Bells are ringing, lights are twinkling,
snow is falling, and carolers a-wassailing... and that can only mean one thing:
it's Christmas time in Hollywood Graveyard. So throw a Yule Log on the fire and cozy up
next to the tree with some hot cocoa, as we set out to remember and visit the
final resting places of the stars who topped our Christmas trees. Christmas has its roots in various
traditions, Christian and Pagan, focused around the birth of Christ and the
winter solstice festivities. But the Christmas holiday we know today began to
be reinvented during the Victorian era by a handful of writers and artists. It
was during this period that Christmas re-surged in popularity, and became the
family-centric holiday of peace, goodwill, nostalgia, gift-giving, and just a bit of
magic that we know today. Washington Irving is best known for his
contribution to Halloween, writing The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. But he also made
significant contributions to the modern Christmas holiday. In 1820 he published
The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Several episodes of this serial reflect
on the Christmas celebrations in an English manor. The delightful and
wholesome depictions sparked a renewed interest in the Christmas holiday in
both America and England. After his death in 1859 Irving was laid to rest here in
Sleepy Hollow cemetery in New York. At Trinity Church Cemetery in New York we
find another writer who helped to reinvent Christmas: Clement Clarke Moore.
He was a pastor, civic leader, and poet best remembered today for penning the
beloved Christmas poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas," better known as "The Night
Before Christmas." He originally wrote the piece to amuse his children but they
encouraged him to publish which he didn't anonymously in 1823.
It wasn't until 1837 that it was attributed to Moore. The poem is largely
responsible for popularizing many of our modern conceptions of Christmas and
Santa Claus, including his bringing gifts down the chimney and the names of his
eight tiny reindeer. Before this views of Christmas and Saint Nicholas varied
considerably. Moore's poem served to focus and unify these views into what we know
today. St. Nicholas was a fourth century
Orthodox Bishop from modern-day Turkey. He became famous for his generous gifts
to the poor, and so during the Middle Ages, on December 6th, children who were
good were given gifts in his honor, while those who were naughty got none. The
Dutch knew him as Sinterklaas, and these traditions would become our modern-day
Santa Claus. Clement Clarke Moore gave us a rough physical description of the
jolly old elf, but in the mid-1800s there was no real consensus of what Santa
Claus looked like, and that brings us to New York's Woodlawn Cemetery, and a man
named Thomas Nast. He was a cartoonist for Harper's Weekly, and in a series of
drawings in the 1860s through the 80s, Nast gave the world the definitive Santa
Claus: round, jolly, with a long white beard wearing a red suit and hat. Across the pond we find another man who helped invent our modern Christmas. We're at
Westminster Abbey in London England, in a section known as Poets Corner. This is
where Charles Dickens is laid to rest. Drawing on the Christmas experiences of
his own youth and the writings of Washington Irving, Charles Dickens
published the novella "A Christmas Carol" in 1843. It's the story of the miserly
Ebenezer Scrooge, who undergoes a change of heart after a visit from the
ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, becoming a kinder man who
embraces the spirit of Christmas. Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" would be heavily
influential on defining the spirit of Christmas, placing emphasis on the
importance of charity and goodwill towards others, particularly the less
fortunate, as the key component of the Christmas holidays. "A Christmas Carol" has been adapted
countless times on stage, screen, in music, and more. For my money, the best film
adaptation is the 1984 TV movie starring George C Scott, who rests here in an
unmarked grave at Westwood Village Memorial Park.
