|
![]() |
[This is page 3 of a six-page article. Click here to go to page one.] Continue east on Maple Avenue inside the
park , and you will reach the park's second mausoleum, "The Hollywood
Cathedral Mausoleum," located just south of the lake. Just
inside the front door of the mausoleum, large, white statues of the
Twelve Apostles (plus St. Paul) stand watch on both sides of the main entrance way. (These statues were seen in an episode
of the TV show "Charmed" - the funeral service for Pru was filmed in the
mausoleum.)
When you enter the mausoleum, walk to the back and
turn left (east) into the last of the three side-hallways. Walk to the
end of this side-hallway, and turn right (south) into a short corridor.
Walk to the end of this corridor, and you will find Valentino's
crypt on the left (east) side. The smoldering star of such silent films as "The
Sheik" and "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,"
Valentino was once the greatest star in Hollywood, and the movies' first
male sex symbol. Women throughout the country worshipped him, and when
he died suddenly in 1926, at the age of 31, tens of thousands waited in
line to glimpse his coffin. His popularity insured the success of neighboring
Paramount Studios. So it is astonishing to realize that Rudolph Valentino is hidden away in a small crypt, virtually indistinguishable from the many others that line these white walls. There were originally plans to build Valentino a giant memorial, but they never materialized, and he remains in the small "temporary " crypt. But he was never forgotten. The mysterious "Woman in Black" brought flowers to this modest crypt each year on August 23, the anniversary of her movie idol's death. (She may be buried here too, out by the lake, although there is disagreement about whether the woman buried there was the genuine "Woman in Black".) (Here is a clip of Valentino in his most famous role, as the Sheik.)
Right across the corridor from Valentino is the crypt
(#1224) of actor Peter Finch
(1916-1977).
He won a posthumous Oscar as Best Actor for his performance
as the crazed TV news anchor in the 1976 movie "Network,"
who was "Mad as hell and not going to take it any more!" (Here's a clip of that famous scene.)
If you watched "Bewitched" on TV, you'll
remember Darrin's boss 'Larry Tate' (AKA 'Mr. Tate'), the
advertising executive who sucked up to clients and was always pressing
Darren to come up with a new advertising slogan. That was David White. Outside
of "Bewitched", he tended to be stereotyped as a gruff businessman
or shady politician, such as his role in the 1960 classic "The Apartment".
In the 1977 TV version of "Spider-Man", he played Peter Parker's
boss, J. Jonah Jameson. White was cremated, and the glass case contains not only his remains, but photos of him, a list of his screen credits, and a bronze bust or life-mask.
His real-life son, Jonathan White, was killed in the terrorist bombing
of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. Photos of Jonathan
take up half of this glass case. [Laura Elliott, the actress who played
'Louise Tate' on "Bewitched", died in 2006 and is buried at Forest
Lawn Hollywood.]
Alas, both stars died tragically. Vic Morrow was beheaded by the blade of a crashing helicopter during the filming of "Twilight Zone: the Movie", and Rick Jason committed suicide (he shot himself) at age 77. Inside the small glass case, you'll see a photo of
Rick with his hunting rifle, a pair of baby shoes, the white urn containing
his ashes, and mementos of his interest in fine wines.
A noted director and actor of his day, someone shot
Mr. Taylor in his home, and the subsequent police investigation focused
on some of Hollywood's biggest stars of the time, including silent screen
actresses Mabel Normand and Mary Miles Minter. They never did find the
killer. His funeral was attended by every notable in Hollywood.
Look on the bottom row. Here, you'll find the earthly
remains of Peter Lorre (1904-1964)
(niche 5. T.1 Corr C), who played the sinister
little man in such movies as "Casablanca," "M"
and "The Maltese Falcon." As for Peter Lorre himself, after death he was cremated. (Here is a clip of Lorre in "The Maltese Falcon".)
Nearby is a man whose name you
may not recognize: Harvey Wilcox (1832-1891).
But you'll recognize the city he founded. It was a sleepy little farm town
in Mr. Wilcox's day, and what is now Hollywood Blvd was part of a
fig orchard he purchased in 1886. A real estate speculator, he bought up
land around the orchard and subdivided it into streets lined with pepper
trees. Legend has it that he got the name "Hollywood" from his young wife, who got it while talking to a woman she met on a train ride back east. That woman's summer home near Chicago was named Hollywood. Mrs. Wilcox (buried here next to her husband) liked the name, and suggested it to Mr. Wilcox. After his death, Daeida Wilcox continued to build Hollywood, donating land for the city hall and several churches. If you drive around the city today, you will notice that a main street is named Wilcox in their honor. (It's three blocks west of Vine Street). From Peter Lorre's niche, just walk back east to
the second southern hallway (on your right), the first one to the west
of the main entrance hallway. Their crypts are located on the east wall,
near the rear of this corridor. (see
map)
Also interred in this mausoleum is Eleanor Powell (1912-1982), the dancer who starred in a series of M-G-M musicals in the late 1930's and 1940's, and who left her footprints outside of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. She was billed as "the world's greatest tap dancer". One example of her work is "Broadway Melody of 1936," in which she co-starred with Fred Astaire.
