NBC New York was on scene at Fairview Cemetery yesteday and shot this b-roll of Whitney Houston's grave site, one day after she was buried there.
The news station also reported that fans began arriving to pay respects first thing yesterday morning. As the throngs grew, the cemetery closed off access due to concerns about the soft ground around the grave as well as the size of the crowds.
It looks like the cemetery is really working to try to accomodate the public, while taking necessary precautions as well as assuring that families of other interees get access to their loved ones' graves at this time. Not a small job. Kudos to them and Whitney's family for allowing this first attempt.
Descriptions state she was laid to rest next to her father, John Russell Houston, Jr., but it appears that she's actually one off, a space between them that is presumably reserved for Mr. Houston's widow, Whitney's stepmother. Here are before and after pictures (credit Rex Features and Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images respectively):
Unable to visit the Westfield, N.J., cemetery anytime in the near future? You can leave Whitney a virtual flower and note at her memorial page on Findagrave.com in the meantime.
Somewhere Over The Rainbow Bridge a little Cairn Terrier is surely wagging her tail with delight over a gorgeous and heartfelt cenotaph being created in her honor; one that will be unveiled at a dedication ceremony at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Saturday June 18 at 11:00 a.m.
I'm talking about...who else? Hollywood's A-List animal actress of yesteryear, Terry Spitz, beloved the world over for her feisty portrayal of Dorothy's dog Toto in the 1939 MGM film classic The Wizard of Oz.
Terry passed away 65 years ago at the age of 11-going-on-12. Her career ran 8 years and she appeared in over a dozen films with stars such as Judy Garland (of course), Shirley Temple, Spencer Tracy and Virginia Weidler.
Terry got her start working with Shirley Temple, who coincidentally was MGM's first choice to play Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (Photo Courtesy Stacey Ash)
She was so identified with the Oz role - with fans of all ages coming out to the ranch and at public appearance to meet "Toto" - that it became her adopted name despite the fact that the canine character created by author L.Frank Baum was male. Versitile Terry!
Upon her death in late 1945, Terry's caretaker and trainer extraordinaire, Carl Spitz, opted to bury her at home alongside other animals on his Ventura Blvd. kennel ranch in North Hollywood (now Studio City) where he ran a famous dog training school.
Sadly, a decade later all the graves, including Terry's, were destroyed by progress, aka the construction of the mammoth Ventura Freeway project which ran right through the former Spitz property. Not that there would have been much left of her, but still...ugh.
With my graving bff Steve Goldstein at the site of the former Spitz Ranch
The internet has brought celebrity grave hunting to a whole new level in recent years, but finding the final resting places of animal actors is still challenging. Some have public burial places but those are few and far between, a topic my longtime graving amigo Steve Goldstein, author of LA's Graveside Companion: Where The V.I.P.s R.I.P., addressed with Huell Howser on California's Gold in 2007. (Check it out here.)
In 2010 J.P. Myers, who had just spearheaded a grave marker campaign for "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" songwriter Jack Norworth, learned of the fate of Toto's grave site. Then after seeing Steve's television appearance, reached out to team up on creating a public memorial where fans could remember and pay homage to Terry and Toto, who they both felt represented a very special part of American culture.
They launched their idea, soliciting ideas and funds, on Facebook in October 2010 with the Toto Canine Movie Star Memorial Marker page and quickly learned that fans agreed with their assessment. Donations to pay for the marker and a plot to put it on rolled in.
In March of this year our gallant friend Tyler Cassity donated a choice plot at Hollywood Forever outside the Cathedral Mausoleum (above), deeding it to FixNation who will protect and care for the marker. FixNation is a non-profit organization that is the first of its kind in Los Angeles to offer free spay and neuter services for feral cats, including those who call Hollywood Forever home.
Sculptor Roman Gal, with his model for the lifesize bronze Toto statue, sketches ideas for the memorial's marble base to be created by Arsen Oganesyan. (Photo Courtesy J.P. Myers)
"I think that my father would be very pleased by this," Carl Spitz Jr. told me when we spoke on the phone a few months ago after he read Chris Epting's breaking article about the initiative on AOL News. He was so pleased that he sent in a donation. He also spoke with Steve about Terry; read about that conversation here.
