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're heading back
to Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills, to visit such stars as
Penny Marshall, Nipsey Hussle, Scott Wilson, and many more.
Join us, won't you? We're back again where it all started
nearly three years ago. Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the
Hollywood Hills. One of nearly a dozen Forest Lawn Cemetery in Southern
California, Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills is adjacent to several of the major
studios, including Disney, and Warner Bros. In fact before these grounds
were consecrated as a cemetery in the 50s, in the early days of Hollywood you'd
see film crews shooting movies right here amidst these hills. This is the
fifth installment of our series on Forest Lawn Hollywood, so if you haven't
done so already, be sure to check out parts one through four. Let's begin our
tour in the section just right of the entrance, Sheltering Hills. About halfway
up we find a Disney Legend, Buddy Baker. He was a composer known mainly for his
work at Disney, his films including the Fox and the Hound, The Many Adventures of
Winnie the Pooh, and Napoleon and Samantha, for which he earned an Oscar
nomination. If you're a fan of Disneyland you may know this year marks the 50th
anniversary of the Haunted Mansion. Buddy Baker wrote the music for the Haunted
Mansion, including the song "Grim Grinning Ghosts" with lyrics by X Atencio. Later in
life he taught music at USC, mentoring the next generation of film composers. Back a few rows to the south is the
grave of Stephen J Cannell. He was a writer and a television producer, writing
and helming a number of the popular shows in the 70s to the 90s, including
The Rockford Files, the A-Team, 21 Jump Street, The Commish, and more. He was also a novelist whose
work includes the Shayne Scully mystery series. He was 69 when he died from
complications of melanoma. I don't know for sure what the numbers 1-4-3 mean,
but in numerology 1-4-3 stands for "I love you," being the number of letters in
each word. Across the street to the east is the churchyard section, not far from
the White Church. In from the road a few rows is one of Hollywood's strange
actors, Glenn Strange. While perhaps not as well remembered as Bela Lugosi or
Boris Karloff, Glenn strange is considered an icon of Hollywood horror.
In the 1940s he took over the role as Frankenstein's monster in the Universal
horror films, and was even coached by his predecessor Boris Karloff. Outside of the
horror genre he could often be seen in westerns, like Sam the bartender in
Gunsmoke in over 200 episodes. He died of lung cancer at the age of 74. Let's continue down Memorial Drive and stop back again at Sheltering Hills
on the right. Half way up the hill we find the final
resting place of Bobby Fuller. He was one of rock and roll's early rising stars.
With his group the Bobby Fuller Four he had a major hit in the 60s with "I Fought
the Law." [music] Bobby's untimely death at the age of 23
remains one of Hollywood's unsolved mysteries. Within months of "I Fought the
Law" becoming a hit he was found dead in his car outside his Hollywood apartment.
The scene wreaked of gasoline, Bobby's body bruised up, an empty gas can in the
cab. The medical examiner checked both the
suicide and accidental boxes on his report, with a question mark next to each.
The official cause of death was listed as suicide by asphyxiation of gasoline
fumes, but no one close to him believed that a man at the height of his success
would kill himself. Later the cause of death was changed to accidental, but a
third theory has also emerged that he was murdered because of business
dealings gone wrong with the Mafia. All these years later the trail has gone
cold and we may never know for sure. Shows like Unsolved Mysteries and E!'s
Mysteries and Scandals have explored the mysterious death of Bobby Fuller. Back to Memorial Drive, just past the
intersection, on the left is Eternal Love section. A few rows in we find Joseph
Kearns. He was an actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Mr. Wilson in
the Dennis the Menace television series in the 50s and 60s. He appeared in many
of the other great TV shows of the era including the George Burns and Gracie
Allen Show, The Jack Benny Program, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
You could also hear his voice as the door knob in Disney's Alice in
Wonderland. Let's cross the street straight west
to Enduring Faith. Between a statue and a tree is the still unmarked grave of Barbara Hale. She was
an actress best remembered today for her role as secretary Della Street in the TV
series Perry Mason in over 200 episodes and several made-for-tv movies. The role
earned her an Emmy. She can also be seen in movies like Airport and the Window.
