A Grave Brush With Peninsula Greatness By Writer and Contributor Rick Senger
The frost is not quite on the pumpkin yet but autumn is in the air. Summer blend gasoline is gone until spring (though high gas prices remain), the kids are back in school (thank God) and Turner Classic Movies has officially calendared their 100 horror movie marathon for October which means it’s officially time to take down the red, white and blue décor / flags of July 4th / Labor Day and replace them with autumnal and/or ghostly ghoulish trappings of Halloween. The days are getting shorter and before you know it (Nov. 2) we will turning the clock back to darkness and “things that go bump in the night” by five pm every evening until spring. *sigh*.
But it’s not all bad. Halloween seems like the perfect excuse to delve into and celebrate the surprising number of famous Peninsula luminaries sadly no longer with us but happily still here in both spirit and corpus. Though they don’t tend to advertise, a lot of them reside in Green Hills Memorial Park and Cemetery in Rancho Palos Verdes. Okay, it’s an unusual field trip but it could be just the change of pace you’ve been after if you’re in the right mood and ready to stretch your legs. Here is a roll call:
Charles Bukowski – The German-American “underground” pulpy prose laureate / voice of the downtrodden working class led an infamously checkered life full of blackout boozing, hard-boiled populist novels, on and off again dreary civil service jobs, underground columns, poetry books and readings, collaborations with cartoonist Robert Crumb, and unexpected success late in life as well as significant critical reevaluation and praise after death. He died in San Pedro in 1994 where he had spent the better part of his last two decades.
His headstone infamously reads “Don’t Try” which sounds like hopeless fatalism on the surface but actually goes deeper. “Don’t try” was, in fact, sincere and oft-misunderstood advice he gave to aspiring writers not to force it. In a 1963 letter to John William Corrington, Bukowski wrote: “Somebody at one of these places...asked me: ‘what do you do? How do you write, create?’ You don’t, I told them. You don’t try. That’s very important: NOT to try, either for Cadillacs, creation or immortality. You wait, and if nothing happens, you wait some more. It’s like a bug high on the wall. You wait for it to come to you. When it gets close enough you reach out, slap out and kill it. Or, if you like its looks, you make a pet out of it.” Location: Ocean View plot 875
Dennis “DJ” Johnson - A San Pedro native, Johnson was an NBA Hall of Fame basketball player for 14 seasons who won 3 NBA titles: 1 with the Seattle Supersonics and 2 with the Lakers’ bitter rival Boston Celtics. While Johnson was known for his clutch shooting, his real calling card was smothering defense. However, he is most remembered for hitting the stunning game winning basket following a crazy last second steal by Larry Bird of a botched Isaiah Thomas pass intended for PV native Bill Laimbeer which led to Johnson’s layup and an eventual super unlikely comeback Celtics playoff victory over the Detroit Pistons. Not surprisingly, HOFer Larry Bird later said Johnson was his favorite teammate ever. After retiring from playing Johnson went on to a long coaching career for Boston, the LA Clippers and the NBA development league. He died at only 52 years old of an apparent heart attack after coaching an Austin Toros practice in Texas. Location: Valley of Peace 3014 C
Paul Conrad – A nationally syndicated political cartoonist and self-appointed defender of the common man, Conrad ferociously lampooned those in power for parts of six decades including three at the Los Angeles Times, collecting three Pulitzer Prizes along the way. President Gerald Ford once observed “Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you’ve been the subject of a Paul Conrad cartoon.” One of Conrad’s proudest achievements was making Richard Nixon’s “enemies list” though he was equally at home lambasting Democrats, stating “I decide who’s right or wrong and go from there.” He worked right up to his death at age 86 in Palos Verdes Estates. Location: Parkview Terrace 204 B
NFL Coach George Allen – The remarkably successful Hall of Fame football coach never had a losing season in 12 NFL seasons including 5 with the Los Angeles Rams and 7 with the Washington Redskins. This was particularly impressive considering the Redskins had only had 1 season above .500 in the previous 15 before Allen’s arrival. Allen also coached in the CFL and USFL as well as 10 seasons at the collegiate level including his final year in 1990 coaching Cal State University Long Beach.
Allen was famous for putting in ridiculous hours at work, sometimes sleeping at the Redskins facility he helped design. He was also known for being a demanding and complicated coach. Redskins President Edward Bennett Williams once said “George was given an unlimited budget and he exceeded it.” Similarly, Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom lamented, “I made a serious error of judgment in believing George could work within our framework… He got unlimited authority and exceeded it.” Nevertheless, Allen retired with the third-best winning percentage in NFL history (.681) only exceeded by Vince Lombardi and John Madden. A longtime peninsula resident, Allen passed away at age 72 in his home in Rancho Palos Verdes. Location: Grace Lawn 76 A
Glenn M. Anderson Serving as a onetime Mayor of Hawthorne, in the California State Assembly, as Lt. Governor of California from 1959-1967 and for 24 years in the US House of Representatives, Anderson’s political career spanned parts of six decades. Interstate 105 in South Los Angeles is named in his honor as the “Glenn M. Anderson Freeway.” Anderson is buried along with his wife Lenore Marie (Dutton) Anderson in Green Hills Memorial Park.
