Palm Springs' Crypts / Graves of 23 Famous People

[Music] f hey so welcome to this episode of History Hunters I'm here in Cathedral City it's next to Palm Springs and I'm here at uh Forest Lawn Memorial Park and there's a bunch of celebrities here I've been very under the weather my voice is very froggy so uh I might have to do some voiceovers on this one we're going to try to find some key entertainers who are very popular back in the day a lot of you may have remember them so join us on this episode [Music] [Applause] [Music] the first 10 minutes of my searching for a list of celebrities was absolutely fruitless until I noticed a man who was carrying around a list in a camera turns out that we were both hunting celebrity craves and Patrick gray eagerly helped me I don't know okay this kind gentleman here uh Patrick Patrick gra yes he helped me find some Graves I was walking about 10 minutes through here I couldn't find anybody so why do you do what you do and what do you do I have a history degree okay and and uh as a historian you generally don't make a lot of money so you're looking for hobbies and ways to document things that's my nature to document things everywhere you go there's cemeteries they're always free and um I started because I was uh nervous at a lot of the founding fathers people didn't know where they went some of them were lost and so when you go back east and you find those people it's not always easy yeah sometimes they're on farms and uh you got to get permission from a farmer so you go all over the country doing this yeah every year I pick a state or two states and I weave all over the state I do like four months of research who was the one you absolutely had to find here here at this Cemetery um probably John Phillips okay you know cuz I'm a creature of the 60s 70s have you g across the street to see Frank oh yeah yeah I was there like a year after he's buried there okay do you know if Suzanne subers has a not Mark yet I went there and all over darn okay yeah well thanks so much for helping me find this thing yeah you're welcome you're welcome okay the first guy we want to talk about is Guy mson our shooting star for every cowboy well Bill Hickock now he was actually a Bakersville California boy guy Madison appeared in 85 films but is most remembered in the TV series The Adventures of while Bill Hickock which ran for six years his sidekick was Andy dine who played Jingles kog the greatest name in Cal presents Wild Bill Hickock starring guy Madison as Wild Bill Hickock hey Wild Bill wait for me and Andy Divine as his pal jingle the show was especially popular with children resulting in merchandising of toys clothes and items which appeared in cereal boxes Madison was discovered by a talent scout during his visit to Hollywood in coast guard uniform during World War II David O selnik felt that his good looks would be perfect to play a sailor in a cameo role for his movie since you went away after relieving military duty Robert Mosley was signed to RKO pictures in 1946 to appear in romantic comedies and dramas including till the end of time and honeymoon he came up with a Hollywood name of Kai Madison he also had major roles in 3D westerns the charge at Feather River and the Last Frontier after the hicok TV series was canceled Madison became a popular star making Italian westerns and German Adventure films in Europe today he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame so right here uh this is locked but there's an Al Cove here of Cain niches and the gold Dolphins right there are the remains of Phil Harris and then next to it his wife Alice Fay Phil Harris was an actor comedian orchestra leader singer and songwriter he was a Pioneer in radio situation comedy first with the Jack Benny Program then in the Phil Harris Alice Fay show in which he co-starred with his wife Alice Fay for8 years as a singer he recorded a number one novelty hit record the thing in 1950 Harris by the way voiced Belo in Disney's Jungle Book in 1967 look for the Necessities the simple Necessities Thomas om Ali and The Aristocrats in 1970 Little John and Robin Hood 1973 and Patu and rock aood in 1991 Alice Fay was a musical star of 20th Century Fox in the 1930s and 40s appearing in such films as on the Avenue 1937 and Alexander's Ragtime Band 1938 she is remembered for the Academy award- winning standard you'll never know when she first entered produced in the 1943 musical film hello Frisco hello she left her career as a film actress for her role on the Phil Harris Alice Fay radio show here's Buddy Rogers the husband of the legendary actress Mary pford Buddy Rogers made his screen debut in the 1926 film fascinating Youth and quickly became a star in the late silent era he was also a successful band leader and musician Rogers was nicknamed name America's boyfriend and starred in such films as Wings 1927 My Best Girl 1927 working girls 1931 this Reckless age 1932 and best of enemies 1933 during World War II he served as a Navy Flight Training instructor after making the film an innocent Affair he retired from screen for 