Skip to main content
Find a Grave
  • Home
  • Memorials
  • Cemeteries
  • Famous
  • Contribute
  • Register
  • Sign In
    •
    • Register
    • Sign In
    Unlock Ad-Free Browsing & Support Find a Grave. Learn how
    Memorial updated successfully.
    Yeah, no more ads! Memorial has been sponsored successfully.
    Your suggestions have been submitted and will be reviewed by the memorial manager.
    Your edit to Family Members involves a famous memorial and will be reviewed by Find a Grave. If you made other changes, the memorial was updated.
    Memorial transferred successfully.
    Your edit did not contain any changes from the original.
    Thank you! Your suggested merge has been submitted for review.
    Managed by Find a Grave

    Find a Grave is currently managing this memorial because the previous manager is no longer active. Would you like to reclaim management of this memorial?

    Reclaim Management
    You are now the manager of this memorial.
    Thanks for helping with Find a Grave!

    You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. more details

    You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Read more

    Photo request sent successfully.
    Photo Request successfully deleted.
    Failed to delete photo request. Try again later.
    Memorial Transfer Successful

    As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Learn more about managing a memorial .

    The Photo Request has been fulfilled or deleted.

    Sponsored by:Dr Cody Sweet

    Donald Johnson Ellis

    1934 – 1978 • Forest Lawn Memorial Park

    • Memorial
    • Photos 4
    • Flowers 17
    Donald Johnson Ellis

    Photo added by Linda Carole Mustion

      Adding photos to this memorial is not allowed.

      Photo requests are not allowed for this cemetery.

      Suggest Edits Suggest
      • Suggest Edits
      • Report Duplicate
      Birth
      25 Jul 1934
      Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA
      Death
      17 Dec 1978 (aged 44)
      North Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, USA
      Burial
      Forest Lawn Memorial Park
      Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles County, California, USA Show Map GPS-Latitude: 34.1483071, Longitude: -118.3263881
      Plot
      Arlington section, Map #C30, Lot 1898, Single Ground Interment Space 4
      Memorial ID
      10780014 · View Source
      Musician. Don Ellis was a Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer and bandleader. He is best known for his experimental musical style punctuated with unusual and complex time signatures. The Don Ellis Orchestra made it's breakthrough performance at the 1966 Monterey Jazz Festival. In 1971, Don turned to film composing and won a Grammy for his work on "The French Connection." Cause of death: heart attack

      Musician. Don Ellis was a Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer and bandleader. He is best known for his experimental musical style punctuated with unusual and complex time signatures. The Don Ellis Orchestra made it's breakthrough performance at the 1966 Monterey Jazz Festival. In 1971, Don turned to film composing and won a Grammy for his work on "The French Connection." Cause of death: heart attack

      Inscription

      TRUMPETER – BAND LEADER – COMPOSER

      Gravesite Details

      Seventeen rows down (numbers ascending) from Curb Lot 1882 @ Westward Ln.

      A depiction of a trumpet is indicated on the memorial tablet.

      Family Members

      Parents

      • Evert Ezra Ellis

        1905–1989

      • Winston Eleanor Johnson Ellis

        1910–1998

      See more Ellis memorials in:

      • Forest Lawn Memorial Park
      • Hollywood Hills
      • Los Angeles County
      • California
      • USA
      • Find a Grave
      Flower Delivery Plant Memorial Tree Gravestone Cleaning

      Records on Ancestry

      • 1940 United States Federal Census

      • U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

      • California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1960-1985

      • California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997

      • U.S., Newspapers.comâ„Ē Obituary Index, 1800s-current

      By Ancestry®

      1. Memorials
      2. Region
      3. North America
      4. USA
      5. California
      6. Los Angeles County
      7. Hollywood Hills
      8. Forest Lawn Memorial Park
      9. Donald Johnson Ellis
      Sponsored by Dr Cody Sweet

      Learn about sponsoring

      • Maintained by: YankeeGraver
      • Originally Created by: Lisa Burks
      • Added: 13 Apr 2005
      • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
      • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10780014/donald_johnson-ellis: accessed ), memorial page for Donald Johnson Ellis (25 Jul 1934–17 Dec 1978), Find a Grave Memorial ID 10780014, citing Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles County, California, USA; Maintained by YankeeGraver (contributor 47149312).

