Grave Hunter
Interviews
Hello Fellow Grave Hunters! I would like to introduce you to some of the "Celebrities" in this hobby we have come to know as "Grave Hunting". I have asked some of our fellow grave hunters a few questions and I think you will find these interviews to be great reading and you may even learn something, too!
Here are the following people who have been interviewed:
Joel GAzis-SAx - Joel has his own web site City of the Silent
Scott Wilson - Scott has written Resting Places : The Burial Sites of over 7,000 Famous Persons
Arthur Koykka - Arthur has written Project Remember : A National Index of Gravesites of Notable Americans
Steve Goldstein - Steve has his own web site Beneath Los Angeles
Scott Wilson - Scott is a grave hunter who is pretty knowledgeable
Mark Masek - Mark has written Hollywood Remains to Be Seen
Joel GAzis-SAx
How did you get into the hobby of grave hunting?
I don't know that I like being called a grave-hunter. The phrase suggests the work of resurrectionists or, worse, autograph hounds. When I do a cemetery crawl, I tend to focus on the way people use cemeteries. Sure, I include a celebrity or two, but often those who come with me enjoy the visits to places like Babyland or an ethnic section of a cemetery more than they like staring at the plaque and flower on Rudolph Valentino's crypt -- provided, of course, that I have something interesting to tell them or there is something fascinating to see.
City of the Silent has always focused on the art and culture of cemeteries, not name-dropping. There are plenty of other good sites out there that do the latter: I think I work harder than most to provide a place where people can enjoy even the tomb of a total stranger.
I prefer to call myself a "taphophile", a word I resurrected and popularized some years ago. It means, simply, one who loves tombstones or cemeteries. It comes from the same root as cenotaph and epitaph.
Do you collect any memorabilia?
I keep my collecting to items that can be purchased legitimately. I frown on collecting graveyard sculpture, for example. Another grave site owner used to advertise his desire to obtain samples of dirt from the graves of famous people. The hobby sounds innocuous until you realize just what this kind of souvenir hunting can do to a gravesite when the hobby catches on and the hordes descend. We've lost plenty of our national heritage to such "harmless" collecting. People need to realize that items like tombstones and mortuary sculpture come from cemeteries out in the real world: you are often buying stolen property and destroying the beauty intended for a specific locale.
I focus on three particular areas that do not require destroying a cemetery. The first is photography: I see an interesting tombstone, I take a picture of it. The second is postcard collecting. Many cemeteries were tourist destinations in the past. Hunting around on e- bay or some other place will turn up many interesting views from the past. Of course, you have to pay the price. Third, I collect calacas or miniature skeleton figures made for the Day of the Dead. These aren't like the grotesque monstrosities that you see in the back of gift shops, those uglies with oozing pus, shriveled skin, worms, and bared bones: calacas are clown figures, often dressed up and equipped with the paraphernalia common to the professions. I have skeletons playing instruments, dancing, getting married, working at computers, etc. I don't think they are scary and most people who view my collection agree. They are funny. They are us.
I do my best to promote these nondestructive hobbies through the Taphophile's Handbook at my site.
How does your family feel about your hobby?
I think my wife sometimes wishes I would spend a little less, but otherwise, she enjoys visiting cemeteries with me and has picked up a couple of calacas for her desk at work. I guess she feels I could be going down the hill to the biker bar and getting drunk instead of to cemeteries. She counts her blessings.
Why did you start your website and what has the response to it been?
I started City of the Silent in 1994 because no one else seemed to be doing a site about cemetery culture. Response is generally positive except for the occasional disappointed Goth who feels I need more black and more gore in my site or the squeamish person who feels any mention of death and dying is sick sick sick. I get all kinds: genealogists who want to figure out what the emblems on their ancestors' graves was, writers who are trying to find details for stories, students writing papers, and other taphophiles -- lovers of cemeteries -- who come for the art and the photographs in my pages.
Whose celebrity grave would you change and why/how?
Wyatt Earp's. The former stone on his site was a simple, black marker with his name and that of his wife, Josephine. Some fan club decided that this was not good enough for him and replaced it with a glossy monstrosity with a poker hand and a silly epitaph. I've sometimes joked on my tours at Colma, California, that any one who stole the new stone would be a hero. The cemetery, I understand, still has the old one.
