Hillside Memorial Park
The men and women who have been interred at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California.
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- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Corey Allen earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from UCLA in Theatre in 1954. While there, he received the department's Best Actor award and starred in the UCLA film, "A Time Out of War", which won the Academy Award & Cannes & Venice Film Festival for Best Short Film. Upon graduation, he appeared in approximately twenty plays in the Los Angeles area. Director Nicholas Ray spotted Allen and subsequently chose him for the role of "Buzz" in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). This led to featured roles in another dozen films such as Private Property (1960), Party Girl (1958), Darby's Rangers (1958) and The Chapman Report (1962). Allen also appeared in many leading television series including Perry Mason (1957) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955). Meanwhile, he created, directed for and co-produced the Freeway Circuit Theatre which toured the Southwest for six seasons. Allen also directed numerous Equity productions in Los Angeles theatres. This led to a thirty year directorial career in television and film during which he directed three movies including Avalanche; television movies including the Emmy winning The Ann Jillian Story (1988); created a dozen pilots for television series including Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), Murder, She Wrote (1984), Simon & Simon (1981), Code Name: Foxfire (1985), Stone (1979) and Capitol (1982). He has earned two Directors Guild nominations for Best Direction in a television series, the Award for Cable Excellence for Best Direction of The Paper Chase (1978) and received an Emmy for Best Direction of a Hill Street Blues (1981). Throughout this career, Allen instructed acting, including three years at the Actors Workshop, and for the last nine years, conducted cold reading workshops at the Margie Haber Studio. This year, Allen was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Columbia College-Holllywood for his work in helping to create their acting and directing curricula.- Music Department
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
At 11, he was a movie theatre pianist. Studied under Albert Sendrey, and at the David Mannes Music School. He started two groups, the Versatile Sextette and The Commanders Orchestra. He appeared in vaudeville, and in US and European night club entertaining, and in the Broadway musical "Paris". Later he was a musical supervisor for MGM. He composed "The Song Angels Sing", "Boo-Hoo-Hoo" and "The Loveliest Night of the Year".Plot: Everlasting Peace, Block 12, Plot 373, Grave 2- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Sheldon Allman was born on 8 June 1924 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for George of the Jungle (1997), Bio-Dome (1996) and Monster Mash: The Movie (1995). He was married to Lorraine Snedden Wilms. He died on 22 January 2002 in Culver City, California, USA.Plot: Canaan Urn Garden Block 1 Plot 2 Grave 27- Alice Allyn was born on 13 October 1929 in Canada. She was an actress, known for Operation Dames (1959), Baretta (1975) and The Detectives (1959). She died on 11 February 1976 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Court of Dedication Blk 6 Plot 95 Space 4-B
- Army Archerd was born on 13 January 1922 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Burke's Law (1963) and Gable and Lombard (1976). He was married to Selma Archerd and Joan Carol Paul. He died on 8 September 2009 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Acacia Gardens, Upper Level, Wall QQ, Niche 506
- Actor
- Writer
Sandy Baron was born Sanford Beresofsky in Brooklyn, New York on May 5, 1936. Raised in Brooklyn's Brownsville neighborhood, the young Sandy attended public schools and participated in accelerated classes. A graduate of Brooklyn College, he spent his early years working summers in the Catskill Mountain resorts that were the breeding grounds of many Jewish comedians. Baron made his Broadway debut in "Tchin-Tchin" on Oct 25, 1962. His next play, Bertolt Brecht's "Arturo Ui" with Christopher Plummer in the title role, was a flop, lasting but eight performances in November 1963. His next appearance on the Great White Way, in the comedy "Generation," was more successful, playing for over half a year in the 1965-1966 season.
In 1964, Sandy -- already a seasoned Catskill comic and nightclub performer -- released a 13-track album on Roulette Records, "The Race! Race!" The album jacket pronounced it a "rollicking comedy album about hate, prejudice, bigotry and other such nonsense." He established a national reputation that year on the television comedy series That Was the Week That Was (1963), the American version of the hit British TV show, both of which starred David Frost. He followed it up with a lead role in the TV series Hey, Landlord (1966), playing a stand-up comedian.
In the 1970s, he made regular appearances on the The Mike Douglas Show (1961) and the The Merv Griffin Show (1962). Baron played Lenny Bruce in the show "Lenny" at Hollywood's Aquarius Theater in 1972, and eventually replaced Cliff Gorman in New York in what would prove to be his last Broadway appearance.
Baron appeared as himself in Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose (1984), the director's homage to borscht-belt comedy. In the 1990s, he appeared as Jack Klompus, the nemesis of Jerry Seinfeld's father on the hit TV series Seinfeld (1989). He replaced Al Lewis as Grandpa Munster in the TV movie The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas (1996). His last movie appearance was in Stephen Frears' The Hi-Lo Country (1998).
Sandy Baron died of emphysema on January 21, 2001 in a nursing home in Van Nuys, California. A memorial celebration was held on July 22, 2001 at Hollywood's Ivar Theater.Plot: Courts of the Book, Jacob, Inner Court Wall, Wall I, Crypt 7004- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
With effortless class and elegant charm Gene Barry took '50s and '60s TV by storm, after a rather lackluster start on the musical stage and in films. Born Eugene Klass in New York City on June 14, 1919, to Martin (an amateur violinist), and Eva (an amateur singer), he showed a gift at an early age as a violin virtuoso, obviously inherited from his father. After attending various public schools, he graduated Valedictorian from New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn, New York.
Possessing an impressive baritone voice, he concentrated on singing after breaking his arm playing football in school ended any thoughts of a symphonic career. At age 17 he earned a singing scholarship awarded by David Sarnoff (the head of RCA at the time), to the Chatham Square School of Music, and studied there for two years. In the meantime Gene found work in nightclubs, choirs, fairs and emceeing variety shows, and briefly appeared on the vaudeville stage and on radio, winning a prize on Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts" program.
The young actor made it to Broadway in 1942 with the musical "New Moon", and went on to appear in the 1944 Mae West vehicle "Catherine Was Great", where he met and subsequently married chorus girl Betty Barry, whose stage name was Julie Carson at the time. For the rest of the decade, Gene appeared in a random selection of plays and musicals, which did little to elevate his Broadway standing. Hollywood finally beckoned in the 1950's, after gaining some notice on the program "Hollywood Screen Test", and Paramount signed him to a contract.
Gene had stoic co-starring roles in such dramatic "B" films as The Atomic City (1952) (his debut movie), Those Redheads from Seattle (1953), and Alaska Seas (1954), none of which capitalized on his singing ability. The one movie in which he did sing, Red Garters (1954), did not fare well with the public. His most recognizable role during this period was as Dr. Clayton Forrester, a scientist who finds himself in the midst of a Martian invasion in the cult science-fiction classic The War of the Worlds (1953).
Television became his preferred medium after being offered the title role in Bat Masterson (1958), and he quickly established a very successful niche as a suave, dapper gentleman in this and other TV productions. Despite the elegant, globe-trotting typecast that befell him, his other TV characters proved just as well-received: jet-setting detective Amos Burke in Burke's Law (1963), for which he won a Golden Globe, and the impeccably dressed publishing tycoon Glenn Howard in The Name of the Game (1968). Gene revisited the stage and cabaret venues in the 1970's when his on-camera career hit a lull, appearing frequently with his wife as his leading lady.
The singer/actor made a triumphant return to Broadway in 1983, starring as a wealthy gay socialite in the musical version of the popular French film La Cage aux Folles (1978), earning him a Tony nomination - but he lost the award to his more flamboyant co-star George Hearn. After a year on Broadway, he joined the road company in San Francisco, and played Los Angeles for a lengthy run. Other musicals included "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever", "Watergate: The Musical" (as Nixon), "Fiddler on the Roof" (with his wife) and "No, No, Nanette". Gene also appeared in his one-man cabaret show entitled "Gene Barry in One" from time to time.
In later years he made only occasional TV and stage appearances (bringing back his famous characters Bat Masterson and Amos Burke, much to the enjoyment of his fans), preferring to indulge in his favorite hobby - painting. He made a very brief return to feature films, sharing a cameo scene with one-time co-star Ann Robinson in Steven Spielberg's epic remake of The War of the Worlds (2005), with both of them playing the Tom Cruise character's mother and father in-law.
Gene was a political activist, a passion he shared with his wife Betty, who died in 2003 after an almost 60 year marriage. The couple had two sons of their own, and later in life they adopted a daughter. Gene passed away on December 9, 2009 at the age of 90.Plot: Canaan Garden Mausoleum, Crypt H390A- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
The son of a saloon keeper, Jack Benny (born Benny Kubelsky) began to study the violin at the age six, and his "ineptness" at it, would later become his trademark (in reality, he was a very accomplished player). When given the opportunity to play in live theatre professionally, Benny quit school and joined vaudeville. In the same theatre that Benny was working with were the very young The Marx Brothers. Their mother, Minnie Marx, wanted Benny to go on the road with them. However, this plan was foiled by his parents who would not let their 17-year-old son on the road.
Having a successful vaudeville career, Benny also had a greater career on radio for "The Jack Benny Program". The show was one of the few successful radio programs that also became a successful television show.
Benny also starred in several movies, including The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929), Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935), The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945) and George Washington Slept Here (1942), although he had much greater success on radio and on TV than he did on the big screen.
He was good friends with Fred Allen, with whom he had a long-standing comic "feud".Plot: Mausoleum, Hall of Graciousness- Actress
- Soundtrack
Grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she graduated from King George High School. She claims to have first seen future husband and comedy partner Jack Benny perform at the city's famed Orpheum Theatre during the vaudeville days. Benny toured extensively and played the Orpheum often before hitting it big in radio, and finally television.Plot: Mausoleum, Hall of Graciousness- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Additional Crew
Henry Bergman was born on 23 February 1868 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Modern Times (1936), City Lights (1931) and The Gold Rush (1925). He died on 22 October 1946 in Hollywood, California, USA.Plot: Valley of Remembrance, block 24, L-1030- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Milton Berle was an American comedian and actor.
Berle's career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and television. As the host of NBC's Texaco Star Theatre (1948-55), he was the first major American television star and was known to millions of viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr. Television" during the first Golden Age of Television. He was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in both radio and TV.
Berle won the Emmy for Most Outstanding Kinescoped Personality in 1950. In 1979, Berle was awarded a special Emmy Award, titled "Mr. Television." He was twice nominated for Emmys for his acting, in 1962 and 1995.
Berle was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1984. On December 5, 2007, Berle was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.Plot: Acacia Garden, MM 354-B- Producer
- Production Manager
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pandro S. Berman was born into the film industry. His father, Harry, was distributor and exhibitor of films. Pandro also had a number of relatives in the film industry. When he started working in the 1920's he started as a script clerk and then rose to film editor. By 1931, the 26 year old Berman was an assistant director at RKO when Selznick took over the floundering studio. Selznick fired many people at RKO, but he saw something in Berman and made him his assistant. Pandro was a success and brought to the screen many stars and great films. It was he who paired Rogers with Astaire; and made Katherine Hepburn a star. He was considered to be the Irving Thalberg of RKO and produced many prestige pictures over the years. In 1940, after a power struggle, he moved to Culver City and MGM where he continued to produce well received movies. He survived many of the purges and finally left MGM for independant work in 1963. His final film was 'MOVE' made in 1970. In 1977, he received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the Academy Awards.Plot: In front of mausoleum, on left side of sidewalk- Sherman Block was born on 19 July 1924 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He died on 29 October 1998 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Memories, Court of Devotion
- Music Department
- Composer
- Sound Department
Mike Bloomfield was born on 28 July 1943 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a composer, known for Sneakers (1992), Easy Rider (1969) and Rocketman (2019). He died on 15 February 1981 in San Francisco, California, USA.Plot: Courts of the Book Mausoleum. Sanctuary of Meditation Crypt 314 Third row from the bottom on the left- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Ben Blue was a movie and TV comedian born on September 12, 1901, in Montréal, Québec, Canada. Emigrating to the US, he became a dance instructor and dance school owner, as well as a nightclub proprietor. He began his film career in short subjects for Warner Brothers in 1926, and later worked at the Hal Roach Studios, Paramount and MGM. He also, like his The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938) co-star Bob Hope, was a radio comedian. In 1950 he had his own TV series, The Ben Blue Show (1950), and was a regular on The Frank Sinatra Show (1950).
In 1951 Blue began concentrating on managing and appearing in the nightclubs he owned in Hollywood and San Francisco. He made the cover of "TV Guide"'s June 11, 1954, Special Issue along with Alan Young, headlining an edition featuring that season's summer replacement shows. He made a handful of appearances on Ed Sullivan's The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) variety series in 1956 and 1957, and appeared sporadically on other shows, including The Jack Benny Program (1950) in 1960.
In 1958 he shot a pilot for a proposed CBS series, "Ben Blue's Brothers," but it was not picked up, although the pilot was later shown in 1965. Coming out of his self-imposed near-retirement with a bit part in Stanley Kramer's It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), Blue began making cameo appearances in movie comedies. He also had a regular role on Jerry Van Dyke's short-lived TV series Accidental Family (1967). He made his last appearance on film in the Doris Day comedy Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968) and his last TV appearance on Land of the Giants (1968) in 1969.
He died in 1975, and his career papers covering the years 1935 to 1955 were deposited in the Special Collections at the UCLA Library.Plot: Mausoleum. Columbarium of Graciousness, #810- Actor
- Producer
Neil Bogart was born on 3 February 1943 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Thank God It's Friday (1978) and Flipside (1973). He was married to Weiss, Beth and Joyce Bogart Trabulus. He died on 8 May 1982 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Port of the Patriarchs, private room, basement of mausoleum- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Sorrell Booke was born in Buffalo, New York in 1930, the son of a local physician. He found his calling early in life, like most actors, when his family encouraged him to entertain relatives by doing impressions and telling jokes. He went on to study at Yale and Columbia University, and mastered five languages. During the Korean War, Booke worked in counter-intelligence where his lingual talents served him well. His intelligence and subtlety are often overlooked when considering his signature role as Jefferson Davis "Boss" Hogg during his run on The Dukes of Hazzard (1979). He died of cancer in 1994 just after his 64th birthday.Plot: Court of Dedication, Block 2, plot 72, space 4B (right under tree)- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Bernie Brillstein was born on 26 April 1931 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and actor, known for The Blues Brothers (1980), Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989). He was married to Carol Weinstein, Deborah Ellen Briskin, Laura M (Shifman) Smith and Marilyn Gross. He died on 7 August 2008 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Canaan section- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Richard Brooks was an Academy Award-winning film writer who also earned six Oscar nominations and achieved success as a film director and producer.
He was born Reuben Sax on May 18, 1912, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants. He graduated from West Philadelphia HS, attended Philadelphia's Temple University for two years, before dropping out and later working as a sports reporter and radio journalist in the 1930s. After a stint as a writer for the NBC network, he worked for one season as director of New York's Mill Pond Theatre, and then headed to Los Angeles. There he broke into films as a script writer of "B" movies, Maria Montez epics, serials, and did some radio writing. During the Second World War, he served with the US Marines for two years.