      Add Photos for Donald Johnson Ellis

      Fulfill Photo Request for Donald Johnson Ellis

      Photo Request Fulfilled

      Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request

      There is an open photo request for this memorial

      Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?

      Drag images here or select from
      your computer for Donald Johnson Ellis memorial.

      Photo GPS coordinates found. Adjust the pin for greater precision.

      GPS coordinate options
      GPS coordinates for the memorial were saved successfully.
      Unable to load the map. You can still upload your photos.
      Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
      • Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
      • Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8 MB will be reduced. Photos larger than 20 MB will not be accepted
      All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
      General photo guidelines:
      • Photos larger than 8 MB will be optimized and reduced.
      • Photos larger than 20 MB will not be accepted.
      • Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
      • A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
      • The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
      • Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
      • No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
      • No post-mortem photos.
      • No AI-generated or digitally created images.

      Read full guidelines

      File Name
      File Name ·

      Request Grave Photo

      Photo request failed. Try again later.

      This memorial already has a grave photo. Please indicate why you think it needs another.

      The note field is required.

      Leave a Flower

      Add to your scrapbook
      Clear
        Loading...

        Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Add to your scrapbook

        NaN characters remaining
        Flower left by

        You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.

        Memorial Photos

        This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.

        Now Showing 1 of 4
        Larger memorial image loading...
        Loading...
        View original

        Added by:  Linda Carole Mustion on 12 Nov 2009

        Photo Updated
        Photo Failed to Update
        Cover Photo Change Saved.

        Photo type: Grave

        Now Showing 2 of 4
        Larger memorial image loading...
        Loading...
        View original

        Added by:  Lisa Burks on 13 Apr 2005

        Photo Updated
        Photo Failed to Update
        Cover Photo Change Saved.

        Photo type: Person

        Now Showing 3 of 4
        Larger memorial image loading...
        Loading...
        View original

        Added by:  Lisa Burks on 13 Apr 2005

        Photo Updated
        Photo Failed to Update
        Cover Photo Change Saved.

        Photo type: Grave

        Now Showing 4 of 4
        Larger memorial image loading...
        Loading...
        View original
        Don Ellis on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1969

        Added by:  Patrick H on 4 Aug 2025

        Photo Updated
        Photo Failed to Update
        Cover Photo Change Saved.

        Photo type: Person

        Share

        • Facebook
        • Twitter
        • Pinterest
        • Email

        Oops, we were unable to send the email.

        Oops, we were unable to send the email. Try again

        Please check the "Verify you are human" checkbox

        • The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Verify and try again.

        Add another email

        Message:
        I thought you might like to see a memorial for Donald Johnson Ellis I found on Findagrave.com.

        Check out this Find a Grave memorial

        Sending...

        Save To

        This memorial has been copied to your clipboard.
        Failed to copy
        • Ancestry
        • Virtual Cemetery
        • Copy to clipboard
        • Print

        Your Virtual Cemeteries

        Manage Virtual Cemeteries

        Report Abuse

        Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive?

        This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review.

        Failed to report flower. Try again later.

        Delete Flower

        Are you sure that you want to delete this flower?

        Failed to delete flower. Try again later.

        Delete Memorial

        Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial?

        Failed to delete memorial. Try again later.

        This memorial cannot be deleted. You can contact support with questions.

        Reported Problems

        Problem #index#:

        Details:

        Reported By:

        Reported On:

        There was an error deleting this problem. Try again later.

        Report a problem

        Please select a problem

        Recently Deceased

        Report a Duplicate Memorial

        Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Donald Johnson Ellis (10780014)?