I think we should, wherever possible, allow the dead and their family to have the last word on how they want to be remembered. The plain black stone was Josephine's preference and it had a stark, dramatic feel to it. The new stone is pure Hollywood B-Movie.
What is your site?
City of the Silent at or http://www.alsirat.com/city.html
Joel GAzis-SAx The Taphophile's Marketplace http://buy.at/taphophile
Scott Wilson Resting Places : The Burial Sites of over 7,000 Famous Persons
How did you get into the hobby of grave hunting?
I began roaming cemeteries in the spring of 1968 doing genealogy; visited a first celebrity (William Henry Harrison) that August, but no film related names until fall 1972 (James Dean). I "branched out" considerably after discovering the book "Permanent Addresses" in 1984. Actually, my wife found it for me, so I should blame all of this on her. Since then, multi-week and shorter vacations have been planned around various cities as well as unbelievably remote towns and their cemeteries with famous (or often very obscure) occupants.
If you could meet a dead celebrity, who would it be and why? If you could date a dead celebrity, who would it be?
As to dating a dead celebrity, I'd have to go with Edna May Oliver or Eily Malyon, or - better yet - Belle Gunness. I like a challenge.
Is your favorite celebrity graveof your favorite celebrity? If so, why do you like this grave and is it fitting of the celebrity?
Favorite gravesites, as they were when I was there, would include Claude Rains, Henry and Claire Booth Luce, many at Woodlawn in the Bronx, Kensico Cemetery at Valhalla, New York, which is also an arboretum - or could be; particularly the Florenz Ziegfeld-Billie Burke lot. And much of the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn, Glendale, resplendent with the marble and the statuary. I should add I was not bothered when I was there; they were very pleasant.
Why did you write a book?
I wrote, or compiled, my particular book "Resting Places" because I'm a natural organizer. Another reason was to include all the many, many names that I know are disappointments in their denouement; those returned to the family or the ashes scattered. The reasoning was that there are so many names never mentioned in the endless collections of finding burial sites. It seemed like someone should give some attention to pointing out what happened (to the extent information could be found) to literally hundreds of persons, some of them very famous, that no one ever mentioned. And we tried.
Why would someonewant this book in their grave hunting library?
I think any "serious" grave hunter (it seems like there must be a better term for people interested in this, but there probably isn't) can use the book I put together. There are tons of names in there not found in other works.
Do you collect any memorabilia?
Do I collect any memorabilia? Let's see - I have a piece of the iron fence that used to surround the S.S. Kresge mausoleum at Gilbert, Pa. (which literally fell off when I was there and with a point on the tip that could be lethal), and I would like someone to authenticate the Ted Williams signature on a baseball I bought years ago.
How does your family feel about your hobby?
My family came to take it for granted for years that if we went anywhere, cemeteries were involved. This halted about 1998, when the offspring became too old for long trips in a vehicle. Otherwise, I like the incident when one of my son's friends looked at a volume next to my desk labeled "Certificates" (death certificates) and asked what they were. Ever the quick thinker, my son said "Uh...awards my parents got in college." His friend - a gullible boy - bought it.
What is the most interesting thing that happened to you while grave hunting?
The most interesting thing? I don't know. Hiking with a guide up to Smoky Joe Wood's grave at Shohola, Pa., maybe, or getting locked in at Woodlawn in the Bronx and a couple of others. But probably just looking at names and happening by sheer chance on ones you recognize.
What do you think the dead celebrities think about those who grave hunt?
I don't think the dead celebrities think anything about people who hunt their graves. They're dead.
Where would you like to be buried? What would your epitaph say?
Nowhere - at least not this week. But in the long run - nowhere.
Whose celebrity grave would you change and why/how?
The only one that comes to mind is Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. I felt, as a war hero as well as an actor, he should have been buried at Arlington - where I thought he had a lot, maybe not - rather than tucked into his father's monument. My own opinion; many would disagree, I'm sure. Several of them that have a paragraph or in some cases an essay on the plaque I would tone down also. Not all, but some are just - literally - too much.
Who do you think is the most neglected celebrity grave?
There are so many neglected "celebrity" graves that picking out one is hardly possible. If you read the 1928 obituary and funeral account for Nora Bayes, thereis a great deal about all of the charities she contributed to, her many friends, etc., but you visit the grave and there's nothing there. There are dozens of well known character actors without markers at Valhalla, Holy Cross or San Fernando Mission in greater L.A. Also add to the list anyone I've driven 50 to 100 miles out of the way to visit, just to find a patch of grass.