9 years to concentrate on radio and TV work in 1927 Rogers worked with Mary pford in the movie My Best Girl she was married at the time to Douglas Fairbanks senior but Rogers felt an attraction to her they didn't become romantically involved for some time but eventually married in 1937 becoming her third [Music] husband many felt that the marriage wouldn't last because Rogers was 12 years her Junior but they remained married until pigford's death 1979 in 1981 Rogers married Beverly ricono and remained with her until his death at age 94 in this quarter we'll find the legendary 1960s folk singer John Phillips of the masas and the Papas all and dny working for a penny trying to get a fish on the line he wrote many of the hit songs for the group which consisted of Mama Cass Elliot Michelle Phillips and Denny dhy his biggest song was California dreamman Phillips also wrote music for The Grateful Dead And The Beach Boys his daughter is TV and movie actress McKenzie Phillips he is buried next to his ex-wife Genevie Joyce weight a pretty South American actress singer model who is not the mother of McKenzie after John Phillips died McKenzie claimed that she and her father had an incestuous relationship partly fueled by drug use right next to the famous couple is actor Gavin mclaud best known as Captain Merl stubing on the loveboat TV series that ran from 1977 to [Music] 1987 love he also played marray Slaughter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1970 to 1977 farther back in time he start as happy on male's Navy from 1962 to 1964 his real name was Alan George C and he broke into TV on the series The Walter win file in 1957 starting in the late 1950s he landed movie roles that included pork chop Hill and Operation Petticoat mclaud also appeared in TV shows including the Andy Griffith Show Death Valley Days The Big Valley Perry Mason and Hogan's Heroes he became a Christian in 1984 which explains the verbiage on his marker quote thank you Father for this amazing journey I was truly blessed the captain has reached his final Port of Call Hallelujah and he quotes Isaiah 4031 of course I'm an autograph collector and uh I had this quirky habit of sending card stock to celebrities and asked them to draw themselves Gavin mclaud was one who actually complied with my requests and uh he sent me a pretty good likeness it's kind of surreal to be here play grave paty Garrett was not a household name but some of you may remember her for the Pina cast show TV commercials in the 1970s and 80s she ear the nickname of the chow chow lady so now you're not only going to be one of the healthiest cats you'll be one of the happiest veterinarians sure know what they're saying when they recommend catchow brand cat food so let's chow chow chow together paty's singing career began when she was 17 when she landed a regular spot on Fred wearing's pleasure time radio program in 1939 she was hired by Cole Porter to introduce his ballad begin the be by the 1960s she was appearing in TV shows like my three sons and Medical Center py also had a role in the 1969 Elvis movie The Trouble With Girls off the set she even baked cookies for Elvis Mrs Garrett also played the nosy neighbor Mrs Fowler in the TV series The Nanny and the professor in 1971 no doubt can I help you probably not but it's Waldo again he comes into my yard which is fenced and terrorizes for the remains of dinosur were divided for two locations here and the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City she was a singer stage screen and movie actress and TV talk show hostess dinosur 55 years in Show Business included more than 70 hit recordings that included Buttons and Bows Blues in the night and I wish I didn't love you so in 1951 she became the first woman to host her own variety show soon overlapping with the second show the dinosaur Chevy show to to when the show ended in 1963 Dina dropped out of sight until the early 1970s when she hosted the NBC Daytime talk and variety show Dina's place she divorced actor George Montgomery in 1962 after two decades of marriage despite their night 18 years age difference Dina had a much publicized romance with bird Reynolds so Dina Shore is right here we're going to come over here and find the grave of her husband George Montgomery who I met I actually met George Montgomery there we go actor artist Renaissance Man loved by many admired by all George Montgomery 1916 to 2000 Georg Montgomery was in films for decades including The Cisco Kid and the lady the last of the dway and the writers of the Purple Sage George Montgomery Lin went to Hollywood and quickly found work as a stunt man while doing set construction for Republic pictures he made his movie debut with a small role in the 1935 Western the singing [Music] vagabond Hickok was no friend of mine and I had a good reason for everything never mind the metal just get me a new arm look I volunteer to fight for the union and what happens you make a slave out of it after signing with 20th Century Fox Studio he found leading roles in musicals and romantic comedies such as Cony Island 