Scott was an actor whose commanding presence and gruff imposing character
made him perfect for the role of Scrooge. "If I could work my will, every idiot who
goes about with Merry Christmas on his lips should be boiled in his own pudding, and buried with a steak
of olives through his heart." "Come now, uncle." "Nephew, you keep Christmas in your way,
and let me keep it in mine." "Keep it? But you don't keep it!" "Let me leave it alone then!" When filmmakers were shooting the
scene in the graveyard where Scrooge discovers his own grave, they found an
actual tombstone that appeared to be blank and got permission to inscribe it
with Ebenezer Scrooge. After filming the grave was left as is and remains to this
day here in St. Chad's Churchyard in Shrewsbury England. "Hear me, I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been
but for this visitation. Why show me this if I am
past all hope?" Not long after movies started to be made,
Christmas movies started to be made. The very first Christmas movie is believed
to be this 1898 short film by pioneering British filmmaker,
George Albert Smith, which depicts Santa Claus coming down the chimney and
delivering presents to the children. The film is notable not only for being the
first Christmas movie, but also for innovating the picture-in-picture effect.
The man who portrayed Santa isn't credited, but it's believed by some to be
the filmmaker himself. If that's true, that would make George Albert Smith the
first person to play Santa Claus on film. After his death in 1959 Smith was
cremated at the downs crematorium in Brighton England, his ashes scattered on
the grounds. There is no marker here, but there are plaques on the house where he
lived, and where his studio once was. "Merry Christmas!" "Happy New Year to you!" A half-century later Hollywood would
produce what would become the first great perennial Christmas classic: It's a
Wonderful Life, in 1946. It's the story of George Bailey who,
through the intervention of a guardian angel, decides he wants to live after
being shown what a positive impact his life has really had on others. The film was not a major success in its day but through annual holiday presentations
on television has become one of Hollywood's most beloved classics. The
film was made by legendary director Frank Capra, who earned an Oscar
nomination for the film. Capra was an Italian filmmaker also known for films
like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. After his death at age 94 he was laid to rest
here in the Coachella Valley. It's a Wonderful Life stars Jimmy Stewart as
George Bailey, a building a lone banker who is down on his luck during the
holidays. Stewart was known for his American everyman appeal, making him
perfect for the role of George Bailey. The role earned him an Oscar nomination. "That's a Christmas present from a very
dear friend of mine." "Look Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings,
an angel gets his wings." "That's right. That's right." Stewart is also known for films like Vertigo and Anatomy of a Murder. He was
laid to rest here at Forest Lawn Glendale after his death at age 89. George Bailey's love interest and soon wife, Mary, was played by Donna Reed, who,
like Jimmy, personified the American every woman of the 1940s. "Bedford 247, please." "Is Daddy in trouble?" "Yes, Pete." "Shall I pray for him?" "Yes, Janie, pray very hard." "Me too?" In the 50s and 60s she had her own television
show, The Donna Reed Show. And in 1954 she won an Oscar for her role in From Here
to Eternity. After her death she was laid to rest here at Westwood Village
Memorial Park. We head to the mausoleum at Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles to
find the miserly antagonist of It's a Wonderful Life. Mr. Potter, the
unscrupulous banker, was played by Lionel Barrymore, a member of the Barrymore
dynasty of actors in Hollywood. "Oh, confound it man, are you afraid of success? I'm offering
you a 3-years contract at $20,000 a year starting today.
