Calvary Cemetery Mausoleum - From Oil Barons to the Barrymores and other Famous Graves

[Music] I'm very pleased to introduce the first of a two-part series on one of La County's oldest operating cemeteries located in East Los Angeles cavalry cemetery was dedicated in 1896 and sits on more than 100 acres of rolling parkland many of the graves here are marked with works of art carved in stone that stand Moors Testaments of faith than to a lifetime of accomplishments [Music] in the heart of cavalry stands a building that seems as much out of place as it does out of time the great mausoleum designed in the Romanesque style by famed LA architect Ross Montgomery was built between 1929 and 1936 its scale is impressive soaring arches and columns topped with angels as well as domes and a central pyramid I'll draw the eye toward heaven one can easily imagine that its inspiration came from Hollywood's early biblical spectacles directed by Cecil B DeMille and DW Griffith and almost at once the suggestion seems appropriate considering that so many greats from Hollywood's golden age are interred within come walk with me into the marble catacombs of cavalry cemeteries great mausoleum making our way along the forecourt we notice that the walls on either side of us are lined with tombs each one is adorned with stained glass and a frescoed ceiling [Music] as we reach the main entrance you'll notice the quote above the door taken from the New Testament book of John chapter 11 verse 25 passing the threshold we enter the marbled narthex decorated with bronze medallions depicting the Saints of the Catholic Church looking to our left we see a corridor lined with crypts above us is the inner pyramid that adds an extra dimension of height [Music] up ahead we cross a vaulted passage with frescoed ceilings using designs reminiscent of those in the ancient catacombs below the city of Rome [Music] beyond is a stairway leading up to the sanctuary inspired by the early California missions [Music] the altar is adorned with a magnificent marble sculpture of the crucifixion masses are held here every day except Sundays and holy days of obligation [Music] along the aisles on either side of the nave is where you'll find both public and private family crypts and it is here we'll pay our first visit to a man who dug a hole in the ground and found the future [Music] [Music] when Edward Lawrence Doheny arrived in Los Angeles in 1892 he was nearly broke by then he had already tried his hand at surveying prospecting and even house painting and had lost a fortune in real estate speculation however at the time of his death in 1935 he was one of the richest men in the United States with a $400 loan from business partner Charles Canfield Doheny obtained a lease on property near downtown LA and began digging the land was situated on a natural asphalt reserve and became the birthplace of the oil industry in Southern California over the next few years hundreds of wells owned by Delaney and Canfield sprang up across the Southland the timing couldn't have been more perfect as the railroads were in the process of converting locomotives from coal to oil burners and the coming of the automobile was right around the corner through his pan-american petroleum and transport company Doheny controlled vast amounts of oil-producing land in the United States Mexico and Central America in 1922 Albert fall the US Secretary of the Interior granted him a lease on the Navy Petroleum Reserve in Elk Hills California it was a move that would have far-reaching consequences with his fortune secured Doheny turned to philanthropic work both he and his second wife Carrie were devout Catholics and donated heavily to church institutions and charities he must have believed that he was a truly blessed man until a bombshell struck in 1924 that year it was alleged that in exchange for the elk Hills lease Doheny had arranged a $100,000 gift to secretary fall that was hand-delivered by Doheny son Ned and his secretary Hugh Plunkett fall Doheny and oil tycoon Harry Sinclair were indicted in federal court on charges of corruption in what became known as the Teapot Dome scandal [Music] with his reputation and tatters he would spend the remainder of the decade in courtrooms fighting the charges as well as lawsuits filed by investors in 1932 Haney was acquitted but the victory brought him no joy On February 16th of the previous year his son and only surviving child Ned was killed in an apparent murder-suicide that was a result of the scandal al Doheny spent the remainder of his life in seclusion and ill health when he passed away on September 8 1935 he was given a lavish funeral before being interred in this private tomb just opposite the main altar it is said that the marble was a gift of pope pius xi in gratitude for his years of financial support of the church and the city whose future he found at the bottom of an oil well has never stopped growing to learn more about teapot dome and the Doheny tragedy see my grave exploration the ghosts