Forest Lawn Memorial Park, LA (Glendale), California

Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original location of Forest Lawn, a chain of cemeteries in Southern California.

History

Forest Lawn was founded in 1906 as a not-for-profit cemetery by a group of businessmen from San Francisco. Dr. Hubert Eaton and C. B. Sims entered into a sales contract with the cemetery in 1912. Eaton took over the management of the cemetery in 1917 and is credited as being the "Founder" of Forest Lawn for his innovations of establishing the "memorial park plan" (eliminating upright grave markers) and being the first to open a funeral home on dedicated cemetery grounds. Eaton was a firm believer in a joyous life after death. He was convinced that most cemeteries were "unsightly, depressing stoneyards" and pledged to create one that would reflect his optimistic, Christian beliefs, "as unlike other cemeteries as sunshine is unlike darkness." He envisioned Forest Lawn to be "a great park devoid of misshapen monuments and other signs of earthly death, but filled with towering trees, sweeping lawns, splashing fountains, beautiful statuary, and ... memorial architecture" A number of plaques which state Eaton's intentions are signed "The Builder."

Most of its burial sections have evocative names, including Eventide, Babyland (for infants, shaped like a heart), Graceland, Inspiration Slope, Slumberland (for children and adolescents), Sweet Memories, Vesperland, Borderland (on the edge of the cemetery), and Dawn of Tomorrow.

For many decades the cemetery refused black, Jewish, and Chinese burials.

Forest Lawn Museum

The Forest Lawn Museum at Glendale was founded in 1957 and displays art, artifacts and also regularly hosts rotating fine art exhibits. The museum has hosted solo exhibitions for Henri Matisse, Winslow Homer, Ian Hornak, Goya, Rembrandt, Marc Davis and Reuben Nakian among many others. The objects in Forest Lawn's permanent collection represent specific locations and peoples from around the world. There are sections for India, Africa, the Middle East, East and Southeast Asia, the United States, South America, Australia and Europe. Perhaps the most famous object owned by Forest Lawn's permanent collection is William Bouguereau's 84x60 inch, oil on canvas painting, "Song of the Angels" created in 1881 and regarded as one of the most important examples of Bouguereau's work in the United States. The permanent collection also includes one of the largest and most well respected stained glass collections in North America with over 1000 pieces primarily from France and Germany dating from 1200 a.d. through present. The stained glass collection includes portions of William Randolf Hearst's former collection and owns the work of Albrecht Dürer and Viet Hirsvogel the Elder. The Museum also houses Western bronze sculptures, American historical artifacts, paintings, actual examples of every coin mentioned in the Bible, exact replicas of the British crown jewels, world cultural artifacts and one of the Easter Island statues, rescued from the bottom of a boat where it was used as ballast. It is named "Henry".

Statuary and art

The six Forest Lawn cemeteries contain about 1,500 statues, about 10% of which are reproductions of famous works of art, in various locations. Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper has been recreated in stained glass in the Memorial Court of Honor ‘in vibrant, glowing and indestructible colors.’ There are also a number of full-sized reproductions of other Renaissance sculptures, including Michelangelo's David and Moses. This cemetery is the only place in the world containing a complete collection of replica Michelangelo sculptures, which were made from castings taken from the originals and using marble from the same quarries in Carrara, Italy as used by Michelangelo.

Some of the inspiration at Forest Lawn is patriotic rather than pious, such as the Court of Freedom, with its large mosaic of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and a 13-foot (4.0 m)-high statue of George Washington. On display in the "Hall of the Crucifixion" is the panoramic painting by the Polish artist Jan Styka entitled "The Crucifixion." It is the largest permanently mounted religious painting in the world, measuring 195 feet (59 m) in length by 45 feet (14 m) in height. The main gates of Forest Lawn – Glendale are claimed to be the world's largest wrought-iron gates.

Locations

Forest Lawn has three non-denominational chapels: "The Little Church of the Flowers", "The Wee Kirk o’ the Heather" and "The Church of the Recessional", which are all exact replicas of famous European churches. Over 60,000 people have actually been married here, including Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman.

