Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - S10E23 - Tombstone Tourists: The Growth of Cemetery Tourism

Episode Date: June 10, 2021

This week, we explore cemetery tourism. Before the pandemic stopped travel in its tracks, graveyards were becoming tourist hotspots. Millions of people are choosing vacation spots based on the final resting places of famous people. And cemeteries are using marketing to attract those tourists. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly. As you may know, we've been producing a lot of bonus episodes while under the influences on hiatus. They're called the Beatleology Interviews, where I talk to people who knew the Beatles, work with them, love them, and the authors who write about them. Well, the Beatleology Interviews have become a hit, so we are spinning it out to be a standalone podcast series. You've already heard conversations with people like actors Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, and Beatles confidant Astrid Kershaw. But coming up, I talk to May Pang, who dated John Lennon in the mid-70s. I talk to double fantasy guitarist Earl Slick, Apple Records creative director John Kosh. I'll be talking to Jan Hayworth,

who designed the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Very cool. And I'll talk to singer Dion, who is one of only five people still alive who were on the Sgt. Pepper cover. And two of those people were Beatles. The stories they tell are amazing. So thank you for making this series such a success. And please do me a favor, follow the Beatleology interviews on your podcast app. You don't even have to be a huge Beatles fan. You just have to love storytelling. Subscribe now and don't miss a single beat. In case nobody's told you, weight loss goes beyond the old just eat less and move more narrative. And that's where Felix comes in. Felix is redefining weight loss for Canadians with a smarter, more personalized approach to help you crush your health goals this year.

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Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. This is an apostrophe podcast production. You're so king in it. You're so king in it Your teeth look whiter than noon, noon, noon You're not you when you're hungry You're a good influence with Terry O'Reilly. Doug Thompson has long been one of the top audio producers in Canada. He has written and produced many award-winning radio programs. In 1983, for example, Doug wrote and co-produced a radio series with Ringo Starr called Ringo's Yellow Submarine

that aired on over 250 radio stations across North America. Doug had also done some commercials with John Candy in the mid-70s before John was famous. He once landed John an on-camera commercial for a Christmas disco album, and John made $1,000. That was big money for John Candy at that stage, and he

never forgot it. They became friends and kept in touch. In the late 80s, when John Candy was famous, Doug produced a radio series with him called That Radio Show with John Candy. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. John Candy. Actually, it's not Mr. John Candy. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. John Candy.

Actually, it's not Mr. John Candy. It's Dr. Tongue. John's still down in the makeup room getting prepared for his part later in this presentation. So I thought I'd just take this time to tell you a little bit about our new weekly program called That Radio Show with John Candy. When Candy moved to L.A. to pursue his movie career,

he asked Doug to join him so they could produce more radio shows together. That turned into a weekly show called Radio Candy, which aired on 350 stations in the U.S. When Candy's movie career got too busy for his radio career, Doug moved back to Toronto. And in 1994, John Candy died of a heart attack on the set of a movie he was shooting in Mexico. One day, about 10 years ago, Doug and I were working together

and we were in Los Angeles for a recording session. We rented a car at the airport and Doug took the wheel. On the way to our hotel, he asked if we could make a quick detour because he had something he had to do. I said, sure, no problem. Not long after, we found ourselves pulling into the parking lot of the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Culver City.

I followed Doug into the mausole the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Culver City. I followed Doug into the mausoleum to room 7. In that room, marble memorial crypts covered the walls. The top one in a corner alcove

belonged to John Candy. It said, John Candy, October 31, 1950 to March 4, 1994. In loving memory, one heart and one soul, Doug just put his hand on John's name and stood there silently for a moment. I noticed directly beneath Candy's memorial was one for actor Fred McMurray. It was the final resting place for many other celebrities too, including Bela Lugosi,

Sharon Tate, Rita Hayworth, Jimmy Durante, and Bing Crosby. Then, after a few moments, Doug was done. He said to me, I always stopped to say hi to John

whenever I'm in L.A. I always remembered that moment. And I remembered something else, too. Quite a few people were walking around the mausoleum that day. It was busy. But they were clearly there for reasons other than the one Doug was there for. They were sightseers,

casually touring the famous names interred at the cemetery. Cemetery tourism is becoming a fast-growing segment of the tourist industry. People plan their travel and vacation plans around the location of certain cemeteries. The reasons are varied. Some are interested in the historical figures. Some are fascinated to see the final resting places of celebrities. And many are simply responding to the marketing graveyards employ to attract tourists. There's even a word for this kind of tourism. It's called graving.