of Greystone mansion the curious death and burial of Ned Doheny I have provided a link in the description below if you ever filled up your vehicle at a gas station with the green dinosaur then you have indirectly encountered oil magnate Harry Ford Sinclair he was a pharmacist by trade who made his first million before turning 30 by brokering oil leases in the Midwest by age 40 he founded Sinclair oil and refining Corporation that oversaw all aspects of petroleum production from discovery to retail sales in 1924 a Senate investigating committee discovered that Sinclair had given a $300,000 bribe to Secretary of the Interior Albert fall it was an exchange for drilling rights on the US Navy's strategic oil reserves in teapot dome Wyoming the resulting scandal rocked Washington and led to the conviction of secretary fall for conspiracy and bribery for which he was sentenced to one year in prison Sinclair was found not guilty of conspiracy but was convicted of contempt and obstruction of justice for hiring a detective agency to follow jurors he was sent to federal prison where he served six months after his release though disgraced he went back to work at Sinclair oil and moved its base of operations to Los Angeles when he retired in 1949 his company's assets were estimated to be in excess of 1.5 billion dollars [Music] I came to cavalry with an idea of who I wanted to visit and where I would have to go to find them but even with a carefully thought-out plan it's difficult not to become distracted when you're in the company of so many lives and stories [Music] captain George Allen Hancock's list of careers and accomplishments would fill an entire video from oilman to scientist to aviator to concert cellist and practically everything else in between he was a true renaissance man here is the private room of Charles Henry Straub and family he is seen here on the right walking beside movie producer Hal Roach they were cofounders of Santa Anita Park which opened on Christmas Day 1934 [Music] [Music] Henry gage served one term as California governor and was appointed Minister to Portugal by President Taft a post he held until his wife's failing health and a revolution forced him to resign he left politics and returned to Los Angeles to practice law [Music] Alfred Joseph bear was a banker and a board member of a Catholic seminary he was also the president of a metal foundry specializing in ornamental bronze some of their elegant work frames the entry of his private tomb [Music] we have arrived at another private room and we'll stop to pay a visit to a comedy legend [Music] at 7:00 p.m. on the night of November 4th 1943 the comedy team of Abbott and Costello made their long anticipated return to radio the show had been on hiatus for nearly eight months while Lew recovered from about rheumatic fever when they came on the air that Thursday night the team was at the height of their popularity audience is listening across the country heard bud and Lou deliver laughs with the same expert timing that was their trademark the public had no idea of the deep personal tragedy that took place only a few hours before in 1943 Bud Abbott and Lou Costello who was born Lewis Francis Christi Lowe had been partners for 12 years having come from the vaudeville stage they were under contract to Universal Studios where they made a string of hit movies like buck privates in the Navy keep him flying hold that Ghost and many others at the end of the show Bud Abbott step to the mic alone and made the stunning announcement that Lou Costello is one year old son Lew jr. had drowned in the family swimming pool that same afternoon by going on the air that night Lou held to the old show business adage the show must go on Lou junior or butch as he was called by his family can be found in a crypt at the rear of the chapel Costello and his wife Ann were consumed by the loss in an interview he said he had no idea how he managed to be the funny man during that period but he said as time passed he realized there were a lot of children in the world that needed help so with partner bud he established the Lou Costello jr. Youth Foundation for underprivileged children he said that by giving himself to those young lives in need he found happiness again Abbott and Costello spa polarity continued into the 1950s when Universal merged the teams comedy talents with the studio's monster movie franchises they also adapted their act for the new medium of television the laughs continued until 1957 when bud and Lou officially dissolved their partnership both comics continue to work with other partners but never enjoyed the success of earlier days whose final film appearance was in 1959 s the 30-foot bride of candy Rock however he would not live to see it released on March 3rd 1959 he suffered a fatal heart attack three days short of his 53rd birthday [Music] his wife Ann died nine months later their resting places are only a few feet away from their little boy the large body of work that the comic team of Abbott and