"VISITING" WITH HUELL HOWSER IS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH A GENEROUS GRANT FROM THE RALPH M. PARSONS FOUNDATION.

HUELL HOWSER WELL, THIS PROMISES TO BE ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING, I THINK, AND ENLIGHTENING AND CERTAINLY ONE OF THE MOST HISTORIC DAYS THAT WE HAVE SPENT HERE IN LOS ANGELES IN A LONG TIME, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE ARE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROSEDALE CEMETERY.

ACTUALLY, THESE DAYS IT'S KNOWN AS THE ANGELES ROSEDALE CEMETERY.

55 ACRES OF LAND, WE'RE RIGHT ON THE CORNER OF WESTERN AND NORMANDIE.

I'M STANDING HERE WITH JOE RYAN.

JOE, YOU KNOW A LOT ABOUT THIS CEMETERY, WHY IS THIS PLACE--WHY IS THIS CEMETERY DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE REST IN LOS ANGELES?

JOE RYAN WELL, THIS CEMETERY, HUELL, WAS FOUNDED IN 1884 AND BETWEEN 1890 AND 1920 THIS WAS THE PLACE TO BE BURIED FOR ALL THE POWER BROKERS OF LOS ANGELES AND THE ELITE OF LOS ANGELES.

THEY'RE ALL BURIED IN THE ANGELES ROSEDALE.

HUELL OKAY, LET'S TAKE A WALK THROUGH HERE.

WE HAVE OUR MUSIC GOING, THE OLD-TIME-- I GUESS THAT'S NEW ORLEANS-- JOE RYAN NEW ORLEANS PROCESSION, RIGHT.

HUELL WHO IS BURIED HERE?

I MEAN, WE CAN'T GO THROUGH ALL THE NAMES.

JOE RYAN WE HAVE MAYORS, SENATORS, OIL TYCOONS, SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WOMEN THAT ARE IMPORTANT NATIONALLY, NOT ONLY LOCALLY BUT ON A NATIONAL BASIS.

HUELL FOR EXAMPLE WHO--IF WE WANDERED THROUGH HERE-- JOE RYAN THIS SECOND MONUMENT HERE FOR NADEAU, IS REMI NADEAU.

HE WAS A MULE SKINNER.

HE HAD A TWENTY-MULE TEAM WAGON THAT HE HAULED MOST OF THE SILVER OUT OF THE SIERRA GORDO MINE UP BY THE OWENS LAKE, AND HE HAD 2,000 HEAD OF MULE DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES NOT FAR FROM WHERE THE BILTMORE IS TODAY.

HUELL SO, HIS NAME IS?

JOE RYAN REMI NADEAU.

HUELL CANADIAN, FRENCH CANADIAN.

JOE RYAN THESE ARE BOULDERS FROM AZUSA CANYON.

THIS IS JONATHAN SLAYER SLAUSON.

THEY OWNED WHAT IS NOW AZUSA AND THEY HAD THE WATER RIGHTS TO THE SAN GABRIEL RIVER.

HUELL GOODNESS GRACIOUS.

JOE RYAN THESE ARE FAMILY PLOTS THAT ORIGINALLY MOST FAMILIES HAD A WHOLE PLOT WITH NUMEROUS GRAVES SURROUNDED BY GRANITE.

HUELL NOW, THESE MONUMENTS, GOSH, HERE'S A PYRAMID OVER HERE.

JOE RYAN THAT PYRAMID BELONGS TO CLARICE SHATTO, OF SHATTO PLACE.

THEY ALSO DONATED THE GROUNDS THAT IS NOW THE MACARTHUR PARK.

HUELL SO, ALMOST EVERY PERSON HERE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE EARLY HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES.

JOE RYAN WELL, THOSE PEOPLE THAT DID HAVE, NOT EVERYBODY HERE, BECAUSE THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE BURIED HERE OVER THE YEARS.

LIKE RIGHT OVER HERE WE HAVE O'MELVENY OF O'MELVENY & MYERS RIGHT THROUGH THERE.

WHICH IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST LAW FIRMS IN THE NATION TODAY.

A VERY IMPORTANT PERSON IN HIS TIME.

WE ALSO HAD THE FOUNDERS OF THE USC, THE BOVARDS.

AND RIGHT IN FRONT OF US THAT ART DECO MONUMENT WITH HAYNES, THAT'S JOHN RANDOLPH HAYNES.

