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CNN Live Today

Hollywood Cemetery Goes Hi-Tech

Aired June 17, 2002 - 11:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In Hollywood, the final resting place for some stars has become high tech. Our Paul Clinton takes us now to an interactive celebrity cemetery that has become popular with the tourists.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL CLINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nestled in the shadow of Paramount Studios, Hollywood Forever Memorial Park is the final resting place for many film making pioneers. Douglas Fairbanks, Peter Lorre, Jayne Mansfield, and Janet Gaynor are among hem.

Cemetery owners Brent and Tyler Cassity have turned it into an increasingly popular tourist attraction by adding interactive tributes for departed stars. Fans just punch up a video memorial at one of several kiosks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do more and more celebrity biographies every month, and they are the more obscure ones at this point.

CLINTON: The cemetery is the subject of an HBO documentary. Ironically, the network behind is Six Feet Under. Usually reserved for celebrities, the video service is now available to the public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As it is now, when you walk into most cemeteries, you have a stone, and we see ourselves as filling in that dash with the whole story, so that generations from now, great- grandchildren can come and access those memories.

CLINTON: The brothers have built their own production company on site to make the videos.

BRENT CASSITY, CEO, FOREVER ENTERPRISES: We are hopefully revolutionizing the way that people capture the memory of the person, and if we can do that, I think families will really appreciate that.

CLINTON: At Hollywood Forever, the main draw is still the celebrity tombs, like Rudolph Valentino's.

(on camera): How many people actually come and visit this particular site?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, there are people daily who come here and leave flowers, looks like they left some wine here. He's the most visited person here.

CLINTON (voice-over): Tyrone Power Jr. has been coming here for years. His movie star father died before he was born.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually came here as a child. My father's stunt double, good friend named Mike Steckler (ph), took me here as a kid, and I learned to ride a bike in this place.

CLINTON: For the brothers, that's just the point. They want to make cemeteries a place where people can come and celebrate both life and memories.

Paul Clinton, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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