![]() |
There have also been
numerous Hollywood funerals here.
In August of 2007, the funeral of talk show host and media mogel Merv Griffin was held at Good Shepherd. Mourners included Arnold Schwarzenegger, former first lady Nancy Reagan, Dick Van Dyke, Alex Trebek (host of "Jeopardy", which Merv created), and Pat Sajak & Vanna White (hosts of "Wheel of Fortune", which was also a Merv Griffin creation). One of the earliest was that of "The Sheik" himself, Rudolph Valentino, whose 1926 funeral brought out crowds of fans who lined the streets around the church, as well as celebrities of the day such as Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd, William S. Hart, Jesse Lasky and Pola Negri.
( Worth noting: Frank Sinatra
had attended Gary Cooper's funeral at this same church, almost to the day
of his own, some 37 years before.)
The funeral for "Green Acres" star Eva Gabor was held at Good Shepherd in 1995 (where Merv Griffin and Nancy Reagan sat together). And in September
of 1998, they held the funeral of actress
Mary Frann
here, who played Bob Newhart's wife Joanna
on the "Newhart" show. Other
celebrity funerals here include those of actress
Rita Hayworth
(1987), Gary Cooper
(1961), William Frawley,
director Vincente
Minnelli (husband
of Judy Garland
and father of Liza Minnelli;
1986), legendary director Alfred Hitchcock
(in 1980), A rosary was said at the church for singer/actress Rosemary Clooney (who appeared with Bing Crosby in the holiday classic "White Christmas"). In attendance was her nephew, George Clooney, Kathryn Crosby, Frank Sinatra Jr., Brian Wilson, Natalie Cole, Diahann Carroll and Rosemarie. (Her funeral was later held at St. Patrick's, in her hometown of Maysville, KY.) Misha Barton (who played 'Marissa Cooper' on "The O.C.") attended services there just after New Year's of 2008, following her arrest for DUI, as did Paris Hilton's parents (when she was in jail). Like many Roman Catholic
churches, the Good Shepherd is open to visitors during the day, so feel
free to step inside and take a look around, say a prayer, or even light
a candle; no one will accost you. (Don't confuse the Church of the Good Shepherd with the nearby All Saints church. Both churches have tile roofs, but the Good Shepherd is the one on the west side of the cactus garden; it features two tall steeples and a statue out front of Christ holding a lamb.)
|
|
Click Here to Return to the Main Menu
Copyright © 2015-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)