The guests of honor were feuding. Spectators booed and cheered behind steel barricades. A crew from an entertainment television program buzzed around a coffin draped in a pink cover studded with rhinestones spelling out her name.Anna Nicole's Smith's funeral on Friday was part soap opera, part circus — perhaps a fitting combination for a woman who found a niche on the ragged outer edge of celebrity as a former Playboy Playmate and reality TV star.
But for those who came to pay their respects, the event was a solemn one despite the atmosphere.
"It was very, very sad," said Kathryn Beranich, who was supervising producer of Smith's reality TV show. "Seeing the casket being rolled down, you realize this friend is in there and she will no longer be with us."
While Smith was laid to rest at the lavish service, the fight over her baby daughter — and a potential multimillion dollar inheritance — remained very much alive. Her companion Howard K. Stern, her mother Virgie Arthur and her former boyfriend Larry Birkhead are battling for custody of 5-month-old Dannielynn, and barely put their bickering aside for the ceremonies.
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Fewer than 100 people attended the service, even though organizers said about 300 — including an "Entertainment Tonight" camera crew — had been invited. Guests said rock guitarist Slash, formerly of Guns N' Roses, was in attendance, and country singer Joe Nichols performed two songs.