Funerals are supposed to be predictable: black clothes, quiet tears, a final goodbye, and then everyone goes home. But history, celebrity, and sheer human chaos have never been very good at sticking to the script. In these 50 dark, weird, and moving funeral tales, kings explode in their coffins, elephants crash ceremonies, pirates get state honors, and rock legends turn somber processions into street parties. Grief sparks protests, secret affairs reshape who shows up, and in a few chilling cases, the “dead” suddenly wake up mid-service.
From lonely burials saved by strangers and poets, to global broadcasts watched by billions, these stories show what really happens when our final rituals collide with love, guilt, politics, and pure absurdity. These are the funerals people never stopped talking about.
1 Samuel L. Jackson Ushers MLK
In 1968, after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, his funeral was held at Morehouse College in Atlanta, where a small group of current students served as ushers, including Samuel L. Jackson. Then a Morehouse student, Jackson helped manage the crowd at the campus service before traveling to Memphis, Tennessee, to join an equal rights protest march. In a later interview, he said he was angry but not shocked by the assassination and believed that change would take more than sit-ins or peaceful coexistence.
2. After the death of vocalist Chris Cornell, Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington performed “Hallelujah” at his funeral in Los Angeles in May 2017. Bennington was a close friend of Cornell and godfather to his son Christopher, and he too died in July 2017. Cornell’s 12-year-old daughter, Toni, performed “Hallelujah” as a tribute to both Bennington and her father. The performance replaced a planned Linkin Park appearance.
3. In September 2022, Channel 5 became the only major UK television channel that chose not to broadcast the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. While other major broadcasters aired the ceremony live, Channel 5 scheduled a lineup of children’s films instead, led by The Emoji Movie.
4. In 2006, after a man shot 10 Amish schoolgirls in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, and then committed suicide, members of the Amish community went to his family to offer them support. They also set up a charitable fund for his widow and children. When the shooter’s funeral took place, dozens of Amish attendees also surrounded his family to shield them from media attention.
5. When the famous privateer Henry Morgan died in 1688 in Jamaica, the colonial authorities ordered a state funeral in Port Royal so the public could pay their respects. An amnesty allowed pirates and privateers to come into town and attend without fear of arrest, turning the ceremony into a rare legal gathering of outlaws. Morgan received full honors as his body went to the Palisadoes cemetery in Port Royal. Ships in the harbor marked his burial with a 22-gun salute.
6 Andrew Jackson’s Swearing Parrot Funeral
President Andrew Jackson owned a pet parrot named Poll that picked up his habit of swearing. When Jackson died in 1845 and mourners gathered for his funeral at The Hermitage in Tennessee, Poll stayed nearby with the crowd. As the service began, the bird started swearing and yelling profanities it had learned from Jackson. The clergy eventually ordered Poll removed from the ceremony so the funeral could continue in peace.
7. On July 14, 1918, Quentin Roosevelt, the youngest son of former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, died in aerial combat over France during World War I. German pilots shot down his aircraft on Bastille Day and discovered his identity using documents in the wreckage. Because he was Theodore Roosevelt’s son, the Germans honored him with a state funeral and marked his grave with a cross made from parts of his plane. Quentin remains the only child of a U.S. president to be killed in combat.
8. In recent surveys of British funeral music, Monty Python’s comedy song “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” ranks as the most requested track. Families and planners choose it more often than traditional hymns such as “The Lord is My Shepherd” and “Abide With Me.” It even beats the rock favorite “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen.
9. In April 1989, Chinese leader Hu Yaobang died, and his funeral became the starting point for the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. As General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, he had pushed for investigations into party nepotism and corruption, backed improved relations with Japan, and supported more autonomy for Tibetans and Uyghurs. Party hardliners forced him to resign in 1987 because he refused to crack down on student demonstrations. After his death, students poured into Tiananmen Square to mourn him and soon turned their grief into a broader political movement.
10. In the Netherlands, if a person dies without any next of kin, friends, or family to attend their funeral, a poet will go to the ceremony and read a custom poem. This practice ensures that even those who leave no mourners behind still receive words spoken just for them. Poet and artist Frank Starik started this initiative and called it “The Lonely Funeral” project.
11 Churchill’s Operation Hope Not Rewritten
Winston Churchill’s state funeral plans, code-named Operation Hope Not, began taking shape in the 1950s while he was still alive. As the years passed, Churchill outlived several of the distinguished figures originally chosen to serve as his pallbearers. Planners had to revise the arrangements multiple times to replace those men. By the time Churchill died in 1965, the funeral plan had grown into one of the most detailed and frequently updated state funeral operations in British history.
