Shannen Doherty and Other Stars Who Had Unusual Funeral Wishes — Photos

Death may be inevitable, but some stars have made it clear that the traditional Hollywood farewell simply will not do. Their wishes have ranged from touching and deeply personal to arrangements so unconventional they almost sound like punchlines.

For some, the plans reflected bonds with the people — and even animals — they loved most. Others wanted to strip death of its sadness altogether, with one actress envisioning a final celebration that would make an ordinary funeral seem positively tame.

From Shannen Doherty to Drew Barrymore, Whoopi Goldberg, and Martha Stewart, here are the celebrities who have spoken about how they want to leave the stage, beginning with a wish rooted in one star's profound bond with her family.

Shannen Doherty Wanted Her Funeral Guest List to Be Personal

Shannen Doherty spoke candidly about death long before her passing, including exactly what she did — and did not — want from her funeral. The actress died from cancer on July 13, 2024, at age 53.

But during a January 2024 episode of her "Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty" podcast, Doherty explained that the subject had become especially real when she underwent brain surgery the previous year and feared she might not survive.

Doherty said she redid her will and made sure her affairs were clear before the surgery. She also changed the executor of her will to her friend Chris Cortazzo.

Thinking about her own funeral brought back memories of losing her father, John Thomas Doherty Jr. The actress recalled being in New York on a book tour when her mother called to tell her that her father had died before she could get home.

The "Beverly Hills 90210" actress said she went into "autopilot," focusing on helping her mother and brother while dealing with practical matters such as choosing a casket and arranging the service.

The experience also influenced how she thought about her own eventual farewell. Doherty said she did not want people showing up merely because attending seemed like the socially acceptable thing to do.

She wanted her funeral to be a "love fest" filled with people who genuinely cared about her, rather than mourners who secretly disliked her. As for the setting, Doherty had something much less formal in mind. "Let's do it here at my house, but like [a] party," she said, recalling a birthday celebration she once threw for her mother with a tent and DJ. "I want it to be a celebration."

But Doherty's most personal request concerned what would happen to her remains. "I want to be mixed with my dog, and I want to be mixed with my dad," she said. "I do not want to be buried. I want to be cremated."

For a star who spent years publicly confronting her mortality, it was a strikingly intimate plan: Doherty wanted those she loved beside her even after death.

Farrah Fawcett's Friends Said Her Final Resting Place Wasn't What She Wanted

Meanwhile, Fawcett's story took a more contentious turn. The "Charlie’s Angels" star died from anal cancer in 2009 at age 62 and was laid to rest at Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles. Years later, however, the addition of her longtime partner Ryan O'Neal's name to her tombstone prompted an angry response from some of her friends.

O'Neal, with whom Fawcett shared son, Redmond O'Neal, died in December 2023 at age 82. His name, birth date, and death date were subsequently added to Fawcett's tombstone. According to a 2024 New York Post report, Fawcett's friend and producer Craig Nevius insisted that being buried was the opposite of what the actress had wanted.

"Farrah wanted to be cremated, first of all. She was very specific about that," Nevius said. He claimed Fawcett did not want her grave to become a destination for curious visitors.

"She didn't want to be a tourist attraction. She didn't want to be buried, and she didn't want to be buried with Ryan. If she saw this, she'd pick up something heavy and throw it at Ryan," Nevius said.

Fawcett's former personal assistant Mike Pingel similarly told the outlet that the actress had wanted cremation, like her mother, and wanted "peace" rather than a grave in a celebrity cemetery.

Actress Michelle Lintel, another friend of Fawcett's, was even more direct about the relationship. "If she'd wanted to be buried with him, she would have said yes to marrying him. She didn't. She deserved better in life than how he treated her," Lintel said.

The claims came from Fawcett's friends rather than from a public statement by the late actress herself. Still, their accounts paint a startling picture: they believed the resting place that ultimately bore Fawcett's name was something she had specifically tried to avoid.

Not every unconventional celebrity farewell has been somber or controversial.

Suzanne Somers Got a Send-Off Filled With Tequila, Sparkles, and Feathers

After Somers died in October 2023, one day before her 77th birthday, her loved ones honored the "Three's Company" star with a celebration that embraced the glamour and fun she was known for.

Her son, Bruce Somers Jr., and daughter-in-law, Caroline Somers, organized the event, and her husband, Alan Hamel, told People that his wife loved cocktail parties. So they threw her one. The celebration of life at Stone Eagle Club in Palm Desert carried the appropriately lively theme "Tequila & Tributes."

Guests were asked to wear colorful cocktail attire with plenty of "sparkles and feathers in true Suzanne fashion." Somers' signature pink roses decorated the tables, while an illustration created by her stepdaughter Leslie Hamel showed the actress in a sparkly silver mini dress and matching gloves, floating over a twinkling cityscape.

"SUZANNE Our Brightest Star," the program read. Guests received parting gifts that included a candle in Somers' favorite "Floating Gardenia" scent and her "LOVE" bracelet.

