Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum

Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located on Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, about 25 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1902, and is non-sectarian. Ferncliff has three community mausoleums, a crematory, a small chapel, and a main office located in the rear of the main building.

Mausoleums

Ferncliff Cemetery has three community mausoleums that offer what The New York Times has described as "lavish burial spaces". As of 2001, a standard crypt space in the mausoleums was priced at $15,000. The highest-priced spaces were private burial rooms with bronze gates, crystal chandeliers, and stained-glass windows, priced at $280,000.

Ferncliff

The Ferncliff Mausoleum, aka "The Cathedral of Memories", is the cemetery's oldest mausoleum, constructed in 1928. It has classic architecture, but the corridors are dark without glass panes to admit natural light. Judy Garland, Ed Sullivan, and Joan Crawford are three of the most famous interments in the main mausoleum.

Shrine of Memories

The Shrine of Memories is Ferncliff's second mausoleum and was constructed in 1956. "Shrine of Memories" is a more contemporary structure than "Ferncliff Mausoleum." It has many panes of glass to admit natural light, and there is a large frieze of Christopher Columbus in the main hall of the building. Basil Rathbone is one of the most famous interments in "Shrine of Memories."

Rosewood

Rosewood is Ferncliff's most recently completed community mausoleum, having been constructed in 1999. Aaliyah and her father Michael Haughton have a private room in Rosewood.

Ground burials

The cemetery is also known for its in-ground burials in sections located in front of the mausoleums. Ferncliff is one of the very few cemeteries that does not permit upright headstones in its outdoor plots. All outdoor grave markers are flush with the ground. This feature facilitates maintenance of the cemetery grounds. However, there are several upright headstones that were placed before this policy was instituted. Malcolm X is one of the most famous ground burials, in plot Pinewood B.

