The Toland-Herzig Famous Endings museum houses the largest collection of funeral memorabilia in the US, including items from the services of movie stars and US presidents.
Hollywood may be the best-known place to see a living celebrity, but when it comes to documenting their deaths, Dover, Ohio has a leg up.
The Toland-Herzig Famous Endings museum, located within the Toland-Herzig Funeral Home in the town of Dover (about 80 miles south of Cleveland), houses the largest collection of funeral memorabilia in the country, including items from the services of movie stars, sports heroes and US presidents.
The 1,500-piece collection grew from founder John Herzig’s hobby as an autograph collector. After requesting an autographed photo of boxer Joe Louis from another collector, Herzig received the photo along with a box of other related items, including the boxer’s 1981 funeral program. After that, Herzig continued to seek out documents, recordings and other items related to celebrity deaths.
The museum displays funeral programs for Princess Diana and Michael Jackson, an original crypt marker for Humphrey Bogart, documents from the memorial service for the Titanic victims and the guest list for the private funeral of Marilyn Monroe. The collection also includes newspaper clippings and audio recordings related to the deaths of US Presidents Lincoln, Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan, and a mourning ribbon from Lincoln’s funeral in 1865.
An inscribed flashlight from the funeral of James Doohan (who played Scotty on the original Star Trek film) and a cookie with the cartoon face of actor Rodney Dangerfield that was handed out to guests at his funeral are among the museum’s stranger items.
The museum is open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm, and does not charge for admission. Four times a year, Herzig also hosts “An Evening to Remember”, a presentation that focuses on five or six of the celebrities represented in the museum. Large groups can request guided tours throughout the year.