Hollywood Forever cemetery tour

"People are really drawn to stars who die young," says Karie Bible, guide on the Cemetery of the Stars Tour. "They never grow old, or lose their looks, or make bad movies."

Her point is illustrated by the crypt we're standing next to: that of Rodolfo Guglielmi Valentino, 1895-1926. Better known as Rudolf Valentino, he was the first great Hollywood star of the silent movie era.

For years after he died, a mysterious woman in black visited his crypt here at the Hollywood Forever cemetery, placing a single red rose.

Bible has adopted that legend, dressing in black for her weekly tours of the place where so many famous actors and directors have been laid to rest. She lays no claim, however, to the numerous red marks left on the marble of Valentino's crypt.

"None of that lipstick belongs to me," she says. "It leaves stains."

Outside in the sunshine, Bible's funereal garb contrasts with the beautiful grounds. Opposite the mausoleum is a lake, whose grassy shores are dotted with graves and memorials.

One of the most recent graves is that of Johnny Ramone, who died in 2004. A statue of the musician, posed with guitar in hand, is surrounded by flowers. Nearby is a memorial to Hattie McDaniel, who played the maid in Gone with the Wind.

It's hard to believe that this attractive place was in an awful state in 1998, when its long-time owner, Jules Roth, passed away.

"He was a gangster and a white collar criminal, and he ran this place into the ground," says Bible. "It was falling apart, on the brink of being closed down. If that had happened, it would have meant a padlock on those front gates up there."