12. Since 1948, a group of ladies at Arlington National Cemetery has attended every funeral held there. They go to support and comfort the families of the fallen, and when no relatives or friends are present, they stand as the only mourners. Their presence ensures that no service member is ever buried alone.
13. In March 1997, during The Notorious B.I.G.’s funeral procession through the streets of Brooklyn, thousands of fans lined the sidewalks to say goodbye. As the hearse moved through his old neighborhood, someone suddenly blasted “Hypnotize” at full volume from a car. The crowd dropped the somber mood, started dancing, and rapped the lyrics back into the air. For a few minutes, the procession stopped feeling like a mourning and became a loud celebration of Biggie’s life instead.
14. In 1915 in South Carolina, 30-year-old Essie Dunbar suffered an epileptic attack, and doctors declared her dead, scheduling her funeral for the next day so her out-of-town sister could attend. The sister arrived late, saw the grave already covered, and demanded that the coffin be dug up so she could see Essie one last time. When they opened the lid, Essie sat up and smiled at the stunned mourners. She survived the premature burial and lived for another 47 years.
15. In September 1087, William the Conqueror died in France, and officials delayed his funeral for several days while they prepared his body and burial place. By the time the officials finally tried to lay William the Conqueror in his stone tomb, his corpse had swollen from decay and no longer fit the space prepared for him. Attendants attempted to force the body into the coffin during the crowded ceremony. The pressure caused his abdomen to burst, releasing a horrific stench and shocking those gathered in the church.
16 Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov Wakes at Funeral
In 2011, a woman in Russia named Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov collapsed at home from a heart attack, and doctors declared her dead. Days later, as she lay in the casket at her funeral surrounded by weeping mourners, she suddenly woke up. Realizing what was happening, she began yelling in terror. Relatives rushed her to the hospital, where she died again 12 minutes later from heart failure.
17. In 1970, Janis Joplin’s will set aside $2,500 to finance a wild wake after she passed away. Many of her musician friends showed up to play at the funeral gathering, which took place at a popular rock venue where she had often performed. Around 300 attendees drank heavily and partied hard in her honor.
18. Thomas Paine, one of America’s founding fathers, argued for the separation of church and state, universal suffrage, the abolition of slavery, and ideas that resembled early socialism. His radical positions and fierce criticism of organized religion made him controversial in both America and Britain during his lifetime. By the time he died in 1809 in New York, many former allies had distanced themselves from him. Only six men came to his funeral.
19. On August 4, 1922, telephone companies in the United States and Canada marked the funeral of Alexander Graham Bell with a coordinated gesture of respect. At a set moment, they shut down all telephone service across both countries for one full minute. Switchboards went quiet and calls stopped as operators observed the silence. The brief shutdown turned the entire North American phone network into a memorial for the man whose work helped create it.
20. In March 2011, Elizabeth Taylor died in Los Angeles and left instructions that her funeral start 15 minutes behind schedule. She wanted mourners to be able to say she was even late for her own funeral. The private service followed her request and delayed the beginning accordingly.
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
21 Sagdid Dog-Sight Test Confirms Death
In traditional Zoroastrian funerals, priests perform a ritual called sagdid, or dog-sight, before confirming death. They bring a dog into the room and watch its reaction to the body: if the dog stares steadily at the corpse, they treat the person as still alive. If the dog refuses to look at the body, they confirm death. This simple test helped prevent cases where a coma might be mistaken for death.
22. In 2014, a Mississippi man named Walter Williams was pronounced dead, his paperwork was completed, and staff placed him in a body bag before transporting him to a funeral home. When workers moved him into the embalming room, they saw his legs start to move and noticed he was lightly breathing. Realizing he was still alive, they stopped the process and got him medical help. Two weeks later, Williams died for real, this time with no mistaken declaration.
23. When Jimi Hendrix was 16 and his mother died, his father refused to let him and his brother attend the funeral. Instead, he gave them shots of whiskey at home and told them that this was how men should handle loss. The boys stayed away from the service and followed their father’s instruction.
24. When his best friend Chris Farley died in 1997, David Spade did not attend the funeral, even though many people expected him to be there. His absence fueled speculation that the two comedians had fallen out before Farley’s death. Years later, Spade explained that he stayed away because going to the funeral would have been too emotionally difficult for him, not because of any feud.
