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Jackson joins 'cemetery of stars'
4 Sep 2009Michael Jackson joins a long list of famous Americans who have been laid to rest in a Forest Lawn cemetery over the last century.
The private cemeteries, described as "memorial parks and mortuaries", are located on 10 sites in California.
Set in vast, landscaped grounds with gardens, sculptures, churches and fountains, Forest Lawn offers a range of funeral packages costing up to 12,780 dollars (£7,880).
While the company is secretive about celebrities who are buried there, visitors have passed on their knowledge about where to find them via the internet.
Stars including Bette Davis, Lucille Ball and Stan Laurel are said to be in the Hollywood Hills memorial park - the venue for Jackson's private funeral.
The graves of Hollywood actors such as Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn and Clark Gable are reported to be found in Forest Lawn's Glendale cemetery, which opened in 1906.
Although some graves can be spotted on a trip through the large parks, others - such as Bogart's - are contained in locked gardens that are closed to the public.
Jackson's final resting place in Los Angeles is billed on the Forest Lawn website as offering "an idyllic landscape that proudly showcases our unique collection of American architecture and artworks that honour our country".
It features an historical mosaic, The Birth of Liberty; a reproduction of Boston's fabled Old North Church; bronze statues of Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln; and a tribute to the early civilisations of North America who lived in what is now Mexico.
Graves are positioned in areas of the cemetery with names such as Sheltering Hills, Celestial Love, Vale of Hope, Enduring Faith and Murmuring Trees.
Celebrity hotspot Glendale boasts replicas of Michelangelo's works including David, and Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper recreated in stained glass.
As well as funerals, Forest Lawn hosts weddings and other functions.
