Celebs' strange final wishes


Celebs' strange final wishes, PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died in February 2014, had some strong beliefs about what should happen after his death. He didn’t want his children to turn into "trust fund kids" and left his entire $35 million fortune to their mother. He also didn't want his son to spend any time in Hollywood in his absence. In his 2004 will, which TMZ and the New York Post posted online, Hoffman dictated that his son Cooper be raised elsewhere.

MICKEY ROONEY

Legendary actor Mickey Rooney reportedly left only a modest estate after his death at the age of 93 in April 2014, making headlines when he disinherited his wife of 35 years and eight surviving children, leaving the entire amount to a family member who had acted as his caretaker.

JACK BENNY

Before the comedian died of pancreatic cancer in October 1974, he made arrangements for this romantic gesture for his wife, Mary Livingstone.

MARILYN MONROE

Marilyn Monroe left all her belongings and clothes to her acting coach. He never did anything with them. But sometime after he died in 1982, his widow put it all up for auction (one belonging in particular summoned a hefty sum).

LEONA HELMSLEY

New York hotelier Leona Helmsley was known for her infamous nickname and for her conviction on tax-evasion charges. When she died, she left $10 million each to two of her grandchildren but not a cent to the other two. An even greater share of her fortune went to her dog, a Maltese named Trouble.


GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

This Irish playwright, who won a Nobel Prize as well as an Oscar for the film adaptation of one of his plays, left some of his wealth to fund the creation of a new alphabet and stipulated that one of his plays be written using it.

GENE RODENBERRY

The creator of the original "Star Trek" series died in 1991 from heart failure. His wife honored his memory by doing something special with part of his ashes (which was later done to her own).

HARRY HOUDINI

When the escape artist and magician died in 1926, he left his wife a message instructing her to do something to see if he could contact her from the other side. He also made plans to prevent frauds from trying to impersonate him.

CHARLES DICKENS

Before this esteemed author died, he wrote in his will that he wanted to be remembered only for his work, so he made a special request.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

It's rumored that the French military and political leader made an odd request involving his hair before he died. The request may or may not be true, but something very interesting was detected in Napoleon's hair after his death.

VIRGIL

The ancient writer had originally requested that his famous work be burned upon his death. It's a good thing it wasn't.

JEREMY BENTHAM

The British philosopher may not be well-known today, but his post-mortem requests were certainly unusual.

FARRAH FAWCETT

When the "Charlie's Angels" actress died, she left her son most of her estate, but she didn't leave a cent for her longtime love, Ryan O'Neal (though O'Neal later won the right to keep one of her prized possessions in 2013).

JANIS JOPLIN

Just before her death, the rocker apparently made a tweak to her will.

ED HEADRICK

This designer of toys we all know was so enamored with his invention that he wanted something done in its honor to his ashes.