Tag Archives: Inglewood Park Cemetery

2012 L.A. Gravecation Day 7-9 – A President & Reputed Mafiosos

16 Tuesday Oct 2012

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On day seven (Monday October 8th) of my 2012 L.A. Gravecation. I didn’t really have much planned. After the wild weekend which I encountered at the 1st Annual Death Hag Weekend extravaganza, I pretty much kicked back for the next two days. It’s not to say I didn’t want to hit the sunny Southern California cemeteries. I just didn’t have much planned. So with that being said I had to improvise.

Being that I was lodging fairly close to Yorba Linda, California in the Anaheim Hills during the 2012 L.A. Gravecation. It came to my attention that former President Richard M. Nixon rests peacefully in Yorba Linda. So on Monday I got up nice and early and thus decided I’d cruise over to the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library, & Museum.

After paying the $11.95 admission fee to get into the library & museum. I then b-lined it straight for the courtyard area where President Nixon and his blushing bride Patricia, were resting six-feet under, so I can then pay my respects at their graveside. I snapped about a dozen or so photos of their respective gravesites. After my photo frenzy was over I then strolled into the museum, looked around a bit then made my departure. If you’re interested in learning more about the life, & times of President Nixon you should definitely visit The Nixon Presidential Library & Museum, in Yorba Linda, California. So that pretty much concludes what I did on Monday.

On Tuesday, October 9th, I decided to visit Inglewood Park Cemetery, which is in Inglewood, California. To get a general historic background of this beautiful cemetery. You definitely should visit the Inglewood Park Cemetery website. Two other websites which are definitely worth a visit, to get an overview of the famous personalities who call this cemetery their final home, are the Inglewood Park Cemetery Wikipedia, & Find A Grave pages.

Moving along when I arrived at Inglewood Park Cemetery, I stopped at the information booth behind the front gate near the entrance, to get a map of the cemetery grounds. I then b-lined over to The Mausoleum of The Golden West building. Interred in this architecturally majestic mausoleum are a whole slew of famous personalities. Some of the personalities who call The Mausoleum of The Golden West their final home (at least who I photographed) include but is not limited to: Betty Grable (actress), Cesar Romero (actor), Ray Charles (musician), Anthony Stralla Cornero (reputed mobster and gambler) along with several other famous people.

After I made my departure from The Mausoleum of The Golden West, I then hopped back into the Nissan Versa which was the official “Gravecation Mobile” for the duration of my L.A. trip, then hightailed it over to where Lillian Leitzel & Alfredo Codona rest. Lillian & Alfredo were aerialist circus performers for Ringling Bros Circus. Lillian tragically lost her life when she fell twenty feet to the ground, after the safety swivel snapped. Meanwhile Alfredo Codona took his own life after putting a gun to his temple and pulling the trigger. The suicide happened after he got into an argument with his second wife. Alfredo and Lillian are buried in the Codona family plot. The centerpiece of this plot is a beautiful monument with a winged angel soaring high into the sky.

After I photographed the Codona family marker, and the gravesides of Lillian, and Alfredo. I then cruised over to where Edgar Bergen, and his wife Frances rest. Edgar Bergen, was a comedian and ventriloquist. Bergen is fondly remembered as the creator of the ventriloquist puppets “Charlie McCarthy” and “Mortimer Snerd” Edgar’s wife Frances was an actress who appeared in several films. Edgar & Frances are the parents of prolific actress Candice Bergen.

After I photographed the gravesides of Edgar, and Francess Bergen, I then cruised over to the area where burlesque stripper Gypsy Rose Lee rests. Unfortunately I had no luck finding this gravesite. I think part of the reason for this was because there was a sprinkler spraying water in the area, and to prevent my Canon digital camera from being destroyed I decided to not look for Lee’s graveside. I did however try though to no avail. So that concludes my adventure to Inglewood Park Cemetery.

On Wedesday, October 10th I decided to kick things up a notch. So what did I do? I cruised over to Calvary cemetery, in East Los Angeles, and Hollywood Forever Cemetery, in Hollywood. Being that I pretty much found the gravesites of everyone I wanted to  the last time I was in town in 2011. I still had a little unfinished business to attend to. After my arrival at Calvary cemetery, I strolled into the office to get a cemetery map & inquire about two particular gravesites, that I didn’t have the locations for. After my inquiries, & much to my pleasant surprise the office clerk gave me the names I was looking for. The names in question were for Rosario DeSimone, & his son Frank DeSimone. Rosario was one of the early Los Angeles Crime Family bosses, during the years 1922 through 1925. Rosario’s son Frank, was the Los Angeles Crime Family boss from 1956 through 1967. If your interested in learning more about the life and times of Rosario & Frank DeSimone, you definitely should visit their Wikipedia biographies which have external links above.