Hope to see everyone out at Hollywood Forever on June 18th - it's a free, family event, with plenty of free on-site parking. Festivities run 11:00 a.m - 1:00 p.m. Children and pets are welcome!
Hollywood Forever Cemetery is located at 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90038. [Map]
"Gone But Never Forgotten" is the rallying cry coming from devoted fans of the lovely Brittany Murphy who would have turned 33 this week.
They plan to remember their fallen idol on Wednesday, Nov. 10th, the actress' first birthday since her death last December, by visiting and decorating her grave at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.
I spoke with two fans, Wendy & Lisa, who have visited Brittany's grave, decorating it with flowers, glitter and other tokens of love, regularly since December as a way to cope with the loss of the young lady they admire.
"Her death was unnecessary and we miss her so much, it's just so painful," Wendy told me.
The ladies have mounted an online awareness campaign to get other fans involved in remember Brittany's special day by creating a dedicated Facebook page and a Twitter account@Brittany33Bday.
There, they're asking other fans to bring flowers, balloons "or whatever your heart desires" to her grave that day. Fans who can't make it in person are being encouraged to order floral tributes from the Forest Lawn Flower Shop.
They plan to photograph the tributes and share details of their day at Forest Lawn online afterward.
"We've followed what's happened to items being left for Michael Jackson by his fans at Forest Lawn Glendale," Wendy said, referring to reports that gifts were being trashed.
"We're going to document the items and then take things that might be in danger of being thrown out home with us and make sure they go to the family," she added.
Brittany marker decorated by fans (Image courtesy of Lisa & Wendy)
The family she's been referring too, who has been in contact with grieving fans to share their sorrow, is Brittany's father, Angelo Bertollotti, who has relocated from Florida to Los Angeles so that he can visit her grave, too.
After Brittany's funeral and burial, which Angelo was not invited to attend by Brittany's mother and husband, he visited Forest Lawn but was denied information about where here grave was located.
He said he was told that his name wasn't on the approved guest list and only immediate family could be given information. His name as her father was left off her death certificate, adding further insult to injury. It's an error he has since worked to correct.
He was finally able to visit for the first time in February 2009 after fans forwarded him directions provided by AGH and bringing Inside Edition along to document any further trouble. There was none and he has since had no issue visiting his daughter's grave.
"I'm very grateful for the devotion of her fans and the idea to remember her birthday is very touching," Angelo told me during a recent telephone conversation.
"It means so much to me, that she's remembered. I want her fans to know how much I appreciate all they have done at the cemetery in the past year." he added, noting that he's run into a few of her fans at the cemetery when he visits, including a lady who traveled from Ireland.
"I'm still not over [her death] and I probably never will be, but the love her fans show her is very comforting," he said.
Angelo told me that he has not been in contact with his ex-wife, Brittany's mom, Sharon Murphy. "I don't know where she is, or if she is even in Los Angeles," he said. Nor did he speak with Britany's husband, Simon Monjack, who died in May and is buried next to Brittany.
Under gray skies on an unusually cold and rainy May day in Southern California, Simon Monjack was buried this afternoon as he wished, next to his wife, actress Brittany Murphy, at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.
RadarOnline.comreports that approximately 75 family and friends bid farewell to Simon, including his mother-in-law, Sharon Murphy, after a private Orthodox Jewish funeral held at 3pm today in the cemetery's Chapel of the Hills, the same church where Brittany's funeral was held five months ago on Christmas Eve.
After the service, his grave reflected the Jewish burial mound tradition.
White roses on Brittany's recently marked grave (Image Courtesy Anonymous)
Simon died Sunday from apparent natural causes related to a heart condition. Results from an autopsy performed earlier this week are pending.
TMZ published today audio of the 911 call Sharon placed when she discovered Simon unconscious and not breathing in the master bedroom of the home she continued to share with her son-in-law after her daughter's death. Sadly reminiscent of the call she placed when she found Brittany in the master bedroom bathroom five months ago.
The 911 operator's attitude and treatment of Sharon is taken to task in the comments section as being too abrassive and downright rude.