Richard Brooks made his directorial debut with MGM's Crisis (1950) starring Cary Grant. He scripted and directed The Brothers Karamazov (1958) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and two years later won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay for Elmer Gantry (1960). He had six Oscar nominations and 25 other nominations during his film career. Brooks was a writer and director of Chekhovian depth, who mastered the use of understatement, anticlimax and implied emotion. His films enjoyed lasting appeal and tended to be more serious than the usual mainstream productions. Brooks was regarded as "independent" even before he officially broke away from the studio system in 1965. In the 1980s, he had his own production company.
Richard Brooks died of a heart failure on March 11, 1992, in Beverly Hills, California, and was laid to rest in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6422 Hollywood Blvd., for his contribution to the art of motion picture.Plot: Canaan Garden Mausoleum- Actress
- Soundtrack
At Warner Brothers, tiny, five feet tall Marion Byron was nicknamed (and occasionally billed as) "Peanuts". She was a cute and vivacious soubrette who featured in early, long forgotten musicals, with titles like Show of Shows (1929), Broadway Babies (1929) and Playing Around (1930). Marion began her performing career as a teenage showgirl in Los Angeles and got her first break in films as leading lady to Buster Keaton in Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928). In a biographical form, she was required to submit at First National, she answered the question of how she got her first screen opportunity with: "By mistake".
In the early 30's, Marion's regular screen assignments included the usual assortment of feisty maids, college girls, friends of the heroine, flappers and chorines, which were reserved for those deemed 'second leads'. Though stardom eluded her, she was briefly popular in lightweight comedies, notable examples being the Michael Curtiz-directed The Matrimonial Bed (1930) and Mervyn LeRoy's quirky Jewish farce The Heart of New York (1932) (which sported comic duo Smith & Dale as eccentric matchmakers 'Schnapps and Strudel'). Already by 1933, Marion's roles had diminished to uncredited bits and walk-ons. Her last film was as a nurse in Five of a Kind (1938), the story of the Dionne Quintuplets, scripted by her husband, the screenwriter Lou Breslow.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Susan Cabot was born in Boston and raised in a series of eight foster homes. She attended high school in Manhattan, where she took an interest in dramatics and joined the school dramatic club. Later, while trying to decide between a career in music or art, she illustrated children's books during the day and sang at Manhattan's Village Barn at night. It was at this same time that she made her film debut as an extra in Fox's New York-made Kiss of Death (1947) and worked in New York-based television. Maxwell Arnow, a casting director for Columbia Pictures, spotted Cabot at the Village Barn, and a co-starring role in that studio's B-grade South Seas drama On the Isle of Samoa (1950) resulted. While in Hollywood Cabot was also signed for the role of an Indian maiden in Universal's Tomahawk (1951) with Van Heflin. Subsequently signed to an exclusive contract by Universal, Cabot co-starred in a long string of films opposite leading men like John Lund, Tony Curtis and Audie Murphy. Inevitably, she became fed up with the succession of western and Arabian Nights roles, asked for a release from her Universal pact and accepted an offer from Harold Robbins to star in his play "A Stone for Danny Fisher" in New York. Roger Corman lured her back to Hollywood to play the lead in the melodramatic rock-'n-'roller Carnival Rock (1957) and she stayed on to star in five more films for the enterprising young producer-director. After a highly publicized 1959 fling with Jordan's King Hussein, Cabot divided her time between TV work and roles in stage plays and musicals.Plot: Sunland Gardens, wall crypt C, space #242- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Singer, songwriter ("Merrily We Roll Along"), comedian, author and actor, educated in public schools. He made his first public appearance in Vaudeville in 1907 at New York's Clinton Music Hall, then became a member of the Gus Edwards Gang, later touring vaudeville with Lila Lee as the team Cantor & Lee. He made Broadway stage appearances in "Canary Cottage," "Broadway Brevities of 1920," "Make It Snappy," "Kid Boots," "Whoopee," "Banjo Eyes," and the Ziegfeld Follies of 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1927. He had his own radio program in the 1930s, appeared often on television in the 1950s, and made many records. Joining ASCAP in 1951, and his popular-song compositions also include "Get a Little Fun Out of Life," "It's Great to Be Alive," and "The Old Stage Door." Eddie Cantor also wrote the books "Ziegfeld, the Great Glorifier" and "As I Remember Them," and the autobiographies "My Life Is In Your Hands" and "Take My Life."Plot: Mausoleum, Hall of Graciousness 2nd floor- Actress
- Soundtrack
Her trademark sass complemented by a distinctively adenoidal voice that could out-snarl Eartha Kitt and Fran Drescher put together, short (4'11"), round, and robust Nell Carter was one indomitable, in-your-face firecracker...and it made her a star. She was born Nell Ruth Hardy in 1948 in Birmingham, Alabama and raised there, one of nine children born to Horace and Edna Hardy. She grew up listening to the sounds of Dinah Washington and Elvis Presley and developed an early interest in singing that led to performances in various youth groups, her church choir, on local radio and even the gospel circuit. This was a positive distraction from the major traumas suffered during her early life which included the tragic death of her father, who was electrocuted when he accidentally stepped on a live power line, and a rape at gunpoint when she was a young teenager.
By age 19, Carter had relocated to New York where she found work singing in assorted niteries (Rainbow Room, Sweeney's), cafés, and musical revues to her liking. Studying at Bill Russell's School of Drama from 1970 to 1973, she made her Broadway debut in "Soon", a two-act musical show that lasted two days, and included such up-and-comers as Richard Gere, Peter Allen and Barry Bostwick. Other musical roles came with "Dude" (1972), "Be Kind to People Week" (1975) and "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope" (1976). Receiving further training in London, Carter, who continued to gain both in girth and talent, made a star-making leap when she was cast alongside Armelia McQueen, Charlayne Woodard, André De Shields and Ken Page in the 1978 ensemble revue, "Ain't Misbehavin'", a musical catalogue of Fats Waller songs. The stellar quintet ran for nearly four years and the scene-stealing Carter, with such show-stopping songs as "Mean to Me" and "Cash for Your Trash", received a multitude of awards, including the Theatre World, Drama Desk, Obie and Tony. The show was taped for TV in 1982 for which Carter also nabbed the Emmy, and a Broadway revival with all five performers reunited was restaged in 1988. Later musical vehicles included her own feisty version of "Dolly Levi" in a 1991 African-American revival.
Tough and temperamental with a larger-than-life presence, Carter was invariably drawn toward the small screen and was initially featured in the daytime soap Ryan's Hope (1975) and The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (1979), the latter perfectly cast as a police sergeant. Audiences took to her immediately and, eventually, she was handed her own vehicle as the loving but no-nonsense housekeeper of a white family in the NBC sitcom Gimme a Break! (1981). That show, which ran for six seasons, earned her two additional Emmy nominations for "Best Actress in a Comedy". Following this, she co-starred on You Take the Kids (1990), which fizzled, and the already established Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1992) as Mark Curry's boss. Other spunky guest shots over time included such popular programs as Amen (1986), 227 (1985), Touched by an Angel (1994), Ally McBeal (1997) and Reba (2001), as well as quiz show participations on Match Game (1990) and To Tell the Truth (1990). Her work in films, which included a standout musical song ("White Boys") in Milos Forman's film adaptation of Hair (1979) and a touching role as Piper Laurie's housekeeper in The Grass Harp (1995), was never fully engaged. Carter was notoriously opinionated and audaciously candid as a person, a true survivor in her off-stage life, which was riddled with misfortune. She endured constant weight problems and severe alcohol/cocaine habits (recovered) as well as two divorces, a suicide attempt, several miscarriages, bankruptcy, the death of a brother from AIDS and multiple surgeries after suffering a near-fatal brain aneurysm in 1992. She battled diabetes for much of her adult life and once collapsed on stage during a 1997 performance of "Annie", in which she played the boisterous "Miss Hannigan". To comfort and complete herself, she studied and adopted Judaism as her religion. In 1989 and 1990, she adopted two infant sons, Joshua and Daniel, to her family, which included daughter Tracey.
After a history of ups and downs, the 54-year-old singer/actress collapsed and died alone on January 23, 2003, in her Beverly Hills home, subsequently found by her 13-year-old adopted son, Joshua. The cause of death was not immediately established at the time but it was later established that she had suffered a fatal heart attack, complicated by her diabetes and obesity. She was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. At the time of her death, she was in rehearsals for another musical stage lead, this time in the Long Beach, California revival of the hit musical "Raisin". The musical opened a few days later as scheduled with Carter's understudy taking over the role.Plot: Acacia Gardens, Wall KK, Crypt 7040- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Jeff was born in Brooklyn and attended Erasmus High School. After high school, he took a drama course and worked in stock companies for two years. His next role was that of an officer in World War II. After he was discharged from the service, he became busy acting in radio dramas and comedies until he was signed by Universal. It was in the fifties that Jeff would become a star, making westerns and action pictures. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Cochise in Broken Arrow (1950). He followed this by playing the role of Cochise in two sequels: The Battle at Apache Pass (1952) and Taza, Son of Cochise (1954). While his premature gray hair and tanned features served him well in his westerns and action pictures, the studio also put him into soaps and costume movies. In his films, his leading ladies included Maureen O'Hara, Rhonda Fleming, Jane Russell, Joan Crawford, and June Allyson. Shortly after his last film Merrill's Marauders (1962), Jeff died, at 42, from blood poisoning after an operation for a slipped disc.Plot: Mausoleum, Hall of Graciousness, crypt 4015, second floor- Actress
- Soundtrack
Cyd Charisse was born Tula Ellice Finklea on March 8, 1922, in Amarillo, Texas. Born to be a dancer, she spent her early childhood taking ballet lessons and joined the Ballet Russe at age 13. In 1939, she married Nico Charisse, her former dance teacher. In 1943, she appeared in her first film, Something to Shout About (1943), billed as Lily Norwood. The same year, she played a Russian dancer in Mission to Moscow (1943), directed by Michael Curtiz. In 1945, she was hired to dance with Fred Astaire in Ziegfeld Follies (1945), and that uncredited appearance got her a seven-year contract with MGM. She appeared in a number of musicals over the next few years, but it was Singin' in the Rain (1952) with Gene Kelly that made her a star. That was quickly followed by her great performance in The Band Wagon (1953). As the 1960s dawned, musicals faded from the screen, as did her career. She made appearances on television and performed in a nightclub revue with her second husband, singer Tony Martin. Cyd Charisse died at age 86 of a heart attack on June 17, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.Plot: Sunland Gardens Mausoleum, Court of Matriarchs #S 401- Mickey Cohen was born on 4 September 1913 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Lavonne Weaver. He died on 29 July 1976 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Alcove of Love. A-217
- John Davidson was born on 25 December 1886 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941), Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) and Perils of Pauline (1933). He died on 16 January 1968 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Danny Dayton was born on 20 November 1923 in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Guys and Dolls (1955), Ed Wood (1994) and Wonder Woman (1975). He was married to Arlene Allinson and Dagmar. He died on 6 February 1999 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Nancy Deale was born on 23 May 1933 in Long Island, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Shadows (1958), Bonanza (1959) and Tattletales (1974). She was married to Lorne Greene. She died on 2 March 2004 in Marina Del Rey, California, USA.
- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Most familiar to TV audiences as the diminutive but feisty court bailiff on Night Court (1984), Selma Diamond's entrance into acting was not through the usual venue of vaudeville, stage work or modeling - she was a writer for TV shows, once having been nominated for an Emmy for Caesar's Hour (1954). Although she had that tough New York accent and street demeanor, she was actually born in London, Ontario, Canada, then raised in Brooklyn. A graduate of New York University, she at first made a living by selling cartoons and fiction to the "New Yorker" magazine. NBC hired her as a writer for one of its radio shows, "The Big Show," and she later made the transition into writing for television. Her film debut was as the voice on the telephone of Spencer Tracy's wife in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), where the world got a sample of the distinctive Diamond voice: nasal, high-pitched and one that could never be mistaken for anyone else's. She did a lot of TV work and was a regular on another series, Too Close for Comfort (1980) before Night Court (1984). She died due to lung cancer in 1985.Plot: Courts of the Book, Jacob-I-4004- Writer
- Producer
Julius J. Epstein was born on 22 August 1909 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Casablanca (1942), Reuben, Reuben (1983) and Pete 'n' Tillie (1972). He was married to Frances Sage and Ann Margot Laszlo. He died on 30 December 2000 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Valley of Remembrance, Block 24, Plot 1030, Grave 5- Writer
- Producer
Philip G. Epstein was born on 22 August 1909 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Casablanca (1942), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) and Mr. Skeffington (1944). He was married to Lillian Targan. He died on 7 February 1952 in Hollywood, California, USA.Plot: Valley of Remembrance, block 14, lot #711 G-2- Make-Up Department
- Additional Crew
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Max Factor Jr., named Frank at birth, was the second son of Max Factor, who opened his first wig shop in Razan, Russia in the 1890s. In April 1904, Max emigrated to the United States and opened a perfume, makeup, and wig concession at the St. Louis World's Fair. Max's son Frank was born in St. Louis. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1908, and Frank joined the family business on Hill St. as early as 1916. By the time Max died on August 30, 1938, he had created a make-up empire, supplying both Hollywood and American women. Frank changed his name to Max Factor Jr., and became head of the company.Plot: Mausoleum, outside/rear, U-112- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Percy Faith was a child piano prodigy, but his hands were burned in a fire at age 18. Switching to conducting and arranging, his unique orchestral 'sound', with strong emphasis on creative string work, soon became familiar to listeners everywhere. He recorded 85 albums for Columbia Records, and three hit singles: "Delicado" (1952), "Theme from 'Moulin Rouge'" (1953), and "Theme from 'A Summer Place'" (1960). Johnny Mathis, Doris Day and Tony Bennett all considered Percy Faith among their favorite accompanists.- Producer
- Music Department
- Actor
Producer, songwriter and author, brother to Ralph Freed, Walter and Ruth Freed. He was educated at the Phillips Exeter Academy, and became associated with Gus Edwards musical acts. He performed in vaudeville with Louis Silvers, with whom he wrote revues for New York restaurants. During World War I, he staged military shows, then managed a theatre, eventually producing his own musical shows, finally joining MGM under contract. His Academy Award winning films include An American in Paris (1951), _Gigi(1958)_ and Irving Thalberg Awards. In 1964, he became President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Joining ASCAP in 1924, his chief musical collaborator was Nacio Herb Brown, and also included Gus Arnheim, Al Hoffman and Harry Warren.Plot: Garden Of Memories, Honor-Lawn Crypt-418
GPS coordinates: 33.9805298, -118.3913193 (hddd.dddd)- Director
- Producer
- Animation Department
Friz Freleng was born Isadore Freleng on August 21, 1906 in Kansas City, Missouri. With no formal training in drawing, his first job as an animator was with United Film Advancement Services in 1924 at the age of 17. The first work Friz is credited with was for Disney Studios where he worked as an animator on the "Alice" series in 1927. Friz then did some animation for Robert Winkler Productions in 1928 starting with Fiery Fireman and for Screen Gems (Port Whines) in 1929, but it was his work in Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid (1929) in 1929 under the direction of Hugh Harmon and Rudolf Ising when he first worked for Warner Brothers, though known at that time as Leon Schlesinger Studios.
