The Smiley Smile Message Board

1....Where was Denny buried at sea.

2. Was he buried in a body bag or tossed overboard as he was ( I would think a body bag of some sort)

3. Who was all there, his family (all of them) friends? I need names.

4. Is there a statue of Denny at the marina, or any place. I was told there was one.

1; the pacific Ocean
2; in his meditation robes
3; Bob and Ted And Carol and Alice
4;a statue/monument to  Old Wood

What a joker you are. I want real answers please.

-123.9093017578125 , 34.420504880133834

Hi; He was taken out to 2 miles off the coast of Malibu by a procession of 3 Coast Guard boats.  It was just Shawn and his brother Carl, and his 3 children Gage, Michael & Carl.  I understand he was in a weighed bag, dropped from the rear of the main vessel.
Shawn had asked me to attend, then asked me not to, as she had refused Carl.  Carl arrived before she did, though, and she relented.  I watched the precession go out to sea from the waters of Bay St., in Santa Monica...

She tried to ban Dennis's own brother from attending? Wow..

Thank you Ed. I'm surprised his mother and Brian wasn't there. He had other children also that wasn't there. Why on earth would shawn refuse carl or any family members. That seems so wrong to me. The bag had to have something in it to weight it down, I wonder If It's still there or If sharks got a hold of It. It's not a good thought to think of.

That's crazy. How dare she act that way.

Did Mike try to sue them for not being aloud to go? Come to think of it, he may not have gone even if he was invited.

What about the statue. I was told the marina had one of Denny. Did the wilson's have a service of their own for Denny with all the family and friends.

(http://i54.tinypic.com/2n8piye.jpg)

Never heard anything about a statue of Dennis - I'm sure the BBC documentary would have included footage of it if it existed.

The sea burial site is roughly 20 miles north of Santa Catalina island.

Nothing with his family, no service of any kind. Where was brian and audree. Thanks for the info AGD.

There was a service a few days later, which everyone attended - I recall they played "Farewell My Friend".  More detail here:

People Magazine (http://www.cinetropic.com/blacktop/people/)

All of the surviving Beach Boys except Brian attended Dennis' memorial service.  You'll recall Brian didn't attend Murry's funeral either (nor did Dennis).  I'm sure in both cases it was too emotionally difficult for Brian, and Brian and Dennis, to get through the service, so they opted out.  Brian did attend Carl's funeral service years later.

Thanks AGD.

Thanks for the info.

You have to understand, I don't think there was anyone who really knew Dennis who wasn't in shock at the time - look at the bands faces in that press interview...  While there were times that it seemed inevitable that he was on a collision course, this was Dennis, for gosh sakes!!!  He seemed so indestructible...
So there was a lot of confusion after the fact, and Carl & Audrey had taken charge, intending to bury him next to Murry.  When Shawn, as his next of kin, claimed his body to carry out what his final wishes were, there were a lot of charged emotions between the camps...

I wonder if he's wishes were really carried out. I heard here that Carl said he wanted to be buried by Murry, then shawn said he wanted to be buried at sea. By law she was his wife, she did what she wanted. I feel bad the family had no say at all.

That's not unusual for any family.  When my brother died suddenly, leaving a young and recent widow, I had to step in to negotiate between her and the rest of the family to reach some kind of agreement about funeral arrangements and burial.  Legally, she had the say, regardless of how long she'd been around.  It worked out, but things looked a bit dicey there for a bit.

I'm glad it all worked out for you and you're family. I can't help but wonder...was that Denny's real wishes.

When my Grandfather died in 1987, the tensions regarding his final wishes basically split my family into two camps which have really never reconvened. Half moved out of state together, and the rest stayed in LA with a few floaters who are welcome in both camps but looked at sideways. Say what you have to say in life, is my advice. Hug your loved ones and speak your mind freely. Death is some powerful merda.

True. I can't help but wonder why his other children were not there. Maybe by choose. I'll find the answers as I go along.