Assistant Chief LA County Coroner Ed Winter was briefly interviewed on-scene the night of Simon's death, video courtesy Hollywood.tv:
When The Runaways film gets its wide theatrical release this weekend, audiences will be seeing a whole lot of Joan Jett (played by Kristen Stewart) and Cherie Currie (played by Dakota Fanning) and comparatively little of the other members of the groundbreaking and aggressive 1970s all teenage-girl rock band.
Why? Well for starters, Joan serves as one of the film's executive producers. Then there's the script, written by the film's director, Floria Sigismondi, which is based on Cherie's Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway. The book was
first published in 1989, geared toward young adults, then revised in 2001 to include grittier, more mature-rated material in 2001.
Lita Ford was initially iffy about it all but eventually came aboard sparingly. Of the half-dozen guitarists who served as bassist throughout the band's nearly four-year run, Jackie Fox -- now Harvard-educated entertainment lawyer Jackie Fuchs -- continues to have legal issues with the project. So the audience ends up watching a litigation-sidestepping fictional character strumming those strings.
And then there is Sandy West, the most egregiously overlooked in the recent media blitz to promote the film.
Sandy, who made the most noise of them all with her incredibly innate, drums-a-blazing percussion skills, remained quiet throughout because she was silenced in 2006 at the age of 47 by lung cancer, one year after her diagnosis. Her remains are buried at Forest Lawn Cypress with her beloved father whom she had lost suddenly to a heart attack 35 years earlier, before she became a star.
Sandy West in "Edgeplay: A Film About The Runaways" (2004)
She's portrayed in a supporting role by Stella Maeve who, like everyone else who isn't Kristen, Dakota or Michael Shannon (who portrays the film's antagonist, manager-from-hell, Kim Fowley) still has, as of the eve of the release, a "coming soon" placeholder in the bio section of the film's official site.
That's show biz.
And yet, Sandy's story is arguably the most poignant and cautionary.
Her grueling battle with cancer and subsequent death came just when it looked like she was on the verge of a major personal comeback, declaring that she was cleaned up and ready to settle down. A comeback hard won after years of trying to keep her music career going, debilitating drug abuse, failed rehab attempts, prison stints and harrowing tales of working for gun-runners and other assorted criminal types.
It was reported that she wrote her memoirs before passing, but they have yet to be published.
Thank goodness Evelyn McDonnell saw fit to give Sandy's story a voice with her excellent article, The Runaways: Wild Thing - How Sandy West Was Lost, in the current edition of LA Weekly. Truly a must-read that includes candid interviews with members of Sandy's family and circle of friends who knew her from just about every angle.
Joan, appearing to promote the film recently on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,
admittedly noted that "it is a movie" based on "factual things" that the band
went through and that there are also "a few embellishments."
One of those embellishments appears to have been glossing over the importance Sandy had as a founding member and the only one to stick it out beside Joan from the beginning to the end of the band's run. Although Joan's feelings of affection for her friend, and grief over her loss, has been openly expressed, Sandy just doesn't share the deserved spotlight in this particular movie.
Joan & Sandy circa 1977 ~ photo by and courtesy of Brad Elterman
Fortunately, Vicki Blue -- another former Runaways bassist, now a successful filmmaker known as a hyphenated version of her real and stage name, Victory Tischler-Blue -- included Sandy in her compelling 2004 documentary Edgeplay: A Film About The Runaways. Ironically, Joan was the lone non-participant in that project.
The film not only chronicles the band, it also "explores the effects of verbal, emotional and psychological
abuse on girls too young to drink, but old enough for sex, drugs and
rock n' roll," according to the production company promotional material.
In the film, Sandy expresses the major driving force that lead her down a post-Runaways troubled path -- tormented anger at why the band broke up with to begin with and the exploitation they endured once they lost control of their original desire to just make rock-n-roll music. Thank you GirlscanRockkk for providing:
Despite the rocky 29-year span between the demise of The Runaways and Sandy's death, her ties to her bandmates, bonds formed during their formative teenage years, were never completely severed and many, including her friendship with Cherie, remained strong.
After her death, the surviving group members held a tribute concert that same year, on December 9, at The Knitting Factory in Hollywood. Musician Lexa Vonn did a nice write up about the event for Crypt Magazine. Dawgy Productions has additional photo coverage on their website.
