Murder, Scandal & Gunfire at the Frolic...

Sit back, folks, it's another long one...

OK, so I've had this week off, and yesterday I decided to be a tourist.
I took the Dearly Departed tour which covers sites of scandal, death, and murder, mwah hah hah...

Please enjoy some of our creepy, haunted, and often photographed spots...

The apartment building on Harold Way which was home to Bela Lugosi (and yes, the tour guide played Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead" while we ambled by):



We cruised by the LaBianca house while the tour guide played a song recorded by Charles Manson, and then later, by the Beach Boys.
Creepy.



And for those of you wondering What Happened To Baby Jane, well, it happened here in Hancock Park:



Here's the Happy Days house.
No, nothing scandalous happened here as far as I know, but we were passing by.
C'mon people, work with me.
Note the dappling sunlight:



Now I know that this one doesn't show much, but this is the bracket on the wall at Ren Mar studios that used to hold the sign which said that this was the stage where I Love Lucy was taped.
All give props to Desi for the three-camera film shooting.
That was his idea, and everyone followed suit.



This is the apartment house on Sweetzer where that nutjob gunned down Rebecca Schaeffer:



And now, folks, we're going to the Hills of Beverly...
This is the Menendez House.
Please note the current owner's wicked sense of humor.



This is the little house that had been the honeymoon cottage for Marilyn Monroe and Joltin' Joe Dimaggio.
It's also the house in front of which a despondent Marilyn had to face the press when their divorce was announced.
Jerry Geisler (famous Hollywood attorney and damage control specialist) was escorting her away at the time.



Here's another house to which Geisler was summoned - when Lana Turner's daughter Cheryl stabbed Lana's abusive boyfriend, Johnny Stamponato (He had it coming, if I get a vote.):



This is the lovely little house - right by Marilyn's - in which Jean Harlow lived until she died at 26 from renal failure, brought on by complications of childhood scarlet fever.
She was not an addict, a deviant, or any other things many said about her - she just didn't like underwear.
She simply had the bad luck to be born long before dialysis was - it's the only thing that could have saved her.
Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles lived here, too...such a pretty house...such sad karma.



And this isn't creepy, but I thought it was so cool that George Burns added his initials when they poured his driveway.



And before we headed back to Hollywood, we stopped to powder our noses - at the restroom where George Michael was busted.
Now you know why I picked THIS tour...




Now here's where the trouble all started.
Who knew that when I walked back to the Frolic from the tour drop-off that I would be met with a torrent of gunfire?!?







And then my gallant friend Glenn tried to save me, but was unsuccessful:



My mother then tried to save us both...



But she then met the same unfortunate fate...





Please note the devil horns on her hoodie...



That's it, folks!
I can't think of a more fitting end to a day spent touring sites of scandal, murder, and mayhem...

Many thanks to Ric for bringing his shot up Caddy (formerly used on a production) so we could all have a little fun.

It's a Biarritz, bitch (Ric's line)!

Bye for now, all...

Dia de Los Muertos

Folks, grab your beverage of choice...this is a long one.
I finally got to attend the Dia de Los Muertos at Hollywood Forever, and it was unreal.

The good karma was palpable, and the burning sage was sweet and comforting, though it made me sneeze a bit.

I have to give a shout out to the girl who sold me the Frijoles necklace...I have no pics of her or the necklace yet, but I was proud to buy something from a lonely girl sitting by the water...she had no booth or tent, just her wares.
I speak no Spanish, and she speaks no English, but we managed, and they're beautiful.

The only other things I bought were two Ramones t-shirts by Johnny's grave.
Gabba gabba hey, y'all.

Here are my pics, though I don't think that they do the event justice.

Here's one altar...



And another...



And here is evidence that some people simply cannot live without one another (I'm thinkin', a bit of a mama's boy, but oh well...)





Here's another altar that I thought was amazing (and which gave me a bit of a giggle):



And an image laid across a grave which I fell in love with:



And yet another display I loved:



And just one I thought was really cool:



Here's a great argument for not letting the grass grow under your feet while waiting for Mr. Right to show up...





And one altar for those partial to mid-century modern style - truly inspired!!!!



And now, we enter the mausoleum...



As familiar as I am with Hollywood Forever, these two crypts were new to me.
You know how it is on most graves...'Beloved spouse, parent, friend...' the usual laundry list.

I think it's wonderful that these epitaphs share with the world not what these two people were, but what they obviously meant to one another.





Oooooohh! I'm spooookeeee!
Honestly...who knew that the lighting in a mausoleum could be so flattering??



Here's my angel with a broken wing...I've loved this statue for years, and shooting her last night cost me a badly twisted ankle, but it was well worth it --
Schatzi, thank you for coming to get me, since I couldn't walk to find a cab.

There's nothing like watching 'The Omen' with an ice pack on your foot when the rest of your friends are at a party....grrrr.



Finally...



Carmen, I love you, and miss you so much.
You held me just moments after I reached this earth, and I watched you leave it.
Precious, both moments.

I haven't yet spent a day, had a vodka, or bought shoes without thinking of you, and can only imagine that you're on vacation, and I'll see you soon.

But you're not, and I won't.
Trust me, I have to keep convincing myself of this.

Next year, you'll have an altar, built by me.

Please give props to my other mom.
Night, all...