Posted : February 2014
Author : Andy McDonald
Chet Fitch died in October of 2007, but his sense of humor
lived on when his close friends and family all received Christmas Cards from
him in "Heaven" ... two months after his death. Always known for a
laugh, Fitch reportedly had planned the ruse for a few decades (with the help
of his barber). Here's the message that was eventually sent around Christmas:
"I asked Big Guy if I could sneak back and send some
cards. At first he said no; but at my insistence he finally said, 'Oh well,
what the heaven, go ahead but don't [tarry] there.' Wish I could tell you about
things here but words cannot explain. Better get back as Big Guy said he stretched a point
to let me in the first time, so I had better not press my luck. I'll probably
be seeing you (some sooner than you think). Wishing you a very Merry Christmas.
Chet Fitch."
The Canadian lawyer and known trouble-making prankster decided
in his last will and testament to hold a contest, whereby in the ten years
after his death, the woman in Toronto who gave birth to the most children would
be given a portion of his remaining estate. The contest became known as The
Great Stork Derby and the courts tried hard to deem it illegal, but as a
lawyer, Millar knew his will was air-tight. Eventually, the will was decided
legal and four women split the prize, each giving birth to nine children in the
ten years after Millar's death. The story was later made into a film called The
Stork Derby. Millar also reportedly willed his vacation home to three
other lawyers, all of whom detested one another. You're a funny guy, Millar.
Sometimes your sense of humor lives on through others, like
at the memorial service of Graham Chapman, member of the famed comedy group
Monty Python. When Graham died in 1989, the other members of Monty Python (John
Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones) did not attend
his private funeral so as not to cause a media frenzy. Instead they attended a
special memorial service where they sent Chapman off in the hilariously
unconventional way they believed he would have wanted. No one highlighted this
better than John Cleese:
"Graham Chapman, co-author of the "Parrot
Sketch", is no more. He has ceased to be. Bereft of life, he rests in
peace. He's kicked the bucket, hopped the twig, bit the dust, snuffed it,
breathed his last, and gone to meet the great Head of Light Entertainment in
the sky. And I guess that we're all thinking how sad it is that a man of such
talent, of such capability for kindness, of such unusual intelligence, should
now so suddenly be spirited away at the age of only forty-eight, before he'd
achieved many of the things of which he was capable, and before he'd had enough
fun. Well, I feel that I should say: nonsense. Good
riddance to him, the freeloading bastard, I hope he fries. And the reason I feel
I should say this is he would never forgive me if I didn't, if I threw away
this glorious opportunity to shock you all on his behalf. Anything for him, but
mindless good taste. I could hear him whispering in my ear last night as I
was writing this, 'Alright, Cleese, you're very proud of being the first person
to ever say 'shit' on television. If this service is really for me, just for
starters, I want you to be the first person ever at a British memorial service
to say 'f**k'!.'"
~Blog Admin~
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