Day three of the 2012 L.A. Gravecation began with me getting up nice and early. On this particular day I planned to revisit Westwood Memorial Park cemetery. The primary reason for this visit was because the last time I was there I missed out on a few gravesites to photograph. Anyway joining me at Westwood Memorial Park, for the trek was my good friend, and the co-host of The Gravecast Show Podcast, Steve Goldstein. If you didn’t know Steve is the author of L.A.’s Graveside Companion: Where The VIP’s RIP  Along with the book Steve wrote, which is published by Schiffer Publishing. Steve is also the dude behind the website Beneath Los Angeles.

Some of the highrise office, and apartment buildings that tower over Westwood Memorial Park.

To give you a general history overview on Westwood Memorial Park, I recommend that you read the short article titled “The Great L.A. Gravecation of 2011 – Westwood Memorial Park” which you can find on this blog. After your done with that please continue with this article. So lets get underway.

After battling through the freeway congestion (with a minor detour as I briefly got lost because I missed the interchange) which is a defining characteristic of the traffic in and around Los Angeles, and southern California. I arrived at Westwood Memorial Park a few minutes after 10am. Upon my arrival, I drove around the oval-shaped driveway, and made my ascent towards the graveside crypt of Marilyn Monroe. I then called Steve to let him know where I’d be. After snapping a few photos of Monroe’s crypt I turned around, and was then reunited with my long-lost buddy Steve. So we shoot hands, and I mentioned the gravesites I’d like to see, as there were a few I missed out on at the cemetery, the last time I was in town. So with that the tour begins.

The Tour:

As mentioned above the first graveside I visited while awaiting the arrival of Steve, was that of Marilyn Monroe. I’m sure you know who she was, and how she died. So I wont go into that. But if you don’t know who she was here’s a concise description on her life. This tidbit is from Wikipedia:

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, model, and singer, who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s and early 1960s. There is controversy surrounding her young and untimely death. If your interested in learning more about that Google is your friend.

After visiting, & photographing the graveside crypt of Monroe. Steve, and I then strolled over to the graveside cremains niche of highly prolific cinematographer James Wong Howe. Howe began his career in the silent era, and was involved with the cinematography of over 130 films. He was nominated for the Academy Award a total of ten times, and won the prestigious award twice. According to The International Cinematographers Guild, Howe was judged to be one of the ten most influential cinematographers in history. If you’re interested in learning more about the fascinating life of James Wong Howe, I invite you to visit his biography on Wikipedia.

After photographing Howe’s graveside niche at different angles. Steve, and I then strolled nearby to where filmmaker, screenwriter, and director Nunnally Johnson rests. Some of Johnson’s most well-known motion pictures include but is not limited to: The Road to Glory (1936), & The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Moving along we also visited the graveside crypt of author Robert Slatzer. Slatzer wrote a few biographies on celebrities. Most notably Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, & Bing Crosby. It is also alleged that he was married to Monroe in 1952 for an impressive three days. But he could never offer the paperwork stating that he was in fact married to Monroe.

After visiting the graveside of Slatzer, Steve and I then strolled a few steps away to where actor Philip Dorn is interred. Dorn was a Dutch actor, who started appearing on stage at the age of 14. When the 1930s came around he was acting on film as a heartthrob matinee idol. When WWII broke out, Dorn relocated to the United States and started acting in American films. The first American feature he appeared in was Enemy Agent (1940). The characters Dorn portrayed usually involved Continental lovers, and anti-Nazi Germans. In the 1950s Dorn returned to Germany and acted in German cinema. In 1955 Dorn retired after a freak accident on stage. He spent the next twenty years residing in his Los Angeles home. In 1975 he suffered a massive heart attack and passed away.

After biding farewell to Philip Dorn. Steve and I then strolled over to where high-profile celebrity attorney Greg Bautzer rests. Some of Bautzer’s A-list celebrity clients included but is not limited to:  Ginger Rogers, Ingrid Bergman, Joan Crawford, Kirk Kerkorian, Howard Hughes and William R. Wilkerson. Bautzer is also credited with founding the Los Angeles Music Center. In 1987 at the age of 76 Bautzer succumbed to congestive heart failure in his Beverly Hills home.

After visiting the graveside crypt of Greg Bautzer. We visited the graveside crypt of character actor Jonathan Harris. Harris is best known for two of his onscreen roles. The first as the character Bradford Webster in the TV version of the film The Third Man, and the character Dr. Zachary Smith in the science fiction TV series Lost In Space. Harris also provided the voice-over for the character “Manny” the praying mantis in the animated feature “A Bug’s Life.” If you’re interested in reading a complete overview of Jonathan Harris’s life I invite you to read his Wikipedia biography.

Next up, we visited the graveside crypt of American composer, and lyricist Harry Warren. Warren was the first American composer to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times, and won the Oscar a total of three times. He wrote the musical numbers for the motion picture 42nd Street (1933). During a career that lasted four decades Warren wrote, and produced over 800 songs that appeared in various motion pictures. If your interested in learning more about his life I invite you to visit Harry Warren’s Wikipedia biography.

