Stanley Kubrick
Death

On March 7, 1999, six days after screening a final cut of Eyes Wide Shut for his family and the film's stars, Kubrick died of a heart attack in his sleep at the age of 70. His funeral was held five days later at Childwickbury Manor, with only close friends and family in attendance, totaling about 100 people. The media were kept a mile away outside the entrance gate. Alexander Walker, who attended the funeral, described it as a "family farewell,... almost like an English picnic" with cellists, clarinetists, and singers providing music from many of Kubrick's favorite classical compositions. Kaddish, the Jewish prayer typically said by mourners and in other contexts, was recited. A few of his obituaries mentioned his Jewish background. Among those who gave eulogies were his brother-in-law Jan Harlan, Terry Semel, Steven Spielberg, Nicole Kidman, and Tom Cruise. He was buried next to his favorite tree on the estate. In her book dedicated to him, his wife Christiane included one of his favorite quotations of Oscar Wilde: "The tragedy of old age is not that one is old but that one is young."
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