Is it a deal or isn't it?" Barrymore is also remembered as Ebenezer Scrooge
in annual radio performances of A Christmas Carol in the 30s to the 50s. He
died in 1954 at the age of 76. As George contemplates suicide
by jumping off a bridge, someone beats him to it, forcing George
to dive in after him and save him. Turns out this was Clarence, George's
guardian angel, who is working to get his wings. Henry Travers played the angel second-class, who shows George what people's
lives would have been like had he never been born. "You see George, you really had
a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?" Henry is laid to rest here in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Glendale. Thomas Mitchell played George Bailey's absent-minded Uncle Billy, who misplaces
the building and loan's cash deposit, setting in motion the events that lead
to George's downfall. "We've got to find that money. Uncle Billy, look, do you realize what's gonna
happen if we don't find it?" Thomas Mitchell also played Kris Kringle in the 1955
television production of Miracle on 34th Street. We're here at the Chapel of the Pines in Los Angeles. After his death in 1962
Mitchell was cremated here, his ashes stored in the Crematory vault. Another legendary Christmas star also rests here, which brings us to our next
perennial Christmas classic: Miracle on 34th Street. This time
the original 1947 film version. Edmund Gwenn is considered by many as the quintessential classic
Hollywood Santa Claus. He played the role of Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th
Street, and won an Oscar for his performance. "Oh Christmas isn't just a
day, it's a frame of mind. And that's what's been changing. That's why I'm glad
I'm here, maybe I can do something about it." After his death at age 81 in 1959 he
too was cremated here, his ashes stored in the Crematory vault. Kris Kringle was hired to play Santa at Macy's department store by Doris Walker,
played by the legendary actress Maureen O'Hara. Doris is pragmatic in her
approach to Christmas, raising her daughter Susan not to believe in fairy
tales. By the end of the film, though, we get hints that even Doris begins to
believe again in Santa Claus. "Would you please tell her that
you're not really Santa Claus, that there actually is no such person." Well I'm sorry to disagree
with you Mrs. Walker, but not only there such a person,
but here I am to prove it." Maureen O'Hara was also known for her
roles as Western heroines, often alongside John Wayne in films like The
Quiet Man. She lived to the age of 95, making her one of the longest living
stars from Hollywood's golden age. After her death she was interred here at
Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC. Many know Natalie Wood
for her roles in films like Rebel Without a Cause, and West Side Story,
but the breakout role came for young Natalie as an adorable eight-year-old
playing Susan, a young girl whose belief in Santa Clause is affirmed when she
gets exactly what she asked for. "Oh you were right, Mommy.
Mommy told me if things don't turn out just the way you want them to the first time, you
still got to believe. And I kept believing, and you were right, Mommy! Mr.
Kringle is Santa Claus!" Natalie was nominated for three Oscars in her career,
a career that was cut short by a drowning accident off of Catalina Island
in 1981, the events of which are still shrouded in mystery to this day. She rests here at
Westwood Village Memorial Park. Animation has forged a very special
place in Christmas entertainment, and the 60s and 70s were, in many ways, the Golden
Age of Christmas animation. It was in this era that some of the most enduring
and beloved animated specials were produced, including those iconic and oft
imitated and stop-motion features. Rankin/Bass was the production company
behind many of these, their breakout hit being Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, which
first aired in 1964. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer was the creation of
Robert L May. He was a copywriter for the Montgomery Ward department store, who
requested a cheery Christmas story from him for their shoppers. May came up with
the idea of a reindeer with the luminous nose who lights Santa's way, and the poem
was released to the public as a booklet in 1939. Robert May, the father of Rudolph
the Red-nosed Reindeer lived to be 71, and is laid to rest here at st. Joseph's
Cemetery just outside of Chicago. The story of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
would also spawn a popular Christmas song, written by May's brother-in-law,
Johnny Marks. It was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949, becoming one of the most
popular and best-selling Christmas songs of all time. [music] Gene Autry rests here at Forest Lawn in
Hollywood Hills. And that brings us back to the 1964 TV
special, as well as back to Illinois, and Mound Cemetery, where rests a man whose
voice and music would become synonymous with the holidays, Burl Ives. He voiced
Sam the Snowman, the narrator of the story of Rudolph. The singer and banjoist
also performed many of the songs in the film including a rendition of Rudolph
the Red-nosed Reindeer. [music] He was known for popularizing traditional folk songs,
releasing dozens of albums in his career. And on the big screen he's also seen in
films like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and The Big Country, which won him an Oscar. He
died from cancer at age 85. "Who are you?" "Who am I? The name's Yukon Cornelius, the
greatest prospector in the north!" Yukon Cornelius is indeed the greatest
prospector in the north, so who better to get to voice Yukon Cornelius than an
actor from the great white north, Larry Mann. Yukon Cornelius joins Rudolph and
Hermey the elf on their journeys in his quest to find silver and gold. Larry Mann
lived to be 91 and is laid to rest here at Eden Cemetery in the San Fernando
Valley. And as for the voice of Rudolph, that was a Canadian actress Billie Mae
Richards. After her death in 2010 she was cremated so we are unable to visit her. The next year in 1965 audiences were
first treated to what would become another annual holiday staple, A Charlie
Brown Christmas. "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!" This was the first television special
produced about the Peanuts comic strip. "I've killed it." And it wouldn't be the last. "I never thought it was
such a bad little tree. It's not bad at all, really." It was written by Charles Schulz, the man who created,
wrote, and drew the beloved Peanuts comic strip from 1950 until his death in 2000.