Costello created lives on to this day as does the Lou Costello Youth Foundation and with their famous routine who's on first they have the distinction of being the only non athletes to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown New York the retired actors baseball team oh you would seem so if I want to play with on my own oh man I mean I'm on the street or in a home here I have to say after them oh sure but you know they get baseball players now peculiar names a lot of funny names you know like sticky feels sticky feeling a goofy Dan poopy popper poopy barber okay well let's see that we have on our team we have who's on first what's on second I don't knows on third that's what I want to find out the guys name huh and so what I want to find out the guys name I'm tell me who's on first what's on second I don't knows on third happy you know it'd be to imagine a baseball team yeah you know the guys names why sure well you tell me guys names are baseball a who's on first what's on second I don't knows on third can they see not to me yeah hi I'm Kelly I'm telling you man tell me who's on first what's on second I don't know his own third Facebook well then who's on first yes I mean the guys name oh they got man fights fool at first base who is on first ask me fire who's that first that's you baby then Tommy Oh be or not to be that is the question whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end to die just off the chapel is a room with a stained-glass window of a Last Supper if you step inside and look to your left you will find the crypt of one of Hollywood's greatest matinee idols John Barrymore was born into one of the greatest acting dynasties of all time in 1913 after a celebrated stage career where he made the role of Shakespeare's Hamlet his own he entered the motion picture business with an uncanny knack to play roles that were comic romantic dramatic and fantastic he quickly became one of the silver screens top leading men in [Music] addition to being hailed as the greatest actor of his time he was almost as famous for his striking features that earned him the nickname the great profile and over the years it would be the profile that launched a thousand myths that stemmed from the original Hollywood bad boys club known as the Bundy Drive boys of which Barrymore was the ringleader a couple of the requisites for club membership was a connection to the arts and to be able to consume copious amounts of liquor some of the gang were John's brother Lionel actor Errol Flynn writer gene Fowler comedian WC Fields and fellow Shakespearean actor and head of another acting family John Carradine and it is Carradine who figures and one of the most infamous Barrymore legends it goes that when the young actor arrived in Hollywood Fox Studios ordered a screen test and arranged for Barrymore to direct Barrymore instructed Carradine to come through a door and without using any words act as though he had just eaten the greatest meal of his life after a few takes Barrymore called cut and told Carradine to return to the studio the following day to preview the test the next day he came to the screening room where many of the top execs of Fox Studios were waiting the lights dimmed the projector flared to life and everyone present watched Carradine enter delightedly rubbing his stomach and licking and smacking his lips after flashing a smile he walked out a frame scene over but it wasn't a moment later Barrymore steps through the door grins devilishly into the camera then casually zips up his fly one can only imagine the reaction in the room the footage if it ever existed it all is lost but the tail is an enduring one despite his tremendous talents Barrymore was plagued with demons the worst of which was alcoholism it would fuel the downfall of four marriages his career and ultimately his health John Barrymore's final film appearance was in the 1941 comedy play mates in the movie he plays himself giving advice to bandleader Kay Kyser on how to read Shakespeare and for one shining moment in an otherwise forgettable film we are given one last glimpse of his former brilliance to be or not to be that is the question whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them to die to Sleep No More and by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to tis a consummation devoutly to be wished to die justly a chance to dream aye there's the rub there's that more but no give you an idea hope it didn't boil a few months after the film's release John collapsed during rehearsals for a radio broadcast he was taken to Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital where he lingered in a semi-conscious state a few days before the end artists and fellow Bundy Drive boy John Decker made this charcoal sketch of his dying friend [Music] the great profile passed away on May 29 1942 at the age of 60 but as with all things Barrymore the story doesn't quite end there in film director Raoul Walsh's autobiography he claimed to have borrowed John's body from