Adventures in Grave Hunting by Lisa Burks

Murphy's Law at FLHH

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.

Thank you RadarOnline, RumorRat, TMZ and Access Hollywood for covering this story.

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?

MJ Receives 200+ Valentines at Forest Lawn

Even as I type this story...

Breaking News 2/4/2010: Conrad Murray visits Michael Jackson's Final Resting Place. Unbelievable. I'm getting conflicting reports that he was supposedly there yesterday afternoon, which would be seemingly false because we were there from 1:30 p.m. until the park closed. ET to show footage on today's broadcast. E! Online is reporting it happened today. Smells like a publicity stunt of the lowest form unless video was captured by a citizen witness. Stay tuned. Back to our regularly scheduled blog post.

Update 2/5/2010: Murray was there, at the Memorial Terrace, just a few yards away from the gathering of MJ fans I attended/documented in this story. Read my breakdown of how close he came to us here.

While Dr. Conrad Murray and his defense team prepare to surrender to authorities this week in Los Angeles in the impending case against him for the death of Michael Jackson, across town the King of Pop's loyal Southern California fans made their monthly pilgrimage to MJ's final resting place yesterday at Forest Lawn Glendale.

Their theme was Valentine's Day and they brought with them their largest haul of cards, flowers, stuffed animals, drawings and other tokens to date -- over 200 items in all, sent from MJ fans in 21 different countries.

Heidi Heidel, creator of the Michael Jackson Fans of Southern California Facebook group that facilitates the deliveries, told me that postal workers at the station where she picks up the mail are continually amazed at the volume and variety of incoming envelopes and packages.

Countries represented yesterday were USA, UK, Italy, South Korea, India, Hong Kong, Canada, Trinidad, Netherlands, China, Australia, France, Spain, Finland, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Belgium, Philippines, Hungary and Malaysia.

Despite earlier predictions of rain on Wednesday, the storm clouds held off and the fans were able to complete their mission under sunny skies and pleasant temperatures.

Their activity attracted the attention of several cemetery visitors, as well as new club members, dozens in all, who joined in on taking in the display as well as participating in a traditional prayer circle to summon the power of love, healing and justice for Michael.

Among them, two sets of parents with 3-month-old babies and an elderly woman who was visiting her son-in-law's grave on the nearby hillside. She spoke little English but told me, "Michael, I pray for him, a good man."

Members of the club have been coming to Forest Lawn on the 3rd of each month since October, a date that marks Michael's entombment in the Ascension Windows sanctuary on the Holly Terrace of the venerable Great Mausoleum. 

The tradtion was started by Erin Jacobs and Kathy Lawson. Each month the visits gain momentum in the number of participants and items.  Along the way, the club has developed a reputation for being respectful visitors while on the cemetery grounds, and in turn, a trusted working relationship with security personnel in regards to the cemetery's privacy policy.

I enjoy creating video interpretations of these monthly gatherings, letting the music choose itself as I edit the photos. With so many images this month I went with three songs, rather than cut short the love. Especially not on Valentine's Day. ;) ♥

Michael Jackson Fans Bring Christmas to Forest Lawn

Grave hunting requires a certain amount of emotional detachment, least you absorb the residual tears left in any cemetery you explore. The end of the year holiday season is the exception to the rule for me, a time, oddly enough, when sentiment runs deepest.

At no other time of year will you see the volume and variety of decorations and tokens of love on graves as you do in December.  Theraputic expressions of grief and remembrance of the dead sparkle and shine in the face of sadness. Appreciation for the past, acknowledgment for what is lost in the present and a hope toward future healing.

Six months ago the death of Michael Jackson and 70 days of heavy media coverage leading up to his burial caused a sensational, seismic shift in the world's attention to the business of death, grief and cemeteries. The news crews are gone now, yet based on my observations of holiday cemetery activity in general, I believe that continuing to cover his story here at Christmas time has value. There is something to be learned from his fans about the grief process and how it relates to cemeteries.

 

On December 3, a dozen MJ fans gathered at the Holly Terrace of the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Glendale to remember their idol.  They have designated the third of each month as their regular visitation day because it coincides with his September 3 funeral and entombment there.  I've spent a lot of time in cemeteries but never with fans on a pilgrimage, so joining them on their sojourn last week was a first for me.  I was immensely touched by what I experienced, and it drove home for me the reason why cemeteries are for the living.

The fans brought with them not only their own flowers and Christmas decorations, but also dozens of holiday mementos of love (many handmade) from 90 other fans. Over 100 items in all, sent from across the United States as well as Europe, Great Britain and the UK, Hungary, Jordan, Egypt, the Philippines and Malaysia. Among the packages were cards, small gifts, and ornaments which were placed on a white Christmas tree.

What's remarkable is that the holiday memorial drive was initiated on Facebook by fan Erin Jacobs just one week prior to the date of delivery to Forest Lawn.  Additional envelopes and packages earmarked for future delivery continue to flow in to the post office box donated by fan Antoinette Albert.

Judy Faass, a MJ fan from Colorado, sent a card, and gave me insight as to what her participation in the event meant to her:

I'm forever grateful to the ladies that made that happen! I live in Colorado and it will be awhile before I can get to FL to visit with Michael. I was pleased to be given the opportunity to share in the remembrance and celebration on Dec 3. I feel his loss on a daily basis and grieving his loss has been very difficult. I lost my mom in 2006 and I think the MJ situation brings up memories of her as well. Makes it much more difficult. Knowing that my card made it to MJ's Resting Place brings more tears, but a small sense of closure as well.

Since I can't possibly cover every card and gift with this post, I'm hoping that anyone who sent something in reads this story and shares their thoughts and feelings in the comments area at the bottom of this page.

 

An element missing from the groups' holiday decorating experience, one that most people are afforded under normal circumstances, was being able to personally place the items at Michael's sarcophagus because it is private and off limits to the public. Per Forest Lawn, currently no one is allowed to visit him unless accompanied by a Jackson family member.

The items were delivered however, thanks to Forest Lawn security personnel who took each and every token inside Holly Terrace while we were there, and put them at the Ascension Windows alcove where Michael was entombed. We were able to catch glimpses of the area at the end of the hall when the door was opened.

The experience of seeing the grave of someone you care about is difficult for many people, but is an essential part of the grief and healing process, I believe. It's a fundamental part of acceptance of loss, the reality check needed to move forward.  This is why, after much thought, I opted to include in this report visuals of his sarcophagus captured that day with still and video cameras, taken from outside the building through the doors.

 

The world may be getting a better view of it soon enough anyway. Word has it that Michael's brothers were there last week with a camera crew and director. But for now, this is my contribution to satisfying public curiosity and hopefully providing a measure of comfort for those who need to see such images.

My photos from the day are viewable at Flickr.com.

As a writer, I hate to admit to not being able to find adequate words to convey what I have witnessed and felt, so thank goodness for YouTube.  Here is my interpretation of the day's events and the lovely fans I spent time with. I chose MJ's song "You Are Not Alone" because I think it speaks to their reasons for visiting Forest Lawn each month, especially this first Christmas, as well as how MJ fans feel about each other.

Thank you Michael Jackson Fans of Southern California for including me in your holiday gathering. And special thanks to my friend, Joe Acuña, for lending me his video camera so I could capture the moments.

Update 12/16/2009: Members of the MJFSC make regular visits to Forest Lawn and are happy to deliver cards and letters from fans around the world when they go.  The PO Box to send your mail to is: MJ Mail, 2470 Stearns Street #202, Simi Valley, California 93063, U.S.A.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to MJ fans and grave hunters alike.