15 Celebs That Had Fascinating Requests After They Died

"I want Meryl Streep crying, in five different accents. ... And I want a wind machine so that even in the casket, my hair is blowing just like Beyoncé's."

Last week, the founder of PETA announced she wants her skin made into a luxury Hermès handbag, intestines sent to Salt Bae, and an array of other wild bodily requests upon her death:

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The news got me thinking about other weird requests celebrities asked for in their wills, or had for their funerals, wakes, or burials.

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Maybe they had very detailed instructions about how they wanted to be celebrated, or strange items they wanted to take to the grave. Whatever it was, I did some digging and found all the odd, specific, and strange requests famous people have wished for, or had happen to them after they passed on:

1. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, wanted his ashes scattered "where no man has gone before," aka outer space.

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Gene's lifelong desire was to travel space — so when he passed, his wife Majel asked NASA to help her fulfill his wish. They agreed, and some of Roddenberry's ashes were launched into space aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1992. No longer star-crossed lovers, Majel's ashes were also brought to space after her death in 2008.

2. The inventor of Pringles requested for his ashes to be stored in a Pringles can.

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Frederic Baur's eldest son Larry told Time, "When my dad first raised the burial idea in the 1980s, I chuckled about it." But Larry realized his father was serious, so they followed through with the request when he passed. "My siblings and I briefly debated what flavor to use, but I said, 'Look, we need to use the original.'"

3. Joan Rivers wanted "Meryl Streep crying, in five different accents" and "a wind machine so that even in the casket, my hair is blowing just like Beyoncé's" at her funeral.

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In her 2012 book, I Hate Everyone...Starting with Me, comedic queen and red carpet commentator Joan Rivers laid out exactly what she wanted her funeral to look like. She wrote, "I want my funeral to be a huge showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action. ... I want paparazzi and I want publicists making a scene! I want it to be Hollywood all the way." Fittingly, the funeral was star-studded — just no Beyoncé hair, as she had already been cremated.

4. Hunter S. Thompson had detailed plans requesting his ashes be blasted out of a cannon.

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Hunter Thompson was an American writer known for writing Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Hell's Angels. Hunter requested his ashes be shot out a cannon after his death, which actually happened in 2005, and was funded by Johnny Depp, who played him in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, for $3 million. In 2017, when Depp sued his business managers for mismanaging his finances, they countersued using the $3 million cannon funeral as an example of his "extravagant lifestyle and spending."

5. Harry Houdini requested his wife use a secret code to try and communicate with him after he died.

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Despite being known as an illusionist himself, Houdini spent the end of his life trying to debunk mediums and mind readers. However, Houdini requested his wife try to communicate with him after he died in a secret code. She proceeded to hold yearly séances on the day of his death (which was Halloween) for 10 years, but eventually gave up, stating, "Ten years is long enough to wait for any man." Seances are still held around the world each Halloween for Houdini.

6. Janis Joplin requested $2,500 to be set aside for her friends to party after her death.

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Known for her free-spirited attitude and powerful rock vocals, it might not come as a surprise that Janis Joplin requested money set aside so friends could throw a party in her absence. In her last will and testament, she requested $2,500 for a "gathering of friends and acquaintances...as a final gesture of appreciation and farewell." For context, $2,500 in October 1970 is worth roughly $19k today, based off this inflation calculator. 

7. Bela Lugosi, the actor who played Count Dracula, was buried in a cape.

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Lugosi was buried in full Dracula costume, complete with a replica cape. While he reportedly never requested this himself, his son Bela Lugosi Jr. and his mother, Lillian, believed that it was what he wanted. 

8. The creator of Doritos was cremated with his famous chip.

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Arch West, the founder of the cheesy chip, went to the grave with his invention. "We are tossing Doritos chips in before they put the dirt over the urn. He’ll love it," his daughter, Jana Hacker, told the Dallas Morning News before his funeral.

9. Charles Dickens wrote in his will that those attending his funeral “wear no scarf, cloak, black bow, long hatband, or other such revolting absurdity."

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Dickens requested in his will that "those attending [his] funeral wear no scarf, cloak, black bow, long hatband, or other such revolting absurdity." He asked to be buried in an "inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner" with "no public announcement." He even requested his friends not "make [him] the subject of any monument, memorial, or testimonial whatever." Needless to say, Dickens would probably be shocked to find out how famous he is today. 

10. Alexander McQueen left the equivalent of roughly $82,000 for his dogs.

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Fashion designer Alexander McQueen tragically died by suicide in 2010. He left a note that said, "Look after my dogs, sorry, I love you, Lee." As reported by the BBC, he left £50,000 (or about $82,000 USD at the time) to his three dogs, and donated £100,000 (roughly $164,000 USD at the time) to four charities, two of which were for animal welfare. 

11. Napoleon Bonaparte requested his hair be made into jewelry and sent to various family members.

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In his will, Napoleon requested that his hair be preserved and sent to family members as bracelets. After arsenic was found in the hair Bonaparte left behind, scholars and scientists theorized that Bonaparte may have died by arsenic poisoning. However, scientists found that when they measured the arsenic in hair taken at other points of his life, the amounts were similar, so it'd be unlikely he died by poisoning since the body can get used to arsenic if "ingested regularly." 

12. William Shakespeare wrote in his will to give the "second best bed" in the house to his wife.

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In William Shakespeare's last will and testament, he wrote, "Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed with the furniture," which sounds like a snub, but according to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, since beds were luxurious commodities for the time, the "best bed" was likely kept to show off, to make sure "visitors could see how well you were doing." 

13. Tupac Shakur rapped about friends smoking his ashes after he died, which they actually did.

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On his track, "Black Jesuz," Tupac asked his friends to smoke his ashes. Much to the dismay of family members, members of his crew, Outlawz, confirmed they followed through with the request at his memorial. 

14. Philip Seymour Hoffman wanted no money to go to his children so they wouldn't become "trust fund kids."

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According to court documents obtained by E! News, Hoffman told his accountant that he "did not want his children to be considered 'trust fund' kids," so he left his million-dollar estate to his partner Mimi O'Donnell, the mother of his children.

15. Benjamin Franklin gave 408 diamonds to his daughter, but requested they not be used for the "useless fashion of wearing jewels."

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Benjamin Franklin gave "the king of France's picture, set with four hundred and eight diamonds" to his daughter, Sarah Bache in his will. He requested, however, that she not make the diamonds into jewelry and thereby contribute to "the expensive, vain, and useless fashion of wearing jewels in this country." 

That's all! What would your requests be before you pass on? Let me know in the comments below!