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 Mount Sinai
Memorial Park where we'll find such stars as Don Rickles, Cass Elliot, Norman
Fell, and many more. Join us won't you? Mount Sinai is a Jewish cemetery located
in the Hollywood Hills. It's the next-door neighbor of Forest
Lawn Hollywood, and in fact was originally established in 1953 by Forest
Lawn. A few years later it became a Jewish cemetery and in the mid-60s was
acquired by Sinai Temple of Los Angeles. there are many notable monuments and
works of art throughout the cemetery, the most iconic of which is the large
Heritage Mosaic, which is comprised of more than two and a half million
individually hand-cut pieces of Venetian glass, and it depicts a panorama of the
Jewish experience in America. Another powerful monument is the Memorial to the
Six Million - a Holocaust Memorial. Mount Sinai is a medium-sized Cemetery, so we'll be breaking this tour up into two parts. We'll begin our tour just in from the
entrance in the Canaan section on the right. Nearly all the way to the wall is
actor Harold J. Stone. While never a leading man he was a staple on film and
TV in the 60s and 70s. He had roles in films like Spartacus and The Chapman
Report, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He made guest appearances on
nearly all the popular TV shows of the era, including The Untouchables,
Bonanza, and The Twilight Zone. Turning left onto Covenant Way we find
the Maimonides section on the left. North of a waste bin we find the grave of
Harry Wilson. He was an actor, proudly self proclaimed as Hollywood's
ugliest man. He parlayed his distinctive mug into roles on film and television,
often as henchman or thugs. He can be seen in films like Some Like It Hot,
1 Million BC, and Frankenstein's Daughter. Earlier in his career he also served as
Wallace Beery's stand-in. Let's head back to Mt. Sinai Drive and the Canaan section. Several spaces up from the road is the grave of Helen Forrest. She was
the girl singer of several of the popular big bands of the swing era
including, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and Harry James bands. [music] As of filming her marker is still
temporary. Continuing around this road we find the Garden of Shemot on the left.
Let's head into this garden. North of the first wall, right near a tree, is the grave of Lee J. Cobb. He was one of Hollywood's great character actors often playing burly, intimidating characters. He can be seen in The Exorcist, On the
Waterfront, and 12 Angry Men. "What's the matter with you guys? You all know he's guilty! He's got to burn! You're letting him slip through our fingers." "Slip through our fingers? Are you his
executioner?" "I'm one of them." "Perhaps you'd like to pull the switch." "For this kid you bet I would." "I feel sorry for you. What it must feel like to want to pull the switch. Ever since you walked into this room you've been acting like a self-appointed public Avenger. You want to see this boy die because you
personally want it not because of the facts." He was nominated for two Oscars in
his career, for On the Waterfront, and The Brothers Karamazov. He could also be seen on stage as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. Across the street to the south are the Gardens of Heritage. Let's had past the Heritage Mosaic to the west. On this small lawn in the
corner we find a legendary comedian Phil Silvers. He was known as the king of
chutzpah, and is perhaps best remembered for his role as Sergeant Bilko in the
popular 50s TV comedy The Phil Silvers Show. The role earned him an Emmy. "The Phil Silvers Show. You'll Never get Rich. Starring Phil Silvers. He could also be seen on Broadway in shows like Top Banana, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, both of which earned him a Tony Award. On the wall of niches to the left we find Norman Fell. He is perhaps best
remembered as Mr. Roper on the 70 sitcom Three's Company, and a spin-off, The
Ropers. The role earned him a Golden Globe. [music] He also had minor roles in films
like Bullitt and the Graduate. Let's head back to the courtyard behind the Heritage Mural. On the lawn at the right side is the grave of actress Frances Bay. She is best remembered for playing sweet little old ladies, like Adam Sandler's
grandma in Happy Gilmore, and Aunt Barbara in Blue Velvet. She also has the distinction of being the woman Jerry Seinfeld mugged for her marble rye bread. "You cannot turn down $50 for a $6 rye." "No? Watch me!" "Give me that rye!"