HE WAS A REFORMER OF THE GOVERNMENT, AND HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR INITIATIVE BALLOT TODAY IN CALIFORNIA.

HUELL REALLY.

JOE RYAN HE'S HAD STATE WIDE IMPORTANCE.

HE ALSO BROUGHT IN THE RECALL OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS.

AND THIS OBELISK ON THE END IS PHINEAS BANNING.

HUELL WHERE IS THAT?

JOE RYAN RIGHT OVER HERE.

HUELL RIGHT HERE?

JOE RYAN RIGHT THERE, RIGHT.

HUELL I THINK MOST OF US HAVE HEARD OF BANNING.

JOE RYAN PHINEAS BANNING, IF IT WEREN'T FOR HIM WE WOULD NOT BE A WORLD-CLASS CITY AS WE ARE.

WE OWE TO HIM OUR LOS ANGELES PORT.

HE OWNED PROPERTY, WHICH IS NOW WILMINGTON AND THAT'S WHERE HIS HOME IS.

YOU PROBABLY KNOW THE BANNING MANSION STILL EXISTS.

HUELL RIGHT.

JOE RYAN AND HIS WHOLE FAMILY IS HERE.

HE'S ACTUALLY BURIED HERE.

DIED IN 1885.

HUELL 1830 TO 1885, RIGHT HERE, THIS LITTLE MARKER HERE, FOR PHINEAS BANNING.

JOE RYAN RIGHT.

AND THIS OBELISK IS FOR HIS FAMILY.

AND HIS NOTORIOUS DAUGHTER, LUCY BANNING, WHO WAS MARRIED FOUR TIMES, AND THEY RULED THE SOCIETY IN LOS ANGELES, PHINEAS BANNING'S WIFE AND LUCY.

HUELL NOW, WE GET OVER INTO HERE, ARE THERE STORIES OVER HERE?

JOE RYAN ALMOST WHEREVER YOU GO IN THIS CEMETERY THERE IS A STORY.

OVER HERE BY THIS LARGE PRIVATE MAUSOLEUM, IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE CEMETERY, AND THAT IS JESSIE BENTON FREMONT.

SHE IS THE DAUGHTER OF JOHN C. FREMONT THE PATHFINDER.

JOHN C. FREMONT AND JESSIE LIVED IN WEST ADAMS NOT FAR FROM THIS CEMETERY.

AND HE PASSED AWAY BEFORE SHE.

THEY HAD A DAUGHTER, LIZZY, WHO SHE IS ALSO BURIED IN THIS CEMETERY.

AND THEY DIED IN POVERTY.

SHE WAS CREMATED WITH A HUGE FUNERAL DOWNTOWN, WITH FOUR OR FIVE CITY BLOCKS WERE BLOCKED WITH CARRIAGES AND HORSES AND BUGGIES.

AND THEY CAME OUT TO ROSEDALE FOR HER CREMATION, WHICH WAS THE CHEAPEST WAY TO INTER SOMEBODY AT THAT TIME.

HUELL HOWSER SO YOU MEAN THE WIFE OF JOHN C. FREMONT.

JOE RYAN RIGHT, THE PATHFINDER, RIGHT.

HUELL DIED IN POVERTY.

JOE RYAN RIGHT.

WHICH IS A REAL SHAME.

HE OWNED ALL OF MARIPOSA, WHICH IS THE BULK OF THE GOLD.

A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL BE SURPRISED BY THIS.

HUELL THAT THE WIFE OF JOHN FREMONT IS BURIED HERE IN A PAUPER'S GRAVE.

JOE RYAN EXACTLY, SUCH AN IMPORTANT PERSON.

AND THIS BEAUTIFUL PRIVATE MAUSOLEUM IS OF JOSEPH MAIER, OF MAIER BREWING.

IT STARTED OUT AS ZOBLIN AND MAIER.

AND THEY ARE NOW KNOWN FOR BREW 102, WHICH IS A LOCAL BEER.

HUELL BOY, THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL MAUSOLEUM HERE.

IS THERE ANY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PROMINENCE OF A FAMILY AND THE TYPE OF MONUMENT THEY HAD HERE IN THE CEMETERY?

JOE RYAN NOT AT ALL.

ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS YOU REALIZE IN LOOKING AT CEMETERIES IS THAT THE PROMINENCE OF THAT PERSON HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SIZE OF THE MONUMENT.

