Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)

Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery
Details
Country United States
Location Los Angeles
Type Public
Owned by Forest Lawn Group
Website ForestLawn.com
Find a Grave Find A Grave.com – Forest Lawn Cemetery

Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery is part of the Forest Lawn chain of Southern California cemeteries. It is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, on the lower north slope at the far east end of the Santa Monica Mountains range that overlooks North Hollywood and Burbank in the San Fernando Valley from its southeast. The Los Angeles River courses from west to east immediately to the north.

Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills is a park dedicated to the preservation of American history, and hosts high-profile events such as an annual Veterans Day ceremony attended by dignitaries and other VIPs. Los Angeles Magazine described it as a "theme-park necropolis", paraphrasing Jessica Mitford, indicating "Forest Lawn’s kitsch was just a sophisticated strategy for lubricating the checkbooks of the grieved."[1]

Contents

Features

The park features such sights as:

Court of Liberty

Lincoln Terrace

Plaza of Mesoamerican Heritage

History

The first Forest Lawn, in Glendale, was founded in 1906 by businessmen who hired Dr. Hubert Eaton, a firm believer in a joyous life after death, who was convinced that most cemeteries were "unsightly, depressing stone yards," and pledged to create one that would reflect his optimistic beliefs, "as unlike other cemeteries as sunshine is unlike darkness." He envisioned Forest Lawn to be "a great park devoid of misshapen monuments and other signs of earthly death, but filled with towering trees, sweeping lawns, splashing fountains, beautiful statuary, and... memorial architecture".[2]

Before it was a cemetery, Forest Lawn was a filming location used by directors such as Carl Laemmle and Cecil B. DeMille. The climactic battle scenes for D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation were filmed there. The alternate names of the filming site are Providencia Flats, Nestor Ranch, Oak Ranch, Oak Crest Ranch, Universal Ranch/Universal City, Lasky Ranch, and Paramount Ranch until November 1927.

When Eaton (self-proclaimed as "The Builder") made known his desire to open a second Forest Lawn location in the Hollywood Hills, the local residents protested vehemently. To circumvent the protesters, Mr. Eaton sent his staff to the county morgue to claim 4 "John Does" and buried them at the corners of the property in the dark of night. In the morning, the protesters had no power because, by law, the property was now a cemetery.

Notable interments

Interred or entombed in the Hollywood Hills cemetery are many famous people, particularly from the entertainment industry.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q-R

S

T

U-V

W

X-Y

Z

See also

References

  1. ^ Ehrenreich, Ben (1 November 2010). "The End. – Features". Los Angeles Magazine. http://origin-www.lamag.com/features/Story.aspx?id=1362579. Retrieved 5 June 2011. 
  2. ^ "The Builder's Creed", March 2009
  3. ^ Mldred Lager & Soy 1
  4. ^ Dillon, Nancy (December 24, 2009). "Brittany Murphy's family, friends gather for somber Christmas Eve funeral". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/12/24/2009-12-24_brittany_murphys_family_friends_gather_for_somber_christmas_eve_funeral.html. 
  5. ^ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6080144

External links