Arthur Koykka Project Remember : A National Index of Gravesites of Notable Americans
If you could meet a dead celebrity, who would it be and why? If you could date a dead celebrity, who would it be?
Brahms or Mozart. Would like to know their motivation for writing music the way they did. Date dead celebrity: first choice -- Laurie Beechman, who was the narrator in the 70's revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. If I can't have her, then Gwen Verdon or Juliet Prowse. Dancers know things that nobody else does.
Who is your Favorite Celebrity Grave?
Christina McAuliffe. This one speaks to me, and I have taken visitors to it.
Why did you write a book?
I wanted to let the nation know where celebrities were buried, and at the time, there was nothing of the kind. Secondarily, I wanted to make a bundle of money. That didn't happen. But "Project Remember" has spawned an interest in this hobby, and has encouraged several other books.
Why want it in library?
It was a first.
Do you collect any memorabilia?
Just slides. I do slide-illustrated talks as you know.
How does your family feel about your hobby?
Didn't tell them for about a year; after that, my wife was pretty receptive, and accompanies me on some hunts. The kids? They felt that it was just one more crazy thing that I did.
What do you think the dead celebrities think about those who grave hunt?
Those who claw their way to the top and crave publicity have no right to seek privacy after death.
Where would you like to be buried? What would your epitaph say?
There are a few plots remaining in our local cemetery in Lunenburg; that is fine with me. Want a black slate stone with rounded top. Epitaph should read: teacher, composer, author.
Whose celebrity grave would you change and why/how?
Hands down, it would be Hank Williams' grave in Montgomery, AL. Tacky, overdone, with Astroturf yet.
Who do you think is the most neglected celebrity grave?
Several black baseball players, the chief of whom would be Wilbur Rogan in Kansas City, MO
Steve Goldstein Beneath Los Angeles
How did you get into the hobby of grave hunting?
I was always fascinated by cemeteries since I was a small child. My mother thought it was a morbid phase that I would outgrow, but I never did. I grew up in Boston, which was a goldmine of old historic graveyards. I did rubbings as a teenager, and moved to LA when I was 18. Then, visits to Westwood and Hollywood became more and more frequent. I couldn't stop going and walking around, taking a million pictures along the way.
If you could meet a dead celebrity, who would it be and why? If you could date a dead celebrity, who would it be?
In both cases, Marilyn Monroe. With all I've read about her, she was my kind of gal! I know we would hit it off.
Is your favorite celebrity graveof your favorite celebrity? If so, why do you like this grave and is it fitting of the celebrity?
My favorite celebrity grave is not necessarily my favorite celebrity. The grave is Douglas Fairbanks. Is it fitting for him? Absolutely! I have always been drawn to it, even when it was in a dilapidated state. Harder to say who my favorite dead celebs are, but a few who come to mind are Lucille Ball, Morey Amsterdam, Buster Keaton and Stan Laurel. None of their graves seem fitting enough. (All are at FLHH).
Why did you write a book?
My photographs and stories always elicit a response of "You should write a book!" So, I did.
Why would someonewant this book in their grave hunting library?
Mine is not a 'guide' book, but more of a photographic essay. I wanted to recreate the experience of a grave hunt. I want the reader to feel what I do when I come upon an interesting grave, and see what it looked like at the moment I found it.
Do you collect any memorabilia?
Yes. I have a tile and a piece of concrete from the Heaven's Gate house. I never take anything from a grave, however, and there have been many opportunities for that. The hardest one to resist was a picture of Curly Howard at his grave. I was grateful to get a picture of it, but it was hard to leave it there. But I did.
How does your family feel about your hobby?
They still think it's weird.
What is the most interesting thing that happened to you while grave hunting?
See "Locked Inside A Mausoleum," my story about the time I got locked in the Hillside Mausoleum one day. I had to convince the front desk it was not a prank call after I located a phone in a small office inside the building. That, and the time Clifton Webb made his presence known at HF.
What do you think the dead celebrities think about those who grave hunt? I have to believe they like it. Otherwise, I couldn't do it. I do feel that sometimes, they just don't want to be found, however. Like most of us, some days they just want to be left alone, but usually, they co-operate.
Why did you start your website and what has the response to it been?
