00:00It's very hard to talk about him in the past because he was so present in all of our lives.
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're sharing some of the heartbreaking times when celebrities
00:13memorialized famous friends and colleagues after they passed away.
00:20It's like, oh, come on, don't do this.
00:24Whoopi Goldberg for Patrick Swayze.
00:26But he'd never thought of himself as someone who was dying because, as he said to another
00:33good friend of mine, he said, you know, we're all dying.
00:37In 2009, the magnetic star of Dirty Dancing and Ghost passed away not long after being
00:43diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
00:45His friend and former co-star Whoopi Goldberg paid tribute to him on The View.
00:50He just was a cat that never gave up.
00:54And I, and I, I'm, if you can do it, it's the way to do it.
01:00Not everybody can.
01:02No, but I would like to be able to be that.
01:04I would like to have that brain.
01:05She credits his fortitude in the face of a devastating illness as an inspiration to her.
01:11Although her fellow panelists had their share to say about him, Goldberg's closeness to Swayze
01:16is so clearly evident as she closes out the segment with tears in her eyes and a quiver
01:21in her voice.
01:22Because of Patrick Swayze, I got that movie Ghost.
01:26And because of Patrick Swayze, I have an Oscar.
01:30And there you are.
01:34David Letterman for Johnny Carson.
01:36When the former king of late night died in 2005, one of his many spiritual successors,
01:43late show host David Letterman, had a special surprise for his audience.
01:47He dedicated his January 31st episode exclusively to paying tribute to Johnny Carson.
01:53At the end of the day, the guy you wanted there was Johnny Carson.
01:58What a tremendous luxury, if you think about it, to be tucked in at night by Johnny Carson.
02:04He opened with the standard monologue, hilarious and sharp as ever.
02:09But then, he revealed that the former Tonight Show host had sent him these jokes in his last
02:13few months.
02:14Every one of those jokes I did a few minutes ago were written for us over the last couple
02:19of months by Johnny Carson.
02:21And tremendous, tremendous actor friendship.
02:24It was like Carson himself had come back for just a moment to test out some new material.
02:28One thing that people today still ask me about, and they think it was unbelievably funny, and
02:34they can't get over it, and they always, did that actually happen, and what was the deal
02:38on that?
02:39And the interesting thing about this, it had nothing to do with me.
02:42It was all Johnny.
02:44He closes out the tribute with a musical performance led by Carson's former music director, Doc
02:49Severinsen.
02:50Tom Hanks for Michael Clarke Duncan.
02:53Retelling a story his Green Mile co-star told him about his tough childhood, Hanks used his
02:58eulogy for Michael Clarke Duncan as a chance to celebrate the late actor's sense of humor.
03:04Duncan told Hanks how his mother forbade him from joining a gang in his youth.
03:08You the gang?
03:09That's what I'm gonna get off!
03:11Oh, shit!
03:12Fuck!
03:13She came down with this frying pan across his head, and I'm guessing pork chop went flying
03:17all over the place.
03:18The place sounded more like a comedy club than a memorial service, as he recounted Duncan's
03:23story and how his mother reacted.
03:26And he goes, okay, mama, cut it out of my hand.
03:28Now you go tell your friends you ain't in that gang.
03:30The story isn't just funny, but it's also the perfect demonstration of what everyone
03:34had to say about Duncan.
03:36Despite his size, he was also the sweetest person.
03:40My mama says I can't be in your gang.
03:42John Cleese for Graham Chapman.
03:44As one-sixth of the groundbreaking comedy team Monty Python, Graham Chapman's lateness
03:50already saw him jokingly referred to as the late Graham Chapman.
03:54Like his castmates, he was a fan of the irreverent.
03:57So John Cleese's eulogy for him was a perfect showcase for their shared humor.
04:02Breezed his last and gone to meet the great head of light entertainment in the sky.
04:08Instead of going for the kind of mindless good taste Chapman hated, Cleese honored him by
04:13being completely vulgar and mean-spirited in his cutting, completely irreverent remarks.
04:19Well, I feel that I should say, nonsense.
04:23Good riddance to him, the freeloading bastard I hope he's found.
04:26It's the kind of humor that can only work if you really know someone well.
04:30And that just makes it all the more special.
04:32He would never forgive me if I didn't.
04:35If I threw away this glorious opportunity to shock you all on his behalf.
04:42Oprah Winfrey for Maya Angelou.
04:44When the famed activist and poet passed away at the age of 86,
04:48her memorial service was a testament to her influence on some of the most important people
04:53of the last century.
04:54A former president, first lady, and an Oscar-nominated actress paid tribute to her.
05:00Oprah Winfrey was among the most touching speakers.
05:03Those people can't hold a candle to the light God already has shining on your face.
05:11Can't you see it?
05:13Known for her elegance and poise,
05:15Winfrey's remarks are refreshingly and movingly vulnerable.
05:19She becomes visibly tearful as she speaks about her friend and mentor's advice to her
05:23about fame and meaning.
05:25She was my anchor.
05:29So it's hard to describe to you what it means
05:33when your anchor shifts.
05:36Her final words about legacy, echoing the author's own,
05:39are the perfect testament to Angelou's words and her place in history.
05:43Your legacy is every person you ever touched.
05:48Your legacy is how you lived and what you did and what you said every day.
05:52So true, Sister Maya.
05:55John Stamos for Bob Saget.
05:58Despite his squeaky clean image as Danny Tanner on Full House,
06:01the late actor and stand-up comedian was notoriously filthy.