This past June, Cherie, who is also a talented and accomplished woodcarver, was commissioned byKenny Williams of Kenny's Music Store in Dana Point, Calif. to create a carving in tribute to Sandy. She came up with a mermaid holding an electric guitar carved with a chain saw from Sequoia redwood and an additional shell-encrusted monument embedded with two of Sandy's drumsticks.
Currie & Sandy's Mermaid ~ courtesy of Cherie Currie
So while audiences gather to watch the movie version of The Runaways tale -- you may be one of them -- consider giving pause to remember Sandy West, often referred to as the heartbeat of the group.
As with all notables interred in the 24 O.C. cemeteries he documented, Michael provides Sandy's story, a photo of her memorial marker as well as directions to her grave site.
Sandy is located in the Garden of Protection near the center of the park (see map below, courtesy of Forest Lawn) between the landmark statues of Such is the Kingdom of Heaven and Michelangelo's David. Once you arrive at that section you'll be looking for Block 20, Lot 4324, Space 3.
According to Michael's directions, start at the staircase located at the east end of the garden and walk west a short distance to the lawn. Four rows from the right, locate the grave marker of a gentleman named Norman Spencer. From there, walk eleven markers north and you're at Sandy's final resting place.
Sandy's grave marker ~ photo courtesy of Michael Barry
Forest Lawn can provide you with a detailed sectional map if you
prefer, but please keep in mind that they will not provide you with
directions to any celebrity graves. You might do better asking for a
map to the specific location and give Sandy's dad's name, Enzo Pesavento if asked. His burial location is public information according to their site tool.
However, Micheal's directions should get you there without having to ask for help, which I recommend. While there, please adhere to their visitor's guide rules.
Can't make it to Cypress in person? You can leave a token of appreciation at her memorial page on Findagrave.com.
Rest in peace, Sandy. It's a shame you're not here physically to enjoy some of the much deserved spotlight that the movie is providing for your music, but I have faith you're here with everyone in spirit.
The Runaways performing "Wild Thing" in Japan, 1977, featuring Sandy on drums. Clip courtesy of CherieO:
Glenn Ford. Treasured Hollywood Icon. He made a name for himself in the 1946 film classic Gilda, but his portrayal of teacher Richard Dadier in Blackboard Jungle gets me every time. My palms still get sweaty watching him deal with those hoodlum school kids.
And then there is Teahouse of the August Moon, immortalized in wax by the Movieland Wax Museum (1962-2005) in Buena Park, Calif. The first and last time I saw the display was just before the museum closed its doors for good.
Many of the figures were later auctioned off. Others were donated. So what happened to Mr. Ford?
I'm happy to report that he's right at home, literally.
The museum owners donated the figure to Mr. Ford's son, Peter, and it's currently on private display on the lower level of the Beverly Hills house that Mr. Ford had designed and built in 1962. He lived in the incredible Mid-Century Modern with his family until his death there in 2006, at the age of 90.
This weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Peter and his lovely wife, Lynda, at the Ford compound with my friend Lynn Powell Dougherty, who created and maintains websites for both Peter and his dad's legacy. I don't know how to even begin to describe their warmth and generous hospitality, let alone their one of a kind home.
Every room in the house had it's oh-my-gawd moments, but seeing Mr. Ford in all his wax glory at the foot of the atrium stairwell near the wine cellar and his private screening room was a sight to behold. Many of the props came with from the museum, as did Lotus Blossom, and Peter added some personal touches such as the film poster from his own collection.
In Mr. Ford's hand you'll notice a stack of vintage postcards of the original display, which were also a part of the donation. These cards were sold in the museum gift shop and notable for misspelling Glen (sic) Ford on the backside. Peter gifted Lynn and me with cards, a souvie I will always cherish.
"This is against regulations...."
Things are hopping at the Ford home.
Peter showed us his to-do list for this weekend and it was roughly
the length of what I try to accomplish in a month. So that they took
the time to visit and give us a tour of the house was doubley
appreciated.