10 gentlemen from West Point China girl and Roxy Hart he Enlisted the army aircore during World War II just days after marrying din Shore when he left acting in 1972 Montgomery had appeared in 80 feature films he enjoyed making furniture and became skilled at bronze casting creating bust of Hollywood stars like Ronald Reagan I think it was about 1998 or so I went to a film festival in Sonora California and uh engaged in some conversation with George Montgomery and I had my video camera out and uh was videotaping him signing autographs and then he looks up he was just kind of looking off and then he sees my camera and he goes Jeff you should have told me you were taping I thought that's kind of funny for a well established actor who probably should be on que all the time especially when you're at a film festival signing autographs but he did sign autographs he actually did a sketch for me he was an artist he was also a Furniture maker and uh very talented individual married to dinos shore of course a lot of westerns at the top is legendary singer janaro vitaliano better known as Jerry Vale who had a number of singles on the charts in the 1950s and 60s among them were inam marata you don't know me and have you looked into your heart he may perhaps be best remembered for the song Al DEA 1962 take my happy heart away let me love you he was a Las Vegas attraction for more than two decades and appeared in several movies including Good Fellows in 1990 and Cino in 1995 who are you photographing there um he was a mom a mom person oh this mobster guy yeah this is mobster Michael Anthony rosatello who was part of an organized crime circles in New York City in Los Angeles he allegedly murdered two Mobsters in Brooklyn in 1961 Rotella was involved in illegal gambling loan sharking mail and insurance fraud and extortion which put him behind federal prison bars on May 1st 1987 ritello and a partner failed to carry out a mob hit on William Carroll who was the chief Finance year for the mustang club in santaana over an extorted money dispute Carol survived but was left blind for Life Mella was sentenced in April 1990 to 25 years for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder 3 years for great bodily injury to Carol 2 years for the use of a firearm and three more years because ritell was a convicted felon with a firearm Rella was behind bars when he died of cancer at the age of 78 in 2005 this is the Crypt of professional golfer and sports broadcaster Kim Venturi after retiring from the PGA tour in 1967 with a total of 14 career ruins Venturi spent the next 35 years working as a commentator and Lead analyst for cbls sports the longest lead analyst tent in sports Pro broadcasting history made remarkable by the fact that he had a stutter which was less manageable early in his life 22 23 years been retired and I was kind of in a Force retirement I've been in television now 29 years but uh my hands got me out of the game I I was only in the game for 10 and a half years and the operations on my hands are kind of froze up a little bit I can't get it back as far as I used to be because of scarring he retired from broadcasting at age 71 in June 2002 shortly before his death ventu was IND Ed into the World Golf Hall of Fame this is the final resting place of Shirley burkovich who played professional women's baseball she also appeared in the 1992 film A League of Their Own as Alice sker gaspers whose younger version was played by Renee Coleman and related to the same movie here are the remains of Dorothy doy kamek another women's baseball player who was inspiration for A League of Their Own own in 1992 doy Loosely was the basis for Gina Davis's character of doy [Music] Henson Ruth Terry was a singer and TV and movie actress from the 1930s to the 1960s her first movie was love and hisses in 1937 with Walter Winchell she mostly appeared in westerns including call of the canyon with Jee atrey and several movies with Roy Rogers her best known movie however was with Bob Livingston in pistol pack and Mama based on the song of the same name she retired when she married her second husband in 1947 five levels up is the Crypt of Hollywood actress and the first wife of Ronald rean Jane Wyman the two Hollywood performers appeared together in brother rat and its sequel movie brother rat and a baby and were married in 1940 in in 1936 Jan became a contract player with Warner Brothers which was the same year that she graduated from the University of Missouri Jan was nominated for an Academy Award in 1947 for The Yearling she won an Oscar in 1949 for her powerful performance as a def mute rape victim in Johnny Belinda in 1948 the first Oscar winner since the silent film era to win for a role that didn't include dialogue she was Oscar nominated again in 1952 and 1955 for the blue Veil and the Magnificent Obsession in the 1980s Wyman returned to acting when she was cast as the matriarch in the CBS TV series Falcon Crest about her family in the California wine industry after her divorce from Ronald Reagan in 1949 Jane was married to Bader Frederick carer