Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)

Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills

View from Griffith Park
Details
Established	1906 by Dr. Hubert L. Eaton New cemetery opened in 1952
Location	Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A
Country	United States
Coordinates	34°08′42″N 118°19′12″W / 34.145°N 118.320°W / 34.145; -118.320Coordinates: 34°08′42″N 118°19′12″W / 34.145°N 118.320°W / 34.145; -118.320
Type	Public
Owned by	Forest Lawn
Number of graves	119,216
Website	forestlawn.com/hollywood-hills
Find a Grave	Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills

Forest Lawn Memorial Park — Hollywood Hills is one of the six Forest Lawn Southern California cemeteries. It is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90068, in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is on the lower north slope at the east end of the Santa Monica Mountains range that overlooks North Hollywood, Universal City, and Burbank, and the overall San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.

Forest Lawn — Hollywood Hills is a park dedicated to the preservation of American history and hosts high-profile events such as an annual Veterans Day ceremony attended by dignitaries and other VIPs. Los Angeles Magazine described it as a "theme-park necropolis", paraphrasing Jessica Mitford, indicating "Forest Lawn’s kitsch was just a sophisticated strategy for lubricating the checkbooks of the grieved."^[1]

Features

The park features such sights as:

Court of Liberty

A section of the Birth of Liberty mosaic

• The Court of Liberty features statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and the Birth of Liberty mosaic. At 162 feet (49 m) long and 28 feet (8.5 m) high, Birth of Liberty is the largest historical mosaic in the United States. It is composed of ten million pieces of Venetian glass and depicts twenty-five scenes from early America, from 1619-1787.
• The Old North Church, a precise replica of Boston's historic church, from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Paul Revere's Ride". The historical rooms have documents and mementos of the colonial period.
• The Hall of Liberty American History Museum has a copy of the Liberty Bell and other exhibits. The museum has a 1,200-seat auditorium.
• Monument to Washington, a marble and bronze tribute to America's first president, created by sculptor Thomas Ball. Four of Washington's generals are honored in the memorial.

Lincoln Terrace

• The Lincoln Terrace features a 16-foot (4.9 m) bronze statue of the 16th president by Augustus St. Gaudens, flanked by a panoramic mosaic depicting key scenes from Lincoln's life.

Plaza of Mesoamerican Heritage

A large Aztec calendar replica in the plaza

• The Plaza of Mesoamerican Heritage has sculptures by Meliton Salas Rodriguez, of Guadalajara, Mexico. Salas used hand tools to first quarry, then work the native Mexican stone into precisely scaled, detailed replicas of artwork and artifacts that are representative of the Aztec, Huastec, Maya, Mixtec, Olmec, Teotihuacan, Toltec, Totonac, and Zapotec civilizations that preceded modern Mexican culture. A smooth Olmecan head, an intricate Aztec sun calendar and a sinuous Teotihuacan bas relief are some of the sculptural features of the Plaza that are set off by crushed stone walkways and complemented by groupings of Mesoamerican plants.

History

The first Forest Lawn, in Glendale, was founded in 1906 by businessmen who hired Dr. Hubert Eaton, a firm believer in a joyous life after death. He believed that most cemeteries were "unsightly, depressing stoneyards," and pledged to create one that would reflect his optimistic beliefs and be "as unlike other cemeteries as sunshine is unlike darkness." He envisioned Forest Lawn to be "a great park devoid of misshapen monuments and other signs of earthly death, but filled with towering trees, sweeping lawns, splashing fountains, beautiful statuary, and... memorial architecture".^[2]

Before it was a cemetery, Forest Lawn was a filming location used by directors such as Carl Laemmle and Cecil B. DeMille. The climactic battle scenes for D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation were filmed there. The alternate names of the filming site are Providencia Flats, Nestor Ranch, Oak Ranch, Oak Crest Ranch, Universal Ranch/Universal City, Lasky Ranch, and Paramount Ranch until November 1927.

