Welcome to Hollywood Graveyard, where we
set out to remember and celebrate the lives of those who lived to entertain us,
by visiting their final resting places. Today we conclude our tour of Calvary
Cemetery, where we'll find the Costello family, Ramon Navarro, Ted Healy, and many more. Join us, won't you? For this last stretch of our tour of
Calvary we'll be visiting sites across the grounds of the cemetery, which spans
over 130 acres in East LA. Alongside the numerous tombstones are
several small family mausoleums, and a beautiful chapel: the All Souls
Chapel, built in 1902. It was modeled after a rural parish church in
Buckinghamshire, England, and for many years was one of the most visited houses
of worship in LA. Along the main road are the Stations of the Cross. As visitors
tour the cemetery they can follow the path Christ took to Mount Calvary on the
day of his crucifixion. Take your time as you stroll the grounds of Calvary. Just about every monument here is a work of art, a beautiful tribute to a life lived. If you haven't done so already,
be sure to check out part 1. We'll begin our tour just in along the
main road on the right, in Section H. Right at the base of a tree is Hunt
Stromberg. During Hollywood's golden age he produced some of MGM's most memorable
films, including The Women, The Great Ziegfeld, and the Thin Man series. He also produced the popular Jeanette MacDonald /Nelson Eddy musicals, and several Jean Harlow films. In the 30s he was one of the top producers in all of Hollywood. Continuing north along this main road
then right at the intersection we find Cedric Gibbons right next to the road. He
was one of early Hollywood's most influential and important production
designers and art directors. He worked mainly for MGM designing films such as The Wizard of Oz, Little Women, and An American in Paris. He was nominated for
an Academy Award and astounding 39 times winning 11 - fitting as Gibbons was
actually the man who designed the Oscar Statuette. Across the street to the north
is the grave of J. Carol Naish. He was a character actor perhaps best remembered
for his role in 1943's Sahara, alongside Humphrey Bogart. The role earned him an
Academy Award nomination. He can also be seen as Dr. Daka on the Batman serial,
and can be heard on radio in the popular CBS series Life with Luigi. His final
role was as Dr. Frankenstein in Dracula vs. Frankenstein. Turning right past the
small family mausoleums, a short distance south, is Section C on the left. In a ways from the road is the Friganza family mausoleum, where Trixie Friganza is entombed. She began her career as an operetta soubrette, then began touring
with theatre companies in the late 1800s, in an era when stage performing was
considered just a step above prostitution. She worked mostly in
musical comedy which helped her transition easily into vaudeville in the
early 1900's. She became one of the most popular comedic stage performers of the
era, her act often revolving around her plus-size figure, which she referred to
as a "perfect 46." While she did have a handful of roles in film, the stage was
her true home for most of her life. She was very active in social movements,
particularly women's rights, the suffrage movement, and the promotion of a positive
body self-image for women. Several rows north of the Friganza mausoleum is the grave of Ramon Navarro. After the death of Rudolph Valentino, Mexican actor Ramon Navarro inherited the role as the prominent Latin Lover and exotic male
sex symbol in Hollywood. He played the title role in Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Here he is racing Francis X Bushman in the infamous chariot race. Other films include The Cat and the
Fiddle, and Mata Hari. Novarro lived at odds with his Catholic faith and his homosexuality. In 1968 at the age of 69 he was beaten to death in his home by
two young brothers who had offered their sexual services, but in reality intended
to rob him. They tortured Novarro for a large sum of money they erroneously
believed he had stashed. All they got was $20 leaving Navarro for dead. Back to the road let's head to the southernmost point of this lawn. Near the road is the
grave of Beatrice Dominguez. She was Rudolph Valentino's dance partner in one of Hollywood's most legendary dance scenes, in 1921's The Four Horsemen of
the Apocalypse. They introduced us to the tango, the first time the sultry dance
was seen in American cinema. Sadly she died from complications of
appendicitis at just 24. Continuing around and back
north we arrive at section D on the left. Heading in a ways, just past a small
tree, we find the Costello family, who, along side the Barrymore's, were one of
the great family of entertainers in early Hollywood. Matriarch Mae Costello
was an actress who appeared on stage in the late 19th century and a handful of
films in the early 20th century. Her films include The Joys of the Jealous Wife, which she also wrote. She was just 47 when she died. Mae was married to Maurice Costello, also an actor. He began his career on stage on
Broadway before moving into film in the early 1900s, first with Edison in 1905,
then Vitagraph in 1907. Soon he would become one of the most successful actors
of the silent era, and one of Hollywood's first matinee idols. Some of his popular
films include A Tale of Two Cities, and The Crimson Stain Mystery. His career
diminished, however, like so many others at the dawn of the talkies. Maurice
helped launch the career of Moe Howard, discovering the young actor at the Vitagraph studio. The Costellos had two daughters who also became actresses. Elder daughter Dolores Costello was known as the Goddess of the Silver
Screen. And like her father was one of silent films first matinee idols. She
began acting in small roles alongside her father, but her first major hit was
the 1926 film the Sea Beast, alongside John Barrymore. The film was a smash hit
making Dolores a star. And the chemistry between Dolores and Barrymore
was palpable - so intense was one kissing scene that Dolores actually fainted in
Barrymore's arms. Dolores married the much older John
Barrymore, who was actually several months older than her mother. They
divorced in 1935 due to Barrymore's excessive drinking. At the advent of
sound pictures the fact that she spoke with a lisp became an issue, and she
worked for two years with a speech therapist to rid herself of the lisp, to
continue her career into the talkies in films like The Magnificent Ambersons.
