Celebrity Graveland

Disclaimer: The last time I visited Forest Lawn Glendale and the Freedom Mausoleum, this blog wasn’t even a thought in my mind. So, there were a number of graves I visited but didn’t photograph. I hesitated to write a post about these celebrities, but, in the end, figured “why not?”. This is one of those posts.

September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964

Alan Walbridge¹ Ladd was an athletic young man who struggled to catch a break in the film industry (due, largely, to his lack of height.) But, once he did, he came to personify the genres in which he worked. After a bit part in a small film called Citizen Kane, Ladd found steady work in westerns and gangster movies throughout the 1940’s and ’50’s. It was the former that landed him his most iconic role, that of the titular drifter in Shane. Alan often costarred with the beautiful – and equally diminutive – Veronica Lake. The pair made seven films together. Many of which are Film Noir classics. Ladd sort of redefined the tough guy character in Hollywood at the time. He gave the stereotype a much more suave and attractive persona than it had had in years past. In January of 1964, at the age of 50, Alan Ladd was found dead of an acute overdose of a lethal mixture of drugs and alcohol. His death was ruled an accident.

Burial

Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Glendale, CA

Photo – A.J. Marik, Find-a-Grave

Specific Location

Freedom Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Heritage; Enter the mausoleum and take your first right, on the left will be the Sanctuary of Heritage, Alan is on the right-hand side, third tier up and 2 spaces into the corridor, directly above Clara Bow and Rex Bell.

¹ – Seriously considering renaming my kid right now.

This entry was posted on May 22, 2014 at 3:50 pm and is filed under Forest Lawn Glendale with tags Actors, Forest Lawn Glendale, Sanctuary of Heritage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.