25. At Queen Victoria’s funeral on 2 February 1901, the procession set out in bitterly cold weather with artillery horses hitched to the gun carriage carrying her coffin. In the freezing conditions, the horses refused to move. Sailors stepped in, attached harnesses and a train communication cord, and hauled the gun carriage themselves. Their improvised solution worked and created the lasting tradition of Royal Navy sailors pulling royal coffins at state funerals.
RE: Fact #16 (Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov Wakes at Funeral) – holy sh*t what a way to mess with everyones heads
and then your family has to pay for another funeral thats gonna be pricey
if she died 12 mins later thats like a quick pause in the original funeral just throw her back in and keep going
RE: Fact #15 (William the Conqueror’s Explosive Burial) – i was an emt when my great uncle died, had to take care of his body, pretty traumatic experience
RE: Fact #23 (Jimi Hendrix Grieves With Whiskey) – Wow, that’s a pretty bad way to raise your kid.
His mom struggled with substance problems too, so that’s why he died so young.
People kind of turn substance abuse into normal stuff at home, and I’ve been battling alcoholism for years—so I’m far from the first in my family.
RE: Fact #29 (Debbie Reynolds Follows Carrie Fisher) – My grandma was the youngest of twelve kids. When I was about nine or ten, one of them passed away all of a sudden. Then another died right after hearing the news, and a third died on the day of the first one’s funeral. They were all in their eighties; maybe it just was too much for them. Within a week we had three funerals for three siblings. It was insane.
RE: Fact #24 (David Spade Skips Farley Funeral) – A funeral’s really for those still around, not the person who’s gone. Some folks feel they have to do it; some don’t.
Great point – I totally see where you’re coming from.
This. I think we should normalize not going to funerals. I haven’t done it in a long time, and i feel like sh*t every time but it wouldn’t help to go there, so who is it for?
When my mom passes away, she wants to be cremated and have a celebration afterward. I’m planning to throw it at a bar—drinks, music, food—and honestly, who would cry after all that?
RE: Fact #18 (Thomas Paine’s Lonely Radical Funeral) – Paine was all about how Native Americans lived in sync with nature, pretty democratic too. he was a good dude in a time when it wasnt easy to be one
and his views on women were super progressive for back then, still kinda are now compared to some of the misogynistic sh*t you see online. Thomas Paine was the real fu*kng deal, a guy way ahead of his time in pretty much every way. ive read all his stuff and theres hardly anything i disagree with, even some of the great minds from his time like Voltaire and Jefferson had some pretty backwards views. Thomas Paine was like a classical liberal from the 20th century living in the 18th, pretty fu*kng amazing if you ask me
RE: Fact #11 (Churchill’s Operation Hope Not Rewritten) – I’m pretty sure he died da*n well exactly when he wanted to go. Like, a whole decade before he finally slipped into that two-week coma that came right before his death, he actually called it: he said he’d die on the exact same day of the year as his dad. And yep, he did! On the night of his ninth and final stroke, while doing his usual brandy and cigar routine, he apparently commented, ‘What a grand trip it’s been, totally worth taking.’ He paused, then just added, ‘just once.’ And his very last words? ‘I’m bored with it all.’
RE: Fact #15 (William the Conqueror’s Explosive Burial) – this is a good story to tell leaders, puts things into perspective
we all end up the same way, doesnt matter if youre a king or a commoner
so what if leaders die, we still remember them today, doesnt make them insignificant
were all just food for worms in the end, doesnt matter how rich or poor you are
hamlet quotes arent gonna save us from the vampires
RE: Fact #5 (Henry Morgan’s Pirate State Funeral) – Seems like a lot of pirate facts in here lately, so why not just do an article about Pirates?
I think they have already done a pirate article some time back.
RE: Fact #9 (Hu Yaobang Funeral Ignites Tiananmen) – I know about a politician in China who was a truly good, honorable public servant. His people genuinely loved and respected him. It shows that decent politicians truly are out there.
Also, there was a letter sent to the government. It was signed by some former leaders, urging them not to use the “people’s” army against its own people.
Seriously, this guy could’ve changed history entirely by himself. We might even have a politically responsible China today. It feels like we lost a true hero.
RE: Fact #3 (Channel 5 Airs Emoji Movie) – Seriously, the only thing worse they could put on TV.
I think The Emoji Movie gets way more hate than it really should. Its biggest problem was just being super bland and boring, with absolutely nothing sticking out. Folks just jumped on the anti-hype bandwagon way too early.
If you think about it, for entertainment, the absolute worst thing it can be is boring.