06:05Describing themselves as brothers,
06:07Bob Saget and John Stamos were incredibly close.
06:11I want to read my last text from Bob.
06:13It said, I love you so much.
06:14I will say that God gave me the brother that I wanted.
06:16I said, well, you have a lot of God-given brothers, but I'm first, right?
06:20Saget's sudden and tragic death took everyone by surprise.
06:24Stamos made the perfect eulogy for him,
06:27borrowing some of his trademark humor.
06:29In the speech, published in the Los Angeles Times,
06:32he runs the gamut from off-color jokes
06:34to heartbreaking realizations about losing his friend.
06:37People have even sent flowers, like I lost my wife or something.
06:41Come to think of it, when we were together,
06:42we were like an old married couple.
06:44All bickering, no sex.
06:45Comparing themselves to an old married couple,
06:48Stamos ends his eulogy by calling Saget baby.
06:52And then we all sobbed.
06:54I don't have to say goodbye because he's never leaving my heart.
06:56You are my new guardian angel,
06:58a guardian angel with the dirtiest mouth
07:00and a heart as big and benevolent as forever.
07:03I love you, baby.
07:03Will Smith and the cast of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
07:07for James Avery.
07:08When the cast of the hit sitcom gathered
07:10for a 30-year reunion in 2020,
07:13there was one noticeable absence.
07:15James Avery, the actor who played the beloved Uncle Phil,
07:19passed away in 2013.
07:21To represent, to expand, to push forward.
07:27And I learned that here at his feet.
07:31An entire segment is dedicated to the cast's memories of Avery.
07:35Clearly, he made a massive impact on his colleagues.
07:38Will Smith credits the actor with being a father figure
07:41and a mentor who pushed him to hone his craft.
07:44I am in such a unique position.
07:47And that responsibility, you must elevate your craft.
07:53You have to represent and you are paving a way.
07:56In the cast's eyes,
07:57he was the glue holding their family together on and off screen.
08:01His dedication to his art and his co-stars as people
08:04is such that just watching clips of him
08:07brings them all to tears.
08:08He knew what he was doing.
08:10There's some people that plant seeds.
08:12That's what they do.
08:13And they do it to anyone they come across.
08:17Cher for Sonny Bono.
08:18At the beginning of a 60-plus year career,
08:21Cher was actually one part of a duo
08:23that defined her early career.
08:25Sonny Bono was her husband,
08:26her manager, her mentor, and her advisor.
08:29We have a very strange relationship
08:32that no one will ever understand except us.
08:36And I don't think I even understand it a lot.
08:38I don't either.
08:39All right.
08:40Although the dissolution of their marriage
08:41was contentious due to his controlling behavior,
08:44Cher still loved him dearly.
08:46Her stories about his rascally sense of humor
08:48are genuinely hilarious
08:49and must ring true to everyone in the room,
08:52given how everyone has doubled with laughter.
08:55One of the first things that he ever told me
08:57was that he was a descendant of Napoleon.
08:59And that his father had shortened the name of Bonaparte
09:05to Bono when they came to this country.
09:07But her characteristically funny eulogy
09:09about their early relationship
09:10soon gives way to breathless,
09:13sobbing declarations of gratitude to have known him.
09:16And no matter how long I live
09:18or who I meet in my life,
09:20that person will always be son for me.
09:26Kevin Costner for Whitney Houston.
09:27The beloved singer's funeral wasn't just star-studded.
09:31It was an epic live stream event.
09:33Speaker after speaker, performer after performer
09:36paid tribute to Whitney Houston.
09:38But Kevin Costner's eulogy hit especially hard.
09:41We heard you like to sing,
09:44but our sister could really sing.
09:46Having personally postponed production
09:48on The Bodyguard so Houston could be in it,
09:51he knew her talent was worth waiting for.
09:53In the room when we found out that Whitney
09:55was going to be on tour
09:57and she wouldn't be available for our movie,
10:00the anxiety came right back
10:02when I said we should postpone and wait a year.
10:06Speaking of their shared faith,
10:07his awe at her talent,
10:09and her humanity,
10:10he paints a picture of who she was
10:12behind the voice and the stardom.
10:14Costner closes his remarks
10:15by imagining that God must be marveling at Houston,
10:18a perfect creation.
10:20Knowing that there's a lady in heaven
10:21who is making God himself wonder
10:23how he created something so perfect.
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10:41Billy Crystal for Robin Williams.
10:44He made us laugh hard every time you saw him.
10:48The famous funny man's untimely death in 2014
10:50was tragic for a lot of reasons.
10:53Everyone felt like they had lost someone
10:55very important to them.
10:56While many eulogies poured in,
10:58it was Robin Williams' old friend
11:00and comedy partner Billy Crystal
11:02who broke our hearts.
11:04Given a block during the 66th Emmy Awards,
11:06Crystal spoke of their 40-year friendship.
11:09Well, as genius as he was on stage,
11:12he was the greatest friend you could ever imagine.
11:14Supportive, protective, loving.
11:18He praised his late friend's immense comic talents
11:21while choking back tears
11:22before zooming out to the cosmos,
11:25likening Williams to a star all his own.
11:28Crystal later described it
11:29as one of the hardest things
11:30he's had to do in his life.
11:32It was one of the hardest things I've ever,
11:34if not the hardest thing I've ever had to do.
11:36Did these celebrity eulogies
11:38bring a tear to your eyes?
11:39Let us know in the comments.
11:41These were my, these.
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