Despite the beliefs of some of their loopiest fans, even the biggest Hollywood stars have been mortal; the many LA cemeteries that hold their tombs get at least as many visitors as the city‘s museums. In the southeast corner of the Hollywood Memorial Cemetery, near Santa Monica Boulevard and Gower Street, a mausoleum contains the resting place of Rudolph Valentino, the celebrated screen lover who died aged just 31 in 1926. To this day on each anniversary of his passing (August 23), at least one "Lady in Black" – as his posthumous devotees are known – will likely be found mourning. The achingly ostentatious memorial to Douglas Fairbanks Sr, who with his wife Mary Pickford did much to introduce social snobbery among movie-making people, is just outside. Also on view are the graves of Hollywood‘s more recently deceased inhabitants: an increasingly large population of Russian and Armenian immigrants.
Griffith Park
The gentle greenery and rugged mountain slopes that make up vast Griffith Park northeast of Hollywood (daily 5am–10.30pm, mountain roads close at dusk; free) are a welcome escape from the mind-numbing hubbub of the city. The landmark Observatory (Tues–Fri 2–10pm, Sat–Sun 12.30–10pm; free) here has been seen in innumerable Hollywood films, most famously Rebel Without a Cause, and the surrounding acres add up to the largest municipal park in the country, one of the few places where LA‘s multitude of racial and social groups at least go through the motions of mixing together.
Above the landscaped flat sections, the hillsides are rough and wild, marked only by foot and bridle paths, leading into desolate but appealingly unspoiled terrain that gives great views over the LA basin and out to the ocean, provided the city smog isn‘t too thick. One way to explore is on a rented bike from Woody‘s Bicycle World, 3157 Los Feliz Blvd (213/661-6665), a short distance away. The park is safe enough by day, but its reputation for after-dark violence is well founded.
Hollywood Hills
The views from the Hollywood Hills take in a bizarre assortment of opulent properties. Around these canyons and slopes, which run from Hollywood itself into Benedict Canyon above Beverly Hills, mansions are so commonplace that only the half-dozen fully blown castles (at least, Hollywood-style castles) really stand out. On Mulholland Drive are Rudolph Valentino‘s extravagant Falcon Lair and Errol Flynn‘s Mulholland House; down Benedict Canyon is the former home of actress Sharon Tate, one of the victims of the Manson Family. Guided tours can point out which is which, but for the most part you can‘t get close to the most elaborate dwellings anyway, and none is open to the public.
From more or less anywhere in Hollywood, you can see the Hollywood Sign, erected as a property advertisement in 1923 (when it spelt "Hollywoodland"; the "land" was removed in 1949). The sign is also famous as a suicide spot, though few have followed the 1932 example of would-be movie star Peg Entwhistle. Hers was no mean feat, the sign being as hard to reach then as it is now: from the end of Beachwood Drive (a route that affords a fine view of the sign) she picked a path slowly upwards through the thick bush, to leap to her death from the 50ft "H". For the first time in its sixty-five-year existence, the sign is being insured against earthquake damage. Infra-red cameras and radar-activated zoom lenses have been installed to catch graffiti writers. Innocent tourists who can‘t resist a close look are also liable for the $103 fine.