When Eaton (self-proclaimed as "The Builder") made known his desire to open a second Forest Lawn location in the Hollywood Hills, the local residents protested vehemently. To circumvent the protesters, Mr. Eaton sent his staff to the county morgue to claim 6 "John Does" and buried them at the corners of the property in the dark of night. In the morning, the protesters had no power because, by law, the property was now a cemetery.

California Health and Safety Code, Section 7003 “Cemetery” means either of the following: (a)Any of the following that is used or intended to be used and dedicated for cemetery purposes: (1)A burial park, for earth interments. (2)A mausoleum, for crypt or vault interments. (3)A crematory and columbarium, for cinerary interments. (b)A place where six or more human bodies are buried.

The new mortuary and cemetery opened in 1952.

Notable interments

Interred or entombed in the Hollywood Hills cemetery are many famous people, particularly from the entertainment industry.

A

• Harry Ackerman, TV executive producer
• Rodolfo Acosta, actor
• Edie Adams, actress and singer
• Iris Adrian, actress
• Philip Ahn, actor
• Harry Akst, songwriter
• Robert Aldrich, director
• Irving Allen, producer and director
• Steve Allen, actor, comedian, writer, and television host (unmarked grave)^[3]
• Don Alvarado, actor and director
• Leon Ames, actor
• Morey Amsterdam, actor and comedian
• Carl David Anderson, Nobel Prize winning scientist
• Ernie Anderson, television announcer of ABC, host of late-night, schlocky Ghoulardi movies, father of filmmaker, Paul Thomas Anderson^[4]
• Mignon Anderson, actress
• Lois Andrews, actress
• Matthew Ansara, actor and bodybuilder, son of Michael Ansara and Barbara Eden^[5]
• Michael Ansara, actor, father of Matthew Ansara, husband of Barbara Eden^[6]
• Dimitra Arliss, actress
• Robert Arthur, producer
• John Ashley, actor
• Gene Autry, actor, singer, and former owner of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
• Luis Ávalos, Cuban actor
• Doe Avedon, actress and model
• Patricia Avery, actress
• Tex Avery, animator

B

• Art Babbitt, animator
• Lloyd Bacon, director
• Parley Baer, actor
• David Bailey, actor
• Buddy Baker, composer
• Bonnie Lee Bakley, murdered wife of actor Robert Blake
• John Ball, novelist
• Lucille Ball, actress (original interment, now at Lake View Cemetery in Jamestown, New York) ^[7][8]
• Harry Barris, singer, songwriter and musician
• Don "Red" Barry, actor
• Judith Barsi, child actress
• Gordon Bau, film and television make-up artist
• Clyde Beatty, circus owner and lion tamer
• Noah Beery, Sr., actor, father of actor, Noah Beery, Jr., older brother of actor, Wallace Beery^[9]
• Noah Beery, Jr., actor, son of actor, Noah Beery, Sr., nephew of actor, Wallace Beery^[10]
• Ralph Bellamy, actor
• Richard Benedict, actor and director
• Spencer Gordon Bennet, director
• Lamont Bentley, actor
• Mary Kay Bergman, voice-over artist
• Fred "Rerun" Berry, actor/street dancer/ordained Baptist minister (unmarked grave)^[11]
• Gus Bivona, musician
• Willie Bobo, musician
• Priscilla Bonner, actress
• Tom Bosley, actor
• Truman Bradley, actor and television announcer
• Delaney Bramlett, musician
• Chet Brandenburg, actor
• Mary Brian, actress
• Pamela Britton, actress
• Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, producer
• Joe Brooks, actor
• Leslie Brooks, actress and model
• Wally Brown, actor and comedian
• Kathie Browne, actress
• Mona Bruns, actress
• Edgar Buchanan, actor
• Mildred Burke, professional wrestler
• Solomon Burke, singer
• Bartine Burkett, actress
• Everett G. Burkhalter, politician
• Smiley Burnette, actor
• Jerry Buss, majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers

