A Michael Jackson burial site remains a mystery for now

Morrison's grave in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Paris but also an ongoing nightmare for French officials. An early marker was filched in 1973. In 1981, a new gravestone and bust were erected on the 10th anniversary of his death. That bust was defaced and then disappeared in 1988. More recently, Morrison's family placed a flat stone on the grave, which is under surveillance by security guards.

This may explain why many celebrities and their families cremate the remains or keep their final resting spots away from prying eyes and hands. At Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale, the remains of stars locked away in vaults inaccessible to the general public include Humphrey Bogart, Sam Cooke and Sammy Davis Jr.

But graves can be big business. At least three websites tell where stars rest: findadeath.com, findagrave.com and beneathlosangeles.com.

And it's a living for people like Benny Hill. The veteran limo driver runs a "grave line" tour service that shepherds tourists to the graves of celebrities such as Farrah Fawcett, who was recently buried in the same Westwood cemetery were Monroe was buried, as well as Natalie Wood, Dean Martin, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and Burt Lancaster.

"They want to see where people get killed or died, murdered or buried," Hill said.

Even in the celebrity-packed Westwood cemetery, there's no doubt which decedent has the most sought-after grave. Rumor has it that other celebrities have bid top dollar for the plot adjacent to Monroe's, Hill said. And then there's the physical evidence.

Monroe's grave marker is "the dirtiest one there," Hill said. "You look at the wall and there is lipstick, fingerprints, handprints."

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scott.collins@latimes.com

susan.king@latimes.com

Times staff writer Yvonne Villarreal contributed to this report.