        We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Learn more about merges.

        Invalid memorial

        Please enter a valid Memorial ID

        You cannot merge a memorial into itself

        Memorial has already been merged

        Memorial has already been removed

        Sponsored Memorial

        Yeah, no more ads! Memorial has been sponsored successfully.

        This memorial has been sponsored by Dr Cody Sweet.

        A sponsored memorial includes the following:

        • Exclusive premium layout with larger photos
        • Your sponsorship name is highlighted—or keep it hidden
        • All third party ads are removed for you and everyone
        • Ability to add 10 additional photos
        • Flowers left by you are highlighted as the sponsor
        • Sponsoring a memorial lasts forever
        • Learn more

        Request to Manage Memorial

        memorial photo

        Donald Johnson Ellis

        25 Jul 1934 – 17 Dec 1978

        This memorial is currently managed by Find a Grave. We'd be happy to transfer management to you.

        As a memorial manager you will be expected to:

        • Ensure that information on the memorial is accurate
        • Be available for other members to contact you
        • Respond respectfully to 'edit requests' and other contacts regarding this memorial
        • Transfer the memorial to any relative if they request it

        Learn more about managing memorials .

        Something went wrong with this request. Please wait a few minutes and try again.

        You have reached the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. If this memorial is a relative contact support for assistance. more details

        Transfer Management of Donald Johnson Ellis Memorial

        Use this form to transfer management of the Memorial for “Donald Johnson Ellis” to another Find a Grave contributor. Once the memorial is transferred, you will no longer manage it and will not be able to edit bio, dates, etc.

        To transfer this memorial to another contributor, enter their Find a Grave ID in the field below. You can also transfer the memorial to Find a Grave.

        Transfer Management of:
        Donald Johnson Ellis

        * You can find a member's Find a Grave ID under their name on their profile page.

        To Find a Grave ID is mandatory
        You cannot transfer a memorial to #4 Utah State Historical Society. This account is reserved for Utah State Historical Society Memorials. Transfer this memorial to #8 if you would like Find a Grave to manage it.
        You cannot transfer a memorial to #5 US Veterans Affairs. This account is reserved for US Veterans Affairs Memorials. Transfer this memorial to #8 if you would like Find a Grave to manage it.
        You cannot transfer a memorial to #6 CWGC/ABMC. This account is reserved for CWGC/ABMC Memorials. Transfer this memorial to #8 if you would like Find a Grave to manage it.
        You cannot transfer a memorial to #9 Find a Grave. This account is reserved for Famous Memorials. Transfer this memorial to #8 if you would like Find a Grave to manage it.
        You cannot transfer a memorial to yourself. You already manage this memorial.
        An error occurred. Try again later.
        The Find a Grave ID you provided does not match any member accounts.

        Are you sure you want to transfer management of this memorial to ?

        * This member is currently inactive, so Find a Grave will assume management.

        We will send an email to this member notifying them of the transfer.

        Delete Photo

        Are you sure that you want to delete this photo?

        Failed to delete photo. Try again later.

        1 photo picked...

        2 photos picked...

        This photo is larger than 20 MB. Please resize to less than 20 MB and try again.

        You may not upload any more photos to this memorial

        "Unsupported file type"

        Uploading...

        Waiting...

        Success

        Failed

        This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos

        This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial

        This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos

        This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial

        Invalid File Type

        Uploading 1 Photo

        Uploading 2 Photos

        1 Photo Uploaded

        2 Photos Uploaded

        Added by

        GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.

        Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.

        Enter numeric value

        Enter memorial Id

        Year should not be greater than current year

        Invalid memorial

        Duplicate entry for memorial

        You have chosen this person to be their own family member.

        Reported!

        This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.