RE: Fact #12 (Arlington Ladies Never Leave Funerals) – I’m just not buying this. I served with the 3rd US Infantry, the Old Guard, between 1987 and 1990. We handled about 95% of all the funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. Not once did I ever spot a representative from this organization. It was heartbreaking how many services I did for older, homeless Vietnam or Korean vets where the only people present were us: the seven-person 21-gun salute team, a platoon leader, and a chaplain. That’s it. So fu*king sad. Over three years, I was involved in more than a thousand funerals, and never once did I see any random woman from this group hanging around.
My grandpa was buried at Arlington, and it was just our family there. I’m starting to wonder if they’re defining ‘funeral’ a bit more narrowly than I am.
Yeah, when my grandpa was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, only our immediate family was there for the actual burial too. There was a separate service for other friends and family up on the hill, which was really lovely. We rode in a limo, following a horse-drawn carriage that carried my grandfather’s casket, with about thirty military members in uniform and a band marching along. I’m not religious, so I don’t know the exact name for it, but the woman leading the ceremony read off all my grandpa’s titles and his achievements. He actually joined the Air Force right after Pearl Harbor, even though he was only seventeen, then flew bombing raids in Germany, and later was the radioman on Air Force One. It was incredibly moving to hear all those stories, even though it was a celebration of his amazing life. He was buried right beside my grandma, who had passed away years before. Even for her, the Air Force provided gun salutes, with riflemen positioned in different spots up the hill. Anyway, I’ve probably said enough. Just very sad.
I’ve actually been playing Taps at Arlington funerals for the last six years. I’ve probably done nearly 2000 services, and an Arlington Lady has attended every single one. It’s truly a standard part of the entire ceremony. Once the flag is folded and given to the next of kin, an Old Guard Soldier will walk the Arlington Lady over, and she hands the family a card. While it might not have been common three decades ago, they are definitely at every funeral now, even those rare occasions where no family is present.
Yep, I was with the Air Force Honor Guard and performed at a lot of funerals at Arlington, and they were present at every single one. I’m really not sure what the other commenter is referring to.
RE: Fact #3 (Channel 5 Airs Emoji Movie) – That actually tracks. Back on 9/11, Cartoon Network kept their shows going; someone had to have programs for the kids to watch.
RE: Fact #8 (Monty Python Tops Funeral Playlists) – Seriously, who’s out there playing “Don’t Stop Me Now” during a funeral?
Exactly! It should definitely be “Another One Bites The Dust” instead.
And who even thinks that’s a classic English funeral tune?
Honestly, for me, that song’s beat feels way too quick for a service. I picture the people carrying the coffin just speeding up, like, sprinting and flinging it into the ground!
RE: Fact #30 (20,000 Mourn Pretty Boy Floyd) – Maybe it’s just a rumor. They say when he robbed banks he tore up the mortgage papers, but nobody’s actually proven that, so it could just be myth.
I think the feeling behind the myth matters more than the details. Floyd’s telling shaped his own legend and helped him rally a supportive crowd. It also hints at some anti‑capitalist vibes among the working folks back then. What I find most intriguing is how the John Henry tale has turned into a Luddite story—man versus machine. The older versions were really about forced labor and the horrors of exploitation.
RE: Fact #13 (Hypnotize Turns Biggie Funeral Celebration) – Some cultures actually treat funerals as a celebration for the person who passed away. Like in Ghana, you can totally hire dancing pallbearers specifically for that reason.
RE: Fact #23 (Jimi Hendrix Grieves With Whiskey) – I think his dad was pretty mad about him being left‑handed and playing guitar.
RE: Fact #7 (Quentin Roosevelt’s Enemy State Funeral) – This really just shattered Teddy. It made him do a complete U-turn on how he felt about war and everything.
Even though I really respect and appreciate how willing TR was to fight himself, I think it kind of made him miss the true cost of war. It wasn’t until his own son died in battle that he finally got it. He passed away only six months after Quentin, and some people actually think it was because of the intense psychological pain and suffering from losing his son.
It’s also like he didn’t fully get the whole ‘modern meat grinder’ style of war. And let’s be real, nobody really understood that at first.
RE: Fact #11 (Churchill’s Operation Hope Not Rewritten) – Man, alcohol really is a great preservative.
RE: Fact #27 (Elephant Returns to Trample Funeral) – This stuff happens a lot actually. That old saying about elephants never forgetting probably has some truth to it.
“There was this 60‑year‑old woman who got attacked and trampled by an elephant in the forest near her village. While everyone was getting ready for her last rites, that same elephant went after her corpse—started roaring, and then more of its herd came over and started attacking the village. The tusker even went straight to the house she’d killed, smashed it with mud, trampled it, and took out their goats too.
