Moving forward with “The Great L.A. Gravecation of 2011 Revisited” collection of Gravecast articles. Today’s discussion is the conclusion of the Orange County cemeteries I visited. So I thought it would be fitting to go out with a bang, and end the Orange County insanity by giving you the 411 on my favorite Orange County cemetery, and that being Pacific View Memorial Park. You can find Pacific View Memorial Park at 3500 Pacific View Drive, a stones throw away from the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor, and the Costa Mesa Freeway, near the intersection of San Joaquin Hills Rd & MacArthur Blvd in the affluent Newport Beach neighborhood, of Corona del Mar.

View of the ocean from Pacific View Memorial Park. Photo courtesy of Terry Myers.

The History:

Pacific View Memorial Park was founded in 1958. Located two miles from the coastal communities of Orange County. The area that circumvents this true majestic godly acre used to be known as The Rancho San Joaquin. To give you a brief history of The Rancho San Joaquin. The rancho was a combination of two rancho’s in one. Namely The Rancho Cienega de las Ranas, & Rancho Bolsa de San Joaquin, this parcel of rolling hills, and wetlands, was part of the 48,803-acre Mexican land grant given to José Antonio Andres Sepúlveda.

Today, as you look off into the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean, from the hilltop knoll, of Pacific View Memorial Park, your visionary senses will be delighted by a culmination of  panoramic photo-op, views such as the Newport Beach Harbor area, Catalina Island, San Clemente Island, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, among the other neighboring seaside communities.

As you stroll along the 100 acres of this true centerpiece in stone. You will no doubt take a leisurely stroll past an overabundance of palm tree’s swaying in the ocean scented wind, beautiful landscaped lawns on the curvy knolls. Not to mention the skillfully designed shrub plantings, and various open courtyard areas, and don’t forget the masterfully designed fountains flowing with water. With all these visual expressions in mind, it’s no wonder that Pacific View Memorial Park, is at the epitome, of what a memorial park should be, when it comes to remembering those who passed to the great beyond.

Some of the amenities you will find at Pacific View Memorial Park, when it comes to burial styles. Include but is not limited to the traditional lawn burials, private gardens, private family estates, semi-private gardens, cremation niches, & unique cremation memorials. The centerpiece of this true museum in stone is the Spanish style mausoleum building. One of the things I find fascinating about Pacific View Memorial Park, is the fact that this special place, with the panoramic views of the Pacific coast has the highest concentration of celebrities buried in Orange County. So with that, let’s get started with the tour.

The Tour:

Upon arriving at Pacific View Memorial Park, I strolled into the cemetery office to get a map of the grounds. Now keep in mind, while Pacific View Memorial Park, has the distinction for having the highest concentration, in Orange County of celebrities who rest peacefully within the grounds of this beautiful cemetery. I probably found a quarter of those who are known to call this tranquil burial ground home. The reason for this is because I got thirsty, and decided to get a soda. Needless to say after getting mesmerized by the sandy beaches, and pacific ocean, I found my self back in Los Angeles. Anyway after getting the map, I pinpointed the area where the Vista del Mar section is. And that is where we begin our tour.

First on the list of celebrities I found in the Vista del Mar section was that of Edmund “Eddie” Burns. Burns got his start in the motion picture industry as an extra in the epic D.W. Griffith film “The Birth of a Nation” (1915). Burns was active in the motion picture industry until the mid 1930s. He had a highly successful career in the film industry. If your interested I invite you to check out his film credits on the IMDb website. On April 2nd 1980 Burns passed away from unknown causes.

Continuing through the Vista del Mar section, the next gravesite I strolled by and photographed was that of Chinese American actor Kam Dai Tong. Tong got his start as a character actor on the television series “Have Gun Will Travel” spanning from 1957 to 1963. His other noteworthy roles include parts on “The Time Tunnel”, & “Bonanza.” Moving along his feature film credits include roles on the films: “The good Earth” (1937), “China Girl” (1942), “This is My Love” (1954), “Flower Drum Song” (1961), “It Happened at the World’s Fair” (1963) and “Dimension 5” (1966). If your interested in checking out what Tong’s versatile film roles included, I invite you to check out his full credit listing on the IMDb website.