Under Leon Schlesinger's supervision in the budding animation department of Warner Brothers, Freleng's career as an animator and director rocketed, producing some of the most beloved cartoons in America's golden age of animation.
Freleng worked as the head animator and oftentimes producer on the two main animation subdivisions established by Warner Brothers, Looney Toons and Merrie Melodies.
In the late forties, after Tex Avery and Robert Clampett had left Warner Brothers, Freleng's career as a director soared. Though nominated throughout his career for numerous Academy Awards, it wasn't until 1947 that he eventually took the Oscar for Tweetie Pie (1947). Freleng then won Oscars for Speedy Gonzales (1955) in 1955, Birds Anonymous (1957) in 1957, Knighty Knight Bugs (1958) in 1958, and The Pink Phink (1964) in 1964.
In 1963, Freleng along with David De Patie created the DePatie-Freleng Studio that specialized in short films and television commercials. It was here that Freleng enjoyed great success with his Pink Panther television series.
Freleng returned to Warner Brothers to direct a number of specials, such as Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988) and Porky Pig in Hollywood.
In 1986, Freleng appeared as himself in the Looney Tunes 50th Anniversary (1986), and three years later he made another appearance in the television special, Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toon Town (1988).
Freleng, in addition to his production work, wrote the script for The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981), while contributing to the Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982) and Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island (1983).
He also penned the book "Animation: The Art of Friz Freleng" (1994).
The New York Museum of Modern Art honored both Friz Freleng and Chuck Jones in a 1985 retrospective that set attendance records for the institution that remain unbroken to this day.
Friz Freleng passed away due to a heart ailment at his home in Los Angeles on May 26, 1995 at the age of 88.
Today Freleng's artwork is highly prized and sought by many collectors. Expect to pay a pretty penny for his work.Plot: Canaan Section E-249- Ben Frommer was born on 12 June 1913 in Poland. He was an actor, known for Scarface (1983), Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957) and Psycho II (1983). He was married to Hilda Valerie Cohen. He died on 9 May 1992 in Tarzana, California, USA.
- Leona Gage was born on 8 April 1939 in Longview, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for Tales of Terror (1962), Scream of the Butterfly (1965) and A House Is Not a Home (1964). She was married to Lawrence William Stone, Alexander Bernard Kaminer, Gunther Collins, Nicholas Bala Covacevich, Gene Norris Ennis and Edward Thacker. She died on 5 October 2010 in Sherman Oaks, California, USA.Plot: Court of the Matriarchs, N 504
- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
Gil Garfield was born on 20 May 1933 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Plan 9 (2015), Adam's Rib (1973) and Wildwood Days (2008). He died on 1 January 2011 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Writer
- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
The gift of provoking laughter came early to Larry Gelbart and has never deserted him. His distinguished career as a writer of comedy reads like a history of the art over the last 40 years. His writing credits date back to the Golden Age of radio, thanks in part to his father. The elder Gelbart was a barber in Beverly Hills who made it a point to tell his clients, such as Danny Thomas, what a funny 15-year-old son he had. As a result of his father's being his unofficial agent, Larry became a professional comedy writer before finishing high school. Shortly after being signed by the William Morris Agency, he joined the writing staff of "Duffy's Tavern," working for the man generally considered to be the hardest taskmaster in radio, Ed Gardner. "Seventy writers went through the mill while I was there," recalls Gelbart. "I was lucky because I was young and everybody wanted me to make good. They were all my godfathers." Gelbart left "Duffy's Tavern," to write for the "Joan Davis Show." While doing that he was called into the Army. He served with Armed Forces Radio Service for one year and 11 days, but it was a most productive period. He wrote for the Army's "Command Performance," while continuing to write for Joan Davis and Jack Paar, who was then a summer replacement for Jack Benny. He then went on to write for Jack Carson and Bob Hope, both on radio and television, and he also contributed to the Red Buttons TV show. In 1953 he joined the staff of TV's Your Show of Shows (1950), writing skits for Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca in company with such fellow master wits as Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and Neil Simon. For that series Gelbart won the Sylvania Award and two Emmy Awards. In the 1960s he began writing for the theater. He wrote "My L.A." and "The Conquering Hero," and with Burt Shevelove tried his hand at rewriting Plautus. The result was "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," a smash Broadway musical comedy starring Zero Mostel that earned Gelbart and Shevelove a 1962 Tony Award. When "Forum" moved to London, Gelbart and his family went with it. During his nine-year stay there, he wrote the comedy film The Wrong Box (1966), a play called "Jump," and several television scripts. Gelbart came back to Los Angeles to write the television series M*A*S*H (1972) He was responsible for 97 segments of that show, one of television's most literate and entertaining efforts. Four years later he again dipped into the classics and transformed Ben Johnson's "Volpone" into a Broadway success, "Sly Fox," directed by Arthur Penn and starring George C. Scott. Gelbart's screen credits include The Notorious Landlady (1962), Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966), Oh, God! (1977), Neighbors (1981), Movie Movie (1978) (directed by Stanley Donen) and Tootsie (1982), which earned him an Academy Award nomination and best screenplay honors from the New York, Los Angeles and National Film Critics organization.Plot: Canaan Garden Mausoleum, Crypt F475- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Songwriter ("Green Eyes", "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee", "Ramona", "The Peanut Vendor"), author and publisher who came to the US in 1887 and was educated in local public schools, and then became a singer in amateur-night contests, and later a vaudeville and cafe entertainer. He toured with John L. Sullivan. Coming to Hollywood in 1929, he wrote for films, and the Eddie Cantor radio show, then made many apppearances on radio and television, and formed his own publishing firm in California. He joined ASCAP in 1924, and was an ASCAP director between 1941-1944 and again in 1953. His musical collaborators included Lewis Muir, Mabel Wayne, Abel Baer, Ben Oakland, Jay Gorney, Nat Shilkret, Richard Fall, and Anatole Friedland. His other popular-song compositions include "Mama Don't Want No Peas and Rice and Coconut Oil", "Shades of Night", "La Golondrina", "Lucky Lindy", "Don't Wake Me Up, Let Me Dream", "My Little Dream Girl", "Hitchy Koo", "Mammy Jinny's Jubilee", "My Sweet Adair", "Take Me to That Swanee Shore", "My Own Iona", "Jeannine, I Dream of Lilac Time", "Mama Inez", "Oh Katharina", "I Miss My Swiss", "Marta", "By Heck", "Hopalong Cassidy March", "Chimes of Spring", "My Mother's Eyes", "Down Yonder", "Maria My Own (Maria La O)", "Lily of the Valley", "The Right Kind of Man", "If You Believed in Me", "Forever and a Day", "African Lament (Lamento Africano)", "Here Comes My Daddy Now", "Are You From Heaven?", "I Love You - That's One Thing I Know", "In the Land of Make Believe", "No One Can Take Your Place", "Astronaut of Space", I Laughed at Love", "A-Weepin' and a-Wailin' Song" and "Chiquita".Original burial site. Plot: Mausoleum, Court of Sages, Crypt 223. He was reinterred at Palm Springs Morturary & Mausoleum, in Palm Springs, California.- Sid Gilman is known for The Rifleman (1958).Plot: Mount of Olives, Block 4, Plot 299, Grave 3
- Producer
- Production Manager
- Actor
William Goetz, a producer and studio boss who revolutionized the industry with the development of the profit participation deal, was born on 3/24/1903 in Philadelphia, PA, to ship's purser Theodore Goetz and his wife Fanny. William was the youngest in a brood of eight children (six boys and two girls). After Fanny's death in 1913 Theodore abandoned his family, and William was raised by his older brothers.
All of the Goetz brothers wound up in the movie business. Two of his brothers worked at Monogram and were among the founders of Republic Pictures (see Herbert J. Yates), and another worked for Corinne Griffith Productions. In 1924 Goetz took advantage of the well-known Hollywood practice of nepotism and moved to Hollywood where his brothers got him a job at Corinne Griffith Productions as a crew member. Within three years he had worked his way up to associate producer. Goetz then moved on to production jobs at MGM and Paramount before becoming an associate producer at Fox Films in March 1930. The first movies Goetz produced at Fox were two Spanish-language westerns, El último de los Vargas (1930), based on a Zane Grey novel, and Figaro and His Great Day (1931), both of which starred George J. Lewis as "Jorge Lewis."
A dashing man with an earthy sense of humor, Goetz married Louis B. Mayer's daughter Edith in 1930. Edith said her husband was a fast talker who persistently telephoned her for a date after they met at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel. When Goetz asked Edith to marry him Mayer objected, wanting to know how he was going to support her. Goetz won Mayer's consent when he replied, "If necessary, Mr. Mayer, with my own two hands." The two men would continue to argue about the proposed marriage right up until the ceremony itself. Their marriage was Hollywood's wedding of the year. William and Edith's marriage lasted until his death, and they had two daughters. His ultra-conservative father-in-law would eventually disinherit Edith, perhaps because of his son-in-law's key role in undermining the studio system in the 1950s, or because he was a staunch Democrat, or possibly due to the brothers' ties to a man with reputed underworld connections (although Mayer's ostensible boss Nicholas Schenck, Chairman of Loew's Inc. had the same connections).
One of the most influential figures in Goetz's life would prove to be Warner Bros.' production chief Darryl F. Zanuck, who had remarkably risen through the ranks of Hollywood on his own merits and who had a natural disdain for nepotism. Nearly every one of Warner Bros.' successes after 1924 could be directly credited to the workaholic (many would add sexoholic) producer-writer-production chief. In 1933 Zanuck had quit Warners after a long-simmering rift with Harry M. Warner. Despite being offered several positions at other studios, Zanuck had a burning desire to run his own studio and was approached by the affable Joseph M. Schenck with an offer that would result in the creation of Twentieth Century Pictures. The deal was a conglomeration of backers, each with his own agenda, but each having enormous confidence in Zanuck's enviable track record of delivering a prodigious number of hits. Twentieth Century Pictures was created as a partnership between Louis B. Mayer, former United Artists president Joseph M. Schenck and Loew's Inc. (the parent company of MGM) head Nicholas Schenck (Joe's brother and officially Mayer's boss), who arranged for underwriting by the Bank of America with additional backing by the cunningly abrasive Herbert J. Yates, who keenly sought out guaranteed business for his Consolidated Film Labs (and who would soon form Republic Pictures out of a merger among Mascot Pictures, Monogram Pictures and Liberty Pictures when bankrupt producer Mack Sennett's studio became available). Goetz's involvement was based on a string Mayer attached for his money: he wanted his son-in-law out from under his thumb. Whatever talents William Goetz possessed as a young man in Hollywood were lost on his father-in-law. Twentieth Century merged with ailing Fox Films (which owned a desirable theater chain) in 1935, and Goetz was named vice president of Twentieth Century-Fox, with Zanuck over him as production head and Joe Schenck serving as president. In its infancy the studio relied heavily on the talents of a small roster of popular stars such as Tyrone Power, Don Ameche and Alice Faye, but found a gold mine in an adorable and monumentally talented six-year-old moppet named Shirley Temple, who literally kept the the ink from turning red. Among the 20th Century-Fox pictures Goetz personally produced were The House of Rothschild (1934), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture along with Zanuck; Les Misérables (1935), a classic Hollywood production of Victor Hugo's novel; and a hit adaptation of Jack London's Call of the Wild (1935), which starred MGM loan-out Clark Gable, Loretta Young (who got pregnant by Gable during production) and Jack Oakie. Goetz's stock at the studio began to rise and he gained a reputation for being an efficient, unassuming producer who (most importantly) could bring a project in at or under budget. At the outbreak of WWII, Zanuck eagerly accepted an army commission and placed Goetz as acting head of the studio in 1942. As production head, Goetz was responsible for some prestigious films that brought credit to both him and the studio, including Guadalcanal Diary (1943) and the The Song of Bernadette (1943), which was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won four, including a Best Actress Oscar for Jennifer Jones, who would eventually become the wife of Goetz's then brother-in-law, David O. Selznick.
Like his father-in-law Louis B. Mayer, Goetz emphasized quality to distinguish his product in the market, and he did not flinch from spending money to achieve it. Unlike Mayer, however, Goetz learned the mechanics of bringing a project through to completion. Hollywood is a town where paranoid bosses push many ambitious men out of their positions, though, and 20th Century-Fox was no different. Zanuck still regarded Goetz as an unimaginative administrator and began hearing rumors that Goetz was growing ambitious. Goetz, however, resigned upon Zanuck's return in 1943 to avoid any conflict. Zanuck was also said to be furious that Goetz had turned his special 4:00 p.m. casting couch interview room into a storage area.
Mayer, belatedly recognizing Goetz's production talents, offered him a chance to be the head of MGM's creative development, but Goetz told his wife that he had to turn her father down, since the first thing he would have done at MGM was fire Mayer. Zanuck's 1942-43 absence had given Goetz a taste of running a studio, and since there were no jobs on offer to become a studio boss, he created International Pictures in 1943 with lawyer Leo Spitz, who had been an adviser to Goetz's brother-in-law David O. Selznick. One of the great independent producers, Selznick had produced the most successful movie of all time, Gone with the Wind (1939), which he found impossible to bring to the screen without help from Mayer, given MGM's irreplaceable Rhett Butler: Gable. Like Zanuck a dozen years earlier, Goetz opted to strike out on his own with International Pictures (Selznick was furious about that name, believing it conflicted with his own Selznick International Pictures).
During its brief life as an independent company, International Pictures produced ten middling films distributed by United Artists before merging with Universal Pictures to create Universal-International Pictures in 1945, with Goetz being appointed production chief. As U-I studio boss, Goetz partnered with British producer J. Arthur Rank to release Rank's British-produced films in America. A major stockholder, Rank at one point tried to take over the studio, but he proved unsuccessful. Under Goetz's direction, U-I became known for family fare and well-crafted B-pictures, including the long-running Bud Abbott and Lou Costello series of comedies, the "Francis the Talking Mule" series and the popular "Ma and Pa Kettle" movies. These would eventually become repetitious and Goetz had no particular fondness for inane comedies, but they were money in the bank for U-I.
Goetz participated in the 1946 Waldorf Conference with his father-in-law, MGM capo di tutti capi Nicholas Schenck, and other top studio executives. The conference was a studio boss pow-wow called by Motion Pictures Producers Association President Eric Johnston, who was in a panic over the so-called "Hollywood Ten", a group of Hollywood creative people who were indicted after failing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee looking for evidence of Communist "subversion" in the motion picture industry. It was at the Waldorf Conference that the Hollywood blacklist was devised, with the aim of ridding the industry of any Communistsm real, suspected or imagined. What it did do was rein in the effect of New Deal progressives who may have proved too radical for the movie moguls' tastes when it came to labor relations.
