Hollywood Forever Cemetery
The men and women whose remains were interred at Hollywood Forever Memorial Cemetery in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
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- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Don Adams was born in New York, to a father of Hungarian Jewish descent, and a mother of German and Irish ancestry. He had a sister, Gloria, and a brother, Dick Yarmy. He served in the U.S. Marines in World War II and contracted malaria during the fighting on Guadalcanal island. After the war he began a career as a stand-up comic. He married singer Adelaide Adams and adopted her last name as his stage surname. He had seven children altogether, (four with his first wife, two with his second, one with his third): Caroline Adams, Christine, Catherine, Cecily Adams, Stacey Adams, Sean, Beige. His television career began when he won the Ted Mack & the Original Amateur Hour (1948) talent contest. His most famous role, of course, is as bumbling, incompetent, clueless yet endearing secret agent Maxwell Smart in the classic sitcom/spy spoof Get Smart (1965), although he also had a career as a television director and a Broadway and theatrical dramatic actor.Plot: Section 8, Lot 57, Grave 20
GPS coordinates: 34.0898247, -118.3166809 (hddd.dddd)- Walter Ackerman was born on 28 June 1881 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909), Back to God's Country (1927) and Aflame in the Sky (1927). He died on 12 December 1938 in Bishop, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Beginnings (formerly Section 2W), Grave 200
- Cinematographer
David Abel was born on 15 December 1883 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. He was a cinematographer, known for Holiday Inn (1942), Top Hat (1935) and Swing Time (1936). He died on 12 November 1973 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Chapel Columbarium, 1st floor, column 7, T-3- Louis Adlon was born on 7 October 1907 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for North Pole, Ahoy! (1934), The Big Show-Off (1945) and Adventures of the Flying Cadets (1943). He was married to Rosemary Davies. He died on 31 March 1947 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Legends (formerly Section 8).
- Renee Adoree was born Jeanne de la Fontein in Lille in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France, on September 30, 1898. She had what one could call a normal childhood. Her background is, perhaps, one of the most difficult to find information on any actress in existence. What we do know that her interest in acting surfaced during her teen years with minor stage productions in France. By 1920 she had attracted the attention of American producers and came to New York. Her first film before US audiences was The Strongest (1920) that same year. That was to be it until 1921,, when she appeared in Made in Heaven (1921). Renee wondered if she had made the right move by going into motion pictures because of two minor roles in as many films. Finally MGM saw fit to put her in more films in 1922. Movies such as West of Chicago (1922), Day Dreams (1922), Mixed Faces (1922) and Monte Cristo (1922) saw her with meatier roles than she had had previously. Renee was, finally, hitting her stride. Better roles to be sure, but still she was not of first-class caliber yet.
All that changed in 1925 when she starred as Melisande with John Gilbert in The Big Parade (1925). The picture made stars out of Renee, Gilbert and Karl Dane. Based on the film's success, Renee was put in another production, Excuse Me (1925). It lacked the drama the previous picture but was well-received. In a plot written by Elinor Glyn, Renee starred as Suzette in Man and Maid (1925). This was Renee's most provocative role yet and she was fast becoming one of the sexiest actresses on the screen. In 1927 Renee starred as Nang Ping in Mr. Wu (1927), along with her sister Mira Adoree. The film was a hit, with co-stars Ralph Forbes and Lon Chaney, but it was Renee's character that carried the film. After several more pictures, her career was slowing down. She appeared in a bit part in Show People (1928) later that year. The following year she had an uncredited bit role in His Glorious Night (1929). Re-discovered by First National Pictures after being released by MGM, she appeared in The Spieler (1928), in which she was a struggling carnival manager trying to overcome the dishonesty that went on in her organization.
Ill with tuberculosis, she retired in 1930. Less than a week after her 35th birthday, on Oct. 5, 1933, Renee Adoree died in Tujunga, CA.Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Crypt 219
GPS coordinates: 34.0892906, -118.3211975 (hddd.dddd) - Costume Designer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Additional Crew
Adrian Adolph Greenburg, born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, March 3, 1903, to Gilbert and Helena (Pollack) Greenburg. He began his professional career while still attending the New York School for Fine and Applied Arts by contributing to the costumes for "George White's Scandals" in 1921. He is credited for that production by his created name of Gilbert Adrian, a combination of his father's first name and his own. He transferred to NYSFAA's Paris campus in 1922 and while there was hired by Irving Berlin. In the fall of 1922 he returned to New York and began work on Berlin's 1922-1923 edition of "The Music Box Revue". Adrian continued to work on the Berlin reviews as well as other theatrical and film projects.
His big film break was designing costumes for Mae Murray in her first M.G.M. film, The Merry Widow (1925). He was then hired by Natacha Rambova to design for the independent films of her husband, Rudolph Valentino. In mid-1925, after designing costumes for the prologue of "The Gold Rush" at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, Adrian was hired by Cecil B. DeMille to become head of the wardrobe department at his new studio. When DeMille moved to M.G.M. in 1928, Adrian moved there also. When his DeMille contract expired, Adrian signed with M.G.M. and remained with that studio until 1942.
He opened his own very successful couture business and continued to do some films until such time as his business expanded, with a salon in New York as well as Beverly Hills. His fashions were sold in department stores around the U.S. and he was the recipient of the 1944 Coty Award for Fashion. He also received a Lord & Taylor award for his work on Marie Antoinette (1938) in 1938 and a special award from Parsons, the successor to NYSFAA. His last film was Lovely to Look At (1952). He retired from the fashion industry in 1952 after a heart attack. He relocated to Brazil with his wife (since 1938) actress Janet Gaynor and their son, Robin. He returned to the U.S. to do "Grand Hotel", a musical with Viveca Lindfors and Paul Muni and his last career credit was the costume design for the Broadway musical "Camelot". He was working on this production when he died of a heart attack on September 13, 1959. Adrian never received an Oscar.Plot: Garden of Legends (formerly Section 8), Lot 193, next to Janet Gaynor- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Formerly a stage actress in San Francisco and on Broadway, Ainsworth went to Hollywood in the 1920s as an agent. She helped many actors attain stardom: Guy Madison, Marilyn Monroe, Rhonda Fleming, Carol Channing and Howard Keel, among others. She also put together a deal for Guy Madison to star in the television series "Wild Bill Hickok."Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Haven of Repose, T-5, N-3- Spottiswoode Aitken was born on 16 April 1867 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for The Birth of a Nation (1915), The White Circle (1920) and The Americano (1916). He was married to Marion Dana Jones. He died on 26 February 1933 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Albert Akst was born on 31 August 1899 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. He was an editor, known for Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) and Easter Parade (1948). He died on 19 April 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
A character actor whose film career spanned from Hollywood's Silent Era until the 1950s. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, on September 11, 1882, Erville would start his film career in 1918 at the age of 36 in Her Man (1918). Film pioneer D.W. Griffith utilized Erville in many of his films, including 1924's America (1924) and Isn't Life Wonderful (1924). In 1926, Erville was in Sally of the Sawdust (1925), and for the first time, worked behind as well as in front of the camera, as the movie's Assistant Director. By the time talkies became the norm, Erville found his age and white hair earned him many "old codger" roles as everything from a sheriff to a blank clerk, although a lot of his roles fell into the the "uncredited" bit category. Despite this, he did manage to make his mark in several credited roles, with one of the best being his portrayal of Nate Tompkins in 1941's Sergeant York (1941). His last film role would be uncredited in 1957's The Spirit of St. Louis (1957), and on August 4, 1957, he would pass away at the age of 74 in Glendale, California.- Frank "Fatty" Alexander was an obese comedian who appeared in silent one- and two-reel slapstick comedies as a side-kick before co-starring with two other heavyweights, Hilliard Karr and 'Kewpie Ross' in F.B.O.'s low-budget "Ton of Fun" series at the end of the silent era. Born in Olympia, Washington on May 25, 1879, Frank Alexander was a cowboy and stage driver prior to ballooning up in weight and turning his attention away from the bright lights of the open spaces to those of Hollywood.
He made his screen debut with Keystone in support of screen comedian Syd Chaplin in Gussle's Backward Way (1915), the eighth of Chaplin's nine "Gussle" comedies, and his debut as his own director. Ironically, Syd -- Charles Chaplin's older half-brother -- had made his own acting debut the year before in Fatty's Wine Party (1914), with the great man himself, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, after whom Alexander modeled his screen persona. Paramount's biggest star at the time of his fall from grace after his three manslaughter trials for the death of Virginia Rappe, the original "Fatty" at 266 lbs. couldn't match Frank Alexander, who topped the scale at 350 lbs.
Although Syd Chaplin continued with his Gussle character for one more movie, Alexander did not appear as his sidekick, although he stayed on the Keystone lot. His next appearance was as a fireman in the Mack Swain vehicle When Ambrose Dared Walrus (1915). After moving over to Fox for a couple of comedies with Harold Lloyd in 1917, Alexander caught on with comedian Larry Semon, a white-faced comedian whose screen popularity and income rivaled that of the great Charlie Chaplin himself.
Alexander became a member of Semon's stock company at Vitagraph along with Oliver Hardy, whom Alexander made look as svelte as his future partner Stan Laurel. From 1918's Pluck and Plotters (1918) to 1925's The Perfect Clown (1925), Alexander would appear in 27 Semon films, including Babes and Boobs (1918), Bathing Beauties and Big Boobs (1918), and Boodle and Bandits (1918). Kid Speed (1924) was typical of Semon's two-reel farces that were filmed quickly at the Charles Ray Studios.
Fatty played Avery DuPays (a pun on avoirdupois), the city's wealthiest man, who will marry off his daughter Lou (Dorothy Dwan) to whomever wins the Big Auto Race. The Speed Kid (Semon) and Dangerous Dan McGrew (Oliver "Babe" Hardy) are in love with Lou, but she seems to prefer the Kid (her real life husband, Semon). Fatty's character favors the wealthier McGrew, who sabotages the brakes on The Kid's race car. Despite this problem, or more likely, because of it, -- the Kid wins both the race and the girl. The entire second reel features the race, which features The Speed Kid barreling through a farm house and emerging covered in a sheet, thus evoking the specter of the Ku Klux Klan and scaring his African- American sidekick/mechanic Spencer Bell (often billed by Semon with the highly imaginative moniker "G. Howe Black" and mostly forced to play the crude stereotype). At one point, former world's heavyweight boxing champion James J. Jeffries (the Great White Hope himself!) comes on-screen as a blacksmith just to punch "Babe" Hardy in the nose!