two different times both times ending in divorce intered in the Crypt is Irvine Robins along with his brother-in-law Bert Basin he co-founded the Basin Robins Ice Cream franchise in 194 4 famous for its 31 Flavors concept Baskin Robins grew to have over 5500 outlets around the [Laughter] world this opposite side of the street as far as Lawn Memorial Park and on this very back section back here is where actress suzan Summers is buried check out this view right next door looks like this is going to be a continuation of a cemetery apparently Suzanne Summers does not have a marker but she's buried here in section c31 and uh I can only surmise that maybe those who know where she's buried put the flowers up and there's a lot of flowers up here we just don't know yet now maybe in a year or two you'll come out here and be able to find that uh she has a marker but uh if you check this out I there's a lot of grapes a lot of flowers here uh perhaps she's buried here I don't know this is uh marker 74 19 this is also is here happy Valentine's Day yeah unfortunately we just don't have a marker yet but Suzanne Summers is buried somewhere in this area hopefully she'll have a marker soon so her fans can come out here and uh pay their respects to her there's the entrance right there and you come three trees in Sarah's over there the car and right here Frank Albert Sinatra sleep warm papa apparently this is the second marker that was placed here and check it out somebody left a golf ball and some flowers and of course a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey old blue eyes I happen to like his music I've lived a life that's full a lot of people maybe don't and but man when he came out in the 1940s he was the sex symbol man he he had the lady screaming later like Elvis you know they were screaming for him and the Beatles he was kind of the Elvis of their day I remember my aunt talked about how he was such this handsome thin guy you know and then later of course he got little bit over waight I remember him because I was a fan of Magna pi and there's one episode where he actually was U playing in one of the episodes I thought that was pretty cool probably a step down from him but what a legendary performer here he is more than this I Did It My Way Frank Sinatra emerged from an Italian-American family in Hoboken New Jersey to become the first modern Superstar of popular music with an entertainment career that spanned more than five decades I couldn't sleep a he was a master of the Romantic ballads popular during World War II after his appeal began to Wayne in the late 1940s sonat reinvented himself as a sve swinger with a rougher world heavy singing style and found a spectacular comeback in the 1950s in addition to his music Sinatra appeared in 58 films one of the earliest being anchors away in 1945 his last major Hollywood role came in the 1980s with the first deadly sin and his wife is right next to him one of his wives his last wife of course he was married to Ava Gardner very abusive to her Barbara and Sinatra 1927 to 2017 you see the difference in the markers would be the indication of just how new Frank son's grave is this is a beautiful Park I would like to say that I found his grave my way but I actually cheated I pulled up some YouTube videos some other people have done on the grave and I found it Scott on tape was out here couple years ago and I used that kind of as a place to uh to find a grave cuz it's not well marked I don't know today must be my off day because uh took took a while to find this Grave by these fountains right here you see who's here Sunny Bono 1935 to 1998 he'd probably still be alive for not for the fact that he was skiing and he smashed right into a tree took his life Sunny Bono began his musical career in 1963 as a songwriter in 1965 he achieved Commercial Success with his wife Sher as the singing Duo sunny and Sher Bono wrote arranged and produced a number of hit records including the singles I got you babe and The Beat Goes On although Sher received more attention as a performer he played a major part in sher's early solo recording career writing and producing singles including Bang Bang and you better sit down kids Sunny continued to work with Sher through the early and mid 1970s starring in their own variety TV show the sunny and share Comedy Hour which ran on CBS from 1971 to 1974 the year that they split up of course I remember them when they were in the sunny and chair show you talk about a corny show she was always putting them down and that was their little stick I guess [Music] [Applause] my you're upset because you missed a word in a song I didn't miss a word I mean you sang okay but you forgot some of the lyrics okay I mean it's no big it's no big deal I on the other hand I I remembered every word of that song you know no I did it's just that that's the difference between she sings better but I have this marvelous kind of photographic memory which incidentally I inherited from my mother oh I did I did you know listen you're the one that's always saying my mother has a fantastic