The Original Hollywood Celebrity Death

In a year where celebrity deaths have garnered their fair share of the headlines – most notably with Michael Jackson but also including Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, Walter Cronkite, David Carradine, Karl Malden, Dom DeLuise, Patrick McGoohan, John Hughes, and many more – it is worth taking a look back at the fascination and phenomenon of celebrity deaths. Before there ever was a Michael Jackson (and a CNN that still devotes quite a bit of coverage to his death) or an Elvis Presley, there was an Italian actor known as the "Latin Lover," Rudolph Valentino.

The death of Valentino at the young age of 31 following complications of appendicitis was a devastating blow to the film industry and his countless fans. It has been said that there was a growing false sense of security that actors that graced the silver screen were somehow invincible and larger than life. That illusion came crashing down on August 23, 1926 when Valentino passed away in a hospital in New York. His subsequent funeral in that state drew over 100,000 mourners, which caught the organizers completely off guard and unprepared. While the Los Angeles Times ran with the headline, "Scores in Battle to See Valentino Body," the Chicago Tribune perhaps described it best with their headline, "Riot to See Dead Valentino." The NYPD was forced to deploy a large show of force to disrupt the unruly crowds who were unsatisfied with a two-second glimpse at the dead icon.

Things ran smoother when Valentino's body was returned to Los Angeles, California and he was laid to rest in the then-Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery (now known as Hollywood Forever Cemetery). Another crowd of 80,000 mourners witnessed his casket being carried into the Cathedral Mausoleum where he was ultimately interred. The story of Valentino's legacy did not end there though. In fact, the crypt was only meant to be a temporary home, but the plans went awry. Within years, stories of a woman mourner dressed entirely in black making annual visits to his tomb caught on with the press and began the mystery of the "Lady in Black." In fact, the mystery even served as an inspiration to the famous folk tune, The Long Black Veil, which has been popularized by such names as Johnny Cash and The Band.

Read about it and other stories of Hollywood Forever at Dark Destinations.

-Casey H.

30 Years Since Darla Left Us

On today's date in 1979, actress/singer Darla Hood unexpectedly passed away at the age of 47 years. Hood, who was primarily known for work she had done as a child actor in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) series of film shorts, had been attempting to organize a reunion of Our Gang actors to take place during the following year. Sadly, her plans and life itself were interrupted when she contracted a fatal hepatitis infection during an apparently routine medical procedure.

Of the child actors who appeared in the Our Gang shorts, one committed suicide, two (including Darla) died at early ages due to medical problems, two died in accidents and three were the victims of homicide. These deaths, along with other cases of misfortune involving the former child stars has led some to believe that there is a curse upon the cast of producer/director Hal Roach's comedy series. There are others who say that statistically the numbers are not extreme for the small sample of the population that the Our Gang actors represent. Either way, there are definitely some dark and tragic tales among the life stories of the Little Rascals.

Pay a visit to Hollywood Forever, where Darla Hood and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer are interred.

-Tom G

The Legacy of Peter Lorre

45 years ago on this date, actor Peter Lorre died of a stroke in his apartment in West Hollywood, California. Lorre was often typecast into the role of the villain, a role that he appeared to be built for with his distinctively creepy, yet often soft, voice and bulging eyes, which he described as "two soft-boiled eggs." Lorre catapulted on to the scene in 1931 in the role of a child killer with a knack for whistling "The Hall of the Mountain King" from the Peer Gynt Suite in the classic Fritz Lang thriller, M. In 1934, he was cast as a criminal ringleader by Alfred Hitchcock in The Man Who Knew Too Much and delivered his lines phonetically, not yet able to speak the English language.