Alexander ended his association with Semon after playing Dorothy's father in Semon's "Wizard of Oz" (1925), a box office flop that finished off Semon personally and professionally. Frank Alexander made avoirdupois, if not screen history, as "Fatty" Alexander, part of "A Ton of Fun", one of three very fat comedians who appeared in a series of two-reel slapstick comedies produced by 'Joe Rock' from 1925-1927. The team made its debut in 1925's Tailoring (1925), with Fatty using the moniker 'Tiny' (which Alexander also used in "All Tied Up" (1925), directed by and co- starring beanpole comic actor Slim Summerville. The shorts were made by Poverty Row studio Standard Photoplay Co. and released by Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Office (F.B.O.), the precursor to R.K.O Radio Pictures.
Advertized by F.B.O. as the "three fattest men on the screen, "Fatty romped across the screen in with fellow fat men Hilliard Karr (a.k.a. "Fat" Karr) and Kewpie Ross in 34 shorts, many with the adjective "Heavy" in the title (The Heavy Parade (1926), Heavy Fullbacks (1926), Heavy Infants (1928) and the strangely named Heavyation (1926)). Also billed as "The Three Fatties", the "Ton of Fun" team offered the most anarchic comedy per pound available at the time or after. In the series entry Three of a Kind (1981), The Three Fatties play entertainers at a nightclub/restaurant. In short order, a melee breaks out between the audience and A Ton of Fun, with the expected result of tables overturned and dishes smashed.
After making the last "Ton of Fun" comedy in 1928, A Joyful Day (1928), Alexander became a supporting player at Hal Roach Studios in two of director Leo McCarey's shorts, Feed 'em and Weep (1928) and Madame Q (1929) starring Edgar Kennedy. With the coming of the sound era, Fatty Alexander's career tailed off. At Roach, he appeared in support of 'Harry Langdon' in The Shrimp (1930), but was then bounced around among the studios, including Roach, Universal and R.K.O., playing bit parts as fat men. He appeared in support of Zazu Pitts in two of her comedies, then did a turn in the early 'George Stevens' comedy The Kick-Off! (1931). His last movie was 1933's "The Barber Shop" starring W.C. Fields, in which he appeared as in an unbilled bit part.
Frank "Fatty" Alexander, 58, died in his 4155 Lankershim Blvd. home on September 8, 1937 in Los Angeles, California. His "Variety" obit called him a 440-pound comic.Plot: Section 2, #10 [unmarked] - Actor
- Soundtrack
James Alexander was born in Indiana, on May 20, 1914. He appeared in only a few motion pictures during his brief career and did not start acting until he was 38 years old, with his film debut in the 1952 motion picture "Jack and the Beanstalk", starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.
His later credits include "Port of Hell" (1954), "Treasure of Ruby Hills" (1955), "Las Vegas Shakedown" (1955), and "Night Freight" (1955). He had roles in the television shows "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" and "The Abbott and Costello Show." He died in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 46.Plot: Section 2, #10- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
J. Grubb Alexander was born on 25 December 1887 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA. J. Grubb was a writer, known for The Trail of the Octopus (1919), The Belle of Broadway (1926) and The Man Who Laughs (1928). J. Grubb was married to Elynor G. Ernst. J. Grubb died on 11 January 1932 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Sanctuary of Hope, #121- Soundtrack
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Murray Alper was born on 11 January 1904 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Saboteur (1942), The Maltese Falcon (1941) and The Royal Family of Broadway (1930). He died on 16 November 1984 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Eternal Love (formerly Section 5), Lot 738- A.E. Anson was born on 14 September 1879 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Arrowsmith (1931) and The Road to Singapore (1931). He was married to Cora Busch, Deidre Doyle and Mary Mallison. He died on 25 June 1936 in Monrovia, California, USA.Plot: Section 1 - Grave 116
- Andrew Arbuckle was born on 5 September 1887 in Galveston, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for John Petticoats (1919), Big Tremaine (1916) and The Spider and the Rose (1923). He was married to Blanche Duquesne. He died on 21 September 1938 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Ancestors, Plot # 470
- William L. Arndt is known for Can't Stop the Music (1980).
- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Composer, conductor and songwriter ("I Cried For You", "Sweet and Lovely"), leader of his own orchestra, he toured Europe and the US, appearing in theatres, night clubs and ballrooms. He joined ASCAP in 1925, and his chief musical collaborators include Arthur Freed, Jules Lemare, Abe Lyman and Harry Tobias. His popular song compositions also include "One Kiss"; "It Might Have Been You"; "After All is Said and Done"; "I'm Gonna Get You", and "It Must Be True".Plot: Beth Olam Mausoleum, Hall of Solomon, M-8, #5408- Mabel Wiles was born on 25 April 1888 in Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for A Son of Erin (1916), Jordan Is a Hard Road (1915) and The Planter (1917). She died on 6 January 1964 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Wall Crypt 3111 Unit 2
- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Arthur started in the business as a Broadway columnist for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, later going to work for the Toronto Star. He worked on Cecil B. DeMille¡¦s executive staff as well as serving on the executive board of the Writers Guild of America. He also worked on the Oscar winning documentary, Seeds of Destiny, in 1946.Plot: Garden of Beginnings- Actor
- Make-Up Department
Max Asher was born on 5 May 1885 in Oakland, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Rip Van Winkle (1921), The Great Towel Robbery (1913) and Captain Kidd's Priceless Treasure (1914). He died on 15 April 1957 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Sylvia Ashley was previously married to Prince Dimitri Djordjadze, Clark Gable, Edward Stanley, 6th Baron Stanley of Alderley, Douglas Fairbanks and Anthony Ashley-Cooper.Plot: Garden of Legends, Lot 53
- Actress
- Soundtrack
The first actress to sign a contract with Universal in 1915, Gertrude Astor (born in Ohio as Gertrude Irene Astor) began her career playing trombone and saxophone on a riverboat. Towering over most of her leading men at 5'11", she often played golddiggers, rich socialites or a leading lady's best friend in such one-reeled films and feature length silents as Polly Redhead (1917), The Price of a Good Time (1917), The Girl Who Wouldn't Quit (1918), The Lion Man (1919), Mary Pickford's Through the Back Door (1921), The Wall Flower (1922), Alice Adams (1923), The Ne'er-Do-Well (1923), Stage Struck (1925), The Boy Friend (1926), Kiki (1926), The Strong Man (1926), Shanghaied (1927), The Cat and the Canary (1927) and Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927) (as Little Eva's mother). The popular female stars she bolstered included Pickford, Norma Talmadge, Gloria Swanson, Patsy Ruth Miller, Colleen Moore, Shirley Mason, Olive Borden and Laura La Plante
With the advent of sound, Astor's career continued, landing her in a number of two-reel comedies, mostly with the Hal Roach studio and occasionally with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, the "Our Gang" gang and Charley Chase. "I've never been so embarrassed in all my life!" seemed to be one of her most used lines in films. Acting until the 1960s and often in bit parts (she once played a corpse in The Scarlet Claw (1944), her last movie bit was for John Ford in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Astor often relayed her film memories to friends, fans and historians. At one point in her career she and actress Lilyan Tashman, were known as the most elegant and best dressed women in Hollywood. Astor died following a stroke on her 90th birthday at the Motion Piture Home in Woodland Hills.Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Haven of Worship, North Wall, Niche 5, Tier 13
GPS coordinates: 34.0892906, -118.3211975 (hddd.dddd)- Actor
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles Avery was born on 28 May 1873 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Love and Bullets (1914), His Lying Heart (1916) and The Taming of the Shrew (1908). He was married to Elsa Clark, Margaret Ella Royster and Katherine Caroline Gormley. He died on 23 July 1926 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Extremely popular silent star of the 1920s. Her popularity was enhanced when she co-starred with Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik (1921) and The Son of the Sheik (1926). She made her screen debut at Essanay Studios in 1915. While she was popular in the 1920s (thanks to the patronage of her lover, Jesse Lasky), her popularity had slipped by the time she briefly retired from the screen in 1927. Divorces, lawsuits and mental health battles all took their toll on her. Ayres returned to the movies almost immediately after but had difficulty re-establishing herself. She hoped that a bit part in Souls at Sea (1937) would lead to a comeback but it did not. She died three years later of a cerebral hemorrhage.Plot: Chapel Columbarium, Niche 3D, Tier 3, Lower South Wall
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Leah Baird first made a name for herself in summer stock and traveling stock companies. After playing several leads in the William F. Brady troupe opposite Douglas Fairbanks Vitagraph signed her to a contract. Her peak years in film were from 1916-1918 at which time she was a very popular player. However, her career had faded by 1925, and she retired to concentrate on scriptwriting. Later in life, she became a bit part player.Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Haven of Worship, T-12, N1- Writer
- Director
- Producer
C. Graham Baker was born on 16 July 1883 in Evansville, Indiana, USA. C. Graham was a writer and director, known for Four Faces West (1948), Fighting Fate (1921) and The Man from Brodney's (1923). C. Graham died on 15 May 1950 in Hollywood, California, USA.Plot: Section 5 #710- Actor
- Producer
- Stunts
Known as one of Australia's greatest athletes, Baker represented a boxing company in Australia and worked with partner W.F. Howe and his wife who was very involved in the business. In 1908, he gained fame for boxing in the Olympic games which were held in London. Baker was also an expert swimmer and equestrian, performing stunts in 1944's National Velvet (1944) as well as teaching a young Elizabeth Taylor how to ride. He also trained actor Lash La Rue in the use of a bull whip. Prior to his illness, he had been active teaching polo to a number of film stars. Baker died from cerebrovascular disease he'd suffered for two years and his $10,000 estate was left to his wife, Ethel Rose Baker.Plot: Colonnade, north wall, T-3, N-11- Actor
- Soundtrack
Barbier was educated for the ministry before going to work on the stage. He appeared on Broadway in such successes as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "The Man Who Came Back," among others. He signed a contract with Paramount Pictures in 1929 and later worked as an actor for most of the major studios.Original burial site- Composer
- Soundtrack
Peter Bardens was born on 19 June 1945 in London, England, UK. He was a composer, known for A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985), That '70s Show (1998) and Youtube Geographic (2017). He died on 22 January 2002 in Malibu, California, USA.Plot: Section 5, Lot A, space 13- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
André Barlatier was born on 28 August 1882 in France. He was a cinematographer, known for Exclusive Rights (1926), Exit Smiling (1926) and The Painted Flapper (1924). He died on 7 November 1943 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Veteran cinematographer George S. Barnes had a well-earned reputation for reliability and a knack for combining artistry with economic efficiency. As a result, he was seldom out of work.