I STARTED OUT BY RESEARCHING GRAND AND GLORIOUS MONUMENTS AND FOUND THAT THE PEOPLE LIVE A SEDATE LIFE.

WHEREAS, ARCHITECTS, WE HAVE SOME ARCHITECTS HERE LIKE SOMNER HUNT, WHO BUILT THE 1889 CITY HALL AND SEVERAL OTHER NOTABLE BUILDINGS AROUND, AND HE HAS NO GRAVESTONE.

HUELL NO GRAVESTONE.

JOE RYAN ALFRED HAMLIN IS ANOTHER ARCHITECT WHO IS KIND OF LIKE IN THE STYLE OF GREENE AND GREENE.

AND HE HAS NO MONUMENT, BUT ARCHITECTS BELIEVE THAT THEIR BUILDINGS SHOULD BE THEIR MONUMENTS IN DEATH NOT MARKERS.

HUELL YOU KNOW WHAT IS SO INTERESTING TO ME ABOUT GOING THROUGH A CEMETERY, IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOUR HISTORY, AND MOST OF US REALLY DON'T HAVE VERY DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF HISTORY, THESE WOULD JUST BE NAMES ON MARKERS, AND WE WOULDN'T HAVE ANY CONCEPT OF WHO THEY WERE, WHAT ROLE THEY PLAYED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOS ANGELES, WHY THEY WERE IMPORTANT, OR ANYTHING ABOUT THEIR LIVES AT ALL.

JOE RYAN WELL, THAT'S THE SAD FACT, BUT THAT'S THE WAY LIFE IS, LIKE MOVIE STARS WORK FOR SIX MONTHS AND MAKE A MOVIE AND THEY'RE FAMOUS FOR DECADES, THESE PEOPLE THAT WORKED THEIR ENTIRE LIVES BUILDING THE INSTITUTIONS OF OUR CITY AND THEY'RE FOUNDERS OF SOME OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES, COMPANIES ARE JUST LOST NAMES.

HUELL YEAH, BUT THEY'RE HERE.

JOE RYAN THEY'RE HERE.

RIGHT OVER HERE WE HAVE CAROLINE SEVERANCE, SHE WAS BORN IN 1820, IN BOSTON, AND SHE STARTED THE FIRST WOMEN'S CLUB.

SHE PREDATES SUSAN B. ANTHONY, SO SHE IS ONE OF THE EARLY FOUNDERS OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT.

SUSAN B. ANTHONY WAS ONLY A CHILD WHEN CAROLINE WAS ACTIVE IN BOSTON.

SHE IS CALLED THE MOTHER OF WOMEN'S CLUBS, BECAUSE ONLY MEN HAD CLUBS, WOMEN HAD SEWING CIRCLES AND CHURCH CIRCLES, BUT CAROLINE IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR CHANGING THE WAY WOMEN DRESSED FROM VICTORIAN, THAT WASP CORSET WITH THE STAYS IN THE BACK, TO A MORE RELAXED AND LOOSE GARMENTS.

HUELL NOW, SHE MOVED FROM BOSTON TO LOS ANGELES?

JOE RYAN SHE MOVED FROM BOSTON TO LOS ANGELES LATE IN HER LIFE AND LIVED DOWN WHERE THE AUTO CLUB IS NOW, NEAR THE USC AREA, WHICH WAS A PROMINENT AREA AT THE TIME.

AND SHE BROUGHT A GREAT DEGREE OF CULTURE AND PROMINENCE TO WHAT WAS THEN STILL AN ADOBE TOWN.

THERE WERE NO CULTURED PEOPLE, AT LEAST ON THE SCALE OF CAROLINE SEVERANCE.

SHE WAS PERSONAL FRIENDS WITH JESSIE BENTON FREMONT AND THEY TALKED TO ONE ANOTHER.

THEY WERE CONTEMPORARIES.

HUELL NOW, SEE HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A NAME THAT YOU WOULD JUST WALK RIGHT BY THIS MARKER.

NOW IF SUSAN B. ANTHONY'S NAME WAS ON THERE YOU WOULD KNOW.

JOE RYAN EXACTLY.

HUELL BUT THIS WOMAN WAS JUST AS IMPORTANT, IF NOT AS IMPORTANT AS SUSAN B. ANTHONY.

