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Grave Hunting Books – SoCal Style

26 Monday Aug 2013

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hollywoodsign04

One of the things I absolutely love about Grave Hunting, and being a taphophile. Is the assortment of books available for people who are into this sort of thing. Most of the books you’d find related to cemeteries and grave hunting are geared towards a geographic region. Being that I’m heading to Los Angeles again for the third time in October. I thought I’d write an article related to some of my personal favorite grave hunting books related to California grave hunting. In this article I’m going to discuss in my opinion, five of the best books in print, related to grave hunting in California. The books I’ve included below are listed in no particular order of importance. All of the books I’ve mentioned have something unique to bring to grave hunting, and are definitely worth obtaining for those interested in getting into the hobby, or adding to your collection of grave hunting/cemetery books. So let’s get started.

hollywoodremains1. Hollywood Remains To Be Seen – Mark Masek.

The first book that gets the utmost honorable mention in the Grave Hunting Books – SoCal Style article, is “Hollywood Remains To Be Seen: A Guide to The Movie Stars Final Homes.” This book is considered by many to be the “Bible” when it comes to books on southern California cemeteries. According to the Amazon.com production description “Hollywood Remains to Be Seen is a fascinating, gossipy guide to the fourteen most significant Hollywood-era cemeteries and the final resting places of the movie stars who are buried in them. Arranged as an easy-to-follow tours of the properties, the fourteen chapters-one for each cemetery-include histories of the cemeteries, directions for finding them, and a detailed listing of exactly where more than three hundred stars, and a detailed listing of exactly where more than three hundred stars are buried.” So it’s seriously no wonder that this book is at its rightful place at the top of this list. If your just getting started in the fun-filled insanity known as grave hunting. This book should really be near the top of your list of books to buy. I HIGHLY recommend it.

gravesidecompanion2. LA’s Graveside Companion – Steve Goldstein

The next book on the must have books related to L.A. grave hunting list is “L.A.’s Graveside Companion: Where The VIP’s RIP” by Steve Goldstein. Steve Goldstein is an ongoing contributor to The Gravecast Blog, not only that he’s the co-host of The Gravecast Podcast which you can find past episodes of right on this blog. According to the Schiffer Publishing website “L.A. ‘s Graveside Companion is an informative guide to a dozen Los Angeles cemeteries that locates the 400 most interesting gravesites in Southern California. Over 270 black & white photos, informative text, and driving directions guide readers to the graves of L.A.’s most famous and influential citizens.” So this book should be another book near the top of your list of books to get.

celebritieslacemeteries3. Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory – Allan Ellenberger

Moving along, any visit to L.A. for the sole purpose of visiting the graves of your favorite celebrities. Would not be complete without the inclusion of “Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory” by Allan Ellenberger. According to the Amazon.com product description “Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries in accord with the fascination that surrounds Hollywood celebrities and the increasing popularity of celebrity grave-hunting, this book serves as a guide to the final resting places of the many celebrities who are buried in Los Angeles County, California. It is arranged by cemetery, and provides the following information for each person: age at time of death; date and place of birth; date and place of death; cause of death; obituary headline of the deceased; inscription on grave marker; location of grave; and a film that the celebrity appeared in. Includes appendices, web site information, bibliography, and index.” So it’s seriously no wonder this book plunked itself down in the third spot of this list. This book might be small, but as you can see it packs a lot of punch.

finalrestingplaces4. Final Resting Places: Orange County’s Dead & Famous – Michael Thomas Barry

If your going to be visiting southern California anytime in the foreseeable future, and you’re looking for a different approach to the cemeteries, and memorial parks in the Los Angeles region. Look no further than “Final Resting Places: Orange County’s Dead & Famous” by Michael Thomas Barry. According to the Amazon.com product description you will “Tour the graveyards of Orange County, California. Photos help identify burial locations of luminaries such as President Richard Nixon, murder victim Nicole Brown Simpson, famed aviator Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan, Olympic hero Florence Griffith-Joyner, and John Wayne. Also featured are numerous founders of Orange County, victims of true crime, sports stars, politicians, and legends of entertainment. Read their informative stories, and follow step-by-step directions to their graves.” To be honest I was unsure of where to place this book on the list. With so many great books for you to choose from I settled for the forth position on the list. This book truly packs a ton of info. I’ve used it during the last two trips I’ve made to SoCal while visiting the various Orange County, California cemeteries.

foreverla5. Forever L.A.: A Field Guide To Los Angeles Area Cemeteries & Their Residents – Douglas Keister

The next book that should be included in your SoCal, Grave Hunting book collection is “Forever L.A.: A Field Guide To Los Angeles Area Cemeteries & Their Residents” by Douglas Keister. This little pocket size book packs a ton of punch for a small book. According to the Amazon.com Production Description Forever L.A. includes stunning photographs, fascinating text, and easy GPS directions for finding gracious architecture, fabulous artwork, and memorable gravesites of famous Los Angeles “residents.” This book might be small compared to the others. The beautiful photos alone should definitely be the reason you add this book to your collection.

