Westwood Village Memorial Park. Photo copyright 2018 by Anna Boudinot.
Everyone who lives in LA remembers their first celebrity sighting. For me, it was a couple weeks before I moved here. I was in town to find an apartment and was having brunch in Larchmont Village with some friends who were arguing over which neighborhood I should live in. A few feet away, Andy Richter loaded his kids into a minivan. Nobody batted an eye. I quickly learned that acting nonchalant around famous people is a hallmark of being an Angeleno. That being said, when I host out-of-town guests for their first trip to Los Angeles, I always hope that we run into a celebrity so we can geek out together.
Where are the best spots to see celebrities? If brunching in Larchmont Village or drinking at the Chateau Marmont aren't your thing, take LA newbies to a spot where celebrity sightings are guaranteed: Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary.
Detail from one of the oldest gravestones in the cemetery, dated 1912. Photo copyright by Anna Boudinot, 2018.
The cemetery was established in 1905 as Sunset Cemetery and the earliest on-site burials date back to the 1880s. It’s a Historic-Cultural Monument. The entrance is a little hard to find: head south on Glendon Avenue from Wilshire Boulevard. Walk down the first driveway you encounter on the east side of the street; you’ll see a hedge with a sign denoting Pierce Brothers. From there it’s easy to find the entrance to the small cemetery and begin a veritable bingo game of celebrity gravesites.
The celebrities buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park range from A-list to C-list, including Natalie Wood, Ray Bradbury, Dean Martin, James Coburn, Farrah Fawcett, Gene Kelly, Florence Henderson, Janet Leigh, Bettie Page, Tom Petty, and Sylvester Stallone’s son Sage. In the section closest to the entrance, you’ll find acclaimed director John Cassavetes, beloved comedian Don Knotts, and pre-Kardashian Kardashian Eva Gabor. Her sister Zsa Zsa is buried at Westwood as well.
Start reading the plaques on the adjacent mausoleums and you’ll soon see Truman Capote. His ashes are interred next to his BFF Joanne Carson, the former wife of Johnny Carson. Capote’s remaining ashes were given to his partner Jack Dunphy and some were auctioned off for over $40,000 in 2016. Close to Capote is Heather O’Rourke, the star of the Poltergeist movies who tragically died at the age of 12.
Billy Wilder making us laugh even in death. Photo copyright 2018 by Anna Boudinot.
Thankfully there is some comic relief present there too. In the southeast corner of the park you’ll find larger plots with some notable names. Renowned writer/director Billy Wilder’s headstone reads “I’m a writer, but then, nobody’s perfect.” Jack Lemmon, just a few yards away, has a headstone that says, simply:
“JACK LEMMON
in”
The Some Like It Hot reunion continues with the cemetery's most famous inhabitant: Marilyn Monroe. She is credited as being the first celebrity to be buried there; her former husband Joe DiMaggio reportedly selected the site because two of the women who raised her, Ana Lower and Grace Goddard, were there already. Don’t worry about trying to find her grave: you can’t miss it, since it’s adorned with more flower arrangements than the rest of the cemetery combined.
The final resting place of Marilyn Monroe. Photo copyright 2018 by Anna Boudinot.
A fun fact about Monroe is that she was the centerfold in the very first issue of Playboy magazine. She had done a nude photo shoot years before Playboy existed and was paid $50 for it. Hugh Hefner later bought the rights to the photos and though he used them to help skyrocket his new magazine to fame, Monroe was never given additional compensation for the pics. Years later, Hefner bought the crypt next to Monroe’s so he could creep on her for eternity. He’s there now, his tomb covered with flowers spilling over from Marilyn’s tomb. Seems sadly fitting that he’s still capitalizing on her beauty to make himself look good.
While you’re in Westwood, check out the Hammer Museum. It’s free.