Keepers of the flame

Tonight I'm thinking of Jean Harlow.

Harlean Carpenter, aka Jean Harlow, 1911-1937

Seventy years ago at this time, Hollywood's original "Blonde Bombshell"  who delighted millions with films such at Red-Headed Woman and Bombshell, was painfully passing her last agonizing hours alive  inside an oxygen tent in Room 826 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, suffering from failing kidneys and a gruesome cerebral edema - fluid build up in the skull.

By 11:38 AM on June 7, 1937, she would be gone forever.

Or would she?

Is anyone truly gone who lives in the minds and hearts of people who love them?

Today, Jean Harlow's presence in the world survives on films and even more importantly on the internet where thousands of adoring fans keep her memory alive by writing about her, on websites and on chat groups and via email.  They are the keepers of her flame.

Her following is as strong as ever, and, as her biographer David Stenn tells me, no one would be more shocked than Jean herself.

Pandemonium ensued at Forest Lawn in Glendale, Calif., when her funeral was held a few days later on June 9.

Crowds gather at Forest Lawn the morning of Jean' funeral (Photo © Corbis)

On June 12, she was sealed inside a private crypt room in the Great Mausoleum there, witnessed only by her mother and erstwhile love interest William Powell. 

Seventy years later, after Mother Jean (also entombed there), William Powell and those who knew her best are long gone, the crypt is a place of pilgrimage for those who continue to give a damn, despite the best efforts of Forest Lawn personnel to keep fans at bay.  When Jean was laid to rest, under the moniker "Our Baby," would any of her loved ones have dared guess that anyone would remember or care to go out of their way to see her grave in the 21st century?

I'm guessing not, because when you grieve in the present you don't think of the future.

But that was 70 years ago.   Today "Our Baby" takes on a whole new meaning.

Engraving on Jean's crypt 

I find it ironically disgusting that over the years Forest Lawn itself has named Jean Harlow as one of its best known permanent residents, prostituting her name and likeness for publicity, and yet fans who truly care about remembering her for who she was as a person and as an actress are treated with harshness whenever they attempt to visit the crypt or dare to leave flowers in her honor.

I've been kicked out of the Great Mausoleum with the best of them, being scolded and told that trespassing was disrespectful, by people who probably couldn't pick Jean out of a Turner Classic Movies line-up.  They should be so lucky to have anyone remember them long after they pass on.  They just don't get what cemeteries are all about, truly.  How sad.

I've left flowers for Jean that I know were removed by personnel within hours of my placing them in her room and was lied to about the floral whereabouts.    I've been lied to about "relatives" still alive who insist that her room remain private.  Baloney. There is no such relative, I assure you.  Still others interested in Jean have told me they got in to see the Harlow room... by paying off the security guards. 

Is that respect for the dead, protecting them, or is it just insulting their memory?

Jean Harlow in an ironic scene from her last film, Saratoga, wearing the negligee she was buried in

I will not visit Forest Lawn tomorrow to commemorate Jean's deathiversary, in part because I will be remembering her in other ways among friends, and also because I'm tired of being treated like a criminal.  In that sense, Forest Lawn and its cronies "win."  But Jean's star will shine bright as the years go on, while Forest Lawn perpetuates it's reputation for being two-faced and anti-memorial friendly.

The photos I show here are considered contraband.  I was actually warned by a Forest Lawn security guard named Joan that she "better not ever see them online."  Well, here they are.  They're not here to piss Joan or anyone at Forest Lawn off.  I'm not making a profit off them, either, which is generally the concern of such images being displayed.

They are here so that people who care about Jean Harlow's memory can see the beautiful place she rests in for eternity, and to pay respects cyberly rather than do it in person and risk being made to feel bad that they are interested in preserving her memory and experiencing her history.

Jean's stunning crypt room in the Great Mausoleum

Rest in peace, dear Harlean. You will never be forgotten.

Leave a flower for Jean and Mother Jean (who passed 49 years ago on June 11) at Findagrave.com.

Comments

[Darrell]

Question - Did William Powell continue to put flowers on Jean's grave after he married Diana Lewis in 1940?

[Nina]

What a beautiful crypt. However, Lisa, wasn't Jean Harlow buried in a gown which she wore in Libeled Lady? That is what I have read. I love you site and so happy to meet people who love and adore Jean Harlow like I do!

I am watching her in Reckless right now! :)

[QueenB]

I went to Forest Lawn a few weeks ago(July 2011) and walked right in, said I wanted to see the "show" and got to walk all the corridors of the GM. I found Jean Harlow first, pushed the gate and went to her gated crypt down the hallway. I pushed the gate and I was inside her vault/room! I couldn't believe it. There was NO security! Someone/employee even told me where Michael Jackson was buried! Maybe it's just my luck, but I encountered no security or cranky people!

[Lauren]

I went to FLG last year and had no luck. I felt trapped cause they have cameras and the guard kept eying my friend and me. Anyone have any luck recently?

[hoorayforhollwyood]

I was treated the same way back in the 1970's. A lady "guard" finally agreed to unlock the little bronze gate and watched me like a hawk as I walked down that long marble corridor. I felt rushed as she stood there practically tapping her foot. Apparently over the years it's gotten even worse at FLG. I didn't take any photos and now wish I had. As I stated at my post at findadeath.com, the public made these talented people very wealthy. We should have the right to pay our respects. As you correctly state, a sign-in sheet would handle all the security problems. I figured all along that FLG was lying when they said "long lost relatives" were the reason for this lockdown. So, what exactly is the reason for this? As was stated in another post, museums handle the security issues, places filled with precious antiquities. But FLG can't? Very true - they pimp the memories of these beautiful and talented stars but won't let us visit. I agree - Jean would want us there. Maybe someday this insane policy will change.

[pagebetty]

How rude of the personnel to treat visitors that way! It is very sad. I want to go to Hollywood to see her star, her former residences, and maybe the school that she attended when her and her mom first got to Hollywood. Thank you for these beautiful pictures! I am glad that you were able to visit, because I would like to, too!

[Robbie]

A beautiful article Lisa. I didn't realise that the staff would be like that, I live in England and I would LOVE to visit Jean's resting place. I knew that it was said to be quite 'private' but the way they treat you sounds awful and could really put a downer on a visit there. Im coming out to L.A for the first time this September.Its a long journey and a lot of money but Im willing to take that risk as Im a such an admirer of Jean and I have a lot of love for her.
Anyway,I will stop there for now.
Best wishes,Robbie.

[Reggie]

Steve:

Just incredible.

The sheer audacity of it. You can't leave flowers, but it's ok for a group of "potential buyers" with deep pockets to film her crypt. Obviously, as Lisa pointed out, Forest Lawn has no problem with pimping Harlow and other stars to increase their profit margins. I wonder when Powell & Mother Jean laid her to rest in 1937 this is what he had in mind? It's utterly tragic that nothing is sacred these days.

[Joe]

What a wonderful tribute to such a wonderful screen presence! On my first visit to Forest Lawn, the guards were actually letting foreign tourists videotape Jean's crypt; when I inquired as to why they had such intimate access, I was told that it was because they were in the process of purchasing an identical resting place. I told them I might consider buying one, too, if I could get up close and personal. They told me I should just "move on" if I knew what was good for me. I moved on for a while and then came back for my own, unchaperoned visit with Jean.

[Steve Goldstein]

Beutifully written and deeply felt, Lisa! You are an artist! Thank you for encapsulating the experience of being a respectful fan who gets treated as a common criminal for just trying to pay tribute.