Category: History Publisher: Grave Distractions Publications
ISBN-10: 0578046148
Type: Non-Fiction
Pages: 220
Copyright: Dec 17, 2009
ISBN-13: 9780578046143
One of humanity's greatest unspoken fears is having our mortal remains desecrated in the grave. These fears reach as far back as the ancient Egyptians and are as close at hand as today's headlines. Skullduggery examines 45 real life tales of those who would disturb the dead's eternal slumber. Discover the post-mortem histories of Elvis, Groucho Marx, Charlie Chaplin, Thomas Paine, Alexander the Great, Eva Peron, Graham Parsons, Che Guevara, Albert Einstein, and others who were not allowed to rest in peace. The motivations for these ghoulish crimes range from greed and avarice to pure affection. Once you step into the world of Skullduggery, you will never pass by a cemetery at night without considering what forces are at work in the dark.
Excerpt
Did You See What Was in the Back of the Station Wagon?
Cedars Sinai Hospital in Beverly Hills has probably treated more celebrities than any other medical facility in the world. The facility has also seen the passing of such notables as Johnny Carson, River Phoenix, Frank Sinatra, and George Tobias. You remember George Tobias don't you? The character actor had 95 film and TV credits beginning in 1927 and spanned over the next 50 years . Tobias is best remembered for his 54 episode run on Bewitched as the long suffering, henpecked neighbor Abner Kravitz.
Tobias retired from acting in 1977 and settled into the twilight obscurity of a Hollywood character actor. George frequently let service men, who couldn't afford a hotel room in Los Angeles, stay at this ranch. His role opposite Gary Cooper in Sergeant York had given Tobias a good look into the life of a soldier, and he never turned a serviceman away. While living the quiet life at his ranch, Tobias contracted bladder cancer. Tobias lost his battle with the disease on February 26, 1980 at Cedars Sinai.
Warren McGill, the cemetery mortician at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, received the late night call to transport Tobias' body to the mortuary. Pulling the slightly modified 1977 Ford station wagon into the receiving area, McGill took to his grim task. There was always paperwork that had to be filled out and stories to be swapped with the hospital staff before any corpse could be moved. This administrative tango completed, McGill slid the gurney holding Tobias' body into the rear of the station wagon.
The drive to the Memorial Park should have taken no more than 30 minutes in the early morning hours. Traffic was light as McGill drove down Sunset Boulevard, but anything can happen on the streets of Los Angeles. As McGill approached the Sierra Bonita intersection, another car clipped the mortician's wagon. The accident was bad enough to warrant exchanging insurance information. McGill got out of the station wagon to talk to the other driver, leaving the keys in the ignition. The habit had been formed while driving vehicles around the cemetery. There was often little time to fumble around for keys when someone else needed immediate use of a vehicle.
McGill didn't notice the two men that approached the Memorial Park's station wagon. His focus was on finishing the business of the accident and getting Tobias' body back to the funeral home. Seizing the moment, the two thieves jumped into the station wagon and sped off north on Sierra Bonita. It would be a short three blocks before the men realized they had another passenger.
The Ford came to a screeching halt at Franklin Avenue as the car thieves freaked out when they realized a corpse came along with the car. McGill could hear the pair screaming as they ran east down Franklin Avenue towards the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Tobias and McGill eventually made it back to Mount Sinai Memorial Park a little later than the staff expected him.
Visions of lawsuits and bad press had plagued the owners of the Memorial Park that night. The National Enquirer had already sent their hounds to sniff out the story, and more press was sure to come. It would be the next day at Tobias' memorial service, that his only living relatives would be informed of the theft and recovery of the body. Tobias' brother’s initial reaction could have been no better described than pissed. After the profuse apologies of the funeral directors, the brother started to think about how George would have taken the news. The sound of George laughing at his last adventure staved off a lawsuit.
The staff at Mount Sinai Memorial Park looked back and chuckled at their misfortune. Little did they realize that this would not be the cemetery's last issue with remains.
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