famousfunerals

Ted Bundy
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Serial Killer Theodore "Ted" Bundy confessed to 28 killings, but it is speculated that he murdered between 33 and 100 women in the 1970's. While in custody, he managed to escape twice, once living for a few months in Tallahasee. He was eventually caught and executed via electric chair on January 24th, 1989.

G.G. Allin
....
G.G. Allin was probaby the most loved and hated punk rocker of his time. Born Kevin Michael Allin on August 29th, 1956 in Ann Arbor, MI., he rose to fame as lead singer for groups such as the Murder Junkies & Toilet Rockers. His stage antics included cutting his flesh, performing in the nude, defecating on stage, throwing his feces at the audience, and eating whatever he didn't fling at them. All of which resulted in him being arrested over 50 times. He believed in the phrase, "Live Fast - Die Young", and that's exactly what he did. Allin died at the age of 37 of a heroin overdose at a party. Party-goers thought he had passed out and actually posed for pictures of him, not knowing he was dead. His brother requested no embalming, no make-up and that he be buried in his leather jacket and jock strap, with a microphone in one hand. Mourners threw a huge party during the wake and when the booze ran out, they drank from the bottle that was in his other hand. They also posed for pictures with his body, put drugs and alcohol in his mouth, and took his penis out of his jockstrap and played with it, all the while saying, "That's how G.G. would have wanted it!" The funeral home directors loved it.

Irene "Granny" Ryan
.. ...
Irene (Noblette) Ryan was born in 1902 and started show business at an early age. She performed in vaudeville, radio, small movie parts, as well as Broadway. She was also part of Bob Hope's famous miltary tours. She didn't really get her break until landing the role of Daisy "Granny" Moses, the hot-headed, moonshine-sippin', shot-gun toting grandmother on the hit sitcom, The Beverly Hillbillies. Most people never realized that in real life, she looked nothing like her Granny character because of the wig & heavy make-up. She could easily walk the streets un-noticed. After the Hillbillies ended, Irene established a trust fund which awarded scholarships to outstanding theatre arts students throughout the country. That scholarship still exists to this day. At the time of her death, she was appearing in the Broadway hit "Pippen" with Ben Vereen, receiving great reviews. "Granny" died in 1971 at the age of 71 of a massive stroke. The pall-bearer with the mustache and sunglasses is Max Baer, Jr., who played Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies.

President John F. Kennedy
... ... ...
On November 22nd, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed by Lee harvey Oswald during a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. Some researchers now say that Oswald did not act alone in the shooting. We may never know the truth, as he never stood trial. Two days later, also in Dallas, Oswald himself was assassinated by store owner Jack Ruby. Left to Right: Jackie and Caroline say goodbye, JFK's oval office picture, the famous picture of John Jr. saluting his father's casket as it passed by during the funeral procession, and the procession leaving the White House with JFK's body.

Lee Harvey Oswald
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On November 24th, 1963, just 24 hours after the president's assasination, Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby on his way to be arrained in court. Left to Right: Oswald in handcuffs raising his fist, the famous assaasination of Oswald by Ruby, and Oswald on the slab after his autopsy.

Sonny Bono
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Salvatore (Sonny) Bono rose to fame first as a songwriter, then the fall guy in the musical and comedy duo of Sonny & Cher, then onto acting, and also restaurant ownership. From there he got into politics (after a fight with City Hall over his resaurant). He was elected Mayor of Palm Springs, then winning a seat in the Senate (Republican) as a U.S. Congressman in 1994, and also won again in the re-election of 1996. He died on January 5th, 1998 at the age of 62 after a skiing accident when he hit a tree head-on. Left to Right: Sonny & Cher from the early 70's, Sonny at the state capital, and finally two pics from Sonny's funeral, with grief-strucken ex-wife Cher.

Frank Sinatra
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Frank (Francis Albert) Sinatra, also known as The Chairman of the Board, was one of the most beloved performers of the 20th century. Born in 1915, his career began as the poster child for Gerber baby foods before he was a year old. His singing and acting skills kept him in the spotlight from his early 20's on. Despit rumors of mafia involment, "Ole Blue Eyes" remained one of the top paid performers of all time, selling out theaters and arenas everywhere. He died of a heart attack on May 14th, 1998 at the age of 82. He was buried with a bottle of Jack Daniels, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a Zippo lighter, and 10 dimes. (Frank always carried ten dimes in case he needed to make an emergency phone call. Left to Right: Sinatra in his "Rat Pack" days, Sinatra's memorial picture, and the hearse carrying his body to his final resting place at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, CA.

