August 16 Marks 56th Anniversary of Bela Lugosi's Death

Two days ago, the 56th anniversary of the passing of actor Bela Lugosi was marked.

Lugosi died of an apparent heart attack while taking a nap in his Harold Way apartment in Hollywood.  The year before, he checked himself into a state hospital to detox from his addiction to morphine.  His last movie was The Black Sleep, which co-starrred Basil Rathbone and Lon Chaney, Jr.  It was a non-speaking role as Lugosi's character was a mute.

Above, the section at Holy Cross Cemetery where Bela Lugosi's grave is located.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Lugosi is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, Californa in the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes section.  He is only a few feet away from Bing Crosby and in the same row.

Above, Bela Lugosi's grave.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Celebrity Graves

Today, I had a "get-acquainted" or "meet & greet" job interview at an insurance company in Culver City, California.

The interview was a few blocks away from Holy Cross Cemetery, where a number of celebrities are buried.

After my interview, with camera in hand, I paid a quick stop over at Holy Cross Cemetery (since I was in the neighborhood) and snapped a few pictures of celebrity graves buried in the "Grotto - Our Lady of Lourdes" section.

They include:


Bela Lugosi

Lugosi (right) is best known as Count Dracula on stage and the silver screen. His 1932 movie, Island of Lost Souls, in which he played a supporting role as "The Sayer of the Law," will be released this coming October on Blu-ray and DVD by Criterion.























Bing Crosby

In the same row as Bela Lugosi rests Bing Crosby, actor and singer. Several members of the Crosby family are buried next to each other in the same row. Crosby is famous for the holiday favorite, "White Christmas" and appeared in several "Road" pictures with Bob Hope.






















Jack Haley, Sr. and Jack Haley, Jr.

Actor Jack Haley, Sr. (below) is best known as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz (1939) and son Jack Haley, Jr. (above) was a producer, director and an ex-husband of Liza Minnelli. They are buried next to each other a few rows below Bing Crosby and Bela Lugosi.




Sharon Tate

Actress Sharon Tate was little-known at the time of her death. She appeared in minor roles in different movies including Valley of the Dolls. But her murder at the hands of the Charles Manson family changed all that. She was married to director Roman Polanski and was eight and a half months pregnant at the time of her murder in her home in Benedict Canyon. Next month (August 9) marks 42 years since her murder.















There's a Walter Brennan in this section, but the "Grandpa McCoy" Brennan is buried in the San Fernando Valley.

Visiting Bela, Bing and Sharon

Worked a 12-hour shift yesterday. I spent about 3 hours of it riding along with a co-worker.

We were heading into Culver City at one point and came to the entrance to Holy Cross Cemetery and asked her if she wanted to see "Dracula's" grave (i.e., Bela Lugosi). She initially declined and then said, "Why not?"

So we went in and we first visited Lugosi's grave. From there, about 2-3 steps in the same row, we visited Bing Crosby's grave. Then we went over to the next section and found Sharon Tate's.

From there we made a stop at one of our client's locations and then proceeded to Tito's Tacos for lunch.

Not a bad day.

Visiting Bela

This morning, I had some insurance claims work to do in the Windsor Hills area of Los Angeles (above Culver City). When I completed it, since I was in the neighborhood, I made a quick stop at Holy Cross Cemetery.

I went to Bela Lugosi's grave and took a few pictures (click on photo to view larger):

Above, the section of Holy Cross Cemetery where Bela Lugosi's grave is located.

Above, Bela Lugosi's final resting place.

Above, another view of the section of Holy Cross Cemetery where Bela Lugosi's grave is located.

Basically, when you enter the main gate of Holy Cross Cemetery, make the first left turn when you pass the gate guard shack and go up the hill a little bit and you're there. It is the section to your left.