Famous Forest Lawn Cemetery
By Russ Allsup
Took a trip to the famous Forrest Lawn Cemetery in Westwood to see where some of the worlds’ most famous stars call their final resting place.
I had been there before to see Frank Zappa’s grave but didn’t realize just how many of Hollywood’s famous were there. Finally got to see Marilyn Monroe’s crypt and also the graves and crypts of folks like Dean Martin, Don Knotts, Rodney Dangerfield, Betty Page, Jack Lemon, Walter Matthau and many more.
What’s so different about this Hollywood cemetery compared to others is that it’s nestled in between a bunch of high rise business buildings in a busy section of downtown Westwood. Once you get out of your car, you walk around, the famous graves are just everywhere you look. I’ve been to a few Los Angeles area cemeteries where there are stars buried, but never have seen so many in such a small space.
By comparison, I would guess that the Forrest Lawn Westwood Cemetery is about an eighth of the size of the Scenic Cemetery in Modesto. There is a park next door and I thought that was a nice touch that Marilyn would have appreciated.
