for movie
houses, like the garden fairy tales at
Grauman's Chinese Theatre. As an actor he
played "number one son," Lee Chan, in the
Charlie Chan films of the 30s, and was
the original Kato in the Green Hornet
serial. On TV he can be seen as Master Po
on Kung-Fu. And younger audiences will
also recognize him as Mr. Wing on The Gremlins.
West of here are The Gardens.
Here we'll stop to remember actress Thuy Trang.
She was born in Vietnam and
forced to flee Saigon when she was two,
her family eventually granted political
asylum in the US as refugees.
She studied kung fu as a child, the
perfect preparation for her role for
which he would become best known: as
Trini, the Yellow Ranger, in
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
"I've gotta morph...
Saber-tooth tiger!"
She can also be seen in The Crow: City of
Angels.
In 2001 she died in a car accident accident outside San Francisco.
She was just 27, making her a part of the
ill-fated 27 Club - stars who all died
tragically young at the age of 27,
including Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jim
Morrison, Amy Winehouse, Anton Yelchin,
Jonathan Brandis, and more. Thuy was
cremated after her death, her ashes
either scattered or interred here in
this garden, though there is no marker for her.
Take a moment to stop and listen
to this impressive fountain.
It sounds like a freight train.
Back again to Rose Hills Drive, we follow it
around and up the hill to the Sunshine
Terrace section on the left.
Not far in, up the hill a short ways on
the right, we find the grave of Timothy Carey.
He was a character actor best
known for portraying psychotics, crazies,
despots, sleazy criminals, and the like. He played sociopath, Nikki Arane
in Stanley Kubrick's The Killing in 1956. And he
would also spoof his psychotic on-screen
image in comedies like Beach Blanket
Bingo, and the Monkees movie, Head.
One of his best-known works, a grindhouse film,
was The World's Greatest Sinner, which he
also wrote and directed. Carey was a
favorite of director Quentin Tarantino,
who dedicated the movie Reservoir Dogs
to him, among others, as a source of inspiration.
Doubling back let's make our
way around to the SkyRose Chapel.
High on this hill this impressive Chapel,
built in 1997, overlooks the cemetery and
hosts many of the funerals here.
The main level also features a mausoleum.
Straight across the street from the
chapel, down the hill a short ways, we
find singing cowboy
Ken Carson. He was a western musician
perhaps best known for his association
with The Sons of the Pioneers, appearing
with the group in a number of Roy Rogers
films in the 40s, and in
Hollywood Canteen in 1944.
[music]
He also voiced the wise old owl in Disney's
So Dear to My Heart.
Continuing north along this road, then
right, we find the North Star section.
Right near the road and sidewalk is the
grave of Bryan Gregory. He was founding
member and guitar player of the band The
Cramps,
which formed in 1976. They were pioneers
of the early punk rock and psychobilly genres.
[music]
He left the band in the 80s to play with
other groups, and even got to play a
zombie in George A. Romero's Day of the
Dead.
He died of heart failure at the age of 49.
The section straight north of here is
Alpine Terrace.
About a third of the way
up the hill we find the grave of Haing
Ngor. He was a Cambodian doctor who was
imprisoned in a concentration camp under
the Khmer Rouge, the country's brutal
communist regime, which did not look
kindly on intellectuals. To escape
execution he denied being a doctor and
having an education. While imprisoned his
wife died in childbirth, Ngor unable to
treat her despite being a gynecologist.
After the fall of the Khmer Rouge he
worked as a doctor in a refugee camp in
Thailand before making his way to the US.
Despite having no acting experience he
was cast in the powerful biographical
drama, The Killing Fields, in 1984.
It was there the war-torn countryside amidst
the fighting between government troops
and the Khmer Rouge guerrillas that I met
my guide and interpreter, Dith Pran, a
man who was to change my life in a
country that I grew to love and pity.
The role earned him an Oscar,
the second Asian actor to win the honor,
and allowed him to help tell the story
of Cambodia to the world. As fate is
often cruel in its irony, Haing Ngor
survived the brutality of Cambodia only
to die in Los Angeles, shot dead on the
streets of Chinatown by members of the
Oriental lazyboy Street game they
demanded his jewelry, but when he refused
to hand over the heart locket containing
a photo of his wife, a locket he wore at
all times he was shot. Some believe,
however, the murder may have been a
politically motivated assassination
rather than a botched robbery.
Whatever the case it was a tragic end to
an extraordinary life. Ngor was 55.
Doubling back let's make our way around
to the south to the Mission Hills section.
Just south of the gazebo we find
Lupe Ontiveros. She was an actress, often
playing maids or the all-knowing
grandmother, in films like The Goonies
and shows like Desperate Housewives.
Ontiveros once estimated she had
played a maid on screen around 150 times,
noting she was proud to represent those
hands that labor in this country. She's
also known for playing convicted
murderer Yolanda Saldivar in the film
Selena, opposite Jennifer Lopez.
