"LA's Graveside Companion; Where the V.I.P.s R.I.P." by Steve Goldstein Schiffer Publishing 192 pages $19.95
There is a sub-culture that enjoys visiting cemeteries and seeing the final resting places of famous persons. When Richie retired, we explored a couple of them as a diversion. If I'd read this book first, these expeditions would have been a helluva lot more interesting!
* Peter Lorre was on his way to divorce court when he upped and died of a heart attack in 1964. His widow (apparently still his legal wife) seems to have been the type to not waste anything, is buried next to him. She died in 1971.
* Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American to win an Oscar in 1939. She and her husband were segregated from the larger audience at a small table in a room set up just for them.
* Jayne Mansfield was NOT beheaded in the car accident that killed her. (Damn! There goes a good story.) Some photographer got a shot of her blonde wig stuck to the windshield.
* Anthony Quinn married a daughter of Cecil B DeMille. Their son Christopher Quinn wandered away from Grandpa DeMille's house to a nieghbors. W.C. Fields had a fountain with little toy boats in his yard. The three year old was intrigued by them, fell in and drowned. Fields was devastated and had the fountain immediately removed. Lily Tomlin is said to own the Fields house now.
* Jack Benny was born on Valentine's Day. Before he died, he made arrangements for his wife, Mary, to receive a single, long-stemmed red rose every day of the rest of her life.
* The man buried above Marilyn Monroe is buried face down on his direct order. He didn't want to have his back to her through all eternity. Not an urban myth, verified by his family -- and the undertaker who flipped him!
* Telly Savalas didn't get into acting until he was nearly 40 years old. He was also Jennifer Anston's godfather.
Web sites of interest:
findagrave.com
findadeath.com
seeing-stars.come
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