Putting the fun into funerals..
BEAM ME UP: Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was famous for characters who would “boldly go” into the unknown – and after his death at 70 he would follow suit.
In 1997, seven grams of his ashes were fired into space from the Pegasus XL rocket. In 2012 an urn containing the ashes of James Doohan, who played Scotty in the TV series also went into space on a rocket.
NEVER TEAR US APART: INXS singer Michael Hutchence was found dead in
1997, aged 37, and his former lover Paula Yates had some of his ashes sewn into a pink cushion. She slept with it until her own death in 2000, when it was buried with her ashes.
REBEL ENDING: Famous for playing Princess Leia in Star Wars, actress Carrie Fisher died in 2016, aged 60.
Having battled mental health issues, her ashes were placed in an urn in the shape of a giant Prozac pill.
IN COLD CASH: Author Truman Capote’s ashes sold at auction for £33,800 in 2016.
Famous for hit book
In Cold Blood, he died in 1984, aged
59. The writer’s remains ended up in a wooden box owned by friend Joanne Carson which was sold to the highest bidder when she died.
SWAN SONG: Beatles legend George Harrison was fascinated by Indian mysticism, so when he died 2001, aged
body was and his ashes scattered in the Ganges river in India, in accordance with Hindu tradition. HEROIC FINALE: Top Marvel Comics editor Mark Gruenwald died aged 43. As his request, YESTERDAY we reported how telly’s Mr Motivator hopes mourners will munch on fish paste sandwiches mixed with his ashes. But as JAMES MOORE reveals, it’s not the only unusual tale involving stars’ deaths
in
58, his cremated per his ashes were mixed with ink and used in the print run of an edition of one of their books.
OUT WITH A
BANG: Some of the ashes of
Blue Peter TV star John Noakes were shot into the sky in a Roman Candle firework on the grounds of his old school near Halifax, West Yorkshire after his death, aged 83, in 2017. Film star Johnny Depp spent millions fulfilling the last wish of writer pal Hunter S Thompson, by arranging for him to be blasted out of a cannon at his funeral.
FINAL GOAL: Rocker Rod Stewart wants his ashes to be scattered at Celtic’s ground or Hampden, Scotland’s national stadium. He adds: “If not that, I don’t care. You can flush my ashes down the toilet!”
UP IN SMOKE: After rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in 1996, members of his group The Outlawz claimed to have smoked his ashes mixed with some marijuana.
Bandmate EDI Mean said: “That was a request that he had.”
It later turned out that the ashes weren’t Tupac’s. Rolling Stones hell-raiser Keith Richards once admitted snorting some of his dad Bert’s ashes.