Their son is getting married,
Peter is putting the finishing touches on his dad's biography, Glenn Ford: A Life in Film, due out around January 2011 from The University of Wisconsin Press, they continue to catalogue and archive vast amounts of memorabilia from Mr. Ford's life and career that remain even after the 2008 auction, and the "For Sale" sign just went up outside the front gate because it's time to move to empty-nester smaller digs.
Here's hoping whoever is fortunate enough to purchase this property will truly value what they're getting past the 90210 zip code. I pray they don't go Pia Zadora Pickfair and bulldoze it because that would be an utter shame not only for the loss of the architecture but the Hollywood history within those walls is invaluable. Vintage photos of it were featured in the April 2000 edition of Architectural Digest.
One of the many incredible, unique features is Mr. Ford's infamous English pub bar where everyone who was anyone in Hollywood saddled up for some cheer, from John Wayne to Marilyn Monroe. Here I am with Lynn behind the bar, snapped by Peter. I'm holding up authentic, vintage Glenn Ford monogrammed matchbooks.
Aside from spending time with Peter and Lynda, and having the honor of seeing the details of this beautiful house, it was also a very sentimental experience for me. I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy and respect Mr. Ford's work, his immense contribution to the film culture. To be in the home where he spent a good portion of his private life, including you-know with you-know-who, was truly an honor.
It's Peter and Lynda's home now, but they have a deep and abiding love for Mr. Ford and for his things, many of which are seen everywhere from room to room. He is still there, I felt, in spirit. He passed there, in the master bedroom.
I never met Mr. Ford when he was alive, but have paid respects to his final resting place, as grave hunters do. So to have the chance to visit with his family and be in this historical residence, his one-time home, was one of the highlights of my California living experience.
Thank you Peter and Lynda, and thank you Lynn, for a most memorable Saturday afternoon.
Today marked the six-month anniversary of Michael Jackson's entombment in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Glendale.
As they do every third day of each month, the Michael Jackson Fans of Southern California on Facebook spent the afternoon gathering together for support and strength, and delivering tributes sent from fans around the world to the Holly Terrace doorstep. Each month the numbers grow. This afternoon, upwards of 50 people showed, myself included.
MJFSC weren't the only ones thinking of Michael today and feeling the need to release some grief, to find the type of solace that only visiting the cemetery can offer.
Debbie Rowe, Michael's wife from 1996-1999, and mother of his two oldest children, Prince and Paris, arrived with a friend about 3:40 p.m. She drove 90 minutes from her Palmdale home, and then drove a bit longer, circling past the fan gathering four times, unsure if she should approach.
Update/clarification 3/5/2010: We did not know she was going to show up, it was not prearranged. We were all slack-jawed when she pulled up to the curb. Likewise, she did not know who we were or about our regular monthly gathering.
"I was afraid you would hate me," she confessed to the group as she made her way into the sea of Jackson supporters, tears streaming down her emotion-filled face. Not a dry eye among us, either.
She was met, instead, with love. "L.O.V.E." as Michael would say.
Much has been written about Debbie (including breaking news today) and to her in the form of hate mail. What I learned today is that what most observers and media think they know about someone in the spotlight is diddly-squat. Author Harper Lee encapsulated it best, through words she assigned to Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird:
"You
never really understand a person until you consider things from his
point of view -- until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."
I didn't walk around in Debbie's skin today, but I looked into her eyes and, like most everyone else there did, hugged her -- twice. I felt her body rattle from sobs as she hugged back. Her grief and sorrow moved through me like a knife into my own heart. I also felt an overall sense of momentary relief that comes from the give and take of understanding and compassion between human beings.
She spent about an hour with us, small talk mostly, and we gave her space to peruse the many gifts laid out on the terrace patio, all of which she said touched her very much. One item moved her deeply, a photo creation. It was given to her, with the original overseas mail packaging, by proxy from the group on behalf of the sender, which she accepted once she was convinced that the fan who made and sent it would be glad.
Several times Debbie said that she hoped she wasn't intruding on the gathering, when in fact most people there were at a loss for words at how much the opportunity to share their feelings with her helped them.
This was not her first visit to Forest Lawn she told us, but it was the first time she had been there when fans were present. Having not been invited to Michael's funeral, understandably, personal time at his resting place has helped to fill the void of that experience in some way. Cemeteries are for the living, as FLG's founder Dr. Hubert Eaton, proclaimed decades ago. That philosophy held true today.
