THE STARS WE LOVED and THEIR FINAL RESTING PLACES

With all the interest in Michael Jackson's final resting place I thought it might be interesting to look back and see where the final resting place is of some of the stars of yesteryear. Many of the actors/actresses I've chosen are from movies I remember watching with my father. Many are stars of the silver screen that we will never again see the likes of. In particular I find the older stars didn't need color film; they had the ability to draw you in because they never appeared to be acting, they were just that good. All the color that was needed was in their acting ability was in their mannerisms and facial expressions.

Michael Jackson is in good company at Forest Lawn in Los Angeles, California. Humphrey Bogart , Lon Chaney and Mary Pickford are some of the greats that are interred here. Dorothy Dandridge, Clark Gable, and Carole Lombard are also buried here along with a multitude of others. For all the stars that Forest Lawn can boast, in just about every state there is a cemetery that is the resting place for some of the most beloved stars from the past to the present.

New York State can boast Judy Garland most recognized as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, but Judy also had a wonderful singing voice. Judy Garland as many already know is the mother of Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft. Ms. Garland is interred at FerncliffCemetery in Hartsdale, NY, as is Joan Crawford . Most remembered for her performance in Mildred Pierce for which she won a Academy Award for Best Actress in 1945. Joan died in 1977, Judy in 1969. James Cagney one of my very favorite actors is buried in Hawthorne, NY. Both James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart were the quintessential tough guys though both actors played a wide variety of roles. James Cagney started in Vaudeville as a hoofer and went on to make classics like "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "White Heat". James Cagney was born July 17, 1899 and died March 30, 1986. Montgomery Clift died of a heart attack at the young age of 45 and is buried in an old Quaker cemetery in Prospect Park (Brooklyn, NY). Some of his films included Red River, A Place in the Sun, From Here to Eternity, and East of Eden.

James Dean a cultural icon to teenagers died in a car accident on a California road he was just 24 years old. He is buried in Park cemetery in Fairmount, Indiana. Most notable films included East of Eden for which he received the Academy Award for Best Actor, Rebel without a Cause where he starred opposite Natalie Wood, and Giant for which he also was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Dramatic Actor; and received a Golden Globe.

Anthony Quinn one of the best, died in June of 2001 after a very long career as an actor. "Sorba the Greek", "Lawrence of Arabia", "Viva Zapata", "and A Streetcar Named Desire" is but a few of a long, long list of films to his credit, he was also a painter. Mr. Quinn in buried in a family plot in Bristol, Rhode Island.

Katharine Hepburn died in June of 2003 at the age of 96 from natural causes. She had a very long career staring in movies such as The African Queen with Humphrey Bogart, and many alongside Spencer Tracy her long time love, though they never married. She also appeared in The Rainmaker, The Philadelphia Story and dozens of other films. In addition to Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart, she worked with Carey Grant and Jimmy Stewart; she was also a star of the stage. Katherine never married and had no children. She rest in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut.

But alas, I could go on and on about all the brilliant actors and actresses of days gone by. Their deaths whether brought about too soon or from normal aging are for many of us losses that hit us close to home. The silver screen has brought them into our homes, lives and hearts. They have become extended members of our families and people that we feel we knew personally and whom we truly loved and still do.

There are actors and actresses and then there are Stars - these are but a few of the best.