The Terrible Catsafterme

The Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills, nestled at the bottom of the north slope of the Santa Monica Mountains, is certainly one of the most beautiful and majestic of the cemeteries in Hollywood. Before the cemetery was built, the location was actually used in the film The Birth of a Nation. It is also one of the two cemeteries that I have most often visited. This is because it is where Stan Laurel is buried, and thus far, I have have visited it every year that I have been to California. This means that I was here in 1980, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2005,  2007, and 2008. So as you might guess, I am quite accustomed to the surroundings here. During my 2009 visit, there had recently been a bit of hoopla because the Michael Jackson funeral had been recently held here. I will refrain from chronicling this here, but you can read more about it here.

Saturday, July 11, 2009 – This was the first day of my L.A. trip and the second cemetery I visited that day. I had come armed with a list of graves that I hoped to visit and my friend and tour guide Bob Satterfield pointed out others. There were a few that I saw but didn’t bother to get photos with, such as Maxine Elliott Dodge, Bobby Troup, Strother Martin, Forrest Tucker, Nudie, and Frank Thomas Jr.

Bette Davis was of course a legendary actress who was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won an additional two for her performances in Jezebel and Dangerous. Her filmography range was from 1931-1989. Davis had signed a photo for me through the mail in 1985.

An an effort to visit the graves (at some point in my life anyways) of all of the directors of Laurel and Hardy films, I stopped by the grave of Alf Goulding who was the director of A Chump at Oxford. I had met Mr. Goulding’s widow Betty Goulding Saunders in 1992.

Although she didn’t pass away until 2005, I never got the opportunity to meet June Lang – although she did sign autographs for me a couple times through the mail. June played the female lead in Laurel and Hardy’s 1935 feature Bonnie Scotland.

It was unfortunately too high on the wall to pose with, here is the final resting place of Jean Parker, who not only was the female lead in Laurel and Hardy’s feature The Flying Deuces, but played the pivotal role of Beth in the orginal Little Women. Again this L&H actress didn’t pass away until 2005 and I never was able to meet her. She was highly reclusive and didn’t sign autographs through the mail. However, my friend Bob was able to get into see her at the Motion Picture Home and obtained an autograph for me.

Oddly enough, the grave of Reginald Gardiner, who played the romantic lead opposite Jean Parker in Laurel and Hardy’s The Flying Deuces was just a few footsteps away from Jean.

Freddie Prinze achieved notoriety when he committed suicide at age 22. He had been the star of the sitcom Chico and the Man and is the father of current popular actor Freddie Prinze Jr.

George Raft was commonly found in gangster films and melodrama throughout the 1930’s and 40’s. Among his film appearances were Scarface, Bolero, Some Like It Hot, and Ocean’s Eleven.

Although difficult to see in the photo, this is the grave marker of Iris Adrian, who means most to me for her portrayal of the charming Alice of ‘Alice and Lily’ fame in the Laurel and Hardy feature Our Relations. She also had a string of Disney appearances in the 1970’s in such films as The Shaggy D.A., That Darn Cat, and Freaky Friday. She was also a regular on The Abbott and Costello Show. Although I never got to meet her, she signed several autographs for me through the mail in the late 1980’s.

Walter Lantz is a legend among animators. Under the umbrella of his own studios he created and produced the Woody Woodpecker cartoons. He kindly signed an autograph for me in 1986 – and even drew a sketch of Woody with Laurel and Hardy, one of the most prized items in my collection.

In 1995, while visiting the grave of Walter Lantz, I noticed that right next to him was the grave marker of Benjamin Shipmen. I found this to be a major find as he was Laurel and Hardy’s business manager for nearly two decades. In fact, he can be seen during their appearance on the TV show This Is Your Life.

Roy Williams was both an artist and entertainer for the Walt Disney Studios, but he is best known as the “Big Roy” the adult Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club television series.

I hold no particular interest in Liberace, the flamboyant pianist who was the highest paid entertainer in the world from the 1950’s through 1970’s, but I since I always walk by this extravagant grave every time I visit Forest Lawn, I decided to get a picture with it.

In juxtaposition to Liberace, the name T. Marvin Hatley is largely unknown but means the world to me. He was a musician who worked at the Hal Roach Studios as a composer for many of Laurel and Hardy’s films on the 1930’s and is even credited as the creator of their signature tune Ku-Ku. I had the pleasure of twice meeting Marvin at the Sons of the Desert conventions in 1980 and 1982.

During my first solo visit to California in 1988, the youngest of the Gibb brothers musicians had just passed away unexpectedly a few months prior, so I saw his grave when it was still relatively new. Andy Gibb was the first male artist to chart three consecutive number one singles: I Just Want to Be Your Everything, (Love Is) Thicker Than Water, and Shadow Dancing.

Lou Rawls was also a chart topping musician, although he never hit the #1 spot. But his #2 song You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine is a personal favorite.

Charles Laughton was a legendary actor twice nominated for an Academy Award and awarded Best Actor for The Private Life of Henry VII. His role as Captain Bligh in Mutiny on the Bounty is one of my favorites. He also starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Paradine Case. As the classic comedy fan, I must also note that he portrayed Captain Kidd in Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd.