Some commentators believe the real deal struck at the Waldorf Conference was an agreement to break the militants in the craft unions by tarring them as "Reds". An ancillary part of this deal, as the argument goes, was an agreement to place in control of the unions men who had strong ties to organized crime, in order for them to offer the bosses sweetheart deals and put an end to the labor unrest that Hollywood experienced as World War II came to a close. The studios had already suffered through a 13-week strike the year before.
The strike was launched on March 12, 1945, when the Conference of Studio Unions (CSU) went out in protest of the studios' delay in renewing the contract for interior decorators. The strike had been opposed by IATSE, which had been under the control of the Chicago mob in the 1930s and early 1940s. The studios had surreptitiously called on Mafia muscle to attempt to break up the strike. CSU officials were branded "Reds" and "Communist subversives" and harassed. Ronald Reagan, the future Screen Actors Guild (SAG) president, had volunteered to be an informer against the CSU, snitching to the FBI on its activities.
Goetz signed on to the blacklist, perhaps realizing he could not alienate his fellow studio bosses if he was to establish Universal-International Pictures on a sound footing, as he needed to curry their favor to get loan-outs of their stars. U-I's major problem was that it had no box-office stars. Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis and Jeff Chandler were contract players, but their careers had not yet bloomed. U-I thus had to rely on the good will of the other studio bosses until it could establish itself as a major player.
In 1949 Goetz and his good friend, super-agent Lew Wasserman, engineered the first profit participation deal in motion picture history. U-I wanted Wasserman's client, James Stewart, recently out of his contract at MGM, to appear in Anthony Mann's new Western, Winchester '73 (1950). Goetz felt he was unable to obtain funds necessary for such a costly production up front, so he signed Stewart to a deal that gave him half of the profits of the picture rather than a set fee.
Wasserman had wanted to establish Stewart, an independent contractor, as a corporation to protect him from the then-prohibitive income tax, which topped out at 90% for earners of Stewart's caliber. By making him a producer, Wasserman put Stewart in a lower tax-rate via a production company that would take a tax-favored stake in his movies in lieu of a personal fee. Stewart's production company would then be taxed at the lower corporate rate.
Stewart netted $750,000 from the deal, with U-I netting the same amount (while the deal cost the studio a greater percentage of profits from a hit, it was also insulated from the losses that possibly could be generated by a failure, as it lowered production costs). Regardless, it was a fortuitous deal since the picture was, deservedly, a smash hit. A profit participation deal was again used on U-I's excellent Stewart-Mann western Bend of the River (1952).
The profit participation deal was revolutionary--- it would ultimately unravel the entire studio system, and would soon be copied by other independent-minded stars. Many of them would refuse to sign new contracts with their studios in order to go independent and take advantage of percentage deals. It proved to be the straw that finally broke the studio system's back (having lost proprietary theater ownership in the 1950s was another crippling blow, along with the competition from a new medium, television). With profit participation deals, power shifted from the studios to the stars and their agents. Studios now became financiers and renters of production facilities.
Although U-I shared in the profits of its profit-participation contracts with Stewart, who became a top-10 box office star for the first time in the 1950s appearing in U-I westerns, it did not reverse a financial slump the studio underwent in the early 1950s. U-I was financially weak and succumbed to a 1952 take-over by Decca Records.
Wasserman's MCA, an entertainment conglomerate that began as a talent agency but thrived as a leading TV producer due to a secret waiver granted it by SAG when it was headed by Wasserman client Ronald Reagan, ultimately would buy U-I by acquiring Decca Records in 1962 (Wasserman and MCA chairman Jules Stein reportedly had close ties to the Chicago mob; as late as 1984, a Mafia enforcer belonging to John Gotti's Gambino crime family with "a past history of arranging narcotics smuggling," according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, was serving as a middleman for MCA despite having no prior experience in the music industry. An investigation into MCA in the mid-'80s was quashed by then-President Ronald Reagan's Justice Department. Wasserman had remained close to Reagan, a man he had made a millionaire by giving him an ownership stake in the TV series Death Valley Days (1952) and also through a land deal. Through Wasserman, Reagan had become wealthy enough to pursue a political career after his acting career ended in 1964. Despite being a liberal Democrat, Wasserman raised money for Reagan's first gubernatorial campaign as a right-wing Republican and served as the chief fundraiser for his presidential library.
Goetz left the studio in 1954 and went independent, having obtained a distribution deal through Columbia for his William Goetz Productions. Films produced by the independent Goetz were nominated three times for Golden Globes: Sayonara (1957), which garnered Academy Award nominations for Goetz, director Joshua Logan, star Marlon Brando and Best Supporting Oscars for featured players Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki; Me and the Colonel (1958), a Holocaust comedy starring Danny Kaye; and Song Without End (1960), a musical about composer Franz Liszt co-directed by George Cukor, which won Goetz the Best Musical Song from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and an Oscar for Best Music.
Like many movie moguls, including Nicholas Schenck and his father-in-law, Goetz raised thoroughbreds. He bought his first racing stock from L.B, a famous horse breeder who got out of the racing business after World War II, as it was bad for his image. Goetz's horse Your Host won the 1950 Santa Anita Derby and subsequently sired Kelso, one of the all-time money winners.
Goetz terminated his production company in 1961 after making the Glenn Ford service comedy Cry for Happy (1961), but he came out of retirement in 1964 to take the job of vice president at Seven Arts Productions Ltd., a Canadian-controlled production and distribution corporation. Goetz possibly took the job as a favor to his friend Lew Wasserman, as the major stockholder in Seven Arts, Louis Chesler, had ties to the Chicago mob, as did Wasserman in his early days as a musician and recording artists' agent. Significantly, Chesler had served on the board of directors of Allied Artists, a subsidiary of his brothers' defunct Monogram Pictures.
Chesler, an aficionado of horse-racing like Goetz and a reputed gambler, was the driving force behind Seven Arts Productions, which was capitalized on Toronto's stock exchange. In addition to investing in the entertainment field, the 300-pound entrepreneur was a major housing developer in Florida. Chesler was described as a front or associate of underworld crime bosses Vito Genovese and Meyer Lansky through the Florida real estate company General Development Corp., which he owned with another Lasky associate, Wallace Groves.
General Development's board of directors included gangster "Trigger Mike" Coppola and Max Orovitz, who was Lansky's stockbroker. Another partner was Eddie DeBartolo, a shopping mall developer and racetrack owner with a taste for high-stakes gambling. DeBartolo, who bought the San Francisco 49ers professional football team for his son, Edward DeBartolo Jr., was close to Lansky and Lansky associates Carlos Marcello, who controlled Florida's narcotics and gambling, and New Orleans Mafia boss Santo Trafficante Jr.. Both Marcello and Trafficante, who owed fealty to the Chicago mob, had been recruited via Chicago boss Sam Giancana to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro for the CIA, which they were glad to do, as Castro had booted them and Lansky out of Cuba--where they controlled lucrative gambling, narcotics, prostitution and other criminal activities--after the 1959 revolution (some conspiracy theorists place the responsibility for President John F. Kennedy's assassination on Marcello and Trafficante, though that has never been proven.)
Through General Development Corp., Chesler and Groves introduced gambling to the Bahamas, buying half of Grand Bahama Island and setting up the Grand Bahama Development Co. in the early 1960s to build a hotel cum casino. It was through Chesler that the Bahamian gaming business was penetrated by Lansky, looking for a new territory after losing Cuba, and Dino Cellini, a mob banker described as Lansky's right-hand man, the person he most trusted with the receipts from his gambling operations. One of Chesler's partners in the Bahamas was Carroll Rosenbloom, owner of the Los Angeles Rams and one of the three largest shareholders in Seven Arts, who was described as a notorious gambler.
Although Chesler is credited with opening up the British crown colony to gambling, having done most of the schmoozing and covert bribery through the awarding of "consulting fees" to well-connected politicians and colonial bureaucrats, he was forced out of the Bahamas in a power struggle in 1964. Chesler's story, well known in the 1960s, likely was one of the inspirations for Michael Corleone's Cuban sojourn and business dealings with Hyman Roth--a character based on Meyer Lansky--in The Godfather Part II (1974).
Lansky's gang ran the "skim" of Bahamian casino money that was repatriated to mob banks in Miami controlled by Cellini, who had to work in London and Rome, as he was persona non grata in Florida and the Bahamas. Subsequently, development in the Bahamas hit a downturn and the Canadian holding company Atlantic Acceptance, a major source of capital, went bankrupt in June 1965. The company's $104-million default touched off an international financial scandal. Although Chesler liquidated the rest of his holdings by the end of 1966, he had put his stamp on the Bahamas by creating the island's gaming industry and introducing the Lansky gang to the islands.
In 1967 his company, now called Seven Arts Ltd., acquired Jack L. Warner's controlling interest in Warner Bros. Pictures and other interests, including Warner Bros. Records and Reprise Records (the $84-million price tag of the acquisitions was worth approximately $640 million in 2003 dollars). The company was renamed Warner Bros-Seven Arts. The ambitious studio bought Atlantic Records for $17 million in stock that same year but, crippled by debt, the company itself was acquired by the conglomerate Kinney National Services Inc. in 1969, the year of Goetz's death.
One of the major shareholders in Warner Bros-Seven Arts was the Bahamas- and Switzerland-based mutual fund Investors Overseas Service (IOS), owned by Bernard Cornfeld, a reputed money launderer for Lansky and the mob. Allegedly in cahoots with Dino Cellini, swindler Robert Vesco took over IOS during the period Cornfeld was being held in prison by Swiss authorities investigating fraud (nothing was proven, and he was eventually released). Vesco defrauded IOS of $224 million in 1972, while major Democratic Party figures like former California governor Edmund G. Brown and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's son James Roosevelt served on the board of directors. Vesco was no partisan; he made a huge illegal campaign contribution to President Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election committee before going on the lam.
Nixon paid Vesco back by firing Robert Morgenthau, the U.S. Attorney for the southern district of New York, who was investigating Mafia money laundering through Switzerland. Morgenthau already had won a conviction against Max Orovitz for violating stock registration laws, and he was moving in on IOS' John King when he was unceremoniously sacked. Although King was later convicted, he received a relatively light sentence.
While it may seem ironic that a Democrat like Goetz would be involved with a possibly mobbed-up firm, one must remember that in the mid-'60s, at least 10% and as much as 20% of the Democratic Party's revenues were derived from organized crime, as in many cities, like Chicago, the Democratic ward headquarters usually doubled as a syndicate clubhouse. The Chicago organization swung the 1960 Presidential vote in Illinois to Kennedy. The Mafia had infiltrated Hollywood in the early 1940s, and many of the moguls rubbed shoulders with organized crime figures at the racetracks they haunted and at which they contested their own horses. Steve Ross, the Kinney conglomerate owner that acquired Warner Bros-Seven Arts, himself was reputed to have Mafia connections (former Paramount production chief Robert Evans boasts of his connections to mob lawyer and Hollywood fixer Sidney Korshak, whom he was not above asking favors from, in his autobiography "The Kid Stays in the Picture"). Democratic Senator Estes Kefauver had investigated the Mafia in 1951, holding televised hearings that put mob bosses such as Frank Costello on the spot and Kefauver in the spotlight. Later, Sen. John Kennedy and his brother Robert F. Kennedy were part of the committee investigating the Teamsters Union for its links to the mob (interestingly, Kefauver beat Kennedy out for the vice presidential slot on the 1956 ticket headed by Adlai Stevenson). The Democratic establishment was more interested in investigating labor corruption than it was in elucidating and ending the mob's links with politicians and legitimate businesses and businessmen, which included Kennedy's own father Joseph P. Kennedy, who had financed rum running by Detroit's Purple Gang during Prohibition.
This focus on labor to the detriment of the businessmen who actually did business with organized crime was a prejudice portrayed in Hollywood films such as On the Waterfront (1954). In "Waterfront," union officials are shown as corrupt killers, whereas the warehouse-owner-surrogate is a sort of savior to the martyred longshoreman played by Marlon Brando, who leads the flock of his co-workers away from the mobbed-up union boss Johnny Friendly into the warm bosom of the owner's warehouse at the end of the movie. (ironically, playwright Arthur Miller had written a screenplay, "The Hook," about corruption on the New York waterfront for "Waterfront" director Elia Kazan. Columbia boss Harry Cohn, an attendee of the Waldorf Conference and a supporter of the blacklist, had demanded that Miller change the corrupt union officials to Communists, as it would then make the script "pro-American." Miller refused.).
Goetz's father-in-law, Louis B. Mayer, had been the driving force behind the foundation of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences in 1927, which he had envisioned as a company union that would forestall unionization by more militant craft guilds. Mayer, through the Academy, managed to hold off unionization until the mid-'30s, when the crafts bolted the Academy and formed their own guilds. Mayer's dream of controlling labor and keeping absolute control over labor costs was dashed, and the Academy morphed into a scientific and research organization focused on publicity. By the end of the 1930s, the New York Mafia began infiltrating Hollywood through the projectionists' union. Studio bosses such as Mayer still kept tight control over labor costs, though that power began to decline in the 1940s due to concessions made to rebellious stars. The DeHavilland decision--named after a lawsuit brought against Warner Bros. by actress Olivia de Havilland--which forbade the studios from adding on suspension time to the end of the standard seven-year contracts, also helped erode the studio's power. However, it was Goetz's and Wasserman's profit participation contract that effectively destroyed the studios, that and the loss of their profitable theater chains (Loew's Inc. managed to fend off the divestiture for years, until well after Louis B. Mayer was forced out of MGM in favor of Dore Schary by Nicholas Shenck in 1951).
As the power of the vertically integrated studios waned after their Justice Department-enforced divestiture of their movie chains, agents representing the now-free serfs who were stars moved into the breach, creating independent production companies. At the same time, the power of organized crime, which began at roughly the same time as Hollywood organized itself vertically to control the chaos of movie production and distribution, apparently waxed. A major landlord in vice districts, the Mafia controlled many old inner-city theaters abandoned by the studios that were subsequently turned into grindhouses showcasing exploitation fare and later pornography after the breakdown of censorship in the 1960s and early 1970s. Corruption extended to first-run houses as well. Warner Communications executives in the 1970s were convicted of accepting kickbacks from movie theaters, a case in which Warner boss Steve Ross was considered an unindicted co-conspirator, though he vigorously denied any knowledge of wrongdoing and was never himself indicted for any crime.
Goetz was never implicated in any improprieties in all his years as a movie executive. In fact, he was something of an anomaly in Hollywood. Although he was a member of one of Hollywood's royal families, Goetz was unusual in that he enforced a "no nepotism" policy in his companies. He was renowned for his erudition and good manners in an industry studded with vulgar (Columbia's Harry Cohn being a stellar example) and semi-literate moguls. He eschewed a chauffeur and drove his own car to work, where he cultivated a persona as paterfamilias (as did his father-in-law at MGM), helping his employees with personal problems. Goetz had his personal chef oversee the preparation of food at the studio fare.