Peanuts is arguably the most popular, influential, and longest-running comic
strip in history. After his death at age 77 Schulz was laid to rest here in
Pleasant Hills Cemetery in Sonoma County, CA. "You're the only person I know
who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem.
Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're in a Charlie Browniest." In 1957 Dr. Seuss put a delightfully Grinchy spin on Christmas, with his book How the Grinch
Stole Christmas. Nine years later in 1966 the story would be made into an animated
TV film starring the legendary Boris Karloff as the narrator and the Grinch. "Tomorrow is Christmas, it's practically here! I must find some
way to keep Christmas from coming!" Karloff is primarily known for his roles
in horror films, most notably as Frankenstein's monster in the Universal
horror films. So when it came to voicing the Grinch, Karloff was a perfect fit.
After his death at age 81 Karloff was cremated, his ashes interred here under a
rosebush at Guildford crematorium in Surrey England. As the Grinch goes about his un-merry way stealing Christmas, he hears a sound, like
the coo of a dove. "She stared at the Grinch and said," "Santy Claus, why? Why are you taking our
Christmas tree? Why?" The woman who voiced that little Who was a woman considered by
many as one of the greatest voice actresses ever: June Foray.
In addition to Cindy-Lou Who, June Foray was the voice of Rocky the Flying
Squirrel, Lucifer and Disney's Cinderella, Jokey
Smurf, Grandmother Fa in Mulan, and many many more. Chuck Jones once said of her,
June Foray is not the female Mel Blanc. Mel Blanc was the male June Foray. She
lived to be 99 and is laid to rest here at Westwood Village Memorial Park in the
sanctuary of Tranquility. No holiday special would be complete without an
iconic song, and "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch" has become a wonderfully
unconventional Christmas song since appearing in the film. To get that deep,
grave vocal performance the song required Hollywood called on its favorite bass
singer, Thurl Ravenscroft. [music] He's also known as the
voice of Tony the Tiger, and voicing characters at Disneyland, including a
singing bust in the Haunted Mansion. He rests here in the memorial gardens at
the Christ Cathedral in Orange County, CA. "There's a certain magic to the
very first snow, especially when it falls on the day
before Christmas." We've featured Santa Claus, and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer,
but there's another magical Christmas character we mustn't forget: "Frosty the Snowman was a jolly happy soul." After the success of Gene Autry's Rudolph the
Red-nosed Reindeer, songwriters Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson set out to
create another seasonal hit for Autry, and thus Frosty was born in 1950. In 1969
Rankin/Bass would produce an animated TV special, Frosty the Snowman, which
featured as narrator the legendary actor and singer Jimmy Durante, whose gravelly
performance of the song has become iconic. Durante rests here at Holy Cross
Cemetery in Culver City California. Among the talents who lent their voices to
Frosty the Snowman film was, once again, June Foray, who voiced Karen, the teacher,
and various other voices. [music] Turning the page over to 1970 we remember another
stop-motion classic, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, which was inspired by the
song of the same name. The song was written by John Frederick Coots and
Haven Gillespie, first performed on Eddie Cantor's show in 1934. Haven Gillespie
was the lyricist of the song, and rests here in the Court of Remembrance at
Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall
of Fame in 1972. Classic Hollywood aficionados likely
recognized the face and voice of that puppet that opens the 1970 film as the
one and only Fred Astaire. The legendary actor, dancer, and singer played the
narrator of the film. "Well hello there. My name's special-delivery Kluger, SD for
short. Oh, I've got lots of letters for Santa today." This wasn't Fred's only contribution to
holiday fare. He played nine different roles in the 1979 movie The Man in the
Santa Claus Suit. After his death at age 88 he was laid to rest here at Oakwood
Memorial Park in the San Fernando Valley, close to his sister Adele and not far
from his frequent on-screen dance partner, Ginger Rogers. Another screen legend was
the voice of Kris Kringle, the man who would become Santa Claus.
