Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are defined as items buried along with the body. In ancient times, grave goods were seen as offerings to the gods. In modern times, they are usually personal possessions or supplies designed to smooth the deceased’s journey into the afterlife. I’ve always been fascinated by reports of items buried alongside the dearly departed. And, since I need an article for this week, I’ve decided to share some of those grave goods of the rich and famous that have caught my eye over the years. Some of them are quirky, some surprising and many are sentimental and sweet.
Magician Harry Houdini was buried with his head resting on a packet of letters from his beloved mother, Cecilia Weiss. Her death in 1913 was a shock that Houdini never quite recovered from. His quest to communicate with her in the afterlife led Harry to a fascination with the then-popular fad of spiritualism. Open-minded at first, he soon became disenchanted and spent the remainder of his life exposing fraudulent psychics and mediums. Houdini was known to visit Circle City psychics during his many stops in Indianapolis before his death on Halloween night in 1926.
John F. Kennedy was buried with a piece of scrimshaw (traditional ivory or whale bone hand carved by New England whalers) engraved with the presidential seal. It was commissioned by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who gave it to her husband for Christmas in 1962, the last Christmas he’d live to see. Other items buried with the President include letters from his wife and two children and a pair of gold cufflinks. His brother Robert, who would be assassinated less than five years later, added a PT-109 tie clip and a silver rosary in the casket.
Frank Sinatra was buried with a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a Zippo lighter, and a dollar’s worth of dimes. The dimes were in case he needed to use a pay phone. When Frank Jr. was famously kidnapped just before Christmas of 1963, the kidnappers demanded that all communication with Frank Sr. be conducted by payphone. Old Blue Eyes forever worried that he would not have enough change. He carried a roll of dimes with him at all times for the rest of his life. Jack Daniels was introduced to Sinatra by comedian Jackie Gleason. He was also known to refer to it as the “nectar of the gods.”
Before actor Humphrey Bogart’s cremated remains were laid to rest, they were joined in their urn by a small gold whistle with the inscription “If you want anything, just whistle,” which he had given his widow, Lauren Bacall, years earlier. The line was a paraphrase of a line from the 1944 film, To Have and Have Not, the first movie to pair the then 43-year-old Bogart and his 19-year-old future wife.
Actress Elizabeth Taylor was buried with the final letter ever written to her by Richard Burton before his sudden death in 1984. Their tempestuous relationship with its tears, tantrums, gargantuan drinking bouts and fabulous jewels was the stuff of Hollywood legend. Although the entire contents of the letter are unknown, Taylor told her biographers: “He told [me] what he wanted. Home was where Elizabeth was, and he wanted to come home.”
After Lynyrd Skynyrd’s front man Ronnie Van Zant was killed in a 1977 plane crash, he was buried with a black hat and his favorite fishing pole. It’s rumored that Van Zant was buried in the same Neil Young “Southern Man” T-shirt he can be seen wearing on the cover of his last album, Street Survivors. His grave was broken into in 2000, and some think that the reason was to prove or disprove the rumor, but the casket was never opened. The attempted grave robbing prompted a reburial in a secret location to deter further vandalism.
Reggae great Bob Marley was buried with his red Gibson Les Paul guitar, a Bible, a soccer ball and, of course, some marijuana. INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence was buried with a single cigarette from his brother since he was always bumming smokes off him. Paula Yates, mother of his daughter Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, slipped him a gram of heroin. She would die of an overdose of the drug three years later in 2000.
Whitney Houston was buried wearing $500,000 worth of jewelry and designer clothes. For awhile, fear of grave-robbing led the family to post armed guards at her gravesite. Conductor Leonard Bernstein was buried with a piece of amber, a lucky penny, a baton, a copy of Alice in Wonderland and a pocket score of Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, his favorite. Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis was buried with one or more of his horns. “Tip toe Through the Tulips” singer Tiny Tim was buried with — you guessed it — a ukulele and a few tulips.
Oscar Winner George Burns went to his grave with three cigars tucked safely away in his pocket. What brand they were was not recorded. However, Burns was known to favor El Producto Queens because they remained lit on stage. Television pioneer comic Ernie Kovacs who died in a car crash while lighting a cigar, was buried with one placed in his hand by his widow, Edie Adams, and another tucked into his jacket by his friend Jack Lemmon. Actor Tony Curtis was buried with his favorite Stetson hat, a pair of driving gloves, his grandson’s baby shoes, the ashes of his dog, his iPhone, and a copy of the book Anthony Adverse, the novel that inspired his stage name. Bela Lugosi was buried in full Dracula regalia, including his trademark black cape. Comedian David Brenner asked to be buried with $100 in small bills, “just in case tipping is recommended where I’m going.”
Pop artist Andy Warhol was buried holding a bottle of Estee Lauder perfume pressed to his breast. Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was buried with a selection of chocolates, his snooker cues, a bottle of very good burgundy, pencils and inexplicably, a power saw. Today, children continue to leave toys and flowers by his grave. Beat Generation novelist William S. Burroughs was buried with a loaded .38 caliber revolver, a sword cane, a ballpoint pen, a fedora and a joint.
St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial was buried with a harmonica, which he often played and always carried, in his jacket pocket. Kentucky Fried Chicken Colonel Harland Sanders was buried in his trademark double-breasted white suit, horn rimmed glasses and black Western string bow tie.
Gunslinger and Western lawman Wild Bill Hickok was buried with his Sharps rifle. Princess Diana was buried with a set of rosary beads given to her by Mother Teresa. Sir Walter Raleigh was buried with his favorite pipe and a tin of tobacco. Raleigh also left instructions that his coffin was to be “lined throughout with the wood of my old Havana cigar-boxes.” So there you have it. I guess, at least in these cases, you CAN take it with you.
Al Hunter is the author of the “Haunted Indianapolis” and co-author of the “Haunted Irvington” and “Indiana National Road” book series. His newest book is “Bumps in the Night. Stories from the Weekly View.” Contact Aldirectly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on Facebook.
