New York City’s Frank E. Campbell funeral home to New York elite
Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel — “The Funeral Home of the Stars”
On a mild fall morning in New York City, I walked through Central Park and made my way to the Upper East Side. At the corner of Madison Avenue and 81st Street, I arrived at one of the most storied institutions in the city—Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel, established in 1898.
Original dark facade of Frank E. Campbell, NYC.
For over a century, this iconic funeral home has been the final stop for countless members of the New York elite and cultural icons. Upper East Side writer Gay Talese once remarked, “For a certain kind of person, they must end up at Campbell as a matter of honour and status.”
Gay Talese
Indeed, the list of those who have had their final arrangements handled here is staggering:
Judy Garland, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, John Lennon, Tennessee Williams, James Cagney, Mary Tyler Moore, Arthur Ashe, Ivana Trump, Billy Martin, Luther Vandross, Heath Ledger, George Gershwin, Mario Cuomo, Walter Cronkite, Nikola Tesla, Joan Rivers, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Ayn Rand, Peter Jennings, Philip Seymour Hoffman—and the list goes on.
Frank E. Campbell wasn’t just a funeral director; he was an innovator. He introduced one of the first in-home funeral chapels, breaking from the then-common practice of holding services at a family residence. He also revolutionized the industry by advertising—something considered unseemly at the time—and replacing horse-drawn hearses with automobiles.
Illinois born, Frank Ellis Campbell died in New York City on January 19, 1934. He was 61.
1872-1934
Frank E. Campbell is buried beside his mother at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.
Ne Obliviscaris (Latin for “forget not”; Clan Campbell motto).
I arrived as a funeral was in progress on Madison Avenue.
Funeral home staff handling the remains of Heath Ledger.
Visitation set-up for singer Luther Vandross at Frank E. Campbell.
Side entrance off 81st street where John Lennon’s body arrived.