Dolores was the mother of actor John Drew Barrymore, and the grandmother of actress Drew Barrymore. Also buried here, in an unmarked grave, is Helene Costello. Like her sister, Helene began acting as a child in films with her father. She found
stardom in the 20s, signing with Warner Bros. She starred
in the first all-talking feature film, Lights of New York, in 1928. "Oh, another bootleg murder. You see, that's why I want you to quit that business. Sooner or later the cops are going to find out that your barber shop is only a speak-easy. There's so many other things you could do, Eddie." "Oh I know it, darling, and I
am gonna quit, and when I do you quit that nightclub too." "Oh, you're right. I don't wanna work there any longer than I have to." Her career waned in
the 30s due partly to mounting personal problems, and she made her last film
appearance in 1942's The Black Swan. in 1957 she was admitted to a hospital for drug addiction, and died two days later of pneumonia. She was only 50. It was said that Lou Costello, who he visited in part 1, changed his name from Cristillo to
Costello as a nod to Helene. Back to the road we continue north just past the chapel to section F on the left. Near the middle of this lawn is the grave of Ted Healy. He is the man we have to thank for giving the world the Stooges. He was a
vaudevillian and one of the most influential comedic performers of early
Hollywood, innovating the slapstick style of comedy that came to be associated
with the Stooges. In the early 20s he teamed up with his childhood friend Moe
Howard, Moe's brother Shemp, and Larry Fine to create Ted Healy and his Stooges.
Their first film together was 1930's Soup to Nuts.
A few years later Shemp was replaced by younger brother Curly, and in 1934 the
act was dissolved when Moe, Larry, and Curly signed with Columbia as the Three
Stooges. After the Stooges Healy would go on to a
successful film career with roles in movies like San Francisco and Mad Love. The events surrounding his death in 1937 at the age of 41 remained somewhat
uncertain to this day. On December 21st Healy was out celebrating the birth of
his son at the Trocadero on the Sunset Strip. He got into a drunken altercation
with a number of men that evening that left him quite battered. One report
identified the men as "college fellows," while another claimed the men were
Wallace Beery, Albert Broccoli, and Pat DiCicco. Healy was treated and driven
home but never regained full consciousness, dying the next day. The
official cause of death was given as toxic nephritis due to chronic
alcoholism. with no mention made of the assault. Let's head all the way to the
northernmost region of the cemetery, section K. Near the middle of this lawn, in line
with a tree to the West, is the unmarked grave of Lincoln Perry, whose stage name
was Stepin Fetchit. His grave is hard to find but look for the marker for his
father, Joseph Perry... Lincoln is below. Stepin Fetchit was, and remains to this
day, a controversial figure in cinema. He's considered to be Hollywood's first
black movie star, the first to receive screen credit, and the first black actor
to earn a million dollars. Perry devised the moniker Stepin Fetchit on
vaudeville, and got his Hollywood break in the 1927 film In Old Kentucky,
alongside Helene Costello. The character of Stepin Fetchit was an unfortunate product of racist stereotypes of the era: a bumbling, shiftless fool, billed as the
laziest man in the world. "What y'all bring that big box in here for? We ain't got enough candy to fit in a box that big." "This is not for candy. This happens to be a coffin." "A coffin? Ain't nobody dead in here, is there?" "Are you sure?" "Sure I'm sure. I know I feel alright." His character became immensely popular
in comedies in the 30s, but as the position of blacks in Hollywood and
society began to rise, and at the dawn of the civil rights movement, Perry began to
experience negative backlash from the black community for his character as
being a negative and harmful stereotype. He was at odds with civil rights leaders
who singled him out for the roles he portrayed. To this day there are those
who criticize Perry for his roles and depiction, while others celebrate him as
a pioneer of black cinema who opened the door for black comedians to follow.
Despite the controversy of his character, Perry was an intelligent and talented
man who found success on a playing field heavily skewed against blacks, and even
fought - albeit unsuccessfully - for equal treatment and pay for black performers.
In 1974 he was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Continuing around, then right, we find
section L on the right. Several spaces north of the road is the grave of Francelia Billington. She was a silent film star acting mainly in westerns and melodramas. Her best-known role is in Erich von Stroheim silent masterpiece, Blind Husbands. Her talents extended behind camera as
well, serving as camera operator on a number of silent films. She died of
tuberculosis at the age of 39. Following this road west it turns south. On the left is section N. A ways in from the road, right at the base of a tree, is
Jelly Roll Morton. He was a popular ragtime and jazz musician in the early
20th century. His career began at age 14 as a piano player in a New Orleans
brothel. Soon he became a touring musician where he would establish
himself as a pioneer of early jazz... an innovator of jazz arranging and
composition. His hits include Jelly Roll Blues, considered the first published
jazz composition, published in 1915. Further south along this road we reach a
series of garden mausoleums on the right. In the second one, block five, we find the
crypt of John Macchia, or Ma-keya, as the Italians would say. He is best known as
one of Eric von Zipper's rat-pack gang members in the Beach Party movies
in the 60s. He also had roles in several Jerry Lewis films like The Disorderly
Orderly. His career was cut short when he died of a stroke at just thirty-five. Finally we head to the next mausoleum south, block 14. Way up at the top is the
crypt of Hal Roach Jr. He was the son of legendary comedy producer Hal Roach, who gave us Laurel and Hardy and the "Our Gang" films. Junior became a filmmaker like
his father, co-directing Victor Mature and Carol Landis in 1 Million BC. He also produced TV shows like
My Little Margie, and Blondie. And that concludes our tour!
What are some of your favorite memories of the stars we visited today? Share them in the comments below, and be sure to like, share, and subscribe for more famous
grave tours. Thanks for watching, we'll see you on the next one. You guys want to see what Santa Claus brought me for Christmas? A new hat. What do you think? Thank You Santa.
