Welcome to Hollywood Graveyard, where we set out to remember and
celebrate the lives of those who lived to entertain us, by visiting their final
resting places. Today we conclude our tour of Westwood Village Memorial Park, where
we'll find such stars as Bettie Page, Frank Zappa, Natalie Wood and many more.
Join us won't you?
For this final stretch of our tour of Westwood Village Memorial Park we'll be
visiting the central lawn of the cemetery. This lawn is little more than
an acre so due to space limitations many of the plots here are smaller cremation
graves. If you haven't done so already be sure to check out parts 1 & 2.
We'll begin our tour at the eastern edge of the lawn. Just a few spaces in from the
road we find actor Burt Lancaster. He was a popular leading man of the 50s and 60s
known as much for his dashing smile and statuesque frame as he was for his acting.
He was nominated for four Oscars winning in 1961 for "Elmer Gantry."
Other films include "The Rose Tattoo," "The Crimson Pirate," and "From Here to Eternity."
Several rows south we find singer Minnie Riperton. She was renowned for her vocal
range - an impressive five octaves. She began her career as a backup singer for
artists like Etta James and Chuck Berry. By the mid-70s she had her first
number-one hit, "Lovin' You."
[music]
Not long after Minnie was diagnosed with breast cancer
and underwent a mastectomy. She continued to record and tour through her cancer
battle, and in 1978 became a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society.
She died in 1979 at the age of 31. Her daughter is Saturday Night Live actress
Maya Rudolph.
A few spaces west on this same row is another legendary musician,
Carl Wilson.
Along with his older brothers Carl formed the band The Beach Boys
in the 1960s. The band quickly became one of the most popular and
influential groups of the era, defining the California sound. Carl was lead
guitarist and occasional vocalist, including on their hit "God Only Knows."
[music]
Straight north is the grave of Eve Arden. She was an actress whose career on stage
radio and screen spanned six decades. In 1954 she became the first actress to win
a Primetime Emmy for best female star, for her role in "Our Miss Brooks."
Other roles include "Anatomy of a Murder," "Grease," and
"Mildred Pierce," which earned her an Oscar nomination.
West along this row we find the queen of pinups Bettie Page.
With her trademark bangs, jet-black hair, and blue eyes, she became one of the most
popular pin-up models of the 50s, and since then has become a cultural icon
She began her career as a pin-up model but soon moved into nude and even fetish
and BDSM modeling in a time when it was still quite taboo, even illegal to do so.
She quit modeling upon her conversion to born-again Christianity and fell into
obscurity until she was rediscovered in the 80s and re-surged in popularity.
Her influence can be seen in popular and alternative culture - from The Suicide Girls
to Dita Von Teese, rock stars, and even comic book characters all pay
homage to Bettie. In 2012 a documentary titled "Bettie Page Reveals All" was made
about her life and features narrations by Bettie herself.
"Ladies and gentlemen
here she is now, that sultry siren of the Southland, Bettie Page.
Bettie Page is revolutionary. The symbol of joyous sexual freedom.
There was nothing like Bettie.
Still to this day inspires artists, music, the fashion world.
She really paved the way for all the rest.
She wasn't just a pretty face, there was a
fascinating story about this woman."
Several rows southwest of Bettie is
another model, Dorothy Stratten. She was a Canadian model who posed for Playboy in
the late 70s, and in 1980 was named Playmate of the Year. She also had a
brief acting career in B-films like "Galaxina." Shortly after the release of
the film Dorothy was shot and killed by her estranged husband and manager, who
then turned the gun on himself. She was only 20.
Further west, a few rows south,
is actress Dominique Dunne. She is best remembered for her spine-chilling
performance as Dana in the 1982 film "Poltergeist."
"What's happening?"
"WHAT'S HAPPENING!?"
"WHAT IS IT?!"
Her poltergeist co-star Heather O'Rourke is buried nearby, both having died
tragically young. On October 30th 1982 Dominique was strangled to
unconsciousness by her ex-boyfriend, John Sweeney, in the driveway of her home.
She went into a coma and died five days later at the age of 22.
Sweeney was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and spent a paltry three and a half years in
prison for her murder.
Further west is a cluster of small
cremation graves. Along the top row we find Sebastian Cabot. He was an English
actor perhaps best remembered as Mr. French, opposite Brian Keith, in the TV
sitcom "Family Affair," a role which earned him an Emmy nomination. He also lent his
voice to many Disney productions, including Bagheera in "The Jungle Book,"
and as the narrator on "Winnie the Pooh."
"This could be the room of any small boy,
but it just happens to belong to a boy named Christopher Robin. Like most small
boys Christopher Robin has toy animals to play with, and they all live together
in a wonderful world of make-believe. But his best friend is a bear called
Winnie the Pooh, or Pooh for short."
Continuing west, just south of a large
tree we find the grave of actor Jim Backus. He provided the voice of the
nearsighted cartoon, Mr. Magoo, and played the millionaire Thurston Howell III
on "Gilligan's Island."
