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The
location: Briar Cemetery |
A. A cemetery. Q. Where can I find it in real life? A. This is Hollywood Forever Cemetery, located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, in Hollywood, CA. In real life, it's the final resting place of a number of stars from the early age of movies, including superstars Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, and Nelson Eddy, as well as more recent stars such as Mickey Rooney, Don Adams, Darren McGavin and Estelle Getty. This spot on the lawn, near the lake, is just outside (north of) the large Cathedral Mausoleum where Valentino is buried. On
the show, the small mausoleum has the name
"Laurel" above the door, but in real life the name reads "Cutts" above
the door. And there is no bull's head on top - they added that,
as well as the two flower pots on the steps. (See my photo below.) Just to the left (east) of this small mausoleum, is the white double tomb of Harry Cohn,
the former head of Columbia Pictures - who was probably the most
disliked executive in Hollywood. Legend has it that at Cohn's funeral
here, remarking on the big crowd, Red Skelton, said: “Give people what
they want and they’ll come out.” There
is indeed a crematorium at Hollywood Forever (Beatle George Harrison
was reportedly cremated here), but they didn't actually use it on the
show. Instead, they built a replica of it at the studio. The cemetery is just south of the Sunset-Gower studio where they film Dexter. And in an interesting twist, Sunset-Gower was originally Columbia Pictures, which was run by the same Harry Cohn. Dexter has filmed here in the past. They filmed Rita's funeral here in Season 5. And this is where Dexter dug up Ellen Wolfe, after Prado killed her in Season 3. Hollywood Forever is a popular filming spot, and a number of movies and TV shows have been shot there over the years. (You can read more about Hollywood Forever, and the stars buried there, by clicking here. ) I shot the photo below, of the nearby lake, in 2009.
Here is an aerial
photo of the location. Here is a Google StreetView. And here is a map link.
Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was? A. In the early seasons, I usually had to hunt down the locations after viewing the episodes,
using clues from the various scenes. By the now, though,
I've developed a small group of fans, spies & tipsters who kept an
eye out for Dexter filming in their neighborhoods, and would let me know
in advance when something was about to film there. But I needed no help on
this one. I know Hollywood Forever like the back of my hand. In
fact, I've written a number of pages about the park and the stars
buried there, which you can read here.
The
Dexter screenshots from the show and all related characters & elements
are trademarks of and © Showtime.
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