Goetz was known for his exquisite taste, and he and his wife were counted among the movie colony's premier art collectors, specializing in the impressionists and post-impressionists. Some of his Vincent van Gogh paintings were used in MGM's Lust for Life (1956). In 1959 the Goetzs' art collection had its own show at San Francisco's art museum, The Palace of the Legion of Honor. Speaking about Goetz, fellow art collector Billy Wilder said that he was "the very antithesis of being pompous . . . he had a funny cynicism." A respected member of the community, Goetz served as a director of the City National Bank of Beverly Hills and as a trustee of Reed College (Portland, Oregon). His last motion picture production was the mediocre Assault on a Queen (1966), scripted by Rod Serling.
William Goetz contracted cancer and was treated at the Mayo Clinic. On August 15, 1969, he died in his Los Angeles home from complications of the disease. He was buried in Hillside Memorial cemetery.Plot: Devotion, Sarcophagus B (at the entrance)
GPS coordinates: 33.9809113, -118.3012009 (hddd.dddd)- Music Department
- Composer
- Additional Crew
Born on February 10, 1929, Jerry Goldsmith studied piano with Jakob Gimpel and composition, theory, and counterpoint with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. He also attended classes in film composition given by Miklós Rózsa at the Univeristy of Southern California. In 1950, he was employed as a clerk typist in the music department at CBS. There, he was given his first embryonic assignments as a composer for radio shows such as "Romance" and "CBS Radio Workshop". He wrote one score a week for these shows, which were performed live on transmission. He stayed with CBS until 1960, having already scored The Twilight Zone (1959). He was hired by Revue Studios to score their series Thriller (1960). It was here that he met the influential film composer Alfred Newman who hired Goldsmith to score the film Lonely Are the Brave (1962), his first major feature film score. An experimentalist, Goldsmith constantly pushed forward the bounds of film music: Planet of the Apes (1968) included horns blown without mouthpieces and a bass clarinetist fingering the notes but not blowing. He was unafraid to use the wide variety of electronic sounds and instruments which had become available, although he did not use them for their own sake.
He rose rapidly to the top of his profession in the early to mid-1960s, with scores such as Freud (1962), A Patch of Blue (1965) and The Sand Pebbles (1966). In fact, he received Oscar nominations for all three and another in the 1960s for Planet of the Apes (1968). From then onwards, his career and reputation was secure and he scored an astonishing variety of films during the next 30 years or so, from Patton (1970) to Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and from Chinatown (1974) to The Boys from Brazil (1978). He received 17 Oscar nominations but won only once, for The Omen (1976) in 1977 (Goldsmith himself dismissed the thought of even getting a nomination for work on a "horror show"). He enjoyed giving concerts of his music and performed all over the world, notably in London, where he built up a strong relationship with London Symphony Orchestra.
Jerry Goldsmith died at age 75 on July 21, 2004 after a long battle with cancer.Plot: G/M Truth 265- Plot: Garden of Rebecca, Block 12, Plot 106, Space 2
GPS coordinates: 33.9819489, -118.1386566 (hddd.dddd) - Producer
- Writer
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Mark Goodson was born on 14 January 1915 in Sacramento, California, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for Family Feud (1976), Tattletales (1974) and Password (1973). He was married to Suzanne Russell Waddell, Virginia McDavid and Bluma Neveleff. He died on 18 December 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Hank Greenberg was born on 1 January 1911 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1998), The Kid from Cleveland (1949) and Major League Baseball on ABC (1953). He was married to Linda Douglas and Caral Gimbel. He died on 4 September 1986 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Lorne Greene was born Lyon Himan "Chaim" Green on February 12, 1915, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He began acting while attending Canada's Queen's University, and after graduation got a job in radio broadcasting. His rich, deep, authoritarian voice quickly propelled him to prominence as Canada's top newscaster. He left Canada in the early 1950s for a film career in Hollywood, and soon began appearing regularly in television, films and on radio. His greatest successes came in two television series, the long-running Western Bonanza (1959), in which he played the patriarch of a wealthy frontier family, and the science-fiction series Battlestar Galactica (1978). In 1969 he was awarded Officer of the Order of Canada for his services to the performing arts and community.
Lorne Greene died at age 72 of pneumonia following heart surgery on September 11, 1987, in Santa Monica, CA.Plot: Courts of the Book, Outer Lawn, Block 5, Plot 800, Grave 8
GPS coordinates: 33.9797096, -118.3878632 (hddd.dddd)- Ruth Handler was born on 4 November 1916 in Denver, Colorado, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for The Barbie Diaries: High School Mystery (2006), Barbie: Pet Rescue (2001) and Barbie Photo Designer. She was married to Elliot Handler. She died on 27 April 2002 in Century City, California, USA.Plot: Family plot in Garden of Rebecca
- Actor
- Writer
Lou Holtz was born on 11 April 1893 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Twilight Zone (1959), The Loretta Young Show (1953) and The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas (2002). He was married to Gloria Warfield, Phyllis Gilman and Margaret (Brown) Bolander (Rita Boland). He died on 22 September 1980 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Moe Howard, the "Boss Stooge" and brother of Stooges Curly Howard and Shemp Howard, began his acting career in 1909 by playing bit roles in silent Vitagraph films. At 17 he joined a troupe working on a showboat and also appeared in several two-reel comedy shorts. In 1922 he, brother Shemp and Larry Fine joined roughhouse vaudeville comic Ted Healy, forming the act that would become The Three Stooges. Howard toured vaudeville and appeared in films with Healy for ten years before the Stooges left to pursue a separate career. Moe appeared in more than 250 films during his 66-year career, including 190 Three Stooges shorts. Over the act's 50-year history, the Stooges went through several personnel changes; when Moe died, the act ended.Plot: Garden of Memories, Alcove of Love, Wall C, Crypt 233- Actor
- Sound Department
- Additional Crew
David Janssen was born David Harold Meyer in 1931 in Naponee, Nebraska, to Berniece Mae (Graf) and Harold Edward Meyer, a banker. He was of German, and some Swiss-German and Ulster-Scots, descent. David took the surname of his stepfather, Eugene Janssen. The Janssen family settled in Hollywood when he was a teenager and he attended Fairfax High School, where he developed an interest in acting. His film debut was a bit part in It's a Pleasure (1945), and at the age of 18 signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox. However, the studio dropped him after allegedly becoming disenchanted with his odd hairline and big prominent ears. Janssen had better luck at Universal, where he signed on in the early 1950s and became a supporting player in 32 films before appearing on TV as the star of Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1956). He resumed his movie career in 1961, a year after the series ended. His biggest success came from his lead in the series The Fugitive (1963), playing the haunted, hunted Dr. Richard Kimble, on the run for a murder he didn't commit. After the series ended, Janssen launched himself into a grueling schedule by appearing in lead and supporting roles in movies, but he had better luck with made-for-TV-movie roles and a short-lived series, O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1971). He had another hit series with the cult favorite Harry O (1973). Janssen continued appearing in lead roles in nearly 20 made-for-TV-movies during the 1970s as well as other TV projects. He died in 1980 from a sudden heart attack at his Malibu home at the age of 48. Unfounded speculation holds that Janssen succumbed to alcoholism, a problem that plagued him most of his adult life. There were even unfounded rumors about drug use. However, a much more reasonable explanation for David Janssen's sudden demise is that this intense, dedicated, determined actor simply worked himself to death.Plot: Mausoleum, Memory Court- Actor
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- Producer
George Jessel gained fame in vaudeville, where it was not uncommon for him--and other performers, such as Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor--to perform in blackface, and in fact at age 11 Jessel was Cantor's vaudeville partner. Jessel acted in several movies in the '30s and became a respected film producer. He was also a prolific songwriter, and was noted for his renditions of "Sonny Boy" and "My Yiddishe Mama". In his later years he made many guest appearances (always as himself) on radio, in occasional movies and on TV. He was nicknamed "The Toastmaster General" due to his appearances at many testimonial functions and dinners for various celebrities.Plot: Mausoleum, Memorial Court #516- Actor
- Composer
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Al Jolson was known in the industry as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," for well over 40 years. After his death his influence continued unabated with such performers as Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Jackie Wilson and Jerry Lee Lewis all mentioning him as an inspiration.
Al Jolson was born Asa Yoelson in Seredzius, Lithuania, to a Jewish family, the son of Naiomi Etta (Cantor) and Moise Rubin Yoelson, who emigrated alone to Washington, D.C., to establish himself. After four years he sent for his family. Nine months later his wife died (apparently during childbirth), which devastated the eight-year-old Asa. Young Al would soon find his outlet in the theater. Soon he was singing with his older brother, Harry, for senators and soldiers. He entertained the troops that were headed for the Spanish-American War.
Jolson's career in vaudeville started with his brother in New York, but never really got off the ground. Different partners allowed Jolson to experiment, but it was as a solo act in San Francisco that he finally hit it big. He was signed eventually by Lew Dockstaders' Minstrels. It is important to note that, although performing in blackface, Dockstader's was not a minstrel show in the traditional sense of the "Tambo and Bones" variety of the previous century. It was a sophisticated, topical, Broadway-style revue. The myth lingers to this day that Jolson was a minstrel. He most certainly was not.
Jolson's stay in vaudeville was relatively short, as his talent was quickly recognized by the Shubert Brothers, who signed him to appear in the opening show of their new Winter Garden Theater on Broadway in April of 1912. Thus began what many consider to be the greatest career in the history of Broadway. Not a headliner initially, Jolson soon became "King of the Winter Garden," with shows specifically written for him. "Winter Garden" and "Jolson" became synonymous for close to 20 years. During that time Jolson received reviews that have yet to be matched. Audiences shouted, pleaded and often would not allow the show to proceed, such was the power of his presence. At one performance in Boston, the usually staid and conservative Boston audience stopped the show for 45 minutes! He was said to have had an "electric' personality, along with the ability to make each member of the audience believe that he was singing only to them.
In 1927 Jolson starred in the New York-shot The Jazz Singer (1927) and the rest is film history. But just before it was theatrically released, producer, Warner' His appearance in that film, nowadays considered a somewhat creaky, stodgy and primitive museum piece, electrified audiences and caused a sensation. Jolson was bigger than ever and Hollywood came a-calling. However, Jolson on film was a pale version of Jolson on stage. His screen appearances, with some exceptions, are stiff and wooden. Though he continued into the 1930s to star on radio, he was no longer quite the star he had been.
During World War II, Jolson entertained troops in Africa and Sicily but was cut short by a bout of malaria and pneumonia. Always a favorite with audiences, he continued to entertain in the United States when he met his fourth wife, Erle Chenault Galbraith, an x-ray technician.
By the mid-'40s, though. his stardom had faded quite a bit. Columbia Pictures, inspired by the success of Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), decided that a Jolson biography might work as well. In 1946 it released The Jolson Story (1946), with song-and-dance man Larry Parks miming to Jolson's vocals. It was the surprise smash hit of the season and the highest grossing film of the year. Parks received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Jolson was now as big, or bigger, than ever. So successful was the film that Columbia made a sequel, Jolson Sings Again (1949), which remains one of a few biography sequels in film history (Funny Girl/Funny Lady - the story of fellow Winter Garden performer Fannie Brice is another rare example). It was also quite successful at the box office. So big had Jolson's star risen that in 1948, when Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Perry Como were at their peaks, Jolson was voted "The Most Popular Male Vocalist" by a Variety poll.
In 1950, against his doctor's orders, Jolson went to Korea to entertain his favorite audience, American troops. While there his health declined and shortly after his return to the U.S. he suffered a massive heart attack and died.Plot: Waterfall monument, central to the entire park.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Lawrence Kasha was born on 3 December 1932 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was a producer and director, known for Knots Landing (1979), Applause (1973) and Busting Loose (1977). He died on 29 September 1990 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Laurel Gardens, Wall E, Crypt 236- Actor
- Soundtrack
Mickey Katz was born on 15 June 1909 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Kissing Jessica Stein (2001), When Comedy Went to School (2013) and Blue in the Face (1995). He was married to Grace Epstein. He died on 30 April 1985 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Production Manager
New York-born Sam Katzman entered the film industry as a prop boy at age 13, and worked his way up the ladder, learning virtually every facet of film production before becoming a producer himself. Starting out producing action/adventure serials (where he got the nickname "Jungle Sam"), Katzman's output encompassed virtually every genre imaginable. In the 1930s he turned out Tim McCoy westerns for Puritan and Victory, the next decade he was grinding out the East Side Kids series at Monogram, the 1950s saw him making sci-fi opuses and teenage musicals for Columbia and in the 1960s he was cranking out hippie/biker films for AIP and Elvis Presley musicals for MGM. Due to a combination of astute marketing and the fact that he ground out films so quickly and cheaply that he could cash in on a fad before it faded away, Katzman's movies seldom if ever lost money.Plot: Mausoleum, Memorial Court, North Wall, Crypt 316- Writer
- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
Composer, songwriter and author, educated at the University of Illinois and the University of Maryland. He was a television writer for Sid Caesar, Bing Crosby, Danny Thomas, Art Carney, Dinah Shore, Mary Martin, Danny Kaye and Dick Van Dyke. Joining ASCAP in 1956, he composed many songs and instrumentals, including "I Just Got Somethin' in My Eye".- Producer
- Writer
A former agent, Fred Kohlmar worked as an executive assistant to producer Samuel Goldwyn. He got into the production end of the business in the late 1930s, producing pictures mainly for 20th Century-Fox, Paramount and Columbia. Although he produced everything from dramas (Les Miserables (1952)) to westerns (Gunman's Walk (1958)) to musicals (Bye Bye Birdie (1963)) over his career, he was responsible for quite a few successful comedies (When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950), My Sister Eileen (1955), The Notorious Landlady (1962)).Plot: Mausoleum, Memorial Court, North Wall, Crypt 316- Producer
- Production Manager
- Writer
Paul Kohner was born on 29 May 1902 in Teplitz-Schoenau, Austria-Hungary [now Teplice, Czech Republic]. He was a producer and production manager, known for The White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929), Love Me and the World Is Mine (1927) and Alas sobre El Chaco (1935). He was married to Lupita Tovar. He died on 16 March 1988 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Courts of the Book, Outer Lawn, Block 5, Plot 300, Grave 8- Producer
- Additional Crew
Helen Gorman's first job in Los Angeles was with the talent agency ICM in the early 1970s where she met her future husband Jerrold Kushnick, then manager of Jimmie Walker ("Good Times") and Ben Vereen, among others. Helen left ICM to join Jerrold in forming General Management Corporation. Under their management, they guided the career of Jay Leno (a struggling stand-up comic in the beginning), and numerous other producers, comics, writers, and comic-writers: (April Kelly, George Geiger, Wayne Kline, Gene Wojohowski, Jim Belushi). While Jerry guided Jimmie Walker's career, it was Jay to whom Helen was most devoted, booking him in every college tour, stand-up club, and Vegas opening that would have him. In 1979 Jay had his first national TV show with HBO, following that, in 1985, his first NBC special: "Jay Leno and the American Dream". She was instrumental in forming the now-famous "who-will-replace-Carson" feud, pitting Leno vs Letterman for the coveted spot.
