Flashback Friday # 8

Hi!

#8 Hollywood Forever Cemetery 

One of the most popular venues for Los Angeles is a cemetery. It is a summer hotspot for movies, and concerts alike. In 2011 The Flaming Lips had a two day gig, and every october or november there is a Day of the Dead celebration. 

I'll just make the assumption that a lot of people know there are some stars buried here. Most the events are on Douglas Fairbanks' grave. It is quite famous for the golden era, and a lot of documentaries are shot here.

After experiencing the wonderful cemetery tour with http://www.cemeterytour.com/, I discovered that this cemetery is rich with history. I wanted to share some information about the cemetery.

The cemetery was founded in 1899 and was called, "Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery" by the famous Issac Lankershim and son-in-law Issac Van Nuys. Developed 13 years after the reconstruction, it became a burial site for confederate veterans since many people in the south moved to California to find work.

One of the cemetery's first famous inhabitants was Page Peters. He died when he was 27 at Hermosa Beach. Afterwards other stars were buried here like Rudolph Valentino, Marion Davies, Tyrone Power, and others. 

In 1939, felon Jules Roth bought the cemetery. Using the money for personal luxuries, Roth allowed the cemetery to be put into the despair. In the 1970s many of the lakes around the crypts were so diseased that dead animals would be seen floating around. None of the tombstones were cleaned, and none of the overgrowth was cleared.

Roth was a massive bigot. When the famous actress Hattie McDaniel wanted to be buried at the cemetery, so she can be immortalized like the rest of her famous comrades, he refused to have her buried there. The only option she had was to be buried at a segregated cemetery. 

When a body was being cremated in July 1974, the cemetery was starting to fall down, literally. As it was being cremated, bricks were falling around its body.

During the 1980s many people began moving their families to other cemeteries. In 1994, after the earthquake, the cemetery was so rundown that it caused the cemetery to not make any money.

Roth THANKFULLY died soon after and the cemetery was bought in 1998 by  Tyler and Brent Cassity. They were children of funeral owners and managed to put the cemetery in full refurbishment and repair. Now the cemetery has become a hybrid of where people go to celebrate life, and morn those who have gone.

If you want to see more about the cemetery, schedule a tour with Karie Bible at http://www.cemeterytour.com/