In Korba in Chhattisgarh, villagers had apparently killed a calf earlier that week and buried it in Bania village. Then Pintawar Singh was tending his cattle when a herd of 44 elephants came through and trampled him. Another story about a 68‑year‑old woman who got stomped to death by an elephant—several elephants showed up at her funeral, threw her body around, and destroyed her home. Some people think the woman might have been part of a poacher group.”
Elephant attacks have been happening for ages, usually blamed on them being territorial or fighting over food. But that explanation is being challenged now because elephant numbers haven’t dropped in many places and food hasn’t become so scarce. “They’re smart enough to remember and can take revenge,” people say.
So with a herd of forty‑four elephants, you’re basically forced to keep walking the line. I just can’t handle forty‑four elephants.
I just wanna know what those folks actually did that got them all riled up with the elephants right from the start.
I’d definitely watch Revenge Elephant. I’m not sure if I want it as a semi‑serious “hunt down poachers who are after the herd” thing or a Turner and Hooch‑style buddy comedy where a cop and an elephant team up to take on the elephant’s tormentor. Either way, I’m in.
RE: Fact #7 (Quentin Roosevelt’s Enemy State Funeral) – If you’re curious why the Germans would show him so much respect, some Germans later told that they honored Lieutenant Roosevelt. It wasn’t just because he was a brave pilot who died fighting despite being outnumbered, but also because he was Colonel Roosevelt’s son, and they thought his father was one of America’s greatest.
Even with all that, the German government still tried to use Lieutenant Roosevelt’s death for propaganda. But it totally backfired! It really highlighted how their own elite weren’t sending their kids to fight. A lot of people started wondering why an American politician’s son was out there fighting, but their own leaders’ kids weren’t. Plus, the soldiers thought it was just disrespectful to make fun of someone who died honorably.
What’s the story here? Why did the Germans look up to Roosevelt so much?
From what I heard, they were really impressed that the president’s son decided to fight right on the front lines.
Beyond what everyone else has said, he actually lived in Germany when he was younger and spoke German really well. He also read a ton of German literature and loved talking about it with people. So, I bet he really wowed a lot of folks with his knowledge and how much he respected their culture.
Back then in Europe, war was still kind of seen as a ‘gentleman’s sport.’
RE: Fact #27 (Elephant Returns to Trample Funeral) – I’m from Thailand and that’s why you should never harm an elephant. We revere them for religious reasons—some might think that’s silly but we remember it well. I’ve seen cases where elephants went after a kid who had abused them because the kids smell like their abusers. Just don’t do it, man.
It feels just like crows, but smarter, larger, and living much longer.
RE: Fact #4 (Amish Support School Shooter’s Family) – Wow, that’s a seriously extreme level of putting up with things.
RE: Fact #16 (Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov Wakes at Funeral) – that second funeral mustve been a real trip
id want my funeral to be hilarious – just wrap the coffin in tons of gaffer tape
hey guys welcome back lets do this for real this time
RE: Fact #8 (Monty Python Tops Funeral Playlists) – The Pythons actually sang it at Graham Chapman’s funeral, right after John Cleese gave his amazing speech.
RE: Fact #26 (Mozart Honors Starling, Not Father) – “Oh yeah, someone passed away. We even held a funeral for a bird.”
RE: Fact #11 (Churchill’s Operation Hope Not Rewritten) – He lit up such a ridiculous number of cigars that sick folks were already keeping their distance from him, long before ‘social distancing’ was even a phrase. And he drank so much whiskey, I’m pretty sure any germs that made it into him were totally weakened. That way, his immune system just had an easy time finishing them off.
RE: Fact #12 (Arlington Ladies Never Leave Funerals) – Turns out, there are more groups of women doing this, all over the country at various National Cemeteries. My own mom participates in Jacksonville, Florida.
It’s pretty uplifting. Kinda makes you feel better about people, especially after all that Westboro nonsense.
RE: Fact #5 (Henry Morgan’s Pirate State Funeral) – There’s a pretty subtle distinction between being a pirate and being a privateer.
It’s kind of like the difference you find between a drug kingpin and someone who works for the CIA.
For anyone who’s not quite sure, here’s how it worked: A pirate didn’t belong to any country. They sailed under their own flag, completely outside any laws. A privateer did pretty much everything a pirate would, but they had official backing from a government. For instance, Great Britain actually hired privateers to raid and block shipments from the French during their imperial times. Most countries were using privateers as a way to mess with their economic competitors. The country would provide quick ships and supplies, and in return, the privateers would hand over a lot of what they stole as a sort of payment.
