WHERE THE BODIES
ARE BURIED
... and other notable sites to
explore on your own L.A. death trip
By Else Duff
Bela Lugosi Is Dead. But before he died, he lived in a small apartment at 5620 Harold Way, below Hollywood Boulevard and around the corner from Wilton. His funeral was held at W.M. Strothers Mortuary on Hollywood, which is now a MetroLink parking lot. He was laid to rest in his Dracula cape at Holy Cross Cemetery (5835 Slauson Ave.) in Baldwin Hills, where you'll find his grave near the grotto and not far from the burial place of Sharon Tate and her unborn baby.
Death Becomes Her. Elizabeth Short was a struggling actress/model who found infamy in death as the Black Dahlia. She was a fixture in Hollywood in the mid-1940s, frequenting bars such as the Formosa Café and Steve Boardner's. A few months before she was murdered, she was living in an apartment at 1842 N. Cherokee Ave., between Yucca Street and Franklin Avenue. She was last seen at the Biltmore Hotel (530 W. Fifth St.). Six days later, on January 15, 1947, her butchered body was found in a lot at 3925 S. Norton. She was 22 years old.
A Night with Pearl. In 1970, Janis Joplin had her last meal at Barney's Beanery (8447 Santa Monica Blvd.) before heading to the Landmark Hotel (7047 Franklin Ave.) and overdosing on heroin. The rock star already had designated $2,500 for her wake, and the 200 invitations read: "Drinks are on Pearl."
For the Love of Jean Harlow. In her short life of 26 years, actress Jean Harlow knew the heights of success and the depths of sorrow. The beloved blonde bombshell married director Paul Bern in 1932; two months later, he shot himself in their Beverly Hills home at 9820 Easton Dr. Before his death was ruled a suicide, Harlow was a murder suspect. Also in '32, dog star Rin Tin Tin died at his home (1352 Clubview Dr., Beverly Hills) as she cradled his head in her arms. Five years later, she succumbed to uremic poisoning at 512 N. Palm Dr.; she is rumored to haunt her last residence. Harlow was laid to rest in Glendale at Forest Lawn Cemetery (1712 S. Glendale Blvd.). More than 30 years after Bern killed himself, the house where he died was purchased by hairstylist Jay Sebring, who in 1969 went to visit a friend down the canyon, Sharon Tate, and was murdered with her by the Manson Family.
Paved Over. Wanna park on a former place of Hollywood glory? The Brown Derby (1628 N. Vine St.); Don the Beachcomber (1727 McCadden Pl.); Lasky Demille Studios (1520 Vine St.), the site that produced Hollywood's first full-length picture; and the Hollywood Canteen (1451 Cahuenga Blvd.), founded by Bette Davis in 1942 as a place to entertain servicemen, have all been demolished and turned into parking lots.
Stars Under the Stars. Hollywood Forever cemetery (6000 Santa Monica Blvd.) was established in 1899; it's the final resting place for many of Tinseltown's most beloved. Rudolph Valentino, Tyrone Power, Douglas Fairbanks, Mel Blanc, and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer all rest there. Lana Clarkson, shot in the foyer of Phil Spector's home, rests in the Chapel Columbarium. Singer Bianca Halstead of local rock band Betty Blowtorch lies in the Garden of Legends, and just around the corner is Douglas Colvin, better known as punk hero Dee Dee Ramone. These days, you can not only visit the stars, you can watch movies with them every other Saturday. Schedule a visit at Cinespia.org.
Published: 07/29/2004
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