the mortuary and as a lark placed it on the couch and Errol Flynn's house after a night of drinking toasts to his lost pal the unsuspecting Flynn staggered home and after discovering the corpse ran screaming into the night On June 2nd John Barrymore was laid to rest here in the Great Mausoleum the inscription goodnight sweet prince was Lionel's touch to this day adoring fans show their affection for the great profile but many don't realize they're paying tribute at an empty crypt in 1980 John's son had his father's body removed and cremated his ashes are now interred at Mount Vernon Cemetery in Philadelphia Pennsylvania the city of his birth and for a fellow of Infinite Jest and most excellent fancy a new more appropriate epitaph was chosen it reads alas poor Yorick directly above John's former crypt is his brother Lionel he was the oldest of three siblings born to actors Maurice and Georgie drew Barrymore his maternal grandparents John and the wise Elaine drew were also veterans of the stage considering his lineage it only seems natural that Lionel would ease into a theatrical career however his first desire was to live in Paris and become an artist and although it didn't pan out painting remained a passion that he pursued his whole life as a motion picture actor Lionel has hundreds of credits to his name he gave enduring performances in such classics as you can't take it with you the Grand Hotel and dinner at 8:00 both of which co-starred his brother John he won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1931 a free soul he appeared alongside bogie and Bacall and Key Largo and appeared as dr. Gillespie the loveable curmudgeon in the dr. Kildare series funny sir don't you think we oughta rest a few days to modern audiences he is best remembered for his portrayal as the sinister mr. Potter the main antagonist of George Bailey played by Jimmy Stewart in the 1946 holiday classic It's a Wonderful Life [Music] by then lionel barrymore was already a christmas tradition for his annual performance as ebony zur scrooge in the radio dramatization of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol finding yourself a year older I was right no water [Music] angel I'm as merry as a schoolboy Merry Christmas and for someone whose name were so deeply associated with the holiday season it is a sad irony to note that it was to him a sorrowful reminder of a tragic personal loss in October 1921 Lionel was cast as the male lead in the new Broadway melodrama the claw his co-star was a spirited redhead named Irene Fenwick by the end of the show's run in early 1922 they had fallen deeply in love at the time Lionel was married to actress Doris Rankin with whom he had two daughters that sadly didn't live past infancy Irene had already been twice married and divorced and years earlier even had an affair with Lionel's brother John in 1923 the lovers starred in their second Broadway production called laugh clown laugh and they did so as husband and wife Lionel had divorced Doris Rankin months earlier in 1925 they starred in two plays together the [ __ ] and a revival of taps from there the couple left Broadway and moved to Hollywood between 1915 and 1917 Irene made only a handful of motion pictures because she found the medium too restrictive and after moving out west she retired from acting altogether by 1930 she began exhibiting a noticeable loss of weight and a marked decline in her health at the time anorexia nervosa from which she was suffering was not widely known outside of the medical profession in December 1936 as Lionel was preparing for his third radio performance as Scrooge he was called to his wife's bedside he remained there until she quietly passed away on Christmas Eve she was 49 the Press reported her death as a pulmonary condition brought on by pneumonia there was no mention of an eating disorder it wouldn't be until the death of singer Karen Carpenter 46 years later that the public was finally made aware of the deadly effects of anorexia lionel Barrymore never remarried he found solace and painting and remained busy in films and radio where he continued his annual Christmas performances in a Christmas carol by 1940 after two fractured hips and the onset of arthritis he was forced to use a wheelchair ah on November 15th 1954 at the age of 76 lionel barrymore was reunited with his beloved irene they now rest side by side forever [Music] for our next visit we will leave the ornamented sanctuary and make our way along featureless corridors hear the silence is penetrating and the marble walls amplify even the most imperceptible sound so that it seems to the occasional passerby that they are hearing the crypts themselves whisper the names carved into them and it is here in this quiet place we find the first lady of the American stage the theater was not FL Barrymore's original career choice she said in an interview that I always wanted to be a pianist but I had to eat and acting seemed like the natural thing to do since the family was already in it she