Plus, when you think about it, Britain really built its power on the world stage using piracy and privateering, just to create a solid, respected political position globally. We were essentially the original pirates. Even our language comes from everywhere else, but we just twisted it for our own uses. Yarr. Of course, the language and overall culture of the British Isles also comes from tons of other places, from the Picts to the Vikings and Saxons, who invaded, settled, and traded over time.
RE: Fact #4 (Amish Support School Shooter’s Family) – That whole event was truly awful. One part I read about that was just heartbreaking involved two sisters, Marian and Barbara Fisher, who were 13 and 11. They actually asked to be shot first, hoping it would spare the others.
RE: Fact #10 (Lonely Funeral Poets in Netherlands) – This is the whole poem from the program by Frank Starik: Goodbye stranger, I say goodbye, on the road to nowhere, to the final country where everyone is welcomed in, where nothing needn’t know your origin. Farewell sir, without papers, without identity. What were you looking for? How much did you lose along the way? Who stares through the empty window, waits – nameless man, wait, while I speak and entrust my empty words to this empty room. I am too late. You I never knew. Not at your weakest, not in your strength. Not in the final country, where you are greeted without name. I don’t know the words you spoke. Not me. Who then, loved you? In which rooms did you sleep, who kissed you goodnight, who’ll wear out your shirt? Who will want to stand where you once stood? Who now takes the road you took? Who still looks for you? Who remembers whence you came? Who heard the voice calling out for you to come on home man to your final haven, Amsterdam.
I’m from America, and I live in Amsterdam these days. It’s been about a year since I moved here. I’m just 30, and I had a really scary heart problem Monday night, so I’ve been in the hospital ever since. Sadly, my family can’t come visit me. I really miss them a lot, and I’d love a hug from my mom. That poem totally made me cry, by the way. Thanks for sharing it, kind stranger!
You can definitely get a virtual hug from me, a total stranger online! I know it’s not quite the same, but I just want you to know you’ll get through this and be alright. I’m really pulling for you, Americainperdu! Once the vaccine is out and you can finally see your mom, send her my best wishes too!
Violets are blue Roses are red Here’s your poem I’m sorry you’re dead.
RE: Fact #21 (Sagdid Dog-Sight Test Confirms Death) – Lab results back yet? Yeah, he’s dead.
Did the cat scan turn out negative too?
RE: Fact #20 (Elizabeth Taylor Arrives Late Funeral) – I think they should have waited until someone actually shouted, “Fuck this, I’m out!” before doing anything.
RE: Fact #31 (Hepburn Skips Spencer Tracy Funeral) – The piece claims he left his wife in 1933 and that Hepburn joined him in 1941. Labeling it as an “affair” feels a bit off.
RE: Fact #1 (Samuel L. Jackson Ushers MLK) – Samuel L. Jackson recounted this himself: When he first heard about the assassination, he was at the liquor store buying some beer for campus movie night. The cashier told him, “Dr. King got shot.” He asked, “Is he dead?” The cashier said, “No, not yet.” He still went to the movie – it was John Goldfarb, Please Come Home, which is the only reason he recalls that film. During the movie, some guy came in and announced that Dr. King was dead and they needed to act. Everyone left. He went back to his dorm but couldn’t find his roommate. Turns out his roommate was already out in the streets with a whole bunch of other people, destroying their neighborhood. A couple of days later, some guys told them Bill Cosby and Robert Culp wanted them to fly to Memphis to march with the garbage workers. There was a lot of anger on that plane. They flew back that night and went to Sisters Chapel at Spelman College, where Dr. King’s body was lying in state. The next day was the funeral. They needed volunteers to guide people around campus, so he became an usher. He remembers Mahalia Jackson singing. He’d listened to her for years, so hearing her sing “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” live was incredible. The funeral was kind of a blur.
Man, I’m really looking forward to his documentary about these events, titled “Anger on a Plane.”
That really would be an amazing documentary title.
I can’t decide what’s more disappointing: that a good joke still let me down, or that I got sad because it immediately ruined my dreams of seeing an SLJ biopic.
Bill Cosby? Wait, he was already big enough in the sixties to own a private plane?
By that time, he’d already starred in “I, Spy” and his own sitcom. He was 32 and had gotten big as a stand-up act before his television career even started. Bill Cosby was a huge star for much longer than we tend to think. The Cosby Show blew up in the 80s, but he’d been super famous for over two decades already.
