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[View of a dirt expanse, a
road, overhead power lines, and low, grassy hills leading up toward the darker
chaparral of the Santa Monica Mountains, with a radio mast peeking out atop the
ridgeline.]

View toward Mount Lee, with radio mast.

What the "Hollywood" Forest Lawn lacks for the sightseer in outlandish architecture it makes up for many times in sheer star-power. Any enthusiast of late twentieth century popular culture is sure to recognize many of the names interred here.

Though the cemetery occupies the foothills on the north side of Mount Lee, on the other side of which is the famous "Hollywood sign" (the radio mast one sees in photos of the sign is visible from anywhere in the "memorial park"), one really thinks of this area as Burbank rather than "Hollywood."

[View down toward a walled area
that appears to contain several courtyards.]

[Grassy expanse full of grave
markers within a courtyard the walls of which are also covered with grave
markers; in the distance the darker foliage of the Santa Monica Mountains and
the radio mast atop Mount Lee.]

The main mausoleum here is entirely outdoors, a series of courts connected by archways apparently modeled on the gates of the Paramount studio about four and a half miles due south.

The actual Paramount studio, the only of the big old monopolies actually located in "Hollywood," abuts a different cemetery entirely: The one presently known as "Hollywood Forever," which is not part of the Forest Lawn portfolio.

[Sarcophagus in multiple kinds
of stone topped with a marble statue of one robed figure leaning against
another; engraved on the front are the names "Debbie Reynolds" and "Carrie
Fisher.".]

Grave of Debbie Reynolds & Carrie Fisher.

[Marble sarcophagus topped with
a marble statue of a standing robed figure; lettering spells out "Davis" and several
smaller names underneath.]

Grave of Bette Davis.

[Marble sarcophagus topped with
a marble statue of a seated robed figure suckling a child; engraved on the front
are the names "Albert R. Broccoli" and, smaller, "Dana Broccoli."]

Grave of the Broccoli family.

[Colorful marker on folded
white paper duct-taped to a granite slab flanked by small vases reads "Grandma
Marry, We Miss U," among other messages.]

Homemade grave marker.

[Walls covered with grave
markers in an open-air mausoleum.]

[Metal grave marker above a
stained floor commemorating "Lemmy" Kilmister, including images of his signature
and a spade as on a deck of cards. Dozens of plastic guitar picks are jammed all
around the edge.]

"Born to lose, lived to win,"
grave of "Lemmy."

[Marble sarcophagus under a
mosaic representing an oil painting of two children clinging to a woman. Metal
lettering identifies this as the grave of Ronnie James Dio, including a
representation of his signature.]

"The man on the silver mountain,"
grave of Ronnie James Dio.

[Marble sarcophagus decorated
with tinsel and topped with marble statue of a robed figure; metal lettering
identifies this as the grave of "Liberace," "George," and "Frances."]

"Sheltered love," grave of Liberace.

[Wall with metal lettering
announcing the "Sanctuary of Peaceful Repose" containing a courtyard with a
bright green lawn full of graves on which can be seen, under a solitary tree, a
small, orange backhoe.]

[Closer look of a bright orange
backhoe parked on a row of graves.]

Earth-moving machinery in the Sanctuary of Peaceful Repose.

[Sign placed against a wall
warning that "Flower theft is a crime punishable by imprisonment."]

[Lawns full of copper grave
markers crossed by straight paths; in the distance, beyond a large, windowless
building, some hills of dirt leading up toward the darker chaparral of the Santa
Monica Mountains.]

[View of stairs up through
terraced lawns toward the same large building, with the Mount Lee radio mast in
the background.]

The most prominent structure on the property is the "Hall of Liberty," an auditorium at the top of the hill faced with a large mosaic featuring historical religious themes, including Washington on his knees in a snowy forest next to a representation of Leutze's famous painting of the Delaware crossing.

A panel facing an amphitheater beside the building is engraved with "the Builder's Creed" (for a transcription, see the page on Forest Lawn, Glendale); above the mosaic in metal letters is another, more patriotic quote, attributed to "the Founder," which is what Forest Lawn now calls "the Builder," Hubert Eaton, who did not start the company.

[Portico with metal lettering
announcing the "Hall of Liberty."]

[Mosaic of various scenes, some
copied from famous paintings, representing romanticized scenes from the founding
of the United States: Flags, meetings, wartime hardship, etc., bordered at the
top with metal letters, transcribed below.]

"God gave us liberty. People who forsake God lose their liberty."
-- The Founder

[Engraved stone set into a
brick wall announcing the grave of Stan Laurel, transcribed below.]

Grave of Stan Laurel:

"A master of comedy,
his genius in the art of
humor brought gladness
to the world he loved."

[Small walled courtyard,
entrance to which is controlled by a metal gate, left ajar, which bears a sign,
transcribed below.]

"Little Garden of Triumph."

[Marble bench with a metal sign
set inside bearing a brief message, transcribed below.]

"I did it my way."

[Marble sarcophagus bearing at
least five names and a celtic cross, topped with a marble copy of the famous
"wrestlers" sculpture at the Uffizi Gallery.]

Across the road from the Hall of Liberty is an Abraham Lincoln-themed area with its own sentimental mosaic and replica sculpture.

[Stairs leading up to a brozne
statue of Abraham Lincoln standing on a marble-covered pedestal, with
explanatory sign, transcribed below.]

[Wider view of the above
photograph, showing the whole mosaic that flanks the sculpture.]

Lincoln

This replica of Augustus Saint-Gauden's "Abraham Lincoln: The Man" (also called "Standing Lincoln") by Enzo Pasquini, is over 17 feet high above the court and depicts Lincoln as if he is about to begin a speech.

The original 1887 sculpture of Lincoln is a Chicago landmark, accepted throughout the country as the ideal portrait of our 16th President.

[Detail of a mosaic depicting
Abraham Lincoln on his knees in a forest, with a Forest Lawn copyright notice
part of the design of the image.]

I've found no information on what kind of premium one must pay to be buried right beneath Lincoln's praying hands: He mourns you, personally, forever more.

[Bronze and marble sculptural
group with an old colonial-style church steeple in the background.]

Monument to "Revolution" with bundled rod motif; in the background, a chapel styled after Christ Church in Philadelphia.

[Small metal plaque with the
name "Iwerks" mounted on a square terrazzo panel.]

[A wall with many such metal
plaques; beyond a lawn that slopes downhill can be seen a cluster of buildings,
part of the Disney studio.]

While Walt Disney's ashes are interred near the old studio at the Forest Lawn in Glendale, those of Ub Iwerks, the original animator of Mickey Mouse, are interred in the "Columbarium of Rememberence," overlooking Disney's present studio complex in Burbank.

[The paved road and green grass
end abruptly; beyond are mounds of dirt and, past that, the dark chaparral of
the Santa Monica Mountains, with the radio mast visible atop Mount Lee.]

There's a lot going on beyond the end of the road, with acres as yet undeveloped, waiting to be landscaped for future burials.

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