made her stage debut at 15 starring with her uncle John Jordan her early performances had a tepid reception but critics agreed that she had something for the next few years she toured and took whatever parts she could to sharpen her skills by the turn of the 20th century the potential that everyone saw had flowered and Ethel became the toast of the New York and London stage in 1928 the Schubert's built the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway in her honor it remains an operation under that name to this day it wasn't only her talent that attracted the public's attention she was also considered one of the great beauties of her time it is told that while touring Great Britain in 1900 methyl received and refused no fewer than five proposals of marriage including one from future Prime Minister Winston Churchill when Ethel did marry in 1909 it was to businessman Russell Griswold colt however the marriage was a rocky one and ended in divorce after 14 years she never remarried the couple had three children all of whom tried their hand at acting but with little success [Music] Ethel possessed an iron will and never shied away from speaking her mind she was an open supporter of the Actors Equity Union who strike in 1919 closed Broadway for weeks and despite accolades for being more regaled and royalty she shared common interests in such things as boxing and baseball like her brothers Lionel and John Ethel ventured into motion pictures but she had an almost coquettish relationship with Hollywood that she once described as a glaring gaudy nightmarish set built up in the desert in 1932 she starred with her brothers and MGM's Rasputin and the Empress it would be another 12 years before she appeared in another motion picture in 1944 she came back to the silver screen to play Cary Grant's ailing mother in none but the lonely heart the movie opened to mixed reviews and was not a big hit but Barrymore's performance stood out and she won the 1945 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress like me son by then her feelings about Hollywood thought considerably and throughout the 40s and 50s she appeared in over 20 movies that attracted three Oscar nominations she also ventured into the brand-new medium of television in the 1952 film deadline USA with Humphrey Bogart Barrymore seemed to be speaking more of herself when she summed up women of her generation when Ethel Barrymore died on June 18 1959 the lights on Broadway were dimmed for the last of the acting triumvirate known as the royal family of show business her last words were is everybody happy I want everybody to be happy I know I'm happy before we move on from the Barrymore's there's one last grave to visit at the very end of the hall from where Ethel Barrymore rests is Samuel Colt the eldest of the three children she had with Russell G Colt despite growing up in the shadow of his famous mother and uncles Sam wasn't bitten by the acting bug until he was in his 40s beginning in 1951 he appeared in several films and television programs however most of the roles were uncredited in 1957 he was cast in his mother's last film Johnny trouble he retired from the business in 1962 in addition to his theatrical roots Samuel Colt was the great nephew and namesake of the founder of the cult firearms company we now move on to visit one of Hollywood's early scream queens to find her follow the long corridor until you reach the room with the window depicting Our Lady of ransom you've probably never heard the name of actress Mary Philbin but she was behind one of the most iconic and terrifying reveals in motion picture history Mary was born in Chicago in 1902 and moved to Hollywood at age 17 after winning a beauty contest throughout the 1920s she appeared in a string of films produced by Universal among her most memorable pictures was 1928 the man who laughs starring Conrad Veidt in it she plays a young blind girl who falls in love with a kind-hearted man whose face was disfigured so that it displays a permanent grin the film's protagonist is notable for being the inspiration for the appearance of comic book villain the Joker but her most famous screen role was as aunjanue christine daaé a in 1925 s the Phantom of the Opera and it is she who reveals for the world the face of Lon Chaney's phantom that after nine decades is still the stuff of nightmares [Music] [Music] soon after the arrival of the talkies meri withdrew from the limelight and lived out the rest of her long life in seclusion one of her last public appearances was at the Los Angeles premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's the Phantom of the Opera [Music] there are many hallways and passages in Cavalry's Great Mausoleum and many of them look the same but if you pay close attention they point you where you want to go when you see a private tomb with a window dedicated to Our Lady of Peace look for the name Vivienne Foy her stage name was Vivian Edwards and she made dozens of shorts for Keystone comedies in the 19-teens and