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 exploring Green Hills Memorial
Park, where we’ll find such stars as Charles Bukowski, Yokozuna, D. Boon, and many more. Join us, won’t you? Our exploration of cemeteries around Los Angeles
brings us to the very southern end of LA County, to the South Bay. Green Hills Memorial Park is in the San Pedro
area, not far from Long Beach. From these hills you can see the port of Los
Angeles off in the distance… and if you squint real hard, you might just see the Queen
Mary docked in the port. Green Hills was established in 1948 on 120
acres, a partnership between local business and community members to serve the needs of
the South Bay. As our radius outside Hollywood expands, we
won’t find as many stars here as say Westwood or Hollywood Forever, but there are a number
of notable figures here, so let’s go meet some of them. Let’s begin our tour following the main
road in on the right to Bay View Drive, stopping just past the archangel statue in the Faith
and Hope section. Here lies silent film cowboy, Bob Custer,
whose real name was Raymond Glenn. He came to Hollywood from Kentucky, and would
soon become one of the more popular Western actors of the 20s, seen in films like The
Border Whirlwind, and Santa Fe Rides… around 50 films in all. But he found difficulty performing in talkies,
and his career dwindled thereafter. By the 40s he retired from acting, and lived
to be 76, passing away from a heart attack in 1974. Backtracking to the T-intersection and Avalon
drive, we find Ocean View section on the right. Up the hill a ways we find the unmarked grave
of Glen Glenn. During the golden age of film and television,
there were few bigger names in sound than Glen Glenn. As a sound engineer he would record sound
for hundreds of film and television productions, like I Love Lucy. In 1937 he formed the Glen Glenn Sound Company,
which would work on the soundtracks to an estimated 20,000 film and television productions
over the years, shows like The Andy Griffith Show and That Girl, and films like The Ape
Man. In 1960, while visiting his home in New Brunswick
Canada, Glen and his wife were killed in an automobile accident, when their car plunged
off a dirt road into Newcastle Creek. He was 52. Let’s continue up near the top of the hill
in this same section. Just a few rows in from the road is figure
skater, Rhode Lee Michelson. In 1958 she was the US Nationals Ladies Novice
Champion, and would go on to place second in the US Junior Ladies Championship. In 1961 she was the US Ladies Senior Bronze
Medalist, earning her a spot on the US World Figure Skating Team. In February 1961 she was aboard flight 548
from New York to Brussels, along with the rest of the US figure skating team, to compete
in the World Figure Skating Championship in Prague. Tragically, the plane crashed in Belgium,
killing all 72 aboard, including the entire US figure skating team, which consisted not
only of America’s top figure skaters, but coaches as well. It was a devastating loss to the figure skating
world. Young Rhode, who had only begun to shine,
was just 17. Further east in this Ocean View section, up
the hill from Avalon Drive, is the grave of Charles Bukowski, a prolific underground author
and poet. The unapologetic, often abrasive Bukowski
wrote of the depravity of urban life and of the downtrodden in American society. His stories were often somewhat autobiographical,
featuring down-and-out writers working odd jobs, living on the fringes of society. One such character was named Hank Chinaski,
his thinly-veiled alter ego, and the anti-hero of books like Ham on Rye, and Hollywood. His novel, Hollywood, fictionalizes his experience
writing the screenplay for the film Barfly, which itself is a fictionalized account of
Bukowski’s life in Hollywood in the 60s to the 80s. Other of his writings would be made into films,
including Factotum. Throughout his career Bukowski wrote thousands
of poems, hundreds of short stories, and six novels. He summed up his philosophy on art and life
with two simple words here on his gravestone: “Don’t Try.” At face value perhaps a strange and uninspiring
message to the world from the grave… but it’s not a message of apathy. In his own succinct way, what Bukowski was
saying was don’t just try, do. Don’t TRY to be a writer… BE a writer, without coercion or commercial
ambition. And the boxer between his birth and death
dates suggests that life itself is a struggle. Charles Bukowski died from leukemia at age
73. Let’s hop back in the car and make our way
back around to Bay View drive, toward the far northeastern corner of the cemetery. Here we find one for you wrestling fans. Close to the wall is The Mighty Yokozuna,
whose real name was Rodney Anoa’i. He was a professional wrestler in the 80s
and 90s, part of the World Wrestling Federation. He was of Samoan descent, and adopted the
