Top 10 Ridiculous Celebrity Will Requests

Where there’s a will … there are some questionable requests. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Weirdest Celebrity Last Requests.



For this list, we’ve taken a look at the most eccentric final requests and bequeathments from celebrities and notable figures throughout the years.

This request did not come from a legal will per se, but was an interpretation of the rapper’s wishes by some friends. In the song “Black Jesuz,” Tupac quips 'Last wishes, n***as smoke my ashes.' Members of the hip hop group Outlawz took this literally, and at a private, beachside memorial they rolled his ashes together with some California kush and lit up. Apparently, the family of Shakur was unaware of the plan and disapproved of the unorthodox send-off.

With a great eye for detail and empathy for the common man, Charles Dickens created some of the most memorable characters and novels in English Literature. However, his most cunning plot might have be in the planning of his own funeral. In his will, he left explicit instructions that his funeral be very simple and draw no attention, which may or may not have been a ploy to allow his mistress to attend unnoticed. Furthermore, those attending the funerary services were instructed to “wear no scarf, cloak, black bow, long hatband, or other such revolting absurdity.” He achieved his own twist ending, and the most celebrated author of the age was buried with the public none the wiser.

It’s not totally uncommon for people to leave advice on how a surviving loved one should live their life in a will. However, this American Founding Father was very specific when he instructed his daughter Sarah not to “introduce or countenance the expensive, vain, and useless fashion of wearing jewels in this country.” For a man who had himself certainly enjoyed the finer things in life, this might seem strange – until you discover that he also left her a portrait he’d received while ambassador to France whose frame contained 408 diamonds. No surprise, she plucked out the jewels anyway, because even in the 1700s, diamonds were a girl's best friend.

The Bard of Avon is perhaps the best-known writer in the English language – after Stephen King – but when it came to his wife, he seemed to be a little short on sentiment. In his will, William Shakespeare left his wife, Anne Hathaway his “second best bed.” To modern readers, it seems like a snub – and it may very well have been – but some scholars have suggested that the second-best bed would have been their marriage bed, the first-best being the one guests got to sleep in. All the same, it’s a little strange, as it was Anne’s only mention in the will.

In life, Shaw strived to make a new, phonetic alphabet, devising the Shavian Alphabet – also known as the Shaw Alphabet. In his will, he left money that he wished to be used to fund the development and dissemination of the new 40-letter alphabet and spelling method. His wishes were never fulfilled, however, as the courts found the trust formed by his will lacked any real charitable purpose or outcome. In the end, the project produced a re-alphabetized version of his play “Androcles and the Lion”, but the bulk of intended funding instead went on to support the British Museum, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and The National Gallery of Ireland.

Pioneer of the final frontier, the famed producer and creator of the “Star Trek” franchise would not be bound to a typical earthly burial. In 1992, the Great Bird of the Galaxy finally visited space when a portion of his ashes were sent along with the Space Shuttle Columbia. In 1997, seven grams of his remains were launched permanently into the cosmos via a Pegasus XL rocket, which later disintegrated in orbit in 2002. A later, although ultimately canceled mission would see ashes of Roddenberry, wife and Trek alum Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, as well as Scotty actor James Doohan included aboard a solar sail.

Erik Weisz, better known as Harry Houdini, was perhaps the greatest escape artist of his era. However, when not astounding audiences the magician was tireless in his efforts to debunk spiritualists, pseudo psychics, and parlor conjurors. Before his death, he and his wife decided that as a final curtain call, if it was possible, he would escape death and appear as a spirit at a séance. Faithfully, his widow held séances every Halloween for ten years. Followers and fans have continued Houdini séances to this day, but he has yet to make an appearance.

It’s not uncommon for people to leave something for their pets in their wills. And why not? For some people, a cat or dog is a great comfort, and they want to be sure that their little fur-family isn’t shuffled out the door and homeless the moment they’re not there to look out for them. But singer Dusty Springfield took it a little bit further, leaving very specific instructions on how to take care of her four-footed friend. As care, she instructed that her cat Nicholas be played her old records, sleep with her pillow and nightgown, have the finest baby chow available, and to “marry” a friend’s cat for companionship.

He was one of the most polarizing figures in European history. Considered a hero by some and a tyrant by others, the self-appointed Emperor of France lived out his final days in exile, dying under circumstances that continue to be a matter of academic debate. However, in his will, Napoleon requested that his hair be made into jewelry and sent to various members of his family. Although this might seem super weird today, Memento Mori and Mourning Jewelry were not uncommon in his time, and in this case have proved useful to historians. Tests were made, and high levels of arsenic were found, helping to support the theory that Bonaparte died of slow poisoning.

He may not be a household name, but the product he helped design is certainly familiar to anyone who has ever wanted a snack on the go. The man behind the tubular Pringles packaging and curved chip design requested that some of his cremated remains be buried within one of his iconic cans and his family honored that request. He’s not the only inventor who wished to spend out eternity closer to their invention either. Ed Headrick, the inventor of the modern Frisbee, requested that some of his ashes be mixed and molded into a “memorial disc” for his friends and family, but also to be sold to help fund a future Frisbee museum.