Not an easy person to work with, she often came to blows with agents, networks, and local haunchos (i.e. Mitzi Shore of the Comedy Store) reinforcing her reputation as the show-biz version of Leona Helmsley. Her clients however, caught in middle of countless useless pissing contests, began to jump ship, Leno being the last to leave.
Gorman-Kushnick passed away in August, 1996 of breast cancer, leaving a daughter Sarah, who was twin of Samuel who died of AIDS as a toddler due to a blood transfusion in 1983. Helen and Jerry were one of the first to force legislation to require blood-testing to isolate the AIDS virus within the national blood banks.Plot: Sunnyslope Garden Mausoleum, A301- Producer
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- Writer
Ely A. Landau was born on 20 January 1920 in New York City, New York, USA. Ely A. was a producer and writer, known for King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1969), The Deadly Game (1982) and The Holcroft Covenant (1985). Ely A. was married to Edie Landau. Ely A. died on 4 November 1993 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Canaan, Estate 62, Grave 1- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Michael Landon was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz, on Saturday, October 31st, 1936, in Forest Hills, Queens, New York. In 1941, he and his family moved to Collingswood, New Jersey.
When Eugene was in high school, he participated -- and did very well -- in track and field, especially javelin throwing, and his athletic skills earned him a scholarship to USC. However, an accident injured his arm, ending his athletic career -- and his term at USC -- and he worked a number of odd jobs and small roles to make ends meet and decided that acting was for him. However, he thought that his real name was not a suitable one for an aspiring actor, and so "Michael Landon" was born.
Two of his first big roles were as Tony Rivers in I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and as Tom Dooley in the western The Legend of Tom Dooley (1959). That same year he was approached by producer David Dortort to star in a pilot called The Restless Gun (1957), which was renamed when the series was picked up to Bonanza (1959). Landon played Little Joe Cartwright, the youngest of the three Cartwright brothers, a cocky and somewhat rebellious youth nevertheless had a way with the ladies. For 14 years, Landon became the heart and soul of the show, endearing himself to both younger and older viewers, and he became a household name during the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1968, after almost ten years of playing Little Joe, he wanted an opportunity to direct and write some episodes of the show. After the season finale in 1972, Dan Blocker, who played his older brother Hoss and was also a close friend, died from a blood clot in his lung, after gall bladder surgery, but Michael decided to go back to work, revisiting his own character in a two-part episode called "Forever."
Bonanza (1959) was finally canceled in early 1973, after 14 years and 430 episodes. Michael didn't have to wait long until he landed another successful role that most TV audiences of the 1970s would thoroughly enjoy, his second TV western, for NBC, Little House on the Prairie (1974). That show was based on a popular book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and he played enduring patriarch and farmer Charles Ingalls. Unlike Bonanza (1959), where he was mostly just a "hired gun," on this show he served as the producer, writer, director, and executive producer. By the end of its eighth season in 1982, Landon decided to step down from his role on "Little House" as he saw his TV children grown up and moved out of their father's house, and a year later, the show was canceled. After 14 years on Bonanza (1959) and 8 years on Little House on the Prairie (1974), it was about time to focus on something else, and once again, he didn't have to wait too long before Highway to Heaven (1984) came along. Unlike the western shows that he did for 23 years, this NBC fantasy/drama show focused on Jonathan Smith, an angel whose job was to save peoples' lives and work for God, his boss. Victor French played ex-cop Mark Gordon, who turned down a fortune but had redeemed himself by meeting Jonathan.
By the end of the fifth season in 1989, French was diagnosed with lung cancer and died in June of that same year. Landon was devastated by the loss and pulled the plug on Highway to Heaven (1984). In early 1991, after 35 years of working on NBC, he was axed by the network, so he moved to CBS to star in the pilot of a two-hour movie, Us (1991), in which he played Jeff Hayes, a man freed from prison by new evidence after 18 years wrongfully spent inside. This was going to be another one of Landon's shows but, in April 1991, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He later appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) to talk about his battle with the disease, and many people in the audience were affected by the courage and energy he showed. Unfortunately, he was already terminally ill by that time, and on Monday, July 1st, 1991, after a three-month battle, he finally succumbed to the disease. His family, his colleagues, and his children were all by his side. His life-time: Saturday, October 31st, 1936 to Monday, July 1st, 1991, was 19,966 days, equaling 2,852 weeks & 2 days.Plot: Mausoleum, outside/rear, private room- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Half of the songwriting team of Leiber and Stoller, Jerry Leiber wrote many hit songs with his partner Mike Stoller, including many for Elvis Presley and The Coasters. Leiber was born on April 25, 1933 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA as Jerome Leiber. He was married to Gaby Rodgers. He died on August 22, 2011 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Sheldon Leonard was born in New York City's lower Manhattan, the son of Jewish parents. He studied acting at Syracuse University and, after graduating, landed a job on Wall Street. Following the Wall Street crash of 1929, he found himself unemployed and resolved to become a professional actor on the stage. The road was hard, since it took him five years to first appear on Broadway in "Hotel Alimony" (1934). While this production was universally slammed by the critics, the next plays he appeared in, "Having Wonderful Time" (1937) and "Kiss the Boys Goodbye" (1938), were unqualified successes, the former running for 372 performances.
Movie offers followed, and from 1939 he became one of Hollywood's most recognizable screen tough guys, the names of his characters evocative of the roles he played: Pretty Willie in Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941), Slip Moran in Lucky Jordan (1942), Lippy Harris in Jinx Money (1948), Jumbo Schneider in Money from Home (1953) and, famously, Harry the Horse in Guys and Dolls (1955). There was also an assortment of minor henchmen and western heavies named Blackie or Lefty, and he was Nick, the sneering, humorless barkeeper who tosses James Stewart into the snow in It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
Having had his fill of acting in those kinds of parts, Leonard began a new career as a television producer in the 1950s and went on to become one of the most successful TV producer/directors of the 1950s and 1960s. Four of his productions (all on CBS)--The Danny Thomas Show (1953), Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) (which won 21 Emmy Awards) and The Andy Griffith Show (1960)--were rated in the Top Ten. He had a further success with I Spy (1965), championing the cause of racial equality over the (initial) objections of the network by being the first series to have an African-American (Bill Cosby) in an equal co-starring dramatic role with a white actor. Leonard is also regarded as having invented the television spin-off.Plot: Courts of the Book, Outer Lawn, Block 6, Plot 1000, Grave 8
GPS coordinates: 33.9795990, -118.3878326 (hddd.dddd)- Music Department
- Writer
- Composer
Composer ("I'm Popeye the Sailor Man", "Is It True What They Say About Dixie?"), author, songwriter and publisher, he emigrated to the US in 1910 and was educated at Wayne University. He wrote special material for vaudeville singers including Sophie Tucker, and from 1928 was a music-publishing executive. Moving to London in 1936, he wrote the London stage scores for 'Going Greek' and 'Hide and Seek', plus songs for British films. In 1938, he returned to America and joined the Dramatists Guild, where he served on the executive council. He was a member of the Hollywood Writers Mobilization and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. He joined ASCAP in 1931, and his chief musical collaborators include Hoagy Carmichael, Jay Gorney, Al Hoffman, and Al Goodhart. His popular songs, besides the two mentioned earlier, include "Oh Susanna Dust Off that Old Pianna"; "The Pump Song"; "I Promise You"; "Judy"; "Gangway"; "Lord and Lady Whoozis"; "The Rhyming Song"; "Y'Had It Comin' to You"; "In a Fanciful Mood"; "But Me No Buts"; "Intrigue"; and "You Never Lose What You Never Had".Plot: Laurel Gardens. 18-177-3A- Producer
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- Director
Sol Lesser entered the film industry as an exhibitor and the owner of a chain of movie theaters. His first "production" had an interesting story behind it. In 1915, while he was living in San Francisco, he learned that the authorities were about to clean out and close down the city's notorious Barbary Coast district, a raucous area of gambling houses, saloons and brothels. He grabbed a camera and a friend (future Hollywood cameraman Hal Mohr) and roamed all over the district, shooting footage of some of the area's best-known establishments before they were shut down. After the film was put together he titled it Last Night of the Barbary Coast (1913), sold it to theaters himself and made a bundle on it. Using that money, he began buying up theaters and soon had his own chain. Going into film production full-time in the 1930s with his own company, Principal Pictures Corp., he concentrated mainly on low-budget westerns and Tarzan pictures. He joined RKO in 1941 as executive in charge of feature production.Plot: Garden of Memories, Court of Devotion, Wall A, Crypt 224- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Additional Crew
Jules V. Levy was born on 12 February 1923 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a producer, known for Safari 3000 (1982), The Return of Dracula (1958) and The Vampire (1957). He was married to Shirley J. Ziegler, Enid Jaynes and Jacqueline Lita Freedman. He died on 24 May 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Abraham, Front of Mausoleum, Plot 7, Grave 6- Music Department
Marshall Leib was born in 1939. He is known for The Howling (1981), The Farmer (1977) and Too Hot to Handle (1977).- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Herb Magidson was born on 7 January 1906 in Braddock, Pennsylvania, USA. He is known for The Gay Divorcee (1934), Finch (2021) and Everyone Says I Love You (1996). He died on 2 January 1986 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Courts of the Books, wall crypt F-136B- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Abby Mann was born on 1 December 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Kojak (1973) and Skag (1980). He was married to Myra Mann. He died on 25 March 2008 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Director
- Additional Crew
Stage, television and film director Daniel Mann was born Daniel Chugerman on August 8, 1912, in Brooklyn, NY. He was a child performer and attended the New York's Professional Children's School. He studied with renowned acting teacher Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse, eventually becoming his assistant. Mann was one of the first acting teachers at the Actors Studio.
He established himself as a first-rate actors' director while on Broadway. Sidney Blackmer and Shirley Booth won Tony Awards under his direction for "Come Back, Little Sheba", which also became Mann's film directorial debut (Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)), with Burt Lancaster in support of Booth on the screen (Mann would direct her again in the less successful Hot Spell (1958) at the end of the decade). Booth won an Oscar for her work, as did Anna Magnani in The Rose Tattoo (1955), which Mann also directed on Broadway (with Maureen Stapleton in the part of the lonely Italian-American widow Serafina Delle Rose, which Tennessee Williams originally wrote with Magnani in mind). Magnani beat out 'Susann Hayward in I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955) for the Oscar, another performance directed by Mann.
In all, Mann directed six women and one man ('Paul Muni') to Oscar nominations. On Broadway he helped James Dean break through into the big time, directing his performance as the gay Arab houseboy in André Gide's "The Immoralist". Despite dropping out after the first two weeks to go to Hollywood to make East of Eden (1955), Dean won a Theatre World Award for his performance.
Mann was one of the top movie directors of the 1950s, helming I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956), The Last Angry Man (1959) and BUtterfield 8 (1960), which brought Elizabeth Taylor her first Oscar. However, his film career began to decline in the 1960s. In the first half of the decade he still was given A-list pictures with top female stars like Rosalind Russell and Sophia Loren, but he also directed Dean Martin comedies and the spy movie spoof Our Man Flint (1966). His reputation waned and he played out his string in the 1970s and 1980s, directing TV movies and an embarrassingly bad feature about a boxing kangaroo, Matilda (1978).
Daniel Mann died of heart failure in Los Angeles on November 21, 1991. He was 79 years old.Plot: Laurel Gardens, Block 17, Plot 114, Grave 2- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Hal March, born Harold Mendelson, first came on the scene in 1944 as one half of the comedy duo, Sweeney & March. He and Bob Sweeney had their own radio program, aptly named the "Sweeney and March Show" on CBS radio through 1948. In the early fifties, March sought a variety of venues in which to perform, taking small, uncredited roles in movies and appearing on a few TV shows such as "I Love Lucy" and "The Kate Smith Evening Hour." His first big break came when he was hired as one of the four Harry Mortons on "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show." He eventually lost the part to Fred Clark who the producers felt was perfectly paired with Bea Bernaderet (Blanch Morton) because of his acerbic, yet child-like grumpiness.
About this same time March paired up with another comedian Tom D'Andrea and together they made seven appearances on "The Colgate Comedy Hour."
His biggest break came when he was hired to host "The $64,000 Question," the most lucrative money quiz show of its time. March's personality combined with the astronomical prize money made the program the undisputed king of game shows and inspired a few copycat productions.
In 1955, Jack Benny appeared as a contestant on "The $64,000 Question." Jack's category was violins. After answering the first question correctly, Jack quit and took home his one dollar winnings. In 1957, at the height of March's run with "The $64,000 Question," he was invited to be on "The Jack Benny Program," where Jack set up his own game show in which Hal tried desperately to win his dollar back.
Also in 1955, March married Candy Toxton who had recently divorced Mel Tormé. Together they had three children, Peter, Jeffery, and Victoria, in addition to raising Candy's two children from her previous marriage.
"The $64,000 Question" came to an early end when the infamous Quiz Show Scandals came to light.
One biographer online states that because of the scandal, except for a few film roles, Hal March was out of show business for nearly a decade.
That is a slight exaggeration. Work had slowed down, but Hal hung in finding work here and there. Immediately following the close of his quiz show, he appeared on the "Ed Sullivan Show" to perform his stand-up routine.
He acted for "The Schlitz Playhouse" in 1959, "Westinghouse Preview Theater" in 1961, "The DuPont Show of the Week" in 1963, and even appeared on Broadway in "Two for the Seesaw" (replacing Henry Fonda) and in "Come Blow Your Horn."
In 1961 Hal starred in an unsold pilot for a comedy series called "I Married a Dog." The story starts out with Hal's character marrying a woman in Las Vegas he'd just met. When they arrive at her home in Los Angeles, Hal discovers he's married into wealth, and then, to his surprise and dismay, he quickly learns that the money maker in the home is a movie star dog that takes a harsh dislike to Hal immediately. Alone in the bedroom, Hal tries to make friends with the dog, but quickly discovers how well the dog can act when it follows him out of the bedroom limping, to the shock of his new bride. Throughout the show the dog constantly gets the better of him. You can find the show on YouTube.
In 1966 Hal March appeared on "The Lucy Show" and "The Monkees," and a year later he both appeared in and worked as the technical adviser on "A Guide for the Married Man," all the while making an occasional guest appearance on a variety of television shows such as "Here's Hollywood," "I've Got a Secret," and even guest hosted "The Tonight Show."
In July of 1969 March finally got the break he'd been looking for and began hosting the game show "It's Your Bet" in which celebrity couples played against each other, their winnings going to a member of the audience. The show quickly grew in popularity, but after finishing just 13 weeks of taping, he complained of exhaustion. A trip to the doctor showed that, as a result of his chain smoking, he'd developed lung cancer.
