While flipping through one of the many fascinating editions of Richard Lamparski's Whatever Became of...?
books, I happened upon a rare photo of film director Alan Crosland in the chapter about actress Natalie Moorehead.
It gave me great joy to finally put a face to a very special headstone.
Mr. Crosland died in 1936, as the result of an automobile accident when he was just 41 years-old. His greatest achievement at the time of his death was having directed the revolutionary first full-length "talkie," The Jazz Singer (Warner Bros., 1927) starring Al Jolson. He was buried without fanfare at the then-named Hollywood Memorial Park (now Hollywood Forever Cemetery) located next to Paramount Studios, but his grave was never marked.
The Hollywood Underground held a silent auction at its 2002 Annual Dinner, with the proceeds going to fund a long-deserved headstone for Mr. Crosland. The inspiration for this project was fellow HU member Larry Arthur who had been championing the cause until his own untimely death in March that same year.
Mr. Crosland was not without family, but Alan Crosland Jr., his son who became a director himself, was by now also deceased and attempts to locate other relatives were unsuccessful. So, discovering a definitive answer to the reason why he had remained seemingly forgotten continues to be a speculative mystery.
Undaunted, and through the collaborative research and creative efforts of many HU members, Project Remember Alan Crosland moved forward. Notably, arrangements for ordering and paying for the stone was handled by Mortician to the Stars, Mike Steen, and the labor and fees to install it was donated by HU friend and Hollywood Forever owner and president, Tyler Cassity.
Sixty-seven years after his tragic accident, Alan Crosland's grave was properly marked when the headstone was placed on October 24, 2003. This is a photo I took of it on my first visit with Mr. Crosland last summer with HU pals Steve and Harry:
