13 Unusual Things Buried with the Dead

On November 26, 1922, after years of searching the sands of Egypt, British archaeologist Howard Carter finally thrust a lit candle through a small hole leading into King Tutankhamen’s tomb and described his first glimpse of the ancient treasures within as “wonderful things.”

While few people are buried these days with the grandeur of Egypt’s “boy king,” many grave goods can prove just as memorable as King Tut’s treasures, as the following 13 examples of weird, wild or wonderful items buried with the dead demonstrate.

Humphrey Bogart

Previously married three times, Hollywood legend Bogart fell quickly and deeply in love with Lauren Bacall, his eventual fourth (and last) wife, while filming To Have and Have Not. In the 1944 film (their first movie together), Bacall’s character “Slim” utters this immortal line to Bogart’s character: “You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow.”

After his death on January 14, 1957, Bogart’s cremated remains were interred with a gold charm-bracelet whistle he’d given Bacall, which included the inscription: “If you want anything, just whistle.”

David Brenner

The comedian and frequent guest and guest-host on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson died March 15, 2014. Ever the funnyman, Brenner was buried with small bills, totaling $100, tucked into his left sock, “Just in case tipping is recommended where I’m going.”

George Burns

The famous vaudeville, radio, television and movie comedian — who portrayed the title deity in the 1977 film Oh, God! — managed to live to age 100 despite smoking 10-15 cigars “on any given day” for most of his life. When he finally succumbed to the inevitable on March 9, 1996, Burns was buried next to his beloved wife, Gracie, with three of his favorite cigars.

Whitney Houston

Following her death by drowning in a bathtub on February 11, 2012, and her subsequent burial on February 19, the family and friends of singer Houston worried that “ghouls will plunder her resting place.”

According to reports published following her death at age 48, not only was the singer interred in a “gold-lined coffin worth tens of thousands of [British] pounds,” but Houston was also buried “wearing up to £300,000 of jewels and designer clothes.” As of late August 2023, that’s equivalent to more than $382,000.

Michael Jackson

In addition to farewell notes written by his three children after the iconic pop singer’s death on June 25, 2009, Jackson was also buried with a single white sparkly glove — the same garment immortalized in his various Thriller music videos from the 1980s.

David Kime Jr.

Ignoring warnings from his doctor to improve his diet, Kime still “did what he wanted and ate what he wanted.” Chief among this World War II Army veteran’s vices was his love of Burger King burgers. Therefore, when Kime died on January 20, 2013, at age 88, his loved one’s incorporated his burger-love into his final farewell.

While transporting his body to the cemetery, the entire funeral procession passed through the drive-thru window of a Manchester Township, Pennsylvania, Burger King to pick up one of 40 Whopper Jr. hamburgers the family pre-ordered.

Following the burial service at York’s Prospect Hill Cemetery, a Burger King Whopper Jr. hamburger was lovingly placed into Kime’s casket.

Bela Lugosi

Born in Hungary in 1882, Lugosi achieved cinematic immortality by playing the title role in Universal Picture’s 1931 horror film Dracula. Forever linked with the blood-sucking vampire he portrayed, Lugosi was buried wearing a replica of his Count Dracula cape after his death on August 16, 1956.

In 2011, the actual Count Dracula cape Lugosi wore during filming, which he’d given to his son, failed to sell despite pre-auction expectations that it would fetch roughly $2 million. In 2020, Lugosi’s family donated the movie artifact to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which also houses Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz.

Bob Marley

Buried May 21, 1981, legendary reggae musician Marley was interred in his home country of Jamaica following his death from cancer 10 days earlier. Believing marijuana was the “herb of life,” Marley was buried with his “…red Gibson Les Paul guitar, a Bible opened at Psalm 23, and a stalk of ganja [marijuana] placed there by his widow.”

Harland Sanders

You might not recognize his name, but you’ve probably enjoyed the culinary legacy he created as “Colonel Sanders.” Even though his military-rank title might have been honorary, this fast-food entrepreneur clearly knew how to cook a tasty bird, as the rapid expansion of his Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) business demonstrated after the first one opened in 1952.

Following his death on December 16, 1980, Sanders was buried wearing the “uniform” he’d worn and made famous since 1950 — an all-white suit and black string-tie. Recently, KFC has used celebrities impersonating Sanders in its television commercials.

Frank Sinatra

A 2014 television commercial by whiskey-maker Jack Daniels states that singer Sinatra loved this brand of liquor so much, it was “on stage, every night” during his performances, and that “…he’s even buried with a bottle of it.”

As it turns out, Ol’ Blue Eyes really was buried with a bottle of Jack Daniels.

Reuben John Smith

According to a newspaper account published January 25, 1899 (the day after he died), Smith dreaded “being buried beneath six feet of earth,” so he ordered the construction of a “marble and brick sarcophagus” within the Mount Prospect Cemetery in Amesbury, Massachusetts.

When he fell ill about two weeks before his death, Smith purchased an “upholstered reclining chair” and left instructions that his corpse was to be placed seated upon this chair inside of his mausoleum. Afterward, the key used to lock the steel door was thrown away and the entrance bricked-up like the other three walls. Smith’s unseen remains still sit comfortably this way today.

Sandra West

Apparently trying to disprove the old adage “You can’t take it with you,” millionaire-widow West was buried wearing a white-lace nightgown following her death on March 10, 1977, at age 37. What makes her interment memorable, however, is not the nightgown she wore but the fact that West was buried sitting in her blue 1964 Ferrari sports car, with her seat “slanted comfortably,” according to a newspaper report published at the time.

Western Han Dynasty’s King

The phrase “I’ve got to go” can apply to both the inevitability of death and a far more “regular” daily bodily function, but never before did this duality collide more profoundly than in the year 2000. At that time, Chinese archaeologists discovered an actual working toilet in the tomb of a dynastic Chinese king who died in the year A.D. 24. Not only did this 2,000-year-old stone toilet include an armrest for comfort, but it also used running water, just like modern toilets.

Sources:

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“Remembering George Burns” by The Editors, Summer 1996. Cigar Aficionado. Retrieved February 20, 2018. http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/Tribute-Remembering-George-Burns_7620

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“Michael Jackson to be buried in a gold casket – encased in cement – says brother Marlon” by Kate Mansey, August 9, 2009. Daily Mirror. Retrieved February 20, 2018. http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/michael-jackson-to-be-buried-in-a-gold-casket-415559

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“2,000-Year-Old Stone Toilet Unearthed in Chinese Tomb” by Thomas H. Maugh II, July 27, 2000. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2018. http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jul/27/local/me-60092