Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder got his start in the late 1920s; he escaped Berlin for Paris before moving out west to Hollywood. Wilder became a successful writer and director, directing major motion pictures like “Some Like It Hot” and “The Apartment.”
His comedy writing was so admired that he was awarded both an Oscar and a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work. His last joke, perhaps one of his best, ensured that he’d be recognized in death just as he was when he was alive – full of humor.
Rick James
James Ambrose Johnson Jr., better known by his stage name, Rick James, released his most famous album in 1981. Unfortunately, the singer had to pause his career after various health problems forced him into early retirement. Only a few years later, in 2004, the singer sadly died from heart failure.
The original super freak wanted the world to know that he would continue partying in the afterlife and had himself etched into his gravestone, looking as funky as ever.
Johnny Ramone
Few people were so pioneering in the world of punk music as Johnny Ramone, who formed a band you may be familiar with if you're into the genre. An eight-foot statue of the guitarist, frozen forever in a sick solo, sits atop his headstone in Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, which is also the final resting place of names like Anton Yelchin, Mickey Rooney, and Mel Blanc.
The cemetery holds an annual memorial tribute to Ramone to benefit cancer research. Ramone himself died after a five-year battle with prostate cancer. He died doing what he loved – recording music and hating socialism.
Dee Dee Ramone
The Ramone’s bassist and occasional lead singer Dee Dee Ramone was most well-known as one of its founding members. The musician had a hard time singing and playing bass simultaneously; he is credited for writing some of the most popular punk rock band songs of all time.
Sadly, Dee Dee Ramone died before his time due to developments related to substance abuse. Ramone was beloved by fans, and his gravestone is often covered with kisses. His engraving was short and sweet and read, "O.K...I gotta go now."
Jules Verne
One of the most influential French authors, poets, and playwrights, was Jules Verne. His works held major importance in the surrealism and avant-garde literary genres. The author was known for carefully researching his subjects before writing about them, so much so that he became the "Father of Science Fiction."
Verne is buried in the Cimetiere de la Madeleine in Amiens, France. His gravestone depicts the writer bursting out of his grave. Perhaps an ode to one of his most memorable works, "Journey to the Center of the Earth."