Let's make our way northeast of here to the
Terrace of the Seasons.
In the northeast corner of this lawn close to the road,
we find the legendary Ron Glas.
He made appearances on shows like Good Times and
Sanford and Son before landing the role
for which he would be best known: as
detective Harris in the police comedy,
Barney Miller.
"Think you can still
function?"
"Hey, sharp as a tack."
"Take these things, get them analyzed, fast."
"Not that way!"
"I think they've got hash in them, Barn."
"Hash!?"
'From the way that I feel."
After Barney
Miller he would appear in shows like
Family Matters, and as a series regular
on Firefly. He also voiced Randy
Carmichael on Rugrats and All Grown Up. He died in 2016.
We make our way now
northwest to the Monte Vista Terrace
section. Not far from the northern road
we find the grave of musician Louis
Johnson. He was a bass player and half of
the music group The Brothers Johnson, a
funk Motown band also featuring his
brother, George. Their hits include "I'll Be
Good to You," and "Stomp!"
He also played with and did session work
for a number of artists, from
Aretha Franklin to Michael Jackson.
His is the
infectious bassline in "Billie Jean."
[music]
Let's continue to follow this outermost road
to the west,
then make a left after the Garden of Gratitude,
and find this
memorial bench garden on the left.
Mari Young performed the role of Liat in the
Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific.
Mari's not interred here, but
chose to erect this bench as a way to
thank her fans.
Back up to the northern
outer road we follow it along to the
northwest and reach Lupine Lawn on the left.
Near the northern end of this lawn, up the
the hill a ways, is the grave of the
godfather of gangster rap, Eazy-E, real
name Eric Wright. In 1986 he founded
Ruthless Records. Teaming up with Dr. Dre,
Arabian Prince, Ice Cube, and later DJ
Yella and MC Ren, he formed NWA in the
mid 80s, becoming one of the early and
most influential hip-hop groups and
popularizers of gangsta rap. In 1988 the
group released Straight Outta Compton.
It would become one of the highest rated
hip-hop albums of all time.
[music]
After NWA disbanded, Eazy-E had a successful solo
career, but his career was cut short when
he was diagnosed with HIV in 1995. He
died one month after his diagnosis at
the age of 31. He was buried in a gold
coffin wearing a flannel shirt jeans and
a Compton hat.
Eazy was portrayed by Jason Mitchell in
the 2015 film Straight Outta Compton.
Continuing along this outer road, then
left, we reach Primrose Lawn on the right.
Oh look, a coyote!
Maybe this is the guy
Eden warned us about.
He seems nice enough though...
just wants to be part of
our tour, I guess.
If he comes calling again I will name
him two socks.
Down the hill a few rows, not far from a
large tree, we find the grave of Robin Stille,
sometimes credited as Robin
Rochelle.
She was an actress, best known for
delightfully trashy horror B-films of
the 80s, like The Slumber Party Massacre,
and Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama.
She took her own life in
1996 at the age of 34.
Southwest of here is Alder section.
On the left, close to a
large tree, we find the grave of silent
film actress Clara Horton. The baby-faced
actress began performing in silent
shorts at the age of 8 for the Eclair
American film company, earning her the
moniker "The Eclair Girl." After years of
playing ingenues in films like Tom
Sawyer, she began playing western
heroines in the 20s. She all but retired
when the talkies debuted, save for a few
bit parts.
Heading back toward the entrance
we take the next right
to reach the Pinecrest section along the fence.
Just past a tree we find the
grave of David Torres. He was a Latin
jazz musician who, beginning in 1989, was
music director of the Poncho Sanchez
Latin jazz band. His work earned him a
Grammy Award. He also toured with a
number of groups and arranged and
performed music for soundtracks of film
and TV programs.
Rose Hills is broken up into several
main blocks along Workman Mill Road, the
entrances to the sections denoted by
numbered gates.
To continue the tour we'll
exit the main gate and head down to gate
8, and the Cedarcrest lawn on the left.
Here we find actor, Lewis Arquette, a
member of the Arquette dynasty of
entertainers on stage and screen. Lewis
played JD Pickett on The Waltons, and
made guest appearances on many of the
great shows of the era, from Barney Miller
to Seinfeld as Leapin' Larry. His
children all became actors: Rosanna,
Richmond, Patricia,
Alexis, and David Arquette. And he could
often be seen alongside them on screen,
like Patricia in Little Nicky, and David
in Scream 2.
Let's continue southwest
through gate 9 and into 10,
then left to find the Lakeview mausoleum and the
Columbarium of the Seasons.
Way up at the top is the niche of Gladys Hulette.
She was a silent film star who began
performing on stage not long after she
could walk. On screen she appeared in one
of the very early filmed versions of
Romeo and Juliet
in 1908, and in 1909 starred in Carl
Laemmle's Hiawatha. By the teens and
twenties she'd become one of the silent screen's more popular starlets, in films
like Prudence the Pirate. She retired
from the screen in 1934.
