For an in-depth experience, take a Hollywood Forever Cemetery tour with a film-historian guide, or join a city walking tour or bus tour that passes through (or near) the cemetery. Many such tours take in other Los Angeles sights such as Paramount Pictures Studio and Hollywood Boulevard.
The cemetery doubles as a cultural event center, with programming ranging from film screenings to concerts. On many summer Saturday nights, the Cinespia movie series screens classic films such as Sunset Boulevard on the Fairbanks Lawn for large crowds, and throughout the year, various musical acts perform at the on-site Masonic Lodge.
The cemetery's original owners, San Fernando Valley developers Isaac Lankershim and son-in-law Isaac Van Nuys (a major boulevard in north Hollywood and a town in the northwest valley bear their names), sold much of it in 1920 to Paramount Pictures, RKO Studios, and the Beth Olam Synagogue. As a result, many Hollywood figures—such as Cecil B. DeMille and Peter Lorre—are buried here. It's also the final resting place of as prominent residents of Jewish descent, including gangster Bugsy Siegel.