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All the United States California Los Angeles Hollywood Forever Cemetery
AO Edited

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Resting place of Hollywood's immortals is also site of summer film screenings.

Los Angeles, California

Added By
anhie
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Hollywood Forever   Daniel Hartwig/CC BY 2.0
Hollywood Forever   Daniel Hartwig/CC BY 2.0
Cinespia movie night   corinnealexandra / Atlas Obscura User
Johnny Ramone’s tombstone   http://www.flickr.com/photos/laughingsquid...
Hollywood Forever Cemetery   http://www.flickr.com/photos/donnagrayson/...
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  Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The Douglas Fairbanks memorial.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
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If you’re lucky, you can actually see live peacocks here   Kristin Whitlow
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“Ivy”   Kristin Whitlow
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“Born to love, lived to rock”   Kristin Whitlow
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Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sign   Keren Lynn / Atlas Obscura User
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Cinespia’s Hollywood Forever Cemetery outdoor movie, 8/26/2018   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Hollywood Forever cemetery was founded in 1899 by farmer and businessman Isaac Van Nuys. Originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, the site was one of the first "park-like" cemeteries on the West Coast. It features a lush green landscape, classical architecture, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.

Hollywood Forever is the final resting place for more Hollywood bigwigs and celebrities than any other cemetery in the world. Stars such as Cecil B. DeMille, Johnny Ramone, and Estelle Getty have all been laid to rest here. During the movie industry's growth in the 1920s, visitors would flock to Los Angeles in search of celebrity homes and tombstones. Among the tombs was industrialist William A. Clark Jr.'s Greek Revival-style catacomb. Visitors must walk over a 40-foot granite bridge in order to reach Clark's resting place, which sits on its own island in a lake and cost $500K to complete.

Though the cemetery flourished as an attraction through the 1940s, it became increasingly downtrodden over the next few decades. By the 1990s, the site suffered from mismanagement, neglect, and an earthquake that left potholes and open crypts in its wake. In late 1997, 27-year old Tyler Cassity purchased the lot for a mere $375,000 and has since worked to restore the estimated $7 million worth of damages from the decades of neglect.

In the restoration process, Cassity has uncovered long-forgotten mausoleums and elaborate rooms filled with stained-glass windows and vaulted ceilings. In October of 1999, Cassity erected a granite monument to Hattie McDaniel, an Oscar-winning African-American actress who died in 1952. Though McDaniel wished to be buried in the cemetery along with her Hollywood contemporaries, the bigotry of the time prevented her wish from being fulfilled. "They made a horrible decision and it is in our power to correct it," Cassity said.

Since 2000, Hollywood Forever has teamed up with film organization Cinespia to feature "cemetery screenings" each summer. Thousands of people gather at the site with lawn chairs, blankets, and picnic baskets, where they lie out under the stars and watch classic Hollywood films projected onto the side of a mausoleum. In true Los Angeles form, this mausoleum contains the remains of silent film actor Rudolph Valentino–his grave often decorated with the red kiss marks of admirers–actor Peter Finch, and dancer Eleanor Powell.

The screenings were meant to encourage a different interaction between cemeteries and the public, and have become a "must-do" event for local Angelenos. Though Cinespia mostly sticks to screening Hollywood classics such as It Happened One Night or Rebel Without a Cause, movies such as The Muppet Movie and Pee Wee's Big Adventure have also made the cut. For brave souls, horror films such as Bride of Frankenstein and The Shining are shown, and of course, Halloween plays on October 31st.

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Celebrity Burial Places Graveyards Cemeteries Catacombs And Crypts

Know Before You Go

Parking is free for bikes or motorcycles and a nominal $10 fee for cars. Parking is also limited and fills fast. Get there early to ensure you're able to get a spot in the lot. There is additional street parking near the cemetery as well but that too gets nonexistent close to showings. While you can buy tickets at the gate, the line to actually gain access and purchase tickets gets very long very fast. Tickets at the gate tend to sell out before the showings especially on holidays such as the 4th of July which includes a fireworks display as well. Buy online to skip the headaches.

Community Contributors

Added By

anhie

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azrealumbra, Museforhire, travelhyrax, corinnealexandra...

  • azrealumbra
  • Museforhire
  • travelhyrax
  • corinnealexandra
  • Keren Lynn
  • In Search of the Perfect Sunset
  • Keri Kilgo
  • Michelle Cassidy
  • Fred Cherrygarden
  • chasepopt
  • SemiruralYeti
  • drewxblood
  • kristylowe1975
  • ashleyjthomas9

Published

May 14, 2013

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Sources
  • http://www.starsofhf.com/whats_new.html
  • http://www.hollywoodforever.com/Hollywood/History.aspx
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Forever_Cemetery
  • http://www.cinespia.org/calendar/
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
6000 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, California, 90038
United States
34.088745, -118.319
Visit Website
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