Jackson funeral service at LA’s Forest Lawn, final resting place for many stars

Forest Lawn final resting place for many stars

LOS ANGELES — A cemetery that is the burial place for many celebrities was slowly returning to normal Tuesday after its latest service — a private memorial for Michael Jackson.

Sprawling Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills reopened by late morning after the Jackson family moved on to a public service in downtown Los Angeles.

“The cemetery wants to get back to normal,” said Los Angeles police Officer April Harding as she tried to disperse the media throng gathered at the cemetery’s massive gates. She said Jackson’s body would not be returning to the cemetery, but didn’t say where it would be taken.

One family had to wait briefly to gain entrance to Forest Lawn because surrounding streets were closed to allow Jackson’s funeral motorcade to pass. Peter and Alexandra Wintersteller and their 5-year-old daughter biked from their nearby Los Feliz home to visit the grave of a child friend of the family buried there a week before.

“We could see the commotion,” Wintersteller said. “I think the hoopla is warranted for Michael Jackson. We don’t have royalty here. We have presidents and pop idols.”

Forest Lawn is the final resting place for dozens of actors, musicians and other notables, including Liberace, Gene Autry, Bette Davis and Andy Gibb. Recently deceased actor David Carradine and “Tonight Show” sidekick Ed McMahon also are buried there.

Jackson’s maternal grandmother, Martha Bridges, is buried at Forest Lawn, beneath a dark, flat headstone decorated with etched roses and bearing the inscription, “Beloved Mother and Grandmother, 1907-1990.”

The cemetery lawn has sweeping views of the San Fernando Valley and is close to the Warner Bros. and Walt Disney studios. Scenes from the 1915 D.W. Griffith epic “The Birth of a Nation” were filmed in the area.

Earlier Tuesday, a half-dozen fans waited hours to get into the area. Jobana Soto, 25, flew from her home in Peru to Los Angeles last Friday to honor Jackson. She spent $800 on the round-trip ticket and spent $63 for a cab from the airport to the cemetery.

“I was a big fan of Michael Jackson. I’ve been listening to him since I was born,” said Soto, who was sunburned from her wait. “None of my family was crazy enough to come.”

David Calvo, 28, traveled from Hawaii to Los Angeles last Saturday. His twin sister, Paola, came from Germany to meet him in Los Angeles. They spent more than $3,000 on the trip.

They arrived at a police blockade down the street from the park at 6:30 a.m.

“When you follow Michael Jackson, you just feel it,” he said. He did not see the motorcade come into the park but did not seem disappointed.

“We don’t want to follow the car. We just want to show respect,” he said. “No screaming. No yelling.”