The bracelet was accompanied by one of the actress's messages about what mattered most: "It's not who you are. It's not what you have. It's not what you do. It's only about who you love and who loves you… and I love you."

The gathering was an unusual celebrity farewell rather than a documented funeral request made by Somers herself. Still, her family deliberately filled it with the things that represented her, turning mourning into one last glittering cocktail party in her honor.

Hagman's Farewell Was Never Meant to Stay in One Place

"Dallas" star Larry Hagman also had an unconventional send-off after his death in November 2012 at age 81. Rather than one public funeral followed by burial in a single cemetery, Hagman's family arranged two private services.

His manager John Catalonia told the Los Angeles Times that one service would take place in Texas and another in California. Both were invitation-only, and there would be no official burial site. What was expected to happen to Hagman's ashes was even more unusual.

"His family will decide what to do with his ashes ...," Catalonia said. "He'll be spread around the world, basically. His son travels a great deal, and I know it'll give Larry great pleasure."

Unlike some of the stars who publicly spelled out their own wishes, the plans were described by Hagman's manager as arrangements involving his family.

Still, one final resting place apparently wasn't enough for J.R. Ewing.

Joan Rivers Wanted Her Funeral to Be Pure Hollywood

Joan Rivers was never known for doing things quietly, and apparently, she saw no reason for death to change that. Years before her 2014 death at age 81, Rivers wrote about the kind of funeral she wanted — and subtlety was nowhere on the agenda.

According to the BBC, Rivers wrote in 2012 that she wanted her funeral to be "a huge showbiz affair." "I want paparazzi, and I want publicists making a scene!" she said. Then came a request that sounded unmistakably like Rivers.

"I want it to be Hollywood all the way. [...] I want Meryl Streep crying, in five different accents."

When Rivers died two years later after suffering cardiac arrest during a medical procedure, her real funeral came remarkably close to the grand spectacle she had envisioned. Crowds gathered outside Temple Emanu-El on Manhattan's Upper East Side as famous mourners arrived to say goodbye.

Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Howard Stern, Whoopi Goldberg, Diane Sawyer, Kathy Griffin, Donald Trump, Barbara Walters, Michael Kors, Rosie O'Donnell, Kelly Osbourne and other familiar faces were among those attending.

As People reported, the ceremony opened with the New York City Gay Men's Chorus before Audra McDonald performed "Smile." Stern delivered a eulogy that mixed emotion and humor, while Rivers' daughter Melissa Rivers also spoke about her mother.

Hugh Jackman later performed "Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage," prompting the audience to rise and applaud. Even the exit was theatrical. Bagpipers played "New York, New York" as mourners left the temple, bringing Rivers' farewell to a suitably dramatic conclusion.

She had asked for Hollywood all the way — and Hollywood showed up.

Merv Griffin Wanted the Last Word

Merv Griffin spent decades knowing how to keep television viewers watching. Apparently, he wanted to preserve that instinct beyond the grave. The legendary television host and creator of "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" wrote about death while reflecting on his life, explaining that he did not fear it.

"If you live your life in fear of dying, you might as well be dead already," Griffin wrote. He had also begun thinking about what his headstone should say. "You don't think I'm going to let anybody else write my last line, do you?" he joked in the published excerpt. Griffin considered "I told you I was sick" and the talk-show-inspired "I will not be right back after this message."

Then he settled on something much shorter. "Stay tuned." Griffin died in 2007 at age 82 following the return of prostate cancer, and the memorial listing on Find a Grave shows that the inscription on his tombstone reads:

"MERV GRIFFIN / I WILL NOT BE RIGHT BACK AFTER THIS MESSAGE / JULY 6, 1925 - AUGUST 12, 2007."

For a man whose career depended on convincing audiences not to change the channel, "Stay tuned" may have been the perfect last line.

Whoopi Goldberg's Funeral Wish Involves a Microwave

Whoopi Goldberg does not appear interested in leaving behind a conventional gravesite either. While discussing wills on "The View" in July 2023, Goldberg offered a colorful description of what she imagined happening after her death.

"I'll just be dust in the wind. I'm going to be going around the world. I'm going to be in all — I'm going to be everywhere. I might even be in your backyard," Goldberg said in a clip shared by "The View."

Then the conversation took a much stranger turn. Goldberg said she wanted to be put into the microwave, explaining that she did not want people to feel obligated to attend her funeral.

It was delivered in Goldberg's characteristically humorous style, but the sentiment beneath the joke was clear: she did not want death to create an unwanted obligation for other people. And the idea of being "everywhere" rather than confined to one resting place certainly made that point memorable.

Drew Barrymore Wants Her Body Invited to the Party

Drew Barrymore has taken the idea of a celebration of life a considerable step further. Her unusual preference stems from one of Hollywood's most notorious stories about her grandfather, legendary actor John Barrymore, who died in 1942.

