In the US Presidents and Vice-Presidents have to plan their funeral before they are sworn into office.
That’s in blueapple’s third link. Pretty amusing stuff.
This was discussed a little on this board after Reagan died. I think they have the option of doing this, but don’t always. Or maybe they make some very preliminary plans, like where they want to be buried. But I do remember a few Dopers, citing news sources, saying that Bill Clinton had not planned his funeral.
That’s my understanding also.
Newspapers and others will keep articles of different topics or individuals in some kind of file, for background, research or the need to write about a suddenly hot topic.
Politicians/organizations may develop morgue files concerning potential opponents.
The “morgue” is where stories go after they’re published. If I’ve been assisgned to write a story on Congress’ newest version of the Water Rights Act of 1923, I go to the morgue and look up all the stories that have ever been written about it, for background. If I need a photo of someone, and there’s no current photo, I go back into the morgue and look for one. That’s why you sometimes see 40 year old photos in obituaries, particularly of people who’ve been out of the public eye for a long time.
The obituary file was call “obit” every place I worked, as in “so-and-so-just died. Look in the obit.”
My friend who worked at ABC told me they’d been practicing the memorial programs for Reagan ever since he had gone public with the Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Of course they had the misfortune to have him die on a Saturday afternoon, when most people who would have had something to say weren’t immedaitely available.
A couple of others I can remember whose deaths were reported prematurely:
Bob Hope
St. Louis Cardinals announcer Jack Buck was reported dead something like 12 hours before he actually died, causing a great deal of consternation because the radio station said they had gotten word from the hospital staff, and the hospital staff had supposedly been ordered not to release any information (correct or incorrect) without the permission of the family.
Say what?
Agrippina- If I remember correctly, Joe DiMaggio’s death was announced several weeks before he actually died, and either he or his brother Dom (or both) saw it.
kunilou- Reagan’s obit being ready since he announced that he had Alzheimer’s makes sense. The Sacramento Bee admitted the same when they announced 1) the death of Pat Brown, and 2) revealed that they had been ready for the previous 4 or 5 years with his (Brown’s) obit.
There is a wonderful book, which I own, entitled, "Remember Me When I’m Gone - The Rich and Famous Write Their Own Epitaphs and Obituaries by Larry King (e.g. Larry King Live)
He basically asked a whole bunch of celebreties to write their obituaries and epitaphs. It’s really great.
It’s not just celebrities-plenty of people have their obituaries written when they’re planning their own funerals. All that’s left is for the funeral director to add the current info-dates, any deceased in the meantime, etc.
I wonder how many times Larry King has updated his own obituary?
That would make me question their inclusion in a list of ‘top’ newspapers.
Of course, maybe they’ve improved in the 24 years since Lennon was killed.