The Valley’s first cemetery—other than numerous unmarked Tongva and Chumash burial grounds—was located on the north side of the chapel at Mission San Fernando Rey. In later times, wide open spaces and cheap land invited the placement of large cemeteries. Today, the Valley is the final resting place for a lengthy roster of historical figures and celebrities of the past. Some of the most famous or noteworthy are listed below.
An asterisk * by the name means that person is mentioned elsewhere on the site or in the book, The San Fernando Valley: America’s Suburb.
Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills
This is the large memorial park near Burbank that is built on the hillside where D.W. Griffith filmed The Birth of a Nation in 1915.
6300 Forest Lawn Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90068
Bette Davis, actress
Buster Keaton, actor *
Gene Autry, cowboy star *
Stan Laurel, actor *
Charles Laughton, actor
Jason Robards, actor
Philip Ahn, actor/restaurateur *
Jack Webb, actor *
Freddie Prinze, actor
Liberace, pianist
Ozzie Nelson, actor
Harriett Nelson, actress
Rickey Nelson, actor-singer
Telly Savalas, actor
Rod Steiger, actor
Ernie Kovacs, comic
Fritz Lang, film director
Horace Heidt, bandleader *
Roy Disney, studio executive
Dorothy Lamour, actress
Nudie Cohn, clothier *
Kelly Johnson, aircraft executive *
Leo Durocher, baseball figure
John Ritter, actor
Lucille Ball’s ashes used to be interred at Forest Lawn, but the actress’s remains were relocated to Jamestown, NY in 2002.
San Fernando Mission Cemetery
This cemetery established in 1952 adjoins the original mission burial ground.
11160 Stranwood Avenue
Mission Hills, CA 91345
Bob Hope, actor * (at mission itself)
Ritchie Valens, rock star *
William Frawley, actor *
William Bendix, actor
Walter Brennan, actor *
Chuck Connors, actor
William Parker, police chief *
Mt. Sinai Memorial Park
5950 Forest Lawn Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90068
Lee J. Cobb, actor
Cass Elliott, singer
Daniel Pearl, journalist
Phil Silvers, actor
Dawn Steel, studio executive
Brandon Tartikoff, TV executive
Eden Memorial Park
11500 Sepulveda Boulevard
Mission Hills, CA
Groucho Marx, actor
Lennie Bruce, comic
Sam Jaffe, actor
Oakwood Memorial Park
22600 Lassen Street
Chatsworth, CA
Montie Montana, cowboy star *
Fred Astaire, actor
Adele Astaire, actress
Ginger Rogers, actress
Bob Crane, actor
Valhalla Memorial Park
10600 Vanowen Street
North Hollywood, CA 91601
Oliver Hardy, actor *
Bea Benadaret, actress
Yakima Canutt, stunt man
Vince DiMaggio, baseball star
Madame Sul-Te-Wan, actress
Forest Lawn Glendale
While part of Glendale falls within the Valley, Forest Lawn lies across town. It’s included here because of the interesting persons from Valley history who are there.
1712 S. Glendale Avenue
Glendale CA 91205
Humphrey Bogart, actor
Mary Pickford, actress and studio executive *
Jimmy Stewart, actor *
Clark Gable, actor *
Carole Lombard, actress *
Sammy Davis Jr., actor and singer
Walt Disney, studio founder *
William Mulholland, aqueduct builder *
W.C. Fields, actor *
Errol Flynn, actor
Jean Harlow, actress *
Spencer Tracy, actor
George Burns, actor
Gracie Allen, actress
Don Drysdale, baseball star *
Casey Stengel, baseball figure
William Holden, actor *
Edward Everett Horton, actor and “honorary Governor” *
Jack Oakie, actor *
Tom Mix, actor
David O. Selznick, producer
Norma Shearer, actress
Red Skelton, actor
Clara Bow, actress
Harold Lloyd, actor
Clayton Moore, actor
Merritt Adamson, dairyman and rancher *
Theda Bara, actress
Cliff Odets, writer
Louis L’Amour, writer
Aimee Semple McPherson, church leader
Dorothy Dandridge, actress
Jim Davis, actor *
King Gillette, company founder *
Roger Jessup, dairyman and politician
In addition to the large memorial parks above, at least two smaller, closed cemeteries exist.
Pioneer cemetery
14451 Bledsoe Street
Sylmar, CA 91342
Verdugo Hills Cemetery
7000 Parsons Trail Road
Tujunga CA 91042
