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Hollywood Forever
By Jonathan Weichsel

For over one hundred years, Hollywood has thrived by identifying our desires, and transforming them into sweeping epic fantasies that are more reflections of the unrestrained passions of our dreams than the inhibited world of our waking state. There is not a person alive who can say that his or her life has not been touched by Hollywood movies, because each and every one of us, in our deep and personal internal lives, refuses to accept the very thing that we outwardly project, namely, the notion that we, as human beings, are defined by the daily grind of our existence.

We know that we are better than the circumstances of our lives. Each one of you reading this can identify something very special and unique inside yourself, and you know that if only you could be transported to an exotic land full of adventure, danger, peril and romance, you would rise to the occasion, the hero within you would be released, and you would reach your full, epic, potential.

This is the Hollywood dream. It is much more profound than the American dream, which has something to do with a chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage. It is also more grandiose than the American dream, and more dangerous. The Hollywood dream is dangerous because it is not confined to Hollywood movies. It is also the dream of Hollywood the place.

For over one hundred years, men and women from all over the planet have flocked to exotic Hollywood in order to unleash their potential. Some have succeeded, others have failed. These men and women, both the brave talents and the delusional hacks, are among the most interesting people to live and die in the United States of America. Each one of them has left behind a story, and these stories, when put together, form the richest tapestry of history of any town in the world. Ironically, nowhere does this history come more alive than at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery Tour.

For over eight years Karie Bible has lead a mixture of locals, tourists, history buffs, and the just plain curious through the marble and granite monuments that make up the cemetery, on a journey across time to the golden age of Hollywood.

Karie is the perfect person to lead such a journey. She has a real love for classic films, and a vast knowledge of local history. During the course of the tour, you will hear stories of tragic death and suicide, bitter rivalries and juicy scandals. Karie prefers tales from the darker side of Hollywood lore, but she always delivers them in an animate, upbeat style.

There were many stories told during the tour that touched me. One was of Florence Lawrence, the first movie star. After she was badly burned in a fire, she was no longer able to get good parts, so she committed suicide by drinking ant poison. Another was the story of the failed actress who committed suicide by jumping from the Hollywood sign. And then there is poor Fatty Arbuckle, whose career was destroyed when he got caught up in the middle of a scandal through no fault of his own.

There are many monuments on display at the cemetery, including the Fairbanks tomb, a grave site worthy of a king where Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Sr. both lie. You will also see a pink cenotaph with a heart carved into it, memorializing Jayne Mansfield, and the modest resting place of Rudolph Valentino, a silent movie star who was so sexy that to this day women still visit his grave dressed in black.

Karie makes her tours fun. She is a collector of vintage dresses from the golden age of Hollywood, and always wears one while giving a tour, in order to bring the history to life. She also illustrates her stories with vintage photographs of movie stars.
To learn about upcoming Hollywood Forever Cemetery tours, visit www.cemeterytour.com.

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