C

• Godfrey Cambridge, actor and comedian
• Roy Campanella, MLB Hall of Famer (cremated)^{[12] [13]}
• Pete Candoli, musician
• Stephen J. Cannell, producer
• Philip Carey, actor
• Frankie Carle, musician, pianist and bandleader^[14]
• Johnny Carpenter, actor, director, and screenwriter
• David Carradine, actor
• John Carroll, actor and singer
• Virginia Carroll, actress
• Nick Ceroli, musician, jazz drummer for Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass^[15]
• Michael Chekhov, actor, director, novelist, and theater practitioner
• Warren Christopher, former Secretary of State and Deputy Attorney General
• Ethlyne Clair, actress
• Bob Clampett, animator
• Robert Clarke, actor
• William H. Clothier, cinematographer
• Bill Cody, Jr., actor
• Nudie Cohn, fashion designer
• Buddy Cole, musician
• Dennis Cole, actor
• Ray Collins, actor
• Don Cornelius, television host and producer (cremation)
• Joyce Compton, actress
• Christopher Connelly, actor
• William Conrad, actor
• Bert Convy, actor and television host
• Rita Corday, actress
• Jerome Cowan, actor
• Willie Crawford, Major League Baseball player
• Gary Crosby, actor and singer
• Scatman Crothers, actor and musician
• Pauline Curley, actress
• Tara Correa-McMullen, actress

D

Bette Davis' tomb

• Virginia Dale, actress
• Ken Darby, composer
• Beryl Davis, singer
• Bette Davis, actress
• Brad Davis, actor
• Gail Davis, actress
• Rufe Davis, actor
• Laraine Day, actress, wife of Leo Durocher^[16]
• Gene de Paul, composer
• André de Toth, director
• Tamara De Treaux, actress
• Sandra Dee, actress
• Frank de Kova, actor
• Rod Dedeaux, longtime USC Trojans baseball head coach
• Reginald Denny, actor
• Vernon Dent, actor
• Frank De Vol, composer, actor^[17]
• Ronnie James Dio, heavy metal/hard rock singer and songwriter, member of Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell and Dio^[18]
• Roy Oliver Disney, businessman, older brother of Walt Disney, co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, father of Roy E. Disney^[19]
• Edward Dmytryk, director
• Jimmie W. Dodd, actor, singer, and songwriter, host of The Mickey Mouse Club, "Mouseketeer"^[20]
• Jim Duffy, animator^[21]
• Michael Clarke Duncan, actor
• Jerry Dunphy, television news anchor
• Leo Durocher, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer
• Dan Duryea, actor
• George Duke, musician

E

• Arthur Edeson, cinematographer
• Anthony Eisley, actor
• James Ellison, actor^[22]
• Dan Enright, producer
• Josh Ryan Evans, actor
• Michael Evans, actor

F

• Richard Farnsworth, actor
• Marty Feldman, actor and comedian
• William Ferrari, art director
• Jim Ferrier, professional golfer
• Shug Fisher, actor, singer and songwriter
• Robert Florey, director
• Tony Fontane, singer
• Robert Charles Francis, actor
• Melvin Franklin, singer and member of The Temptations
• Milton Frome, actor
• Bobby Fuller, singer

G

• Reginald Gardiner, actor
• Michael Garrison, producer
• Marvin Gaye, singer (cremated here; ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean)
• Frankie Gaye, singer, younger brother of Marvin Gaye^[23]
• Wally George, television host
• Andy Gibb, singer
• Hughie Gibb, bandleader, father of the Bee Gees and Andy Gibb.^[24]
• Paul Gilbert, actor
• Peggy Gilbert, musician
• Haven Gillespie, songwriter
• Roger Gimbel, producer
• Joel Goldsmith, composer
• Alfred J. Goulding, director and screenwriter
• Earl Grant, musician