More than 250,000 people are buried at Forest Lawn, and over a million people visit it each year, including thousands of schoolchildren on field trips.

The Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery is a second park solely dedicated to the preservation of American history.

Forest Lawn's 300 acres (1.2 km2) of intensely landscaped grounds and thematic sculptures were the inspiration for the biting commentary of Evelyn Waugh's satirical novel The Loved One and Jessica Mitford's acerbic The American Way of Death. Many commentators have considered Forest Lawn to be a unique American creation, and perhaps a uniquely maudlin Los Angeles creation, with its "theme park" approach to death.

Great Mausoleum

The Great Mausoleum was fashioned after Campo Santo in Genoa, Italy and contains many of the most highly sought after interment places within Forest Lawn, Glendale. Within the portion of the Great Mausoleum accessible to the public is the Court of Honor where individuals are inducted as "Immortals" by Forest Lawn's Council of Regents. The rest of the structure is protected by guards and is not accessible by the public. Time magazine described it as the "New World's Westminster Abbey". In 2009 the cemetery became the focus of intense media interest surrounding the private entombing of Michael Jackson in the privacy of Holly Terrace in the Great Mausoleum.

Notable burials

A

• Forrest J Ackerman, historian and writer
• Art Acord, actor
• John Aasen, silent movie giant
• Fred Lind Alles, businessman and civic leader, secretary for National Irrigation Congress
• Anita Louise Adler, actress
• Maurice "Buddy" Adler, producer
• Robert Alda, actor and singer
• Ross Alexander, actor
• Duane Allen, NFL player
• Gracie Allen, actress and comedienne
• Elvia Allman, actress and voice-over artist
• Wayne Allwine, voice-over artist
• Astrid Allwyn, actress
• June Allyson, actress
• Louis Alterie, gangster
• Lona Andre, actress
• Laverne Andrews, singer
• Maxene Andrews, singer
• Lucien Andriot, cinematographer
• James Arness, actor
• Isaac Colton Ash, Los Angeles City Council member 1925–27
• Roscoe Ates, actor and comedian
• Gene Austin, singer
• Lois Austin, actress
• Mitchell Ayres, musician

B

• NP Lauren Bacall, actress
• Constantin Bakaleinikoff, musician
• Mischa Bakaleinikoff, musician
• Art Baker, actor
• Travis Banton, costume designer
• NP Theda Bara, actress
• Joe Barbera, animator and co-founder of Hanna-Barbera Productions
• Joan Barclay, actress
• Ben Bard, actor
• Binnie Barnes, actress
• Jack Barry, television host and producer
• Judith Barsi, actress
• Billy Barty, actor
• Florence Bates, actress
• Norman F. Bates, Medal of Honor recipient
• L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
• Warner Baxter, actor
• Harry Beaumont, director
• Wallace Beery, actor
• Alphonzo Bell, Jr., congressman
• Rex Bell, actor and Nevada lieutenant governor
• William Benedict, actor
• Enid Bennett, actress
• Marjorie Bennett, actress
• Harry Beresford, actor
• Felix Bernard, songwriter
• Curtis Bernhardt, director
• Joe Besser, actor and comedian (The Three Stooges)
• Claude Binyon, screenwriter and director
• Billie Bird, actress
• J. Stuart Blackton, founder of Vitagraph Studios
• Madge Blake, actress
• Olive Blakeney, actress
• Clara Blandick, actress
• Jack Bliss, MLB player
• Michael Blodgett, actor and screenwriter
• Gloria Blondell, actress and voice-over artist
• Joan Blondell, actress
• Eric Blore, actor
• Monte Blue, actor
• Betty Blythe, actress
• True Boardman, actor
• Virginia True Boardman, actress
• NP Humphrey Bogart, actor
• Mary Boland, actress
• Olive Borden, actress
• Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore
• Frank Borzage, actor, director
• NP Hobart Bosworth, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• Clara Bow, actress
• NP William Boyd, actor
• NP Charles Brabin, British-born director and screenwriter
• NP Grace Bradley, actress
• Lenny Breau, musician
• Edmund Breese, actor
• Mozelle Britton, actress
• John Bromfield, actor
• Betty Bronson, actress
• Rand Brooks, actor
• Clarence Brown, director
• James Harvey Brown, Los Angeles City Council member and municipal court judge
• Joe E. Brown, actor and comedian
• NP Johnny Mack Brown, actor and athlete
• Lansing Brown, Jr., photographer
• Winifred Bryson, actress
• Harold S. Bucquet, director
• Ralph Budd, railroad president
• Milo Burcham, test pilot
• W.R. Burnett, novelist and screenwriter
• Dorsey Burnette, singer and songwriter
• Johnny Burnette, singer
• Bob Burns, actor and comedian
• George Burns, actor and comedian
• Francis X. Bushman, actor
• David Butler, director
• Wally Byam, founder of Airstream