You're under the influence. In almost every city, in non-pandemic times, tourism is the number one or number two revenue generator. When we think tourism, we often think restaurants, museums, shopping, historic sites, or lying in the sun. But for millions of people, a vacation is centered around visiting cemeteries. When I first noticed this trend, I thought it was odd, until I looked at my own life. I've been to Arlington. I've seen the Vietnam War Memorial. I've seen JFK's Eternal Flame. I've been to Dallas and the Book Depository building. I've been to the Dakota in New York

where Lennon was shot. I've stood looking at Frank Sinatra's humble grave marker in a cemetery near Palm Springs. And I've been to Elvis's grave at Graceland. And that list is just off the top of my head. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but there is something profound

about standing in front of the final resting place of someone who has meant something to you, even if you have never met, even if a century has passed between you and that person. Cemetery tourism is not a small niche thing. Millions of people do it every year. It will continue to be a growing segment of the tourism industry. And cemeteries are employing marketing to attract those tourists. In Australia, cemeteries are becoming tourist hotspots.

The Melbourne General Cemetery, for example, is reinventing itself to attract visitors. The cemetery offers night tours of its grounds, with guides dispensing quirky historical facts, information about various tombstones, and fascinating stories about the departed. The most popular tour night is Halloween. Visitors are encouraged to come dressed in spooky costumes. Friday the 13th tours, as well as full moon nights, are constantly sold out, with waiting lists. The cemetery caters various social functions,

hosts philosophical lectures, and invites weddings to be performed on its grounds, which adds some spice to the vow until death do us part. Interestingly, in the Victorian age, families used to often come to cemeteries and walk the paths, enjoying the park environment. World War I changed all that. Cemeteries became scary and sad in the eyes of the public. But 21st century cemetery management wants to demystify death, believing exposure decreases fear.

And a decrease in fear means an increase in revenue. Of course, not everyone is comfortable with cemetery tourism. One family complained when their grandmother's funeral was delayed because it clashed with a historic food event the cemetery was holding for tourists that day. One of Melbourne's newest cemeteries features a restaurant with a French chef, it hosts regular jazz bands in a theater, and even has children's playgrounds. Sydney, Australia's Rookwood Cemetery celebrated its 150th anniversary with live jazz music, grave-digging demonstrations, and children's face painting. It also draws tourists with sculpture tours and bike races.

At a cemetery in Adelaide, they mix the cremated remains with the root balls of the centuries-old olive trees on the grounds and harvest the olive oil. The limited-edition olive oil sells out every year, despite its unusual source. The cemeteries all realized that selling death was difficult. There were no buyers. But selling an unusual experience worked. And being respectfully creative was a way to stay vital and increase revenue. The most visited cemetery in the world, the one that draws the most international tourism,

is in Paris, France. It is called Père Lachaise. The sprawling 110-acre park is located on the northeast side of the city. It is the largest cemetery in Paris, containing over 70,000 tombs. It is also one of the most beautiful and it has a very interesting history.

The cemetery was opened in 1804. Burial space was becoming a premium in Paris and city officials were concerned about the possibility of disease

spreading from the other overcrowded cemeteries. So the city hired an architect and an urban planner to develop what was to become Père Lachaise, which, at the time, was on the outskirts of town. It was unpopular because French citizens

didn't want to walk that far during funeral processions. In order to advertise the cemetery and encourage its use, Napoleon had the remains of famous people like Henry III's wife, poet Jean de La Fontaine, and playwright Moliere relocated to the new cemetery with much fanfare and publicity. Not long after, Père Lachaise became the drop-dead place to be. Today, an entire industry has grown up around Père Lachaise. There are guided cemetery tours, blogs, and books.

Movies are filmed on the grounds. Many writers, actors, painters, and politicians are interred there. Chopin is buried there. But his heart isn't. The composer had a fear of being buried alive, so he asked that his heart be buried in Poland. Opera singer Maria Callas is buried there. So is famed novelist Marcel Proust. Edith Piaf is interned at the cemetery,

close to four of her lovers. Marcel Marceau is quietly spending eternity there. But the most popular, most visited grave sites are for two famous people who were not French. One is Oscar Wilde. The Irish author of the picture of Dorian Gray died penniless in Paris in 1900 and was buried in a pauper's grave. But his body was later moved to Père Lachaise. His memorial is now listed

as a historic monument. Wilde was persecuted for his love life and once wrote that, quote, a kiss may ruin a human life. Over the years, a pilgrimage of fans

constantly covered his tombstone in lipstick kisses. There have been so many red smooches, the grease in the lipstick penetrated the stone and began to irreparably damage the memorial. Recently, a glass screen

has been placed around it. But, by far, the most visited gravesite is that of Jim Morrison. The Doors lead singer died in a Paris hotel room in 1971, and he is buried at the famous cemetery. To put the popularity

of Morrison's gravesite in some context, over 3 million people visit Père Lachaise every year, and over one-third of them, 1.5 million people, make the trip specifically to see his gravesite. Morrison's headstone is frequently adorned with flowers, candles, gin bottles, and graffiti. A security guard is always posted nearby to deal with the crowds. It's a problem the Mary Cemetery in Romania never has to deal with.

