As promised last week, here are the rest of the 11 Weirdest Celebrity Funerals and Burial Requests. Again, I found this online at ATI, written by Austin Harvey, edited by Maggie Donahue, and published on 11/7/23. This one includes one of our own, a Cincinnatian who had an odd burial request that was honored by his family.
Luke Perry Was Buried In An Eco-Friendly Mushroom Suit
“Luke Perry’s death in 2019 was a shock for anyone who knew him from his roles in Beverly Hills, 90210 or Riverdale. The actor had been just 52 years old when he died after a massive stroke.
Later that year, his daughter Sophie revealed another surprising piece of information about the late actor: He had been buried in an eco-friendly mushroom suit.
As CNN reported, Perry had become something of an environmentalist over the course of his life, and eventually came across a United States company that was working on biodegradable burial garments.
“My dad discovered it, and was more excited by this than I have ever seen him. He was buried in this suit, one of his final wishes. They are truly a beautiful thing for this beautiful planet, and I want to share it with all of you,” Sophie Perry wrote in an Instagram post.
The company that designed Perry’s suit was Coeio, who explained that its Infinity Burial Suit has a built-in “biomix” made up of mushrooms and microorganisms that work to decompose the body, “neutralize toxins,” and help surrounding plant life get nutrients from the body.
Luke Perry is possibly the most famous person to be buried in such a way, but he is far from the only person to do so. Mushroom suits are a fairly inexpensive burial method, especially compared to coffins, and are only becoming more widely available.
Aretha Franklin Had Three Outfit Changes For Her Viewings And Funeral
Aretha Franklin had one of history’s most star-studded celebrity funerals.
Aretha Franklin wasn’t called the “Queen of Soul” for nothing. After skyrocketing to fame with hits like “Respect” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” the singer made a name for herself as both an artist and an activist.
When she died in 2018, it was clear that her funeral would not be any ordinary affair.
As the New Yorker reported, Franklin’s funeral was billed as “A Celebration Fit for the Queen.” It began at the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, where Franklin had performed at the funeral of Rosa Parks in 2005.
More than 100 pink Cadillacs flooded the streets before lining up outside of the megachurch. Franklin’s body was carried to and from the service in a vintage 1940 hearse that had previously carried both Rosa Parks and Franklin’s own father, the Reverend C.L. Franklin.
With a litany of guest speakers and singers including Ariana Grande, Bill Clinton, Chaka Khan, Faith Hill, Jennifer Hudson, Tyler Perry, and Stevie Wonder, Franklin’s funeral was one of the biggest events of the year, as was befitting of the late singer.
But it was the days leading up to the funeral that stood out, as Franklin was dressed in four different outfits for her open-casket viewings. In the end, she was buried in a gold dress and sparkling pumps.
Fred Baur, The Inventor Of Pringles, Wanted To Be Buried In A Pringles Can
Frederic J. Baur was so proud of his design for Pringles cans, he wanted to be buried in one.
Pringles are some of the most well-known potato chips in the world, in part for the distinctly tall, cylindrical cans they’re packaged in and the multitude of jokes about how difficult it can be to fit your entire hand inside the can.
But although memes (and Bo Burnham) have poked fun at the Pringles can, the man who designed it was reportedly so proud of the design that he had a portion of his ashes buried inside one after he died.
As The Guardian reported, when Fred Baur of Cincinnati, Ohio, died on May 4, 2008 at the age of 89, his family honored his wish and placed a portion of his cremated remains in a Pringles container and set in his grave. The rest of his remains were placed inside a typical urn and buried alongside the Pringles can.
Baur had first patented the Pringles can design back in 1966. At the time, he had been working as an organic chemist and food storage technician specializing in research and development and quality control for the company Procter & Gamble.
Baur retired from the company in the early 1980s, but kept the Pringles can design in his heart until his death.
Harry Houdini Wanted His Wife To Try And Communicate With Him Through The Veil
Harry Houdini was many things in life: an escape artist, a body builder, an author, a magazine publisher, a film star. But one thing he could not stand was a “spiritual medium.” In fact, he spent many years working to debunk mediums, even going so far as to testify at a U.S. Senate hearing in an attempt to outlaw seances and crystal gazing.
