Hollywood Forever Cemetery is located in the posh Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, specifically in 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, at the back of Paramount Studios. Those who are laid to rest in this burial site are a number of prominent and celebrated persons in the history of Los Angeles, their relatives, and those who belonged to the entertainment industry. Ironically, even if the cemetery is considered as among the oldest in Los Angeles, it is still a place of convergence for the living as it regularly holds movie screenings, music extravaganzas, and community activities.

Isaac Lankershim and his son-in-law, Isaac Van Nuys developed the estate back in 1899. It lay on a 100-acre lot and was originally named as ?Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery.? After 40 acres of the total land area was sold to Paramount Studios in 1920, a portion of the remaining lot was reserved for the departed members of Hollywood?s Jewish community. The site is known as Beth Olam Cemetery.

In 1939, the ownership of the cemetery fell into the hands of a convicted offender, Jules Roth. Roth spitefully managed the estate?s revenues and left major parts of the property to depreciate beyond repair. He also initiated racial discrimination by forbidding black minorities including Hattie McDaniel from being entombed in the cemetery. When Roth died in January 4, 1998, he was bankrupted and parts of the property were sold impetuously.

In 1998, Tyler and Brent Cassity purchased the outstanding 62-acre property while it was on the brink of a bankruptcy proceeding. They changed the cemetery?s name to ?Hollywood Forever. ? They also did some meticulous works in the restoration and revitalization of the property, as well as strategized promotional campaigns in order to heap in more visitors.

Today, Hollywood Forever is abuzz with summer movie viewers, music fanatics, and film actors. The cemetery was featured in a handful of films, including its own short documentary in 2000 known as The Young and the Dead.