Having started as a still photographer for Thomas H. Ince in 1918, Barnes quickly rose through the ranks to director of photography. In the course of his career he spent time at just about every major studio in Hollywood: Paramount (1919-21), Metro (1924-25), United Artists (1926-31), MGM (1932), Warner Brothers (1933-38), 20th Century-Fox (1940-41), Universal (1942) and RKO (1942-48). During the 1920s he was the primary cinematographer for Samuel Goldwyn and was largely responsible for the success of films like The Dark Angel (1925). Under his auspices Gregg Toland learned his craft, particularly Barnes' trademark soft-edged, deep-focus photography and intuitive composition and camera movement. Barnes was an expert at lighting. He often utilized curtains or reflective surfaces to create patterns of light and shade. Most importantly, he perfectly suited the required style of photography to each individual assignment. He brought a vivid opulence to the dullish Technicolor romance Frenchman's Creek (1944), making it a triumph of style over content. His 'catoon colours' were just as perfectly suited to the fantasy adventure Sinbad, the Sailor (1947). At Warner Brothers the dark, somewhat grainy texture of films like Marked Woman (1937) was in sync with the realistic look the studio wanted to achieve for its product. He also excelled at shooting vivid dramatic scenes, such as the flood sequences featured in The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926).
Barnes did his best work in the 1940s, shooting two classic Alfred Hitchcock thrillers: for Rebecca (1940) he created an atmosphere of sinister foreboding, right from the beginning, with his shots of Manderley (Barnes was hired because Toland was unavailable, but he ended up winning an Academy Award); and Spellbound (1945), with its unsettling surrealist Salvador Dalí-designed dream sequence of wheels, eyes and staircases. A lesser, but nonetheless good-looking, addition to Barnes' resume is a minor film noir, The File on Thelma Jordon (1949). In contrast, he created a suitably lavish look for his color photography, which enlivened two charismatic swashbuckling adventures, The Spanish Main (1945) and Sinbad, the Sailor (1947). Popular with directors and producers (though he was once fired by David O. Selznick for failing to bring the best out of Jennifer Jones) and stars (Bing Crosby) alike, Barnes was continually employed until his retirement in 1953. He was also popular with the ladies, to which his seven marriages testify. One of his wives was the actress Joan Blondell.Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Sanctuary of Refuge, Corridor G-2, Crypt 2087- James O. Barrows was born on 29 March 1855 in Copperopolis, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Tomboy (1924), The Signal Tower (1924) and The Sea Beast (1926). He died on 7 December 1925 in Hollywood, California, USA.Plot: Section 13, #519
- Editor
- Actress
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Anne Bauchens was a pioneering film editor who had a long-standing partnership with director Cecil B. DeMille. In fact, she first edited a DeMille film in 1915 and then edited all of his films for 38 years, beginning with We Can't Have Everything (1918) and ending with The Ten Commandments (1956). She was nominated for four Oscars and won one, for North West Mounted Police (1940).Plot: Chapel Columbarium, 1st floor, northwest wall, T-2, N-3- Mary Baxter is known for Hark at Barker (1969), Long Ago, Tomorrow (1971) and The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971).
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Frank Beal was born on 11 September 1862 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Big Diamond Robbery (1929), The Inside of the White Slave Traffic (1913) and The Devil, the Servant and the Man (1912). He was married to Louise Lester. He died on 20 December 1934 in Hollywood, California, USA.Plot: C Building, #162- Mary Beal is known for The Smurfs (1981).Plot: C Building, #162
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
William Beaudine, the director of nearly 350 known films (nearly one for every day of the year; some listings of his work put his output at 500 movies and hundreds of TV episodes) and scores of television episodes, enjoyed a directing career that stretched across seven decades from the 'Teens to the '70s (he also was a screenwriter, credited on 26 films and one TV series). His movies, ranging from full-length features to one- and two-reel shorts, included the notorious Mom and Dad (1945) of 1945--the Gone with the Wind (1939) of the hygiene/exploitation genre--for infamous producer Kroger Babb, one of the notorious "Forty Thieves" of the exploitation circuit. His final, as well as very likely best-known, films were the grind-house/drive-in horror classics Billy the Kid Versus Dracula (1966) and Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966) (in 1966, when he made these two cheapies, he was the oldest active director in Hollywood, at 74). Beaudine was prolific not only because he mastered efficient filmmaking but also because he started in the early days of the film industry, when one- and two-reelers were ground out like sausages, and that's how he learned to make them. Although he was responsible for some prestigious pictures in the silent era--i.e., Mary Pickford's Sparrows (1926)--after 1937 he worked primarily churning out programmers at Poverty Row studios. When producers needed an efficiently-made potboiler shot on a two-week (or less) schedule, William Beaudine was the go-to guy, and he remained so through the mid-'60s.
William Washington Beaudine was born January 15, 1892, in New York City, an advantageous location for a tyro filmmaker at the turn of the last century, because the original "Hollywood" of America was located in nearby Ft. Lee, NJ (Thomas A. Edison, the inventor of the first motion picture production device and, more importantly, holder of several of its most important patents, was headquartered there. The patent monopoly he helped found did not want filmmakers operating too far away, as it wanted to oversee the industry to ensure it did not use pirated equipment that infringed its patents. California arose as a major production center in the 'Teens because it was far away from the prying eyes of the Edison trust, which was not averse to hiring thugs to wreck the equipment and beat up the employees of companies that defied it). Beaudine started in the industry as a $10-per-week prop boy, factotum and extra in 1909 with American Mutoscope and the Biograph Co., where he first worked with D.W. Griffith, the father of the American film. He began appearing as an actor in Mack Sennett's Biograph films in 1912 and continued to work behind the camera while appearing in front of it in 44 films through 1915. From 1911-14 he was an assistant director or second-unit director on 55 movies. He wed Marguerite Fleischer in October 1914 (they remained married until his death in 1970), the same year he moved to California. Although hired by the Kalem Co. as an actor, he got his first chance to direct while working on the studio's "Ham and Bud" comedy series in 1915. He directed at least five films in 1915, and served as an assistant to Griffith on his seminal masterpiece The Birth of a Nation (1915) and its follow-up, the aptly named Intolerance (1916). By 1916 Beaudine was making $100 per week as a director, and turned out as many as 150 short comedies before graduating to feature film assignments in 1922. Beaudine, like fellow director John Ford, was known for "editing in the camera", i.e., shooting only those scenes that are absolutely necessary, which saved time and raw stock. He did not shoot full coverage of scenes, with master shots and alternate takes (his contemporary William A. Wellman, another master of editing in the camera, did Beaudine--who was known as "One-Shot"--one better as "Two-Shot"--he would film two shots of a scene in case one was ruined in the developing lab), but no more than what he knew was necessary, and since he worked almost exclusively on low-budget "quickies" for the last 30 years of his career (he directed over half of the Bowery Boys films), producers valued him for his ability to make pictures quickly and economically, despite the gaffes (which likely would not be noticed by the audiences for these movies anyway). His attitude towards most of the films he was shooting at the time can be summed up by an incident in the 1940s, when he was informed that an East Side Kids quickie he was making for Monogram was falling behind schedule. His reply was, "You mean someone out there is actually waiting to see this . . . ?".
Beaudine churned out low-budget films by the gross, in a wide variety of genres. That's why it may be difficult for some to believe that, in the silent days, he was one of the more respected directors in the industry, and had established himself as a seasoned comedy director with a light but sure touch for such major studios as Goldwyn, Metro, First National and Warner Bros. He was renowned for his skill at working with children, which won him two assignments directing films for Mary Pickford at United Artists: Little Annie Rooney (1925) and the above-mentioned "Sparrows", a Gothic suspense thriller that is an ur-The Night of the Hunter (1955) (it reportedly influenced "Hunter" director Charles Laughton). Beaudine's finest silent film is generally considered to be The Canadian (1926), based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham.
By the time talkies arrived, Beaudine was a top director in Hollywood, his salary increasing from $1,250 a week in 1925 to $2,000-$2,500 a week in 1926. For directing the "Izzy and Mike" (Jewish/Irish comedy) The Cohens and the Kellys in Paris (1928) in 1928, he earned $20,000 (approximately $215,000 in 2006 terms), which was not bad considering the speed at which he turned out his films. Even after the Great Depression hit in 1929, as late as 1931 Beaudine was commanding $2,000 a week. Unfortunately, like many other Americans, he was heavily leveraged in the stock market and was virtually wiped out by the Crash of '29. He moved to England in 1935 and directed more than a dozen films there before returning to the US. Once home, however, he discovered that during his absence Hollywood got along just fine without him, and he couldn't find a job for two years. When he was finally offered work it was near the bottom of the Hollywood food chain, at low-rent studios like Monogram or PRC. By 1940 his once flourishing career had declined to the point that, where he had once commanded $2500 a week, he was now lucky to get jobs paying $500 a picture, and was turning out bottom-of-the-double-bill films like Desperate Cargo (1941) and the The Ape Man (1943). The lowest point of his career is generally considered to be the aforementioned "Mom and Dad" for Kroger Babb (an independent producer who often released through Monogram, for whom Beaudine did much work). "Mom and Dad" was a "hygiene" picture, featuring footage of a live birth, that Babb "four-walled" in territories across the U.S. ("four-walling" was the practice of renting an entire theater outright, which meant that after the rental fee was paid, all money taken in went to the exhibitor). Babb was a master showman, and his practice of having screenings for males and females at separate times, and providing a "doctor" and two "nurses" (who were in reality actors) to give a hygiene lecture and sell sex hygiene books at inflated prices (the money being collected by the "nurses", who ostensibly were there lest anyone faint from such a frank divulging of "the facts of life") was a masterful touch, capitalizing on the extreme sexual repression of the era to titillate and make a barrel full of money while doing it. These tactics were also helpful in keeping local authorities at bay--after all, who could close down a theater that showed such an "educational" film?
