the police collaborated. Remember,neverything on this tour has been verified.nLess mysterious is the site wherenLana Turner’s daughter plunged anknife into Johnny Stompanato, whon”bled to death in five minutes.” Wenalso see the armored door of mobsternBugsy Siegel’s estate. Unfortunately,nMr. Siegel was sitting by the windownone evening when a hail of bulletsnfrom unknown assailants “nearly torenhis head from his body.”nSustaining a slightly less seriousnhead injury was singer-surfer Jan Barrynof Jan and Dean fame. When Barrynwrecked his sports car he didn’t die butnjoined the “brussels sprout brigade.”nThat Gary, I swear he’s a millionnlaughs.nAnd then there was Peg Entwistle, anBritish stage actress who, like many,nsought fame on the screen. Also likenmany, she failed to attain stardom.nWhen her contract was not renewed,nshe climbed up on the letter H of thenfamous Hollywood sign and cast hernfate to the wind.nWe see the house where the ChristiannScientist mother of Jean Harlownkept her ailing daughter in a room,naway from doctors. But we don’t lingernoutside one of the Gershwin residences,nbecause a senior family member hasnthreatened to call the cops. Some peoplennearing the age of 100 apparentlyndon’t like to see a hearse waiting in thenwings, especially one with “GravenLine Tours” emblazoned on the side.nMy favorite locale is the mansionnwhere Lupe Velez, the then-pregnantnfiancee of Johnny (Tarzan) Weissmuller,ngulped a fistful of barbiturates.nAs legend has it, she penned a suicidensonnet, decked her bed in roses, administerednthe hemlock, laid herselfndown, and slipped gently into thatngood night like a true screen goddess.nNot so, says Gary. The maid found hernin the bathroom, head in the toilet,nwhere she had gone to vomit butnpassed out. Death came by drowning.nHere, I think, is a piece of fearfulnsymmetry for Hollywood: the guildednimage camouflaging the ugly reality;nthe flowery legend hiding the squalidntruth. It is thesis and antithesis, with nonsynthesis in sight.nThat is likely why the other tours sondespise the Grave Line crowd. Garynand his boss may be upstarts, but theynknow what this town is all about.nTourists come here to see monumentsnand bodies, not actual people. Hollywoodnis a vast necropolis, camouflagednwith makeup, hype, and of coursenmoney.nAt one point, we pass the massivendwelling of Johnny Garson’s ex-wife,nwhich served as a comfy departurenpoint for Truman Capote. “I, am anhomosexual, a drug addict and a genius,”nwas how the late novelist describednhimself, probably in the correctnorder. He also said: “Living in SouthernnCalifornia is like living in ForestnLawn.” The man does have a point.nK.L. Billingsley lives outside of SannDiego.nA§ ^0ۤ the American iiamfly,n§0 im our nalion.nThe strength and resilience of the American as, each month, its editors grapple with ftinda-nFamily is quite simply the single greatest asset mental issues affecting your family’s hiture.nour nation possesses.nlong battered, neglected, maligned, and Each month, The Family in America wiU:ndivided, the American Family’s regeneration as a . joust wiih the bureaucrats and martinets who muddle ‘npowerful center for values, achievement, and pubhc policy affecting the American Family; ‘nfulfillment is an unmistakable signal: a good . expose governmental tinkering and doublespeak onnidea whose time has come. Again. family issues; 1n„, ., , Li. . . L • 1- • probe the underlying Statistics and trends running in InThat s why a «e«; publication is chronicling f^^.„^ „f ^J^^ ^ ^^^ .^.nevents, floodlighting the issues, debunking the . reveal the works and exceptional research of today’s inbureaucrats and social experimenters, and ^est and brightest scholars, writers, educators.ntalking common sense.nThis monthly publication is called rae/•«»?//)’ If you think it’s important to be informed ‘nin America. about the forces that may affect the health andnShocking. Provocative. Eye-opening. Com- well-being of your family now and in the yearsnbative. Thoughtful. And, when necessary, ahead, the choice is a simple one.noutrageous. Take pen in hand, and subscribe now.nThe Family in America is all this and more Request your subscription-today. 1n50/CHRONICLESnnnFor fast ordering callntoll free (800) 892-0753 ILn(800) 435-0715 Outside ILnThe Family in AmericanABSOLUTELY “YES!” Count me in!n• Yes! Please enter my subscription to ThenFamily in America at $14.97 for 12 monthlynissues. 1 save $6.03 off the basic rate of $21.n• Payment enclosed • Bill me laternNamenAddressnCity State ZipnCanadian and foreign orders add $6 per year,npayable in U.S. funds onlynPlease allow 4-6 weeks for your first copy tonarrive. Mail coupon to: P.O. Box 416, Mt. Morris, ILn61054 Tp 368n