C

• Christy Cabanne, director
• Charles Wakefield Cadman, composer
• Alice Calhoun, actress
• Ransom M. Callicott, restaurateur and politician
• Judy Canova, actress, singer, and comedienne
• Eduardo Cansino, Sr., dancer and father of Rita Hayworth
• June Caprice-Millarde, actress
• Sue Carol, actress and talent agent
• Karen Carpenter, singer (relocated to Valley Oaks Memorial Park in 2003)
• Dona Lee Carrier, figure skating champion
• Earl Carroll, theatre impresario
• NP Jack Carson, Canadian-born actor
• Emma Carus, singer
• William Castle, film director
• Connie Cezon, actress
• Mario Chamlee, opera singer
• NP Lon Chaney, Sr., actor
• Charles Chapman, founder of Chapman College
• Spencer Charters, actor
• Charley Chase, actor and comedian
• Rex Cherryman, actor
• Tim Choate, actor
• Berton Churchill, actor
• Frank Churchill, composer
• Buddy Clark, singer
• Edward Clark, actor
• Jack Clark, actor
• Stiles O. Clements, architect
• Elmer Clifton, actor and director
• Andy Clyde, actor
• Joe Cobb, actor
• Eddie Cochran, singer
• Maria Cole, singer
• Nat King Cole, singer
• Buddy Collette, musician
• Russ Columbo, singer
• NP Sam Cooke, singer
• Lillian Copeland, athlete
• Philip Coppens, author
• NP Ellen Corby, actress
• Regis Cordic, actor
• Edward Coxen, actor
• Kathryn Crawford, actress
• Laird Cregar, actor
• Donald Crisp, actor and director
• George Cukor, director
• Zara Cully, actress
• Robert Cummings, actor
• Lester Cuneo, actor
• Edward S. Curtis, photographer of the American West
• Michael Curtiz, director

D

• Fifi D'Orsay, actress and singer
• Babe Dahlgren, Major League Baseball player
• Dan Dailey, actor, singer and dancer
• Dorothy Dandridge, actress and singer
• Ruby Dandridge, actress
• Mickey Daniels, actor
• William H. Daniels, cinematographer
• Jane Darwell, actress
• Dorothy Davenport, actress, screenwriter, film director and producer
• Ed J. Davenport, Los Angeles City Council member
• Delmer Daves, director, screenwriter, and producer
• NP Altovise Davis, actress and dancer
• Jim Davis, actor
• Mildred Davis, actress
• NP Sammy Davis, Jr., actor, singer and dancer
• Sammy Davis, Sr., dancer
• Jack Dawn, make-up artist
• Sam De Grasse, actor
• Julia Dean, actress
• Carter DeHaven, actor
• Flora Parker DeHaven, actress
• Osborn Deignan, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient
• Eddie DeLange, musician
• Georges Delerue, composer
• Cyril Delevanti, actor
• Armando del Moral, film journalist, helped found the Golden Globes
• Buddy DeSylva, songwriter
• Georges Delerue, composer
• William Demarest, actor
• Carol Dempster, actress
• Noah Dietrich, businessman
• Alan Dinehart, actor
• Ronnie James Dio, singer
• Elias Disney, father of Walt and Roy O. Disney
• Flora Call Disney, mother of Walt and Roy O. Disney
• Walt Disney, film studio and entertainment park founder
• Diane Disney Miller eldest child of Walt Disney
• Richard Dix, actor
• George Dolenz, actor
• Jenny Dolly, entertainer
• Rosie Dolly, entertainer
• Don Douglas, actor
• Gordon Douglas, director
• Lloyd C. Douglas, novelist
• Billie Dove, actress
• Maxine Doyle, actress
• Theodore Dreiser, novelist
• Chuck Dressen, MLB baseball player, manager
• Louise Dresser, actress
• NP Marie Dressler, Canadian-born actress and comedienne
• Don Drysdale, MLB baseball player (ashes later scattered)
• David Dukes, actor
• Rosetta Duncan, entertainer
• Vivian Duncan, entertainer
• Minta Durfee, actress
• Junior Durkin, actor