H

• Hard Boiled Haggerty, professional wrestler
• Monte Hale, actor and singer
• Jon Hall, actor
• Porter Hall, actor
• Thurston Hall, actor
• Stuart Hamblen, actor, singer, and songwriter
• Thomas F. Hamilton, founder of the Hamilton Standard propeller company
• Jack Hannah, animator
• Ben Hardaway, animator and voice-over artist
• Ann Harding, actress
• Bob Hastings, actor
• Marvin Hatley, composer
• George "Gabby" Hayes, actor
• Jim Healy, sports commentator^[25]
• Neal Hefti, composer
• Horace Heidt, bandleader
• Florence Henderson, actress and singer
• Wanda Hendrix, actress
• Higgins, dog actor (urn is buried with trainer, Frank Inn)^[26]
• Maxine Elliott Hicks, actress
• John C. Holland, Los Angeles City Council member, 1943–67
• Red Holloway, musician
• Sol Hoʻopiʻi, musician
• Jean Speegle Howard, actress, wife of Rance Howard, mother of Ron and Clint Howard, grandmother of Bryce Dallas Howard^[27]
• Greg Hudgens, father of actress, Vanessa Hudgens^[28]
• Michael Hutchence, singer, frontman of rock band, INXS^[29]

I

• Rex Ingram, actor
• Frank Inn, animal trainer
• Jill Ireland, actress, wife of actors, David McCallum and Charles Bronson^[30]
• Ub Iwerks, animator, co-creator of Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit^[31]

J

• Dennis James, actor and television host
• Charles Jarrott, director
• Howard Jarvis, political activist
• Sybil Jason, child actress
• Tony Jay, actor and voice-over artist
• Kelly Johnson (1910–1990), aviation engineer
• I. Stanford Jolley, actor
• Allyn Joslyn, actor

K

• Bob Kane, comic book artist, co-creator of the DC Comics superhero Batman with Bill Finger^[32]
• Stacy Keach, Sr., actor, father of actors, Stacy Keach and James Keach^[33]
• Joseph Kearns, actor
• Buster Keaton, actor and comedian
• Lemmy Kilmister, Musician, singer-songwriter, co-founder, frontman and bassist of Motörhead^[34][35]
• Lincoln Kilpatrick, actor (unmarked grave)^[36][37]
• Peter King, composer
• Rodney King, victim of police brutality in 1991
• James Komack, TV producer, screenwriter, director and actor, creator of The Courtship of Eddie's Father and Chico and the Man^[38]
• Ernie Kovacs, actor and comedian
• Helen Barbara Kruger, fashion designer
• Otto Kruger, actor
• Kay E. Kuter, actor

L

Stan Laurel's memorial marker, with the Birth of Liberty mosaic in background

• Jack LaLanne, fitness and nutrition expert
• Dorothy Lamour, actress and singer
• Muriel Landers, actress
• Fritz Lang, director
• June Lang, actress
• Grace Lantz, voice-over artist, wife of Walter Lantz, voice of Woody Woodpecker
• Walter Lantz, animator and founder of Walter Lantz Productions
• Eric Larson, animator
• Nicolette Larson, singer
• Philip H. Lathrop, cinematographer
• Wesley Lau, actor
• Charles Laughton, actor
• Stan Laurel, actor and comedian, one-half of the Laurel and Hardy duo^[39]
• William Lava, composer
• Arthur Lee, singer, songwriter, musician
• Robert Edwin Lee, playwright and lyricist
• Lance LeGault, actor
• Stan Levey, musician
• George Liberace, actor and musician, older brother of Liberace
• Liberace, musician
• Diane Linkletter, daughter of Art Linkletter
• Glenard P. Lipscomb, former US Congressman
• Carey Loftin, actor and stuntman
• Hicks Lokey, animator
• Julie London, actress and singer
• Louise Lorraine, actress
• John Lounsbery, animator
• Otto Ludwig, editor
• Art Lund, actor and singer
• Jeffrey Lynn, actor