Yeah, that bit was definitely interesting. Maybe he had done something noteworthy for the Civil Rights Movement even before then. The famous hostage situation Jackson led at Morehouse didn’t happen until the very next year, 1969. So that was curious for me too.
RE: Fact #3 (Channel 5 Airs Emoji Movie) – Kids always need something to watch, especially when it’s on Freeview. That’s just how it is.
Plus, why would anyone pick Channel 5 if the main four channels are all showing the exact same programs?
In that case, I bet nobody would choose BBC2 either, right? The whole point of BBC2 is that it offers different shows than BBC1, isn’t it?
RE: Fact #25 (Sailors Pull Queen Victoria’s Coffin) – Queen Victoria had asked for a white funeral instead of black, because she’d been widowed so long after Prince Albert and liked things simple and restrained. At Windsor, when they put the coffin on the gun carriage for the last procession, the artillery horses wouldn’t move in that bitter cold. Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, remembered that “nothing in the world would make them start.” So sailors from HMS Excellent hauled the carriage instead, using the horses’ harnesses and a train communication cord. The Royal Artillery were furious and felt humiliated, but the sailors handled the coffin with such dignity that it impressed everyone and started the tradition of naval ranks pulling royal coffins at later state funerals.
I remember Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone saying that “nothing in the world would make them start.” Basically, they whipped those horses like they owed money, and even that didn’t work.
Finally, in pure panic, the handlers tried some classic English tricks. One guy tried lining up the horses like a tidy queue, hoping they’d behave if everything looked orderly. Another stood close by with his arms crossed, giving that deep‑down disappointed look you usually see on lousy civil servants.
RE: Fact #33 (Princess Diana’s Global Televised Funeral) – That’s because there wasn’t anything else on TV. I actually remember that day—it aired on 23 of the 24 channels I had access to.
RE: Fact #24 (David Spade Skips Farley Funeral) – I totally get what you’re saying—losing a best friend after almost twenty years is hard. My sister had to drag me to his funeral and I kept trying to leave. It’s been four years, and I still feel like a huge piece of sh*t for not wanting to go, but I’d never blame anyone else for pulling away. Losing someone so close is brutal, and when everything’s swirling in your head you don’t know how you’re going to react. You don’t want to make a scene, especially since you know you’re not the only one missing them. Grieving looks different for everyone, and if you were really that close I doubt they’d care about how you did it. They’d just be glad you felt enough to mourn at all.
RE: Fact #20 (Elizabeth Taylor Arrives Late Funeral) – I’d rather be late than die on time.
RE: Fact #13 (Hypnotize Turns Biggie Funeral Celebration) – When I die, instead of someone giving a eulogy, I want a really dramatic reading of my full incognito browser and search history. And I want a cello quartet playing Queen’s “We Are The Champions” in the background.
RE: Fact #32 (Smith and Carlos Carry Norman) – I really wish Australia would have treated Peter better after all that. He didn’t do anything wrong, you know?
RE: Fact #1 (Samuel L. Jackson Ushers MLK) – It sounds like his most important supporting role, yet the one fewest people know about.
He really does appear in everything, doesn’t he?
RE: Fact #30 (20,000 Mourn Pretty Boy Floyd) – I think there was a group not too long ago that bought low‑rated debt bundles for pennies on the dollar, just so they could send letters saying the debt is forgiven and no payment’s needed. I vaguely recall something like that from a few years back.
RE: Fact #1 (Samuel L. Jackson Ushers MLK) – Leo DiCaprio actually stopped in the middle of a scene while shooting Django Unchained. He was finding it really hard to say so many racial slurs. Samuel L. Jackson then apparently pulled him aside and said, “mother fu*ker, for us, this is just a regular Tuesday.” What a guy.
Both actors really delivered incredible performances.
Remember that improvised scene where Leo was bleeding? That was just incredible. It’s wild to think it actually happened by accident, especially with how Leo kept his cool.
I recently heard that the writer for 12 Years a Slave spoke out against Tarantino because of his n-word usage. But I also recall Samuel L. Jackson saying good things, backing up Tarantino. He brought up how Black roles are generally written and cast in his films. I mean, when there’s a Black actor in one of his movies, they’re usually strong, smart, and resilient, even if they happen to be playing the bad guy sometimes.
It feels like someone always complains about that language every time QT drops a new movie.
RE: Fact #35 (Anglin Brothers’ Mysterious Funeral Visitors) – Imagine if those two brothers actually wrote a book about how they slipped past the authorities for so long— it’d go straight to the top of the best‑seller list, and their families would suddenly be doing pretty well. That could be a cool gift for relatives they’d never even met.