E

• Hubert Eaton, founder of Forest Lawn cemeteries
• Mary Eaton, actress
• Neely Edwards, actor and comedian
• Ralph Edwards, television and radio host
• Sally Eilers, actress
• Francis de Erdely, painter
• Julian Eltinge, actor and female impersonator
• Ray Enright, director
• Leon Errol, actor and comedian

F

• Douglas Fairbanks, actor (relocated to Hollywood Forever Cemetery in 1941)
• Dot Farley, actress
• Joseph Farnham, screenwriter and film editor
• William Farnum, actor
• Don Fedderson, producer
• Al Ferguson, actor
• Helen Ferguson, actress
• Romaine Fielding, actor and director
• NP W. C. Fields, actor and comedian
• Larry Fine (1902–1975), actor and comedian (The Three Stooges)
• Margarita Fischer, actress
• George Fitzmaurice, director
• Frank P. Flint, politician
• Errol Flynn, actor
• Nina Foch, actress
• Tony Fontane, singer
• Charles E. Ford, director, producer
• Harrison Ford, silent film actor
• Helen Ford, actress
• John Anson Ford, Los Angeles County supervisor
• Thomas Francis Ford, U.S Congressman and Los Angeles City Council member
• Ivor Francis, actor
• Betty Francisco, actress
• Bruno Frank, novelist and screenwriter
• M. J. Frankovich, producer and athlete
• Robert Frazer, actor
• Charles K. French, actor
• George B. French, actor
• Rudolf Friml, composer
• Dwight Frye, actor
• Charles E. Fuller, evangelist
• Jules Furthman, screenwriter

G

• NP Clark Gable, actor
• Jacqueline Gadsden, actress
• Martin Garralaga, actor
• Bud Geary, actor
• Jerry Giesler, criminal defense lawyer
• John Gilbert, actor
• A. Arnold Gillespie, special effects artist
• King C. Gillette, businessman
• Tom Gilson, actor
• Hermione Gingold, actress
• J. Frank Glendon, actor
• NP Frances Goldwyn, actress
• NP Samuel Goldwyn, producer and mogul
• Edgar J. Goodspeed, theologian
• Huntley Gordon, actor
• Jetta Goudal, actress
• Edmund Goulding, director and writer
• Joe Grant, animator and writer
• Charles Grapewin, actor
• NP Sid Grauman, theater impresario
• Gary Gray, actor
• Alfred E. Green, director
• Burton E. Green, co-founder of Beverly Hills, California.
• Harrison Greene, actor
• NP Sydney Greenstreet, English actor
• Harold Grieve, art director
• Bessie Griffin, singer
• Raymond Griffith, actor and comedian
• Paul A. Guilfoyle, actor
• Fred L. Guiol, director and screenwriter