She lived to be 94. Barbara is interred next to her husband actor Bill Williams,
whose real name was Herman Katt. He played the title role in the early TV Western,
The Adventures of Kit Carson in the 1950s. He also appeared in a number of B
movies, including in The Giant Spider Invasion, with his wife Barbara. Let's double back to the intersection and turn left up Evergreen Drive. If we stop
on the right just before a trash bin we find the very top of Sheltering Hills
section. In a few rows is Vic Tayback. He was an actor known for his role as diner
owner Mel Sharples in the TV sitcom Alice, and in the movie Alice Doesn't
Live Here Anymore. The role earned him two Golden Globes. He
appeared in many of the great shows of the 60s and 70s as well as films
including Bullitt and All Dogs Go to Heaven, as the voice of Carface. He was
just 60 when he died from a heart attack. Let's continue around Evergreen Drive
until we reach the border of Hillside section. Heading up the hill we find the
grave of Freddie Perren. He was a songwriter and producer who co-wrote and
produced a number of popular songs in the 70s, perhaps most notably "I Will
Survive" sung by Gloria Gaynor. [music] And "Shake Your Groove Thing,"
performed by Peaches and Herb. [music] He would also pen a number of the Jackson 5's hits
like "ABC," and the song that would become a hit for Boyz II Men, "It's Hard to Say
Goodbye to Yesterday." And in 1977 he co-produced one of the best-selling
movie soundtracks of all time, Saturday Night Fever. Continuing east further down
Hillside section let's stop just before the intersection. Up the hill a short
ways is the grave of Vernon Dent. He was an actor who got his start in silent era
comedies at Mack Sennett's studio. He achieved his greatest success doing
two-reel comedies at Columbia Pictures perhaps best remembered for his
association with the Three Stooges. He appeared in close to a hundred films
with the Stooges, more than any other supporting actor. In total Dent has some
438 acting credits to his name. Let's turn left down Crystal Lane. On the
right just next to the road is the final resting place of Nicolette Larson. She
was a 70s pop singer known for her work accompanying Neil Young and the
chart-topping 1978 hit, "Lotta Love." [music] In 1997 Nicolette died from
complications of a cerebral edema triggered by liver failure.
She was just 45. Down at the corner of Crystal Lane
and Memorial Drive on the right is animator Jack Hannah,
not to be confused with the wildlife expert of the
same name. Jack Hannah was one of the preeminent animation directors at Disney
in the 40s to the 60s. He directed most of the Donald Duck & Chip and Dale
cartoons during this era, as well as the fan favorite Lambert the Sheepish Lion.
After Disney he went over to Walter Lantz's studio to work on Woody
Woodpecker. In 1992 he was honored as a Disney Legend. Let's continue south east
along this same section, Murmuring Trees. Across the street west of the Old North
Church we find the grave of voice actress Janet Waldo. Her epitaph reads, "A
lifelong teenager," an allusion to her many roles voicing teenage girls on
radio and in cartoons, including the title character in Meet Corliss Archer,
and Judy Jetson in the Jetsons. "Ricky Rocket is taking me to school." "Well I know dear... but on a spaceboard?" "Sure. Didn't you ever you ever space ski
to school when you were a kid, mom? Wheeeee!!" Other shows she lent her voice to
include The Flintstones, The Addams Family, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The
Smurfs, and many more. She lived to be 97. Following the road around we reach the
southern end of Murmuring Trees. In from the road several rows we find the
world's most spectacular stunt man, Dar Robinson. He was known for being fearless
in his stunts, particularly his high falls. He made a splash - pun intended - when
he doubled for Steve McQueen in a 100-foot jump off a cliff into the sea
for 1972's Papillon. His most amazing stunt was doubling for Christopher
Plummer in the conclusion of High Point where he fell 700 feet from the CN Tower
in Toronto, with a concealed parachute deployed at the last second. The stunt
earned him the largest salary at the time for a stuntman, $100,000. Dar's stunts
were always well planned and he never broke a bone in his Hollywood career,
until 1986 on the set of Million Dollar Mystery, Robinson was filming a
high-speed motorcycle run and overshot his breaking point, and went over the
cliff to his death. He became the first stuntman to have a movie dedicated to
him. The last three films he worked on were dedicated to his memory:
Cyclone, Lethal Weapon, and Million Dollar Mystery. In 1987 a documentary was made
about his life, The Ultimate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson. Let's continue further west along
Murmuring Trees. Several rows down the hill we find bodybuilder Rich Piana. He
began his career winning a number of bodybuilding titles and soon expanded
his brand with his own nutrition product line, Rich Piana 5% Nutrition. Later in
his career he became a popular social media personality, particularly on
YouTube and Instagram, known for his intense personality and massive physique.