Some say that Houdini’s obsessive disdain of mediums started when one such individual claimed to have channeled the spirit of Houdini’s mother and passed a message to her son — in English.
The problem was that Houdini’s mother was from Hungary and spoke very little English. She certainly would not have used it to speak to her son.
Thus began a long campaign to prove that all spiritual mediums were nothing more than con artists preying on the bereaved.
So, when Houdini finally died after his appendix ruptured on Halloween, 1926, his wife Bess sought to honor an agreement they had made: Whichever of them lived on after the other had passed would attempt to communicate with them beyond the veil.
They agreed upon a secret code, which Bess later said translated into “Rosabelle, Believe.” And soon enough, a series of mediums appeared, all attempting to find the coded message.
One such medium, Arthur Ford, claimed to have been successful in this endeavor, but Bess said the whole thing was nonsense and that “Rosabelle, Believe” had been a red herring she and Houdini came up with to expose any fraudsters.
Ford, meanwhile, continued to claim that he had in fact contacted the late Harry Houdini.
Janis Joplin Requested Mourners Throw An All-Night Funeral Party
Janis Joplin was known for her wild, partying lifestyle, and even in the throes of her battle with addiction, she wanted everyone to have a good time.
Apparently, her commitment to partying continued even after her untimely death in 1970. According to Far Out, just two days before her death, Joplin added a fund into her will and testament — a $2,500 party fund so that her friends could throw an all-night party at her wake.
Joplin reportedly wanted her friends to “get blasted” at her favorite bar after she died. The invitations to the wake read “Drinks are on Pearl” — Joplin’s nickname.
On Oct. 26, 1970, around 300 people showed up at the Lion’s Share in San Anselmo, California for the wake, where many of them enjoyed hash brownies and doses brought by the Grateful Dead. So it seems as though Joplin’s last wish for an all-night rager was fulfilled.
But the story also offers deep insight into Joplin’s mindset at the time. At just 27 years old, she had the foresight to make adjustments to her will, likely knowing that she was losing her battle with addiction and wasn’t long for the world. It’s a tragic story, but in the end, Janis Joplin simply wanted everyone else to have a good time.
Charles Dickens Implemented A Dress Code For His Funeral
Charles Dickens was very concerned about his privacy, which is how he ended up having one of history’s strangest celebrity funerals.
Charles Dickens was very much a celebrity of his era. Perhaps no author better represented the Victorian period than Dickens, known for such literary classics as Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol.
As such, Dickens was an incredibly private individual, going to extreme measures to hide his love affair with an 18-year-old actress, Ellen Ternan, after the dissolution of his long marriage to his wife Catherine.
When Dickens died, his family faced a dilemma regarding where he should be buried. Dickens would have wanted, they knew, to be buried near his home. But they chose to bury him in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey, a much more public area, despite it largely being against his wishes.
Dickens’ last will and testament, however, shows just how private he wanted his funeral to be. According to Smithsonian Magazine, Dickens wrote that he wanted to be “buried in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner.”
He did not want any public announcement to be made mentioning the time or place of his burial, and wanted no more than three plain mourning coaches to be employed. He also asked “that those who attend my funeral wear no scarf, cloak, black bow, long hat-band, or other such revolting absurdity.”
It may seem odd to enforce a dress code at your own funeral, but the inclusion of this detail speaks to Dickens’ larger philosophy of keeping his private life truly private. In the end, it seems he simply didn’t want much fuss to be made over his passing, likely to avoid making it a public spectacle.
Unfortunately for Dickens, while only 14 people attended his private funeral, his grave was ultimately left open for three days so that the public could come and pay their respects to the late author, making it far from a private affair.”
And that wraps up this post. I hope you enjoyed reading how creative people can be regarding their last wishes. While fun to read, it illustrates that your will, trust, and estate plan are all YOURS overall—no one else’s. You make the decisions that are right for you, your assets, and your loved ones. Of course, as an estate planning attorney, I will always ensure what we develop together is legally acceptable, but if you want to be buried in a mushroom suit or in a potato chip canister, that’s up to you. Feel free to call me at 513-399-7526 or visit my website, www.davidlefton.com, for more information or to schedule a consultation. I would be happy to help you create a plan that is uniquely yours.
Source: ATI online by Austin Harvey, edited by Maggie Donahue and published 11/7/23.