After paying my respects at the graveside of Kam Dai Tong. I strolled over to the graveside where United States Marine Corps Major General Charles Quilter rests. Major General Quilter was a veteran of three wars,  World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. During WWII while serving in the Pacific Theater, Quilter was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, and two air medals, for gallantry service. After WWII ended, Quilter was transferred to the Naval Air Test Station, at Patuxent River, Maryland, where he served as assistant director of the service test division. Later on he was sent to the Marine Air Reserve Training Command at Glenview, Illinois, where he was the assistant chief of staff.

When the Korean War broke out, Maj. General Quilter was assigned to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, as liaison officer. For gallant service in the Korean conflict Quilter was awarded the Legion of Merit with combat “V”, and an Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a second Bronze Star. Continuing through Quilters highly successful military career, in 1963, he was promoted to brigadier general and major-general in 1966. At the outbreak of the Vietnam conflict Quilter became the commanding general of the 1st Marine Corp Air Wing. In 1969 he retired from active military service in the United States Marine Corps. In 1978 Major General Charles Quilter lost a tragic battle with cancer.

After paying my respects at the graveside of General Quilter, I then strolled over to the cremation niche where California Senator Alfred H. Song rests. Song was the first Asian-American elected to the California State Legislature, in 1966 he was elected to the California State Senate where he was the party chair for the Senate Democratic Caucus, & Judiciary Committee. In 1978 a political corruption scandal destroyed his budding political career. The allegations of this scandal were eventually dropped but his reputation, was already ruined. In 2004 at the ripe old age of eighty-five, Song passed away peacefully from natural causes.

After visiting the graveside cremains niche of Senator Song, I strolled over to the Bay View Terrace section, where actress Margaret Early-Wallace rests. Early-Wallace, was active in motion pictures during the 1930s through the 1940s. Several of the motion pictures Early-Wallace appeared in were nominated for an Academy Award. They include but are not limited to: “Stage Door” (1937), Jezebel (1938), Forty Little Mothers (1940), Stage Door Canteen (1943). Early-Wallace also appeared in a few Mickey Rooney’s Andy Hardy films which include: Judge Hardy and Son (1939), & Andy Hardy’s Private Secretary (1941). In November of 2000 while residing in Laguna Beach, CA Early-Wallace passed away from unknown causes. If your interested in checking out Early-Wallace’s film credits I invite you to check out her IMDb listing.

After paying my respects at the graveside of Margaret Early-Wallace, I strolled over where highly acclaimed, and award-winning motion picture cinematographer Robert DeGrasse rests. DeGrasse’s career in film cinematography spans from the silent era all the way through the 1960s. During the 1930s which was the early part of the golden age of film, DeGrasse was the director of photography for many of the motion pictures being churned out for RKO Studios. Some of DeGrasse’s career highlights include involvement with the productions of: Stage Door (1937), Care Free (1938), The Mayor of 44th Street (1942), among many others. Not to shy away from the advent of television DeGrasse’s television credits include: I Love Lucy, Make Room For Daddy, The Jack Benny Show, & The Dick Van Dyke Show. In January of 1971 while living in Newport Beach, CA, DeGrasse passed away from unknown causes. If your interested in checking out the highly acclaimed film credits in which this highly acclaimed cinematographer was involved with I invite you to check out his IMDb listing.

After checking out the graveside of cinematographer Robert DeGrasse, I then strolled over to where Marion Morrison rests peacefully. Morrison who is better known as his stage name John Wayne, grew up in Iowa, eventually moving to southern California, Wayne narrowly missed an appointment to The United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and thus enrolled at the University of Southern California, on a football scholarship. While at USC, actor and friend Tom Mix, got Wayne a job as a prop man, & assistant in exchange for USC football tickets. While on set, Wayne became friends with the highly popular and respected director John Ford, for whom he began doing small roles, in motion pictures. As luck would have it Wayne who was then known as Marion Morrison then came in contact with Raoul Walsh. Walsh recommended that Morrison change his name to a more “American” sounding name, Walsh then came up with John Wayne, and it stuck.

