Drew Barrymore Confirms The Rumor That Her Grandfather’s Corpse Was Stolen From The Morgue By Errol Flynn For One Last Party
Drew Barrymore is Hollywood royalty (her great aunt was Oscar-winner Ethel Barrymore and her grandfather was John Barrymore, one of the most influential stage actors of the 20th century). She’s also legendary in her own right, so when we first heard the story that John’s dead body had been kidnapped(?) by his friends and used as a prop during a poker game, it seemed totally possible (for a Barrymore).
Well, Drew basically confirmed the rumor during an appearance on the YouTube series “Hot Ones” (where she was interviewed while eating increasingly hotter chicken wings) and thinks that the classic dead-guy buddy flick, Weekend at Bernie’s, was inspired by the whole thing. Seriously, how hot were these chicken wings (INSERT: Firestarter joke here)?
While promoting her upcoming talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show, Drew sat down (or stood up, rather) for a spirited game of “taste how hot this meat is” (one of my favorites). And the subject of her dead grandfather came up––as it does.
According to The Daily Mail, host Sean Evans grilled her (oh, the BBQ puns in this piece are going to be off the chart) about the long-standing rumor that the body of her grandpa, who died in 1942, was stolen from the morgue by Errol Flynn (who wrote about this in his memoirs), W.C. Fields, and the poet Sadakichi Hartmann––all of whom were John’s friends––before taking him to a poker game and propping him up in a chair. These weak influencers of today have nothing on old-timey movie stars who really knew how to party.
‘Yes, they did!’ Drew exclaimed. ‘And I will say this, I hope my friends do the same for me. That is the kind of spirit I can get behind. Just prop the old bag up and have a last few rounds.
And because it was Drew Barrymore doing the talking, she gave us her own interpretation of what death truly means (remember, she once told Oprah that she was a tree…or something).
I think death comes with so much morose sadness, and I understand that, but if it’s okay, just with me, if everyone can be really happy and celebratory and have a party, that would be my preference,’ she quipped with a smile about the chilling tale.”
You heard her, Drew Barrymore’s friends and family, when she goes, prop her body up, and surround her with things she loves (Jake Gyllenhaal and water) for one last party. This New Orleans star knows what Drew’s talking about:
#SEC New Orleans woman posed with Busch beer and menthol cigarette at her funeral. http://t.co/DyvVk9UJx2 pic.twitter.com/bKK5oyu3LJ
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) June 26, 2014
Drew’s entire interview is below:
Pic: YouTube