Greetings and Happy New Year. Here's hoping that 2017 won't be as brutal on cultural celebrities as last year.
I have been in Michigan since June 2014 providing elder care to my mother. Not much time for blogging or grave hunting in the past few years. I hate resolutions but if I have to make one it will be to carve out some "me time" to explore local cemeteries and get back to blogging. I sure have missed it.
Some things to think about when grave hunting back in my hometown: we have to get creative with the celebrity angle here in Oakland County. Here's one that I found this summer while taking a drive with Mom.
Cemeteries in the winter time here is also a different experience versus California. That should afford some great photography opportunities, too.
It's been a while since I've written a post here because I've been focusing on researching and writing the history of Grand View Memorial Park here in nearby Glendale, Calif.
Another of my cemetery-related interests in collecting vintage photographs of people posed at grave sites. I find these photos endlessly fascinating.
I'm curious about the circumstances under which the photos were shot and how they ended up for sale in re-sale shops or online. I'm also curious about the stories of the people in the pictures and have a hunch that many of them will make for interesting stories to tell here.
One photo that I'm working on now is (presumably) Bonnie Fern Anderson and her husband Nial John posing on their own headstone.
So far I've learned that they lived in North Judson, Indiana, and that they passed away in the 1970s. I have no idea which cemetery this photo was taken in or anything much else about them.
This is where genealogy sites such as Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, and local libraries and historical societies come in. I'm in the process of searching on the websites and reaching out to local organizations in hopes of finding the answers I seek.
I also hope that historians I speak with will be just as excited about the project as I am.
Another resource I use is Findagrave.com, where some of the headstones I'm researching are already listed and include modern photos of the markers. See my growing virtual cemetery of results here.
The curtain has rung down on "Show Time" in Los Angeles, with the passing this week of this city's most beloved Dr. Jerry Buss, owner of the multi-champion Lakers and all-around top notch business and showman.
Thank you, Dr. Buss, for the decades of joy and entertainment you brought to Los Angeles and the world.
Photo Courtesy Yahoo! News
And thank you to one of Adventures in Grave Hunting's most loyal (albiet credit-shy) readers for sharing this exclusive photo of Dr. Buss' final resting place, snapped today after the funeral, showing an already-marked memorial where fans will no doubt pay respects in the coming days. Show Time to the end. Rest in peace.
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.
Whitney Houston will be buried tomorrow on the other side of the country, so this post takes my topic of grave hunting a bit off the beaten path. Instead, I'm interested in examining why people like myself care, past basic curiosity, about watching her funeral before her family lays her to rest. Why do celebrity deaths matter so much?
By now it's common knowledge that Whitney died last Saturday in the bathroom of a fourth floor guest quarters at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, just hours before she was to make an appearance downstairs at mentor Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy Awards party.
Incredibly, the event was not cancelled. In a bizarre set of circumstances even by Hollywood standards, guests took time out to memorialize their troubled industry icon while her barely-cold body remained in the room with investigators. Davis, with the apparent blessing of her family, said Whitney would have wanted the show to go on.
When it came to Whitney, the show always did go on. Always spectacular, always attention-grabbing. In the beginning it was breathtaking to listen to her forceful voice, a true gift from God, belt out hit after hit. Fresh faced, gospel-raised, emotionally relatable.
Whitney didn't write the melodies or lyrics that made her world famous but she sang them with a world class conviction that mirrored what millions of listeners were feeling inside. Her versions of songs from "I Will Always Love You" to "The Star-Spangled Banner" and everything in between became a gateway into some of our deepest, personal places. They became anthems for some, musically marking life's highs and lows. People let Whitney in through their ears and her ability to express common human feelings in an uncommonly talented way unavoidably and irrevocably touched our hearts.
We watched when her career was sidelined with marital issues displayed in the tabloids and on reality television, and uncomfortable struggles with drug addiction. Didn't we almost have it all? The ride with you was worth the fall.... We watched and listened when, after several attempts at rehab, she got back into the recording studio, again expressing human frailty and inner strength to overcome, with songs like "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" and "Try It On My Own" with a voice that had been damaged, but a spirit and feeling that was undeniable.
Like you and me, she was not immune to being kicked by some when she was down, albeit on a larger celebrity scale. Not everyone will always believe in you, superstar or average civilian. She lost the faith of some people who loved her during a time when she seemed to be superhuman. Those who loved the humanity in her remained loyal, and hoped that she would see truly brighter days personally and professionally.
So when people ask me why does the death of a celebrity matter, why all the fuss over someone most people never met and especially someone who seemed to have it all and equally seemed to throw it away (toxicology reports pending) my answer is this: Because at one point in your or my life they were a fellow human being who touched and inspired us. When they die, that part of us dies a little bit, too. If even they fail, then we might fail, too. Mortality reality check.
For some Whitney Houston is that celebrity. For others it may be a sports hero, an actor, a writer, a director, an artist, a comedian, a philosopher, a photographer...anyone who creatively or physically expresses what we feel and believe inside.
Why does their grave matter? Because it's the end of the story that you have followed. It's not always just a tourist attraction. You let that person into your world as if they were a friend or a family member. You cared while they were alive, maybe not every day of your life, but you did. And you need a place to say goodbye, and some need it to honestly grieve.
Graves are sacred places to give thanks to the departed, to remember them and honor them and to say goodbye. Celebrity graves are not so different from those of people you called family and friend. Not every celebrity grave will mean something to every person, but I guarantee that at least one out there will mean something to you if you give it half a thought.
Rest peacefully, Whitney. Thank you for sharing your gifts and your struggles. It all mattered.
According to Whitney's death certificate, she will be buried at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, N.J. where her father, John Russell Houston, was buried in 2003.
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]
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