You can find her ashes in a bronze book-shaped container, behind glass on the southeast side of the central hallway - niche 432 T.3 Foyer E/W. (see map)
Step back outside this
Hollywood Cathedral mausoleum, then turn to your left (west) and look
on the north-facing wall of the mausoleum to find the grave of one of
the biggest stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. One of the last surviving superstars of that classic era, Mickey started out as a child actor, gained
fame with the popular "Andy Hardy" series of family films, and went on
to star in a number of ("Let's put on a show!") musical comedies with
co-star Judy Garland, including "Babes in Arms" and "Strike Up the Band". He made a total of 15 of those "Andy Hardy"
films, playing a wholesome (but somewhat impish) all-American
teenager. (The "Archie" comic books were an attempt to capitalize
on the "Andy Hardy" craze, with a very similar character.) By the late 1930's and early '40s, Mickey
was the nation's biggest box-office draw - a perpetually youthful
character who was beloved by the movie-going public. He was
nominated for four Academy awards, and given an honorary Oscar in 1939. He starred alongside Spencer Tracy in the dramatic "Boys Town", and in 1944, he co-starred with 12-year-old Elizabeth Taylor in her first major hit, "National Velvet".
You will find his Mick's crypt is located on the outside wall of the mausoleum, not inside.
It's on the front (north-facing) wall of the mausoleum, near the
northwest corner of the building, two spaces up from the bottom. He was buried the day before Easter, and I visited the day after Easter and shot these photos; you can see the exact location of his grave. (The grave had not yet been inscribed.) Scroll down that page to see more recent close-up photos of the newly-marked crypt, shot a few months later by Ron, which show the inscription: "One of the greatest entertainers the world has ever known.
Hollywood will always be his home." (Mickey's
fellow superstar, Judy Garland, was relocated to this same
Hollywood Forever cemetery, In 2017 But not in this steak ever mausoleum. She is now near the "Abbey of the Psalms" mausoleum at the west end of the park.)
![]() When you are facing Mickey Rooney's crypt, if you turn to your left, you'll see another wall crypts facing you.
Two spaces up from the bottom of that wall, and two spaces in from the left edge of the wall, you will find the final resting place of actress Anne Heche (1969-2022). Anne starred opposite Johnny Depp and Al Pacino in 1997's "Donnie Brasco", and starred alongside Harrison Ford iin 1998's "Six Days Seven Nights". Her highly-publicized relationship with Ellen DeGeneres in 1997 (and subsequent breakup in 2000) resulted in a setback for her career (she claimed she "did not work in a studio picture for 10 years"). In August 2022,she died in a bizarre incident in which, after being spotted driving erratically for Los Angeles neighborhood, she crashed her car into a home, resulting in a fire that set both the house and the car on fire and trapped Anne in the car. She was declared dead 14 days later, when her body was removed from life support. At the time of this writing, her crypt is unmarked, but should be inscribed soon.
(Fairbanks' ex-wife, Mary Pickford, is buried at Forest Lawn Glendale, with an equally grand monument.) Famed for his athletic stunts, Fairbanks was Hollywood's
first action hero, starring in such
(Here is a clip of him (and Ronald Colman) from "The Prisoner of Zenda".)
This is Toto, Dorothy's beloved dog from the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz".
Toto isn't actually buried here. Her
original grave was destroyed by freeway construction. So, in 2011,
Hollywood Forever honored her with this little monument. The words
on the pedestal read "There's No Place Like Home." (You can see Toto in action in this clip from "The Wizard of Oz".)
It's hard to read the white print on its marble walls, but this is the final resting place of one of the most popular bandleaders of the Big Band Era of the '30s & '40s: Woody Herman (1913-1987). Woody's band was known as the "Thundering Herd". Woody played clarinet and sang as well.
And now it's on to the lake, and some of the biggest stars in Hollywood... Click
here to continue the tour of Hollywood
Forever [This is page 3 of a six-page article. Click here to go to page one.] |
|
Click Here to Return to the Main Menu
Copyright © 1999-2022-Gary Wayne
All Rights Reserved
This webpage is not associated with any business
described in the article above, and does not constitute an
endorsement of this or any other business. The photos of celebrities on
this page also do not constitute
endorsements by them of any kind, and are used by the author solely to
illustrate this online article.
(Click here to read
other disclaimers)