M

• Kenneth MacDonald, actor
• Harriet E. MacGibbon, actress
• Chummy MacGregor, musician
• Wilbur Mack, actor
• Marjorie Main, actress
• Albert Hay Malotte, composer
• Shelly Manne, musician
• Richard Marquand, director
• Teena Marie, singer and songwriter (cremation)
• Garry Marshall, writer, director, producer, and actor, older brother of Penny Marshall and Ronny Hallin, creator of the shows, The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy^[40]
• Jack Marshall, guitarist, composer and conductor, father of film director/producer Frank Marshall^[41]
• Lock Martin, actor
• Strother Martin, actor
• Michelle Triola Marvin, actress
• Junius Matthews, actor
• Matty Matlock, musician
• Frank Mayo, actor
• Larry McCormick, television news anchor
• Pat McCormick, comedian
• Ed McMahon, television host (cremation)
• Caroline McWilliams, actress
• Ralph Meeker, actor
• Martin Melcher, producer
• Sam Melville, actor
• Rafael Méndez, musician
• Chuck Menville, TV animator and writer, father of voice actor and musician, Scott Menville^[42]
• Donald Mills, singer and member of The Mills Brothers
• Harry Mills, singer and member of The Mills Brothers
• Victor Milner, cinematographer
• Cyril J. Mockridge, composer^[43]
• Paul Monette, author and poet
• Alvy Moore, actor
• Vicki Morgan, model, socialite, and murder victim
• Brittany Murphy, actress, singer, voice artist^[44]
• Timothy Patrick Murphy, actor
• Simon Monjack, producer, screenwriter, husband of actress Brittany Murphy
• Burt Mustin, actor
• John Myhers, actor

N

• Harriet Nelson, actress and singer
• Ozzie Nelson, actor and musician
• Ricky Nelson, actor and singer
• Red Nichols, musician
• Jack Nimitz, musician

O

• Orry-Kelly, costume designer for Warner Bros.
• Donald O'Connor, actor, singer and dancer
• Ron O'Neal, actor
• William T. Orr, TV producer, founder and head of Warner Bros. Television
• Frank Orth, actor
• Bud Osborne, actor

P

• Nestor Paiva, actor
• Joy Page, actress
• Maria Palmer, actress
• Cecilia Parker, actress
• Jean Parker, actress
• Hank Patterson, actor
• Kenneth Peach, cinematographer
• Bill Peet, animator
• Jack Pepper, actor
• Brock Peters, actor
• Freddie Perren, musician
• Jack Perrin, actor
• George O. Petrie, actor
• Esther Phillips, singer
• Charles Pierce, actor and female impersonator
• Daphne Pollard, actress
• Snub Pollard, actor and comedian
• Tony Pope, voice-over artist
• Jeff Porcaro, musician, drummer for Toto
• Mike Porcaro, bassist for Toto, younger brother of Jeff Porcaro
• Don Post, make-up artist
• Freddie Prinze, actor and comedian
• Alan Purwin, helicopter pilot

R

Lou Rawls's tomb

John Ritter's grave

• George Raft, actor
• Amanda Randolph, actress
• Lillian Randolph, actress
• Lou Rawls, singer
• Hugh Reilly, actor
• Bert Remsen, actor
• Ray Rennahan, cinematographer
• Dorothy Revier, actress
• Reynaldo Rey, actor, comedian, TV personality^[45]
• John Ritter, actor
• Jason Robards, Sr., actor, father of actor, Jason Robards
• Gale Robbins, actress and singer
• Dar Robinson, film stuntman
• Jay Robinson, actor
• Kasey Rogers, actress
• John Roseboro, MLB player
• Joe E. Ross, actor and comedian
• Ruth Royce, actress
• Miklós Rózsa, composer