Glen Glenn – Ubiquitous sound engineer of tv and film. Died at 52 in a tragic car accident but his name lives on in the back credits of an estimated 20,000 film and tv productions which bear his audio post production company's name. The company was acquired by Todd-AO in 1986 and then purchased by Deluxe Entertainment in 2015. The facility's main theater became "Stage One" which is now the largest digital intermediate color theater in North America. Watch most old television shows and sooner or later you will probably see the Glen Glenn logo in the credits. Location: Ocean View 321 C
Rodney Agatupu “Yokozuna” Anoa’i – Pro wrestler who was a two-time WWF (World Wrestling Federation) World Champion and WWF Tag Team champion. While he wrestled as a sumo wrestler under the Japanese flag he was actually Samoan. Died at age 34 in Liverpool, England while on an All Star Wrestling tour of a suspected heart attack. Location: Vista del Sol 634 C
Rhode Lee Michelson – A top US figure skater who tragically died at age 17 in 1961 when her plane headed to Prague for the world figure skating championship crashed, killing her along with the ENTIRE US World Figure Skating team. Location: Oceanview Lawn Plot 481 Space K
John Bubbles – Vaudeville entertainer who reportedly taught Fred Astaire to tap dance Location: Parkview Crypt 111 C
Charlotte Harris Cellist who played on the Lawrence Welk show for 18 years and taught cello in Palos Verdes for years. Location: Pacifica North Court 51 B
William Joseph Clarke – A master blues harmonica player who released 21 albums and won the Handy Award for “Blues Song of the Year” in 1990 with “Must be Jelly.” Died of a bleeding ulcer at age 45. Location: Resurrection Slope 108 B
Pola Illery (Paula Gibson) – The silent and talkies Romanian film vamp (THE STREET WITHOUT A NAME, THE RED ROOFS OF PARIS, PARAMOUNT ON PARADE) fled Europe in 1938 to escape Nazism and married a serviceman who was killed months later. She then worked for the American Red Cross and wound up marrying James Gibson, moving to Palos Verdes where she quietly lived the rest of her life choosing not to reveal her prior celebrity to most friends and neighbors. Location: Garden of Reflection 228 B
Robert Foulk – Constantly working film and tv character actor Foulk appeared in Green Acres, Lassie (Sheriff Miller), Loretta Young show, Bonanza, The Big Valley, The Mod Squad, Lost in Space, The Beverly Hillbillies and hundreds of other movie and tv shows. Location: Garden of Reflection 391 A
Barbara Slater - Actress in many films including The Lady Confesses, Monsieur Verdoux and various Three Stooges films. Married Robert Foulk and became Barbara S. Foulk Location: Garden of Reflection 391 B
Annie Montrose Hagins – Civil rights activist and actress who started acting in her 60s but improbably reached the big time as a character actress in major films like SAY ANYTHING and COMING TO AMERICA. Location: Church Yard 261 D
D. Boon (Dennes Dale Boon) – Founder of seminal punk band Minutemen wrote and performed Corona, the theme to MTV’s Jackass franchise. Location: Lakeview Lawn 365
Louie Spicolli (Mucciolo, Jr.) – Pro wrestler who went by the name “Pledge” in the nWo and WCW at the time of his young death at only 27 years old. One of the first wrestlers inducted into the california Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. Location: Starlight Terrace 203 A
Since you’ve made it this far, we’re going throw in a few bonus celebrities whose ashes were scattered in the Pacific, possibly off the Peninsula though this is not confirmed in most cases.
Natalie Schafer – Broadway, film and television actress (Mrs. Howell from Gilligan’s Island most famously) had her ashes scattered off Pt. Fermin Light, Long Beach
Janis Joplin: The renowned singer songwriter's ashes were scattered in the Pacific in 1970.
Cary Grant: The iconic actor's ashes were scattered in the Pacific off the California coast in 1986.
Dennis Wilson: The Beach Boys drummer's ashes were buried in the Pacific Ocean in January 1984.
Alfred Hitchcock: The "Master of Suspense" director of PSYCHO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST and VERTIGO chose to have his ashes scattered over the Pacific Ocean after his passing in 1980.
Steve McQueen: The famed actor in THE GREAT ESCAPE, PAPILLON and BULLIT also opted for his ashes to be scattered over the Pacific Ocean in 1980, the same year as Hitchcock.
Johnny Carson: The host of The Tonight Show for 30 years had his ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean (presumably in Malibu, but undocumented).
Originally from Massachusetts, Senger has spent more than three decades working for various studios in Hollywood, including Sony, Columbia TriStar and Paramount. He has worked largely on the financial side of the business, which has offered him job security in the cutthroat world of show business as well as the ability to witness the behind-the-scenes aspects of the movie business.
Senger moved to Palos Verdes about 15 years ago. In his research of local film history, Senger has come across more than 200 movies and TV shows that have filmed scenes in Palos Verdes. He finds that the coastline is especially popular, mainly because of the unique topography of the local beaches and cliffs. Palos Verdes has more rocky bluffs than sandy beaches, allowing for the illusion that a scene was shot in a faraway place.