He made his Hollywood debut in the 1935 horror film, Mad Love and his tenure in the genre was secured. Aside from appearing in such horror films as Beast with Five Fingers (1946), Tales of Terror (1962), The Raven (1963), Lorre is also well known for playing the Japanese detective, Mr. Moto, in a series of films. In addition, Lorre had memorable roles in such Hollywood classics as The Maltese Falcoln (1941) and Casablanca (1942). He even managed the distinct honor of being the first actor to portray a James Bond villain with his appearance as Le Chiffre in the television adaptation of Casino Royale for an episode of the CBS series, Climax!.

In his later years, Lorre's health had been declining due to a combination of weight problems, diabetes, and an addiction to morphine. His body was cremated and his ashes interred at what is now Hollywood Forever Cemetery. He was 59 at the time of his death.

Read more of the many stories of Hollywood Forever.

-Casey H.

A Virtual Drive through Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery

As many of you know, Dark Destinations incorporates Google Maps as part of the site to help pinpoint our destinations geographically and assist in planning trips. The technology is made available through a Web developer API, which is not necessarily the same as the main Google Maps site itself. One of the main differences is a relatively new feature that is available on their main site, but not to us developers just yet - Street View.

This new technology allows us all to take a virtual drive down countless roads that have been mapped and filmed by specially equipped vehicles to get a true 360 degrees look at the surrounding area. Not surprisingly, not all roads have been given the "Street View" treatment just yet. Major roads are pretty well represented, but the company is still working on the various side streets of even some of the major metropolitan areas. With so many public roads yet to be catalogued and represented, it is a rarity to find a place like Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. While it is not a surprise to see that the various public roads around the grounds represented in "Street View," it is quite astonishing to find the roads inside the grounds covered as well.

Angelus-Rosedale is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angles, having been found when the population in the city was still in the tens of thousands. It is the home to the first crematory west of the Rockies and reportedly only the second crematory in the entire nation. It is also the final resting place of various influential pioneers of the area, and given its proximity to Hollywood, even features more than a few movie personalities. The colorful collection of characters include everyone from Dracula (1931) director Tod Browning and Oscar winning actress Hattie McDaniel, to a famed Tombstone doctor (whose offbeat wit was evident on various coroner reports), a Donner Party survivor, famed magician Harry Kellar, an infamous California serial killer, and even the murder victim (not connected to the serial killer) in a controversial crime that was later adapted to film. Finally, the grounds made an appearance in various episodes of the television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as such shows as Charmed and Six Feet Under.

So if you are interested in taking a "Sunday drive" from the comfort of your computer, we invite you to take a look at our write-up on Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery. Once you have a feeling for the place and the personalities buried there, click on the link below that to take your own "virtual tour" of the cemetery through the "Street View" option on Google Maps main site. You can experience the early history of Los Angeles, while also being amazed at just how far technology has come.

Read the tales of Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery on Dark Destinations.
Take a virtual tour of the grounds on Google Maps Street View. (Give it a chance to load and it should work on most browsers)

-Casey H.

Remembering Leo Gordon

On December 26, 2000, Leo Gordon passed away in Los Angeles, California from heart failure following a brief illness. Gordon was a prolific actor, screenwriter, and novelist who was often cast in the role of a antagonist due to his impressive size and deep voice. Though he is known for his work (both acting and writing) in the Western genre, he also made several significant contributions to the horror genre.

Gordon appeared in such films as The Haunted Palace (1963), The Lucifer Complex (1978), and Bog (1983) but his was his work with American International Pictures (AIP) that he made the biggest impact in the genre. James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff founded the company that specialized in independent, low-budget movies often produced (and sometimes directed) by none other than Roger Corman. Gordon was tapped early on as a screenwriter for the firm and even appeared in several AIP films, including some he had written. Among his horror credits are the films Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959), The Wasp Woman (1959), Tower of London (1962), and The Terror (1963).

In 2004, Gordon was joined in eternal rest by his longtime wife, Lynn Cartwright, who was also bitten by the acting bug and even appeared in a few of her husband's films. They are both currently interred in the Chapel columbarium of Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Pay your respects at Hollywood Forever.

-Casey H.