JOE RYAN EXACTLY, EVEN THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT DOESN'T GO BACK TO THESE WOMEN THAT WERE ACTIVE BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.

THEY PICK UP AFTER THE CIVIL WAR WITH PEOPLE LIKE SUSAN B. ANTHONY.

HUELL WELL, SHE'S HERE AND HER NAME AGAIN IS?

JOE RYAN CAROLINE SEVERANCE.

HUELL CAROLINE SEVERANCE, WHO IS RESTING HERE IN ROSEDALE CEMETERY.

AND THERE'S NO INDICATION ON THE MARKER AT ALL JOE RYAN NO.

AS TO WHAT HER HISTORICAL PROMINENCE WAS.

JOE RYAN IT'S RARE THAT PEOPLE PUT ANY KIND OF INDICATION OF WHO THEY WERE.

FALSE MODESTY, IF YOU ASK ME.

HUELL NOW, WAS THIS A RESTRICTED CEMETERY?

OR WAS IT OPEN TO EVERYBODY?

JOE RYAN RIGHT, IN 1884, WHEN IT OPENED, ROSEDALE WAS THE FIRST CEMETERY IN LOS ANGELES TO BE OPEN TO ALL RACES AND CREEDS.

IN FACT, ROSEDALE WAS THE FIRST CREMATORY THIS SIDE OF THE MISSISSIPPI, THE FIRST ONE BEING IN WASHINGTON D.C. CREMATION WAS A VERY CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WHEN IT STARTED IN THE LATE 1880'S AND EARLY 1890'S.

HUELL SO, ONCE AGAIN, LOS ANGELES AND CALIFORNIA WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF CONTROVERSY EVEN IN DEATH.

JOE RYAN ABSOLUTELY, THAT'S A VERY FORWARD THINKING THING TO HAVE CREMATION, BECAUSE TRADITIONALLY IT'S NOT PART OF OUR CULTURE.

HUELL SO, THIS WAS THE SITE OF THE FIRST CREMATORY WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI, AND IT WAS ALSO OPEN TO ALL RACES FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.

JOE RYAN THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S RIGHT.

HERE WE HAVE JEAN LOUIS SAINSEVAIN, THE FIRST CHAMPAGNE THAT WAS MADE IN CALIFORNIA.

HUELL THE FIRST CHAMPAGNE MADE IN CALIFORNIA?

JOE RYAN RIGHT.

HUELL WHICH WOULD HAVE BACK IN?

JOE RYAN THE 1880'S.

HUELL THE 1880'S.

JOE RYAN SAINSEVAIN, THE WHOLE FAMILY IS HERE THEY WERE IN VINTNER BUSINESS.

THEY USED TO SHIP IT TO SAN FRANCISCO ON SAILING SHIPS.

HUELL YOU KNOW, JUST STANDING RIGHT HERE, AND LOOKING OUT, YOU JUST WONDER WHAT KIND OF STORIES ARE OUT THERE.

JOE RYAN THIS IS MARIA RASPUTIN, THE DAUGHTER OF RASPUTIN OF CZARIST RUSSIA FAME.

SHE LIVED WITH THE CZAR AND CZARINA, SHE WAS ADOPTED BY THE FAMILY AND WENT TO SCHOOL IN THE WINTER PALACE, AND SHE DIED AS A POOR WOMAN IN LOS ANGELES.

HUELL HOWSER HOW DID SHE GET FROM RUSSIA TO DIE A POOR WOMAN IN LOS ANGELES?

JOE RYAN SHE ESCAPED RUSSIA, OBVIOUSLY, AND WENT TO EUROPE, SHE WAS TAKEN IN AS A CIRCUS INDIVIDUAL, BECAUSE SHE WAS CALLED THE "MAD DAUGHTER" OF THE RASPUTIN AND SHE WAS A CIRCUS ACT.

UNTIL SHE WAS HURT ACTUALLY, PHYSICALLY HURT, BY A LION.

HUELL BUT HOW DID SHE GET TO L.A.?

JOE RYAN SHE CAME TO L.A. AND WORKED IN THE SHIPYARDS.

HUELL WOW.

JOE RYAN IN LONG BEACH.

HUELL AND SHE'S BURIED RIGHT HERE, MARIA RASPUTIN 1899 TO 1977?

JOE RYAN CAN YOU IMAGINE THE LIFE THAT SHE HAD WITH LIVING IN THE ROMANOV HOUSEHOLD, AND HERE SHE IS IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES IN THIS POOR LOOKING GRAVE?