H

• Frank Hagney, actor
• Alan Hale, Sr., actor
• Charlie Hall, actor
• Ellen Hall, actress
• Ernest Haller, cinematographer
• Kay Hammond, actress
• Russell Harlan, cinematographer
• NP Jean Harlow, actress
• Elizabeth Harrower, actress and screenwriter
• Phil Hartman, Canadian-born actor and comedian (cremation; his ashes were scattered at sea)
• Charles Hatfield, scientist
• Harry Hayden, actor
• Edith Head, costume designer
• Ralph Hepburn, race car driver
• Holmes Herbert, actor
• Babe Herman, baseball player
• Jean Hersholt, actor and humanitarian
• Louis Jean Heydt, actor
• Ruth Hiatt, actress
• Thelma Hill, actress and comedienne
• Józef Hofmann, concert pianist
• Fay Holden, actress
• Charles A. Holland, Los Angeles City Council member 1929–31
• Alice Hollister, actress
• George Hollister, cinematographer
• Burton Holmes, director and producer
• Helen Holmes, actress
• Bob Holt, voice actor
• Gloria Hope, actress
• NP Ian Hornak, artist
• James W. Horne, actor and director
• Victoria Horne, actress
• Edward Everett Horton, actor
• Adele C. Howells, leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Jobyna Howland, actress
• Lloyd Hughes, actor
• Rupert Hughes, filmmaker
• Cyril Hume, screenwriter
• Marlin Hurt, actor and comedian
• Michael Hutchence, singer (one-third of his ashes were interred by his mother and sister)
• June Hutton, actress and singer

I

• Wiard Ihnen, art director and production designer
• Rex Ingram, Irish director
• George Irving, actor

J

• NP Michael Jackson, entertainer, singer and songwriter
• Carrie Jacobs-Bond, singer and songwriter
• Elsie Janis, actress
• DeWitt Jennings, actor
• Caro Jones, casting director
• NP Jennifer Jones, actress
• Rupert Julian, director
• Ray June, cinematographer
• Helmi Juvonen, artist
• Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker

K

• Gus Kahn, songwriter
• Bert Kalmar, songwriter
• Terry Kath, musician
• Tom Keene, actor
• William Keighley, director
• A. Atwater Kent, businessman
• Erle C. Kenton, actor and director
• Doris Kenyon, actress
• J. Warren Kerrigan, actor and director
• Charles Henry King, paternal grandfather of President Gerald Ford
• Leslie Lynch King, Sr., biological father of President Ford
• Dorothy Kirsten, singer
• Ted Knight, actor
• Clarence Kolb, actor
• Henry Kolker, actor and director
• Red Kress, baseball player
• Kathryn Kuhlman, evangelist
• Edward A. Kull, cinematographer and director

L

• Louis L'Amour, novelist
• Alan Ladd, actor
• David Landau, actor
• Carole Landis, actress
• Rosemary Lane, actress
• Lash LaRue, actor
• Ivan Lebedeff, actor
• Gretchen Lederer, actress
• Otto Lederer, actor
• Rowland V. Lee, motion picture director
• Mervyn LeRoy, director and producer
• Hal LeSueur, actor, brother of Joan Crawford
• Fritz Leiber, Sr., actor
• Irene Lentz, costume designer
• Robert Z. Leonard, director
• Elgin Lessley, cinematographer
• Mitchell Lewis, actor
• Ann Little, actress
• Lucien Littlefield, actor
• Robert Livingston, actor
• Doris Lloyd, actress
• Frank Lloyd, actor, director, producer, writer
• Harold Lloyd, actor and comedian
• Jeanette Loff, actress and singer
• NP Carole Lombard, actress
• Tom London, actor
• Theodore Lorch, actor
• Ernst Lubitsch, director
• Ida Lupino, actress and director
• Hamilton Luske, animator and director

M

• Jeanette MacDonald, actress and singer
• Jimmy MacDonald, voice over artist
• Kenneth MacKenna, actor and director
• Mary MacLaren, actress
• Douglas MacLean, actor, producer, and writer
• Rouben Mamoulian, director
• Alan Marshal, actor
• Chico Marx, actor and comedian
• Gummo Marx, agent
• LeRoy Mason, actor
• Erskine Mayer, baseball player
• Mike Mazurki, actor and wrestler
• Marian McCargo, actress
• Meade McClanahan, Los Angeles City Council member
• Gladys McConnell, actress
• Johnston McCulley, author, writer, creator of Zorro
• Marc McDermott, actor
• Marie McDonald, actress and model
• Frank McGlynn Sr., actor
• J.P. McGowan, director
• Frank McGrath, actor
• Robert McKimson, animator and director
• NP Victor McLaglen, actor
• Jimmy McLarnin, boxing champion
• Norman Z. McLeod, director
• Aimee Semple McPherson, evangelist
• Dimitre Mehandjiysky, artist
• William Cameron Menzies, art director
• Beryl Mercer, actress
• Robert Millikan, physicist and Nobel Prize winner
• Vincente Minnelli, director
• Tom Mix, actor
• Polly Moran, actress and comedienne
• Antonio Moreno, actor
• NP Clayton Moore, actor
• Harvey Seeley Mudd, engineer and educator
• William Mulholland, engineer
• Spud Murphy, composer

