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Jest in Peace - Finding the Funny Side
of Eternal Sleep
By T Roberts
Death can the most sombre of subjects, this much is
clear. But while many people are understandably fearful
of reaching the end of their life and prefer to brush
the topic under the carpet, there are also those who
take it all in their stride, making light of the
inevitable.
Prime examples are those people who choose to display
their positive outlook on life - and death - by devising
a humorous epitaph for their headstone. Take dentist
John Brown, for example, whose resting place is graced
with the following words: Stranger! Approach with
gravity! John Brown is filling his last cavity.
In fact, there are a number of famous folks who came up
with witty or apt sentiments for their gravestones
before they died. Some made it on, others naturally fell
by the wayside. Here are a few of the best:
Spike Milligan
Revered as one of the greatest comedians and writers of
all time, Milligan often revelled in black comedy. When
his close friend Harry Secombe succumbed to cancer,
Milligan reportedly said: "I'm glad he died before me; I
didn't want him to sing at my funeral." His dark sense
of humour made it to his headstone, which reads: Dúirt
mé leat go raibh mé breoite. (I told you I was ill.)
George Carlin
American comic Carlin was another one to enjoy pushing
the boundaries when it came to his stand-up act - his
2005 TV Special Life Is Worth Losing, originally titled
I Like It When A Lot Of People Die until Hurricane
Katrina hit New Orleans, centred largely around the
subject of death. When asked about the passage of time
near the end of his life, Carlin suggested his headstone
should say: He was here a minute ago. Where did he go?
He was just here.
Winston Churchill
British Prime Minister Churchill is famed for his
leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II but
his sharp wit was also admired far and wide. He famously
told a woman that accused him of being drunk that "I may
be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and
you will still be ugly." His humour even stretched to
the subject of death; on the eve of his 75th birthday he
is reported to have said: 'I am prepared to meet my
maker. Whether my maker is prepared for the great ordeal
of meeting me is another matter."
Peter Ustinov
Oscar-winning actor and writer Ustinov was also famed
for his wit, famously telling a reporter that the only
reason he agreed to make a commercial for American
Express was "to pay for my American Express bill". When
asked about ideas for how his headstone should read,
Ustinov suggested: Please keep off the grass.
Mel Blanc
Perhaps the most apt epitaph of all time belongs to Mel
Blanc, who found fame as the voice of a host of
world-famous cartoon characters, including Bugs Bunny,
Daffy Duck and Sylvester the Cat. Another of his
characters, Porky Pig, would bring most Loony Tunes to
an end with his most famous catchphrase - the self same
sentence that's displayed on Blanc's tombstone today:
That's All Folks
But don't worry, you can still have a traditional
funeral with headstones and a church. |
