Watching Michael Jackson’s procession from Forest Lawn Tuesday morning and listening to the talking heads ponder on whether Pop’s most conspicuous royalty would be interred there or not made me think of my own encounters with Forest Lawn.
They take death seriously there – or at least burial. The same organization that once taunted us commoners to “Sleep Among the Stars” adhere to rigid protocol when it comes to privacy. I know this first hand. On my first trip to California, one of the items on my “must see” list was the crypt where Jean Harlow was placed in 1937. I was naive – I just asked a security guard where she was. They didn’t tell me where she was and all but told me that if I insisted on getting to her, where I could go.
I found her, in spite of their silence, tucked away down a marble hallway lit with colored reflections from stained glass. Fellow blogger Lisa Burks details her encounters (here) and offers some pretty pictures (here).
Below is a picture of me standing outside the chapel where Harlow’s private services were conducted in June, 1937.
The Wee Kirk O’ the Heather is a replica of a Scottish church and unlike the tens of thousands who witnessed Michael Jackson’s memorial today, only a few hundred were allowed to attend then:
The folks at Forest Lawn will gladly direct you to buildings such as this on their property … but bodies are another story. Even now, with no living immediate family members, Jean Harlow and the other stars there are guarded after decades of death as if they were just buried today.
“I find it ironically disgusting that over the years Forest Lawn itself has named Jean Harlow as one of its best known permanent residents, prostituting her name and likeness for publicity, and yet fans who truly care about remembering her for who she was as a person and as an actress are treated with harshness whenever they attempt to visit the crypt or dare to leave flowers in her honor.” – Lisa Burks
It will be interesting to see if a pop culture icon such as Jackson will be as accessible to his fans as Elvis is, for example, or if he will become a permanent recluse even in death, as the folks at Forest Lawn might have it.
I want to go simply when I go.
They’ll give me a simple funeral there I know,
With a hundred strolling strings
And topless dancers with golden wings.
Oh take me when I’m gone to Forest Lawn
5 Responses to “R.I.P. – where the P stands for Privacy”
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Laura
July 8th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
You screwed up, dude.
Look at yourself in the picture: you’re wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and sunglasses. You look like a tourist–you ARE a tourist!
Well, guess what, tourist: over 250,000 families are respresented at Forest Lawn Glendale, and it is out of respect to ALL those families Forest Lawn doesn’t allow tourists. Moreover, those families paid good money to be there, pal, you didn’t.
Had you dressed up, worn a jacket and tie, brought flowers and presented yourself at the gate with the following words: “I’m here to pay my respects to Miss Harlow,” you might have been treated more kindly. How interesting that a “fan who truly cares” couldn’t be bothered to wear a tie to visit sacred ground!
Joe
July 8th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Laura,
You are correct, I was indeed a tourist, and while I do not apologize for being a tourist there (as explained below), I do apologize if my clothing selection offended you.
I was a tourist drawn to Forest Lawn not only because of my interest in Jean Harlow, but also in the “world-recognized collection of art and architecture” that they themselves urge me to come see in their brochures and on their website. My considerable purchases at the on-site museum (where I even participated in their “Cell Phone Audio Tour“) surely contributed to the beautiful park and I followed the rules outlined in their Visitors Guide.
I avoided any and all area where people were present that might have been attending funerals or visiting family memorials.
I watched where I walked, did not loiter and took no interior building photos.
I harmed no plant, building and did not sit or lay on any benches.
I wholly respect your opinion in regard to family privacy, but I would argue the point that Forest Lawn does not solicit tourists.
Lastly, the quote you referenced was not mine but from a fellow blogger, as the block-quote identified.
Gail
July 9th, 2009 at 12:07 am
Yes, the administration at FL is sending mixed messages, but if you give it any thought they are running a business and need to lay on the glitz to haul the suckers in
I’ve seen plenty of people get their rumps tossed out of the Great Mausoleum. And most of them have been begging for it. If a person is well-behaved and respectful they are more likely to have free access. Dressing well also helps, but behaving well is the key.
I personally have never been kicked out, but a couple of years ago I was deeded over 2 crypts in the GM.
My friend owns 6 crypts (of which only 1 is occupied) and he gives tours all the time.
As for MJ, I know where he’s chillin’……however, he is def. destined to be a travelin’ man for the short term at least and will probably surpass J. Paul Getty re: postmortem travels.
G.I. Joe
July 10th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
i remember as a youth of ohh about seven. my dad and i were clad in ninja outfits, with smoke bombs and black spray paint to spray on the ccTV lens. we snuck to the hall way ol’ jean was supposed to be in. my dad hid me next to a marble statue with a .50 cal and ordered me to shoot anyone dressed in a uniform.. he jump a rope or two did a double roll down to the end of the hall, blasted a smoke bomb for cover and snapped some pics of the crypt.. with a camera in one hand and a grappling hook in the other he swooped out of the hall tucking the camera and grabbing me…and putting an end to the myth of jeans resting place….i and only him know the truth. everyone else we had to kill. r.i.p mom
Zashkaser
August 5th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
You think everything sounds like existentialism.