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Seeing Stars: Churches of the Stars..
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Other Celebrity Houses
of Worship
St.
Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church:
9501
Balboa Blvd, Northridge, CA
(on the corner of Balboa Blvd & Plummer St.)
Tom Hanks
("Saving Private Ryan", "You've
Got Mail", "Forrest Gump")
and his wife Rita Wilson
("My Big Fat Greek Wedding") have attended services at
this Greek Orthodox church in the San Fernando Valley, as has actress Melina Kanakaredes
("Providence", "CSI: NY").
Also, a room connected to the Grand Ballroom is dedicated in honor
of actor Telly Savalis
("Kojak") and is called "The Savalis Room"
due to a donation to the Church by the Savalis Family. 
.JPG) Wilshire
United Methodist Church: 
4350 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
(on the corner of Wilshire Blvd. and Plymouth.)
Jeanette MacDonald
and Gene Raymond
were married here on June 16, 1937. Nelson
Eddy sung at the ceremony, Basil
Rathbone ('Sherlock Holmes') and
Harold Lloyd
were ushers; Fay
Wray ("King Kong") and
Ginger Rogers were
maids of honor.
Wilshire Methodist
was also the scene of another giant wedding in September of 1945, when
thousands of fans blocked traffic on Wilshire Blvd as 17-year old Shirley Temple
got married for the first time, to actor John
Agar. 
.JPG) Beverly
Hills Presbyterian Church:
505 N Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills
(just east of Good Shepherd Church)
Jimmy Stewart's
funeral was held here in 1997. Three hundred fans gathered outside the
church, while stars in attendance inside included Nancy
Reagan, Bob
Hope, Esther
Williams, Robert
Stack, June
Allyson and Carol Burnett.
As the memorial service finished, the organist played "Auld Lang
Syne," the song played at the end of Jimmy's favorite movie: "It's
A Wonderful Life." In December of
1996, model-actress Angie Everhart
married the son of George Hamilton
(Ashley Hamilton) in this church. In
1998, Debbie Reynolds
narrated the church's Christmas pageant. 10497 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles,
CA 90024 (310) 475-4818. 
.JPG) Sinai
Temple:
10400 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.
When Kirk Douglas
turned 83 (in 1999), he was Bar Mitzvah'd
(again) at this conservative synagogue in Westwood. Why? Well, Jewish
tradition holds that a man has lived a full lifetime at age 70. So at 83,
Kirk figured he was "13 again," and it was time for another
Bar Mitzvah. Sinai Temple is the oldest Conservative Congregation in southern
California. (Another member is the father of Monica Lewinsky,
the woman who played a key role in President Clinton's recent problems.)

.JPG) Westwood
United Methodist Church:
10497 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.
Former "Charlie's Angel" Jaclyn
Smith was married at this large church
on October 11, 1997. Among the wedding guests was fellow "Angel"
Kate Jackson.

.JPG) Hollywood
Temple Beth El:
1317 N Crescent Heights Blvd,
Los Angeles (between Sunset and Santa Monica Blvds.)
Once known as "the temple to the stars,"
the congregation of this historic synagogue included Edward G. Robinson,
Eddie Cantor,
the Warner Brothers,
make-up expert Max Factor,
Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle,
and director Mervyn LeRoy
("The Wizard of Oz").
After steadily declining attendance, the building was sold in 1998, and
is now home to the Iranian-American Jewish Center. 
Also see: Good
Shepherd Church, Blessed Sacrament
Church, the Crystal Cathedral,
the Lake Shrine, St.
Martin of Tours, St. Sophia, St.
Monica's and Wayfarer's Chapel.
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