Some cinema historians say that "Mom and Dad" may well have been, on a return-on-investment basis, the most profitable film in history, grossing as much as $100 million. Babb later recounted that each one of his investors got back $63,000 for each $1,000 invested in the film. In a pre-"Kinsey Report" world filled with ignorance and misinformation--deliberate and otherwise--about biology and sex, "Mom, and Dad" filled a void and turned a handsome profit while doing so (it was playing at drive-ins in the South and Midwest at least until 1977, long after the sexual revolution of the "Swinging Sixties", so potent was the "birth of a baby" come-on to the rural audiences for whom it was made). "Mom and Dad" was likely the top-grossing picture of 1947. The film was so heavily promoted that "Time" magazine commented that the ad campaign "left only the livestock unaware of the chance to learn the facts of life." Until the advent of The Blair Witch Project (1999), many film historians regarded "Mom and Dad" as the purest and most successful exploitation film in history.
By the end of the 1940s Beaudine had churned out 60 movies. Still, he was regarded highly enough as a man who could make a movie quickly and efficiently to command a salary of $3,000 per week for The Lawton Story (1949), an adaptation of a Passion Play staged in Lawton, OK (which was re-released in 1951 by Babb's Hallmark company). His paced slowed somewhat in the 1950s, when he made only 23 films, most of them for Allied Artists (formerly Monogram). A quarter-century after directing superstar Mary Pickford, Beaudine was reduced to piloting a washed-up, drug-addicted former Dracula and two Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis clones in the pathetic Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952), with Lugosi, Duke Mitchell (the Martin clone) and Sammy Petrillo (the Lewis clone). In the "plot", Mitchell is turned into--what else?--a singing gorilla. Beaudine, who had worked with Lugosi in 1943's "The Ape Man" and the East Side Kids entry Ghosts on the Loose (1943) (most memorable for featuring a young Ava Gardner), wrapped the film in nine days on a budget of $50,000. In fact, during his preparation for playing Lugosi in Ed Wood (1994), the chronicle of another director of bad movies, Martin Landau watched "Brooklyn Gorilla" three times. Landau, who would earn an Oscar for his turn as Lugosi, said that it was so bad "it made the Ed Wood films look like 'Gone with the Wind'".
In 1947, two years after giving the world the landmark naughty picture "Mom and Dad", Beaudine was contracted by an evangelical Christian organization, the Protestant Film Commission, to make a religious-themed movie (beginning in the late 1940s, evangelist Billy Graham had done quite well in converting non-believers with movies made specifically for that purpose). It was successful and the PFC hired him on a regular basis to make more films. By 1955 Beaudine had directed ten of them for the Commission, all crafted to spread the word of God and convert non-believers to Christianity. Ironically, Beaudine himself reportedly was an atheist, who took the jobs solely for the money.
Beaudine's ability to overlook almost anything in order to get film into the can would prove a huge advantage in television. In the 1950s he moved into that medium, directing hundreds of episodes of popular series, including shows for Walt Disney. By the 1960s he was one of the principal directors on Lassie (1954), eventually passing the baton on to his son, William Beaudine Jr., upon his retirement from the show (proving the adage that the fruit really doesn't fall far from the tree). At the time of his retirement in 1967, William Beaudine was the oldest active director in Hollywood. He died in Canoga Park, CA, on March 18, 1970, with a record so prolific that it's unlikely to be ever matched again.
In 2005 the "labor of love" brought into the world by William Beaudine and Kroger Babb, two of Hollywood's most prolific sons, was honored by the Library of Congress' National Film Registry with the inclusion of "Mom and Dad" on the list of the nation's cinematic treasures.Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Sanctuary of Faith, Crypt 3227- Beaumont broke into show business in Memphis, Tennessee with an act known as 'Wells, Dunn and Harlan,' after being discovered by actor Otis Harlan. She played on stage in the chorus and later played leading roles. Married to actor Jack Arnold, they entered vaudeville and had a successful run appearing in a number of hits including: 'Miss Nobody From Starland' and 'A Modern Eve.' An excellent dancer, she injured her back and moved to Los Angeles.
- A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, Beckley appeared in BBC TV's "Romeo and Juliet", and later in "War and Peace" and "Julius Caesar." On stage, he appeared with Maggie Smith in "Snap" and Elaine Stritch in Tennessee Williams' "Small Craft Warnings." A veteran actor of over 1000 stage productions and television shows in England, Beckley's last film role was as the killer in When a Stranger Calls (1979).Plot: Garden of Legends (Section 8), Lot 236, east side next to lake
- Charles Belcher born in San Francisco in 1872. A graduate of San Francisco's Lincoln Grammar School. Became popular in drama and comedy theatre from 1907. White-haired gentleman who appeared in many action adventure and drama films, first starring with Ruth Roland in a adventure serial 'The Adventures of Ruth made at the Pathe Film Co in 1919, he's perhaps most notable for his roles in many of Douglas Fairbanks action films including 'The Mark of Zorro' in 1920, 'The Three Musketeers' in 1921 and 'The Black Pirate' in 1926, he' perhaps best remembered as Balthazar in 'Ben Hur' in 1925,Charles made his last screen appearance, playing the Duke in Albert Ray's 'Thief in the Dark' in 1928.
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Producer / director/ screenwriter Monta Bell was born on February 5, 1891, in Washington, DC. He turned to the stage as an actor after trying his hand at journalism in that city. He was cast by Charles Chaplin in the great comedian's The Pilgrim (1923), which was Bell's sole screen appearance as an actor. He worked for Chaplin as an editor and assistant director before becoming a director in his own right in 1924. He specialized in comedies of manners akin to early Cecil B. DeMille and Ernst Lubitsch. He directed Greta Garbo in her American film debut, The Torrent (1924), at MGM.
Bell left MGM to take over Paramount's New York City Astoria Studios as head of production. While he was studio chief, Astoria turned out The Marx Brothers' debut film The Cocoanuts (1929). Going back behind the camera, Bell directed comedies and melodramas in the early '30s, the time of the "talkies". He quit directing in 1933 to return full-time to producing. Twelve years later, he directed his final film, China's Little Devils (1945), starring former silent film star Harry Carey.
Monta Bell died on April 4, 1958, in Hollywood, CA.Plot: Section 8, Lot 88 (close to Nelson Eddy)- Curtis Benton was born on 26 August 1885 in Toledo, Ohio, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916), The Runaway Express (1926) and The Uninvited Guest (1924). He died on 14 September 1938 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Columbarium 1st floor, column 2
- George Berkeley was born on 13 June 1921 in Ridgewood, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for The Law vs. Billy the Kid (1954). He died on 1 February 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, H-2, Haven of Honor
- Harry Bernard was born on 13 January 1878 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Shadow (1937), Saps at Sea (1940) and Bedtime Worries (1933). He died on 4 November 1940 in Hollywood, California, USA.
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A Broadway actress, Flo appeared in "Cinderella on Broadway: A Fantasy of the Great White Way," which opened June 24, 1920 and ran for 126 performances. She played Miss Moffet in "Humpty Dumpty Lane," "The Silver Slipper Ball" and "Watteau Land." She also played the roles of Amy in "Lies" and the First Mate in "Caproni Station."- Actor
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Herman Bing was born on 30 March 1889 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He was an actor and assistant director, known for The Great Waltz (1938), Redheads on Parade (1935) and Sweethearts (1938). He was married to Carla Lichtenstein. He died on 9 January 1947 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Section 8, Lot 199- Maurice Black was born on 14 January 1891 in Queens, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Front Page (1931), Little Caesar (1931) and The Californian (1937). He was married to Edythe Raynore. He died on 18 January 1938 in Hollywood, California, USA.
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Paula Blackton was born on 1 August 1881 in Georgia, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for The Littlest Scout (1919), A Spring Idyl (1917) and Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1905). She was married to J. Stuart Blackton. She died on 27 March 1930 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Garden Of Legends.- Actor
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Mel Blanc, known as "The Man of Thousand Voices" is regarded as the most prolific actor to ever work in Hollywood with over a thousand screen credits. He developed and performed nearly 400 distinct character voices with precision and a uniquely expressive vocal range. The legendary specialist from radio programs, television series, cartoon shorts and movie was rarely seen by his audience but his voice characterizations were famous around the world.
Blanc under exclusive contract until 1960 to Warner Brothers voiced virtually every major character in the Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoon pantheon. Characters including Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat, Wile E. Coyote,The Roadrunner, Yosemite Sam, Sam the Sheepdog, Taz the Tazmanian Devil, Speedy Gonzales, Marvin the Martian, Foghorn Leghorn, Pepé la Pew, Charlie the Dog, Blacque Jacque Shellacque, Pussyfoot, Private Snafu among others were voiced by Blanc.
After 1960, Blanc continued to work for Warner Brothers but began to work for other companies once his exclusive contract ended. He worked for Hanna-Barbera voicing characters including Barney Rubble, Dino the Dinosaur, Cosmo Spacely, Secret Squirrel, Captain Caveman, Speed Buggy, Wally Gator among others. He provided vocal effects for Tom & Jerry in the mid 1960's working with fellow Warner Bros. alum, Chuck Jones at what would become MGM Animation. In the mid 1960's, Blanc originated and voiced Toucan Sam for the Kellogg's Fruit Loops commercials. He would later go to originate and voice Twiki for Buck Rogers and Heathcliff in the late 1970's and early 1980's.- Actress
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An attractive, wavy-haired brunette Londoner, Lilian Bond graduated from Brompton Oratory School and began her show business career in pantomimes and revues as a teenager. She travelled to America in 1926 to appear on Broadway in the 'Ziegfeld Follies' and for Earl Carroll's 'Vanities', as well as playing Rosamanda in 'Fioretta' with Fanny Brice. One of her subsequent roles was in 'Stepping Out' (1929) with Lionel Atwill, a part she later reprised on screen. Her film roles generally saw her as the 'other woman', except for a notable performance as Gladys DuCane, one of the temporary lodgers at The Old Dark House (1932) and, of course, Lily Langtry in The Westerner (1940). A beauty in her time, once photographed in the nude by Alfred Cheney Johnston and later romantically linked to Howard Hughes, she retired from films at the age of 50.Plot: Section 6, Lot 306, Space 9- Gypsy Boots was born on 19 August 1914 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Apartment 12 (2000), A Swingin' Summer (1965) and Diary of a Young Comic (1979). He was married to Lois Bloemker. He died on 8 August 2004 in Camarillo, California, USA.
