Stars At Rest

A few weeks ago, Carolyn and I went to LA to visit Sara. Not having done any "touristy" things on recent visits, we decided that this trip we would find the final resting place of some of Hollywood's biggest stars. A bit of research revealed that there are many cemeteries of the stars in the LA area.

One of the most famous is Forest Lawn. As it turns out, however, there are three Forest Lawns. The largest, Forest Lawn Glendale is "home" to hundreds of Hollywood stars among the 250,000 people buried there. The smaller Forest Lawn of Hollywood Hills with acre upon acre of lush rolling hills, has dozens of notables from America's entertainment world. The size of these memorial parks in daunting. Finding someone there can be a challenge.

We settled instead on a small out of the way park situated in a forest of commercial high rises and residential property near the campus of UCLA in Westwood. The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park just off of Wilshire Blvd can be easily missed.



We chose this spot because it is very small and intimate yet many famous stars are buried there.


Immediately upon walking into the park we saw the grave of Don Knotts who died just last year. Surprisingly it was a very simple unadorned site.


Just a few feet away was the significantly more ornate burial site of singer, Mel Torme.

The most famous resident is Marilyn Monroe. Joe Dimaggio shocked Hollywood in 1962 when he chose this small cemetery to be Marilyn's final resting place instead of a larger and more prestigious site.

Since then it has become the eternal home of many of our most famous illuminaries.
Dean Martin is just a few yards away from Marilyn Monroe.


Rodney Dangerfield was buried here in 2004. He still makes passers-by laugh today. (Click on the picture to read the inscription.)

Nearby are the plots of other famous entertainers: Billy Wilder (writer and director), Carroll O'Connor (Archie Bunker) and Jack Lemmon.


Wilder's film career lasted more than 50 years. He won 6 Academy Awards. His classics include: Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Sabrina (1954), Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Apartment (1960).



Jack Lemmon's "Odd Couple" partner, Walter Matthau is just a few feet away.

In addition to Marilyn Monroe, there are other tragic figures in Westwood. Natalie Wood was buried here after she drowned in 1981.


Bob Crane (Hogan's Heroes) lies here. His murder has never been solved.


Dominque Dunne, daughter of writer Dominick Dunne, too, was murdered and now rests in Westwood.



Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys, who died too early of cancer, is here. His mother, Audrey, is nearby.



Strangely, singer Roy Orbison is buried in the park but the grave is unmarked. The family planned to add a marker but has not yet done so 19 years after his death.

Some stars who lived long successful lives are also here. Eddie Albert ("Green Acres") nearly made it to 100.



Songwriter, Sammy Cahn ("All the Way" - Academy Award, 1957, "Three Coins in the Fountain" - Academy Award, 1954, "Love and Marriage" Emmy Award, 1955, "High Hopes" Academy Award, 1959, "Call Me Irresponsible" Academy Award, 1963), was 80 when he died.


Ray Coniff Jr, musician and arranger ("Somewhere My Love" from Dr. Zhivago) was 82.


Mr. Magoo, Jim Backus ("Gilligan's Island) was 76.

Author, Truman Capote ("Breakfast At Tiffany's", "In Cold Blood.") rests here.

Writer, Ray Bradbury ("Farenheit 451," "Dandelion Wine," "The Martian Chronicles") is still very much alive but he has arranged to be buried next to his wife.