A focus of this tour was paying respects to victims. We knew that Ronald Hughes (this post was a labor of love for me) is interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park. It was a little difficult to locate. It's tucked between tall buildings and the entrance doesn't look like an entrance. Once in, we found him relatively quickly. His family is also interred next to him.
Paul Fitzgerald is in this cemetery too. He is possibly in a locked section of the cemetery or in an unmarked grave.
After talking about him a little someone discovered that a celebrity was buried very closely. Then another, and another, and another. It was a gold mine.
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| Frank Zappa (unmarked) |
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| George C Scott (stone is unmarked) |
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| Roy Orbison (unmmarked) |
34 comments:
I thought it was: I'm a writer but pobody's nerfect.
Reading those headstones makes me feel very old. It doesn't seem that long ago that I saw many of those names on the opening credits of movies and TV shows. Thanks for sharing the photos. It is amazing how humble the grave markers are for some of the biggest names in entertainment and writing.
Seeing the names I recognized made me flash on the person, and then I'd feel a bit sad.
:*(
StillGrooving said...
Reading those headstones makes me feel very old. It doesn't seem that long ago that I saw many of those names on the opening credits of movies and TV shows.
I know exactly what you mean. That hit home when I saw Colonel Hogan and Corporal Newkirk :(
How on earth did Ronald Hughes end up amongst all these celebrities?
Maybe it’s just me, but wondering if the “C” in George C. Scott stands for “Colonel”.... Charlie’s daddy mystery solved.
AC, it’s comments like that that make me look for the “Like” button.
His family must’ve been well off, that’s the most prestigious ceremony in so cal. Does anyone know anything about his family history?
He didn’t come from money. He got through law school on the GI Bill and lived very modestly right up until his unfortunate demise. It may be that that cemetery didn’t catch on in popularity until after his death.
I'm surprised at how modest most of them are
Matt said: It may be that that cemetery didn’t catch on in popularity until after his death.
Yeah good point. The only one that pre-dates him is Marilyn Monroe... according to this article, it became a celebrity graveyard after she was interred there. Given that most of the other famous stiffs date from the late 70s onwards, I wonder if the management of the place changed hands sometime after Ronald Hughes' death and interment. And how truly creepy that Hugh Hefner stalks Monroe even beyond the grave. I had a begrudging respect for the guy until I read that.
Here's the link to the article...
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/marilyn-monroes-grave
Yeah one of the shortfalls of this medium for sure- why I love IG.
Thanks for sharing these pics! I get to live vicariously through your Manson Family Tour pictures...... hey quick question totally off topic. How the hell do I add a picture to my blogger profile up here?
I think it takes your Google+ profile pic. Try adding one there & see what happens.
Maybe Hughes was given the burial plot as compensation for legal services?
His parents are buried next to him, so my guess is they bought his plot and theirs at the time they buried him. Then as Brownrice's article suggests, it later became Hollywood's fashionable resting place.
The guy that was interred above Marilyn had himself placed facing face-down. LOL. His wife later auctioned the crypt off for $4.6 Million, denying her husband an eternity atop Norma Jean...
Ron Hughes had an aunt and uncle that lived in LA. One of the newspaper reports says of the uncle, "Hughes uncle, Ray Davis, owner of the Redwood Tavern at Pico and Supluveda Blvds., said he last saw his nephew at 1945 Corinth Ave., where Hughes lives in a two car garage.
Davis went back Tuesday but found no one there. He said he had no idea where Hughes might be."
LA Times Dec. 2, 1970 Page 1
He was the nephew of the rhythm guitarist for the Kinks?
http://framework.latimes.com/2011/11/08/the-redwood-closes-and-moves/amp/
https://latimesphoto.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/fa_456_redwood970.jpg
I actually played in the final location (Pirate motif) Redwood around a dozen yrs ago - if it is the same (relocated a second time) place.
Cornel Wilde! Wow! I remember one Saturday morning, waking up and finding this weird movie that has just started called "The Naked Prey." I couldn't stop watching it, and was glued to the TV until it ended. That is how I discovered Cornel Wilde. If you have never seen that movie, may I suggest you do. It is one of those that you never forget. Another one that I accidently happened upon while tv surfing one Saturday was this movie where a psycho tanker truck driver was trying to kill this guy and was chasing him all thru the desert. Duel was the name. I was glued to the TV for that one too. You just never know what you will find when you turn the TV on while in a Saturday morning daze, trying to wake up.....
i think dennis weaver was the one being chased in duel.
Spielberg's directorial debut was Duel
Duel was released in November. Spielberg directed a two hour Columbo "Murder by the Book" in September. With one of my all time favorite villains Jack Cassidy.
Naked Prey was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. I think Cornel Wilde directed it too.
So would this cemetery be the second biggest for celebrities in LA?
Humphrat, there were certainly a lot of celebrities in this cemetery but it was tiny compared to some of the others we visited.
Still a very good one!
Thanks Matt. I'm a holdover from the Flintstone era-technology illiterate.
You didn't miss Marilyn Monroe and Don Knotts, did you? Such a fascinating memorial park, we stumbled upon it when we were staying at the "W" across the street. Truman Capote is there with gal pal Joanna Carson. Great photos, a very pretty cemetery.
That is the primo celeb cemetery in L.A., the B crowd goes to Hollywood Forever where I looked for Kenneth Anger today. He is supposed to be near Johnny Ramone but no luck.
Isn't Ken still alive? He's mighty old but still kicking last Patty heard
OMG you are right. Totally embarrassed. He was a friend of an of acquaintance named Cameron who passed sometime ago so I guess I associated them together. They lived together for a time, she could tell us all about the spiral staircase. Wonder what he’s up to....
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