The web site was an outgrowth of the book proposal, and the response has been overwhelming. I never expected it to lead to radio and newspaper interviews, and requests from all over the globe. The nicest aspect, of course, has been how it led to my grave hunting friends, other authors and web site owners who share this hobby. I have developed some great friendships, and that has been the most rewarding part of all this.
Where would you like to be buried? What would your epitaph say?
I have already purchased property at HF! I would like the epitaph to be simply: Beloved husband, son, brother, uncle, friend.
Whose celebrity grave would you change and why/how?
Tough one! Maybe bring Dick Shawn down from the rafters at Hillside. Or move the Stooges closer together. Definitely, I would put Fanny Brice back where she belongs at Home of Peace!!
Who do you think is the most neglected celebrity grave?
For years, the whole Hollywood Memorial Park was neglected, but I don't think that's what you're asking, is it? Ernie Kovacs doesn't seem to get much attention. Jonas Salk's grave in San Diego seemed to me to be in a very remote corner of the place. Big Mama Thornton is practically out in the street in Inglewood. But the most neglected movie star was the first, Florence Lawrence.
Scott Wilson
How did you get into the
hobby of grave hunting?
I was living in southern California, and I dating a girl
who was from northern California. She was a big fan of Marilyn Monroe, and so
one day I decided to treat her to a visit to Marilyn's crypt. Once there, she
asked me to leave her alone with Marilyn for a few minutes, so I wandered
around, and was shocked at all of the celebrities in that tiny little cemetery.
That got me interested in finding more and more. She and I became rather
skillful gravers in the days before it caught on as a pastime. Actually, I used
to work in Marina del Rey, and one lunch time, at the suggestion of a friend, I
did go over and pay my respects to Jack Benny at Hillside Memorial Park. I
remember that it was right after Mary Livingstone died, as her name had not yet
been carved onto the sarcophagus, and there was merely a strip of black Dymo
tape there with her name on it. But I didn't really start searching stars out
until the Marilyn incident.
If you could meet a dead
celebrity, who would it be and why?
Maybe W. C. Fields. I think he is largely misunderstood.
Or more exactly, he is not completely understood. From all that I have read, he
was every bit as much a workaholic as he was an alcoholic. He was rather
ingenious too. Did you know that he holds the patent on the paper towel
dispenser?
If you could date a dead
celebrity, who would it be?
Ingrid Bergman was pretty hot back in the Casablanca
days.
Is your favorite celebrity
grave of your favorite celebrity?
No. It seems that many of the grander graves are of
celebrities that aren't on history's "A" list (Al Jolson, Douglas Fairbanks,
etc.). Or maybe it's just time that changes things, as I guess Al Jolson was
pretty darn big in his day. Doug probably was too.
If so, why do you like
this grave and is it fitting of the celebrity?
Jolson's and Fairbanks' graves are grand just in their
scope and magnitude. They are truly something to see, and up close too. Forced
to choose among them, I'd personally prefer Fairbanks grave, with the reflecting
pool and lily pads and all.
Why did you write a book?
I thought about it very seriously back in the late 1980s
or early 1990s, when just about the only book out there was "This Is Hollywood"
by Ken Schessler. I had collected about 275 grave sites (paltry by today's
standards), and I had them all recorded in computerized files. I was in the
process of getting photographs to go with them. Then one day, with my parents
and this same girlfriend in tow, I was out at Hollywood Memorial (now Hollywood
Forever) trying to explain to my parents the attraction of my hobby, when, at
Virginia Rappe's grave, a tour group came through. There was a tour guide, and
about 10 or so tourists with him. All of the sudden, I felt like my weird little
hobby was now mainstream and commercialized, and I stopped working on the book.
Joke was on me, as I might have beaten a lot of people to the press.
Why would someone want
this book in their grave hunting library?
N/A
Do you collect any
memorabilia?
No.
How does your family feel
about your hobby?
They think I'm pretty weird.
What is the most
interesting thing that happened to you while grave hunting?