was a frequent co-star of Charlie Chaplin she quit acting in 1918 and from 1926 until their untimely death at 53 she was married to Brian Freud who rests within the unmarked crypt above his wife Brian show business career began in vaudeville at an early age he was the eldest of the so-called seven little Foy's whose father was Eddie Foy senior Brian left the Act of 1917 to serve his country during World War one after the war he moved into motion pictures as a producer and director he was known as the king of the bees for his quickly and inexpensively made films that often came with sensational titles like women's prison Dollface house of women I was a communist for the FBI and well you get the idea Brian also had some hits like the horror classic the House of Wax starring Vincent Price and Phyllis Kirk and spectacular 3d and his last film was 1963 's pt-109 about president john f kennedy's wartime exploits Brian Foy passed away on April 20th 1977 although there are many more lives to explore here the time has come for us to leave this part of the mausoleum on our way up to the chapel we pass by corridors ablaze with sunlight that streams through leaded stained glass windows their beauty calls out to us but we admire them from afar as we press on to our next visit as we near the chapel we notice details in the architecture that we overlooked before such as the ram's heads on the stair railings and the ironwork in many of the private tombs or the window that depicts the raising of Lazarus and another the resurrection of Jesus [Music] finally we arrive at the crypt of a true pioneer of American cinema whose achievements and legacy have been shaped by events beyond her control [Music] from the very beginning Mabel Normand seemed destined for stardom when she debuted in films in 1910 she didn't have any theatrical training but she had a strong screen presence and a natural sense of timing and that caught the attention of DW Griffith who went on to direct her in a series of shorts from 1911 to 1912 that were produced by the Biograph company in New York while at Biograph she met actor and director Mack Sennett when he moved to California to found Keystone studios Mabel followed and took on the role as his muse and collaborator in its heyday Keystone churned out 12 slapstick adventures per month and launched the careers of many comedy legends including Norman among her many co-stars was Mack Sennett himself with whom she was involved in a rocky love affair she also made a successful series of comedies with Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle [Music] you another of her frequent co-stars in those days was a young English comic who came to America with a touring troop of vaudevillians in Mabel at the wheel Charlie Chaplin steals Normand away from her beau to go on a pleasant motorcycle ride Charlie Chaplin's little [ __ ] was born at Keystone studios and the character's first film was alongside Normand and Mabel's strange predicament released in 1914 Norman would be Charlie's leading lady in a dozen short films over the next year one of her greatest abilities was to recognize the brilliance and others and she gave Chaplin the room he needed to perfect the role that would become a cinematic icon you they also appeared in the first feature-length comedy Tillie's punctured romance that starred the versatile and always amazing Marie Dressler [Music] throughout her time at Keystone Mabel's talents were also utilized behind the camera she wrote and directed many of her own films and for a short while operated the ill-fated Mabel Normand feature film company before signing a contract with Samuel Goldwyn by the 1920s her legacy as a pioneering filmmaker was already cemented but the new decade brought with it scandal and speculation about her private life the trouble began in 1921 when Mabel's friend and former co-star Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle was charged in the death of actress Virginia Rappe a the public outcry over the allegations led to the ban of all Arbuckle films including those he made with Mabel after three highly publicized trials to ending and miss trials our buckle was acquitted but his career never recovered another more personal event for Mabel took place on the night of February 1st 1922 after an evening of conversation and gin cocktails she left the bungalow of william desmond taylor unaware that she would be the last person to see him alive the next morning the director was found dead having been shot in the back although she was never a suspect a distraught Normand was questioned for hours by the Los Angeles Police Department it wasn't long before rumors began to circulate that Normand had a cocaine addiction and it was alleged that when Taylor stepped in to help he was murdered by drug dealers before he could turn them over to the police although there were other suspects ranging from a former co-star to an obsessed starlet and even the butler no one was ever charged and the murder of William Desmond Taylor