Michael and Debbie during happier times.
Before she left, Debbie was presented with a Justice 4 MJ t-shirt, which are literally hot off the presses. Members of the MJFSC, who are mounting several justice-oriented campaigns, are selling the shirts as a fundraiser that will also provide a unified visual when everyone wears them at Dr. Conrad Murray's next court appearance in April.
For more information about their calls to action and the shirts, visit their newly launched website at Justice4MJ.com.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the shirts will also benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles, an organization that Michael cared about and supported during his lifetime.
"Justice 4 MJ" logo designer Amy with MJFSC Officers Karlene and Erin
Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills is now offering parting gifts when they target you as a celebrity grave hunter and give you the heave-ho. Classy privacy policy cards, suitable for framing. Like this one that my friend Shelly and I got yesterday when we visited, and were asked to leave, the grave site area of Brittany Murphy.
Apparently we got further than Brittany's father, Angelo Bertolotti,
84, though. He's in town and was reportedly given the bum's rush at the front
gate when he, too, visited Forest Lawn yesterday at approximately 3pm.
"He phoned home in tears," a close Bertolotti family friend told me.
They explained that Mr. B. arrived to the cemetery office and identified himself, then asked for her location.
Denied.
Why?
Not only is he not on the Simon Monjack-Sharon Murphy approved guest list, he heads their list of people permanently banned, I'm told.
This aspect of the story is developing. Let's just say that he has since been given directions.
Further update 2/16/2010:Mr. B.'s son Anthony made a follow up call to Forest Lawn today and related that he was told "only immediate family members" were allowed to visit Brittany's grave. When informed that a father and brother constitute 'immediate family' he was still denied permission to visit and a location, the family friend explained.
This is just another slap in the face to Mr. B., who has "remained stoic" to this point, I'm told. RadarOnline reported how he was not invited to the funeral, and his name under "Father" was left off Brittany's death certificate, replaced with "Unknown." See document here, courtesy of E! Online.
Update 2/17/2010: Mr. B. got to visit his daughter's grave today. Watch Inside Edition 2/18. YAY! :))
In the meantime, it was great to see that Brittany's unmarked grave was adorned with Valentine's Day love, including flowers, butterflies, glitter and outlined in heart-shaped confetti. (Note: FL sources tell me it takes 6-8 weeks for a marker to be installed once it is ordered, and they could not confirm for me whether anything had been ordered for Brittany to-date.)
Interesting to note that the majority of these offerings were left by two caring ladies who tell me that they did this out of love and respect, despite not being on the approved visitor list. Because that's what you do in a cemetery, how you grieve, how you remember the dead -- normally.
"If it's only left up to the approved people to leave flowers and decorate, her grave would be pretty desolate," one of the ladies told me.
Not sure which, if any, were left by Approved People. Maybe they were busy cleaning up this mess, as reported by storybreaker TMZ. See more info at People.com. Not judging, just sayin. Thank you fans for being there to mark the day.
Shelly and I had been at the site for about ten minutes before a security guard (a Lyle Lovett lookalike-but-younger-and-cuter if I ever saw one) pulled up in his Forest Lawn issued truck and blue blazer, parked and approached us.
We told him up front that we knew about, but were not on the guest list, but that I had worked with Brittany (true, remember The Torkelsons?) and were paying respects. "You're not taking pictures are you," he asked in an I-know-you-were-but-I'm-giving-you-the-benefit tone, then asked us to move along.
Which we did. Over to nearby Lil Chris Baker. I wanted to show Shelly an example of the latest memorial marker craze: large, laser etched bronze tablets, his was closest.
That didn't sit well with Officer Lovett who then hiked up the hill after us, labeled us "obvious celebrity grave hunters," handed Shelly the card and asked us to leave the property -- which we did without further incident.
In all fairness, the man was just doing his job and was courteous albeit no-nonsense when giving us the boot.
Sad though. In the end, isn't it all about the love?
Dodging the raindrops last Sunday, while exploring the Woodlands Cremation Garden at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills with my friends Karen Fogerty, Luis Mata and his nephew, Matt, I happened upon the erstwhile unknown (in grave hunting circles) final resting place of palimony pioneer, Michelle Triola Marvin.
