What you might not know about the American author
Celebrity funerals, memorials, and vigils can be dazzling final farewell events, or somber low-key get-togethers. Either way, the death of a well-known actor, musician, writer, or any other public figure is always headline news, and the cameras are there to record the sad occasion.
Click through the following gallery and pay your own respects at some famous funerals.
Crowds gather as Marilyn Monroe's casket arrives at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Among the mourners was former husband and baseball star Joe DiMaggio.
Steve McQueen straightens the sign on the casket at Bruce Lee's funeral in Seattle, Washington. Fellow Hollywood actor James Coburn is standing behind McQueen.
Motown singer Marvin Gaye's body lies in repose before his cremation at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California. His ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.
Mourners, including his wife Oona, at the funeral of Charlie Chaplin at Corsier sur Vevey, near Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
Elvis Presley's casket being placed into the family mausoleum at Forest Hills Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee. He was to be placed next to his mother, but following an attempt to steal Presley's body in late August 1977, the remains of both Presley and his mom were reburied in Graceland's Meditation Garden.
Members of the US Navy ceremonial guard hold an American flag over the remains of Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong—the first man on the moon—during a burial at sea service aboard the USS Philippine Sea in the Atlantic Ocean.
Brazilian Formula One legend Ayrton Senna's body lying in state at the Legislative Assembly building in Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo.
Ketchum Cemetery in Ketchum, Idaho is the final resting place of writer and novelist Ernest Hemingway. Pictured is the funeral ceremony.
Over 1.6 million fans applied for tickets to Michael Jackson's public memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which was preceded by a private family service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Hall of Liberty.
An admirer kneeling alongside the coffin of the original "Latin lover" of silent cinema, Italian-born actor Rudolph Valentino, at his funeral in New York City.
The body of soul legend Aretha Franklin lies in repose at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History in Detroit, Michigan.
Prince Rainier, with his daughter Princess Caroline and his son Prince Albert, walks behind the coffin of his wife at the funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco held at the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate in Monaco-Ville.
Cardinals take part in the funeral of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican.
Celebrated fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent's funeral at the Saint Roch Church in Paris, France.
Pictured: jazz trumpeter, composer, vocalist, and actor Louis Armstrong's funeral service. He was interred in Flushing Cemetery in Queens, New York City.
Mourners acknowledge wreaths laid for James Dean during a memorial service at the Fairmount Friends Church in Fairmount, Indiana.
The Reverend Jesse Jackson delivers the eulogy at the funeral for the "Godfather of Soul" at the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Georgia.
Crowds gather outside the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in Manhattan, New York as Judy Garland's funeral service takes place.
Jimi Hendrix's casket is followed from Dunlap Baptist Church in Seattle's Rainier Valley in Washington state by members of his family and childhood friends.
The flower-laden coffin of illusionist and stunt performer Harry Houdini, noted for his sensational escape acts, arrives at the Elks Club in New York City prior to his funeral.
Fans line the streets near the secluded Wee Kirk O' The Heather Church at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California, for the funeral of classic Hollywood actress Jean Harlow.
The funeral procession of American-born French entertainer Josephine Baker as her body is taken to La Madeleine Church in Paris.
Baseball legend Babe Ruth lies in state in the Rotunda of the Yankees stadium as 50,000 sports fans pay their last respects.
Family mourners, including Jackie Kennedy and her children and Jackie's sister Lee Radziwill, kneel at the grave of Robert F. Kennedy.
Fans of the former Beatle hold a vigil after he was shot dead by a fan on December 8, 1980, at his home in New York City.
The funeral ceremony of singer Johnny Hallyday, the "French Elvis," at La Madeleine Church in Paris.
The coffin of Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones before being buried in his grave at Cheltenham Cemetery, England.
Hundreds of Romans bade a final farewell to Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni, whose coffin is lying on Rome's Capitole Square.
The coffin of British novelist Thomas Hardy makes the journey from his home at Max Gate in Dorchester to Woking, England, for cremation. He gained fame as the author of novels such as 'Far from the Madding Crowd' (1874) and 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' (1891).
The body of famous Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso lies in state at his funeral in the San Francisco de Paulo Church in Naples, Italy.
See also: Notable possessions buried with historical figures
Celebrity funerals, vigils, and memorial events
Famous final farewells
CELEBRITY Death
Celebrity funerals, memorials, and vigils can be dazzling final farewell events, or somber low-key get-togethers. Either way, the death of a well-known actor, musician, writer, or any other public figure is always headline news, and the cameras are there to record the sad occasion.
Click through the following gallery and pay your own respects at some famous funerals.