HUELL NOW, WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT ALL THIS IS THAT WE ARE NOT JUST HERE TODAY TO WALK THROUGH THE CEMETERY, ALTHOUGH, I'M SURE THAT THERE ARE MANY HISTORY BUFFS WHO COME OVER HERE ALL THE TIME, AREN'T THERE?

JOE RYAN NOT REALLY.

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP WE USED TO GO THE CEMETERY ON 4TH OF JULY, LABOR DAY, MEMORIAL DAY, IN THE 90'S PEOPLE DON'T EVEN GO TO CEMETERIES ANYMORE.

THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THEY ARE AT.

GENEALOGISTS OFTENTIME COME TO CEMETERIES BECAUSE IT'S A GREAT WAY TO GET ALL OF THE GENEALOGY LAID OUT RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU.

BECAUSE YOU CAN LOOK AT THE GRAVESTONES AND SEE BIRTH AND DEATH.

HUELL BUT YOU'RE SAYING NOWADAYS PEOPLE JUST IGNORE CEMETERIES OTHER THAN THE TIME THEY HAVE TO BE THERE FOR A FUNERAL.

JOE RYAN RIGHT.

WE'RE IN THIS BEAUTIFUL 55-ACRE PLOT, IT'S RIGHT IN MIDDLE OF SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES, AND IT'S SO SERENE.

IT IS A GREAT PLACE TO GET AWAY FROM AND UNWIND.

YOU CAN JUST COME OUT HERE AND TAKE A WALK.

IT'S NOT WANTON, IT'S JUST A BEAUTIFUL AREA.

HUELL YEAH.

WELL, NOW, WE'RE HERE FOR A REASON TODAY, AND IT'S REALLY STARTING RIGHT OVER HERE.

TELL US WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE TODAY.

JOE RYAN WELL, ABOUT SIX YEARS AGO WE STARTED WEST ADAMS HERITAGE ASSOCIATION AND THE LOS ANGELES CITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, STARTED A TOUR OF THIS CEMETERY.

THEY ORIGINALLY WERE LECTURE TOURS, WHICH IF YOU'RE NOT A HISTORIAN OR YOU DON'T KNOW A LOT ABOUT LOS ANGELES HISTORY, THESE NAMES DIDN'T MEAN ANYTHING TO THE PUBLIC.

SO WE QUICKLY REALIZED THAT AND WE CHANGED THREE YEARS AGO TO HISTORIC PORTRAYALS, WHERE WE HAVE VOLUNTEERS DRESSED IN COSTUME, PERIOD COSTUME, SPEAKING IN THE FIRST PERSON AS IF THEY WERE THE DEAD INDIVIDUAL.

THEN IT'S MUCH MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC, THE KIDS LOVE IT, AND THEY'RE ABLE TO, EXCUSE ME.

HUELL SO WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS THIS PROGRAM FOR TODAY, WHICH LISTS SIX--FIVE DIFFERENT PEOPLE.

JOE RYAN FIVE PEOPLE.

HUELL AND YOU'VE GOT FIVE LOCAL CITIZENS, WHO PLAY THAT PERSON?

JOE RYAN THAT'S RIGHT.

THEY HAVE ALL VOLUNTEERED.

NONE OF THEM ARE PROFESSIONAL ACTORS.

HUELL SO THE IDEA IS THE TOUR GROUP MEETS AND GOES THROUGH THE CEMETERY TO THESE FIVE GRAVE SITES, OF THESE FIVE INDIVIDUALS, JOE RYAN EXACTLY.

HUELL> AND ACTUALLY SEE KIND OF A LIVING-HISTORY PORTRAYAL OF WHAT THESE INDIVIDUALS WERE LIKE WHEN THEY WERE ALIVE.

JOE RYAN RIGHT.

THEY COME TO BE ENTERTAINED, BUT IT'S A MAGICAL EXPERIENCE, WHICH YOU WILL SEE WHEN YOU TALK TO SOME PEOPLE.

THEY WALK OUT OF HERE--IT PUTS THEM IN TOUCH WITH SOME SORT OF THEIR HUMANITY, THEIR MORTALITY, BUT IT'S MUCH MORE OF AN ENRICHING EXPERIENCE THAN WHAT THEY EXPECTED.

