R.I.P. in L.A. : ‘Cemeteries to the Stars’ Serve as Reminders of City’s Storied Past and as Shrines for Legions of Devoted Fans.

Los Angeles has long been regarded as the place where people come for fame and fortune. So it should come as no surprise that its cemeteries have become shrines for loyal fans and museums of sorts for students of the city’s oddball history. Scattered in verdant funerary parks all over the county are the final resting places of such luminaries as Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Marilyn Monroe and Rudolph Valentino. In a reflection of Los Angeles’ lack of self-consciousness, some of the parks boast huge halls filled with elaborately ornamented tombs, magnificent stained-glass windows, marble angels and tombstones shaped like rocket ships.

1. Beth Olam---- 900 North Gower St., Hollywood

The Jewish cemetery adjoins the Hollywood Memorial Cemetery. Its name means “House of the World.”

Hollywood’s favorite gangster, Benjamin (Bugsy) Siegel, rests in a mausoleum with a marker that does not mention the nickname he so detested. It has been said that Siegel, who was shot to death by fellow mobsters on June 21, 1947, slept in cold cream and a chin strap because of his secret aspirations to stardom.

Mel Blanc’s famous sign-off, “That’s All, Folks,” is engraved on a five-foot marble memorial to Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and innumerable other cartoon characters.

2. Calvary---- 4201 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles

With its colorful, glass-enclosed Stations of the Cross and elaborate columned mausoleums, Calvary is one of the most ornate Roman Catholic cemeteries and the last resting place for some of the wealthiest and most influential church members.

Entombed in a crypt near the chapel alter are Cardinal McIntyre, Archbishop Cantwell and Bishops Conaty, Amat and Mora. Cardinal Manning is buried in a simple grave in the Good Shepherd section.

In a grotto of polished red marble are the final resting places for oil tycoon Edward Doheny, who was acquitted in the Teapot Dome scandal a few years before he died in 1935. The family had several mansions and is remembered in Los Angeles with a street and a state beach named in their honor.

Although Hollywood film legend John Barrymore’s crypt is here, he’s actually buried in the family plot in Philadelphia.

Another famous grave is that of Louis Francis Cristillo, better known as Lou Costello.

3. Forest Lawn Glendale---- 1712 Glendale Ave., Glendale

In 1906, founder Hubert Eaton turned a tiny Glendale graveyard into an enormous art-filled memorial park, which later became a multimillion-dollar enterprise. More than a million people visit the Glendale park each year. Since 1929, thousands of couples have exchanged vows in the chapel there, including Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman on Jan. 26, 1940.

Tom Mix, cowboy star of the silents and early talkies, reportedly was buried with his famous belt buckle that spelled his name in diamond letters.

Others celebrities interred here include Alan Ladd, Mary Pickford, W. C. Fields, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Robert Taylor, Walt Disney, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Carol Lombard, Jean Harlow, Gracie Allen and Nat King Cole.

4. Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills---- 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Burbank

This is the second largest of Eaton’s cemetery complexes and is world-famous for its mingling of art and history with the business of undertaking.

Near the George Washington monument is the final resting place of comedian Buster Keaton. Among the famous interred here are Stan Laurel, the Liberace family, Forrest Tucker of “F-Troop,” Jack Webb--better known as Joe Friday on “Dragnet”--actor Freddie Prinze of “Chico and the Man,” singer Andy Gibb, rhythm and blues singer Esther Phillips, and gospel singer Tony Fontane. Other celebrities buried there include Jason Robards Sr., Ernie Kovacs, Godfrey Cambridge, Ozzie Nelson and George Raft.

5. Hillside Memorial Park---- 6001 Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles

A six-column marble structure with a stepped waterfall marks the grave of singer Al Jolson. The waterfall, visible from the 405 Freeway, has become a major landmark for the area.

Among other celebrities buried here are David Janssen, Jack Benny, Allan Sherman, Percy Faith, Mickey Cohen, Vic Morrow. Here too are George A. Jessel and Eddie Cantor, who wrote his own epitaph: “Here in nature’s arms I nestle, free at last from Georgie Jessel.”

6. Holy Cross---- 5835 West Slauson Ave., Culver City

The most prominent plot in the Grotto at Holy Cross can be found beneath the statue of a kneeling angel and belongs to Rita Hayworth.

Other notables here include Ray Bolger, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, Conrad Hilton Jr., Spike Jones, Bela (Dracula) Lugosi, Sharon Tate Polanski, Mario Lanza, Walter O’Malley, Louella Parsons, Rosalind Russell, Gloria Vanderbilt and her twin sister, Thelma Viscountess Furness.

7. Hollywood Memorial Cemetery---- 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles (between Gower St. and Van Ness Ave.)

Some of Hollywood’s history can be revisited on these 57 palm-studded acres with more than 77,000 graves, crypts, mausoleums and cenotaphs. Among the unusual features is the epitaph on the grave of actress Joan Hackett in the Sanctuary of Trust: “Go away, I’m asleep.”

Actress Marion Davies, longtime mistress of William Randolph Hearst, is entombed in a handsome white mausoleum with stone cherubs and room for 12; producer-director Cecil B. DeMille is lavishly entombed, purportedly with his feet pointing toward Paramount; Rudolph Valentino’s marker almost always bears the lipstick imprint of a kiss; the burial site of Carl (Alfalfa) Switzer of the Our Gang comedies, killed in 1959 in a fight over a $50 debt, is marked with a picture of Petey, the black-eyed Our Gang dog.

The most notable landmark is a marble rocket ship, an exact replica of the Pioneer Atlas that went into orbit Dec. 18, 1958. It marks the grave of Carl Morgan Bigsby, a publisher and admirer of the space program.

Others here include Charlie Chaplin Jr., Harry Cohn, Nelson Eddy, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Peter Finch, Janet Gaynor, Peter Lorre, Tyrone Power, Norma and Constance Talmadge, Clifton Webb and Hollywood rancher and pioneer John T. Gower.

8. San Fernando Mission Cemetery----1160 Stranwood Ave., Mission Hills

The cemetery was founded in 1797. One Jose Antonio was listed as its first recorded internment on April 7, 1798.

This is the final resting place of William Frawley, best known as Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy,” and William Bendix, “The Life of Riley.” The grave that draws the most visitors is that of 17-year-old rocker Ritchie Valens of Pacoima, who died in an Iowa plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959, along with renowned rock-and-roll singers Buddy Holly and J. P. Richardson, “The Big Bopper.” A flat marker, No. 248, is inscribed with five notes from Valens’ first hit single in September, 1958 “Come On----Let’s Go.”

9. Westwood Memorial Park---- 1218 Glendon Ave.

This tiny cemetery is sandwiched between the tall buildings of Westwood, creating a quiet haven in the midst of one of Los Angeles’ most urban spots. But despite its postage-stamp size, it is the final resting place of many luminaries. And there is room for more, at about $13,000 per plot.

Marilyn Monroe’s crypt is always marked with fresh flowers. Armand Hammer, the chairman of Occidental Petroleum, was laid to rest alongside family members in a mausoleum behind black ironwork doors with an Egyptian motif.

Others buried here include young actress Heather O’Rourke of “Poltergeist” fame; songwriter Harry Warren, who wrote “You’ll Never Know (Just How Much I Love You)”; musician Buddy Rich; Playboy centerfold Dorothy Stratten, and actresses Donna Reed and Natalie Wood. The ashes of actor Peter Lawford were entombed here in 1984 but removed and scattered at sea in 1988.

Source: Permanent Californians by Judi Culbertson and Tom Randall