Where Celebrities Are Buried In LA
For as many real and pseudo celebrities there are in Los Angeles, there are even more delebs (dead celebrities) buried beneath its hallowed grounds and surrounds. Offering up the ultimate meet-and-greet beneath your feet, here are five of the most star-studded cemeteries.
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Glendale
1712 S. Glendale Avenue
Glendale, CA 91025
(800) 204-3131
www.ForestLawn.com
Even with more than 250,000 interments, this cemetery can boast a large number of famous notables from the silver screen to the hardcover book. June Allyson, L. Frank Baum, Humphrey Bogart, Clara Bow, George Burns, Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis, Jr., Walt Disney, W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Samuel Goldwyn, Jean Harlow, Edith Head, Michael Jackson, Louis L'Amour, Carole Lombard, Mary Pickford, David O. Selznick, Elizabeth Taylor and Spencer Tracy are among the most prominent dearly departed, though there are plenty of others of note to those with a strong knowledge of industry development.
Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills
6300 Forest Lawn Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90068
(800) 204-3131
www.ForestLawn.com
Dedicated to preserving moments in American history, this kitschy memorial park also hosts some of the most prominent deceased in all of history. Steve Allen, Gene Autry, Tom Bosley, Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, Solomon Burke, Jerry Buss, Roy Campanella, David Carradine, Bette Davis, Sandra Dee, Roy O. Disney, Marty Feldman, Annette Funicello, Marvin Gaye, Andy Gibb, Jack Hannah, Michael Hutchence, Jill Ireland, Buster Keaton, Rodney King, Jack LaLanne, Liberace, Teena Marie, Ed McMahon, Brittany Murphy, Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Nelson, Rick Nelson, Donald O' Conner, Freddie Prinze, Lou Rawls, John Ritter and John Wooden are among the diverse famous buried beneath the hills.
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
6000 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 469-6349
www.HollywoodForever.com
The grande dame of the dead in Los Angeles, founded in1899 and across from Paramount Studios, you'll find someone to pay tribute here whether you skew towards punk, gangster or golden girl. The final home of Dee Dee and Johnny Ramone, Bugsy Siegel and Estelle Getty, as well as hundreds of other celebrities, the cemetery still has active burials as well as a thriving cultural events scene. Mel Blanc, Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Toto (from The Wizard of Oz), Rudolph Valentino, Clifton Webb and Fay Wray are among the most notable "residents," buried alongside studio heads and behind-the-scenes movers and shakers from Hollywood's Golden Age. Hattie McDaniel's centograph is also here, since despite an explicit request to be buried at Hollywood Forever, she was at the time denied due to it's segregation policy, which is no longer in effect.
Holy Cross Cemetery
5835 West Slauson Avenue
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 836-5500
www.HolyCrossMortuary.com
This 200-acre cemetery founded in 1939 features the final resting places of many industry professionals and stars from across eras. John Candy, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, John Ford, Chick Hearn, Bela Lugosi, Audrey Meadows, Ricardo Montalban, Rosalind Russell, Sharon Tate and Lawrence Welk are among the most recognizable of the interred. Run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southern California, elaborate decorations adorn many of the graves during the Christmas season. It is recommended you tour the cemetery with the aid of your car, due to the many steep hills that contribute to the landscape.
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park
1218 Glendon Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 474-1579
www.dignitymemorial.com
Obscurely tucked away in Westwood Village among office towers and movie theaters lay some of Hollywood's biggest celebrities. Forever. Ray Bradbury, Fanny Brice, Truman Capote, John Cassavetes, Rodney Dangerfield, Richard Dawson, Peter Falk, Farrah Fawcett, Eva Gabor, Merv Griffin, Armand Hammer, Janis Joplin, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Peggy Lee, Janet Leigh, Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin, Walter Matthau, Marilyn Monroe, Roy Orbison, Bettie Page, Donna Reed, Sidney Sheldon, Billy Wilder, Carl Wilson, Natalie Wood, Darryl F. Zanuck and Frank Zappa, whose grave is unmarked, round out a roster of deceased stars. Upon his death, Hugh Hefner will be laid to rest next to Marilyn Monroe.
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Susanna Morgan, a native Los Angeleno, blogs about being a parenting non-expert, single mom of two boys, picket fence-less and June Cleaver's nemesis over at NotJune.com. She's on Twitter too. The pearls are off...