And we'll be right back. You're listening to Season 10 of Under the Influence. If you're enjoying this episode, you might also enjoy How Tourism Survives a Tragedy, Season 7, Episode 23. You'll find it in our archives wherever you download your pods. In northern Romania, there is a tiny town called Sapunsa. Behind the church there in this small town of 5,000 is a unique grave site called the Mary Cemetery. It's called Mary for a very specific reason. Each of the 800 graves is marked, not with a cold headstone, but

instead with a beautifully carved wooden cross, painted vibrant colors on a radiant blue background, complete with a bright drawing carved into the wood that captures a moment from the person's past, along with an original limerick that describes the life of the deceased.

The poems are both heartfelt and whimsical and are often wickedly funny. The practice was started by a sculptor back in 1935 named Stan Patras. After his death in 1977, the folk art tradition continued with his apprentice, Dimitru Pop. When someone in the village dies,

the family asks Pop to create a cross, which he hand-carves out of oak in his small workshop. The family tells Pop about the deceased, but chances are Pop

knows a lot about the person already, as he says, there's no hiding in a small town. In this merry cemetery, Pop alone chooses the drawing

and decides what the poem will say. The poems don't mock the dead person, but they are honest, in the extreme. They will often tell humorous stories

about infidelities, dirty little secrets, and even one's love of alcohol. For example, one epitaph says, Here lies my mother-in-law. Try not to wake her up, for if she comes back home, she'll bite my head off.

But I will behave so well that she won't return from hell. Stay here, my dear mother-in-law. Another says, he loved horses. One more thing he loved very much, to sit at a table in a bar, next to someone else's

wife. No family has ever complained about what Dimitri Pop has written about their dearly departed. As Popp says, people want the truth. Popp also knows that one day he will spend eternity among his merry

grave markers. He is training an apprentice who will eventually write Popp's life limerick. The Merry Cemetery is one of Romania's most popular tourist sites. Back in the late 90s, a certain Hollywood graveyard was neglected and in dire disrepair.

It was littered with garbage, the grass was overgrown, and a bank trustee threatened to padlock the gates. Shocking, considering this cemetery was the final resting place of over 200 famous movie stars. So the 62-acre graveyard, just off Santa Monica Boulevard, was purchased by a funeral company for $375,000. First, they renamed the graveyard the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Then, to finance the restoration,

the company began showing classic Hollywood movies amid the tombstones of the people who had made those movies. So, you could watch a Hitchcock film not far from Hitchcock's grave. Good evening and welcome to Hollywood Forever. You guys ready for Hitchcock film not far from Hitchcock's grave. Good evening and welcome to Hollywood Forever. You guys ready for Hitchcock in the Cemetery? This is a beautiful night. We have a perfect summer movie for you.

As you know, Hitchcock planned his films out very carefully. The film series is titled Sinespia. The films are shown outdoors on the white wall of the mausoleum. People are invited to bring their own chairs and food. The graveyard sells beer and wine. Cinespia grew slowly from a few hundred moviegoers to become a Los Angeles institution, drawing a capacity crowd of 4,000 on movie nights.

Tickets are hard to get and are resold for big money. Hollywood royalty is buried at the Forever Hollywood Cemetery. Its website even has videos listing its most famous inhabitants under several categories, like comedians. Mel Blanc, the voice of the best-loved Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, and Daffy Duck. By the way, Mel Blanc's tombstone says, That's all, folks.

There are several other video categories, including music stars, singers and dancers, and sensational sirens. Jane Mansfield, former beauty contest winner, rose to stardom as Hollywood's best endowed sexpot of the 1950s and 1960s. The famous Latin lover Rudolph Valentino is buried at Forever Hollywood. Born in Italy, Valentino moved to Hollywood and began teaching dance lessons to wealthy older women. And I'm using air quotes around dance lessons. He became Hollywood's first sex symbol, but died tragically at the age of 31. Douglas Fairbanks Sr. is interred there.

He is a founding father of Hollywood, creating United Artists with Charlie Chaplin, director D.W. Griffith, and Fairbanks' wife, Canadian actress Mary Pickford. Mickey Rooney is there. He made over 300 films, 10 of those with Judy Garland, who is also resting there. Other stars include Peter Lorre, Tyrone Power, John Huston, Fay Wray, and many, many more.