Mickey Rooney plays the young orphan boy who grows up to be a toymaker, delivering
toys to children around the world on Christmas Eve, the night of profound love. "Not call myself Kringle? What other name
would suit me?" "There is one. You were wearing this when
we found you as a baby. See what it says?" "Claus. Claus?" Rooney lived to
be 93 and now rests here at
Hollywood Forever Cemetery. In the great mausoleum
at Forest Lawn Glendale we find the niche of Keenan Wynn. The actor known for
films like Dr. Strangelove voiced the Winter Warlock in
Santa Claus is Coming to Town." "How goes it, Mr. Warlock?" "Winter, please. I've got my
magic power working just fine. I can cast up a big freeze, yes sir, I think I can
guarantee a white Christmas. Keenan is inurned here with his father, the
legendary Ed Wynn, who played Kris Kringle in the 1959 TV version of Miracle on
34th Street. "Oh what fun it is to ride,
in a one horse open sleigh." The next generation of Christmas
classics came to us in the 80s. 1983 saw the release of A Christmas Story, based
on the semi-autobiographical anecdotes of humorist Jean Shepherd. "Oooooh Fuuuuudge." "Only I didn't
say fudge." It was a sleeper hit that opened to moderate success only to grow
to cult classic status. "No, no, I want an official Red Ryder carbine action
200-shot Range model air rifle." "You'll shoot your eye out, kid." The film is full of memorable characters,
including Ralphie's old man, known for his incomprehensible expletive ramblings,
and a love for his major award, the leg lamp. The role was played by Darren
McGavin. "Do you know what this is?
This is a lamp." "It was indeed a lamp." "What a great lamp." After his death in 2006 at
the age of 83, McGavin was laid to rest here at
Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Another 80s film that will likely be
hitting your television screens for Christmas is the 1985 film, Santa Claus:
The Movie. It starred David Huddleston, John Lithgow, and British funny man,
Dudley Moore, as an ambitious elf named Patch. "Oh my boys! I've seen some reindeer in my time,
but you're the best! The best!" "We did it!