Michelle passed away last October after an 18-month battle with lung cancer. Her landmark case against former live-in lover, actor Lee Marvin, back in the 70s is well documented in her lengthy Los Angeles Times obituary.
I grew up very sheltered when it came to things like *gasp* living in sin. What I remember most about this trial was A) the word "lover" being uttered on the evening news, B) thinking "only in California" could someone even think they were entitled to money and/or property from an out-of-wedlock relationship and C) what did she find attractive about Lee Marvin to begin with?
Then I went to college and learned a lot about life. But that's another story.
What I find most heartwarming and inspirational about Michelle's life story is her post-palimony journey; that she found lasting love in a 30-year relationship with another actor, Dick Van Dyke. Those crazy kids didn't get married either, although they did have a cohabitation contract. Glad to know that she continued to march to the beat of her own drum and found happiness.
Upon entering the front gates, drive forward on Memorial Drive to the first stop sign and turn left on to Evergreen Drive. Drive a very short distance, in front of the Church of the Hills, where you'll encounter another stop sign. Just past the sign is the intersection of Evergreen and Valley Drive (right) and (left) the church driveway.
Look to your left across from driveway. There you'll see the garden which is made up of above ground niches as well as landscaped pathways that contain misc vegetation and large, fake rocks constructed of concrete which cap over ground niches.
Take the path leading furthest away from the church, closer to the trees, to Section 40. Keep walking along this section until just before the wall niches, where you will find Michelle's niche rock (#179) next to a directional lot marker for 40/43.
Special shout out to the Queen of the O.C. for pointing me to the new Forest Lawn Burial Site Locator tool. After discovering Michelle in person, I also discovered that, unlike most of Forest Lawn's privately guarded celebrity citizens, she's actually listed. Another reason to admire the lady.
2009 seemed to be the year of heartbreaking celebrity deaths, capped off in late December with a true shocker.
One month ago today, lovable, energetic actress Brittany Murphy, 32, died after collapsing in the bathroom of the Hollywood Hills home that she shared with her husband of two years, photographerSimon Monjack, and mother, Sharon Murphy.
She was pronounced dead of apparent natural causes at 10:04am on December 20, 2009 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after attempts to revive her failed. An autopsy was performed (against Simon's wishes but in accordance with the law) at the Los Angeles Department of the Coroner. Foul play was not suspected. A final ruling on her cause of death is expected from the coroner within the next few weeks, after routine toxicology and tissue tests are completed. (Update 2/4/2010: Her death was ruled an accident caused by a combination of pneumonia, an iron deficiency and multiple legal drug intoxication ~ CNN.)
In an interview published today by the Associated Press, Simon and Sharon expressed dismay over "outright fabrications" in the press that point to drug abuse and an eating disorder. According to Simon, Brittany had a common heart conditon known as mitral valve prolapse where a heart
valve fails to properly close, but that her doctors did not consider it life-threatening.
Regardless, Sharon revealed that her daughter indeed had a fear of dying, and that now waiting for official answers as to why she died has been, not surprisingly, a torturous ordeal.
Brittany's funeral was held four days after her death, on Christmas Eve, at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills. Her family stated that the date was chosen because Christmas was her favorite holiday. The service was held at the cemetery's Church of the Hills, yards away from the grave of cinema cowboy and Christmastime icon, Gene "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Autry.
The service was a well-publicized private event with only about 20 people on the guest list. Not the place I wanted to be, holiday or not, but I was asked to help cover story for the New York Post, so off I went.
Mourners began arriving about a half hour before the appointed 3pm service start time, and the celebration of her life got underway shortly after. Aside from several police cars driving around the property and Forest Lawn security personnel stationed outside the church, activity at the cemetery appeared somewhat normal, including several other burial services and visitors placing wreaths and other decorations on graves.
While news cameras and press photographers camped out at the entrance, my friends Jayne Osborne and Mark Masek, author of Hollywood Remains To Be Seen, arrived and helped me to pass the time logging the arrivals from inside the property. We stationed ourselves in the section across the street from the church, near the grave that holds a portion of the cremated remains of INXS frontman, Michael Hutchence. A pair of obvious paparrazi were camped out in a tinted-window vehicle nearby, and were eventually booted out by police.