stage persona of Yokozuna, a reference to the highest ranking of sumo wrestling. “What do you have to do to The Undertaker
to keep him down?” “Put him in a casket and nail it shut, I
guess.” “Look at this, Yokozuna!” “Wow, that’s one way to do it!” “Tremendous impact…” Yokozuna was a two-time WWF World Heavyweight
Champion, two-time Tag Team Champion, and winner of the 1993 Royal Rumble. Rodney came from a family dynasty of wrestlers,
which includes his cousin, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. In 2000, while on an independent wrestling
tour of Europe, Rodney Anoa’i died from a pulmonary edema in his Liverpool hotel room. He was just 34. The Mighty Yokozuna was posthumously inducted
into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012. From here let’s head now to the middle of
the cemetery, to the Cypress Mausoleum. Let’s head into the Sanctuary of the Cross. Low on the wall is the niche of Adelle Davis. She was an author and nutritionist, considered
the most famous nutritionist of the mid-20th Century. She advocated for improved health through
better nutrition, consuming natural foods and vitamins. She wrote four best-selling books, “Let’s
Cook It Right”, “Let’s Have Healthy Children”, “Let’s Get Well”, and “Let’s
Eat Right To Keep Fit.” Over 10 million copies of her books have been
sold, which not only helped usher in the health craze in the 60s and 70s, have also helped
shape America’s eating habits. Adelle died from multiple myeloma at the age
of 70. A little farther down is the Cypress section
of the mausoleum. Here is the crypt of Don Terry, an actor known
for playing the clean-cut American hero on screen. He’s perhaps best remembered as Commander
Don Winslow, in Don Winslow of the Navy, and Don Winslow of the Coast Guard. Other films include Squadron of Honor. He didn’t only play war heroes on screen… Don was also a decorated war hero in real
life, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and receiving the Purple Heart. After the war he retired from acting, and
worked for StarKist Tuna. His wife Katherine was heiress of StarKist. Katherine and Don would use their wealth for
philanthropic causes, donating tens of millions of dollars to improvements at universities
like USC, The California Museum of Science and Industry, and the California Hospital
Medical Center. Ergo, you’ll see many university and hospital
facilities around southern California named for Katherine and Donald Loker. Continuing along Hillcrest Drive we reach
the Parkview Mausoleum, which bears no small resemblance to a Tuscan Villa. Let’s follow this outer terrace around to
meet John Bubbles, a great all-around entertainer. Born John Sublett, John Bubbles was well-known
as a tap dancer, actor, and singer of the Vaudeville stage in the 20s and 30s. He was half the popular stage duo of Buck
and Bubbles, the first Black artists to perform at the Radio City Music Hall, as well as the
first Black artists to perform on television, in 1936 for the BBC. Bubbles was an innovator of tap, pioneering
what he called “Rhythm Tap.” As an actor, John Bubbles originated the role
of Sportin’ Life in the 1935 premier of George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.” He can also be seen in a handful of films,
like 1937’s Varsity Show. And when a young Fred Astaire needed tap dancing
lessons, he came to Bubbles, whom he considered the finest tap dancer of his generation. Later in life he would entertain troops on
USO tours. John Bubbles died at age 84 from a cerebral
hemorrhage, and was later inducted into the Tap Hall of Fame. Back the way we came, we proceed now to the
upper terrace, to find the grave of Paul Conrad. He was an artist and cartoonist, best known
for his political cartoons. In a career that spanned some 5 decades he
skewered those in power, and defended the common man in his cartoons. Known particularly for his work at the Los
Angeles Times, his cartoons would be syndicated nationwide, and commented on social and political
issues from poverty, to civil rights, the Watergate Scandal, and the Vietnam War. Conrad’s work would earn him three Pulitzer
Prizes, and he would continue to produce cartoons right up until his death at age 86. While we’re up here let’s go check out
the interior of the Parkview Mausoleum. Moving on now to the northwest corner of the
cemetery, to the Pacifica Mausoleum. Heading into the north court we find the crypt
of Charlotte Harris. She was a cellist, who played with a number
of orchestras across the country, but is perhaps best remembered for her time playing cello
as a featured performer on the Lawrence Welk Show. She played with Welk for close to two decades,
and would also do session music for films like Around the World in 80 Days. Later in life she taught cello here in the