HUELL HOW DO YOU CHOOSE WHICH FIVE PEOPLE YOU HAVE?

JOE RYAN THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE.

WE NEVER REPEAT.

WE HAVE SO MANY HISTORIC PEOPLE, IT'S NOT HARD TO COME UP EVERY YEAR WITH FIVE DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS.

THIS IS ART TATUM.

HUELL ART TATUM, THE FAMOUS JAZZ MUSICIAN.

HUELL GOOD MORNING.

GOOD MORNING.

HUELL YOU ARE PORTRAYING ART TATUM.

YES.

HUELL TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT ART TATUM.

ART TATUM WAS BORN OCTOBER 13TH, 1910, IN OHIO.

BORN ALMOST TOTALLY BLIND.

HE DIED NOVEMBER 4TH, 1956.

HE WAS FAMOUS FOR HIS DEXTERITY ON THE PIANO, ESPECIALLY HIS RIGHT HAND.

AND HE WAS ABLE TO TAKE JAZZ TO A DIFFERENT LEVEL, BECAUSE PRIOR TO HIM MOST OF IT WITH FATS WALLER AND EARL HINES WAS MORE RAGTIME, AND HE WAS ABLE TO TAKE IT TO THE LEVEL THAT WE KNOW OF IT AS OF TODAY.

HUELL AND HERE COMES YOUR TOUR GROUP COMING OVER AND YOU'LL BE TALKING WITH THEM AND TELLING THEM ABOUT ART TATUM.

YES.

HUELL HOW DOES THIS MAKE YOU FEEL?

WELL, I FEEL GREAT IN THE FACT THAT I CAN EMULATE ART AND HAVE SOME KNOWLEDGE OF HIS STYLE AND REALIZE AS A MUSIC MAJOR IN COLLEGE, ALL OF THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE STUDY PAID OFF.

HUELL YOU'RE RIGHT HERE AT HIS GRAVE PLAYING HIS MUSIC.

RIGHT.

HUELL NOW, WE'RE GOING?

JOE RYAN NOW, WE'RE GOING TO THE CIVIL WAR SALUTE.

THIS YEAR WE HAVE VOLUNTEERS THAT DO PORTRAYALS OF CIVIL WAR VETERANS, AS YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE LOTS OF CIVIL WAR VETERANS BURIED IN THIS AREA.

HUELL SO THIS WHOLE AREA IS FOR CIVIL WAR VETERANS HERE.

JOE RYAN MIXED IN WITH THIS ARE ALSO SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR, BUT THESE GENTLEMEN ARE PORTRAYING CIVIL WAR PERIOD.

AIM.

FIRE!

[GUNS FIRED] HUELL NOW, TELL US WHO YOU ARE.

I'M THE ACTRESS ANNA MAY WONG.

HUELL AND WHO IS SHE?

WHO WAS SHE?

SHE WAS A SILVER SCREEN ACTRESS IN THE 20'S AND 30'S.

VERY FAMOUS, VERY BEAUTIFUL AND POPULAR.

HUELL NOW THE SKIT, THE WORDS, THE WAY YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LIFE HERE TODAY, IT'S REALLY IN A WAY A VERY SAD LIFE, WASN'T IT?

INDEED IT WAS A SAD LIFE, VERY BITTER LIFE.

I WAS REJECTED MANY TIMES.

HOLLYWOOD ONLY WANTED WHITE ACTRESSES.

I WAS THE ONLY CHINESE.

AND THEY NEVER GAVE ME A GOOD PART, ALWAYS THE VILLAIN PART, THE EVIL CONCUBINE, THE DRAGON LADY, THE SUBMISSIVE ASIAN GIRL.

HUELL WELL, NOW YOU'RE BURIED RIGHT HERE.

UH, HUH.

HUELL AND THERE'S A STORY EVEN ABOUT THE TOMBSTONE.

EXACTLY, I WAS CREMATED.

I WASN'T BURIED.

I WAS CREMATED, BUT I BURIED ALONG WITH MY MOTHER AND MY INFANT SISTER.

SEE, MY MOTHER'S NAME IS IN THE MIDDLE, THAT'S HER NAME, LEE TOY WONG.

HUELL WRITTEN IN CHINESE.

UH, HUH.

IN CHINESE, THE LARGER CHINESE CHARACTERS, AND THE ENGLISH THAT'S HER NAME ALSO.