Do you think that would be illegal under the Son of Sam rules?
Just skimming the details makes me think those laws usually need the victim to actually speak up for the Son of Sam rules to kick in. Since this crime doesn’t involve a human victim who could voice anything, I guess they’re free to write a book about it. Not 100% sure—hope someone with more knowledge jumps in.
RE: Fact #20 (Elizabeth Taylor Arrives Late Funeral) – We’re all running behind our own funerals.
RE: Fact #26 (Mozart Honors Starling, Not Father) – If you’re curious, here’s how Robert Spaething turned the poem about the starling into plain English: “Here lies a bird called Starling, a foolish little darling. He was still in his prime when time ran out, and my sweet little friend met a bitter end, leaving a sharp ache deep in my heart. Dear reader, shed a tear for him; he was dear, sometimes a bit too jolly, at times downright foolish, but never bore anyone’s patience. I bet he’s now up high, praising our friendship to the sky, which I give without tenderness, because when he left so suddenly, it brought me such grief that he wasn’t thinking about the man who writes and rhymes like no one else.”
RE: Fact #5 (Henry Morgan’s Pirate State Funeral) – It’s a bummer, but his grave isn’t something you can visit. An earthquake hit Port Royal on June 7, 1692. Roughly two-thirds of that whole area, around 33 acres, ended up sinking into Kingston harbour right after the biggest tremor. The Palisadoes cemetery, along with Morgan’s actual grave, ended up being one of the city parts swallowed by the sea. His body was never found again after that.
He’s resting right where his heart truly belonged when he was alive.
I’m almost positive I played that exact part in Assassin’s Creed 4.
Davey Jones always gets what’s coming to him.
RE: Fact #23 (Jimi Hendrix Grieves With Whiskey) – Back then people had all these odd ideas about kids and funerals. Think of when Bettie in *Mad Men* just brushed off Sally going to her grandfather’s funeral—people thought that was totally normal.
RE: Fact #26 (Mozart Honors Starling, Not Father) – Getting from Vienna to Salzburg takes a decent chunk of time.
Right on! That’s exactly how the mail would travel from Salzburg to Vienna. According to our Wikipedia , citing Braunbehrens: “mail from Salzburg took at least three days. Leopold Mozart was already buried by the time his son learned of his death. Mozart couldn’t have arrived in Salzburg for at least six or seven days.”
RE: Fact #13 (Hypnotize Turns Biggie Funeral Celebration) – It’s wild that he was only 24. I’m 30 myself now, and I completely grasp how much of a kid you still are at that point. So incredibly young. He always seemed way older, though. It’s crazy to think of all the life he packed into those twenty-four years.
RE: Fact #7 (Quentin Roosevelt’s Enemy State Funeral) – After Quentin passed away, the former president, who used to be so loud and full of life, became much quieter, and his health went downhill fast. Near the end, Roosevelt would often head down to the family stables, just to be close to the horses Quentin loved to ride as a kid. He’d stand there by himself, really sad, softly saying the special nickname he had for his son when he was little, ‘Oh Quenty-quee, oh Quenty-quee…’
TR is such an interesting guy, but his family life ended up being pretty tragic. His first wife and his son both died young, and it sounds like his last days were filled with a lot of sadness.
His wife and his mother actually died on the very same day. Can you believe it?
These days, mainstream media usually shows him as a total bad ass though.
RE: Fact #15 (William the Conqueror’s Explosive Burial) – That is pretty wild, sounds like something out of a weird dream
RE: Fact #2 (Hallelujah for Cornell and Bennington) – I caught Jay-Z’s show not long after Chester passed away. He played Numb/Encore and the whole place sang along to Chester’s part – it was pretty cool.
I saw David Bowie in concert about ten years ago and he intro’d Under Pressure by saying he kept asking Freddie Mercury to come out and perform it with him, but Freddie never showed up
I love this, it’s so Freddie – he had a great sense of humor
this sounds about right for both Bowie and Freddie
that’s amazing, wish I could’ve been there
I think it’s on YouTube somewhere. My boyfriend and I watched a bunch of Chester and Chris tributes and bawled our eyes out. We were supposed to see Soundgarden at Rocklahoma the year Chris died and they did a tribute for him on the last night of the fest
RE: Fact #8 (Monty Python Tops Funeral Playlists) – Man, this totally sums up the British take on life, dying, and humor.
Like, remember when Thatcher passed away and “Ding Dong The Witches Dead” hit number one?