He used his platform to inspire and motivate his followers to success in all
aspects of life, not just fitness. He admitted to using steroids in his career,
but discouraged others from doing so, acknowledging the damage they were doing
to his body. In 2017 he collapsed in his home, hit by a sudden cardiac arrest. He
was placed in a medically induced coma but died weeks later at the age of 46. Straight across the street South is
Bright Eternity. Up a few spaces from the road is the grave of Keely Smith. She was
a jazz and popular music singer who performed extensively in the 50s with
then husband Louis Prima, including the hit "That Old Black Magic." [music] They would also
appear together in the film Hey Boy! Hey Girl! in 1959. In the following decades she would
become a popular solo artist. She died of heart failure at the age of 89. Let's circle around to the east side of this same section. Fans of The Walking Dead
will recognize this next name, Scott Wilson. The actor played beloved
patriarch Hershel Greene in AMC's zombie series from 2011 to 2014. "I teach you how
to do this, you teach Carl. We're going to be here a while." "But they need me." "We've been here two months.
You've made it work. The war is over, Rick." "We don't know that." Other shows he appeared
in include The X-Files, and The OA. On film he's perhaps best remembered for
his roles in The Ninth Configuration, and Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.
He died from leukemia at the age of 76. South of here is the Lincoln Terrace.
Next to her brother Garry we find pioneering filmmaker and actress Penny
Marshall. As an actress she's perhaps best remembered for her role as Laverne
in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley. The L here on her marker is a reference to her
character. [music] In the 80s penny would shift some of her
focus to directing, following in the footsteps of early female pioneers in
Hollywood like Ida Lupino, Penny Marshall would forge new ground for female
directors becoming the first to direct a movie that grossed over a hundred
million dollars. The movie was Big, in 1988. And a few years later she had
another hundred million dollar hit, A League of Their Own. Other films include
Awakenings and The Preacher's Wife. She made us laugh until dying at the
age of 75 in 2018. Across the courtyard to the south,
just southeast of the mural, is a bench commemorating
Ernest Borgnine. The beloved actor won an Oscar for his role
in Marty in 1955, and can be seen in other classic films including From Here
to Eternity. On television he found success as the title character in
McHale's Navy, which ran from 1962 to 1966. Younger audiences will recognize
him as the voice of Mermaid Man on SpongeBob SquarePants. After his death in
2012 at the age of 95 Borgnine was reportedly cremated, this memorial bench
placed here in his honor. East of here is the place we've been
many times before, the Court of Liberty section. Let's head past the Washington
Monument toward the Birth of Liberty mosaic. On the left is the grave of Rex
Ingram, an actor not to be confused with the director of the same name. Ingram is
perhaps best remembered, as you can tell from his epitaph, for his role as De Lawd
in the 1936 film The Green Pastures. His powerful presence and voice became his
biggest asset. Other film roles include Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn alongside Mickey Rooney, and as the genie in the Thief of Bagdad. In 1962 he
became the first black actor to be hired for a contract role on a soap opera, on
The Brighter Day. Ingram died of a heart attack at the age of 73. Heading around to the next
garden area south and left, in the little garden of special
moments, we find the grave of Reinhold Weege. He was a television writer and
producer known for creating one of the most popular sitcoms of the 80s and 90s,
Night Court. [music] He also wrote for other sitcoms,
including Barney Miller. His work earned him four Emmy nominations. Back to the main sidewalk
and one tier further in, on the left we find the grave of Bill
Paxton. We visited Bill in part four of our series but at the time his grave was
unmarked. Since then this beautiful bronze marker has been placed. Paxton was
an actor who starred in some of the biggest films of the 80s and 90s,
including Aliens, Apollo 13, Twister, and Titanic. Later in his career
he won accolades for his role playing polygamist Bill Henrickson
on HBO's Big Love. Paxton died at the age of 61 following
complications during heart surgery. Just a few spaces away we find Al Jarreau.
He was a Grammy winning singer and musician perhaps best known for his 1981 album
Breakin Away, which included the hit song "Were in This Love Together." He also had a
hit in the theme song to the 1980s TV show, Moonlighting. [music] Jarreau died of respiratory failure at the
age of 76. East of here is the Gardens of Heritage. Here we find the final resting
place of Nipsey Hussle. Born Ermias Asghedom,
Nipsey Hussle was a rapper whose name was inspired by a legendary comedian, Nipsey Russell. After releasing
a number of popular mixtapes Nipsey Hussle released his first
commercial studio album in 2018, Victory Lap. It was nominated for Best Rap Album
at the 2019 Grammys. Hussle's last single recorded during his life was "Racks
in the Middle," which has since earned him a posthumous Grammy nomination. Tragically, hustle was shot and killed in
the parking lot of his own store a short time later, on March 31st 2019. He was 33.