 

 

starsHF6. The Stars of Hollywood Forever – Tony L. Scott

The second from last book to make The Gravecast Blog’s list of SoCal grave hunting books is “The Stars of Hollywood Forever” by Tony L. Scott. According to the product description on the official Stars of Hollywood Forever book website “The book lists over 1500 notables who are enjoying their final rest at this infamous Hollywood cemetery.  Founders and early pioneers of Los Angeles, film actors, actresses, directors, producers, cinematographers, composers, writers, editors along with a few gangsters, a murderer, some scandals, unsolved deaths, mysteries and some every day people.” This book is similar to “Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory” when it comes to an encyclopedic format. However it’s chock full of well researched biographical information. The detailed biographical info is one of the reasons I wanted to include this book on the list. It’s definitely well worth the price in gold. 

 

laidtorestinca7.  Laid To Rest In California: A Guide to The Cemeteries and Grave Sites of The Rich and Famous – Patricia Brooks

The last book that makes the cut on The Gravecast Blog’s list of SoCal grave hunting books is “Laid To Rest In California: A Guide to The Cemeteries and Grave Sites of The Rich and Famous” by Patricia Brooks. According to the Amazon.com product description Laid To Rest In California is a scintillating who’s who and who’s where of California’s dearly departed. You’ll find movie stars, sports greats, musical geniuses, eccentric personalities — more than a thousand of the state’s rich, famous, and interesting. This book not only covers SoCal cemeteries, and the residents buried in them. But also covers NorCal cemeteries as well. On a more personal note. This book was actually one of the first I bought midway through my grave hunting adventures. Laid To Rest In California has plenty of beautiful black & white photos, and concise biographical overviews of select celebrities, and other California notables. This is another book I highly recommend.

So there you have it. The Gravecast Blog’s Grave Hunting Books – SoCal Style list. If you have any questions about any of the books featured on this list. Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below, and I’ll promptly reply. All of these books are definitely worth buying for your grave hunting/celebrity death, or cemetery library.

Grave Hunting Chronicles: Grandpa Bugsy by Steve Goldstein

19 Tuesday Jul 2011

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Awhile back, I decided to give some grave hunting friends of mine the opportunity to be guest bloggers of sorts for a series of reader contributed stories I’d like to call “Grave Hunting Chronicles.” These are life stories of grave hunters practicing their craft in the cemeteries they love. The next story I’m about to introduce to you, was graciously donated by my good friend & fellow graver Steve Goldstein. The story relates to a time when Steve, accompanied by a friend of his. Found the graveside crypt of notorious New York bred, Las Vegas gangster Bugsy Siegel. As you will soon find out the story has some interesting twists which will no doubt make you laugh, or at least bring a smile to your face. Anyway without further adieu here is “Grandpa Bugsy”

Grandpa Bugsy
By Steve Goldstein

Back in 1994, my friend Kelly was visiting from Portland, Oregon, and I took her around Hollywood to show her the sites. One place she really wanted to see was Hollywood Memorial Park (which was still called that back then, and was still under the so-called management of the criminally inclined Jules “Jack” Roth), and in particular, she wanted to visit the grave there of Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, the infamous mobster who was killed in Beverly Hills back in 1947.

This was shortly after the devastating Northridge earthquake that year, so when we arrived at the cemetery and made our way to the Beth Olam Mausoleum in the back, we found it padlocked with a sign that read “Closed due to earthquake damage. Only Family members will be allowed in. Please check in at the Administration building to be granted access.”

Disappointed but not deterred, we made our way back to the main entrance of the park and into the Administration building. There we found an older, very dour looking woman sitting behind the reception desk. “May I help you?” she asked without ever looking up. “Yes,” I replied, “we would like to be let into the Beth Olam Mausoleum.” “Who are you here to see?” she asked, still not making eye contact with us. “Benjamin Siegel” said I. “Oh, and are you RELATED to Mr. Siegel?” she asked, dripping with sarcasm. “Yes,” I said, “I’m his grandson.” Of course, this was not true, but it was possible. Siegel had two daughters who were born in the early 1930s, about the same time my own mother was actually born, and if either of them had given birth in the mid-1950s to a male child, that child would be about my age and probably fit my general description. Crabby old lady finally looked up. “Really??” She was genuinely impressed now. “Benjamin Siegel was your Grandfather?  Do you know how many people come in here looking for him all the time?” “That’s very nice,” I said. “Can you please let us in?” “Right away, Sir!” She picked up a phone and called a groundskeeper to come and fetch us immediately. Kelly at this point was afraid she would burst out laughing so she ran off to the ladies room, leaving me sitting there alone in the lobby not knowing if I was about to be arrested for impersonating the relative of a dead gangster or actually be escorted to his crypt. She was gone a pretty long time and I was becoming more nervous by the second. I asked the lady if I should perhaps come back at another time. “Oh no, they’re on their way!” she assured me. On their way for what, I wondered.