After photographing and paying my respects at the graveside of Rosario & Frank DeSimone, I then hopped back into my “Gravecation Mobile” and cruised over to the front of the mammoth mausoleum building. One of the vaults among thousands in the lawn directly in front of the mausoleum holds the final resting place of another Los Angeles mobster, and that being none other than Jack Dragna. Dragna was the Los Angeles crime family boss  between 1931-1956. If you’re interested you should  visit Wikipedia for a general biographical overview of Dragna’s life.

After photographing the graveside of Jack Dragna, I then hopped back into the “Gravecation Mobile” and made my departure from Calvary cemetery. If you’re interested in checking out who’s buried in Calvary cemetery, which is maintained by the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles you should visit the Calvary cemetery Wikipedia page, or Find A Grave.

After visiting Calvary, I had a little time to kill before meeting up with my friend Lia, at The Grove in Los Angeles. So I then made my way to Hollywood Forever cemetery. If you’re interested in visiting this true museum in stone known as Hollywood Forever you can find it on Santa Monica Blvd, directly behind Paramount Studios.

Being that I visited Hollywood Forever a total of three times during the two weeks I was strutting around Los Angeles. I’m gonna combine the three visits into one. The first visit to Hollywood Forever during the 2012 Los Angeles Gravecation I found the graveside of acclaimed Russian actress/ballerina Tamara Toumanova. This particular gravesite I wanted to find in 2011 during my inaugural trip to Los Angeles. With no such luck during that trip, I had better luck this time. With the help via phone from my good friend and L.A. based graver, Jayne. Fortunately I had the location in the cemetery where Toumanova is located, but didn’t know where to find her. So with the help of Jayne, I was able to pinpoint the location. After finding the grave of Toumanova, and photographing it. I then made my departure, because I was meeting my friend Lia (mentioned above) at The Grove shopping center in Los Angeles.

Before I forget, another grave I found, at Hollywood Forever. Was a cenotaph memorializing Toto the dog, from the motion picture “The Wizard of Oz“. Toto is not actually buried in Hollywood Forever, but is buried on the land once owned by Carl Spitz, which is now part of the Ventura Freeway.

During the second visit to Hollywood Forever. I was joined at the cemetery after the Death Hag Weekend Sunday brunch at El Coyote Mexican Cafe, by my friend Stacey. While we were there I just showed Stacey some of the graves in the lawn area. We were going to visit the grave of silent film heart-throb Rudolf Valentino, but unfortunately the mausoleum where he is interred was locked, due to construction. After parting ways with Stacey, I then headed back to Anaheim, where I was staying.

During my last and final visit to Hollywood Forever, I visited the gravesites of notorious Las Vegas gangster Bugsy Siegel, & Moe Sedway. Another gravesite on the list which was a new one to find was of John Jacob Factor, he’s related to Max Factor Sr. & Jr. He was a Chicago mobster, aligned with Al Capone. After I visited the gravesites of the three Jewish mobsters in the Beth Olm mausoleum, I then cruised over to where the silent film sibling trio of Constance, Natalie, and Norma Talmadge rest. After photographing their graveside crypts, I then drove around to the front of the cemetery to the columbarium to lurk around in there. After not finding the gravside cremains niche of silent film actress Viola Dana, I then made my departure back to Anaheim.

If you’re interested in checking out what Hollywood Forever cemetery has to offer. Feel free to visit the Hollywood Forever, Wikipedia, or Find A Grave pages. So that pretty much concludes what I did in Los Angeles, and Orange County covering days seven through nine. Stay tuned for more updates on the 2012 Los Angeles Gravecation.

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2012 L.A. Gravecation Prelude – The Saga Continues

22 Saturday Sep 2012

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Photo I found browsing around Google. I do not own this photo.

As previously mentioned I’m heading back to Los Angeles October 2nd through the 15th. With that being said I thought I’d give you a taste of what I plan to be doing while I’m strolling along the cemeteries in and around Tinseltown. But first before I do that, I thought I’d mention that after I came home from the last L.A. Gravecation in 2011, I decided that I’d make my presence known once again in L.A. this time around for the 15th Annual Hollywood Underground Dinner. For some reason that I don’t have the answers to the annual Hollywood Underground Dinner, pretty much morphed into the 1st Annual Death Hag Weekend. So being that I originally planned to be in the area during the 15th Annual Hollywood Underground Dinner(which morphed into the 1st Annual Death Hag Weekend), I felt that it would only be fittingly proper to take part in the 1st Annual Death Hag Weekend