I ran into the Lady In Black one time without really
realizing it or knowing who she was until after. I was at Hollywood Forever
(back when it was Hollywood Memorial), and I went over to Valentino's crypt, but
when I got to the entrance of the hallway, I stopped because there was a mourner
down there. I didn't want to interfere with her, and I didn't know that she was
at Valentino's crypt. I went around to the others in the mausoleum for a while,
and came back when she was done. When I got to Valentino, I realized that the
flowers there were the ones that mourner had with her, so she had been to
Valentino's crypt. As I was leaving the mausoleum, she was on her way out too. I
said hello, and she responded politely. She was a very old woman, in an old
fashioned black mourning dress, with a hat and a veil. She smiled and was very
nice, but she didn't stop to talk or anything. Later that night, on the local TV
news, they had a little spot about how it had been the anniversary of
Valentino's death, and the Lady in Black had come back again this year. They had
some footage of her, although I hadn't seen the cameras or anything, but it was
definitely her. She didn't give them an interview or anything, they just had a
shot of her at the crypt, and also getting out of the place as quickly as she
could. They eventually found out who she was, and when she died, they covered
that too.
What do you think the dead
celebrities think about those who grave hunt?
I think that by and large, the personality
characteristics that make someone want to be an entertainer or politician or
someone else in the limelight are such that they are characterized by a craving
for adulation. I can't see why this would change after they are dead. I believe
that the vast majority of celebrities would be thrilled that they are still
honored and admired after they are gone. I think that all too often it's their
families who lock them away in places like the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn
Glendale, where almost nobody can get to them.
Why did you start your web
site and what has the response to it been?
N/A
Where would you like to be
buried?
Forest Lawn Cypress, near most of the maternal side of my
family, not far from the Ascension Mausoleum where Karen Carpenter is.
What would your epitaph
say?
I have often fantasized about having some ridiculously
grand obelisk, about the size and shape of the Washington Monument, complete
with elevators to the observation deck, gift shops, a cafeteria and tour guides.
And freeway signs directing tourists on how to get there, and billboards, and
entries in AAA Tour books, and thousands of tourists, who paid good money to get
in, saying to themselves: "So who was this guy, anyway?". That might make a good
epitaph.
Whose celebrity grave
would you change and why/how?
I would mark any celebrity grave that isn't marked. And I
would grant public access to any celebrity grave site that isn't public. And I
would put an end to cremation & scattering.
Who do you think is the
most neglected celebrity grave?
There used to be graffiti all over Jim Morrison's and
Douglas Fairbanks' markers, but I hear they've been cleaned up. Now I hear that
Joan Blondell's brass plaque is almost unreadable from corrosion.
Mark Masek
Hollywood Remains to Be Seen
How did you get into the
hobby of grave hunting?
Growing up in the Chicago area, I used to come out for vacations to Los
Angeles at least once a year with a few friends. We did all the typical
tourist things - taking the tour of the movie stars' homes, visiting the movie
studios, seeing the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and putting out
hands in the imprints in front of the Chinese Theater. After we saw where the
celebrities lived and worked, the next logical step was to see where they
were buried. I think the first celebrity grave we found was Marilyn Monroe's
crypt at Westwood.
Plus, I've always been a movie fan, and I've always been interested in
history, so when we moved out to Southern California a few years ago, I
started to spend a lot of my free time touring the cemeteries. I think they're
quiet, peaceful locations, far from traffic and stress. Plus,
there's plenty of free parking.
If you could meet a dead celebrity, who would it be and why?
My favorite dead actor is Jimmy Stewart, and I think it would be fascinating
to talk to him, and ask him about his life and his career.
Actually, I'd love to talk to anyone who lived through the early days of
Hollywood, when they were making up the rules as they went along.
If you could date a dead celebrity, who would it be?
Do I have to pick just one? Jean Harlow, Clara Bow, Joan Blondell, Rita
Hayworth, Carole Lombard, Betty Grable and, of course, Marilyn Monroe. And,
of course, I'd prefer that they not be dead at the time.
What is your favorite celebrity grave of your favorite celebrity? If so, why
do you like this grave and is it fitting of the celebrity?
Jimmy Stewart at FLG. Stewart typically portrayed the soft-spoken,
slow-speaking guy next door, a common man of honor and dignity, just trying
to do the right thing, often in the face of overwhelming opposition. So it
seems appropriate that, when so many of the celebrities at FLG are hidden in
inaccessible mausoleums or padlocked gardens, Stewart's grave is out in the
middle of an open lawn, close to the main entrance, in an easy location for
fans and friends to pay their respects. And there's a story behind the
inscription on his marker, too. When Stewart was first sent to Europe to fly
bombing missions during World War II, his father gave him a letter in which he
wrote, "Jim, I'm banking on the enclosed copy of the 91st Psalm. The thing
that takes the place of fear and worry is the promise of these words. I am
staking my faith in these words. I feel sure that God will lead you through
this mad experience. … God bless you and keep you. I love you more than I can
tell you. Dad." Stewart carried the letter with him for the rest of his
life, and the words from the Psalm that his father gave him are written on his
grave marker: "For He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee
in all thy ways."
