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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Sherwood Schwartz

Posted in Hillside Memorial Park with tags , , on November 2, 2018 by Cade

November 14, 1916 – July 12, 2011

“I was faced with a major decision—writing comedy or starving to death while I cured those diseases.” -Sherwood Schwartz

Sherwood Schwartz tried to pay his way through college by writing jokes for Bob Hope. Hope derailed the education of a promising young doctor by offering him a full-time job on the writing staff and all we, the general TV-watching public, got out of it were two of the most beloved sitcoms of all time. Schwartz moved on from the Bob Hope radio show to write for Ozzie and Harriet and Red Skelton before finding his ultimate success in television: creating and producing, first, Gilligan’s Island and then The Brady Bunch. Both shows went on to entertain millions and – thanks to Schwartz’s syndication deals – generations that followed. He even co-wrote the iconic theme songs for both shows just for good measure. Continue reading →

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Maila Nurmi

Posted in Hollywood Forever Cemetery with tags on October 31, 2018 by Cade

December 11, 1922 – January 10, 2008

At a masquerade party in Los Angeles in 1953, fledgling actress Maila Nurmi showed up decked in all black – an homage to Morticia Addams from the classic comic strip, The Addams Family. She was immediately noticed by a local television producer who asked her if she wanted to host late night horror movies on TV. She said yes and the original and quintessential horror host, Vampira, was born. Nurmi – as Vampira – went on to local stardom and some national acclaim. She hosted The Vampira Show on two different L.A. channels, appeared on national programs like The Red Skelton Show and in LIFE magazine. She notably appeared in Ed Wood’s infamous camp classic Plan 9 from Outer Space. Continue reading →

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Fanny Brice

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags on October 29, 2018 by Cade

October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951

Legendary singer, actor and comedienne – or “funny girl” as it were – Fanny Brice was a stage and radio staple throughout the first half of the 20th century. Born Fania Borach in Manhattan, Brice worked her way up through the burlesque ranks and eventually began working with Flo Ziegfeld on his eponymous Follies shows. She broke through in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1921 with the hit song “My Man.” She would go on to appear in future installments of the Follies on stage, film and radio. It was during said radio work where she created and debuted her most famous character, the mischievous Baby Snooks. Continue reading →

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Scatman Crothers

Posted in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills with tags , , on October 26, 2018 by Cade

May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986

Benjamin Sherman “Scatman” Crothers was a multi-instrumentalist jazz musician whose extensive filmography would be the envy of any aspiring actor. Crothers began his performance career as a teenager when he played drums in a speakeasy in his home state of Indiana. He eventually moved west with his own band before landing in Los Angeles and falling into the whole Hollywood thing. He went on to appear in more than 50 films and nearly as many television shows. His distinctive voice and cadence made him a popular pick for guest spots and voice over roles. Continue reading →

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Patty Andrews

Posted in Westwood Memorial Park with tags , , , on October 24, 2018 by Cade

February 16, 1918 – January 30, 2013

Along with big sisters LaVerne and Maxene, Patty Andrews was one of the most recognizable and famous swing and boogie-woogie performers of all time. The Andrews Sisters were enormously popular during World War II when they performed for the U.S. Troops at home and abroad. They racked up hits like “Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree” and appeared in more than a dozen films at the height of their career. Their classic harmonies inspired countless performers that followed. They worked with all the classic Big Band outfits from Tommy Dorsey to Benny Goodman and everyone in between. Continue reading →

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Peter Lorre

Posted in Hollywood Forever Cemetery with tags , on October 22, 2018 by Cade

June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964

Born in Vienna, Peter Lorre (László Löwenstein) was already on his way to stardom in Europe appearing on the German stage as well as in films including – most notably – Fritz Lang’s 1931 chiller, M. Then in 1933, the Nazis took control of Germany and Lorre fled to England where he was able to continue his career. He appeared in Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much before sailing to the United States. In Hollywood, Lorre found success in bit roles and B-movies usually playing sinister foreign characters. In 1941, he went to work for Warner Bros. in the John Huston classic The Maltese Falcon. The film changed the trajectory of Lorre’s career and he went on to appear in numerous films with co-stars Humphrey Bogart, Claude Raines and Syd Greenstreet including the all-time opus, Casablanca. Continue reading →

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Anton Yelchin

Posted in Hollywood Forever Cemetery with tags , , , on October 19, 2018 by Cade

March 11, 1989 – June 19, 2016

The infamous and hypothetical Forever 27 club doesn’t discriminate. While the most well-known members are musicians who battled substance abuse or other demons, the club also contains artists and actors who just got unlucky. Rising star, Anton Yelchin, joined the club in 2016 after breakthrough roles in Terminator Salvation and 2009’s Star Trek reboot (as well as two of its sequels). Yelchin portrayed Chekov, the young navigator for the U.S.S. Enterprise – the role made famous in the original TV series by Walter Koenig. Continue reading →

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