10 Reasons To Visit Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Before You're Dead)

4. Holly Came From Miami, F-L-A

FILE - This Jan.29,2010 file photo shows the Hollywood sign as seen in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. Thirty-five years after it was rebuilt, the sign's letters will be stripped down to sheet metal, primed and given a new coat of white paint. The 10-
New York Times

Lou Reed's Take A Walk On The Wild Side is one of the greatest songs in rock 'n' roll history. It's also based on a real person, Holly Woodlawn, who fittingly, is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Born Haroldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez Danhakl in Puerto Rico, he grew up in Miami Beach to a middle class family. In 1962 at the age of 15, Haroldo left home with the desire to live as transgender, adopting the name of Audrey Hepburn's character in Breakfast at Tiffany's, 'Holly'.

After hitchhiking to New York City, her new life proved difficult at first, living on the streets and turning tricks to survive. She would eventually cross paths with Andy Warhol, and emerged as one of his superstars, joining Edie Segwick, Nico, and Candy Darling at Warhol's legendary studio, The Factory.

Woodlawn would go on to appear in several movies and TV shows throughout her career as an actress and legendary drag queen. She passed away on 6 December 2015.

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Christopher Warner is an actor and freelance writer. His articles have appeared in numerous magazines and websites across multiple genres, including World War Two Quarterly, Portland Monthly, and bootsnall.com