During a 2020 appearance on "Hot Ones," Barrymore was asked about the long-told story that her grandfather's friends W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn, and Sadakichi Hartmann removed his body from the morgue, propped him up, and gave him one final party.

Barrymore said the story was true, according to Vanity Fair. "Not only yes, but there have been cinematic interpretations of that," she said. But Barrymore did not merely approve of the alleged prank. She volunteered herself for the same treatment.

"I hope my friends do the same for me," she said. "That is the kind of spirit I can get behind. Just prop the old bag up, let's have a few last rounds."

Barrymore explained that she understood the sadness surrounding death but would prefer something completely different for herself. "I think death comes with so much morose sadness and I understand that, but if it's okay, just for me, if everybody could be really happy and celebratory and have a party, that would be my preference," she said.

There is, however, a major twist to the family story that inspired Barrymore's request. In 2026, John Barrymore biographer Terry Chester Shulman publicly challenged the famous corpse-party tale, arguing that the evidence simply did not add up.

"I would like nothing more than to tell you that it's true, because it's such an outrageous story, but it isn't, and it couldn't be because both of the participants, Raoul Walsh, the director, and Errol Flynn, who the trick was supposedly played on, told totally different stories," Shulman told Fox News Digital.

Shulman pointed to conflicting versions of the supposed prank. In Walsh's account, Flynn reportedly fled the house and hid behind an oleander bush, while Flynn's own account had him running onto a porch.

Even the location of John Barrymore's body differed between versions, with one placing him in a chair and another on a sofa. Shulman also said one version claimed Walsh obtained permission to borrow the body from the owner of Malloy's funeral home. But according to the biographer, John Barrymore's body was actually at Pierce Brothers funeral home.

Most damningly, Shulman said John Barrymore's friend Gene Fowler and Fowler's son Will had remained with the actor's body through the night and maintained that the story never happened.

"So, I hate to dispel that great story," Shulman said. "And finally, Jack's great friend Gene Fowler and his son Will sat up with Jack's body all night and said it absolutely wasn't true. So I'm sorry to be a killjoy."

Whether the Hollywood legend was real or not, Barrymore's own preference remains clear. If her friends are going to throw one last party, she wants to be there — literally.

Martha Stewart Has a Very Different Idea for Her Remains

Martha Stewart's preferred burial plan is perhaps fitting for someone whose name has become synonymous with gardening, homemaking and the natural world. When asked whether she wanted to be buried or cremated, Stewart offered a third option. "I'm going to be composted," Stewart said in an interview.

Asked what she meant by that, Stewart explained it by describing what happens when one of her horses dies. "When one of my horses dies, we dig a giant hole really deep in one of my fields. We have a pet cemetery," she said.

The animal, Stewart explained, is treated with particular care. "And the horse is wrapped in a clean white linen sheet and very carefully dropped down into this giant, lovely grave," she said. "I want to go there."

So while Doherty envisioned having her ashes mixed with her beloved dog and father, Stewart wants her connection with her animals and land to continue in an altogether different way.

Priscilla Presley Knows Exactly Who She Wants Beside Her

Priscilla Presley has also thought about her eventual resting place, but her wish is rooted less in eccentricity than in family history.

Presley has said she wants to be buried at Graceland beside her former husband, Elvis Presley. During an emotional "Piers Morgan Uncensored" interview, Presley confirmed that being buried next to Elvis was what she wanted when her time eventually came.

"I'd like to be buried next to Elvis," she said, while making it clear that she hoped that day remained far in the future. The wish carries particular weight following a devastating period for Presley. Her and Elvis' only child, Lisa Marie Presley, died in January 2023 at age 54 and was buried at Graceland. Lisa Marie's son Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020, is also buried there.

Presley recalled attending the Golden Globes with Lisa Marie shortly before her daughter's death. Afterward, they went for a drink, and both stumbled while wearing high heels. The two laughed about it, but Presley noticed that her daughter did not seem well.

Lisa Marie complained of severe stomach pain before the two eventually parted ways. Presley hugged her daughter goodbye. "It was the last hug I gave her," she recalled. Lisa Marie died two days later. The loss came after Presley had already endured the deaths of her mother and grandson, making the period particularly painful.

She also addressed reports of tension with granddaughter Riley Keough following Lisa Marie's death and changes to her estate. Presley said she had been blindsided after learning that Lisa Marie had changed her will without telling her, but rejected the suggestion that she and Keough had become permanently estranged.

She became emotional when hearing Keough's affectionate comments about her and her place within the Presley family. "Oh my God, I love her," Presley said, maintaining that they had always been close.

Presley's memories of Elvis remain equally powerful decades after their marriage and his death. She recalled being the person he could confide in about his family and personal struggles, describing herself simply as "the listener." Presley said she still misses his voice, laughter, energy, and the fun they once shared. "I miss him very much," she said.

For all the unusual ways stars have imagined saying goodbye — from ashes traveling around the world to glittering showbiz funerals, composting and even one last party with the corpse in attendance — Presley's wish is strikingly simple.