remains unsolved Norman's name was dragged into the press again in 1924 when a chauffeur was arrested for the non fatal shooting of a businessman then in 1926 she married former co-star Lou Cody during what was rumored to be a drunken party the fact that the couple lived in separate Beverly Hills homes only added weight to the story though flagging Mabel's film career continued until ill-health forced her to retire from movies in 1927 for most of her life she suffered from tuberculosis but a recurrence of the disease in the late 20s forced her into the Pottenger sanatorium in Monrovia California and it was there on February 23rd 1930 that she died at the age of 37 funeral services were held on February 28th at the All Souls chapel in cavalry cemetery although it was supposed to be a private ceremony hundreds of gawking fans showed up to see the many Hollywood greats who attended they had come not only to say goodbye to a dear and loyal friend but to an innovator who helped advance a new art form resting beside Mabel Normand is John Ho deaq whose rugged good looks and strong persona came to represent the common working man [Music] he got his start in show business working in radio and playing bit roles in movies his big break came in 1944 when Alfred Hitchcock cast him in lifeboat as the love interest of Tallulah Bankhead because of a serious medical condition John was unable to serve in the armed forces during World War two and it was during that time he played some of his biggest parts that would have normally gone to a-listers like Clark Gable and Tyrone Power but hodie acts showed great prowess as an actor and extended his range to the theater where he earned acclaim in the part of lieutenant Steven Merrick in the Caine Mutiny court-martial opposite Henry Fonda tragically his life was cut short by a heart attack at the age of 41 but his contributions to his craft live on Irene Dunne was discovered by Hollywood while playing the part of Magnolia in Oscar Hammerstein the seconds showboat it would propel her into a long and successful career on both stage and in motion pictures she reprised the role of Magnolia on the big screen in 1936 some of her best remembered movies are those she made with Cary Grant [Music] though unquestionably a star Irene was never taken in by stardom years after leaving show business she said I drifted into acting and drifted out acting is not everything living is and she meant every word as a devout Catholic Irene was involved in numerous charitable causes while she and her husband were members of the Order of the Knights of Malta and in that tradition she raised over 20 million dollars for st. John's Hospital Irene Dunne has been described as the best actress to never win an Academy Award but for a woman of faith who believe that the only treasure that matters is what's stored in heaven she was happy just to be of service [Music] [Music] for most who come here the glitz and glamour of Hollywood is all a mirage on a barren and unforgiving desert that is littered with countless broken dreams and broken hearts hidden deep within the narrow passages of Calvary's great mausoleum is the grave of one who tasted from the cup of fame only to have it slip from her fingers by all accounts 19-year old Peggy O'Neil was on her way to great things born Barbra Jean O'Neil she came to Hollywood from San Francisco and quickly found modeling work and played small parts in a few B movies in 1944 she appeared with Jane Powell in song of the open road by then she was already in a tense relationship with 30 year-old screenwriter albert Mannheimer jr. over the next year she went on a victory bond tour of Texas and the southwest upon her return to Hollywood a contract with Paramount Studios was waiting for her but a serious quarrel with Mannheimer on the eve of the day she was to sign and did all that the next day Peggy O'Neil was found dead in her hand was an empty bottle of Seconal as the 21 year old was laid to rest the machinery that drives Hollywood never paused to consider what might have been [Music] you [Music] our tour of Calvary cemeteries Great Mausoleum is at its end I want to thank everyone who walked with me this far I hope you found your time was well spent together we visited oil magnets and movie stars and heard their stories [Music] however our exploration of this historic cemetery is far from complete to do that we must step into the sunlight and walk among the headstones but we will save that for a future date to get updates and extras on my channel you can follow me on Facebook by clicking the link in the description below and if you haven't already please subscribe now for more grave explorations [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Grave Explorations

Views: 202,805

Rating: 4.8430233 out of 5

Keywords: John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore, Charlie Chaplin, Hollywood, lou costello

Id: rkYDnzgQdmQ

Length: 61min 0sec (3660 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 21 2017