At Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where movie legends and real history mix, one grave often confuses visitors searching for famous names. When people see the name “Hitchcock” on a headstone, many think they have found the grave of the famous director Alfred Hitchcock. But that’s not the case. Alfred Hitchcock was cremated in 1980, and his ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean. The Hitchcock buried at Hollywood Forever is actually Dr. William Wesley Hitchcock, a well-known Los Angeles doctor and surgeon whose story is tied to the city’s early civic and medical history, long before Hollywood became known for movies.
By Allan R. Ellenberger
William Wesley Hitchcock was born on November 16, 1854, in Mount Vernon, Illinois, at a time when the Civil War was still years away. He grew up in a generation that saw huge changes in America, like the settlement of the West, the growth of railroads, the industrial revolution, and the start of modern medicine. Although not much is known about his early childhood, records show that Hitchcock took his medical education seriously when the field was becoming more formal and scientific.
Hitchcock graduated from Rush Medical College and Bellevue Medical College, both well-known schools that trained many top doctors in the late 1800s. Before moving to California, he spent seven years practicing medicine in South Bend, Indiana, gaining experience that would help him become one of Los Angeles’s leading physicians.
When Hitchcock arrived in Los Angeles in 1887, the city was still changing. It was growing fast because of new railroads and land deals, but it was much smaller and rougher than the city we know today.
Doctors were important community members, acting as leaders, businesspeople, and advisors. Hitchcock quickly became part of this group and was known as “a leading physician and surgeon” and was well respected in Los Angeles medical circles. He served for several years as president of California Hospital, which was one of the city’s key medical centers at the time. Back then, hospitals were changing from charitable shelters into modern places for treatment and surgery, so being president was a big responsibility.
Hitchcock also worked as medical director for the Occidental Life Insurance Company of California. This job showed how medicine, business, and public service were becoming more connected in the early 1900s. Life insurance companies depended on trusted doctors to check applicants, set medical rules, and oversee exams, especially when diseases, accidents, and shorter lifespans were common.
His personal life was also steady. In 1880, he married Ella Margaret Haller (1862-1940) (her ashes are buried beside him in an unmarked grave). They were married for many years and had at least one daughter, May Leeds, who outlived him. He also had a brother, Milton Luther Hitchcock, who lived in Los Angeles, and a sister, Mrs. Henry Hubbard, who lived in Iowa.
Dr. William Wesley Hitchcock died on December 17, 1922, at the Hotel Darby, 234 West Adams Boulevard, when he was sixty-eight. His funeral was held privately at the Hollywood Cemetery chapel. At that time, Hollywood Cemetery was already a popular place for important people in Los Angeles to be buried. Before it became famous for movie stars, the cemetery was the final resting place for civic leaders, businesspeople, doctors, and early settlers who helped shape the city. Hitchcock was buried on Millionaires Row, Section 12, Lot 418, after the private service.
Over time, history took an odd turn for Dr. Hitchcock. As Alfred Hitchcock became more famous around the world, people visiting Hollywood Forever started to notice the name “Hitchcock” on his grave. It was easy for them to assume it belonged to the famous director. Online cemetery lists, ghost tours, and curious tourists sometimes repeated the wrong idea that the director of Psycho, Vertigo, and Rear Window was buried there. He is not.
Above: The Darby Hotel at 234 West Adams Boulevard during the 1920s, where prominent Los Angeles physician Dr. William Wesley Hitchcock died in 1922; the historic building still survives today as the Grace Apartment Hotel.
Today, people who visit the Hitchcock grave at Hollywood Forever often expect to find a connection to suspense movies. Instead, they discover something quieter but just as meaningful: the story of a respected Los Angeles doctor whose life is part of the city’s forgotten civic history, hidden beneath Hollywood’s myths.
Dr. William Wesley Hitchcock did not direct thrillers, but his life is still part of Los Angeles’s bigger story—a city where medicine, ambition, change, and fame have always gone hand in hand.
Tomorrow on The Hollywoodland Revue: this week’s “Coming Attractions” roundup featuring the newest theatrical releases, critical reactions, audience buzz, and recommendations on what may—or may not—be worth your ticket money.
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