During his life Nipsey Hussle had been actively involved in entrepreneurship
and community activism. He opened his Marathon Clothing store in South LA,
wanting to invest in and provide opportunities for the community where he
was raised. He denounced gun violence and helped fund improvements to neighborhood
schools, including opening a workspace for science, technology, engineering, and
math - bridging the gap between Silicon Valley and the inner city. The day after
hustle was shot and killed he had been scheduled to meet with the LA Police
Commissioner and Jay-Z's Roc Nation to discuss what they could do to prevent
gun violence in South LA. Hussle's legacy will therefore continue to reach
far beyond just his music. As of filming, his grave is unmarked. Let's leave the
Court of Liberty section and head to a part of the cemetery we've never been to
before. In the far eastern corner of the cemetery is Peaceful Memory.
Up the hill quite a ways we find the grave of Tony Jay. He made appearances on a
number of television shows, including Lois & Clark, The Golden Girls,
and Twin Peaks. On film he can be seen in the movie Twins. And his baritone voice also
made him a popular voice actor, perhaps most notably as the evil Frollo in
Hunchback of Notre Dame, and as Monsieur D'Arque in Beauty and the Beast. You can get
a sense of just how big Forest Lawn is by these driving segments. Boy, thank
goodness for time lapse videography. Passing north of the Court of
Remembrance we reach Homeward section on the right. Up a few rows is Jack Perrin,
another of early Hollywood's western stars. He got his start in the silent era
specializing in melodrama and serial films before finding his niche in
B-movie westerns of the 30s. As his film career faded he found regular work in
television in the 60s, racking up over four hundred credits throughout his
career. Let's cross the road north east to the Vale of Peace. Just in from the
road we find one of Hollywood's tallest actors ever, Lock Martin. His height was
estimated to be as tall as 7 feet 7 inches. He was working as a doorman at
Grauman's Chinese Theatre when he was discovered and cast as the towering
robot, Gort, in the 1951 sci-fi film The Day the
Earth Stood Still. Other roles include as a giant and The Incredible Shrinking Man,
and, you guessed it, as a giant in an episode of Peter Gunn. He was just 42
when he died, and due to his incredible height required two adjacent plots to be
interred here - this one and this one. For the last stretch of our tour here
today we'll be back up at the beautiful Courts of Remembrance. Be sure to take
some time to admire the art and statuary here. Reaching the southeast most
Courtyard we head into the Sanctuary of Treasured Love. Here is the crypt of
James Ingram. He was a singer and songwriter who found success in the 80's
and 90's. He had a number of popular duets including "Baby Come to Me," with
Patti Austin, and "Somewhere Out There" with Linda Ronstadt for the movie An
American Tale. [music] As a solo performer his biggest hit was
1990s "I Don't Have the Heart.' [music] He also wrote and co-wrote a number of
popular songs, including Michael Jackson's "PYT." His work earned him two
Grammys and two Oscar nominations for Best Original Song.
It was brain cancer that would eventually take his life
at the age of 66. Let's head back out into the courtyard, past Debbie and Carie who we
visited in part four, and reach the far side where Roger Smith is laid to rest.
Smith was an actor perhaps best remembered for his role in the 50s and
60s crime drama, 77 Sunset Strip, as Jeff Spencer. He also starred in the comedy
series, Mr. Roberts. He was married to actress Ann-Margret, serving as her
manager after he left acting. Finally we head out to the southern wall of this
courtyard to find the world's greatest bass singer, Melvin Franklin, whose real
name was David English. Franklin was a founding member of the Motown singing
group The Temptations, which rose to fame in the 60s. They had a number of
chart-topping hits, including "I Wish it Would Rain," and "My Girl." [music] The Temptations were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and are considered one of the top performing
groups of all time. Franklin suffered from rheumatoid
arthritis and diabetes, and after experiencing a series of seizures he
passed away in 1995 at the age of 52. 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! No trip Forest Lawn would be
complete without a visit to our deer friends... Get it?
"Deer" friends?