Brittany was buried around sunset as the service moved graveside, in the Bright Eternity section, Lot 7402, Grave 1. Earlier in the day I hung out near that location and witnessed a cemetery crew preparing the ground. There I talked to some people who were visiting loved ones, and no one seemed aware that the fresh grave was for Brittany until a 4x4 zoomed up to the curb, driven by a man who whipped out a camera with a gigantic lens and shot off a round of about six pictures. "Someone should call the police," a woman visiting her father commented with disgust.
Not wishing to make enemies or offend anyone, I kept my little digital camera in my purse and slinked up to the top of the hilled section, where I sat undisturbed for about 30 minutes. These were the images I was able to capture for this story, showing the vault that would eventually hold her casket:
I returned to Forest Lawn two days later, on December 26, joined by my friend, Walter Acuña, and found her fresh grave adorned with flowers left from the funeral and patchwork sod typical of a new gravesite. The small yellow poinsettia plant was my own contribution to the floral tributes, purchased on my way to the cemetery from one of the roadside sellers.
Another new grave above Brittany had been prepared for a burial that morning. In fact, the hearse and caravan arrived while I was taking photos, so I scooted away. Death goes on.
Would you like to pay respect to Brittany, too? Here's directions:
Bright Eternity is located toward the back of the cemetery, near Lincoln Terrace. Upon entering the main gates, drive straight ahead. At the first stop sign, you will see the Church of the Hills on the left. Stay on Memorial Drive and continue past the Old North Church until you come to the Court of Liberty which features a statue of George Washington. Before you come to Lincoln Terrace and the Hall of Liberty, turn right, on to Lane Bell Blue. Bright Eternity will be on your left side, Murmuring Trees section wil be on your right.
Brittany's grave is between a marble bench and a statue of a woman with a baby, which I found heart-achingly touching considering that one of her goals for the new year was to start a family. Look for the ground marker 7402. Her grave is to its immediate right.
This past Sunday, I joined my friends Karen Fogerty, Luis Mata and his nephew, Matt, on another exploration of Forest Lawn before the predicted rain storm this week. When we visited Brittany we found two floral gifts, one appears to be the yellow poinsettia I had left earlier, in not too bad of shape. Someone had also left a framed photograph from "Breakfast at Tiffany's" - an apparent nod to Brittany's performance in the 2006 romantic comedy "Love And Other Disasters" in which her character is obsessed with Audrey Hepburn.
That day we also got a chance to peek inside the Church of the Hills where her service had taken place. It was set up for a memorial service that afternoon but the attendant was kind enough to allow us a few minutes to look around. Here's what it looks like when you walk in the front doors:
The other night I caught "Summer Catch" on the HBO Family Channel, in which Brittany appeared in a supporting role opposite Freddie Prinze Jr. back in 2001. A film now noteworthy to grave hunting triva buffs because Freddie's dad, comedian and "Chico and the Man" television star Freddie Prinze, was entombed in the Courts of Remembrance very near this church back in 1977.
A public memorial is currently being planned by Simon and Sharon for the end of February, at which time they will also officially launch the Brittany Murphy
Foundation, a charitable organization aimed at supporting causes she believed in, particulary arts education
for children.
For further reading, photographs and documentation about Brittany's death, check out my friend Scott Michaels' report on Findadeath.com.
I enjoy spending time exploring cemeteries, reading and photographing headstones of celebrities and civilians alike, and learning about the lives and deaths of these so-called "permanent residents" of the graveyards and mausoleums. This blog chronicles those experiences.
One of the cemeteries I'm most interested in these days is Grand View Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif. I wrote about its legal problems for the LA Daily News' community hub, ValleyNews.com from August 2006 to December 2008, when Valley News ceased operations. In response to reader requests to have one central source of information, I created and continue to maintain Grand View Memorial Park (dot) Info.
"We've gotten a front-row seat to all the twists and turns
taking place at the beleaguered cemetery, Grand View Memorial Park, from an intrepid citizen journalist named Lisa Burks." ~ Jason Kandel, ValleyNews.com Editor, 12/28/2006
