I know what you're probably thinking. A guy who spent years of his life researching
and writing a book about cemeteries must be a real weirdo, right? A pathetic guy with no friends,
no life, spending his days lurking around graveyards. Certainly not the kind of guy
you'd ever want to run into in a dark alley, right?
Not exactly. At least I hope not. My interest in this topic started with my interest a young age in old Hollywood,
old films, and history. Put all that together, and it leads right to the cemeteries.
After 15 years working as a newspaper reporter and editor at several newspapers
in the Chicago area, I decided to leave the cornfields, humidity and unsuccessful
sports teams behind and head west to seek my fame and fortune. Or at least work on my tan.
I settled in Pasadena, California, where I found work as a free-lance writer for
various business and travel trade magazines. I also worked as an editor at several newspapers
in Southern California, including the Los Angeles Times. Perhaps you've heard of it.
In the meantime, I started visiting the wonderful and fascinating cemeteries in the Los Angeles area,
initially to pay my respects to the great performers who had given me so much entertainment over the years. At the time, there weren't any guidebooks
or websites helping me to find their burial locations. For the most part, it was just wandering around. (I'll talk more about the pleasures of just
wandering around a little later.)
At some cemeteries, like 300-acre Forest Lawn Glendale, just wandering around isn't very productive. Plus, they actively discourage people from just wandering around. But at places like tiny Westwood Memorial Park, it's almost impossible not to stumble across a well-known name.
Often, I would see people just like me, fans who were looking for the final resting place of their favorite
celebrity. If I could, I would help them find who they were looking for. And I was impressed by their behavior and the reasons for their visits. The vast majority seemed like they were visiting a member of their family to pay their respects. And, if you consider how much time we've spent watching many of these people, inviting them into our homes (via television), and reading about their lives, many of them do seem like members of the family.
As I started seeing more and more people wandering through cemeteries, I thought it might be helpful if they had some sort of a guidebook to lead them directly to whoever they were looking for. And also to lead them to people they didn't even realize they were looking for.
And so, "Hollywood Remains to Be Seen: A Guide to the Movie Stars' Final Homes" was born, with personal and professional biographies of more than 300 celebrities, and specific directions to find their final resting places. After a few years of research and writing, the book was published in late 2001. And, thanks to a lot of people just like me, the book sold pretty well. I'm currently working on an expanded, updated second edition, with more names and more photographs. (People are just dying to get into this book.)
OK, back to the pleasures of just wandering. Often, when I'm visiting a cemetery, I'll just stroll along the headstones, looking for an unusual or interesting epitaph. It's interesting to try and figure out family relationships, or find clues about the lives of the people I visit. Often, you'll see long-married couples who died within a few months of each other, and you can imagine the survivor's feeling of loss and heartbreak. Or the tragedy of parents who out-lived their children.
You'll also find joyful and uplifting epitaphs for people who have lived a long and productive life, who were well-loved, and who continue to live in the hearts of their friends and families.
In a way, cemeteries are like libraries. They contain the final resting places of thousands of people, each with their own separate and unique story. Some of these people are famous, and their stories are well known. Most are not, but that doesn't make their life any less interesting or their stories any less worthy of being told and remembered. And every time I visit a cemetery, I see something I've never seen before.
I've also met some wonderful people through my interest in cemeteries, initially through the Hollywood Underground group. They are also interested in Hollywood and history, and they are a passionate, educated, entertaining and fascinating group of people. I am proud to call them my friends.
Anyway, thanks for your interest, and thanks for reading this far. Enjoy the site, have fun, and maybe we'll run into each other in a cemetery some day. If you see me walking the rows, come over and say hello.