The Most Unhinged Requests Celebrities Put in Their Wills Before They Died
Fame does not always simplify a person’s final wishes. In some cases, it complicates them. These wills reveal how celebrities tried to settle unfinished business, control small details, or leave behind something memorable. The requests range from playful to unsettling.
Janis Joplin’s Farewell Party Fund
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
When Janis Joplin died in 1970, her will included a line item for celebration. She set aside $2,500 USD for a party, instructing friends to gather, drink, and play music in her name. They did exactly that. The event replaced formal mourning with noise, laughter, and planning.
Harry Houdini’s Annual Séance Challenge
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
After Harry Houdini’s death, his wife chose to sit down with spiritualists every Halloween and try to contact him. While his legal will did not mandate this ritual, Houdini had left behind a coded phrase intended to prove authenticity if he were to return. The séances continued for ten years before his wife ended them.
Napoleon Bonaparte’s Hair Keepsakes
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Napoleon Bonaparte requested that his head be shaved after death, and the hair was divided among his friends and family. At the time, such keepsakes were typical. Those preserved strands later gained unexpected importance when scientists used them to investigate long-standing theories about arsenic poisoning during his exile.
Dusty Springfield’s Detailed Cat Care Plan
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Dusty Springfield used her will to outline exactly how her cat Nicholas should live after she was gone. The instructions covered meals, sleep, and sound, right down to imported baby food and her own clothes as bedding. She even specified companionship. The document feels closer to a household checklist than a legal form.
Gene Roddenberry’s Space-Bound Remains
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Instead of burial, Gene Roddenberry arranged for part of his ashes to be sent into space. In 1997, approximately seven grams of his remains were launched aboard a private Pegasus XL rocket as part of a commercial space memorial.
Fred Baur’s Pringles Can Burial
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
In 2008, Baur’s family stopped at a Walgreens on the way to his funeral. Inside the car was a Pringles can, chosen to carry part of his cremated remains. The request came straight from his will. It was handled plainly as if honoring a long-running inside joke.
Benjamin Franklin’s Anti-Jewelry Warning
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Franklin left his daughter a diamond-framed portrait and a warning not to turn the stones into jewelry. He distrusted displays of excess, even though he benefited from wealth himself. The instruction did not last, as she removed the diamonds anyway.
Charles Dickens’ Strict Funeral Dress Code
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Author Charles Dickens carefully controlled his final appearance, specifying what mourners could not wear at his funeral. His will demanded a quiet funeral with no public spectacle. He even selected his own outfit. The instructions focused on restraint, suggesting he wanted the event managed as tightly as one of his published endings.
Mark Gruenwald’s Ink-Infused Ashes
Credit: IMDb
A Marvel printing run in the late 1990s contained more than ink and paper. Part of the ashes of Mark Gruenwald had been mixed into the ink itself, following instructions he left behind. The choice folded his remains directly into the medium he spent his career shaping.
Marilyn Monroe’s Forgotten Belongings
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
After her death, Marilyn Monroe did not leave her personal effects to fans, archives, or institutions. Everything went to her acting coach, Lee Strasberg. Clothing, letters, and shoes had been stored for decades. When they finally resurfaced, it was through auctions.