I mostly liked the cool lion on the grave of circus impresario Clyde Beatty.

Daphne Pollard was an actress of diminutive stature who had her own lion’s roar in four Laurel and Hardy films, twice portraying Ollie’s wife in Our Relations and Thicker Than Water. She also appeared with them in Bonnie Scotland and The Dancing Masters.

The above location is not a grave, but the Chapel of the Hills Church, where the funeral of Stan Laurel was held in 1965.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 – Because we had run short of time three days earlier, we purposely left out seeing the grave of Stan Laurel so that we would ensure that Bob and I had to return. The other absolute must on my list was to see the graves of Ozzie & Harriet Nelson. These were not easy graves to find and we spent well over a half hour trying to match up photos from Find-a-Grave. Finally, success!

Words cannot begin to describe my fondness for Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. I find Ozzie to be one of the most amazing and talented men ever in show business. As a band leader, actor (and vastly underrated comedian), writer, director, producer, and the epitome of a great family man, Ozzie was the consummate nice guy. I have long enjoyed The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet both on radio and television. Harriet was kind enough to sign a photo for me back in the late 80’s, a gem in my collection.

Ricky Nelson, who is of course the son of Ozzie & Harriet, was also star of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, in addition to being a chart-topping teen idol musician and icon of late 50’s and early 60’s. He charted 53 songs in the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973. I will never forget hearing the news of his untimely death on New Years Day 1986.

Unlike Daphne Pollard, Blanche Payson did not have a diminutive stature. In fact, she was just plain gargantuan in height. She also had the distinction of playing Oliver Hardy’s wife in L&H’s short Helpmates, also starring with them in Below Zero and Our Wife. At 6’2″, she towered over the Our Gang in Dogs Is Dogs as well.

Jack Webb had one of the most stone-faced visages in the business. As Sargeant Joe Friday, he starred in two incarnations of the TV series Dragnet. One of my all-time favorite Tonight Show skits was the Copper Clapper Caper that Webb did with Johnny Carson.

Gene Autry was perhaps the king of the B-Western World. Known as the Singing Cowboy, he was a star of radio, television, and film. He is also famous for his signature Christmas songs Here Comes Santa Claus (which he wrote), Frosty the Snowman, and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. He later went on to be the owner of the California Angels baseball team. You can check out the autographs that he sent me in 1985 here

Snub Pollard, contrary to popular belief, was not Daphne Pollard’s brother. He was however a very popular silent film comedian in his day, working in a series of one- and two-reel comedies. He appeared briefly in one Laurel and Hardy talkie, One Good Turn.  

Obviously overshadowed somewhat by his more famous yonger brother Walt, Roy Disney nonetheless played a prominent role in Disney history. He was co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, CEO of the organization from 1929-1971, and oversaw the constuction of Walt Disney World after his brother’s death.

Smiley Burnette was both a comedic western actor and singer-songwriter. He was often employed as the sidekick to Gene Autry and later worked in several films with Roy Rogers.

No missive about Forest Lawn could be complete without a photo of the grave of Stan Laurel, whose final resting place has brought me to this cemetery time and time again. There are photos of me elsewhere on the website at his grave, but the one from 2009 can be seen above.

Bob Kane was both a comic book artist and writer, but his biggest contribution was the creation of the super-hero character Batman.

I got this photo mostly for my sister Denise. As the ultimate game show fan, she might appreciate the grave of Bert Convy, who hosted Tattletales, Super Password, and Win, Lose, or Draw.

Known for his bulging eyes, Marty Feldman starred in two Mel Brooks films, the iconic Young Frankenstein and Silent Movie.

Sunday, July 29, 2007 – During the Way Out West 4oth Anniversary weekend, our tour group visited Forest Lawn. Although I had seen the grave of Buster Keaton many times before (especially since it lies in such close proximity to Stan Laurel’s), the was the first time I captured a photo of me with it.

Like Stan Laurel, Buster Keaton is one of the all-time great comedians. Mostly centered in the silent era, he left a legacy all his own with the likes of classic films such as The General, Steamboat Bill Jr., and The Cameraman. He has a Laurel and Hardy connection too, as they both appeared in Hollywood Revue of 1929.

John Ritter holds a huge place in sitcom history for his role of Jack Tripper in Three’s Company. I visited his grave in 2005 less than two years after his death, and popped over to see it again and get a picture withi it during the Way Out West tour.

Wednesday, October 5, 2005 – Although it’s not even an actual grave, Penn & Teller have a cenotaph at Forest Lawn, for the purpose of a card trick. The object is that the would-be magician would force the three of clubs and then reveal it while browsing the cemetery. My purpose however was to get a photo of me at the grave (seen here), which I would have Penn & Teller sign later that week. 

Return to Saturday 2009 in Hollywood…

Return to Tuesday 2009 in Hollywood…

Continue to the next Hollywood cemetery…

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 6:12 am and is filed under 2000's - Late, Disney, Famous Graves, Laurel and Hardy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.