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Nina Borget was born on 12 September 1909 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France. She was an actress. She died on 12 August 1997 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Lovyss Bradley was born on 2 March 1906 in Fayette County, Iowa, USA. She was an actress, known for Man of Conflict (1953), Outrage (1950) and The Untouchables (1959). She died on 21 June 1969 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Haven of Faith, T-11, N-4
GPS coordinates: 34.0892906, -118.3211975 (hddd.dddd) - Brecher was a 1900 graduate of the University of Heidelberg in Germany and then toured Austria and Germany acting on the stage. He also served as the chief director of the Stadts Theatre in Vienna before going to the U.S. in 1921. He became a naturalized American citizen on 9 May, 1927, along with his wife Essie and 8-year-old daughter Suse. In 1929, Brecher moved to Hollywood and appeared in foreign language versions of American films. He played in a number of horror films and espionage films during the 30s and 40s. Probably best remembered for his role in So Dark the Night (1946), Brecher died of a heart attack that same year.Plot: Garden of Moses, urn garden
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Not only did Joseph compose music for movies, he was the first person to compose a score specifically for a motion picture - "Queen Elizabeth" in 1912. In addition to film music, Joseph composed for various operas - `Love Laughs at Locksmiths' 1910, `Prof. Tattle' 1913 and, `The Seventh Chord' 1913. Breil died from heart disease.Plot: Cathedral Mausoleum, Alcove of Reverence, T-10, N-7- Actor
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El Brendel was born on 25 March 1890 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Just Imagine (1930), Wings (1927) and The Big Trail (1930). He was married to Flo Bert. He died on 9 April 1964 in Hollywood, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Legends, #38 (Formerly Section 8)- Actor
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With his lanky frame, big nose, toothbrush moustache and horn-rimmed glasses he looked like someone had decided to cross Groucho Marx with Albert Einstein. The perennial scene-stealer Felix Bressart had two distinct careers as a comic actor: an earlier one, on stage and screen in his native Germany, and a later -- even more prosperous one -- in Hollywood. Trained under Maria Moissi in Berlin, Felix began acting professionally after World War I. He honed his skills in the genres of political parody, musical comedy and slapstick farce in the theatres of Hamburg, Berlin and Vienna (with Max Reinhardt). By 1933, he had established his film acting credentials in popular mainstream movies like Three from the Filling Station (1930) and Die Privatsekretärin (1931). Like so many other distinguished actors he was forced to leave the German realm after the Nazis took power in 1933. Felix moved via Switzerland and France to a new domicile in the United States where his connections to fellow émigrés like Joe Pasternak and Ernst Lubitsch guaranteed him rapid and steady employment.
In Hollywood, Felix joined the regular company of stock players at MGM. He was immediately typecast, his stock-in-trade being disheveled academics, wistful European philosophers, scientists and music professors of diverse ethnicity. His first major screen success was as one of the Russian commissars in Lubitsch's Ninotchka (1939), a delightful performance which spawned as similar part being created for him in Comrade X (1940). The role which ultimately defined his career, in equal parts comedy and pathos, was in the classic wartime satire To Be or Not to Be (1942), as Greenberg, a Jewish member of an acting troupe with Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. It seemed, that Felix was still underemployed in films, since he managed to practise as a doctor of medicine on the side. Sadly, he died of leukemia in 1949 at the untimely age of 57.- Monte Brewer was born on 12 May 1932 in Lamar, Colorado, USA. He was an actor, known for Mr. Dynamite (1941). He died on 21 April 1942 in Hollywood, California, USA.
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Songwriter ("Ole Buttermilk Sky", "That's Amore"), composer and author, he came to the US in 1916 and wrote special material for Bing Crosby, Fred Allen and Phil Harris. He also wrote material for the Armed Forces Radio Service's "Command Performance". Joining ASCAP in 1946, his chief musical collaborators included Hoagy Carmichael, Walter Scharf, Walter Schumann, Harry Warren, and Serge Walter. His other song compositions include "I Can't Get You Out of My Mind", "Once Upon a Dream", "It's Dreamtime", "Song of Scheherazade", "You Wonderful You", "Look at Me", "Saturday Date", "Just for Awhile", "Is It Yes, Or Is It No?", "Who Can Tell?", "Lonesome Gal", and "Am I in Love?".Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Haven of Faith, T-11, N-4
GPS coordinates: 34.0892906, -118.3211975 (hddd.dddd)- Australian actress who worked primarily in Britain and specialized in superior, upper-crust sorts. Browne began her stage career in Melbourne but moved to England at the age of 21 and quickly brightened the West End with her sharp delivery and stylish sense of comedy. Her film appearances were sporadic, though she made several pictures memorable with her presence, particularly The Ruling Class (1972) as the libidinous Lady Claire.
While touring the Soviet Union in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of "Hamlet, " Browne encountered the expatriate British spy Guy Burgess, and this bizarre meeting became the basis of the television film An Englishman Abroad (1983), for which Browne won the BAFTA Best Actress award for playing herself. She met Vincent Price when they co-starred in Theater of Blood (1973), and married him in 1974. He was at her side when she died at 77 following a long struggle with breast cancer.Plot: Ashes were scattered in the Rose Garden - Peter Bruni was born on 28 December 1931 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), The Incredible Hulk (1978) and The Wild Wild West (1965). He died on 3 May 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Section 8, near Janet Gaynor
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Edward Bunker was born on 31 December 1933 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Reservoir Dogs (1992), Runaway Train (1985) and The Longest Yard (2005). He was married to Jennifer Steele. He died on 19 July 2005 in Burbank, California, USA.Plot: Section 7, Lot 7988, grave 5A- Walter Butterworth was born on 4 April 1892 in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Kraft Theatre (1947) and The Web (1950). He was married to Margaret Blakeney. He died on 10 March 1962 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Behind Cathedral Mausoleum, Section 9, Near Fairbanks Garden Mausoleum, Stack Nine (L-R) / Section on Left (West) Side
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For thirteen years, Butts was the chief pianist and arranger for NBC Radio in Chicago. He left for Hollywood in 1941 and joined Republic Studios as staff composer in 1943. Nominated for his original score: "Flame of the Barbara Coast" in 1945.Plot: Section 2, #69
GPS coordinates: 34.0899582, -118.3165588 (hddd.dddd)- Actor
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Tall, distinguished, aristocratic Louis Calhern seemed to be the poster boy for old-money, upper-crust urban society, but he was actually born Carl Vogt, to middle-class parents in New York City. His family moved to St. Louis when he was a child, and it was while playing football in high school there that he was spotted by a representative of a touring acting troupe and hired as an actor. He returned to New York to work in the theater, but his career was interrupted by military service in France in World War I. He returned to the stage after the war, and eventually broke into films. Although his regal bearing would seem to pigeonhole him in aristocratic parts in serious drama, he proved to be a very versatile actor, as much at home playing a comic foil to The Marx Brothers in Duck Soup (1933) as he was as Buffalo Bill to Betty Hutton's Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun (1950) or, most memorably, the lawyer involved with the criminal gang in The Asphalt Jungle (1950). Married four times, he was in Tokyo, Japan, filming The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956) when he suffered a fatal heart attack.Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Abbey Foyer, niche 308, tier 3, South wall
GPS coordinates: 34.0892906, -118.3211975 (hddd.dddd)- Eduardo Cansino Jr. was born on 13 October 1919 in New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd (1953) and I've Got a Secret (1952). He died on 11 March 1974 in Hollywood, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Beginnings (formerly Section 2), L-6
- Vernon Cansino was born on 21 May 1922 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Madonna of the Desert (1948) and Song of My Heart (1948). He died on 23 March 1974 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Beginnings (formerly Section 2), #6
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Married petite actress Mary Akin when she was just 17 and he was 38. He was already married once - in 1905 but the records of that union are lost - and divorced. Carewe and Akin had two children during their first marriage, daughter Sally Ann (b. 1925) and son William (b. 1927). A third child with Mary, Carol Lee (b. 1932), happened during their second marriage.Plot: Section 1, #471- John Carlyle was born on 5 January 1931 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He was an actor, known for Amazing Stories (1985), Tales of Wells Fargo (1957) and One Step Beyond (1959). He died on 27 May 2003 in West Hollywood, California, USA.Plot: Chapel Columbarium, 2nd floor
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Horace B. Carpenter was born on 31 January 1875 in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Maniac (1934), The Arizona Kid (1929) and Fangs of Fate (1925). He was married to Beatrice Allen and Ella N. Hilger. He died on 21 May 1945 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Memory, #187 (unmarked)- Actor
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Alexander Carr was born on 7 March 1878 in Rumni, Russia. He was an actor and writer, known for April Fool (1926), The Death Kiss (1932) and In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter (1924). He was married to Helen Ryan Cressman (show girl), Helen Cunningham Carr (actress) and Mary Carr (actress). He died on 19 September 1946 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Section 17, Row V, grave 102- Frequently appearing for or alongside her actor/writer husband of 50 years, noted stage, screen and TV heavy and writer Leo Gordon, actress Lynn Cartwright is probably best remembered for one of her early screen roles as the brusque, Brooklyn-accented switchboard operator in the cult horror The Wasp Woman (1959), and for her touching final screen appearance as the older, sweet-faced WWII-era baseball player Dottie Hinson (played throughout most the film by Geena Davis)) in the final scenes of the Penny Marshall-helmed comedy A League of Their Own (1992).
The willowy, auburn-haired performer with the highly distinctive cheek bones was born on February 27, 1927, in McAlester, Oklahoma, the daughter of U.S. Congressman Wilburn and his wife Carrie (née Staggs) Cartwright. Lynn's younger sister, Wilburta, born a year later, went on to become an artist. Other politically-minded Oklahomans from her family tree include Legislator Buck Cartwright and former Attorney General Jan-Eric Cartwright.