The 1st Annual Death Hag Weekend. Is being organized by the undisputed King of the Death Hag’s, and my friend Scott Michaels. If you’re not aware, Scott is the owner/curator of Find A Death.com. Find A Death.com caters to anyone who has an interest in the deaths of the worlds most beloved celebrities, and otherwise obscurely notable personalities. Scott is also the proprietor of one of the BEST sightseeing tour venues in Hollywood, namely Dearly Departed Tours. Dearly Departed Tours, takes tourists from around the globe, on a two-hour joyride around Hollywood, to visit the sites where celebrities were involved in some sort of ill-conceived scandal, or unfortunately met their untimely demise. Needless to say with Scott’s experience its only fitting that he is the organizer of the 1st Annual Death Hag Weekend.

If your interested in browsing around the official website for the 1st Annual Death Hag Weekend. Where you will find seven weekend package options to choose from, and a bunch of other goodies. You should visit DDTWeekend.com. Or you could visit the official Facebook page for the 1st Annual Death Hag Weekend. On a personal note I went with weekend package #2 The (John Holmes) Elongated Package which includes all the following:

The Friday Night Union Theater Reception

Entertainment Provided by Virtual Campfire

Special Guest: Bill Murphy of SyFy’s Fact or Fiction

A Presentation by Scott Michaels

Saturday Dearly Departed Tour – The Tragical History Tour

Saturday Night Reception & Buffet Dinner at Mountain View Mausoleum

Hosted by Scott Michaels

Presentations by Mark Masek, & L.A. County Chief Coroner Craig Harvey

The centerpiece of my 2012 L.A. gravecation trek. Is to visit the cemeteries I did not get the chance to visit the last time I was in town in 2011. The cemetery list I’ve compiled which is included below will give you a general idea of the cemeteries I plan to visit, and in some cases revisit. Please keep in mind this is just a tentative list I’ve compiled, which will more than likely change.

Cemeteries I plan to visit:

Mount Sinai Memorial Park
Valhalla Memorial Park
Inglewood Park Cemetery
Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery
Evergreen Cemetery
Woodlawn Cemetery Santa Monica
Forest Lawn – Glendale
Grand View Memorial Park
Oakwood Memorial Park
El Toro Memorial Park (Orange County)

Cemeteries I plan to revisit:

Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills
Westwood Memorial Park
Hollywood Forever
Calvary Cemetery
Eden Memorial Park
Pacific View Memorial Park (Orange County)

Closing out my second visit to Los Angeles. I plan to checkout the job situation in the booming film & television industry in Southern California. I’m in the process of making plans to meet with a few people who are actively involved in the film & television industry, to garner advice, & feedback from them and possibly develop some contacts. For when I eventually move to Los Angeles in a few years. That way I’ll hopefully have a possible job lined up as a Production Assistant once I finally relocate to Los Angeles. Needless to say this trip is a mixture of business with pleasure. I’m seriously looking forward to my second Los Angeles visit.

Grave Hunting Chronicles: Reminiscing About Being A Grave Hunter By Mark Masek

27 Wednesday Apr 2011

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As mentioned on April 1st 2011 I’ve decided to invite friends of mine who are fellow grave hunters to be guest writers on the Graveside Stroll blog. I pretty much gave them free rein on what they can talk about just as long as its grave hunting related.

The next installment of the “Grave Hunting Chronicles” comes to us from well-respected grave hunter, Mark Masek who is the author of the book “Hollywood Remains To Be Seen: A Guide To The Movie Stars Final Homes”  So without further adieu here is ” Reminiscing About Being A Grave Hunter”

For me, the most exciting, interesting, rewarding and fun part of grave hunting isn’t finding the final resting place of someone you’re looking for, but finding someone you weren’t looking for.

When I started as an active grave hunter, I had my list of celebrities that I wanted to find and photograph. I visited the cemeteries, read the reference books and websites, and eventually checked most of the names off my list. (And I can’t say I did it without a great deal of help from my fellow grave hunters and friends in the “Hollywood Underground,” who always seemed to be able to find everyone worth finding long before I did, and helped to point me in the right direction.)

Now, one of the most enjoyable aspects of grave hunting for me is just wandering through a new cemetery, or through an unexplored section of a cemetery I’ve visited many times before. Josh describes his blog as “geared towards the gravesites of anyone famous, infamous, notable, and noteworthy.” For me, that means everyone.

Cemeteries are like libraries. They contain the final resting places of thousands of people, each with their own separate and unique story. Some of these people are famous, and their stories are well known. Most are not, but that doesn’t make their life any less interesting, or their stories any less worthy of being told and remembered.