Hal March died at the age of 49 in Los Angeles on January 19, 1970. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for his work in radio and one for his work in television. He is buried at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California.Plot: Mount Sholom. 4-144-6- Actress
- Soundtrack
Trudy Marshall was born on 14 February 1920 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Dragonwyck (1946), The Dancing Masters (1943) and Too Many Winners (1947). She was married to Philip Jordan Raffin and Leland Lindsay. She died on 23 May 2004 in Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Norman Maurer was born on 13 May 1926 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Kook's Tour (1970), The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (1963) and The Outlaws Is Coming (1964). He was married to Joan Howard. He died on 23 November 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Frederic Mellinger was born on 15 November 1890 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for Hitler: Beast of Berlin (1939). He died on 29 August 1970 in Bad Wiessee, Bavaria, Germany.Plot: Courts of the Book, Outer Lawn, Block 5, Plot 600, Grave 2
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Marvin Mirisch was born on 19 March 1918 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer, known for Dracula (1979), The Human Jungle (1954) and Romantic Comedy (1983). He was married to Florence Mirisch. He died on 17 November 2002 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Marvin Mitchelson was born on 7 May 1928 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for The Golden Girls (1985), The Mike Douglas Show (1961) and The Bob Braun Show (1967). He was married to Marcella Ferri. He died on 18 September 2004 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Director
Comedic actor Howard ("Howie") Jerome Morris, of Jewish heritage, was born in The Bronx, New York, on September 4, 1919. This short, quicksilver comic of TV's "Golden Age" also went on to possess one of the finest vocal instruments for animation. Classically trained on the Shakespearean stage, he forged his own destiny in an entirely different direction after a chance meeting with Carl Reiner in a radio workshop. Following military service in World War II, in which the two entertained troops together (they appeared in Army productions of "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" directed by none other than Maurice Evans, they returned to the professional entertainment fold and appeared together in a 1946 road company of the stage musical "Call Me Mister." Howie also went on to be featured on Broadway as Rosencrantz in "Hamlet" and in the original production of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." He and Reiner would reconnect when asked to come aboard as part of the acting repertory team on Your Show of Shows (1950) and its successor Caesar's Hour (1954), the classic sketch TV show of the 1950s that starred Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. After years of "second banana" TV success, Howie wished for "top banana" stardom and sought work as such with varying degrees of success.
On the New York stage he co-starred as the leprechaun Og in a 1960 revival of "Finian's Rainbow" and, from the early 1960s on, his mastery of dialects and vocal versatility made him an important staple at the Hanna-Barbera animation studio, offering hundreds upon hundreds of voices for The Flintstones (1960), The Jetsons (1962), Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1971), and other such classic Saturday morning cartoon shows as well as the popular voices of Adam Ant, Gerald McBoing-Boing, Beetle Bailey and Jughead Jones. He would intersperse this work with some catchy offbeat characterizations in front of the camera, usually comedic but occasionally dramatic, on both the big and small screens. He added zest to a host of standard comedy films including Boys' Night Out (1962) with Kim Novak, The Nutty Professor (1963) and Way... Way Out (1966), both with Jerry Lewis, and Mel Brooks' spoofs High Anxiety (1977) and History of the World: Part I (1981). As for television, Howie directed Danny Thomas and Andy Griffith in their respective sitcoms, and made a wonderfully eccentric impression on-camera as the grizzled, bucolic, rock-tossing Ernest T. Bass on Griffith's 60's show. The role became such a popular character that Howie was invited to play it sporadically for three seasons.
Morris also turned to film directing and helmed such fluff as Who's Minding the Mint? (1967), With Six You Get Eggroll (1968) and Don't Drink the Water (1969), the last-mentioned written by Woody Allen. Seen more than heard during his twilight career, he continued on with directing commercials and popped up here and there well into the 1990s in comic cameos and as a vocal artist. Married five times (twice to one woman) with four children in all, Howie suffered from poor health in later years and died of congestive heart failure at age 84, on May 21, 2005. He was buried at Hillside Memorial Park in Los Angeles.Plot: Laurel Gardens Wall Crypt E-450- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Vic Morrow was born in the Bronx, New York, to Jean (Kress) and Harry Morrow, an electrical engineer. His parents were Russian Jewish immigrants. Morrow dropped out of high school at 17 to join the U.S. Navy. When he left the Navy, he used the G.I. Bill to study pre-law at Florida State. While Morrow was working on his degree in Law, he also took part in a school play and found that he preferred stage acting to courtroom acting. When he went to New York, Morrow enrolled in the Actors' Workshop to improve his skills. After graduating, he was cast in the summer stock production of "A Streetcar Named Desire". His screen debut came when he was signed by MGM to play a tough-talking, surly street punk in Blackboard Jungle (1955). The good news was that he was now in the movies, but the bad news was that he became typecast as a heavy. Disappointed with this situation, Morrow left MGM after a few years and headed back to school to study directing at USC. He made some appearances on television and in 1962 found a role that brought him fame and made him the "hero": the TV series Combat! (1962), in which he played Sgt. Chip Saunders, veteran squad leader. Due to his demands, the show quickly went from an alternating showcase between platoon leader Lt. Hanley (Rick Jason) and Sgt. Saunders to one featuring mainly Saunders. With the success of the show, Morrow put to use what he had learned at USC and directed some episodes. In 1965 he and his wife divorced, and two years later the series ended. These two events put him into a personal and professional slide. By 1969 he began almost a decade of making made-for-TV movies, with an occasional foray into features. Most of his roles, though, put him back as a "heavy", although he did have a good part as a tough L.A. cop going up against out-of-town mobsters in a two-part episode of Police Story (1973) that was later released as a telefeature. While he worked in the theater and looked forward to the big screen, most of his roles were in "B" pictures such as Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) and Treasure of Matecumbe (1976). He got good reviews playing Walter Matthau's nemesis in the hit comedy The Bad News Bears (1976), but was not involved in any of the following sequels, and he seemed to be stuck in a rut of "B" features and average made-for-TV films. With the failure of his second marriage, the death of his mother and the scarcity of good parts, Morrow hit the bottle, which did his career even less good. In 1982, however, he refocused his drive and made a comeback in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), but was unfortunately killed on the early morning hours of July 23, 1982 in a tragic, freak accident on the set while filming a scene involving a helicopter which crashed right on top of him and two young children.
Vic was the father of Carrie Ann Morrow and actress Jennifer Jason Leigh.Plot: Mount of Olives, Block 5, Plot 80, Grave 1- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
First and foremost a stand-up comedian, this top banana of the "Borscht Belt" circuit relied on amiable Jewish ethnic humor for longtime career sustenance. He also relied on his multi-talented gifts as an actor, master of ceremonies, game show host and raconteur.
Gravel-toned Jan Murray was born in 1917 as Murray Janofsky in New York City and got his very first booking in 1933 at the Bronx Opera House. He developed a name for himself in the Catskills while entertaining WWII USO troops. In post-war years it was more vaudeville houses and top niteries until he became a standard Vegas marquee headliner. He broke into TV in the early 1950s via the game show hosting circuit (the first comedian to do so) and became a much-sought-after emcee throughout that decade. Fronting such programs as Sing It Again (1950), Dollar a Second (1953), and especially Treasure Hunt (1956), he paved the way for other comedians in finding alternate and successful avenues to find new audiences. He could also be counted on for his quicksilver storytelling on TV variety and talks shows, and was a guest host on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) and The Mike Douglas Show (1961).
Murray moved to Los Angeles in 1965 to ignite an acting career, finding a number of parts over the years. Besides The Lucy Show (1962) and Car 54, Where Are You? (1961), he provided occasional dramatic appearances as well in Dr. Kildare (1961) and Mannix (1967). Film roles were few and far between, adding to the fun in such slapstick as The Busy Body (1967), backing up friend Sid Caesar, and in Which Way to the Front? (1970) (a Jerry Lewis vehicle). His most offbeat film roles included the grim, obsessed detective who specializes in sex crimes and searches for Juliet Prowse's stalker in the lurid thriller Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965), and playing a grizzled riverboat captain in Tarzan and the Great River (1967).
In later years, he became a mainstay celebrity roaster. Out of the limelight for some time, Murray's health began to rapidly deteriorate in the last several years. He died of complications from pneumonia and emphysema at the age of 89 on July 2, 2006. He was survived by his wife of 57 years, Kathleen "Toni" Mann, and their three children (Warren, Celia, and Howard Murray) as well as a child (Diane Moore) by his first marriage, to Pearl Cohen. He was also survived by eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.Plot: Canaan Garden Mausoleum, Crypt F66- Shelly Novack was a star athlete at Venice High School in California. He later played football at Santa Monica City College, Long Beach State, and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 1965. He became an actor through football, much like some other athletes do. Shelly won the first Toyota Grand Prix Pro Celebrity Race in 1977. Although he was a decent actor his passion was sports.Plot: Urn Garden, Eternal Rest, Block 8, Plot 10, Space 218
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Louis Nye was one of those delightfully pretentious comic actors you loved to hate, his flip manner and faux rich boy arrogance possessing his characters no matter what social stature they were. Nye (first name pronounced Louie) was a master at sketch comedy, foreign accents and the quicksilver ad lib. Born to Russian Jewish emigrant parents in Hartford, Connecticut, he initially joined a troupe called the Hartford Players. Eventually he moved to New York and found work on radio and in musical revues. At his peak, he divided himself equally on stage, clubs, radio, films, comedy albums and TV.
He broke into the big time when he earned a regular gig on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956) during the mid-1950s. His best-known character, hands down, was the droll, effete country-club braggart Gordon Hathaway, he of the forlorn-looking eyebrows whose off-the-cuff catchphrase salutation to Allen, "Hi, ho, Steverino!", was famous throughout the United States. On occasion, he was allowed some stretch in the acting department, playing it rougher and tougher, but, for the most part, his gents were more mincing than menacing. The films in which he appeared never made full use of his comic potential. Most of his parts were little more than flashy, extended cameos, some better than others. Often the unctuous con man, leering neighbor or opportunistic Madison Avenue executive, his movie credits include The Facts of Life (1960), The Wheeler Dealers (1963), Good Neighbor Sam (1964), A Guide for the Married Man (1967), Harper Valley P.T.A. (1978), and Cannonball Run II (1984).
As for television, he was always the second-banana, never the head cheese. Over the years, Nye bolstered most of Hollywood's star comedians including Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante, Bill Cosby, and Jonathan Winters. He played spoiled rich boy "Sonny Drysdale", an extension of his Hathaway character, on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), and, most recently, Jeff Garlin's dad on Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000), both characters pure Nye. He worked in night clubs and TV until just a few years before his death at age 92 on October 9, 2005 of lung cancer. He was survived by his wife, Anita Leonard, a pianist/songwriter who penned the song "A Sunday Kind of Love", and their son, Peter, an artist.Plot: Acacia Gardens Cremation Wall Space TT-643- Actor
- Writer
David Opatoshu was born on 30 January 1918 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Exodus (1960), Torn Curtain (1966) and One Spy Too Many (1966). He was married to Nancy Judith Rigler, Peggy O'Shea and Lillian Weinberg. He died on 30 April 1996 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Memories, Court of Devotion, Block 1, Plot 40, Grave 6
GPS coordinates: 33.9796982, -118.3812714 (hddd.dddd)- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Norman Panama was born on 21 April 1914 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Knock on Wood (1954), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) and White Christmas (1954). He died on 13 January 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Faith, Second Floor, Crypt 1020- Producer
- Production Manager
- Director
The son of an out-of-work bookkeeper, Pasternak arrived in the U.S. from Hungary in 1921. After working in a belt factory in Philadelphia, he moved to New York where he plucked chickens and worked in a cafeteria. Becoming increasingly infatuated with the film business, it didn't take him long to find a job at the Long Island Paramount studio as a busboy and washing dishes in the commissary for 15 $ a week. His easy manner earned him the sobriquet 'Smiling Joe' and he was invited to do a screen test, which went rather badly. As acting seemed out of the question, one of Paramount's directors took pity on the young man and gave him a tryout as fourth assistant. By 1923, Joe had advanced to second assistant and was regularly associated with the films of his protégé, Allan Dwan. When Paramount closed their Long Island facility, Joe made the trip to Hollywood, but found work scarce. However, his effort as director of a low budget two-reel comedy was noticed by the director Wesley Ruggles, who promptly engaged him as his assistant at Universal studios. In 1926, he was packed off to Europe to act as talent scout and, after another two years, was offered the position of manager of their European operation, Deutsche Universal-Film AG, based in Berlin.
From 1929, Joe also worked as producer of a string of German, Austrian and Hungarian light entertainments, a mixture of musicals, comedies and romances. In 1935, Universal, in dire financial straits, wound down their European unit and a new management recalled Joe to Hollywood. Within a year, he managed to almost single-handedly save the studio from bankruptcy through his canny promotion of charismatic teenage singing sensation Deanna Durbin (a recent acquisition from MGM) to star status. At the same time, he imported several fellow Hungarian émigrés into Hollywood, notably his close friend, the talented director Henry Koster, and his brother-in-law, the character actor S.Z. Sakall, who was to become fondly known as 'Cuddles'. Assigning direction to Koster, Joe produced the hugely successful box office hit Three Smart Girls (1936), followed by nine more musical outings in a similar vein, which brought fame and fortune to both Deanna and Joe, and put Universal financially in the pink. Joe stuck to the same formula (wholesome , Cinderella-type stories with polished musical interludes) on every occasion, using a tried-and-tested crew of writers and directors - all musical comedy experts - including Koster, Norman Krasna, Edward Ludwig and Norman Taurog. After launching the career of another talented juvenile soprano named Gloria Jean, Joe proceeded to revive the flagging fortunes of former Paramount star Marlene Dietrich, remodelling her image into one that was more approachable to a general audience. He effectively recast her original 'Blue Angel' bar room singer as wisecracking, good-hearted saloon girl Frenchy in Destry Rides Again (1939), a gently self-mocking western, which turned out to be one of the biggest hits for Universal in 1939.
In 1941, now firmly ensconced in Hollywood as the 'king of musicals', Joe made the natural progression by joining MGM, the organisation most adept at this particular genre. While Arthur Freed headed the A-team, Joe was assigned the second string production unit at MGM, which handled operettas and light musical entertainments. During his tenure, Joe became protégé to Kathryn Grayson and Jane Powell and helped to make swimming talent Esther Williams into a bankable movie star. He had huge successes with operatic films, like Mario Lanza's The Great Caruso (1951) and The Merry Widow (1952). He also handled some lavish, big budget extravaganzas, including Thousands Cheer (1943), Anchors Aweigh (1945) and the compelling, though fictionalised, story of Ruth Etting, Love Me or Leave Me (1955). Joe rounded off his career with a trio of Elvis Presley musicals and produced the 1966 Academy Award ceremonies (the first to be filmed in colour), at which one of the most honoured films was the David Lean-directed epic Doctor Zhivago (1965) - which just happened to have been authored by Joe's distant relative Boris Pasternak. Joe retired in 1968 with an impressive one hundred production credits to his name, and died in Hollywood in September 1991 at the age of 89.Plot: Laurel Gardens, Block 17, Plot 87, Grave 8- Producer
- Actress
Julia Phillips made history in Hollywood by becoming the first woman to win the Best Picture Oscar for producing the classic The Sting (1973), along with husband and producing partner Michael Phillips and Tony Bill. From there, she went on the produce other hits such as Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976) and Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), becoming an important figure in the business on the wave of the rising figures of the New Hollywood era.