Lynn enrolled in acting lessons at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in the late 1940s. Here is where she met Gordon, an ex-con who was trying to turn his life around as an actor. The couple married in February of 1950 and began married life touring together on the Borscht Belt stages. They went on to have a daughter together, Tara Gordon.
Leo's career took off after he landed an agent and moved the family West to Los Angeles. His brutally hard looks and massive brick-wall presence easily took on evil dimensions and after a chilling breakthough perf in City of Bad Men (1953), cemented his screen infamy with the powerful role of the psychotic prisoner in director Don Siegel's Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954). Lynn (using her real first name Doralyn before condensing it to Lynn) found a couple of meager TV assignments ("Rin Tin Tin," etc.) during this early time, but began finding more roles once Leo managed to parlay his acting career into a successful writing one as well. Lynn, in fact, made her film debut in the very first film script Leo sold, Black Patch (1957), which included parts for the two of them.
Lynn also appeared in her writer/husband's script The Cry Baby Killer (1958) which was produced by Roger Corman and introduced Jack Nicholson to film audiences, and can be spotted as one of Zsa Zsa Gabor's Venusian sirens in the campy cult opus Queen of Outer Space (1958). She ended the decade with minor TV drama work in "Target," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Peter Gunn," "Bat Masterson" and "Highway Patrol".
The 1960's proved to be lean years. Other than a couple of unbilled film parts in The Apartment (1960), which won Oscar's "Best Picture" that year and the totally obscure The Girls on the Beach (1965) in which Lynn and Leo were glimpsed as waiters, acting offers were few and far between. By the end of the decade she was appearing in her husband's soft-erotica scripts, including All the Loving Couples (1969), which focused on wife swappers, and in The Erotic Adventures of Robin Hood (1969), which is self-explanatory, as the villainous Lady Sallyforth. The former was based on Leo's own written novel.
Lynn appeared without Leo in the sex-minded teaser film Gabriella, Gabriella (1970) and in The Lucifer Complex (1978) starring Robert Vaughn. She also worked (with and without Leo) from time to time in association with writer/director/producer Rod Amateau in such frisky movie vehicles as Where Does It Hurt? (1972) starring Peter Sellers and The Seniors (1978) starring Dennis Quaid and Priscilla Barnes, as well as Amateau's Nazi-themed lowbudget Son of Hitler (1979) with 'Bud Cort' in the unlikely title role, the teen-oriented Lovelines (1984), and the bizarre and controversial The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987).
On the small screen Lynn could occasionally be found on such 70s and 80s shows as "Adam 12," "Little House on the Prairie," "Dynasty" and "Knot's Landing," some of which were scripted by her husband. In the 1970s Leo and Lynn joined the Group Repertory Theatre company in North Hollywood, California, which was founded by actor Lonny Chapman, where Leo tested and wrote (while Lynn appeared in) several of his stage plays.
Lynn ended her career on a sentimental high note after being cast as the senior version of Geena Davis' character who revisits her baseball-playing alumni at the end of the comedy hit film A League of Their Own (1992) starring Davis and Tom Hanks. The facial resemblance between the two actresses is so extraordinary that people often assume it is Geena herself wearing old-age makeup. Part of this mistaken belief has to to do with the confusion over Lynn's voice -- which was not used in the movie but dubbed in by Geena herself.
Illness dogged Leo's last years and he died in 2000 of cardiovascular disease at age 78, after 50 years of marriage. Lynn was never able to overcome her grief and her health quickly declined following his death with the advancement of dementia. She died four years later after a fall resulted in a hip fracture. She was interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.Plot: Chapel columbarium, 2nd floor, north wall. - Actor
- Soundtrack
Maurice Cass was born on October 12, 1884, in Vilnius, Lithuania (then Vilno, Russian Empire). He emigrated to the USA, and in his pursuit of an acting career, he began as announcer and comedian in New York. Cass had a pleasant face, a small body and a big voice.
With his nearsightedness and his inevitable pince-nez adding weight to his intelligent face, Cass was destined to play professors, doctors, writers, and managers with his special brand of genial, slightly absent-minded officiousness. He started playing bit parts, often uncredited, and made a career as a character actor in more than 120 film and television productions. His best known work was Professor Newton, a supporting role in a series of space adventure movies made for TV and shown over the period from 1954 to 1956. Cass's snow-white haired Professor Newton could always be counted on to provide the scientific explanation for all the fantastic events that unfolded before the viewer. Professor Newton had his own observatory (which was filmed at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles) and although elderly, he would often accompany the astronauts on their adventurous space flights.
Maurice Cass's character, Professor Newton, was replaced by Professor Mayberry upon Cass's death of a heart attack, at the age of 69, on June 8, 1954, in Hollywood, California.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Cawthorn made his stage debut in 1872 at the age of four. At nine, he went to England and played in music halls for four years. In 1898, Cawthorn made his debut on Broadway and carried on a successful career for some twenty-five years. Moving to Hollywood in 1927, he began a career as a character actor. Married to stage and screen actress Queenie Vassar, Cawthorn passed away following a stroke in his Beverly Hills home.Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Sanctuary of Refuge, #2085- Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Sanctuary of Refuge, #2085
- Charles Chaplin Jr. was born on 5 May 1925 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Beat Generation (1959), Fangs of the Wild (1954) and Matinee Theatre (1955). He was married to Martha Brown (nurse) and Susan Magness. He died on 20 March 1968 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Sanctuary of Trust, Crypt 1065, Corridor E-2
GPS coordinates: 34.0892906, -118.3211975 (hddd.dddd) - Director
- Actor
- Writer
French director and actor of American and French films. He began his career as a stage actor at the Odeon in Paris, then at the Eclair, where he became artistic director and chief director of the theatre school in 1910. Five years later he traveled to America and began a successful career as a film director for a variety of American film companies. After more than a decade as a director, he returned abruptly to acting and appeared in a wide range of roles in a number of films before his death at 53.Plot: Chapel Columbarium, Lower Column E, Tier 1.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Al Christie began his career in 1909 with the Nestor Company. In 1912 he was put in charge of production for a series of westerns. By 1916 he had set up his own production company that produced comedy two-reelers and occasionally a full-length feature. He was the brother of producer/director Charles Christie. In 1926 Christie, along with Vera Steadman and H. Prevost, Marie Prevost's mother, was in a car accident in Florida that left Mrs. Prevost dead from a broken spine. Steadman and Christie suffered cuts and bruises.Plot: Section 8, Lot 178- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Director
Charles H.V. Christie, the motion picture studio owner and real estate developer, was born on April 14, 1880 in London, Ontario, Canada. He emigrated to the United States with his younger brother Al to seek employment in the film industry. Al eventually became head of comedy production at Adolph Zukor's Universal Film Manufacturing Co. in January 1916, Al founded his own studio, The Christie Film Co., with his brother Charles. The brothers had a six month contract to produce comedies for Universal.
Specializing in comedy, the Christie brothers made both features and shorts at a production facility located at Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street that they rented from Quality Pictures Corp. Al handled the production end of the business, while Charles oversaw the administration of the company. In July 1912, the company went independent, selling their product to independent distributors. Al Christie's comedies proved so popular the Christie Brothers were able to soon acquire their own production facilities, and their continued success enabled them to double their production capacity and open a technologically advanced developing laboratory.
Christie Film made situational comedies rather than slapstick, and sometimes they were risqué, featuring provocatively dressed young women. Fatty Arbuckle and Harold Lloyd made their debuts with his studio, and the Christie brothers also recruited Canadian talent, including Marie Dressler and Marie Prevost, both of whom became lifelong friends of the brothers. Always innovative, The Christie Film Co. published a magazine, "Film Follies," that detailed up-coming releases and the current goings-on at the Christie Studio.
The Christie brothers were ahead of the times in the area of race-relations. Al had originally hired the African American Spencer Williams as a sound technician, but discovering his writing talent, he began using him as a screenwriter. Williams subsequently became a pioneer in "race films" and later achieved mainstream fame portraying Andy Brown in CBS' "Amos & Andy" television series. The Christie Film Co. entered the race film market in early 1929, producing the first talking pictures made for and featuring African Americans. Utilizing the talents of Harlem's Lafayette Players Stock Co., Christie Film also produced musical comedy shorts featuring all-black casts based on Octavus Ray Cohen's `Darktown Birmingham' stories that were published in the `Saturday Evening Post.' Paramount Pictures distributed the `Darktown Birmingham' shorts.
When fellow Canadian movie pioneer Mary Pickford helped create the Motion Picture Relief Fund in 1921 along with fellow United Artists owners Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and D.W. Griffith, the Christie Film Co. supported the charity, which was dedicated to helping actors who had fallen on hard times. UA President Joseph M. Schenck was the first president of the Fund, with Pickford serving as vice president. The board of directors included many of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Charles Christie, who took a major role in administering the Fund whose mission statement was "We take care of our own." (Under future president Jean Hersholt, after whom the Humanitarian Oscar award is named, the Fund acquired a 48-acre plot in Woodland Hills, California on which, in 1942, the actors' retirement home now known as the Motion Picture & Television Country Home and Hospital was built.
The Great Depression hurt the film industry, and the Christie Film Co. and Christie Realty Corp. both went into receivership in January 1933. The studio was closed, and its assets were acquired by another movie company. Charles turned to the real estate business, and was soon joined by his brother Al.
Charles Christie died in Hollywood on October 1, 1955 and was interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.Plot: Garden of Legends, #178 - family marker- Gertrude Claire was born on 16 July 1852 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Oliver Twist (1922), The Little Irish Girl (1926) and The Female of the Species (1916). She died on 28 April 1928 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Chapel Mausoleum, Corridor C, Crypt 149 (closed to the public for many years).
- Actress
- Stunts
- Soundtrack
This beautiful, long-legged blonde actress was known to be a kind, intelligent and dependable actor with a comedic talent as well. She appeared in many American TV hits of the 1970s and 1980s, such as Three's Company (1976), The Jeffersons (1975), The New Mike Hammer (1984), Riptide (1984), Knight Rider (1982), Who's the Boss? (1984), The A-Team (1983), Night Court (1984), Wings (1990) and Silk Stalkings (1991), among others. Her big-screen debut came in the 1982 Amy Heckerling film Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), as the character Mrs. Vargas. This film starred Sean Penn and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Lana then landed a role in the Roger Corman fantasy epic Deathstalker (1983). This led to her being offered the title role in Corman's next film, the cult classic Barbarian Queen (1985). It was this association with the legendary Corman that really put Lana on the B-movie map. After starring in "Barbarian Queen" as the sword-wielding lead, a character Corman fondly refers to as "the original Xena," Lana then reprised the role in the sequel Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back (1990).