As I wander through the cemeteries, I like to read the names and the inscriptions on the grave markers. Sometimes the marker will also include a symbol or picture to give you an idea about the person, what they liked, how they lived, who they really were. I’ve seen musical notes, golf balls, Scrabble tiles, fishing poles, airplanes and dozens of other symbols and bits of information that help to paint a picture with a little more meaning than just a name, date of birth and date of death.

Sometimes, the grave marker will create more questions than it answers, and that’s when the research part of the hobby kicks in. A couple of years ago, I was wandering through Inglewood Park Cemetery, near Los Angeles International Airport. Inglewood is more than 100 years old, one of the largest cemeteries in the state, and has its share of notable residents, including Ray Charles, Betty Grable, former L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley, Cesar Romero, Edgar Bergen, Gypsy Rose Lee, Sugar Ray Robinson, and many more.

I was walking through an older section of the cemetery, and I saw a large marker, long enough and wide enough to cover an entire grave. It was in the middle of the section, far from the road, and the lettering on the marker was badly chipped and faded. It read: “Children of the Hope School who Perished by Fire – May 31, 1924,” followed by 10 names.

At the time, I had never heard of the Hope School, and no one I talked to had heard about it, either. So I started my research, looking through old issues of Los Angeles Times, checking online resources, searching through books on the history of Los Angeles. The story I found was a shocking, horrible and needless tragedy.

The Hope Development School opened in 1920, south of Los Angeles, along the beachfront, in an all-wooden building that had formerly been a hotel. The school served mentally handicapped girls, offering them basic educational and industrial training, and they also lived and slept in the building. Most of the girls were sent to the school from Juvenile Court, while others were brought by their parents who were simply unable to take care of them at home.

The County Public Welfare Commission, however, recognized the risk of a fire in the building, and attempted to have the school moved, but without any success. “When a suitable place is found,” one of the commissioners said, “usually it is our experience that people in the vicinity at once rise up in arms against it, and that their protests usually are recognized.”

On May 31, 1924, there were 41 people in the building — 38 residents, ranging in age from 4 to 26; two matrons; and the adopted 14-year-old son of the school’s owner. When the girls went to sleep, all the doors and windows were locked to prevent them from escaping, and some of the girls were tied to their beds.

Shortly after 9 p.m., a fire broke out in the building, which quickly burned to the ground. The Hope School fire claimed a total of 24 victims, including 22 students, one of the matrons, and the owner’s son. Most of the survivors suffered burns and other injuries.

Some of the fire victims were taken by their families and buried elsewhere. But, for whatever reason, these 10 victims were buried together at Inglewood Park Cemetery, sharing a grave and a grave marker. I haven’t yet been able to determine why they were buried here together. Did the school make the arrangements? Did the cemetery donate the plot? Had these children been abandoned and forgotten by their families in life, and now they were forgotten in death? Or were the families simply unable to afford a separate burial?

These children weren’t famous or successful or well known. In fact, they were literally shunned by society, through no fault of their own. The reason they died in an old building that was known to be a fire hazard was because no one in the community wanted them living in their neighborhood. But their lives were just as important, just as significant, just as notable and just as noteworthy as anyone else.

I wrote about the victims of the Hope Development School fire on my website, www.CemeteryGuide.com. And every time I go back to Inglewood Park Cemetery, I always pay them a visit, clean off their marker, and say a prayer. And I’ve noticed that they’ve been getting other visitors, too. Sometimes their marker is already cleaned off, and sometimes I find fresh flowers for them.

About a week ago, I received an email from a man who was working on his family history and researching his ancestors. Specifically, he was looking for information about the final resting place of his aunt, who died at the age of 14 in the Hope School fire. Through research on www.ancestry.com, a cousin in Tennessee and an anonymous poster on the www.FindaGrave.com website, he found my story.

He shared some information with me about his aunt. She was one of five children, and she suffered brain damage after having a high fever when she was a baby, and was sent to the Hope School. Two months before the fire, her mother died of tuberculosis, and less than a year after the fire, her father died, leaving the remaining four children orphans.

He also sent me the only photograph ever taken of his aunt, in 1921, three years before the fire, when she was 11 years old. She was tall and blonde, a very pretty girl, squinting in the sunshine, standing with her three sisters and their mother.

I never expected to get an email like that, and I’m sure he never expected a total stranger to be writing about his aunt’s death. But by telling me his aunt’s story, and sending me her picture, she became much more than just another name on a grave marker to me.

And it proved to me that cemeteries are full of these stories, sometimes tragic, sometimes uplifting, sometimes famous, sometimes obscure, but each one important, and each and every life worth remembering.

This story is ©2011 by Mark J. Masek

Special thanks go to Mark Masek for contributing this story.