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Who Gets Invited to a Celebrity Funeral—and How?
AP Photo/Fred Prouser, Pool
When a celebrity dies, there's often a "small, private funeral" announced. Do they hire security to keep looky-loos away? How do they know who to let in and keep out? Is there a guest list? Do they send invitations?
—Inga G., via Answer B!tch inbox
Oh, there's security at a celebrity funeral all right, and there will be at imminent services for Natasha Richardson. Let's put it this way: If your grandma is buried in the same cemetery that's hosting a celebrity funeral, don't bet on visiting your ancestors that day. Dead relative or not, you probably won't get in—the celebrities, and their privacy, come first.
As for invitations, well, this isn't a wedding. Instead, celebrity insiders tell me...
...when it comes to a funeral, organizers have to work fast.
"If it's a memorial service, you might send written invitations," says veteran Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman, who has attended many a celebrity funeral. "But if it's a funeral, all invitations are done via email or phone."
And security is usually quite massive.
"You've got a pretty big perimeter, with all the entrances to the cemetery [or venue]," Bragman says. "Plus a pretty good-sized retinue around the family. You're not talking just one or two guards."
(In 2007, Ryan Seacrest, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi and others attended Merv Griffin's funeral at a Beverly Hills church. Security was so tight that police blocked off the adjacent Bedford Drive to hold back curious fans. Guests had to check in at the church steps.)
If a funeral is not held at a church, private home or cemetery, organizers may hold it at a guild—such as the Directors Guild or Writers Guild, Bragman says.
Once guests start arriving, a guard or designated clipboard person checks people off the list one by one. And what if, say, Lauren Bacall shows up and wants to pay her respects? And—gasp—she's not on the list?
"There is generally someone with security who is talking to the family, who says, 'Joe Schmoe just showed up and claims to be a family friend,' and someone walks over and handles it."
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