Cemetery
Picture Source: Me

There is a cemetery in California that houses some of the greatest of the movie greats among others, its name is the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. In it, you will find the remains of such notables as Tyrone Power and Rudolph Valentino. But aside from the notables buried there, this is still no ordinary cemetery. One has just to click on their webstie at http://www.forevernetwork.com to realize this. At the website you can see the life stories of many of the dead. There are even tools to click on that give you information on the family tree of the person (if it was provided). Want to leave a message for the deceased? Well there is a facility to do it. You can also email, give gifts or use the locator map to find a particular grave.

Now wouldn't you think that this type of place would be perfect to investigate hauntings? You can bet your last dollar on that my friend, as there are many reports of spirits, sounds, music, lights and other things coming from the cemetery. This large cemetery holds the remains of over 86,000 people in its 62 acres of green rolling lawn. It is fitting that this cemetery is right next to Paramount Studios, since it houses more movie stars than any other cemetery.

There have been many sightings at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery of Rudolph Valentino. Actually these sightings started right after his death and are still reported today. He was seen near his crypt dressed in his famous gaucho outfit. Many women have reported going to the cemetery and being kissed on the cheek but no one was there. Was this Rudy, that little devil? But he is not confined to just the cemetery. It is said that in 1926, he appeared in a Hollywood home, stared at the lady of the house, then vanished into thin air. Another report saw him walking the streets of New York City. There are reports of strange fogs that roll into the cemetery. People who have been in the fog state that they have experienced a feeling of uneasiness.

There are some very interesting people buried in this cemetery. Take for example Jesse Lasky. Who is Jesse Lasky you say? Only the founder of Paramount Pictures and the co producer, along with Cecil B. DeMille, of the movie, The Squaw Man, which was the first full length movie ever made. If you are a fan of the Little Rascals and Our Gang comedies, you will remember the cute little girl named Darla. Darlia Hood.is buried in a crypt. She died at the age of only 48 years. Alfalfa, her costar, the little boy who always had his hair sticking up at the back, is also buried in this cemetery under his name, which is, Carl Alfalfa Switzer.

A movie director with two of the biggest movie hits in history is buried here, his name is Victor Fleming. This name may not mean much to anyone anymore, but he was the director of Gone With The Wind and The Wizard Of Oz, in 1939. You just can't do much better than that. Even the great director Stanley Kubrick didn't accomplish this. Ever wonder where Iron Eyes Cody was buried, of course you did. Surely you must have thought that he would have been buried on an Indian Reservation, but you would be wrong. Iron Eyes decided that Hollywood Forever was for him. He had been playing indian parts in the movies since 1919 and died in 1999.

The beloved Mel Blanc is buried in Hollywood Forever. For anyone out there that doesn't know who Mel Blanc is, just look at any Bugs Bunny cartoon to hear his voice, or almost any other cartoon for that matter. It seems almost everyone wanted Mr. Blanc to do the voices in their cartoons. There is a site on the web that lists an incredible 897 of his movies. And it wasn't only characters that he supplied the voices for, he was the sound of Jack Benny's Maxwell car, on the radio.

The area here has been a cemetery since 1899 and you can see all the old fashioned monuments here. Because of the different type of monuments from obelisks to rocket ships, the cemetery has been used in several movies. The cemetery airs movies, showing them outdoors, for a ten dollar fee. You can bring your own food and drinks. This cemetery is so big, how is one to know where to find things, and there are other large cemeteries in the area? The answer is simple just purchase one of the many books available such as Hollywood Remains to Be Seen (Cumberland House Publishing; $17.95). If you don't want the book, the Hollywood Forever Cemetery will gladly help tourists find their way around, but some of the other cemeteries are not so helpful, and some even try to discourage tourists.

Well happy dead celebrity hunting all.