After visiting Harry Warren’s graveside crypt. Steve, and I strolled over to where prolific television, and motion picture actor Christopher George rests. George was a television & film actor, who is best known for his role on the 1960s TV series The Rat Patrol. In 1967 George was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star for his stellar acting in the series.

Continuing on with the tour the next graveside we visited was that of Lewis Milestone. Milestone was a Russian born motion picture director. Two of the films he directed among an arsenal of others include Two Arabian Knights (1927), and All Quiet On The Western Front (1930). Milestone was awarded the Best Director Academy Award for the two films mentioned. If you’re interested in learning about Milestone, and a complete listing of his filmography you should definitely visit his Wikipedia biography.

The next graveside Steve, and I visited was that of highly prolific actor Peter Falk. You might remember Falk in the lead role as Lt. Frank Columbo in the television series Columbo. Over the years Falk appeared in many films most notably The Princess Bride (1987), The Great Race (1965), and Next (2007) he also had many television guest appearances. Falk was nominated for the Academy Award a total of two times for Murder Inc. (1960), and Pocketful of Miracles (1961). If you’re interested in learning more about Peter Falk’s life and his film roles, you should visit his Wikipedia biography.

After Steve, and I paid our respects at the graveside of actor Peter Falk, we then made a leisurely stroll over to actress Janet Leigh. Leigh is the mother of actresses Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis. She appeared in several films during the 1940s and 50s which included Little Women (1949), Holiday Affair (1949), Angels in the Outfield (1951), and Living It Up (1954). If you’re interested in learning more about the life of Janet Leigh you should definitely read her Wikipedia biography.

Continuing on with the tour of Westwood Memorial Park. The next graveside Steve, and I paid homage to was that of filmmaker Sy Wexler. Wexler is best known as the filmmaker who created educational related short films during the 1960s and 1970s. His most well-known educational short was a film titled Squeak the Squirrel.

Moving along Steve, and I then visited the gravesite of Hollywood Producer, Writer, and Philanthropist, John Jay Carsey. Carsey was the producer and writer for The Tonight Show, during the time Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and Johnny Carson were the hosts. Carsey was also the writer for the sketch comedy television series of the late 60s and early 70s Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In.

After we visited the graveside of John Jay Carsey. Steve and I then strolled over to the graveside of prolific author Ray Bradbury, who wrote the novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953). Bradbury also wrote a few other literary novels which include: The Martian Chronicles (1950), and The Illustrated Man (1951). According to many Bradbury is considered to be one of the 20th century’s most celebrated American writers. Not only that many of his literary novels have been adapted into motion pictures. If you’re interested you should definitely read his biographical overview on Wikipedia.

After paying our respects at the graveside of Ray Bradbury. We then visited the graveside of Les Brown, who was a bandleader and musician during the 1940s, and onwards. Brown who was known as “A Man of Renown” was also the Los Angeles chapter President of The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. If you’re interested in learning more about his illustrious life, you definitely should visit his Wikipedia biography.

After biding farewell to the graveside of Les Brown, we then strolled over to the graveside of billionaire philanthropist & oil tycoon Marvin Davis. Davis made his millions if not billions as the chairman of Davis Petroleum. Not only that at one time or another he was the owner or chairman of 20th Century Fox, The Pebble Beach Corporation, the Beverly Hills Hotel, and the Aspen Ski Company. Needless to say he was extremely well off. If you’re interested you should definitely read his biographical overview on Wikipedia.

Closing out the trek at Westwood Memorial Park. Steve and I also visited the gravesides of actor/comedian Eric Douglas who was Kirk Douglas’s son. We also visited the graveside of Georgia Frontiere who was the owner of the St. Louis Rams NFL team, Helen Traubel who was an Opera Soprano, Oscar Levant who was a versatile actor, singer, comedian. Another gravesite we visited was Jay C. Flippen, who was an actor. Highly prolific producer Ross Hunter, and a few other celebrity personalities. If you are really interested you should definitely visit the Westwood Memorial Park Wikipedia page, to get a general overview with detailed biographical narratives of who’s buried there.

After I was finished visiting with my friend Steve at Westwood Memorial Park, and getting the tour, we then said our goodbyes. After I left Westwood Memorial Park, I cruised over to the storefront/museum of Dearly Departed Tours. Dearly Departed Tours is owned by my friend Scott Michaels. Being that I had some time to blow before the Film Industry Networking Mixer. Which I’d be attending later that night at The Next Door Lounge in Hollywood, I thought I’d check things out at the nucleus of where Dearly Departed Tours has their base of operations. Now let me just say if you’re ever gonna be in Hollywood and wanna partake in a little adventure that is not your typical Hollywood sightseeing venue. I HIGHLY recommend Dearly Departed Tours. So with that I close this article please stay tuned for when I’ll be doing a full review of the 1st Annual Death Hag Weekend in the next installment of this Gravecation article insanity. Also feel free to checkout the graveside photos from Westwood Memorial Park below.

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