The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a
Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in
Culver City, California. Many
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
from the entertainment industry are buried here. The cemetery is known for
Al Jolson
Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...
's elaborate tomb (designed by Los Angeles architect
Paul Williams), a 75-foot-high pergola and monument atop a hill above a water cascade, all visible from the adjacent
San Diego Freeway The San Diego Freeway is one of the named principal Southern California freeways. It consists of the following two segments:
* Interstate 5, from California State Route 94 in San Diego to Interstate 405 (El Toro Y) in Irvine
* Interstate 405, in ...
.
[Edmon J. Rodmon]
"You ain't heard Kol Nidre yet"
'' Washington Jewish Week'', September 13, 2012.
History
Built on 35 acres of rolling hills in an undeveloped area near
Inglewood, the cemetery was originally founded as
B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peo ...
Memorial Park in 1941 by Lazare F. Bernhard and
Robert S. and
Harry Groman, founders of
Groman Mortuaries in 1936 and sons of
Charles Groman, who co-founded the first licensed Jewish mortuary west of Chicago,
Glasband-Groman-Glasband, before it was renamed "Hillside Memorial Park" in 1942. Because of objections by the Inglewood Chamber of Commerce, they were not granted a permit to operate by the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States.
History
On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their firs ...
until July 1943.
In 1951 the park became famous when
Al Jolson
Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...
's widow, Erle, purchased a large plot and had erected a 75-foot-high domed monument in his memory. Thousands attended the dedication and service, which included a eulogy by
Jack Benny
Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...
.
After a bitter legal dispute between the Groman brothers, and Robert's death in 1957, the park was acquired by
Temple Israel of Hollywood, which continues to own and operate it.
Jack Benny
Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...
's funeral in 1974 included a eulogy by
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...
and was attended by over 2000 people, including dozens of well-known members of the entertainment community.
Major figures in the worlds of philanthropy, women's rights, law, education, medicine and religion are interred at Hillside, some of whom are listed
below.
Notable interments
See also
:Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
A
See also
*
Cemeteries in Los Angeles County, California
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
References
External links
Hillside Memorial Park official website*
Hillside Memorial Park: Famous namesat
Find a Grave
{{Culver City, California
Jewish cemeteries in California
Cemeteries in Los Angeles County, California
1941 establishments in California
Buildings and structures in Culver City, California