Back the other way we find the Mausoleum of the Valley.
On the lawn just right of the sidewalk
is Bobby Beard, best known as Cotton from
the Our Gang shorts. He can be seen in
five Our Gang films from 1932 to 1934.
Bobby was brother of a family of little
rascal siblings, including Stymie.
Let's stop and admire the beautiful Lake of the Roses at the heart of this section
before moving on.
Continuing down this northern road we
reach the Court of Eternal Light on
the right. On the right side is a
columbarium where we find the niche of
Mary Gordon. She was a Scottish actress,
perhaps best remembered for playing
housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson, in the popular
Sherlock Holmes films of the 30s and 40s
alongside Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.
She can also be seen in the Bride of Frankenstein
 as Hans' wife.
A quick left and we reach Cypress lawn on the left.
A dozen or so rows in is the grave
of Griff Barnett, a strong supporting
actor who often played lawyers, judges, or
doctors. He played Doc Joe in Pinky, and
the judge in Angel Face.
He also made appearances on TV shows
like Hopalong Cassidy and The Lone
Ranger.
Let's head out Gate 11,
turn right, and make our way around to
gate 17, then a quick left to double back
to gate 14 which was closed. Just in from
gate 14 is the Whittier Heights
mausoleum, the first mausoleum here and
Southern California's second public
indoor mausoleum. It was opened in 1917,
completed in the Spanish Renaissance
style with imported Italian marble.
Following this curvy road around to the
left we find Myrtle Lawn on the left.
Down the hill a few rows is Froggy from
Our Gang, Billy Laughlin. He played the
part of the gravel-voiced bespectacled
little rascal from 1940 to 1944 in the
series' final years.
Billy died in 1948
when a scooter he was riding on was
struck by a truck.
He was only 16.
Curving back around to
the right we follow the yellow line road
toward the rainbow chapel.
"Follow the yellow brick road."
Just before the mausoleum is the Memorial Urn Garden
on the right.
Here we find actor William Hopper.
Fans of the popular legal drama
series, Perry Mason, will recognize Hopper
as Paul Drake - a role he played in nearly
300 episodes.
He also played Natalie Wood's father in
Rebel Without a Cause. William was son of
gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, who pushed
him into acting.
East of here, at the end of the yellow line road,
is the Rainbow Chapel
and Portal de la Paz Mausoleum.
This is Rose Hills'
second mausoleum, dedicated in 1930 and
built to reflect California's early
Spanish mission architecture.
It features hand-painted ceilings, carved wood
furnishings, and stained-glass windows.
It's a hidden gem here in Southern
California.
We found one famous grave here in the
Portal de la Paz. Taking the Santa
Barbara corridor on the left, into the
columbarium on the right, is the niche of
songbird, Ellen Beach Yaw, known as Lark
Ellen. She was a soprano, renowned for her
vocal range, able to produce seemingly
inhumanly high notes. In 1899 she
originated the title role in Arthur
Sullivan's comic opera, The Rose of Persia,
and went on to perform in operas
and concerts throughout Europe and the
United States. She was also a songwriter,
and at the dawn of the recording age, a
popular recording artist as well.
Phonograph inventor, Thomas Edison, even
invited her to his lab to record her
vocal range.
[music]
Back down the yellow line road we reach
Whispering Pines Lawn on the left.
At the base of the hill where the Hillside
Chapel stands is the grave of Hugh Prosser.
He was a supporting actor, often
in western movies like Hopalong Cassidy
films and also many of the Great Western
TV shows like The Lone Ranger and
The Cisco Kid.
He died in an automobile
accident in 1952 at the age of 46.
Finally we make our way around to the
southeast to the Valley View Lawn.
Up the hill a short ways, not far from a
tree, is Dorothy Abbott. Her career
began as a showgirl for Earl Carroll and
in Las Vegas, where she earned the rather
unusual nickname, The Girl with the
Golden Arm." Her early film roles were in
a similar vein: background dancers, chorus
girls, waitresses, etc. She had a starring
role in the exploitation film, A Virgin
in Hollywood. On TV she had a number of
roles in Dragnet, The Adventures of Ozzie
and Harriet, and Leave It to Beaver.
Her husband was Rudy Diaz, who, in addition to
acting, was a narcotics and homicide
detective in LA - one of the first to
arrive at the scene of Marilyn Monroe's death.
Dorothy suffered from depression after
their marriage ended, and she took her
own life at the age of 47.
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.
So there's reportedly a strange
phenomenon here at Rose Hills that I'd
like to explore with you guys. This is
what's known as "Gravity Hill." Now, for my
perspective this road appears to be
angled downward. But if we stop the car,
put it in neutral, take our foot off the
gas and off the brakes, the car will
appear to roll backwards up the hill
against gravity. Again, the car is in neutral.
And there are theories as to how
this happens:
some say it's an optical illusion.
Others believe that this hill is haunted.
What do you think it is?
Leave your thoughts
in the comments below.