Palos Verdes area, living to be 89. The section just north is the Pacifica Addition. Here we find the niche of actor Lewis Collins. He’s perhaps best remembered for his tough-guy
role of Bodie in the British TV series, The Professionals, in the 70s and 80s. And his film roles include Sergeant Godley
in Jack the Ripper. Around this time Lewis Collins auditioned
for the role of James Bond, after the retirement of Roger Moore… but the role went to Timothy
Dalton. Collins also had a military career, as part
of the Parachute Regiment. He died from cancer at age 67. Let’s head back into the cemetery now, stopping
at Starlite section on the right. Here is another one for you wrestling fans,
Louie Spicolli. He was a professional wrestler in the WWF,
as Rad Radford, and later in the ECW and WCW as Louie Spicolli. Known for his use of the Death Valley Driver,
he was an AWF heavyweight champion, as well as 2x WWA World Trios Champion, with Bill
Anderson and Tim Patterson. Louie struggled off and on with drug abuse
throughout his life. On February 15, 1998, he overdosed, and choked
in his own vomit in his sleep, passing away at age 27. He was posthumously inducted into the Southern
California Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. Back to the T-intersection let’s take a
right onto Green Hills drive, and stop at the Resurrection Slope on the right. Here rests William Joseph Clarke. He was one of the great blues harmonica players,
known for his use of the amplified harmonica. William performed in clubs around the Los
Angeles area, and released a number of albums, including the hit, “Must Be Jelly.” [music]
Clarke was just 45 when he died from a bleeding ulcer, after a performance in Fresno. Just a hop across the street southwest is
the Garden of Reflection. Here lies Pola Illery, real name Paula Gibson. The Romanian-born actress is known for her
portrayal of Vamps in silent and early talkie films. Her career began in Romania and France, starring
in films like Under the Roofs of Paris and Parada Paramount. At the time she was considered Romania’s
most exotic star. After making Le Tombeau Hindou in 1938 she
fled Europe to escape Nazism, and retired from acting. During the war she worked as a nurse for the
Red Cross. Pola lived to be 83. Let’s make our way around the wall to the
courtyard to the south. Here we find Barbara Slater. Fans of The Three Stooges will recognize her
from two films of the era, Three Smart Saps and Half-Wits Holiday. “Good evening Miss Lulu.” “My, but you look charming.” “Why thank you, boys, you look charming
too.” She also appeared alongside Charlie Chaplin
in Monsieur Verdoux, and gave a memorable performance in the film The Lady Confesses. She quit acting in 1947 but spent her later
years as a theater and dance instructor for the Pasadena Playhouse. She lived to be 76. Barbara was married to actor Robert Foulk. He had close to 300 credits to his name, including
as Mr. Wheeler on Green Acres, and Sheriff Miller in the Lassie series. He also made multiple appearances on shows
like The Loretta Young Show, and Bonanza. Robert lived to be 80. Our next stop brings us to the Churchyard. Whereas most of Green Hills follows the memorial
park style, this little Churchyard here calls back to the old school churchyards one would
see on the east coast or back in England. Here in the churchyard, we find the grave
of Annie Montrose Hagins, who was often credited as Montrose Hagins. As an actress she’s perhaps best remembered
for her role as Miz Coretta Jackson in the Famous Jett Jackson series and TV Movie, and
as Grandmother Davis in Homefront. And on film she can be seen as Grandma Jenks
in Coming to America, and Bess in Say Anything. Annie didn’t start acting until she was
in her 60s, prior to which she was an elementary school teacher in Gary, Indiana. She was also a civil rights activist, and
board member of St Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Her exact birth year is disputed, but Annie
Montrose Hagins lived into her 90s. Before we move on, let’s take a moment to
remember those who served their country and communities. For our last stop of the day, we make our
way around and north to Lakeview Lawn. Up the hill a short ways is D Boon. In 1980 D Boon formed the punk rock band,
Minutemen, a pioneering group of alternative rock. Boon was singer, songwriter and guitarist
for the band. During their five-year career the Minutemen
recorded four albums and eight EPs. Among there popular tracks was “This Ain’t
No Picnic.” [music]
And if you’re a fan of Jackass, you’ll recognize their track “Corona” as the
main theme of the show and movies. [music]
The band continued until December 22, 1985, when Boon was killed in a van accident in
the Arizona desert. He was just 27…another tragic entry in the
27 Club. After the death of D Boon, the Minutemen disbanded. 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! Remember me with a smile. May that someday be said of all of us.