N

• Charles W. Nash, automobile manufacturer
• Alla Nazimova, actress
• Frank Nelson, actor
• Alfred Newman, composer
• Fred Niblo, director
• Gertrude Niesen, actress and singer
• William Nigh, actor, director, and writer
• Marian Nixon, actress
• L. L. Nunn, educator
• Ervin Nyíregyházi, pianist

O

• Eugene O'Brien, actor
• Virginia O'Brien, actress and singer
• Cathy O'Donnell, actress
• Nance O'Neil, actress
• Jack Oakie, actor and comedian
• Merle Oberon, actress
• Clifford Odets, playwright
• Charles Ogle, actor
• Edna May Oliver, actress
• Gertrude Olmstead, actress
• Culbert Olson, California Governor
• Maria Ouspenskaya, actress
• Richard F. Outcault, cartoonist
• Monroe Owsley, actor

P

• Doris Packer, actress
• Lilli Palmer, actress
• Franklin Pangborn, actor
• Alexander Pantages, theater impresario
• James Parrott, actor, comedian, and director
• Allen E. Paulson, aviation entrepreneur
• Claude Payton, actor
• Lucy Payton, actress
• Joe Penner, actor and comedian
• Susan Peters, actress
• Mary Philips, actress
• Ben Piazza, actor
• NP Jack Pickford, actor
• NP Lottie Pickford, actress
• NP Mary Pickford, actress, businesswoman, co-founder of United Artists
• Robert Pierce, humanitarian and social reformer
• Lon Poff, actor
• Jeff Porcaro, musician, music producer
• Dick Powell, actor and singer
• John Robert Powers, model agency owner
• Mala Powers, actress
• Merrill Pye, art director

Q

• Fred Quimby, producer
• John Qualen, actor

R

• Paul Rader (evangelist)
• Ralph Rainger, songwriter
• Lou Rawls, singer, actor
• NP Gene Raymond, actor
• Jack Raymond, actor and director
• Dorothea Holt Redmond, art director and set designer
• Phillip Reed, actor
• Wallace Reid, actor
• Irving Leroy Ress, physician
• Jim Rohn, motivational speaker, author
• Cleo Ridgely, actress
• Joan Rivers, actress, comedienne, television host, author
• Lyda Roberti, actress
• Beverly Roberts, actress
• Blossom Rock, actress
• Ruth Roland, actress and producer
• Gladys Root, criminal defense attorney
• Albert Roscoe, actor
• Edgar Rosenberg, producer and agent
• Henry Roquemore, actor
• Alan Roscoe, actor
• Charlie Ruggles, actor
• Wesley Ruggles, film director
• Barbara Ruick, actress
• William Russell, actor

