Hollywood Forever Cemetery

This past week my son and I visited Hollywood Forever Cemetery. I read a few reviews and the actual Hollywood Forever Cemetery Website I only seen 1 tour available only Saturdays. I decided to take the self guided tour, they sale a map in the flower shop located near the entrance gate. How hard can it be, right?

The Flower Shop

The Entrance Gates

The $5 map

As we sat on a bench trying to figure out how and where to attack this self guided tour, completely puzzled it was instantly apparent that this wasn’t going to be as simple as I had anticipated.

Old Hollywood had a lot of names that without the face next to it, I did not recognize. I had done a lot of research prior about who had been laid to rest here but it was quite sometime ago and not fresh in my memory. So we just started walking to explore on our own.

A Rolls Royce parked by near the entrance

The Chapel

This Gorgeous Statue

The Gorgeous Statue
The view from the front is definitely better. Absolutely beautiful.

Shirley Slesinger Lasswell
Shirley Slesinger Lasswell, at least I’m guessing. She was a marketing branding pioneer. Her life’s story is quite amazing definitely worth reading. According to the map she is 105 in section 5. The breathtaking statue makes it easy to find, although take note: I didn’t see a plaque or name anywhere around, the Winnie the Pooh marks her beautiful story.

The Outside of Sanctuary of Memories

The Piano Man
I don’t know who Pete T Stanley was but he has one spectacular resting place.

Entrance to Abbey of the Psalms
Abbey of the Psalms

Darla Hood
Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the Our Gang series from 1935 to 1941.
Sadly she passed away of heart failure following an appendectomy surgery. Later tests revealed that she had contracted Hepatitis from a blood transfusion administered by the hospital.

Right across the hall is Clifton Webb (November 19, 1889 – October 13, 1966) was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for his Oscar-nominated roles in such films as Laura, The Razor’s Edge, and Sitting Pretty.[1] In the theatrical world he was known for his appearances in the plays of Noël Coward, notably Blithe Spirit, as well as career on Broadway in a number of very successful musical revues.

The final resting place of actor Clifton Webb is one of two locations at Hollywood Forever Cemetery that are reportedly haunted.

The Talmadge Sisters

The Talmadge Sisters Before the Kardashians and the Baldwins Hollywood was ruled by The Talmadge Sisters. The sultry sisters were epic stars during the silent film era. Definitely read this amazing story about how the sisters left their mark on Hollywood.

Norma Talmadge

Constance Talmadge and Natalie TalmadgeRenée Adorée (September 30, 1898 – October 5, 1933) was a French actress who also starred in the Hollywood silent movies during the 1920s.

Renée Adorée

Charlie Chaplin Jr

Charlie Chaplin Jr son of Charlie Chaplin, Lillian Grey was his Grandmother.

Jesse L. Laskey

Jesse Louis Lasky (September 13, 1880 – January 13, 1958) was an American pioneer motion picture producer. He was a key founder of Paramount Pictures with Adolph Zukor, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky, Jr.

Yma Sumac

Yma Sumac (/ˈiːmə ˈsuːmæk/; September 13, 1922 – November 1, 2008) was a Peruvian soprano. In the 1950s, she was one of the most famous proponents of exotica music.
She became an international success based on her extreme vocal range, which was said to be “well over four octaves”and was sometimes claimed to span even five octaves at her peak. Yma Sumac recorded an extraordinarily wide vocal range of slightly over four octaves from B2 to C♯7. She was able to sing notes in the low baritone register as well as notes above the range of an ordinary soprano. Both low and high extremes can be heard in the song Chuncho (The Forest Creatures) (1953). She was also apparently able to sing in an eerie “double voice”
I listened to a few videos of her on YouTube, all I can say is WOW…. Just WOW!!

Bugsy Siegal is buried inside here, he was an American Mobster with the Luciano crime family. He was known as one of the most infamous and feared gangsters of his day. He was also the driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip.

I was to creeped out to in this mausoleum to walk down and get a picture of his crypt. Maybe next time….

The Paramount Studios water tower from the Hollywood Forever lawn.

Angel Wings