She was born in New York City on 7 April, 1944. Daughter of Adolph Miller (a chemical engineer) and Tanya, Julia Miller attended Mount Holyoke where she earned her bachelor's degree in political science and awards for her writings. After marrying Michael Phillips (of whom she got her last name. They married in 1964), she contributed as a book section editor for a magazine, and later as story editor for Paramount studios. When they moved to the West Coast, they had the chance to produce their first film, the comedy Steelyard Blues (1973). After that experience, their next move was with The Sting (1973), their second film together and produced when Julia was just 29 years-old. The movie was a critical and commercial success that established as a highly influential figure in Hollywood.
However, after the Oscar and the successful films, the excesses of fame came along with a drug addiction that cost her career in the 1980's - a period in which she producer only one film after spending some time in rehab. In 1991 she produced Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991) which would be her final producing credit. That same year, Julia published her autobiography "You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again", an infamous book about her reckless life and also of many stars and executives in the Hollywood industry. The book was a best-seller due to her candid and scathing revelations but also made her unwanted by the film industry. In 1995, she wrote her second autobiography "Driving Under the Affluence", accounting her experiences after addiction.
She died on 1 January, 2002.Plot: Acacia Gardens, Wall SS, Niche 433- Actress
- Soundtrack
Suzanne Pleshette achieved television immortality in her role as Bob Newhart's wife in the 1970s classic situation comedy, The Bob Newhart Show (1972). For her role as "Emily Hartley," wife of psychologist "Bob Hartley" (played by Bob Newhart), Pleshette was nominated for the Emmy Award twice, in 1977 and 1978. She was also nominated for an Emmy in 1962 for a guest appearance on the TV series, Dr. Kildare (1961) and, in 1991, for playing the title role in Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean (1990) in a 1990 TV movie. Her acting career lasted almost 50 years.
Suzanne Pleshette was born on January 31, 1937, in New York, New York, to Gene Pleshette, a TV network executive who had managed the Paramount Theaters in Manhattan and Brooklyn during the Big Band era, and the former Geraldine Kaplan, a dancer who performed under the pseudonym Geraldine Rivers. Pleshette claims that she was not an acting natural, but just "found" herself attending New York City's High School of the Performing Arts. After graduating high school, she attended Syracuse University for a semester before returning to NYC to go to Finch College, an elite finishing school for well-to-do young ladies. After a semester at Finch, Pleshette dropped out of college to take lessons from famed acting teacher Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse.
She made her Broadway debut in 1957 as part of the supporting cast for the play Compulsion (1959). Initially cast as "The Fourth Girl," she eventually took over the ingénue role during the play's run.
Blessed with beauty, a fine figure, and a husky voice that made her seem older than her years, she quickly achieved success on both the small and big screens. She made her TV debut, at age 20, in Harbourmaster (1957), then was chosen as the female lead opposite superstar Jerry Lewis in his 1958 comedy, The Geisha Boy (1958). On Broadway, she replaced Anne Bancroft in the Broadway hit The Miracle Worker (1962).
Once Pleshette started acting, her career never lagged until she was afflicted with cancer.
Her most famous cinematic role was in Alfred Hitchcock's classic, The Birds (1963), as the brunette schoolteacher jilted by the hero of the film, "Mitch Brenner" (played by Rod Taylor). Pleshette's warm, earthy character was a perfect contrast to the icy blonde beauty, "Melanie Daniels" (Tippi Hedren).
Frankly, it is hard to understand how Taylor's Mitch would jilt Pleshette's Annie, other than to work out Hitchcock's dark vision of society and psychosexual relations between the sexes, in which amoral blondes triumph for aesthetic rather than moral reasons.
Still, it is for Emily Hartley she will always be remembered, for both the original show and her part in another show that had the most clever sign-off episode in TV series history. Bob Newhart had enjoyed a second success during the 1980s with his TV sitcom Newhart (1982), and when he decided to end that series, he asked Suzanne Pleshette to come back. She did, reprising her tole of Emily in a final episode of Newhart, where Newhart woke up as Bob Hartley from "The Bob Newhart Show" in the bedroom of the Hartley's Chicago apartment, Pleshette's Emily at his side. Bob Hartley then told his wife Emily of a crazy dream he'd just had, where he was the proprietor of a Vermont inn overrun with eccentrics, the premise of the second show.
After "The Bob Newhart Show" ceased production, Suzanne Pleshette worked regularly on television, mostly in TV movies. Although she was a talented dramatic actress, she had a flair for comedy and, in 1984, she headlined her own series at CBS. She helped develop the half-hour sitcom, and even had the rare honor of having her name in the title. Suzanne Pleshette Is Maggie Briggs (1984), however, was not a success. She co-starred with Hal Linden in another short-lived CBS TV series, The Boys Are Back (1994), in the 1994-95 season, then had recurring roles in the TV series Good Morning, Miami (2002) and 8 Simple Rules (2002).
Pleshette was married three times: In 1964, she wed teen idol Troy Donahue, her co-star in the 1962 film Rome Adventure (1962) and in 1964's A Distant Trumpet (1964), but the marriage lasted less than a year. She was far more successful in her 1968 nuptials to Texas oil millionaire Tommy Gallagher, whom she remained married to until his death in 2000. After becoming a widow, she and widower Tom Poston (a Newhart regular) rekindled an old romance they had enjoyed when appearing together in "The Golden Fleecing," a 1959 Broadway comedy. They were married from 2001 until Poston's death, in April 2007.
Pleshette was diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent chemotherapy in the summer of 2006; she rallied, but in late 2007, she barely survived a bout of pneumonia. She died of respiratory failure on January 19, 2008, a few days shy of her 71st birthday.
Suzanne Pleshette was remembered as a gregarious, down-to-earth person who loved to talk and often would regale her co-stars with a naughty story. Newhart and his producers had picked her for the role of Emily in "The Bob Newhart Show" after watching her appearances with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), where she showed herself to be a first-rate raconteuse. Because she could hold her own with Newhart's friend Carson, it was felt she would be a perfect foil as Newhart's TV wife.
She accepted the part, and TV history was made.Plot: Garden of Abraham, Block 12, Space 7- Actor
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Veteran comedic actor Tom Poston, he with the bugged-out eyes that commonly accentuated a vague look of bewilderment, was born in Columbus, Ohio, on October 17, 1921. By age nine, the young boy was appearing with an acrobatic troupe.
Poston later attended Bethany College in West Virginia when World War II broke out and he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. He won medals for his courage under fire, and rose to the rank of captain. While he never returned to Bethany College, he would later receive an honorary doctorate from the institution. Following his military service, Poston went to New York and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA), training with acting guru Sanford Meisner, among others. Making his Broadway debut in 1947 in José Ferrer's production of "Cyrano de Bergerac", Poston had the makings of a serious dramatic actor, appearing in such classics as "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" and "King Lear".
Although he also appeared seriously in TV drama in the early stages, comedy would become his forte. Hosting the amusing daily TV show "Entertainment" led to his biggest break on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956). He, Louis Nye, Don Knotts, and other members of Allen's stock company became famous for their hilarious characters in Allen's famed sketch sequences. Poston himself would be best remembered as the "Man on the Street" interviewee who could never remember his own name. Winning an Emmy during those four seasons (1956-60), Poston went on to host another program, this time a game show, entitled Split Personality (1959).
He developed an affinity for parlor games and appeared as a panelist on other quiz shows as well, notably To Tell the Truth (1956). Given a chance to star in his own comedy films by the early 1960s, Poston went completely unnoticed in such blah vehicles as Zotz! (1962) and The Old Dark House (1963), which failed to capitalize on his delightfully bungling, eccentric humor, although he did turn in a very funny supporting performance as a perpetually soused playboy in the Dick Van Dyke comedy Cold Turkey (1971).
After his movie career dried up, television again became the object of his affection, usually in service to other stars. Alongside such top comedians as Bob Newhart (Newhart (1982)) and Robin Williams (Mork & Mindy (1978)), Poston's absent-minded "second banana" foils found their engaging niche. The comedic actor also continued with light comedy theater vehicles such as "Forty Carats", "Come Blow Your Horn", "Plaza Suite", and "Mary, Mary", and even managed a few musicals ("A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "Fiddler on the Roof").
Poston had a pre-fame first marriage that ended in divorce. His second wife was film actress Jean Sullivan. Their daughter, Francesca Poston, also became an actress. He had two other children by third wife Kay, who was 22 years his junior: son Jason and daughter Hudson. They divorced in 1975, but remarried in 1980 and remained together until her death at age 54 in 1998 from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). He and Kay appeared on many telethons to discuss the crippling disease. Three years later, Poston found happiness again when he married Suzanne Pleshette (they originally met while appearing in the 1959 Broadway comedy "Golden Fleecing", then worked again together on the old The Bob Newhart Show (1972)). He continued to provide glum, baggy-eyed comedy relief on TV as an octogenarian up until the end. Sadly, while wife Suzanne was battling cancer, Poston passed away unexpectedly of respiratory failure at his Los Angeles home on April 30, 2007, after a brief illness. Pleshette died on January 19, 2008.
The stalwart actor may not have nabbed top comic superstardom in his heyday, but he certainly enjoyed a long, durable career doing what he did best -- acting goofy and giving audiences a reason to smile.Plot: Garden of Abraham, Space 706- Additional Crew
Marcella Rabwin was born on 15 May 1908 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. She is known for Our World (1986), Lights, Camera, Action!: A Century of the Cinema (1996) and E! Mysteries & Scandals (1998). She was married to Dr. Marcus Hymond Rabwin and Joseph (Joe) Jacobson. She died on 25 December 1998 in New York City, New York, USA.Plot: Sanctuary of Faith Mausoleum, first floor, bottom row- Director
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Irving Reis was born on 7 May 1906 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and writer, known for The Four Poster (1952), I'm Still Alive (1940) and Gambler's Choice (1944). He was married to Minadora (Vanessa) Karole Idu and Meta Rosenberg. He died on 3 July 1953 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
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Paul Richards was born on 23 November 1924 in Hollywood, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Monkey on My Back (1957) and The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967). He was married to Monica Keating. He died on 10 December 1974 in Culver City, California, USA.Plot: Alcove of Love, near Moe Howard- Actor
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Harry Richman was born on 10 August 1895 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Puttin' on the Ritz (1930), Cracks (2009) and The Music Goes 'Round (1936). He was married to Yvonne Day, Hazel Forbes and Melvina Yvonne Stephenson. He died on 3 November 1972 in Hollywood, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Memories, Alcove of Love, Wall B, Crypt 319- Music Department
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Prolific American lyricist, best known for his collaborative efforts with the composer Ralph Rainger. His many popular standards include "Prisoner of Love," "Louise," "Beyond the Blue Horizon," "No Love no Nothin," "Moonlight and Shadows," "My Ideal," "If I Should Lose You," "Blue Hawaii," the 1938 Oscar-winning "Thanks for the Memory" and two numbers fondly remembered for Marilyn Monroe's rendition: "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" and "A Little Girl from Little Rock" (written for the 1949 original Broadway score of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes").
Robin was educated at the University of Pittsburgh Law School and Carnegie Tech's drama school. He worked for two years as a newspaperman and then as a publicist. Though his ambition was to be a playwright, he achieved his first measure of success writing hits for Broadway musicals. His 1930 lyrics for the Rainger composition "I'll Take an Option on You" commenced a celebrated partnership. In 1932, the duo joined Paramount in Hollywood as staff composers. Within three years, the innovative Robin had become the favorite lyricist of legendary director Ernst Lubitsch. Through the following decade, first at Paramount then at 20th Century Fox, Robin and Rainger wrote for many of the top singing stars of the period, including Bing Crosby, Alice Faye, and Rita Hayworth. After Rainger's tragic death in a mid-air plane collision in 1942, Robin continued working and enjoyed fruitful collaborations with other prominent composers, including Sam Coslow, Jule Styne and Nacio Herb Brown.Plot: Valley of Remembrance section, Wall Garden Mausoleum, "A" Wall (north side, west half), #119, Space B- Daniel Schaeffer is known for Al salir de clase (1997) and The Benita Show (2011).
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Spent several years in advertising, first writing for show business was the Beach Party Movies, then moved on to write every 4th episode of Batman (1966), multiple episodes for The Monkees (1965), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), All in the Family (1971), Columbo (1971), Banacek (1972), Kids Incorporated (1984).
Began creating and/or developing shows for TV including Wonder Woman (1975), That's My Mama (1974), The Electric Company (1971), The Monster Squad (1987), "The Challenge Of The Sexes", The Kallikaks (1977), "Where In The World Is Carmen Dan Diego", also many TV movies including Coffee, Tea or Me? (1973), Gold of the Amazon Women (1979), Three on a Date (1978), For the Love of It (1980), Sky Heist (1975), many others. Acted as a regular in Falcon Crest (1981),Superior Court (1986), about 60 shows all together. More than 1000 commercials as a voice and was a regular voice on such cartoons as Red Planet (1994), Superman (1988), Super Friends (1973), Super Friends (1973), Ri¢hie Ri¢h (1982), and many more. Ph.D and teacher at USC Film School (Comedy) Married with three children.- Actor
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Benny Rubin was born on 2 February 1899 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for I Love Lucy (1951), Bright Lights (1935) and Traveling Saleslady (1935). He was married to Beatrice Dallinger and Mary Bolt. He died on 15 July 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Garden of Memories, Alcove of Dedication, Wall C, Crypt 518- Jerry Rubin was born on 14 July 1938 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Panther (1995), Rude Awakening (1989) and Dem Tinseltown Homiez, the Hollywood Guys (2021). He was married to Julia Clifton (Mimi) Leonard. He died on 28 November 1994 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Plot: Mount of Olives, 14-466-3
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Philip Saltzman was born on 19 September 1928 in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. He was a producer and writer, known for Barnaby Jones (1973), The Fugitive (1963) and A Man Called Sloane (1979). He was married to Caroline. He died on 14 August 2009 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
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Billy Sands was born William F. Sands on January 6, 1911 in Bergen, NY, to Dana Alice (Marboys) and John F. Sands. He began his professional acting career in 1946 when he appeared on Broadway with Spencer Tracy in Robert Sherwood's "Rugged Path", but he eventually became a television character actor who appeared regularly as Pvt. Dino Papparelli on The Phil Silvers Show (in 138 episodes) and as Seaman Harrison "Tinker" Bell on McHale's Navy (also in 138 episodes). Sands later guest-starred in numerous television series, such as Car 54, Where Are You?, All in the Family, Here's Lucy, Happy Days, The Odd Couple, and Webster. He also appeared in an opening scene of Rocky (1976) as a booker for the fighters. He passed away at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA on August 27, 1984 from lung cancer at the age of 73. He was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, CA.Plot: Courts of the Book, Jacob, Inner Court, Wall I, Crypt 1008