-"Stop it!" "I want that rye, lady!" "Stop! Someone help!" "Shut up, you old bag!" "Thief! He stole my marble rye!" On the east side of this lawn is the
grave of actress Bonnie Franklin. She's perhaps best remembered for her
lead role in the long-running 70s sitcom One Dat at a Time, where she played a
single mother raising two daughters. The role earned her two Golden Globe
nominations. [music] On the wall of crypts behind Bonnie we
find comedienne Totie Fields. She was a popular stand-up comedian in the 60s and 70s, and was a frequent guest on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and the
Hollywood Squares. Let's head right and take the world's slowest elevator up to the second level. Anyone seen any good movies lately? Okay, and we're off. Oh, that wasn't so bad after all. Here we are at level 2. Not yet? Okay. Level two. Any minute now. Finally! Near the middle of this wall on the right is the crypt of Irwin Allen. He was a filmmaker known
for disaster flicks of the 70s, like The Poseidon Adventure and Towering Inferno, which earned him an Oscar nomination. He also created several television series, including Lost In Space. Two spaces left is composer David Rose.
He wrote the themes for several popular television shows including Bonanza,
Little House on the Prairie, and Highway to Heaven. As a songwriter perhaps his
biggest hit was the 1958 tune "The Stripper," played just about any time you saw stripper on screen for decades to follow. Rose was also the first husband of Judy
Garland. Back to the road let's head a short distance east to the Garden of
Blessings section. Next to the sidewalk is the grave of Iwao Takamoto. He was one of the great animators of the 20th Century. He was born in Los Angeles and
on the onset of World War II he and his family were interned in the Manzanar
camp in California. He learned illustration from fellow internees. After the war he began to work for Disney, where he would design characters for
films including Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp. After Disney he went to Hanna-Barbera, where he designed characters like
Scooby-Doo, and directed Charlotte's Web. Let's head to the next courtyard east. Near the southeast corner of this courtyard is Cass Elliot, also known as
Mama Cass. She was a singer, best known as a member of the Mamas and the Papas whose biggest hit was "California Dreamin'." [music] She also had a successful solo career,
with hits like "Dream a Little Dream of Me." She struggled with obesity much of
her life, and died of heart failure at just 32. Contrary to urban legend she
did not choke to death on a ham sandwich. Heading toward the next courtyard east,
on the outer wall that faces west, we find the crypt of actor Hershel Bernardi
just below eye level. He played lieutenant Jacoby on Peter
Gunn, and Arnie on Arnie, and could be seen on Broadway as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. He also lent his voice to popular ad campaigns, like the Jolly
Green Giant, Charlie the Tuna,
-"Tell 'em Charlie sent ya." and Tootsie Roll. "How many licks does it take to get the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop? The world may never know." Finally we continue east to the first Court of Tanach, just
before the parking lot. All the way down on the left is the final resting place
of one of the 20th century's most enduring and beloved comedians, Don
Rickles. He was known, ironically, as Mr. Warmth, being well-known as an insult comic. His career began in nightclubs where he was spotted by Frank Sinatra
who helped nurture his career. Soon he became the comic to see, and be insulted by, and was a popular headliner in Vegas. In addition to live comedy he found
success on screen in films like Kelly's Heroes, and TV shows like CPO Sharkey. The 2007 documentary, Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project, earned him an Emmy. "We kid about great stars such as you Bob. Why? 'Cause you're old and washed up.
But I tell you this... Is he laughing, Dean? Take a look, see if Bob's laughing. If he ain't laughing show him a picture of
Jack. I kid. Jack Benny, a great star, God bless him. Milton Berle, great people. This
is wonderful being here at the home. And I say this from my heart. It takes many years to be a great comedian..." "Sure does, and you ain't even reached that year yet." He endeared himself to a new generation
of audiences in the 90s when he voiced Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story films. "Prepare to meet Mr. Angry Eyes!" Rickles was universally loved by
generations of audiences and upon his passing at the age of 90, the world lost
a true comedic institution. In accordance with Jewish tradition, his grave won't be
permanently marked until one year after his death, so we'll have to come back in
April to revisit Don and see his marker. 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 may have noticed small stones or
pebbles on some of the graves here and at other cemeteries that we've visited. This is an old Jewish custom meant to signify that the grave has been visited, and
serve as a lasting symbol of memory of the individual. Flowers are seen as an
apt symbol of passing, representing the brevity of life. While stones serve as a
better metaphor for the persistence of memory... stones do not die. This practice was shown in the final scene of Schindler's List. Mount Sinai actually provides small
limestone pebbles from Jerusalem for visitors to place on graves of their
loved ones. This little packet reads: Leaving a small pebble as a token of a
visit is a Jewish family tradition that is generations old. These soft limestone
pebbles are from the holy city of Jerusalem. We encourage you to leave one
as a symbol of your visit today. Be assured that they will neither scratch
or damage to memorial tablet. I'm gonna place one here on the Memorial to Six Million, which we'll be visiting more in depth in part 2.