Notable interments

• Aaliyah (1979–2001), singer, actress, Dancer
• Paul Althouse (1889–1954), opera singer
• Harold Arlen (1905–1986), composer
• Tommy Armour (1895–1968), Hall of Fame professional golfer
• Leopold Auer (1845–1930), violinist
• Arleen Auger (1939–1993), opera singer
• Albert E. Austin (1877–1953), U.S. Congressman from Connecticut
• Arthur Baer (1886–1969), journalist
• James Baldwin (1924–1987), novelist, essayist
• Richard Barthelmess (1895–1963), actor
• Mit’hat Frashëri (1880–1949), diplomat, writer and politician
• Béla Bartók (1881–1945), composer, pianist, scholar; his remains were moved to Farkasreti Cemetery in Budapest, Hungary in 1988
• Charles A. Beard (1874–1948), educator, historian
• Mary Ritter Beard (1867–1958), historian
• Joseph P. Bickerton, Jr. (1878–1936), attorney, theatrical producer
• Sherman Billingsley (1900–1966), restaurateur, owner of Stork Club
• Ballington Booth (1857–1940), social reformer (Volunteers of America)
• Maud Booth (1865–1948), co-founder of Volunteers of America
• Irène Bordoni (1895–1953), actress, singer
• Connee Boswell (1907–1976), Singer
• Peaches Browning (1910–1956), actress
• Adolph Caesar (1933–1986), Actor
• Cab Calloway (1907–1994), Musician
• Northern Calloway (1948–1990), Actor
• Salvatore Cardillo (1880–1947), Composer
• Hattie Carnegie (1880–1956), fashion designer
• Thomas Carvel (1906–1990), founder of Carvel Ice Cream
• Mady Christians (1900–1951), Actress
• Michael "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), Mafioso
• Alexander Cores (1900–1994), Violinist Dorian String Quartet
• Joan Crawford (1905–1977), Actress
• Myrtle Vail (1888–1978), Actress
• Lya De Putti (1899–1931), Actress
• Jack Donahue (1888–1930), Actor
• O.L. Duke (1953–2004), Actor
• Lew Fields (1867–1941), Actor, Comedian
• Michel Fokine (1880–1942), choreographer
• Donald Foster (1889–1969), actor
• Nahan Franko (1861–1930), musician
• Anis Fuleihan (1900–1970), musician
• Betty Furness (1916–1994), actress, consumer advocate, and commentator
• Jane Gail (1890–1962), actress
• Judy Garland (1922–1969), singer, actress
• Maria Gay (1879–1943), Catalan opera singer
• Minnie Gentry (1915–1993), actress
• Johnny Gunther (1929–1947), son of John Gunther and subject of Death Be Not Proud
• Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), librettist
• Annette Hanshaw (1901–1985), singer
• Moss Hart (1904–1961), playwright and director
• Kitty Carlisle Hart (1910–2007), actress and singer
• Michael Haughton (1951-2012), father and manager of Aaliyah
• Irene Hayes (1896–1975), businesswoman; founded Irene Hayes Wadley & Smythe and Gallagher's Steak House
• Karen Horney (1885–1952), psychiatrist
• Alberta Hunter (1895–1984), singer and songwriter
• Jerome Kern (1885–1945), composer
• Wellington Koo (1888–1985), diplomat, statesman; Ambassador of Republic of China
• Hsiang-Hsi Kung (1881–1967), Minister of Finance and Industry of Republic of China
• Avon Long (1910–1984), actor, singer, and dancer
• Marion Lorne (1883–1968), actress
• Moms Mabley (1899–1975), comedienne
• Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz; 1925–1965), civil rights leader, born Malcolm Little
• Michael Malloy (1873–1933), murder victim
• Hugh Marlowe (1911–1982), actor
• William Moulton Marston (1893–1947), creator of the Wonder Woman comic books
• Elsa Maxwell (1883–1963), Columnist, Society Figure
• Jam Master Jay (1965–2002), DJ for Run-D.M.C
• Jeffrey Miller (1950–1970), victim of the Kent State shootings and subject of John Filo's iconic photo of the event
• Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973), economist and philosopher
• Thelonious Monk (1917–1982), musician
• Khalid Abdul Muhammad (1948–2001), black nationalist and separatist
• Ona Munson (1910–1955), actress
• Nat Nakasa (1937–1965), South African writer; his remains were be repatriated to South Africa on 19 August 2014 for reburial at Chesterville, Durban, South Africa, in September 2014
• Dagmar Nordstrom (1903–1976), pianist, composer, one of The Nordstrom Sisters
• Frederick O'Neal (1905–1992), Actor
• William Oberhardt (1882–1958), Artist, Portrait Painter, Illustrator, Sculptor
• David M. Potts (1906–1976), U.S. Congressman, House of Rep. (NY)
• James Powell (1949–1964), victim during the Harlem Riot of 1964
• Otto Rank (1884–1939), Psychiatrist
• Vincenzo Rao (1898–1988), Lucchese crime family mobster
• Connie Rasinski (1907–1965 Animator
• Basil Rathbone (1892–1967), Actor
• Sharon Redd (1945–1992), singer
• Charles Revson (1906–1975), founder of Revlon Cosmetics
• Peter Revson (1939–1974), racecar driver
• Paul Robeson (1898–1976), actor, singer, and civil rights activist
• Gene Rodemich (1890–1934), pianist and bandleader
• Arsenio Rodríguez (1911–1970), Cuban composer and bandleader
• Sigmund Romberg (1887–1951), composer
• Jerry Ross (1926–1955), songwriter
• Diana Sands (1934–1973), actress
• Friedrich Schorr (1888–1953), opera singer
• Gerlando Sciascia (1934–1999), Bonanno crime family caporegime, Rizzuto clan caporegime
• Malik Sealy (1970–2000), NBA guard (Minnesota Timberwolves)
• Betty Shabazz (1936–1997), philosopher; wife of Malcolm X
• Malcolm Shabazz (1984-2013), grandson of Malcolm X
• Toots Shor (1903–1977), restaurateur
• Otto Soglow (1900–1975), author and cartoonist (The New Yorker)
• Soong Ai-ling (1888–1973), eldest of the three Soong sisters
• Soong May-ling (1897–2003), First Lady of the Republic of China
• T.V. Soong (1894–1971), financier and diplomat; chairman of National Bank of China
• Alfred Steele (1901–1959), board chairman of Pepsi, married to Joan Crawford
• Preston Sturges (1898–1959), writer and director
• Ed Sullivan (1901–1974), columnist and television host
• Anya Taranda (1915–1970), model and showgirl
• Diana Trilling (1905–1996), author and literary critic
• Lionel Trilling (1905–1975), literary critic
• Judy Tyler (1932–1957), actress
• Myrtle Vail (1888–1978), actress
• Conrad Veidt (1893–1943), actor
• David Warfield (1866–1951), actor
• Cornell Woolrich (1903–1968), author, screenwriter
• Joe Young (1889–1939), composer
• Whitney Young (1921–1971), social reformer (National Urban League)

Cremations

Ferncliff Cemetery has the only crematory in Westchester County, New York, and performs approximately 10% of the cremations in New York State. Because of local ordinances, no additional crematories can be constructed in Westchester County.

Notable cremations

Notable people whose remains were cremated at Ferncliff and whose ashes were taken somewhere else include:

• Alan Freed (1921–1965), radio DJ known as "The Father of Rock & Roll". His ashes were moved to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2002.
• Jim Henson (1936–1990), Muppets creator. His ashes were scattered at his Santa Fe, New Mexico, ranch.
• John Lennon (1940–1980), singer and songwriter (The Beatles)
• Alan Jay Lerner (1918–1986), composer and playwright
• Nelson Rockefeller (1908–1979), Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States. His ashes were scattered on his estate.
• Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), scientist of electrotechnics
• Lenore Ulric (1892–1970), actress
• Raymond Walburn (1887–1969), actor