Dead Celebrities

     Since Palm Springs used to be a retreat for celebrities, it stands to reason that a few famous people would be interred there.  We visited Forest Lawn and Desert Memorial Park.  Forest Lawn allows visitors to walk around, but they do not offer maps for locating notable people.  We checked in at the office to be sure we were following all the rules before we wandered around the mausoleums.  We were the only people there during our visit.  Desert Memorial Park is a traditional cemetery.  It was quite active with lots of visitors and a funeral in progress while we were there.

All interments are above ground at Forest Lawn.  The complex is peaceful and beautiful.  These tombs are outside.

These niches for cremains are outside behind a locked gate.  I like the glass fronts.  Some people include person effects of the deceased in these spaces.  I like that.  A lot of sand blows around in the desert.  The older graves show erosion in the outside areas.  There are also inside spaces which, I imagine, are much less subject to the scouring particles of sand.

Forty eight people lie behind this mosaic.  Even in death, they are part of something big!

The final resting place of Jerry Vale.

Mike remembers Guy Madison, but I do not.

Papa John Phillips
Rock Hudson, Dinah Shore, and Jane Wyman are also interred at Forest Lawn.  We did not locate their graves.

     Desert Memorial Park is part of the Palm Springs Cemetery District.  It is a public cemetery, and it is less impressive than Forest Lawn.  There are signs warning visitors that coyotes sometimes wander the remote parts of the cemetery.  We visited the graves of Frank Sinatra and Sonny Bono.  There are two Gabors at Desert Memorial as well as other entertainers, politicians, and athletes.

Frank Sinatra and his parents are buried at Desert Memorial Park ...

... as are Sonny Bono and his mother.   I love the fact that Sonny "autographed" his gravestone.