Archive for November, 2018

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Tyrone Power

Posted in Hollywood Forever Cemetery with tags , , on November 30, 2018 by Cade

May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958

Following in the footsteps of silent-era swashbuckler, Douglas Fairbanks and contemporaries like Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power Jr. was one of the biggest box office draws of the 1930s and ’40s. Coming from a long line of performers, Power worked with his own father from an early age to study acting. While the senior and junior Powers prepared for a play in 1931, his father suffered a heart attack and died. From that moment on Power dedicated his life to being an actor. His good looks and deft swordwork made him a marketable and successful matinee idol. Continue reading →

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Dick Van Patten

Posted in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills with tags , on November 28, 2018 by Cade

December 9, 1928 – June 23, 2015

Whether you remember Dick Van Patten as the infinitely-understanding father in the hit TV show Eight is Enough, from his many appearances in Mel Brooks’ comedies like Spaceballs, High Anxiety and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, or from any number of his scores of other screen credits, his was a face (and persona) not soon forgotten. Richard Vincent Van Patten grew up in New York. He appeared on stage from an early age and made no hesitation to transition to Hollywood. His 60+ year career found him appearing on dozens of hit TV shows and films. His most iconic role, that of Tom Bradford on the 1977-1981 NBC dramedy Eight is Enough, taught audiences everything they would need to know about the man behind the role. Continue reading →

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Darla Hood

Posted in Hollywood Forever Cemetery with tags , , , , on November 26, 2018 by Cade

November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979

By the ripe old age of 10, Darla Hood had already appeared in more than 45 of the classic Hal Roach Our Gang/Little Rascals shorts. After that, everything else was gravy. Originally from Oklahoma, Darla was discovered in New York by a Roach associate and was immediately shipped off to L.A. where she appeared in her first Our Gang short at just 4 years old. Ostensibly the only girl in the “classic lineup,” Darla often played the “love interest” of one or more of the other Rascals, including – perhaps most famously – Carl Switzer‘s Alfalfa. When she walked away from the series in 1941, Hood went on to find success as a recording artist and singer. Continue reading →

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Jonathan Harris

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , on November 20, 2018 by Cade

November 6, 1914 – November 3, 2002

Jonathan Charasuchin was an American character actor who became so good at playing villainous characters that he fought the typecast for most of his career. After high school, he legally changed his last name to Harris and went on to appear in hundreds of television shows, films and animated projects. He is, of course, most widely known for his portrayal of the evil Dr. Smith in the 1960s Sci-Fi series Lost in Space. Prior to that, he appeared opposite Michael Rennie in the popular mystery series The Third Man. He continued to appear in guest spots on TV shows and lent his distinct voice to dozens of animated shows and features including Rainbow Brite, Darkwing Duck, A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2. Continue reading →

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Jerry Leiber

Posted in Hillside Memorial Park with tags on November 19, 2018 by Cade

April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller – his songwriting partner of more than 50 years – wrote…

“Hound Dog”
“Kansas City”
“Jailhouse Rock”
“Poison Ivy”
“There Goes My Baby”
“Trouble”
“On Broadway”
“Yakety Yak”
“Smokey Joe’s Cafe”
“Charlie Brown”
“Love Potion No. 9”
“I’m A Woman”
“Spanish Harlem”
“I Keep Forgettin'”
and
“Stand By Me”

…among many, many, many others. Their songs were made popular by the likes of The Coasters, Elvis, Donna Summer, The Drifters, Ben E. King, Peggy Lee and Warren G and Nate Dogg. Leiber and Stoller were American pop music legends.

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Nelson Eddy

Posted in Hollywood Forever Cemetery with tags , , on November 15, 2018 by Cade

June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967

Nelson Ackerman Eddy was a celebrated, classically-trained baritone who rose to prominence on the Philadelphia opera stages in the 1920s and early ’30s. His talent, charisma and good looks made for a successful career giving concerts all across the U.S.. One such concert occurred in 1933 in Los Angeles when he subbed for Lotte Lehmann at the last minute. The audience for that concert was full of Hollywood producers and studio folk and before Eddy could blink, he was under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. After struggling at first to find a place to showcase their newfound golden voice, MGM finally paired Eddy with an established star – Jeanette MacDonald – in 1935’s Naughty Marietta. Continue reading →

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Jackie Collins

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , on November 12, 2018 by Cade

October 4, 1937 – September 19, 2015

Jacqueline “Jackie” Collins was a British-American novelist and television host who wrote more than 30 best-selling romance novels over the course of her 40 year career. After following older sister, Joan, from England to Hollywood in the late 1950s and trying her hand at acting, Jackie found more joy in telling stories. At the encouragement of her then husband, she completed and published her first novel, The World is Full of Married Men, in 1968. The book was well-received and – more importantly – controversial. Critics called it “filthy” and “disgusting.” It was banned in countries like South Africa and Australia. So, naturally, it was a hit. Collins went on to write other best-sellers like Hollywood Wives, Chances, The Stud, Dangerous Kiss and Drop Dead Beautiful. Continue reading →

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Cecil B. DeMille

Posted in Hollywood Forever Cemetery with tags , on November 9, 2018 by Cade

August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959

In the closing moments of Billy Wilder‘s 1950 masterpiece, Sunset Boulevard, a deranged Norma Desmond (played by Gloria Swanson,) believing she is making a triumphant return to film-making, utters one of the most memorable lines in all of moviedom: “Alright, Mr. DeMille. I’m ready for my close-up.” The iconic meta moment naturally featured director DeMille – THE name in filmmaking for decades – as himself aiding the charade from behind the camera. Cecil Blount de Mille was the first celebrity director in Hollywood. In fact, he was the first director AT ALL in Hollywood, choosing the previously-unremarkable neighborhood to shoot his films in when he migrated west from New York in 1913. DeMille parlayed his early career as a stage actor and relationships with his entrepreneurial friends (Jesse Lasky and Samuel Goldwyn) into a booming silent film production business. Continue reading →

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Toto

Posted in Hollywood Forever Cemetery with tags , on November 7, 2018 by Cade

November 17, 1933 – September 1, 1945

TOTO IS NOT BURIED AT HOLLYWOOD FOREVER. BUT, A NICE MEMORIAL HAS BEEN PUT UP IN HIS (HER) HONOR, SO I’VE INCLUDED HIM (HER) ANYWAY. WHY AM I YELLING?

Terry the Cairn Terrier was trained to be a performer by famous Hollywood dog trainer, Carl Spitz. She is most widely recognized as Toto, the faithful, on-screen companion of Judy Garland‘s Dorothy in the 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz. Though it was Terry’s only credited role, there are few canines in cinematic history as recognizable or iconic.

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Darren McGavin

Posted in Hollywood Forever Cemetery with tags , on November 5, 2018 by Cade

May 7, 1922 – February 25, 2006

“Fra-gee-lay” …it must be Italian!”

Darren McGavin’s career spanned more than 40 years. He appeared in films ranging from 1955’s Summertime with Katharine Hepburn to Adam Sandler’s Billy Madison in 1995. His second most well-known role was that of Carl Kochak in the TV movie The Night Stalker and its subsequent sequel and spin-off series. McGavin’s MOST well-known role was, of course, as the comically gruff and oblivious old man in the 1983 holiday classic, A Christmas Story. Continue reading →

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