Why did you write a book? Why would someone want this book in their grave
hunting library?
I've been a writer all my life, including 15 years at various newspapers in
the Chicago area, and free-lance work since we moved to California. But I
started to visit cemeteries for personal interest, with no plans to write about
them. Then I noticed that most cemeteries had more tourists than
mourners, and most of them were just wandering aimlessly. So I decided to write
a book to tell them exactly where the celebrities were buried, and also
to tell them a little about their personal and professional lives. Most people
might not want to sit down and read a full biography of Douglas
Fairbanks or Cecil B. DeMille, but they might read a few pages about them, and
get a little bit of an idea as to why they're so important in the history
of Hollywood. I learned a lot myself by doing the research, and I hope the
readers do, too. There are so many fascinating stories.
I also wanted to bring a little attention to some of the lesser-known
performers, who have always been among my favorites - Dwight Frye, Edgar
Kennedy, Vito Scotti, Edward Everett Horton, Morey Amsterdam, etc.
Do you collect any memorabilia?
I'm ashamed to admit that when I visited Graceland many years ago, I picked
up a handful of dirt from around Elvis Presley's grave. I certainly
don't encourage anyone to take anything from a cemetery, other than a
photograph, but I still have that little bit of dirt.
How does your family feel about your hobby?
I usually get one of three reactions when I tell people that I've written a
book about Hollywood cemeteries. Either they think it's really creepy and
quickly change the subject, they don't understand why anyone would be interested
in such a thing, or they eagerly start to share their stories of
the time they went looking for Marilyn Monroe's crypt, as if they've met another
member of a secret society. Among my friends and family, I've gotten
all three reactions. I try to explain to them that I consider my book to be
more of a Hollywood history book than a cemetery book, and that you don't
have to traipse through the grave markers to enjoy it.
What is the most interesting thing that happened to you while grave hunting?
Unfortunately, I don't have any really interesting stories. I've never had
any supernatural experiences, and I've never seen my own name on a grave
marker. Maybe one of these days …
The most surprising thing is the number of visitors who come to pay their
respects, as opposed to just gawking tourists. I see people standing in
front of Marilyn Monroe's crypt, heads bowed, leaving flowers, and I know that
they weren't even born when she died. And I see people leaving flowers
at Rudolph Valentino's crypt, and I know their parents weren't even born when he
died. But many people seem to consider certain celebrities as almost
members of their families, and they want to show their feelings and pay their
respects, perhaps to thank them for the joy and happiness they've brought to
them.
What do you think the dead celebrities think about those who grave hunt?
I honestly think they'd be happy about it. Most of the people who visit
celebrity graves are fans. Perhaps they didn't get a chance to meet the
celebrity while they were living, and so this is their chance to let them know
that they're not forgotten, and their work is still appreciated. It's
like applause. What celebrity wouldn't appreciate that?
Shortly after my book came out, I got an email from the widow of one of the
celebrities in the book. I asked her what she thought about me
disclosing the location of her late husband's grave. "I don't think mine of
anyone else's family would be upset that you disclosed the locations," she
said. "The fans have the right to visit the graves. Many times I find flowers,
notes and poems left at (his) graveside, and I am comforted by that. He was
loved by many and it is nice to be reminded."
Why did you start your website and what has the response to it been?
I started my website --
www.CemeteryGuide.com -- to promote my book. I think it gives people an
opportunity to find out about the book before they
buy it.
Where would you like to be buried? What would your epitaph say?
Obviously, I've thought about it, but I really have no idea. Most of my
family and friends are back in the Chicago area, so that's an option. But,
on the other hand, I'd like to be buried among the people I've written about.
As for an epitaph, probably something simple. Though sometimes I think
about the humility in Dick Shawn's epitaph: "The greatest entertainer, father
and friend in the whole wide world."
Whose celebrity grave would you change and why/how?
I wouldn't change any of them. I think the way celebrities choose to be
buried tells more about them and their personality than anything else, from
the spectacle of Douglas Fairbanks and Al Jolson, to the quiet dignity of Burt
Lancaster and Fred Astaire, to the sweet simplicity of Marilyn Monroe.
That's who they were.