Dearly Departed Tours

After reading the reviews here, I was very excited to take this tour. I'm sad to say it was a bit disappointing. Being a local and familiar with the area, the tour pointed out many things I had already seen on my own. I was expecting more obscure sites. The van makes it very difficult to see the sites we went by, too. It would have been more enjoyable in an open-top vehicle I think. It was nice to stop for a break at the park on Canon. I want to say it would have been better if we would have been able to get out more to actually see the things we were passing, but that would have been a mess, too. We basically wizzed by a bunch of places that we couldn't get a good view of. I took zero pictures, which is unusual for me. The guide was very disappointing as well. He did seem to know some Hollywood history, and was eager to share--though he seemed more eager to impress us with his name dropping, personal anecdotes about meeting celebrities, and social commentary. Much of the commentary about the actual sites was pre-recorded and played through the van's stereo, which I feel neutral about. It was often difficult to understand how the commentary related to the theme (e.g., Jackie Stalone's house, Marylin lived HERE too, Johnny Depp's house, Judy Garland's childhood home....). While some of this stuff was interesting, it seemed hodge-podge; especially since we drove past some equally significant sites that weren't mentioned (Joan Crawford's apartment, Judy Garland's adult home, Desi and Lucy's former house, the other homes of former stars in Beverly Hills...) I did enjoy the binder they let each of us use during the tour. The tour description also promises a list of sites to see on our own after the tour--which amounted to about three sites of little interest. Had I been from out of town and known nothing about Hollywood, it may have been more enjoyable. As a local, I would definitely not pay $40 for one of these tours again. I think I'd get a better experience talking the price down for one of the open-top bus tours being peddled on Hollywood Blvd.

I took my husband on the tour on July 11th while on a short stop in L.A. during our vacation. It was more fun than I had even anticipated! I wanted to hear about the not-so-glamorous side of Hollywood and got it. You can find lots of overly-reverent tours in Hollywood, but nothing else like Dearly Departed, which manages to both pay homage to the stars and their achievements while still keeping them human, and yes, dead. Richard was an extremely entertaining and informative tour guide, and very kindly took several pictures of me with the tour van when we made a stop. My husband was not sure about how much he's appreciate the tour, given it's tone, but at the end of it, he very enthusiastically said: "That was a GREAT tour!" Highly recommended for people tired of the usual Hollywood stuff who want the real scoop on many of its stars.

Brian, the guide, obviously loves Hollywood and film and television and the behind the scenes. His enthusiam is infectious and his tidbits about Hollywood and what we saw were very interesting. He made the tour. He is the tour.

We took the Helter Skelter Tour having had a very positive experience with the Dearly Departed tour last year. This year's tour was also fantastic! Our tour guide Scott Michaels was engaging, well-informed, and kept us on the edge of our seats literally and figuratively! He obviously has a passion for this, which makes his tours so great. My son had read the book Helter Skelter and was interested to take the tour; I had not but after taking the tour I intend to read the book. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and would highly recommend the tour!

I realize we were spoiled by the fact that we were the only people booked on this particular tour, which meant we basically had Brian, our guide, to ourselves. He was fabulous: funny, a wealth of movie knowledge, passionate about film and about Los Angeles (including being involved in efforts to save and restore the disappearing buildings of old Hollywood). This tour is great for movie fans; it's much more than the generic "stars' homes" tours that are a dime a dozen (and often inaccurate). It's evident that Dearly Departed puts a lot of research into figuring out how a certain shot was created, or how a plain building was transformed into a movie set-piece, or exactly where on an otherwise anonymous stretch of road a particular scene took place. Having the TV in the bus is also a genius idea - instead of trying to remember what happened in a particular scene, we could watch it and then look at the real thing. While we were in LA, we did two movie tours: Warner studio and Dearly Departed's Hollywood Movie Tour. Both were great, but this one -- for the personal attention, the detail, the humor and the great insights -- is the little-known gem I'm recommending to friends.

The tour was excellent. For years I would come into Hollywood to do business, and this was the first time we decided to be tourists. Brian really made the tour. He is one of those people that is gifted at what he does. There are other tours, but this one is a step above the rest. We had so much fun, that we will do it again.

