Legends of Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Images of America

by E.J. Stephens, Kim Stephens

Founded in 1899, scenic Hollywood Forever Cemetery--the only cemetery located within the city of Hollywood--serves as the "permanent home" for many of Hollywood's most famous (and infamous) characters. Hollywood Forever Cemetery boasts a fascinating history surpassed only by the compelling stories of its famous residents. Behind its iron gates are the graves of Cecil B. DeMille, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Tyrone Power, Nelson Eddy, Marion Davies, Fay Wray, Mel Blanc, Johnny Ramone, Don Adams, Bebe Daniels, Bugsy Siegel, and a host of others whose memorials tell the history of Tinseltown in stone.

128 pages, Paperback

Published July 17, 2017

Reviews

[Loren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I take one star off at the start for the limited number of grave monument photos included in the book. In addition, based on the cover photo of Johnny Ramone's grave monument, I hoped for something beyond a guide to graves of the same old classic Hollywood silent movie stars. I can get that in any guide that mentions Hollywood Forever. I want to see the niche that belongs to Rozz Williams or Betty Blowtorch's angel. I want the punk rock guide to Hollywood Forever.

If you're unfamiliar with Hollywood Forever or aren't versed in the history of movies, this book is fairly interesting. It just wasn't the book I was hoping for.

[MKF · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this thinking it was about Hollywood Forever Cemetery and discovered it wasn't. The focus of this book is on the people that are actually buried there. It's fun to read about the stars but it's been done in countless books about cemeteries and burials in Hollywood. The thing that really bugged me was the author using H4E instead of Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Can we please keep acronym's out of books and leave them for texts and computer posts because it makes it seem as if you were to lazy to type.

[Peter J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is, perhaps, unfair. Many of the lives mentioned were very interesting and multiple entries made me want to learn more (as opposed to feeling like there should be more). What knocked it down, and remained a disappointment throughout it that it featured few pictures of the cemetery itself. I also recently picked up Rosemary Lord's Hollywood: Then and Now and it's few pages on Hollywood Forever contain more photos of the grounds than this book. Living up to it's title, the book opts for pictures of the stars, posters of the films, etc over their final resting places.