| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
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More death, more details, less drivel and drive-by
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| Thu, Feb 26 1:00 PM |
dr92649 |
Male |
40-49 |
Local |
Family Without Children |
| As an avid reader of findadeath I was expecting a tour tightly and entirely focused on the locations and circumstances surrounding the deaths of celebrities. We starting out strong with several specific sites and lots of interesting details supported by a solid audio track and an interesting but barely adequate reference binder. Unfortunately, at times the tour seemed hard-pressed to find anything interesting in a given area other than the barely visible roof-top of some reclusive famous person's home, or worse yet, the lot where an actual, original celebrity home had formerly stood, only to be told it had been demolished long ago. Seeing various sites of recent scandals involving still-living celebrities was topical but I thought it was outside the advertised scope of the tour and therefor superfluous. The final third of the tour seemed fixated on the Manson Family saga (heard WAY too much about that thanks!), and the run past Paramount added little to the journey. The van was pretty comfortable and we both appreciated the bathroom breaks. In general this was a good tour -- albeit inconsistent -- with an extremely knowledgeable guide (Well done Richard!). |
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Value for Money!
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| Thu, Feb 26 1:00 PM |
sjmculver |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| I cannot stress how great this tour is for value for money. You get a huge amount of information, see some fantastic places, get a couple of rest stops, all while being driven around safely in absolute comfort. I highly recommend this tour as a great way to see the sights, learn some history and hear some great old time Hollywood stories. Thank you guys - great job. |
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Unique and Exciting Tour of Hollowood
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| Sat, Feb 21 1:30 PM |
Zeppo1 |
Male |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| This is one of the best if not the best tour I've ever taken of Hollywwod and the surrounding areas. The guide was extremely informative and friendly and seemed to be having as good as time as the tourists. Next time I am going to take the "Manson Tour" since I have been very interested in the Tate Murders etc. This tour touches on it a little.
There is much more to the tour than just the dark side of the movie industry. The mini-bus goes past many Hollywood landmarks including film locations, movie-star homes, notorious locales, and of course celebrity death locales.
This tour is highly recommened and I am planning on taking some friends on the tour next time I return to L.A. |
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Loved It!
|
| Thu, Feb 19 1:00 PM |
olliewim |
Female |
30-39 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| So nice to meet Scott in person after enjoying findadeath for years--it was fun and very informative! |
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Well worth it!
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| Wed, Feb 18 1:00 PM |
EJDunc |
Female |
60-69 |
International Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| We enjoyed this tour very much. Scott was articulate, accommodating, knowledgeable, and most of all passionate about his topic. His passion and enthusiasm for LA stories made this tour a stand out. |
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|
not really that tragic
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| Sat, Feb 14 1:00 PM |
b4benham |
Male |
20-29 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| The tour was good but I expected more "Dearly Departed". The tour actaully became another tour of LA. It seemed as if there were only 10 or some tragic locations to take us to, and that being the fact, we "toured LA" while traveling to those locations.
I did, however, learn more about LA than expected. |
|
|
Lots of Fun!!!
|
| Sat, Feb 14 1:00 PM |
mcarpo |
Male |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| Had a great time on this tour. Our guide had a ton of knowledge about the area, old Hollywood in particular. The audio portion (911 recordings, etc) was also really neat, albeit a bit too loud. My chief criticism was that our guide spent a lot of time dropping names, which got kind of tiresome. You are obviously an expert on this topic - you don't need to drop names to lend more credibility to the tour. The detail and thoroughness of the tour speak for themselves. I am highly recommending this tour, but it's not because you know Danny Thomas. Also, I loved everything about the tour, but it wasn't quite as scandal-oriented as I'd expected. For instance, the "House of Davids" was interesting, but seemed out of place. It's a quirky thing to see, but it was basically the equivalent of taking us to see an Angelyne billboard. Finally, the tour starts just a couple of blocks from the Peterson Automotive Museum - why not show us where the Notorious B.I.G. was shot? That's interesting, and still remains unsolved. Overall, though, this was a great experience. I'd like to come back for the Helter Skelter tour. |
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The best tour in LA!
|
| Fri, Feb 13 1:00 PM |
madelinex |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Other |
| Having been to LA many times, I'm more interested in people who are NOT there anymore, than those who are there now. So I went on a ride that had more thrills, spills and chills than a rollercoaster?the Dearly Departed tour. Our guide Scott is obsessed. Check out his site. He's the best man for the job - showing us the famous places where infamous events occurred - good, bad and ugly.
We were provided with historic photos of each site to compare with the locations as they appear today. Theme songs, sound bytes, news clips and actual 911 calls placed us right into each scene.
The Beverly Hillbillies theme song projected us into the Clampetts' rollicking jalopy, surrounded by towering palm trees on both sides of the street in the opening credits. I think we were all momentarily transposed into black and white too! We saw the exact spot on the street where James Dean lies in the opening scene of Rebel Without A Cause. William Holden?s apartment, the Alto Nido from the film Sunset Blvd. with Gloria Swanson remains unchanged.
We learn that TMZ stands for Thirty Mile Zone, a term coined in the 60s. Apparently, everything that?s important happens in a 30-mile radius from the intersection of Beverly and La Cienega.
We saw many Marilyn Monroe related spots. There was endless trivia and banter between Scott and the knowledgeable tourists on the bus. Scott owns some remarkable memorabilia; a piece of the Hindenberg, part of the linoleum floor from the Ambassador hotel?s kitchen exit where R.F. Kennedy fell after being shot, tiles from Jayne Mansfield's swimming pool and more.
Scott will take you off route if you have a special request that is nearby. He took us to Lucille Ball's house, and Desilu studios. 1-2-3-4!!! 'Rockaway Beach' began as we pass the apartment of Dee Dee Ramone, and the Hollywood Forever cemetery where Johnny Ramone lies, along with hundreds of stars from Tinseltown?s golden years.
Scott feverishly rattled off names of the deceased, and while passing Cedars-Sinai Hospital, he was nearly speaking in tongues to list all the births and deaths which occurred there.
The chilling confessions of the Menendez brothers to the police were the soundtrack as we pass the house where they killed both their parents. We are serenaded by Bauhaus as we pass Bela Lugosi's home. We see the hotel where Mae West lived. There are hundreds of aging actors from classic films of bygone eras living alone in hotels and in crumbling buildings, still waiting for their phones to ring. They are the true essence of Hollywood!
Scott points out the section of the Sunset Strip where they 'paved Paradise (an old estate and hotel) and put up a parking lot.' The tours differ each time, depending on traffic & weather, so you are always in for a surprise. We covered 40 miles! Scott will soon have his Movie Tour license, which will allow him to freeze-frame historic films right next to the actual locations where they were made. |
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Must Do!
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| Fri, Feb 13 1:00 PM |
JLGoosby |
Female |
20-29 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| The Dearly Departed tour is a must do for tourist and locals. Scott knows so much about the history of Hollywood that I wish I had taken notes. It was definitely an afternoon well spent. |
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Great tour!
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| Sat, Feb 7 1:00 PM |
eri2109 |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| Great tour! Great guide! I will recommend it and do it again! |