MINE IS ON THE RIGHT, IT'S JUST MY CHINESE NAME, CHINESE CHARACTER, AND MY INFANT SISTER IS ON THE LEFT.

HUELL SO, YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE REALLY-- NO, NOT A BIRTH DATE, NOT A DEATH DATE.

HUELL WHY?

MY PARENTS AND MY FAMILY WERE ASHAMED OF ME.

SEE, THEY THOUGHT THAT ACTING WAS LIKE ALMOST BEING A COURTESAN.

SO, THEY HID THE FACT THAT I WAS AN ACTRESS AND THEY DIDN'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH ME.

AND YET I SUPPORTED THEM.

I GAVE THEM MY MONEY.

AND WHEN MY MOM DIED IN A CAR ACCIDENT, I WAS EVEN THERE.

AND SO, THEY NEVER REALLY APPRECIATED THE FACT THAT I WAS AN ACTRESS AND THAT I WAS FAMOUS AND ADORED BY EVERYONE ELSE, EXCEPT MY FAMILY.

HUELL MANY PEOPLE SAY YOU DIED OF A BROKEN HEART.

WELL, I DID.

ALTHOUGH I MADE A LOT OF MOVIES, I WAS NEVER ACCEPTED AS AN ACTRESS.

I WAS THE QUEEN OF B FILMS.

I DIED IN EVERY MOVIE.

I NEVER WAS-- WHAT DO YOU SAY, A REAL ACTRESS, I WAS ALWAYS THE MAID, THE EVIL CONCUBINE, THE DAUGHTER OF THE DRAGON, THE MURDERER.

HUELL WHAT ARE YOU LADIES LEARNING HERE TODAY?

WELL, THIS IS MY FIRST TIME HERE, SO I'M LEARNING A GREAT DEAL.

I HAD NO IDEA WHO WAS BURIED HERE AND I'M JUST AMAZED.

HUELL WELL, WHY DO YOU THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE KNOW WHO'S BURIED HERE?

BECAUSE IT'S APART OF OUR HISTORY IN CALIFORNIA, AND WE SHOULD BEWARE OF, YOU KNOW, OUR HISTORY, SOMEWHAT ANYWAY.

IT'S BEEN A GREAT MORNING.

GLAD I DID IT.

HUELL HOWSER WHAT ARE YOU POINTING AT?

MY FATHER'S GRAVE.

HUELL SO, HE'S HERE A PART OF ALL OF THIS?

UH, HUH.

MY FATHER, MY GRANDMOTHER ARE THERE.

HUELL UH, HUH.

WELL, HOW DOES THIS DAY WORK INTO YOUR FAMILY HISTORY AND YOUR SENSE OF PLACE?

I'M A THIRD GENERATION OF LOS ANGELANS, SO IT REALLY PLAYS INTO MY FAMILY.

HUELL HOWSER YEAH.

MY GRANDMOTHER IS HERE.

HER STONE HASN'T BEEN LAID YET, BUT I SEE MY MOTHER IS GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE THEM COME AND PUT HER THING BACK, BUT SHE WAS BORN IN 1899, IN SANTA MONICA.

HUELL WOW.

SO, I LOVE IT.

IT'S GREAT.

HUELL SO CEMETERIES ARE NOT NECESSARILY SAD PLACES?

NO, THEY'RE HISTORY.

IT'S HISTORY, IT'S GREAT.

IT'S REALLY INTERESTING TO COME AND LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT STONES, AND SEE THE YEARS THAT PEOPLE WERE BORN AND WHEN THEY DIED.

IT'S GREAT, I THINK IT'S GREAT.

A LOT OF PEOPLE I TOLD I WAS COMING ON THIS AND THEY SAID, "OH, HOW MORBID."

AND I THOUGHT, NO IT'S NOT MORBID IT'S JUST AN EDUCATION.

IT'S SOMETHING TO LEARN.

HUELL IT'S WHO WE WERE.

THAT'S RIGHT.

EXACTLY WHO WE WERE, DEFINITELY.

HUELL WHO WE ARE TODAY.

AND WHO WE ARE TODAY, THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S RIGHT.

[SINGING "WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN"] IS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH A GENEROUS GRANT FROM THE RALPH M. PARSONS FOUNDATION.

CAPTIONING EQUIPMENT DONATED BY LLOYD RIGLER AND PERFORMED BY RAPIDTEXT