We had a wonderful time on the tour. The tour guide Randy was a hoot! He was a very knowledgeable on the topics plus provided additional info about the history of Hollywood. Would definitely take the tour again. Would also like it to be longer and add more crime scenes and death. Will denfinitely recommend it to anyone heading to LA!!

if you like taking the road less traveled, this one's for you. i live in LA and throughly enjoyed getting to see my city through a different lens. our guide was a wealth of fascinating trivia about the darker side of Hollywood. creepy fun!

We had such a good time on this tour that we stayed and went on the tour right after it. Glad there was room for us!!!!! This was one of the best tours we have been on and would highly recommend it to everyone!!!! Thanks for the great time!

A nicely planned tour. The highlight, however, is the enthusiasm and knowledge of the host (Brian). It is exhilarating to see someone so passionate about his adopted home, especially since LA comes under so much criticism these days.

This was a very interesting and factual tour that brings you back to the time these events happened. I was about 9 when this all happened and never really knew all the facts about this case (nor should I have at that age). However, these awful murders are still being discussed today as those convicted come up for parole, or pass away. And the innocent people involved are still in the news. Shows many connections to figures in popular music and culture. Scott did a great job showing us the actual locations, timeline of events, and supplementing that with popular music at that time, and audio and video clips. This tour does not glorify the events, but is a serious historical crash course that has been thoroughly researched and even addresses some often heard but incorrect information about the murders. This tour will save you hours of reading. Working in law enforcement with an interest in how individuals and groups function under mind control, I found this tour very interesting. I would think anyone from any background would find this tour very interesting. And for those that were not yet born when the actual murders took place, I highly recommend this tour--especially to anyone that thinks glorifying Manson or wearing T shirts of his likeness is "cool".

We talked about how much fun both the tour and Brian were the whole way home! Our family's are so jealous, they all want to take the tour now. In fact our Mom is very interested in taking the "Nasty Nellie Tour", she loves LHOTP! Personally, I can't wait to save up and take another tour with Brian, he's the best! In fact all 3 of us would love to meet Brian for Margarita's and horrible Mexican food on our next trip. LOL Our only criticism of the tour would be it's not nearly long enough. Thanks for the great time, Lynea

My husband and I really enjoyed this tour. We didn't know what to expect but found the tour interesting, entertaining and loved our tour guide Brian. He was very very informative and made the tour so fun. Brian was also very accomodating and even went back to a past site when someone on our tour realized they left their purse behind at a previous site. The tour was awesome and highly recommended!

I thought the tour was very exciting! It had a lot of old and new hollywood combined. It made me want 2 go on your other tours as well! Bryan was very knowledgeable and funny! We had some one who talked a little to much on our tour and bryan knew how and when to cut him off so it wouldn't interrupt and ruin the tour and I like that a lot! One thing I was hoping to see was Oj's house but I heard its not added to the tour yet and seeing hollywood forever would have been cool to. All and all not seeing those two things wasn't a huge loss though because there is so much else to see. I will definitely recommend this tour to my friends and for the money its well worth it! Thanks :)

The Dearly Departed Tour is wonderful! Brian is a funny, articulate host and tour guide, and the van is very comfortable. Not only did we see some awesome homes of some "Dearly Departed" and current stars and would-be stars, but some hotels and motels, sidewalks, parking lots, vacant lot, and a park. Where something happened, Brian showed us! We even saw Larry King walking out of his house. Additionally, Brian tells some wonderful stories about the stars of past and present with some personal anecdotes thrown in. He's more than happy to stop the van if you wish to get out and take pictures of a site. The guidebook at each van seat contains wonderful pictures and information about some stars, and the autopsy pictures of The Black Dahlia are covered with a warning sheet for those who don't wish to view them. In short, while the tour's subject matter can be deliciously ghoulish and gossipy, there is respect shown for us patrons as well as for the "Departed." As the tour description says, there are some sexual details and details of murders, so those who wish to avoid such things should pick another tour. However, there were two teenagers on the tour with their parents, and they did just fine. Thank you, Brian, and we'll be back for more! A+++++++++ and wild applause!!!!