Lana's larger-than-life personality and striking beauty, along with several of the movie roles she chose, inspired a cult fan following. This warm fanfare was further cemented by her work in the John Landis spoof Amazon Women on the Moon (1987). She was always a favorite at the ever-growing comic book conventions, where she happily signed autographs and was known to be friendly and accessible to all of her loyal fans, both young and old alike.
Lana also did stunt work in Retroactive (1997). Her last film was March (2001), as Dr. Ellen Taylor. Even though she did not do many movies toward the end of her life, she found success working in television commercials, for such products as Mercedes-Benz, Nike, Anheiser Busch, Playtex bras, Kmart and Mattel. She had been spending her time creating comedic characters for many of these companies. While working for the KMART Corp., Lana made personal appearances as the character she created for the Route 66 clothing campaign, Katie Earline Wilson. She was an actress who had more to offer Hollywood in the future, had her life not been cut so tragically short.Plot: Chapel Columbarium, 2nd floor, south wall- Actor
- Writer
- Visual Effects
Dark Cloud was born on 20 September 1861 in St. Francis Indian Village, Quebec, Canada. He was an actor and writer, known for What Am I Bid? (1919), The Dishonored Medal (1914) and The Woman Untamed (1920). He was married to Margaret Camp. He died on 17 October 1918 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Section 10W- Producer
- Additional Crew
In 1915, Clune purchased forty acres of land near Hollywood Memorial Park and built a soundstage for making movies. When United Artists was formed, the production office moved to the studio and lensed a handful of films on that lot. In 1922, Columbia Pictures occupied the lot, followed by Inspiration Pictures, Lillian & Dorothy Gish Productions, among others. Today Raleigh Studios occupies that parcel of land. Known as a multi-millionaire, Clune was known for his vast wealth, due mostly from real estate investments and his vision in the growing motion picture industry. He began with a penny arcade, later building a theater and purchasing what was then called the Philharmonic Auditorium and later owned a number of theaters in Los Angeles and the surrounding area.Plot: Cathedral Mausoleum, Crypt 994- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Iron Eyes Cody was born Espera or "Oscar" DeCorti, the son of two first-generation immigrants from Italy. In 1924 he moved to California, changed his name from "DeCorti" to "Corti" to Cody, and started working as an actor, presenting himself as a Native American. In 1936, he married Bertha Parker, a Native American archaeologist of Abenaki and Seneca descent. Together, they adopted two sons - Robert and Arthur, two brothers of Dakota and Maricopa descent. Iron Eyes Cody claimed Native American descent, although he was actually of Italian descent, with ancestors from Sicily. He labored for decades to promote Native American causes, and was honored by Hollywood's Native American community in 1995 as a "non-Native" for his contribution to film.Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Sanctuary of Memories, crypt 3301, corridor H-4-1
GPS coordinates: 34.0892906, -118.3211975 (hddd.dddd)- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Art Cohn was born on 5 April 1909 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Red Skies of Montana (1952), The Tall Target (1951) and Tomorrow Is Another Day (1951). He was married to Marta Cohn. He died on 22 March 1958 in New Mexico, USA.Plot: Section 16, Row A, Grave 7- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Production Manager
He was crude, uneducated, foul and, even on his best behavior, abrasive. No major studio executive of the so-called "Golden Age" was more loathed (although at times the dictatorial Samuel Goldwyn and the hard-nosed Jack L. Warner came close) than Harry Cohn.
Born in the middle of 5 children to Joseph Cohn, a Jewish tailor, and Bella, a Polish émigré, Harry was raised on New York's rough lower-class East 88th St., where he followed his older brother Jack Cohn into show business. Harry's life and the origins of Columbia Pictures are closely associated with Jack, whose early career paved the way for Harry's own ambitions, despite the fact that the two brothers fought bitterly and each harbored deep resentment over the other's success. By 19 Jack had left a job with an advertising agency to work for Carl Laemmle's newly formed Independent Motion Picture Company (IMP), rapidly working his way from entry-level job in the processing lab and through various positions where he founded Universal Weekly, one of the first newsreel outfits, for Laemmle. Jack soon found himself in charge of IMP's shorts as an uncredited producer. He was involved in Laemmle's first stab at feature production, Traffic in Souls (1913), which returned a then-whopping $450,000 on a $57,000 negative cost, convincing Uncle Carl to head west and invest in his own studio, Universal City. During this period Jack had convinced Laemmle to hire Joe Brandt, an attorney he'd worked for in advertising. Brandt, who would become the head of Universal's East Coast operations, would later be a key factor in the brothers' success.
Harry had grown up in his brother's shadow, working for much of the first decade of the 20th century as a lowly shipping clerk for a music publishing company. In 1912 he teamed with Harry Ruby at a local nickelodeon, singing duo for $28 per week, with Ruby receiving the biggest slice of the pie. The act would split up within a year and, after a brief stint as a trolley-car fare collector, Harry hit on the idea of applying song plugging to motion pictures. He produced a handful of silent shorts in which popular songs were mimed by actors, inviting the audiences to join in. His relatively modest success at this greased the skids for his brother to recommend him for a job at Universal. At age 27 Harry was working for Laemmle.
By 1919 Jack was itching for a change and wanted to become an independent film producer--he produced a series of shorts called Screen Snapshots, which purported to show stars' lives off-screen. Their popularity encouraged Jack to jump ship and Harry, sensing an opportunity, went with him. With them went Joe Brandt. The three formed CBC Film Sales, which released shorts, mostly terrible--so terrible, in fact, they earned the studio the nickname "Corned Beef and Cabbage Productions" (Harry would explode into a rage whenever he heard this). Desperate to put distance between he and his brother, Harry headed for Hollywood to oversee CBC productions there. By design or opportunity he ended up working out of the old Balshofer Studio on Hollywood Boulevard and gradually created his own studio, renting out the Independent Studios lot on Sunset and Gower. This was the heart of "Poverty Row"--so-called because it was an area filled with the offices of low-budget production companies and fly-by-night producers, who ground out ultra-cheap programmers (mostly westerns) hoping to make a few bucks. Harry was home.
He began producing two-reelers cheaply and nearly everything he sent east made money for CBC. It soon dawned on him that the big money wasn't in shorts but features, and the company scraped $20,000 together and produced More to Be Pitied Than Scorned (1922). Through the then-complex system of exchange releasing and so-called states rights sales, CBC netted $130,000 on the picture and, even more importantly, scored a deal for five additional features. By the end of 1923 CBC had released ten features, none of which lost money--a remarkable event along Gower Gulch. Harry was extremely conscious of his place in Hollywood and took offense at the derision CBC films received. He finally had enough, and on January 10, 1924, the company's name became Columbia Pictures Corporation. The next year the company paid $150,000 for a property at 6070 Sunset Boulevard. The partners made a fateful decision about the same time: unlike most of the other major studios (and this definition certainly didn't include Columbia at the time), they opted to forego theater ownership. This decision would prove extremely wise over the next 3three decades. Under Harry, Columbia rose from the Gower Gulch ash heap. His releases rarely featured A-list stars but consistently made money. Columbia took its first tentative stab at A-list feature production with The Blood Ship (1927) (its first featuring the now-familiar torch lady logo), and even that was made using a faded star, Hobart Bosworth, who agreed to appear in the melodrama for free.
Fate smiled on Harry when former Mack Sennett writer/director Frank Capra became available, and he was able to initially secure Capra's services for $1000 per picture. Capra's importance to the fortunes of Columbia Pictures cannot be overstated and, to be fair to Cohn, he recognized it. With rare exceptions the studio utilized competent journeymen directors like Erle C. Kenton, Malcolm St. Clair or Edward LeSaint, usually assigned to projects starring capable B-level actors hired on a one-shot basis (every so often Columbia would splurge and hire an "A"-list director like Howard Hawks. With each of his features, Capra's significance to Columbia grew, and with each hit Capra was given increasing carte blanche; the congenitally tightfisted Cohn would still fight bitterly with his star director over budgets, but would usually relent to the demands of his productions. Strangely, Columbia's status as a Poverty Row outfit actually helped. The major studios loaned them temperamental stars who demanded pay raises or script approval--since working for a "low-rent" studio like Columbia was considered punishment in the class-conscious world of Hollywood--and Harry enthusiastically assigned them to Capra's pictures, a tactic that usually paid off big. A top actor from MGM or Warners was expected to suffer in the low-budget purgatory of Gower Gulch but usually left eagerly wanting to work for Capra again. One such production, It Happened One Night (1934), single-handedly propelled the studio into the ranks of the majors and garnered Columbia its first Oscars (although the studio had been nominated for productions infrequently since 1931). Cohn never looked back; signing directors to contracts was one thing, but hordes of potentially unruly actors was another thing entirely--he held firm to his long-standing belief that contract stars were nothing but trouble, after paying keen interest to Jack L. Warner's battles with James Cagney, Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland. In 1934 he signed The Three Stooges (who would enjoy a 22-year run at Columbia) and recent German émigré Peter Lorre (Cohn was at a loss on how to utilize him and Lorre would spent most of his time at Columbia being loaned out to other studios) to long-term contracts, but wouldn't begin to build a roster of contract stars in earnest until the late 1930s, beginning with Rosalind Russell, and always he kept their numbers comparatively small (William Holden, Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth were among the select few in the late 1930s and early 1940s).
The vast majority of Columbia's output remained at the B-level well into the 1950s, but most of its films were profitable. It took Columbia until 1946 to experience its first bona fide blockbuster with The Jolson Story (1946), which netted $8 million on a $2-million investment and resulted in a profitable sequel in 1949. Among the major studios only Paramount and Columbia eagerly welcomed the intrusion of television, and Columbia responded by creating a subsidiary, Screen Gems (created by Harry's nephew Ralph Cohn) in the early 1950s. The division would pay off handsomely over the next 20 years.
