Among the many forgotten pioneers resting at Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a man who spent much of his life challenging the accepted medical wisdom of his day. Dr. Thomas Powell was a physician, author, lecturer, sanitarium founder, and one of the most controversial medical figures of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Admired by supporters as a visionary and dismissed by critics as a crank, Powell became nationally known as the "germ-eater," a nickname earned through a series of astonishing public experiments in which he deliberately exposed himself to disease-causing organisms to prove his theories. Today, his story remains one of the most unusual in Hollywood Forever's long history.

Even long before movie stars became the main draw of Hollywood, there was another type of celebrity who held the public's attention. This small Swedish immigrant would calmly walk into cages containing furious leopards and end up gaining their full trust. Olga Celeste, who was known all over the world as the 'Leopard Lady', was one of the real pioneers of the motion picture industry. When few women were allowed to work with dangerous animals, she established an outstanding career by carrying out exactly what everyone else regarded as impossible. For over forty years she trained wild cats for circuses, vaudeville, and films, helping to determine the appearance of early Hollywood adventure movies and at the same time winning the respect of both filmmakers and audiences.

Before Hollywood became the center of the movie industry, there was Inceville, a film colony set between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains. Though now mostly remembered through old photos, film clips, and stories, Inceville was once the most ambitious studio in the world and set the stage for the modern Hollywood studio system.

Saturday afternoon I attended a special screening of the long un-seen Letty Lynton (1932) hosted by the Art Deco Society and Hollywood Heritage at the restored 1929 American Legion Hollywood Post 43 Theatre. The magnificent new 4K restoration of the Joan Crawford film was introduced by film historians Scott Eyman, George Feltenstein and Richard Adkins who shared insights on the incredible journey to bring the film back to life.

Hollywood doesn’t need another monument or a new studio research center. If it could choose the perfect library, it would be on Hollywood Boulevard, under the simple sign of Larry Edmunds Bookshop. The shop is packed with scripts, photos, biographies, and all sorts of paperwork from an industry that rarely looks back. The aisles are tight and crowded. Larry Edmunds, whose full name was Laurence O’Connell Edmunds, started it all. He was quiet and bookish. Though his life ended in tragedy, his legacy is part of Hollywood’s story.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Hollywood Forever Cemetery will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of screen legend Rudolph Valentino with the 99th Annual Valentino Memorial Service and a special centennial screening of Valentino’s final film, The Son of the Sheik (1926) on Sunday, August 23, 2026.

If you're planning a trip to the movies this weekend, Hollywood has something for nearly every taste. From gritty revenge thrillers and cerebral science-fiction horror to twisted fairy tales, documentaries, and independent dramas, this week's lineup offers a diverse mix of mainstream entertainment and specialty fare. Here's a look at the most notable releases opening in theaters on July 24.

Thousands of actors, directors, producers, and performers are buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Many of their names once shone brightly on marquees around the world. Yet, some of the cemetery’s most fascinating residents never chased fame. Rose Edith Williams was a humble housekeeper who kept a big secret, only becoming one of Los Angeles’s most talked-about women after her death.

Tom Holland doesn’t put on airs. Despite becoming one of the world’s most recognizable faces at a young age, he still embodies that every-guy feeling like he can’t quite believe he’s making it as an actor. Sure, most people know him as Spider-Man. But Holland was already kind, disciplined, talented, funny and extremely empathetic long before slipping into Marvel’s iconic suit of red and blue.

There are not many child stars who have successfully transitioned to adult actresses without being damaged along the way. Zendaya is one of those performers who has avoided pop culture's conveyor belt of destruction. She is too talented to fade away after being a teen celebrity, and at only twenty-nine, she is already one of the defining faces of her generation. She is not everywhere all the time like some celebrities because she picks her projects carefully. Zendaya's success comes from consistency. She is smart and knows how to navigate her career, always making the best choices.

For almost fifty years after her death, Hattie McDaniel’s final wish was not granted. She was the first African-American actor to win an Academy Award and hoped to be buried among Hollywood’s stars. However, the cemetery she chose turned her away because of her race. It was a painful irony that someone so celebrated was denied a resting place alongside her peers.

Another movie weekend has arrived, offering something for nearly every taste—from a long-awaited epic by one of today's most acclaimed filmmakers to thought-provoking documentaries and independent dramas. Whether you're looking for a spectacle that is best experienced on the biggest IMAX screen you can find or a smaller film that may become one of the year's hidden gems, this weekend's slate offers a diverse range of choices. Here's a look at what's opening in theaters.