A cemetery in Hollywood and the Bentley Flying Spur Series 51
Movie making and Hollywood have been intertwined since the start of the 20th century. Director D.W. Griffith, best known for the film Birth of a Nation, was the first person to film a movie in Hollywood. The 17-minute work was titled In Old California, and was shot entirely in an area known as the village of Hollywood. Fast forward a century and modern Hollywood is the epicenter of the film industry, and a major tourist attraction for those visiting Southern California.
Not everything lasts in Hollywood, however, including the very stars upon which the industry counts on to keep the money machine churning. Like everybody else on the planet, they die. That doesn’t mean they are forgotten, and one of the areas where the last bits of their twinkling lives might continue to shine is in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Take a stroll through the resting places of the residents, and you’ll come across names like Mel Blanc, Cecil B. Demille, George Harrison, Dee Dee and Johnny Ramone, Bugsy Siegel, the dog that played Toto in the Wizard of Oz, and many others. It’s a who’s who of dead famous folks.
The grounds are also home to a unique move experience run by a group called Cinespia. During the warmer season (yes, there is a warm “season” in Southern California), a lush patch of grass becomes the seating area for a handpicked film that’s projected upon the large side wall of a building on the cemetery grounds. Cinespia celebrated its 10th season in 2011, and my wife and I wanted to experience it for ourselves.
A classic bit of Hollywood needs to be approached in a vehicle that adheres to the look-at-me set. Good timing then that the Volkswagen-looking key fob in my hand has the Bentley log on it.
