The endless fascination with Breaking Bad’s Walter White continues. The series finale aired three weeks ago, and since then, Walter White’s obituary was printed in a newspaper and Anthony Hopkins wrote an awesome fan letter to Bryan Cranston. A fake funeral and wake were held for the chemist over the weekend.
By “fake funeral,” we only mean that there wasn’t a real body. And that it wasn’t for a real person. Otherwise, the funeral for Walter White had everything you would expect at a real funeral, including mourners dressed in black from head to toe. Not surprisingly, the fake funeral also sparked controversy.
More than 200 fans of Walter White and Breaking Bad got to pay their final respects on Saturday at a charity event that brought out fans from all over and raised $17,000 for the homeless. A funeral procession was led by a hearse and a replica of Walter’s meth RV, and funeral goers congregated at Sunset Memorial Park cemetery to say goodbye.
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Not only were programs handed out, there was a real casket, burial site and footstone at the funeral. Mourners also paid for handfuls of dirt to throw over Walt’s empty casket.
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The funeral wasn’t endorsed by AMC or anyone else associated with the show. Originally, the funeral was supposed to be available via livestream, but that was axed because it violated copyright laws. No one from the show was there, but wouldn’t it have been a hoot if Bryan Cranston had showed up?
Despite some controversy, the Walter White fake funeral had the support of local law enforcement officers. “When I was first contacted about this, I had to Google Walter White because I didn’t know who it was,” said Sheriff Dan Houston. “I’m still good with it because at the end of the day Albuquerque Health Care needs money to help these people and that’s really what this is about.”
Some people were less than thrilled with the fake funeral at the cemetery and the burial site that has a Walter White footstone, which reads “Beloved Husband, Father, Teacher & Entrepreneur.”
“My son is buried about 15 yards from where the makeshift gravesite is,” Manuel Montano said. “This is a place of mourning. It’s not a spectacle.” An online petition was started to remove the character grave from Sunset Memorial Park, which currently has over 600 signatures.
Do you think the Walter White gravesite is disrespectful? Respond below. Some Twitter users certainly didn’t mince words over their opinion of the Walter White funeral.
God the edgy stupid Breaking Bad fans really held a "funeral" for Walter White in a real cemetery? Really? Wow. That's pathetic.
— Charles Gerian (@AverageCharles) October 21, 2013
There was a real life funeral for Walter White and had a tombstone at a real cemetery. Those people need to take a hard look at themselves
— Dylan (@iAmDylanFromAZ) October 21, 2013
[Images via YouTube and ABQ Journal]