Wayne got his first big break in the western film The Big Trail (1930). As time went on Wayne starred in many B-Westerns, and other films. His six-foot frame, and muscular physique, made him an extremely marketable actor for westerns and other tough guy roles. In 1939 Wayne’s path to stardom pretty much skyrocketed when he was cast for the film Stagecoach (1939). The film was critically acclaimed, and thus a box-office smash hit.

Some of John Wayne’s other highly popularized films include but are not limited to: “Dark Command” (1940), “Fort Apache” (1948), “Rio Grande” (1950), “Hondo” (1953), “The Searchers” (1956), “The Alamo” (1960), and “The Green Berets” (1968). Wayne’s career began in the silent era of the 1920’s and ended in the late 1970s. Spanning five decades, his involvement in the motion picture industry not only included acting, but producing, and directing as well. During his illustrious career, he worked with some of the biggest and best A-list stars to ever work in Hollywood. If your interested in checking out John Wayne’s film credits, I highly recommend that you check out his page on the IMDb website. In June of 1979 Wayne lost a tragic battle with stomach, & lung cancer. He’s buried a few leisurely steps away from his daughter Toni, and first wife Josephine.

The last and final gravesite I visited at Pacific View Memorial Park, before finding my way up the coast and back in Los Angeles, was that of silent film actress, and future screenwriter Marion Mack. Born Joey Marion McCreery, in Mammoth, Utah, in 1920 Mack moved to Hollywood, and got a job working for the famed Mack Sennett. After appearing in a few short films for Sennett, Mack co-wrote and appeared in the film “Mary of the Movies”. In 1927 she appeared as the charming southern belle Annabelle Lee, the estranged girlfriend of Buster Keaton’s character Johnnie Grey, in the silent classic The General (1927). After she appeared in Alice in Movieland (1928), she retired as an actress, and began to write screenplays with her husband Lewis Lewyn.

In the 1970s, many people around the country began rediscovering the cinematic, and artfully designed aspect, of the 1920s silent film era. Marion Mack, thus began traveling around the country and made appearances at silent and classic film festivals which were showing the films she appeared in. In May 1989 she passed away from complications of heart failure. Mack is buried next to her husband Lewis Lewyn. If your interested I highly recommend that you check out her film credits on the IMDb database.

After leaving Pacific View Memorial Park, I drove up the coast and found my way to the L.A. County Coroner’s Office. My good friend and L.A. based grave hunter Jayne works in the notifications department at the L.A. County Coroner’s Office. But that’s not why I was there, as crazy as this is, the L.A. County Coroner’s Office is one of only two coroners offices in the United States that has their own gift shop. So being the morbid one that I am, I just had to check things out and see what this place had to offer. After arriving I strolled about the small store, which is chock full of t-shirts, coffee mugs, and other merchandise. I ended up buying a few t-shirts, and talking with Edna the cute cashier who works there.

After leaving the coroner’s office, my day wasn’t over yet. I still had some unfinished business to attend to at Hollywood Forever. When I was at Hollywood Forever, a few days earlier to  the Orange County cemetery treks, I didn’t get a chance to find one of my personal favorite actors, and that being Paul Muni. So after arriving at Hollywood Forever I made my way towards the Plains of Abraham section which is part of the Jewish burial area of Hollywood Forever. While standing above the graveside of Paul Muni, I snapped several photos of his gravesite, I then hopped back in the car, and headed back to Anaheim. If your interested in checking out a biographical sketch of Paul Muni’s life I invite you to check out his biography on the Wikipedia website.

And that pretty much concludes the cemeteries I visited in Orange County. Please stay tuned for the revisited series I’ll be writing for the rest of the L.A. cemeteries I visited. Before I forget if you’re a geeky bookworm like me, you might be interested in purchasing “Final Resting Places: Orange County’s Dead & Famous” by Michael Thomas Barry. HIGHLY informative book on the personalities who rest peacefully in Orange County, CA. And finally if your interested, you should check out the Pacific View Memorial Park page on the website Find A Grave.

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