[music]
Straight north, west of a tree, is the grave of Lew Ayres. He starred as Paul in
the 1930 film "All Quiet on the Western Front,"
and was nominated for an Oscar for his role in "Johnny Belinda."
Right next to Lew
is the unmarked grave of musician Frank Zappa, considered one of the most
influential and stylistically diverse rock musicians of his generation.
His music ranged from rock to jazz, fusion, even orchestral, and was often
experimental and improvised, with lyrics that satirized American culture.
One of his more popular songs, "Valley Girl," featured his daughter Moon.
[music]
I live in the valley and I can, like, totally relate to that song...
hashtag valspeak.
Zappa was incredibly prolific in his musical output.
In 1995 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2016 a
documentary was made about the life of Frank Zappa called
"Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words.'
Let's head past the tree, back into the lawn.
Here we find the grave of Richard Dawson. He has the distinction of having kissed
more women on screen than anyone else in Hollywood. As the original host of
"Family Feud" he famously kissed every female contestant on the show, old and young,
earning him the nickname "the Kissing Bandit."
He also played Peter Newkirk on "Hogan's Heroes."
Just southeast of Dawson is the
unmarked grave of Roy Orbison. Roy was a popular rock and roll musician in the
60s and 70s. His hits include "Only the Lonely," "Crying,"
and "Oh, Pretty Woman."
[music]
Straight east is the grave of another legendary musician, Sammy Cahn.
He was a lyricist and songwriter,
known for his film and Broadway songs.
Many of his hits were recorded by Frank Sinatra, like "Come Fly With Me,"
and "Three Coins in a Fountain," which earned him an Academy Award for best song.
He was nominated for
an astounding 26 Academy Awards, winning four times. He also wrote the lyrics for
the beloved Christmas song, "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"
sung here by Dean Martin, who is buried nearby.
[music]
A bit further east is Donna Reed. She was an actress who can be seen in
such classic films as "It's a Wonderful Life" and "From Here to Eternity," for which
she won an Oscar. She also had her own TV sitcom, "The Donna Reed Show," which ran
from 1958 to 1966.
Just northwest is the grave of actor Eddie Albert. He is perhaps best
remembered for his role as Oliver Wendell Douglass on "Green Acres."
His co-star, Eva Gabor, is buried nearby. He was nominated for two Academy Awards
for his roles in "Roman Holiday," and "The Heartbreak Kid."
Back east, up a few rows,
is the grave of actor Bob Crane. His career began as a drummer and radio
personality before moving into television, where he found his greatest
success as Colonel Hogan on "Hogan's Heroes" which ran from 1965 to 1971.
In 1978, while living in Scottsdale, Crane was found bludgeoned to death in his
apartment. The murder remains unsolved to this day.
Just northwest we find actress
Natalie Wood. She won hearts the world over when she
was just nine years old for her role in "Miracle on 34th Street." A successful
acting career followed, transitioning from popular child star to ingenue,
when at 16 she starred opposite James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause," a role
which earned her an Academy Award nomination. One of her best-known roles
is as Maria in the musical, "West Side Story."
[music]
The death of Natalie Wood in 1981 at the age of 43 is one of Hollywood's
lingering mysteries. She was on a holiday boat trip off Catalina Island with her
husband Robert Wagner and co-star Christopher Walken. Late on the night of
November 28th she somehow ended up in the water while trying to board a dinghy alone.
Her body was found the next morning a mile away from the boat, the
small dinghy found on a nearby beach. The official cause is listed as "drowning...
and other undetermined factors."
Finally we head west to find one of Hollywood's
legendary producers and studio kingpins, Darryl F. Zanuck. He is the man behind
20th Century Pictures, the most successful independent film studio in
the 1930s. In 1935 Zanuck merged 20th Century with Fox Studios, creating one of
Hollywood's greatest production companies, 20th Century Fox.
Notable films made under his tenure include "Laura," "The Grapes of Wrath," and
"All About Eve," which earned him an Oscar.
He wasn't afraid to tackle controversial
issues such as racism, anti-semitism, and environmentalism, long before such themes
were fashionable. The music from his film "The Longest Day," played at his funeral.
[music]
And that concludes our tour!
What are some of your favorite memories of the
stars we visited today?
Share them in the comments below, and be sure to like, share,
and subscribe for more famous grave tours.
Thanks for watching, we'll see you on the next one!
One of the reasons Joe DiMaggio chose Westwood for Marilyn Monroe's resting
place was because two of her foster mothers were buried here. After Marilyn's
mother had a mental breakdown her mother's friend, Grace Goddard took
responsibility of young Marilyn - that is, Norma Jean. After a few stints in and out
of foster homes and orphanages Norma Jean found her only stable and somewhat
permanent home at the age of 12 with Grace's aunt, Ana Lower... the one woman
she considered the closest thing she had to a real loving mother.
"When I went to
live with a woman, her name is Mrs. E, period, Ana Lower, and I used to do the
dishes in the evening, and whistling, and she said 'I never heard a child sing so much.'
I did, during that period. I liked being with her, staying with her.
I always kept in touch with her,
I loved her very dearly.
Aunt Ana, I adored her."
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