S

• S. Z. Sakall, actor
• Chic Sale, actor
• Drake Sather, comedian and writer
• Paul Sawtell, Polish-born, American film score composer
• Paul Scardon, actor, producer, director
• Victor Schertzinger, composer, director, producer, screenwriter
• Mabel Julienne Scott, actress
• Ynez Seabury, actress
• Don Sebastian, wrestler
• Sybil Seely, actress
• William A. Seiter, director
• William Edwin Self, actor and producer
• NP David O. Selznick, producer, founder of Selznick International Pictures
• NP Myron Selznick, producer and talent agent
• Ethel Shannon, actress
• Athole Shearer, actress
• NP Norma Shearer, actress
• Lowell Sherman, director and actor
• S. Sylvan Simon, director
• Russell Simpson, actor
• NP Red Skelton, actor and comedian
• Edward Sloman, actor, director and screenwriter
• Tod Sloan, thoroughbred racing jockey
• Rainbeaux Smith, actress
• Tom Smith, thoroughbred trainer
• NP William French Smith, U.S. Attorney General
• Carrie Snodgress, actress
• Marguerite Snow, actress
• Carl Spitz, animal trainer
• Leo Spitz, film executive
• Hanley Stafford, actor
• John M. Stahl, director and producer
• NP Lionel Stander, actor
• Max Steiner, composer
• Casey Stengel, MLB manager
• James Stephenson, actor
• Anita Stewart, actress
• James Stewart, actor
• Ruth Stonehouse, actress and director
• Axel Stordahl, composer and arranger
• Herbert Stothart, composer
• Joseph Strauss, architect
• Elbridge Amos Stuart, industrialist, Carnation Company founder
• Jan Styka, painter

T

• Frank Tashlin, animator, director, screenwriter
• Art Tatum, musician
• Elizabeth Taylor, actress
• Robert Taylor, actor
• Teena Marie, singer
• NP Irving Thalberg, producer
• Ursula Thiess, actress
• Jefferson Thomas, civil rights icon, member of the Little Rock Nine
• Fred Thomson, actor
• Edward L. Thrasher, Los Angeles City Council member
• Chief Thundercloud, actor
• Lawrence Tibbett, actor and singer
• Dimitri Tiomkin, composer
• Sammee Tong, actor
• Ernest Torrence, actor
• Raquel Torres, actress
• Spencer Tracy, actor
• Henry Travers, actor
• Emerson Treacy, actor
• Jim Tully, writer
• Ben Turpin, actor and comedian
• Lurene Tuttle, actress

V

• Valda Valkyrien, ballerina
• Vang Pao, CIA and Royal Laotian Army General of Hmong decent
• W. S. Van Dyke, director
• Adamae Vaughn, actress
• Bobby Vernon, actor
• Alfred Victor Verville, aviation pioneer
• Theodore von Eltz, actor
• Rufus B. von KleinSmid, former president of University of Arizona and University of Southern California
• Gustav von Seyffertitz, actor

W

• George Waggner, actor, director and producer
• Sir William James Wanless, surgeon
• Jerry Wald, producer and screenwriter
• Charles Waldron, actor
• Nella Walker, actress
• Beryl Wallace, singer
• Hal B. Wallis, producer
• Bill Walsh, producer
• Clara Ward, singer
• Jay Ward, producer and writer
• Ethel Waters, actress and singer
• Johnny "Guitar" Watson, musician
• Roy Webb, composer
• Mary Wells, singer
• Roland West, director
• Gordon Westcott, actor
• George Westmore, make-up artist and hairdresser
• Monte Westmore, make-up artist
• Perc Westmore, make-up artist
• Wally Westmore, make-up artist
• Jack Westrope, Hall of Fame jockey
• Carl Jules Weyl, art director
• James Whale, director
• Gayne Whitman, actor
• Ted Wilde, director and screenwriter
• Clara Williams, actress
• Earle Williams, actor
• Robert Williams, actor
• Dorothy Wilson, actress
• Lois Wilson, actress
• Claire Windsor, actress
• Grant Withers, actor
• Sam Wood, director, producer, writer, actor
• Stacy Woodard, nature filmmaker
• Ali-Ollie Woodson, musician and member of The Temptations
• George Woolf, Hall of Fame jockey
• John Elgin Woolf, architect
• Robert Woolsey, actor and comedian
• Hank Worden, actor
• NP William Wrigley, Jr., chewing gum magnate, owner of the Chicago Cubs
• William Wyler, director
• NP Ed Wynn, actor and comedian
• NP Keenan Wynn, actor

Y

• James "J-Dilla" Yancey, hip-hop producer
• Barton Yarborough, actor
• NP Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian spiritual guru and author
• Robert Young, actor
• Joe Yule, actor and father of Mickey Rooney