In the world of Hollywood, no request is too big or too small – even when the celebrity in question has passed on.
When it comes to the funeral customs of A-listers, some opt for very extravagant ceremonies with horse-led processions, while others – like Star Wars alum Carrie Fisher – opt for novelty urns to store their cremated ashes. But some take it further still and opt for some pretty disturbing trends.
In the US, open casket funerals are pretty common, with families opting to display the body of their deceased loved one at wakes, viewings or vigils. Though these can be traumatising under certain circumstances, it’s a pretty widely accepted custom across the pond.
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Which might be why some celeb families opt to display the bodies of their loved ones in bizarre ways once they’ve passed on – taking the open casket concept further into the glitzy world of the silver screen. Daily Star takes a look at some of the creepiest celeb funerals in history.
GG Allin
Punk rock star GG Allin died after overdosing on heroin in 1993, at the home of his friend Johnny Puke. After he slipped into unconsciousness, Puke left him motionless on the floor and posed for polaroid pictures with his corpse before eventually calling for an ambulance.
Just 36 years old when he died, Allin’s bloated and unembalmed corpse was put on display at an open casket funeral. Dressed in his leather jacket and a pair of stained Y-fronts with the word EAT written across the waistband – a reference to his track Eat My Diahrrea – the star had bottles of whiskey posed in his hands and was surrounded by cigarettes and drugs.
Pictures taken at the funeral show Allin with black splotches across his face and his eyes closed – a haunting last vision of a musician loved by so many.
Anna Nicole Smith
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
When Playboy bunny Anna Nicole Smith died from an accidental drug overdose in 2007, there was mass uproar over what to do with her body. With an autopsy being performed by the Broward County medical examiner, Smith’s body began to decompose “more quickly than expected”.
This proved a problem, as it was her family’s intent to put her body on display at her funeral. But after just a week, her remains proved difficult to deal with. Eventually, her body had to be frozen and thawed out again in March for her funeral.
A police escort accompanied the body from a morgue in Florida on a flight to the Bahamas for the funeral, with organiser Patrik Simpson saying at the time: “It will be something very beautiful, very private, very over the top and very pink.”
Mortuary workers had to unfreeze her body to apply both make-up and an embalming cream to smooth out her decaying flesh, after her corpse was stored in an airtight refrigerated drawer to keep out oxygen. An abscess was found on her left buttock, oozing with “yellow-green pus”, according to the autopsy report, which suggested an “unpleasant smell” could come from her casket during viewing.
Goonew
Rapper Goonew – real name Markelle Morrow – was 24 years old when he was shot dead in March 2022. According to his mum Patrice, her son was shot in the back during a robbery, with a bejewelled pendant stolen from him.
The star’s funeral went a step further in true Goonew style, taking place at Bliss nightclub in Washington DC and dubbed The Final Show. As mourners gathered to pay their respects for $40 a ticket, Morrow’s decaying body was displayed on stage.
He could be seen wearing an Amiri hoodie, ripped jeans and a gold crown, with his usual shades propped up on his nose and a chunky gold watch around one wrist. With strobe lights playing across the corpse and fireworks set off right next to it, the crowd could be seen dancing and singing at the event.
Bliss nightclub issued a statement at the time which read: “Bliss was contacted by a local funeral home to rent out our venue for Goonew’s home-going celebration. Bliss was never made aware of what would transpire. We sincerely apologise to all those who may be upset or offended. Please keep Goonew’s family and friends in your prayers at this difficult time.”
Tupac
(Image: Getty Images)
With a man charged for the fatal shooting of rapper Tupac after 27 years, it seems even more poignant that the rapper’s wishes for his cremated ashes were made public at the time. His group The Outlawz decided to smoke them.
His pals mixed his ashes into a marijuana joint, taking inspiration from his track Black Jesus, with Noble confirming: “Yes, it’s definitely true… Had a little memorial for him with his mum and his family. We had hit the beach, threw (in) a lot of s**t he liked at the beach. Some weed, some chicken wings, he loved orange soda. Pac loved that kind of s**t, so we were giving him our own farewell.”
His bandmate EDI Mean added: “I came up with that s**t. If you listen to ‘Black Jesus’, he said, ‘Last wishes, n****s smoke my ashes.’ That was a request that he had. Now, how serious he was about it? We took it serious.”
Bruce Lee
(Image: Getty Images)
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For martial arts icon Bruce Lee, his chiselled physique was celebrated just how he would have wanted by being featured in his last film, released after his death. Yep, the actor’s real corpse featured in Game of Death.
Lee had shot around 100 minutes of footage for the Hong Kong action film before he died, although only 11 minutes were ever used in the 1978 release. Footage of his open casket was also used in a scene involving the main character faking his own death to escape the mafia.
Other impressive techniques were used in the film to make it look as though Lee was still present; in one scene, a cardboard cut-out of his head was pasted to a mirror, with a body double standing behind it to make it look as though he was simply gazing contemplatively into the glass.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