The Forever Hollywood Cemetery website lists an active outdoor concert series, author readings, live podcast tapings, and many other events. It also offers two-and-a-half-hour cemetery tours for $20 and night tours for $40. It is one of the only cemeteries with a ticket page. And remember, every customer is a potential customer if you catch my drift. If you're looking for flexible workouts, Peloton's got you covered. Summer runs or playoff season meditations, whatever your vibe,

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There is another famous cemetery in Hollywood that attracts over one million visitors and tourists annually. It's the Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Founded in 1917, the 300-acre graveyard was created to be a happy place, in the words of the original owner. There are towering trees, sweeping lawns, and spectacular fountains. It is often described as the Disneyland of death. Forest Lawn has several locations in and around Los Angeles,

and to attract tourists, the cemetery offers many events and attractions. There are rotating art exhibits and extravagant Memorial Day celebrations. Forest Lawn is not only a place to end a life, but it's a popular place to begin a wedded one. There are three non-sectarian chapels and over 60,000 people have been married at the graveyard, including Ronald Reagan and his first wife, Jane Wyatt. The list of Hollywood celebrities buried at Forest Lawn is certainly impressive,

and it's this list that attracts so many tourists. Humphrey Bogart is interred there, as well as George Burns, Betty Davis, Walt Disney, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson, and Jimmy Stewart, to name but a few. There is yet another cemetery in Hollywood. It is the Westwood Village Memorial Park. It's tiny in size, just two acres,

but it is said to have more movie stars per square inch than any other cemetery in the world. It's located just off Wilshire Boulevard in L.A., but it's a bit difficult to find. Unlike other celebrity gravesites, the Westwood Village Memorial Park is discreet and does not trade on its famous clientele. But that discretion does not deter busloads of tourists.

The list of celebrities buried there is long and includes Natalie Wood, Farrah Fawcett, Rodney Dangerfield, Truman Capote, Frank Zappa, Ray Bradbury, Eddie Albert, Burt Lancaster, Roy Orbison, Carl Wilson, Billy Wilder, and Dean Martin. I miss Dean. Some of the tombstones contain amusing sentiments. Jack Lemmon had a sense of humor.

His headstone states, Jack Lemmon in, and that's all it says. Rodney Dangerfield says, there goes the neighborhood. And on Merv Griffins, I will not be right back after this message. But the most famous grave site at the Westwood Cemetery

is the one that attracts the most tourists. Crypt number 24 is the final resting place of Marilyn Monroe. She was once married to baseball great Joe DiMaggio. Apparently, they had rekindled their romance just before she died. So DiMaggio chose Westwood as her burial place because it was quiet and out of the way. For 20 years after her death,

DiMaggio had roses delivered to her gravesite three times a week. Like Jim Morrison's grave, fans leave a cascade of flowers, cards, letters, and other mementos at Monroe's resting place. Like Oscar Wilde's memorial, Monroe's is also covered with red lipstick kisses. So is the seemingly empty crypt beside hers. It isn't marked, but it isn't empty either.

It is the final resting place of Hugh Hefner. He wanted to be buried beside Marilyn Monroe. Because she graced the cover of the very first issue of Playboy magazine in 1953. The year they both became famous. I noted with interest that the constant activity around Jim Morrison's grave in Père Lachaise was causing considerable grief for families with loved ones buried nearby. It's a full-circle moment, as Napoleon used celebrity burials to attract attention to the graveyard in the first place.

Graving is a rapidly growing segment of the tourism industry. People from all over Europe and beyond make the trip to Romania to see the Mary Cemetery. Other cemeteries market their celebrity tenants in order to attract tourists, breathing life and money into old burial grounds. Some make revenue off movie nights. Others make money from walking tours, weddings, and even jars of olive oil. And some cemeteries make money when those same tourists eventually need their services, enticed to spend eternity near the stars. Part of the reason cemeteries market themselves is to demystify death.

By making it less of a taboo subject, it can lead to more profit opportunities. But just as World War I made people wary of cemeteries, the pandemic may have the same effect. Time will tell.

It's also extraordinary in this Hollywood-obsessed culture that a star's fame extends well past their best-before date. Maybe Mel Blanc's headstone should read, that's not all, folks, when you're under the influence.

I'm Terry O'Reilly. This episode was recorded in the Terrastream Mobile Recording Studio. Producer, Debbie O'Reilly. Sound Engineer, Keith Ullman. Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre. Research, Susan Kendall. Follow me on Instagram at Terry O Influence. See you next week.