Kelly eventually pulled herself together and indeed, a very nice groundskeeper pulled up in a golf cart and drove us back to the Beth Olam Mausoleum, where he unlocked the chains and allowed us to go inside, unescorted. He waited for us outside and gave us free reign for as long as we wanted.

We still laugh about that day all these years later. I like to imagine that the crabby old receptionist tells this story still, about how she met Bugsy Siegel’s grandson one day. And I hope she tells folks “He was very nice.”

And there you have it “Grandpa Bugsy” by Steve Goldstein. This story is one of my personal favorites, that Steve shares with his friends. So I just had to go through the proper channels to see about publishing it on this blog, for my readers to see. If your interested Steve has a website Beneath Los Angeles which chronicles the gravesites of famous people buried in Los Angeles. Not only that he also had the book “LA’s Graveside Companion: Where The VIP’s RIP” published by Schiffer Publishing.

Grave Hunting Chronicles: Locked Inside a Mausoleum With You By Steve Goldstein

01 Friday Apr 2011

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To make things a little more entertaining on Graveside Stroll. I’ve decided to offer some grave hunting friends the opportunity to share some of their favorite grave hunting stories with you, the readers of the blog. The first “Grave Hunting Chronicles” story comes to us from my dear friend Steve Goldstein. So without further adieu here is Steve Goldstein’s story titled “Locked Inside a Mausoleum With You…”

Locked Inside a Mausoleum With You…
by Steve Goldstein

It was a Wednesday, around 3:45 in the afternoon. I had just gotten out of a business appointment in Culver City and was done for the day, so I thought I would drop into nearby Hillside Memorial Park for a quick visit. It was my first time grave hunting here, so I went straight to the mausoleum. I knew the cemetery would close at 5:00, so I had just an hour or so to see the mausoleum and get out. Many people have seen this building without knowing it. It’s that big white one behind the Al Jolson Waterfall as you drive down the 405 Freeway. Ever since that day, I always point it out and tell this tale….

As I entered the building, a groundskeeper nodded hello to me. I nodded back and began to explore. Jack Benny and his wife, Mary, are in a great black sarcophagus at the end of the hall. Nearby, Eddie Cantor, Jeff Chandler, David Janssen, Georgie Jessel, Dick Shawn, Dr. Ralph Greenson (Marilyn Monroe’s shrink), Michael Landon, and Dinah Shore are all quietly entombed. Alan Sherman, Michael Bloomfield and other musical memories from my youth, plus baseball hall of famer Hank Greenburg. Great place, no doubt about it. I’ll have to come back. But now it’s 4:30, better get home.

I walked to the front entrance to the building and found it locked tight. No problem, I thought, I’ll just go out a side entrance. Nope, that’s locked, too. As I ran through the building, starting to panic now, every door was bolted shut. I knew that if I didn’t get out of there in the next 30 minutes, I was spending the night here, and I really didn’t want to do that. Although, of all the mausoleums to spend the night in, this one would be the one, because instead of the usual marble benches, this one had over stuffed couches, so if you absolutely had to sleep here, you would be pretty comfortable. But I wasn’t thinking about that right now. I was making noise. Lots of noise. I had to get somebody’s attention. I began to look around for something to throw through the glass doors. I was breaking out.

Suddenly, I became very calm. I noticed a small office to my right, the door slightly ajar. Entering the Mausoleum Office, I found a telephone on a desk. I picked it up and dialed ‘0.’  An operator answered, “Hillside, how may I direct your call?”
“I’m locked inside your mausoleum. I was wondering if you would send someone up to let me out.”  I’m sure she thought it was a prank call. She replied, “There is no phone inside the mausoleum.”  “Yes, there is, and I’m on it right now.”  She asked me what the extension was. I looked down at the phone and answered, ‘306.’  “I’ll call you back,” she said.

I waited what seemed an eternity. Finally, the phone rang. “Yes?” I answered. “Where are you exactly?” a confused sounding operator asked me. “I’m in a small office near the front entrance.” She instructed me to go stand by the door, and somebody would be along to let me out. Sure enough, moments later, the same groundskeeper who had greeted me an hour earlier came up to the door, laughing. “Locked you in, huh?”  “Yeah, funny stuff.”

With that, I left the Hillside Mausoleum, jumped into my car and sped off. I’ve been back many times, of course. And that mausoleum office has been locked every single time. I can’t help but believe that I had help that afternoon. I was making so much noise to get out of there, I probably woke up Jack Benny or somebody, and like the munchkins, they sent me home.

(excerpt from Beneath Los Angeles, © 2001 Steve Goldstein)

And there you have it the first Grave Hunting Chronicles story as told by veteran grave hunter Steve Goldstein. For those of you who are interested Steve is the author of “LA’s Graveside Companion Where The V.I.P’s RIP” which was published in 2009. He’s also the proprietor of the celebrity grave hunting website Beneath Los Angeles.com.