14 DAY TRIAL // Joan Rivers wanted to be buried the same way that she lived her entire life: in the spotlight. Us Weekly is reporting that the actress and comedienne is going to get her final wish and that, though intimate, her funeral is going to have all the glitz and glamor of a Hollywood red carpet event.
The funeral is set to take place on September 7 in New York City, where the star spent most of her life and where she was the most active throughout her career. An insider has confirmed that the family has decided to roll out the red carpet and will be welcoming friends in a walk outside Temple Emanu-El.
The source has also revealed that “a lot of celebrities confirmed” that they will be arriving at the funeral, making it a celebrity-packed event and standing as a testament to Joan's legacy and popularity.
In her 2012 book entitled “I Hate Everyone … Starting with Me,” Joan expressed her wish for a fancy funeral, “When I die (and yes, Melissa, that day will come; and yes, Melissa, everything's in your name), I want my funeral to be a huge showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action ... I want Craft services, I want paparazzi and I want publicists making a scene!”
She went on to describe the way she envisioned her funeral, “I want it to be Hollywood all the way. I don't want some rabbi rambling on; I want Meryl Streep crying, in five different accents. I don't want a eulogy; I want Bobby Vinton to pick up my head and sing ‘Mr. Lonely.’ I want to look gorgeous, better dead than I do alive. I want to be buried in a Valentino gown and I want Harry Winston to make me a toe tag. And I want a wind machine so that even in the casket my hair is blowing just like Beyonce's.”
The family isn't going to take everything literal it's been revealed, but they are at least going to afford the dead star the red carpet on her funeral.
Joan passed away at the age of 81 on September 4 due to complications that emerged from a simple endoscopy procedure on her vocal chords. As soon as that happened, she was rushed via ambulance from the private clinic in Manhattan to mount Sinai Hospital, where she remained in a medically induced coma and on life support until her death.
There is an ongoing investigation into her death trying to determine what caused this sudden and fatal turn of events. So far, no conclusion has been reached, as the autopsy has proven inconclusive and failed to point out any evident cause of death.