S

• Sabu, actor
• Boris Sagal, TV & film director, father of actresses, Katey, Jean and Liz Sagal^[46]
• Jack Sahakian, hairdresser and actor
• Isabel Sanford, actress
• George Savalas, actor
• Telly Savalas, actor
• Johnny Sekka, actor
• Reta Shaw, actress
• Leon Shamroy, cinematographer
• Larry Shay, songwriter
• Robert Shayne, actor
• Roberta Sherwood, singer (unmarked grave)^[47]
• Teru Shimada, actor^[48]
• Vladimir Shneider, musician
• Mickey Simpson, actor
• Phillips Smalley, actor and director
• Jack Soo, actor
• Olan Soule, actor
• Ruth St. Denis, dancer and choreographer
• Raymond St. Jacques, actor
• Tim Spencer, actor and singer
• Jack Starrett, actor and director
• Bob Steele, actor
• Rod Steiger, actor
• George Stevens, director
• McLean Stevenson, actor
• Jay Stewart, television and radio announcer
• Glenn Strange, actor
• Fred Stone, actor^[49]
• Victor Sutherland, actor
• H.N. Swanson, Hollywood literary agent

T

• William Talman, actor
• Vic Tayback, actor
• Rod Taylor, actor
• Zola Taylor, singer
• Jack Teagarden, musician
• Frankie Thomas, actor
• Martha Tilton, singer
• Wayne Tippit, actor
• George Tomasini, editor
• Pinky Tomlin, actor and musician
• Leo Tover, cinematographer
• Bobby Troup, actor and musician
• Charles Trowbridge, actor
• Tamara De Treaux, actress^[50]
• Forrest Tucker, actor

U

• Loyal Underwood, actor (unmarked grave)^[51]

V

• Lee Van Cleef, actor
• Dick Van Patten, actor
• Wally Vernon, actor
• Katherine Victor, actress
• Al Viola, musician

W

• Jimmy Wakely, actor and singer
• Paul Walker, actor^[52]
• Eddy Waller, actor
• Larry Walters, truck driver known as "Lawnchair Larry" or "The Lawn Chair Pilot who flew a lawn chair with weather balloons
• Kent Warner, costume designer
• Ruth Waterbury, film critic
• Paul Weatherwax, editor
• Jack Webb, actor, producer, and director
• Frank Wells, Disney president
• Billy West, actor and comedian
• Norman Whitfield, songwriter and composer
• Claire Whitney, actress
• Richard Whorf, actor, director, and producer
• Crane Wilbur, actor and director
• Jess Willard, world heavyweight boxing champion
• Bill Williams, actor (unmarked grave)^[53]
• Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, actor
• Rhys Williams, actor
• Roy Williams, animator, The Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer^[54]
• Sue Williams, actress and Playboy Playmate
• Vesta Williams, singer
• Dick Wilson, actor
• Marie Wilson, actress and comedian, wife of Robert Fallon
• Paul Winfield, actor
• Charles Winninger, stage and film actor
• David L. Wolper, producer
• John Wooden, UCLA Bruins men's basketball coach
• Ilene Woods, actress, singer, and voice-over artist

Y

• Ralph Yearsley, actor
• Snooky Young, musician

Z

• Paul Zastupnevich, costume designer
• Arnold Ziffel, pig actor, Arnold on Green Acres (urn is buried with trainer, Frank Inn)^[55]
• George Zucco, actor

See also

• Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
• List of United States cemeteries
• San Fernando Valley
• History of the San Fernando Valley
• Rancho Providencia – First Movie Town 1912
• Nestor Studios – Valley ranch
• Providencia Ranch – Oak Crest - Universal/Bison 101 Movies
• Universal City – Two valley ranch locations ^[56]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills).

• Official website
• Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills Grave marker photos
• Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) at Find A Grave