FILMnLA’s Cult ofnthe Deadnby K.L. BilUngsleynOne of the many hearses that plynHollywood Boulevard is differentnfrom all the others. The long graynCadillac sports a sunroof, air-conditioning,nand a cargo of live bodies, not deadnones. The vehicle is the flagship ofnGrave Line Tours, and every day itsndriver leads his seven passengers, eachnwith a window seat, on what is mostnemphatically not the standard movielandnexcursion.nThe company caters to those willingnto pay $30 to view the places wherenvarious stars died in nasty ways. Thendemand appears heavy. One mustnmake reservations, but if someonendoesn’t show, they accept “standby”npassengers at $25. Today’s group includesnfour Chicagoans, two locals, andnyour reporter. The driver explains thatnthe other tour companies scorn theirnoutfit. And the Westwood MemorialnPark has gone so far as to ban GravenLines from its sacred precincts. But wenare not visiting any cemeteries today.nThis tour goes right on location.nThe driver explains that every itemnon his “death sheet” has been researchednand verified. We won’t benseeing any memorabilia of the recentlyndeparted. They maintain a strict fiveyearn”cooling off’ period. “We don’tnwant any necrophiliacs crowding in,”nour guide explains.nFirst stop is just around the corner, atna rather shabby motel where Janis Joplinn”said goodbye to Bobby McGee for thenlast time.” How did this happen? Thensinger “zilched out” on an^ overdose ofnheroin.nI should explain that this commentaryncomes in the bleedin nysel tweng ofnAustralian guide Gary Menna, a pleasantnchap, a good driver, and a fathomlessnvault of information about Hollywood.nFor example, we learn that thenWilcoxes, the city’s founders, intendednthe place to be a religious retreat. Garyncame here on holiday and never lookednback. When he is not extemporizing onnillustrious deaths, he plays a prerecordednsound track of hymns and various songsnpopularized by the departed loved ones.nNext comes the abode of Ozzie andnHarriet Nelson, once the First Family ofnAmerican television. Ozzie took a twomilenswim in the ocean every day andn”that’s probably what killed him.” Actually,nGary adds, it was cancer. We leaventhe Nelsons and cmise by the home ofnPeter Lorre, who “once submitted tonbloodletting by leeches.” The actornthought this would lower his bloodnpressure. It didn’t.nNow it’s on to more recent stuff, thenGhateau Marmont, where the “bloated”nJohn Belushi received his fatal dmgnoverdose at the’ hands of a friend.n”There’s where they brought the bodynout,” Gary says, adding that the bluesnbrother and his buddies tore up thenbungalow where they were staying. Wenalso see a liquor store where the famousnjunkie once threw a tantrum.nIn the distance we see the dark,ncastle-like dwelling of Bela Lugosi,nwhere the actor began his morphinenaddiction. He was reportedly buried innhis Dracula cape. Not so lucky wasnneighbor Jack Cassidy, who liked tonsmoke in bed. He wound up bumednbeyond recognition, to the point that, innGary’s opinion, “they should have givennhim a discount” on the subsequentncremation.nThe guide deftly recreates the scenenin which Sal Mineo, then 37, wasnstabbed to death, the victim of annapparent robbery. The place where thenblood flowed is now marked by a blotchnof oil.nGary points out an apartment wherenon October 4, 1969, the daughter ofncelebrity Art Linkletter took LSD andnjumped to her death from a high balcony.nHere the guide shows his light,nnuanced approach. He quips that thennnmashed corpse may have provided anlocal restaurateur with “inspiration fornhis pizza.”nOn the other hand, the death of actornJack Webb, who played Joe Friday in thencrime series Dragnet, so inspired thenlocal chief of police that he orderednflags flown at half mast. I believe it wasnthis same official who in 1979 suggestednthat his boys be sent to vanquish thenAyatollah and free the hostages.nThe venerable Beverly Hills Hotelnsoon looms before us. It was here inn1977 where, not long after his magnificentnperformance in Network, PeternFinch keeled over for good. It happenednright in the lobby. Not far away,na narcoticized Richard Dreyfuss oncensmashed up his new Mercedes-Benz.nHis agent said he never touched thenstuffy, but our guide gives all the details,nas if to say, “faccuse!”nWe next see the very telephone poleninto which Montgomery Glift smashednhis car. Elizabeth Taylor, whom he hadnjust left, apparenfly rushed to the scenenand scooped the broken teeth from hisnthroat so he could breathe. Glift survivednbut went on to become “thenlongest suicide in Hollywood history.”nThings get heavy up on GielonDrive, where Gharlie Manson’s gangndid their helter-skelter routine. Ournguide shows his scrupulous attention tondetail by passing around a copy ofnSharon Tate’s death certificate. Then”cause of death” section reads: “multiplenstab wounds to chest and back.”nThe document adds, somewhat mysteriously,n”page one of two.” But thencoroner wouldn’t give out page two.nGary thinks that Manson’s folks didnsome very nasty things to the childnTate was carrying. He has also learnednthat the owner of the house sent thencleaning bill to the victim’s parents.nThe owner was doubtless a flowernchild, one of the beautiful people. Henhad 35 offers to buy the place after thenmassacre and recently sold it for a tidynsum. The average house price in thenarea is five million dollars.nAnd then there was Superman,nAKA George Reeves. We see thenroom where he “supposedly blew hisnbrains out” with a “warm Luger.”nGary is having none of it, however.nThere were no powder burns onnReeves’ nude body, and he thinks thendeath was a “studio-arranged hit” followednby a massive cover-up in whichnAUGUST 1989/49n