Ho-ho-ho!" Moore is also known for the film's
10, and Arthur, which earned him an Oscar nomination. After his death at age 66 he
was laid to rest at Hillside Cemetery in New Jersey. Music has an uncanny power to
conjure up emotions within us, that power doubly evident in holiday music. And one
of Hollywood's brightest stars had a voice that could harness that magic
better than just about anyone else , Judy Garland. We've visited her several times in
the past and was certainly again. Outside of The Wizard of Oz, one of Judy
Garland's best-known films is 1944s Meet Me in St. Louis. In that film she
introduced us to what would become another holiday classic: "Have Yourself a
Merry Little Christmas." [music] Judy rests here at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in a
pavilion that bears her name. At Westwood Village Memorial Park we
find a handful of musicians whose tunes always help us get into the
Christmas spirit. This is Sammy Cahn, a four-time Oscar
winning songwriter who wrote a number of Christmas songs, perhaps most notably
"Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!" which he wrote with Jule Styne in 1945. Not far from where Cahn is buried is one of the crooners who would perform his songs,
including "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!" Dean Martin. [music] Dean Martin actually died on Christmas Day in
1995. The inscription here on his crypt is one of his signature tunes, "Everybody
Loves Somebody Sometime." Also here in the same cemetery we find
the final resting place of the Velvet Fog, Mel Torme. He was not only a talented
singer, but a songwriter as well. In 1945 he wrote "The Christmas Song," which many
people know as "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire." [music] The song was co-written with another talented songwriter, Robert Wells, whose
Nisha's in this same Cemetery in the Garden of Serenity. Wells later became a
producer for television. With the rise of rock and roll in the 1950s it was
inevitable that someone would make Christmas music that rocks. If you put
"Jingle Bells" and "Rock Around the Clock" into a blender, you'd get the 1957 Bobby
Helms hit, "Jingle Bell Rock." [music] Mr. Jingle Bell Rock now rests here in
Hilldale Cemetery in Indiana. Speaking of "Jingle Bells," let's pay a
visit to the man who wrote that song. To do so we head south to Savannah Georgia,
and Laurel Grove Cemetery. "Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly
sung American songs in the world, and it was written by this man,
James Lord Pierpont. It was initially published in 1857 under the title,
"One Horse Open Sleigh." And while not written explicitly for Christmas, has
since become one of the signature tunes of the holiday. And for those of you who
can read music, you probably noticed the notes here on his marker are the opening
lines of "Jingle Bells." "Jingle Bells" is old, but it's not the
oldest Christmas song - not by a century or more. We're back in London at
Westminster Abbey. Here lies baroque composer George Frederick Handel. One of
the best-known Christmas carols today is "Joy to the World." The words to the hymn
were written by Isaac Watts in 1719 and the tune we know today borrowed lines
from Handel's "Messiah," arranged by Lowell Mason in the mid-nineteenth century.
Handel wrote "The Messiah" in 1741 and it too is often performed around Christmas
time, concluding with the rousing "Hallelujah Chorus." Classic crooners like
Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra often performed and released Christmas music,
but perhaps no singular voice has come to embody the warm nostalgia of the
holidays more than that of Bing Crosby, who rests here at Holy Cross Cemetery in
Culver City California. In the 1942 film Holiday Inn
Bing Crosby sang a new Christmas song that beautifully captures the sweet
sentimentality and nostalgia of Christmastime,
"White Christmas." [music] The song would become a hit particularly with war-weary
servicemen overseas, whose spirits were buoyed by the comforting reminders of
home. Crosby's "White Christmas" would become the best-selling single of all
time, and is considered the number two song of the century, after Judy Garland's
"Over the Rainbow." "White Christmas" was written by a man considered one of
America's greatest songwriters Irving Berlin, who rests here at Woodlawn in New
York. The song was written for the 1942 film Holiday Inn, and would win Irving an
Oscar. It's generally considered the most popular secular Christmas song ever. The
bittersweet tone of the song perhaps reflects the Berlin family's sentiments
around Christmastime. Their son Irving Berlin Jr. died on Christmas Day in 1928 -
he was just twenty four days old. He's buried here next to his father. Another Christmas classic was penned by Berlin for the film Holiday Inn, "Happy
Holidays." He would pan over a thousand songs in his life, a life that lasted
just over a century. And among all those songs, "White Christmas" is perhaps his
very best. And that concludes our tour. We barely skimmed the surface of all there
is to remember, so be sure to let us know in the comments what stars top your
Christmas tree this holiday season. To our enormous extended Hollywood
Graveyard family around the world. "Merry Christmas to all,
and to all a good night." So who was that random dude that came up
to me in the opening sequence? Why, that was our very own Giuseppe Vasapolli,
composer of the Hollywood Graveyard music. He was in town for a visit from
Italy, so of course we had to squeeze in at Christmas cameo.