memory so what are you making a that's what I've said an elephant never forget and uh right next to him is his mother je Bono as you can see she lived from 1914 to 2005 from 1976 to 1977 the duo returned to perform together on the sunny and Sheriff show Sunny served as the mayor of Palm Spring from 1988 to 1992 and as a US congressman from 1995 to 1998 I actually got to see Sunny Bono I was at the dedication of the rot Reagan Presidential Library 1991 November I think November 4th 1991 there were a boatload of celebrities that were there at that event I remember vest Parker arold Schwarz snake was right in front of me uh I saw Dick Van Patton I saw cabor I saw MV Griffin I saw Carl C of Carl's Jr Fame and sunny Bono was there as well I do remember that so towards the back of the cemetery look for this distinctive tree right here right over here is the very famous Betty Hutton she was the star of stage movie and TV and her headstone is almost unreadable Betty Hutton 19 looks like 1921 it's a 2007 that's a two I think 1921 yeah Betty Hutton was a brassy singer who played Annie Oakley in the 1950 musical Annie Get Your Gun she Rose to Fame in the 1940s as a contract player for Paramount Pictures appearing primarily in musicals and became one of the Studio's most valuable stars of that decade she was noted for her energetic and sometimes manic performance style he says murder he says every time we kiss he says murder he says at a time like this he says murder he says is that the language ofs after leaving Paramount Hutton started her own TV series The Betty Hutton show from 1959 until 1960 her career faltered after chronic depression alcoholism and prescription drug addiction she largely abandoned her performing career by the 1970s and found herself destitute rescued only by finding a job at a Rhode Island rectory she returned to the stage temporarily replacing Alice ghostly in the original Broadway production of Annie in 1980 oh this one took a while to find because honestly the markers here are pretty Sun bleached being out in the desert and uh fans of high chaperel will know this star beloved husband father and friend Cameron mcdal Mitchell 1918 to 1994 forever in our hearts somebody's left some pennies there course you might remember him when Linda Crystal and all the other stars of high Shapero back in the 1960s one of the classic TV western [Music] series I never should have married her she was trying to help John Victoria was only trying to help you Cameron Mitchell began appearing in movies in the 1940s he subsequently originated the role of happy lman in the Broadway production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman in 1949 a role that he reprised in the 1951 film adaptation when he was with 20th Century Fox he appeared in how to Marry a Millionaire 1953 how many of you are encouraged by the fact that uh stars are in Humble places with the rest of the population we were talking earlier about Frank Sinatra being buried next to a common people you know he's very uncommon guy Bob Hope For example buried in a very special place with like a half clamshell almost like a little band stage there at the cemetery and San Fernando Valley Mission Cemetery we haven't yet to make it there though unfortunately my man my voice is just so rotten today I I really apologize for it so a little bit away from this wall where there's some CPS lying next to it uh underneath this pepper tree is the grave of William Powell he was a Hollywood actor he was born in 1892 and he died in 1984 he was probably most recognized in his Hollywood comedic Murder Mysteries the Thin Man which was filmed from 1934 to 1947 Ah that's too bad well there's still one or two pieces missing but I know this much everything that's happened has been part of a plan for this role he's received his first Academy Award nomination in the category of best actor in 1935 appeared in silent film Sherlock Holmes in 1922 playing the role of Professor Mori Ari and Rola in 1924 which was still in Italy and Bo in 1926 was also a Palm Springs resident legendary William Powell somebody plac a stone on his marker huh unique and right next to him is another William David pow 1925 to 1968 next to his famous dad is TV writer William David pal he became so old that he killed himself in 1968 in a most brutal way he left a note saying things aren't so good here I'm going wordss better buried on the other side of the famous actor is his wife Diana Lewis who ended her career as an actress to be his wife even though he was 27 years older so I think that's going to wrap up our visit here to Desert Memorial Park here in Cathedral City hope that you enjoyed visiting the graves with us of Sunny Bodo and William P and Cameron Mitchell and Petty Hutton if you could please leave us a a nice word we would appreciate that as well and if you can give us a thumbs up thank you so [Music] much

Channel: History Hunters

Views: 184,931

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Id: WmcgMJNBykY

Length: 33min 6sec (1986 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 03 2024