Drew Barrymore is ready to keep the family tradition alive by keeping the party going even after her death.
During an appearance on “Hot Ones,” the actress confirmed one of Hollywood’s strangest long-standing rumors.
The story goes that Errol Flynn, WC Fields and poet Sadakichi Hartmann were the culprits behind actor John Barrymore’s “one last night” of partying — after his death. The trio apparently stole his corpse from the morgue and took him to play poker.
“They did!” Barrymore laughed, confirming the wild story. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.
“And I will say this, I hope my friends do the same for me,” she added. “That is the kind of spirit I can get behind. Just prop the old bag up and have a last few rounds.”
She went on to add, “I think death comes with so much morose sadness, and I understand that, but if it’s okay, just with me, if everyone can be really happy and celebratory and have a party, that would be my preference.”
While there hasn’t been a full movie based on the last night out of John Barrymore, Barrymore has heard rumors that the crazy hit ’80s comedy “Weekend at Bernie’s” was actually inspired by her grandfather’s last night out.
She also opened up about some of her own iconic film roles, including how it was she who pushed for her character to die so early in the first “Scream” film.
“In the horror film genre, my biggest pet peeve was that I always knew the main character was always going to be slugging through at the end, but was going to creak by and make it,” she explained.
Initial marketing for “Scream” featured Barrymore heavily, with many fans assuming she would be the star of the film. “What I wanted to do is to take that comfort zone away,” she said. “I asked if I could be Casey Becker so that we would establish that rule does not apply in this film.”
The film went on to subvert horror expectations, ushering in a new era for horror and horror-comedy films and completely rewriting the formulas that had traditionally steered the genre.
You can check out all the hot goss — from her love of Adam Sandler to hosting “SNL” at seven, training for “Charlie’s Angels” and what’s up with SZA’s song “Drew Barrymore” — and even hotter wings in the full episode above.