Harry and his brother Jack continued to fight fiercely over business matters until Jack's death in 1956. Harry himself died of a heart attack in 1958. Despite his undeniable crudeness--the boorish, thuggish, crooked, loudmouthed "Harry Brock" character in Garson Kanin's classic Born Yesterday (1950), memorably played by Broderick Crawford, was largely based on Cohn), Harry Cohn's Columbia Pictures never had a negative year during his 30-year-plus reign--a record only approached by Louis B. Mayer, who ruled MGM from 1924 through mid-1951. Columbia began from a far more disadvantaged position than MGM did, though, and it thrived due to Cohn's keen judge of talent and his near-fanatical adherence to early business policies that were originally ridiculed.Plot: Garden of Legends (Section 8), Lot 86, directly across street from Cathedral Mausoluem
GPS coordinates: 34.0885811, -118.3168030 (hddd.dddd)- Editor
- Producer
- Actor
Arguably there wouldn't have been a Columbia Pictures without him. Jacob (Jack) Cohn was born into an impoverished immigrant family that eventually numbered four children. Hollywood history may credit his younger brother Harry Cohn for a begrudging amount of greatness but he not only followed in Jack's footsteps into the film business, he was a vital part of everything Harry ever built. Jack quit a job at a New York advertising agency in 1908 and jumped on board with the fledgling "Film Service Company", owned by Carl Laemmle. This company morphed into the "Independent Motion Picture" (or IMP) Corporation and began producing its own films (it would, in turn, morph into Universal after moving to Hollywood during the industry's film patent war). The 19-year old quickly rose from a lowly position in the film lab and literally b.s.'d his way up the company's hierarchy. By 1913, he had talked Laemmle into producing newsreels, forming "Universal Weekly". Jack was soon placed in charge of Laemmle's short subject department, which then comprised all of its output. He was placed in charge of cutting Universal's first feature, a $57,000 gamble called Traffic in Souls (1913); its then whopping return of $450,000 was not lost on Jack (or Laemmle for that matter, he committed himself to feature films after this early success and moved west). It was about this time that Jack convinced Uncle Carl to hire an old friend from his days in the advertising business, Joe Brandt, a lawyer who would prove instrumental in the brothers' affairs over the next dozen or so years. With Universal's formation in Hollywood, Jack remained in New York and recommended his brother Harry for a job within the studio. Since Laemmle was an ardent believer in paternalism (practically all his relatives were employed there), it was no great push to get him to hire Harry, who became Laemmle's personal secretary. By 1920, Jack had grown anxious to branch out on his own in the movie business and enlisted Harry and Brandt to form their own production company as CBC (Cohn-Brandt-Cohn) Film Sales. Their initial endeavor, a series of three shorts shot in New York based on H.A. McGill's "Hall Room Boys" cartoons proved a dismal failure and nearly doomed the embryonic firm. Harry needed a 3,000 mile buffer zone between his brother and Brandt and headed West to base CBC's product where most of the talent was. For the next few months, he managed to bring CBC's shorts in cheaply, using excess film stock purchased from other studios. He rented or borrowed everything possible and, incredibly, managed to send marketable product East. Harry rented an old studio at the corner of Sunset and Gower that stood as the portal to Poverty Row, a notorious area that had a reputation of being a place where careers went to die. Like Laemmle, Harry rather belatedly realized that the big money was in feature film production and convinced Jack and Joe to pony up $20,000 for a 6-reel production of More to Be Pitied Than Scorned (1922). The modest production realized a profit of $130,000 which was remarkable considering CBC lacked a theatrical network and had to split profits with innumerable (and often greedy) film exchanges for distribution. The success of this first feature resulted in a deal for 5 additional features - CBC enthusiastically jumped in with both feet, producing 10 features by the end of 1923... each one proving profitable. Despite this success, CBC was met with derision in Hollywood, and dubbed "Corned Beef and Cabbage" Productions, which enraged Harry. Seeking to reposition the firm as a major player in town, Harry successfully lobbied for a name change to "Columbia Pictures Corporation" and, with the change, went public and, by 1925, physical ownership of the Gower studio. Throughout, the brothers fought like wet cats in a burlap bag. Harry, although possessing remarkable instincts for talent, was universally disliked by everyone who ever worked for him. He was cheap, crude, profane, uneducated and enthusiastically belittled anyone at the slightest provocation. Jack remained in the East and acted as the company's banker, remaining mostly disconnected with the creative process. Joe Brandt acted as an intermediary between the two bothers, who continued to fight incessantly (he would be bought out by the end of the decade and leave the company). Columbia Pictures rose out of the ash pile of Poverty Row by making a handful of wise business decisions hashed out by the partners in the 1920s: the company rejected theater ownership (which proved even more intelligent after the Supreme Court ruled against other studio's chain ownership in the 1940s), eschewed longterm talent contracts (with the notable exception of wunderkind director Frank Capra and The Three Stooges, which proved too good a deal to pass up) and virtually fed off its early Poverty Row reputation. Columbia's ability to attract talent was a direct result of being able to contract with loaned-out actors whose studios wanted to punish for perceived unreasonable pay and script disputes. These stars would invariably be placed into Capra's first-class productions; notably, It Happened One Night (1934) which single-handedly propelled the company into the ranks of the majors - and earned its first Oscars. Aside from Capra's films and a precious few other top notch directors like Leo McCarey, the vast majority of Columbia's pre-war output was decidedly B-level, featuring mostly supporting level quality stars; it didn't enjoy its first blockbuster hit until The Jolson Story (1946), an $8 million earner. But Columbia Pictures incredibly never had a year in the red during his brother's reign... a record unequaled by any other Hollywood studio, even MGM, which suffered greatly after WW2. Unlike the other majors, Columbia embraced television. Jack's son, Ralph Cohn, with the blessing of the corporation, formed the Screen Gems subsidiary in the early 1950s - another fortuitous move that paid big dividends in the 1960s. The brothers love-hate relationship continued until Jack's death in 1956 at age 67. Harry died of a heart attack in 1958 at age 66.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born in Florida, Joan went to New York where she worked as a model. In 1935 she went to Hollywood where she was signed at Columbia Pictures. While at Columbia, Joan appeared in a number of films and worked with leading men such as Ralph Bellamy, Melvyn Douglas and Lew Ayres. She also caught the eye of studio mogul Harry Cohn who wanted Joan for his wife. After Columbia, Joan went to Warner Brothers where she appeared in a handful of films including International Squadron (1941) and Nine Lives Are Not Enough (1941) with Ronald Reagan. More of a supporting actress than the leading lady, she became very powerful when she finally married Harry Cohn in 1941 and retired from films.Plot: Section 8, lot #78, Cohn family plot, in the crypt next to Harry Cohn
GPS coordinates: 34.0887184, -118.3166275 (hddd.dddd)- Cohn started Screen Gems as a subsidiary to Columbia Pictures and served as it's general manager. He was responsible for starting the The Ford Television Theatre (1952) on television and in 1952 was named vice president and general manager of Screen Gems, becoming president in 1958. Columbia Pictures' willingness to enter television production flew in the face of then-prevailing industry mentality, but Screen Gems would prove to be an extremely lucrative business for the company well into the 1970's. Cohn's body lies at Mt. Carmel cemetery in Queens.Plot: Section 8, #78
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Robert Cohn was born on 6 September 1920 in Avon, New Jersey, USA. He was a producer, known for The Lone Wolf in London (1947), Kazan (1949) and The Killer That Stalked New York (1950). He died on 3 June 1996 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Legends (formerly Section 8), Grave #78- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born Madelyn Earle Jones in South Carolina in 1919, this future actress' childhood dream was to be a missionary in China, but a taste of acting in school plays soon changed her mind and she decided on a career on stage. Her mother was supportive of her decision and, while Madelyn was attending college in South Carolina, entered her picture in a contest sponsored by CBS Radio for a part in a radio play in Hollywood. Madelyn won the part and took the name of the character she played, Lois Collier, as her professional name.
Collier landed more radio work, and soon began playing small parts in local stage productions and getting some work in a few films for Republic Pictures. It was on stage, however, where she was spotted by a scout for Universal Pictures and given a seven-year contract. Although Lois possessed a beautiful singing voice, Universal seldom gave her a chance to show it off, and she was stuck in a succession of B pictures and serials. When her contract expired, she freelanced and did a few comedies and westerns for Monogram and some serials for Republic. In 1951 she got a role on the Boston Blackie (1951) TV series, and stayed on the show until it was canceled in 1954, after which she retired from the business.Plot: New Beth Olam Mausoleum, Hall of David, T-6-2, Crypt 6386- Writer
- Cinematographer
- Script and Continuity Department
Pierre Collings was born on 22 September 1900 in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was a writer and cinematographer, known for The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), A Woman of the World (1925) and Good and Naughty (1926). He was married to Natalie H. Collings. He died on 21 December 1937 in North Hollywood, California, USA.Plot: Section 2W, #696- American character actor of silent films, Edward Connelly, a native New Yorker, was a newspaperman before he became an actor, being a reporter for the New York Sunl. At 25 he joined a theatrical stock company in Kansas City and appeared subsequently on Broadway in such plays as "Shore Acres," "The Belle of New York," "Babbitt," "The Wild Duck," and his own production of "Marse Covington," which he later filmed (Marse Covington (1915)). Moving to Hollywood, he became a contract player at MGM, where he remained until his death from influenza in 1928.Plot: Chapel Mausoleum, Corridor C, Crypt 283
- Jane Connelly was born on 2 May 1883 in Port Huron, Michigan, USA. She was an actress, known for The Man from Beyond (1922). She was married to Erwin Connelly. She died on 25 October 1925 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Memories, Building A, Crypt 209.
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Eddie Conrad was born on 27 October 1892 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Foreign Correspondent (1940), Stars Over Broadway (1935) and Lucky Partners (1940). He died on 1 April 1941 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Section 16, Row L, grave 20 [unmarked]- Music Department
- Actor
Morty Corb was born on 10 April 1917 in San Antonio, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Playhouse 90 (1956), The Odd Couple (1970) and The Bob Crosby Show (1953). He died on 11 January 1996 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Abbey of the Psalms, Shrine of Eternal Glory, G-9