The Great L.A. Gravecation of 2011 Revisited – Hollywood Forever

26 Saturday Nov 2011

Posted by Josh Perry in Gravecations - Stories From The Road

Tags

Barbara La Marr, Bugsy Siegel, Constance Talmadge, Dee Dee Ramone, Harold Rosson, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood Memorial Park, Isaac Lankershim, Isaac Van Nuys, Jesse Lasky, Johnny Ramone, Jules Roth, Moe Sedway, Natalie Talmadge, Norma Talmadge, Paul Muni, Peter Lorre, Rudolf Valentino, The Official Walking Directory of Hollywood Forever, The Stars of Hollywood Forever: A Who's Who Guide of Hollywood's Final Resting Place, Tyler Cassity, William Desmond Taylor

Continuing on with the recap extravaganza this week. From when I went to Los Angeles, last Spring, to go nuts in the cemeteries, where anyone who was ANYTHING in Hollywood is buried. In today’s revisited recap I will feature Hollywood Forever cemetery.

To give you the background on Hollywood Forever. The cemetery was originally called Hollywood Memorial Park, and is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Founded in 1899 by Isaac Lankershim, and his son-in-law Isaac Van Nuys. As time went on, the cemetery owners Lankershim & Van Nuys sold off large tracts of land in the rear part of the cemetery to nearby Paramount Studios, another part of the cemetery was set aside for the creation of Beth Olam cemetery which is a Jewish cemetery located within the grounds of Hollywood Forever.

In 1939 a convicted felon by the name of Jules Roth, purchased the cemetery, and then plundered the money which was supposed to be used for the general operations of the cemetery, and thus the cemetery fell into disrepair, and was in the process of being shut down. That is until Tyler Cassity, who came from a long line of relatives involved in the funeral & cemetery industry, and purchased the 62-acre, hollowed ground for under $400k. So that pretty much gives you the background of Hollywood Forever.

There is a never-ending cast of élite Hollywood stars who call the cemetery their final home. From the world of silent films comes Rudolf Valentino, Barbara La Marr, The Talmadge Sisters (Constance, Norma, & Natalie), William Desmond Taylor who is buried under his real name of Tanner. From the world of crime comes Bugsy Siegel, & Moe Sedway. Other classic stars include Paul Muni, Harold Rosson. Dee Dee & Johnny Ramone, Peter Lorre, & Jesse Lasky, and many other celebrities.

If your interested, the cemetery gift shop sells a colorful cemetery map, marking the gravesites of celebrities in buried in the cemetery, along with “The Official Walking Directory of Hollywood Forever” which is a 47-page booklet with biographical narratives, and photos of the celebrities buried in the cemetery. Another thing I’d recommend getting if you plan on visiting Hollywood Forever is the book “The Stars of Hollywood Forever: A Who’s Who Guide of Hollywood’s Final Resting Place” this particular book is written by Tony L. Scott, I highly recommend the book and any future editions you can get your hands on. T.L Scott has a website which you can visit my clicking here. So now that I got all that out-of-the-way who’s ready to see some gravesite photos? Please navigate at your leisure the photo slideshow below. Just a FYI tomorrow I’ll be going over Westwood Memorial Park. Enjoy!

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Toto’s Memorial Marker

23 Wednesday Mar 2011

Posted by Josh Perry in Miscellaneous Posts

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Hollywood Forever Cemetery, JP Myers, Steve Goldstein, Toto, Toto Memorial Marker, Tyler Cassity, Wizard of Oz

The endeavor begins in October of 2010. A friend of mine JP is hard at work at the medical diagnostic firm he works at. During a break at work JP has a discussion with a co-worker, about the Huell Howser show. One episode in particular the co-worker mentions, Huell is interviewing Steve Goldstein (another friend of mine) about famous animals (you know animal actors).

The co-worker brings up the fact that Steve & Huell film a segment at the location which used to be the Carl Spitz Ranch which is now part of the Ventura freeway. Carl Spitz was the famed animal trainer who trained a multitude of animal actors back in the golden era of Hollywood. Including Toto the little dog in The Wizard of Oz film.

Growing up in southern California, a stones throw away from many of the film studio lots which churned out 100’s of blockbuster films. JP has fond memories as a child watching “The Wizard of Oz.” After the discussion with the co-worker and realizing that he not only lived less than a mile away from the site, but went to elementary school several blocks away from the ranch. JP decides then and there that it will be his quest to gather the resources, and interest to have a memorial marker erected in Honor of Toto and that’s where this story begins.

To get the ball rolling, JP enlists the help of Steve Goldstein. The original plan was to have the memorial placed at the Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park, but the idea was put to rest, when the board of directors of the cemetery turned down the proposal to place an upright marker on the grounds of the cemetery.

Then fast forward to about a week ago, it was announced that Tyler Cassity who owns Hollywood Forever cemetery was more than willing to donate a plot, and offered to build the memorial honoring Toto. The work is not finished yet. While Hollywood Forever agreed to donate the plot, and construct the memorial honoring Toto at no cost.

In return for the Toto memorial to be placed at Hollywood Forever JP is asking for donations so he can donate the money to the Hollywood Forever Endowment Fund. The endowment fund is what will keep the cemetery up and running for tourists, and Angelenos, to enjoy for years to come . The money goes towards the up keep, maintenance, and proper care of the cemetery grounds.

For those of you who are interested in learning more about this extremely worthy cause. I highly suggest you visit the official Facebook page here. If you visit the official Facebook page there are some examples of what the memorial may look like. There was also some recent media attention given to this worthy cause. The Los Angeles CBS affiliate did a story on Toto’s planned memorial marker. You can check that out by clicking here.

On a final note. I’d like to congratulate JP Myers, and Steve Goldstein for putting this thing together and getting the ball rolling. I’d also like to personally thank JP for donating the photo of Toto & Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz film, and giving me some background info on how this whole thing got underway. The memorial marker if you’re wondering should be in place by May of 2011.