Actor and screenwriter Denny Dormody’s career as a funeral director started in 2011 after, like so many others, he realized he needed a day job to support his work as an actor.
“In Hollywood, it takes quite a while to get your stories to the people… to get the attention of the movie people. In the meantime, you need a really good day job,” Dormody said.
Prior to getting his license as a funeral director, he drove a flower van at funerals. Eventually, after getting a license, Dormody became funeral director at the sprawling, historic Mountain View Mortuary and Cemetery in Altadena.
Dormody elaborates on his experience as funeral director in “Confessions of an L.A. Funeral Director,” a book that contains short, touching and humorous stories about dealing with the families in need of a funeral service.
“Confessions of an LA Funeral Director has anecdotal stories about what I hope would be rather touching. And then there’s some whimsical times that can be sort of amusing and humorous as well. I’ve written a book to hopefully see both sides of the picture of being a funeral director,” Dormody said.
On Tuesday, Nov. 15 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Dormody will be at Altadena library to share some stories in the book, and answer questions of local residents related to the funeral trade.
The event is free to attend.
As funeral director, he and his team make sure that everything is ready for the grieving families and that all their visitors and friends are going to be taken care of at the funeral.
“We want to make sure the flowers are right and that everything looks good,” he said. “It’s really putting it all together so that the family feels at ease.”
Being surrounded by families who just lost a loved one is not easy, Dormody added.
“We’re dealing with broken hearts, so we have people that take their grief out on us and everything, and that’s just part of the scene and that’s what we have to cope with,” he said. “You have to try to maintain your objectivity and your professionalism and try to help everyone get through that.”
For Dormody, the most satisfying part of his job is being able to support and help these families as they grieve.
Getting a hug or a handshake after the end of the funeral service for him means they have done their job well.
“I’m really blessed to look after families and take care of them at a very tough time that they’re having, with funerals,” Dormody remarked.
For more information about the event on Tuesday, Nov. 15, call 626-798-0833 Or click here: https://www.altadenalibrary.org/programs/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D162744317
Nestled below the picturesque San Gabriel Mountains above Pasadena, the Mountain View Cemetery, is one of the few remaining family-operated cemetery/mortuary properties in the area.
The Mountain View Cemetery was established in 1882 while the Mountain View Mortuary was established in 1959.
Mountain View offers cremation, burial, funeral service, and memorial ceremony, among other services.
Remains of some notable personalities including actor George Reeves and writer Octavia Butler, are buried at the cemetery.
For more information visit: https://www.mtn-view.com/about-us/#