        0% Complete
        Saved
        Select a photo type
        Saved
        • Memorials
        • Cemeteries
        • Contribute
        • Famous
        • Help
        • About
        • News
        • Store
        • Website Feedback
        • Facebook
        • X Formerly Twitter
        • Instagram
        English Deutsch Español Français Français canadien Italiano Nederlands Português Svenska æ—ĨæœŽčŠž Beta Dansk Beta Suomi Beta Norsk Beta Polski Beta
        Mobile Apps
        • Copyright © 2026 Find a Grave®
        • Privacy Statement ·
        • Terms and Conditions
        • · CCPA Notice at Collection
        • · Community Guidelines
        • · Site Map

        Sign in or Register

        You need a Find a Grave account to continue.

        Sign in to Find a Grave

        Sign-in to link to existing account

        There is a problem with your email/password.

        There is a problem with your email/password.

        There is a problem with your email/password.

        We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.

        We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.

        Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.

        This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]

        This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]

        Email not found

        Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.

        Found more than one record for entered Email

        You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Resend Activation Email

        We have sent you an activation email

        Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.

        We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.

        Please enter your email to sign in.

        Please enter your password to sign in.

        Please enter your email and password to sign in.

        There is a problem with your email/password.

        A system error has occurred. Please try again later.

        If we have an account for EmailID, you will receive an email with instructions to reset your password shortly. If you don't see it within a few minutes, please check your spam folder.
        We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.

        Password Reset

        Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.

        Forgot password?

        Already have an account? Sign in

        or
        New to Find a Grave? Sign Up

        Registration Options

        Welcome to Find a Grave

        Create your free account by choosing an option below.

        or
        Already have an account? Sign In

        Ancestry account link

        To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.

        or

        If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.

        New Member Registration

        Email is mandatory

        Email and Password are mandatory

        This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email

        Your password is not strong enough

        Invalid Email

        You must agree to Terms and Conditions

        Account already exists

        Please check the "Verify you are human" checkbox

        Internal Server error occurred

        If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map

        You must select an email preference

        We have sent you an activation email

        Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.

        We just emailed an activation code to

        Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.

        Some of the fields below contain words that violate our Terms and Conditions or our Community Guidelines.

        Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE.

        Did you mean ?

        OK
        Password must:
        • Have at least 1 lowercase character
        • Have at least 1 capital letter
        • Have at least 1 number and or special character
        • Be at least 8 characters

        Must be 1-32 characters and contain only numbers, letters, spaces, periods, hyphens, ampersands, or apostrophes.

        This public name is not available.

        What is a Public Name?
        What is a Photo Volunteer?
        Volunteer location
        Clear
        or

        Please select a valid location

        This browser does not support getting your location. To use this feature, use a newer browser.

        There was a problem getting your location. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings.

        Getting location…

        Loading...
        Loading...

        You can always change this later in your Account settings.

        No Cemeteries found

        cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.

        cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.

        cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.

        Within 5 miles of your location.

        Within 5 kilometers of your location.

        0 cemeteries found in .

        0 cemeteries found.

        Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests

        You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.

        Search above to list available cemeteries.

        Getting location…

        Loading...
        Loading...

        No cemeteries found

        Find a Grave Video Tutorials

        Not loading? View tutorials in a new tab

        Default Language

        Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!

        Preferred Language

        We have set your language to based on information from your browser.

        You can choose another language below:

        Welcome Back!

        Thanks for signing in. Your account will not be marked as inactive.

        To make any adjustments to your photo volunteering settings, notification settings, and more, visit your Account Settings. Learn more about your account and how you can help and contribute at Find a Grave.

        Your account has been reactivated.

        To make any adjustments to your photo volunteering settings, notification settings, and more, visit your Account Settings. Learn more about your account and how you can help and contribute at Find a Grave here .

        To make any adjustments to your photo volunteering settings, notification settings, and more, visit your Account Settings. Learn more about your account and how you can help and contribute at Find a Grave here .

        Sign out successful

        Return to the email you received and click on the link to contact us.