Selena
... ... .
The world was in shock when Selena was murdered at the age of 24 on March 31st, 1995. Selena (born
Selena Quintanilla) was shot and killed at a hotel by Yolanda Saldivar, president of her fan club. The two
had a meeting there after receipts showed that Yolanda was stealing money. Selena had just recently married
her guitarist Chris Perez when she was murdered. Left toRight: Selena at her best and most highest points
in her career, Selena with Yolanda at an appearance together, Selena as she lay in her casket, and finally,
Selena's casket on stage as fans and mourners pass by to say their final goodbye's to the fallen star.

Gandhi
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Muslim and world leader Mohandas Gandhi was born in Western India on October 2nd, 1869. He was best known for his peace talks, fasting for causes, and other peace related activities. He survived a bomb blast unscathed on January 20th, 1948 during a prayer meeting. But just 10 days later, on January 30th, 1948, a youth approched Gandhi as if to seek his blessings. In-stead, the youth pulled a gun and fired three (3) shots into Gandhi at point-blank range. Gandhi died about an hour later.

John Belushi
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John Belushi's career began on the set of Saturday Night Live in the 70's, along with his real life best friend, Dan Aykroyd. His skits and impressions are still legendary to this day. From there, he went on to big movies, such as National Lampoon's Animal House, 1941, The Blues Brothers, Continental Divide and Neighbors. John died of a drug overdose on March 5th, 1982, when he injected himself with a speedball, a mixture of heroin and cocaine. He was 33 years old. Left to Right: John as Bluto Blutarski in Animal House, John as the Samauri, John and Dan Aykroyd at Jake & Elwood Blues: The Blues Brothers, and John's funeral, in which Aykroyd led the procession on his motorcycle, clad in black jeans, leather jacket and helmit. Do you recognize the pall-bearer with the beard? That John's little brother, Jim Belushi, before he got his fame as a comedical actor himself.

Princess Diana

Princess Diana was killed in a car accident on August 31st, 1997 in Paris, France along with her companion, Dodi Fayed while trying to get away from paparazzi's. The funeral was held at the chapel at Westminster Abby. Her good friend Elton John attended the funeral, and also rewrote his 1974 hit "Candle In The Wind" (which was dedicated to Marilyn Monroe) to "Goodbye England's Rose" in memory of Diana. I think we all remember where we were when we heard the sad news.

President Harding

President Warren G. Harding served only 2 years as our nations 29th President (1921-1923) before his death in San Francisco during a cross-country tour. He was 58 years old. Harding was dubbed the worst President in U.S. history, with scandals of adultry, bribes & frauds. But how's that diiferent from todays scandals? On the plus side, he did make history in several catagories, such as he was the first President to ride in an automobile to his inauguration, he was the 1st newspaper publisher to become president, first president to own a radio, and the first to speak over the radio, also. Shown above is Harding's portrait as it hangs in the White House, and also his funeral procession. (note the antique Model A(?) hearse in the photo on the right)

Tom Ton
(famous circus fat man)

Tom Ton was a famous circus performer from the early 1900's in the circus sideshow or freak-show as "The Fat Man". Weighing 1600 lbs., his casket had to be custom made extra wide and sturdy with 12 handles. It wouldn't even fit through the funeral home's doors. The casket only weighed 200 lbs. itself, and was about the size of a small fishing boat. It took 16 pall bearers to carry his casket. (Photo taken May 27th, 1926)

Louis Armstrong

Born in New Orleans on July 4th, 1900, jazz trumpet & cornet soloist Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong began playing at the age of 13. He played in New Orleans & in Mississippi river boat bands, then King Oliver's Group, Fletcher Henderson's New York Band, before forming his own group, Louis Armstrong's Hot Five, which made many recordings performing Chicago Dixieland style music. He appeared on radio, TV, & also in films throughout his career, making his trumpet solos and his "scat" style singing legendary. In 1968, he recorded "What A Wonderful World" which is one of his more well-known recordings. He spent the last 3 years of his life in & out of hospitals as his health started to fail him, & passed away July 7th, 1971, just 3 days after his 71st birthday. Left to Right: Armstrong as a young man, then in his prime, & finally a newwpaper clipping showing a mourner placing a rose on his casket.

Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth (born George Herman Ruth in 1895) was an American legend. Debuting as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, he won 89 games in 6 seasons before being sold to the New York Yankees in 1920 for $125,000. He proved to be an even better hitter, and launched his amazing home run career, belting 60 homeruns in 1927 alone, and 714 in his lifetime. In 1936, he was elected into the baseball Hall Of Fame. Ruth, also known as The Babe, The Great Bambino, The Great One, and The Sultan Of Swat, died at the age of 53 on August 16th, 1948.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Martin Luter King, Jr., was born January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta, GA. The minister, famous for his leadership in civil rights, fought for equality for blacks as well as protesting the Vietnam war. His many speeches made history (ex:"I have a dream") and made him nationally famous with blacks and whites alike, but made him a target of violence with white racists, who often threw rocks at him at his appearances. At one time, King's Montgomery, Alabama home. King's life came to an end on April 4th, 1968 when he was assasinated by a bullet fired by James Earl Ray. Matin Luter King, Jr. was silenced at the age of 39. His tombstone reads, "Free at last, free at last, thanks God Almighty, I'm free at last." (Thanks to Keith Reed for the photos)

Bela Lugosi

Bela Lugosi was born Bela Ferenc Deszo Blasko on October 20th, 1882 in Lugos, Hungary. At a young age, he worked as a minor and a railroad company before joining a theatre group and eventually the Academy Of Performing Arts, where he adopted the name Lugosi after his birthplace. In 1914, he enlisted in the Army, but missed acting, and was discharged 2 years later after convincing them that he was "mentally unstable". After the war, he was found to be a communist, and a warrent was issued for his arrest. Lugosi fled to Vienna, then to Germany, where he played parts in a few German films. He imigrated to the United States in 1920, and for the next 11 years, he only appeared in one film. He became a U.S. citizen in 1931. Lugosi played the part of Dracula on Broadway in 1929 for 33 weeks until Universal Studios bought the rights to the play to make a movie. Lon Chaney, Sr. was to play the lead, but Chaney died in 1930 of throat cancer, therefore causing Universal to reconsider Lugosi for the part, paying him a total of $3,500. Other than reacurring roles as Dracula, Lugosi had trouble finding work, and appeared in mainly B-rated movies. Bela Lugosi passed away at the age of 73 on August 16th, 1956. He was buried in his Dracula costume. (Thanks again to Keith Reed for the photos)

Alma Reubens

Alma Reubens was one of Hollywoods' first cases of live fast - die young. Born Alma Smith on feb. 19th, 1897, she started her acting career at age 16. By the time she was 19, she was a star. From 1913 to 1929, she appeared in almost 60 films. After 1925, work was few and far between because of her heroin addiction. Spending the last few years of her life in and out of mental asylums, her addiction had caused her to become weak, and she died at the age of 33 of pneumonia in Los Angeles on Jan. 22nd, 1931. (thanks Keith)

Randy Rhoads

One of Rock N' Roll's greatest tragedies, Randy Rhoads rose to fame at the lead guitarist for Quiet Riot, then for Ozzy Osbourne. Born on Dec. 6th, 1956, he studied classical guitar and later combined it with heavy metal, giving it a new sound. He was always learning new things, and often booked guitar lessons while on tour with Ozzy. Randy recorded 2 albums with Ozzy and died at the age of 25 in a plane crash on March 19th, 1982 while taking photos of the tour bus below. Left to Right: Randy (with his trademark black & white Flying V guitar), Randy's casket carried by pallbearers (L to R: Tommy Aldrigde (Ozzy's drummer), Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot's frontman), Ozzy & Rudy Sarzo (bassist for both Quiet Riot and Ozzy) Ozzy later release a double live album entitled "Tribute" in memory of Randy.

Lupe Velez

Born Maria Guadalupe Velez de Villalobos on July 18th, 1908 in Mexico, Lupe got her start in silent films and in two Laurel & Hardy comedy shorts. She became known as the Mexican Spitfire, later co-staring with some of Hollywood's leading men and even dating a few, including boxer Jack Dempsey. Velez made over 40 movies in Mexico, America andEngland, mostly on the bottom half of a double bill. In 1943, she moved back to Mexico to try to make a comeback of her leading lady fame, but failed. Later that year, she became pregnant with a small bit actor's child (who abandoned her). With the ongoing depression of her failing acting career, and the unplanned pregnancy out of wedlock, lupe Velez commited suicide on December 14th, 1944 at the age of 36. (Thanks again to Keth Reed for the casket photo)

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