Tour Hollywood Forever Cemetery with Karie Bible

...photo by 7D7 Studio (Omar) used under Creative Commons...

...photo by 7D7 Studio (Omar) used under Creative Commons...

If you ever wanted to be in close proximity to your favorite celebrities, all you need to do is visit Hollywood Forever Cemetery. On the downside, the celebrities will likely be dead, and in most cases they’ll be no closer than 6 feet, so don’t expect photographs or an autograph.

But if you’re interested in an intimate tour of the cemetery grounds, almost every Saturday film historian Karie Bible will take a small group around to it’s more infamous plots, sharing tales of the Hollywood legends lives and deaths along the way.

Among the permanent residents, Karie tells me, “Rudolph Valentino (still the most visited and famous grave there), Cecil B. DeMille, Tyrone Power, Douglas Fairbanks, Johnny Ramone and Alfalfa just to name a few. Estelle Getty from “The Golden Girls” is the most recent celebrity to be buried there!”

In addition to the buried, there also happens to be the occasional oddball on the tour itself.

“One time there was a homeless, disheveled man who took the tour.  He kept raising his hand and asking me really gory and inappropriate questions about how much embalming fluids were pumped into the bodies.  He even asked if he could exhume one and take a look at it.”

Unfortunately, she had to tell him no.

“I was also there when a gypsy funeral went horribly wrong.  One of the women dropped to the floor of the mausoleum in grief and started screaming and bashing her forehead against the floor.  The cemetery had to call 911 and have her taken to the hospital.  It was chaotic and sad and strange all at the same time.”


While a living celebrity has yet to take the tour, Karie says they’re invited.
“I’ve always secretly hoped that Tim Burton or Johnny Depp or Marilyn Manson would take the tour.  I think they would appreciate it more than most.”

Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd. Tours almost every Saturday and Sunday at noon – check the site for exact dates and details. Admission $12 per person (tour lasts 2 hours).