Forest Lawn in Glendale

A favorite place to go for a walk, or take one of my vintage cars for a cruise is Forest Lawn in Glendale. They also happen to have an exhibit on at the moment from one of my other favorite places in LA, the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre.

Many famous people are buried here, but that’s kind of the case for all of the beautiful and historic cemeteries around LA, but they don’t advertise any of it, and most of them are closed off to the public. You can see Elizabeth Taylor’s tomb, which always has fresh orchids there. I didn’t take a picture because it’s not allowed. There were a few people wandering around, asking if I knew where Michael Jackson was buried, but they keep it very secretive, with good reason, if you’ve ever seen what happened to Jim Morrison’s headstone in Paris, you’ll understand.

I love visiting these places, they are serene, people are respectful, and it’s quiet and never fails to remind me that very few of the things we worry about even matter at all. I used to live out in Chatsworth, California, and there is a lovely cemetery that isn’t so famous, but I used to go to Betty Grable’s gravesite. A lot of movie stars were buried out in that area, because many of them lived out there with their ranches with horses.

Hollywood Forever is, of course, the most lively and known of all the cemeteries in Los Angeles, and certainly my favorite. I think it’s wonderful that they have lots of joyous events and parties there, and, of course, showing films on the mausoleum wall in the summertime. I remember going there and taking a tour with a few friends, and they were so many things that struck me. I can spend all day learning about people, both famous, and non-famous, and seeing the touching ways they are memorialized, either by themselves, or by someone else. If you ever have a chance, definitely go visit! There are so many interesting things to see there, beyond the famous gravesites, one of my favorites is a marble closet, and the woman who gave me the tour told me how she arranged everything for the woman who went in there, and her favorite haute couture clothes are sealed in the marble closet with her.

In another section, there are many cremated movie stars and even burlesque stars, and in their vitrines, they often have photos of themselves when they were young, and even their favorite earrings, perfume bottles, things like that. One of the Chinese American burlesque stars even had her stage photos and jewelry in there with her urn. In another vitrine just adjacent to Judy Garland’s massive tomb, you can find two urns inside, along with the park ranger badge of one of the gentlemen, and the Disneyland employee badge of his partner, plus their Judy Garland tickets. I love the way people choose to tell their story this way. I’m always a captive audience, famous or not.

I know visiting cemeteries isn’t for everyone, but I enjoy it as a way to connect with the reality of life!