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Happy Halloween: The History of The Hearse
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- čas přidán 29. 10. 2022
- A classic car connaisseur tells the general history of the hearse. We look at over a century of funeral car design and go grave digging deep into some alternative proposals for carrying around the dead and deceased.
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My grandma always tell me the story about how my grandpa had an old hearse as his car while they where in high school in the 40s (it was the only car he could afford back then), he would give people a ride for their lunch money, he would also drive the football team to their games, so I sometimes imagine him and his hearse driving up to a football game and all of a sudden, football players bust the back door open and run out onto the field….
What kind of car was it?
@@zerocool5395 it was a car used to transport the dead, a "hearse"
Thats why this story is so special.
Noone would expect the living to exit out of that.
@@xemirov9298 I think that he meant what make of car was it, Pierce, Packard etc.
@@xemirov9298 What Daniel said. Make, model, year...
In the late 1980’s I owned a 1955 Cadillac hearse just for the heck of it. It’ the vehicle I most regret selling. Thanks for the memories.
There is also a (quite famous) joke here in Italy related to this topic. It goes like this:
"A man at the airport jumps on the backseat a taxi to reach for his hotel. He indicates the name of the hotel and the taxi driver begins to drive around in town. Suddenly, the passenger feels the urge to grab a cup of coffee, and therefore taps on the back of the taxi driver asking to stop. The taxi driver immediately erupts in a horrendous scream, stops the taxi, and rushes outside shouting for help. He then proceeds to calm down and gets back into the taxi. The passenger asks for an explanation, to which the cab driver replies: "I'm so sorry for my frightened reaction sir... you see, this is my first day as a taxi driver. Until last week, I was a funeral car driver" "
OMG as a son of a deceased Greek Taxigis, I wish he was alive just so I could tell him this Joke!🤣
LOL!
🤣🤣🤣
Amo mai sentita 😐
lol......
Hearses make for great used cars. They have lots of cargo space, powerful air conditioning, and they have never been exposed to hard accelerations or sudden stops. Not to mention the fact that if you close the curtains you can park anywhere and no one will dare to bother you!
Plus, all you have to do to get priority in traffic is to add a purple flag on each corner, with a magnet at the bottom of the tiny flagpole. Slap those on, drive slowly (hazard lights optional if you need more attention) and you'll get through traffic in no time.
@@jayschafer1760 And the purple "silent siren" high-beam headlights.
What the hell do you know? Ever actually own one?
In 1979, after seeing the movie Phantasm, I went to a Hearse Dealership. They sold new hearses but also had some old ones that had been traded in. I picked up a 1968 Cadillac Miller and Meteor hearse. It had been traded in for a new one by the D S Breeden funeral home. It had 8000 original miles. I paid $1000. for it. I redid the interior in blood red diamond tufted velvet. My friends and I had a wooden coffin in the back in which we kept ice and beer. Drove it around in Detroit for a couple years.
Right on ,man
Interesting, since Phantasm also has a super sick 1971 Hemi Cuda as the hero car.
Probably the only way to not get your car stolen in Detroit
That's cool!!
None of you had girlfriends, did you…
Limos and hearses use the vinyl top to hide the metalwork and seams when they extend and in some cases heighten the roof. Saves a lot of labor getting the surface perfect for a large smooth often black area.
Yes or in the fifties and sixties a spray-on "crinkle-top" was popular.
That's the same reason the vinyl top was "standard equipment" on the 1976 Cadillac Seville. It was only in 1977 that they were able to put a full metal roof in place of the extended Nova roof panel that was used for 1976. I believe that happened with some other car models as well, but I don't remember which ones.
My contractor pulled similar tricks. I noticed he added framing around windows and even the bathroom med cabinet. I thought, "that's nice, but kinda ornate". In reality it was to hide the cracks in the plaster his men caused! 😆
The Cadillac the Ecto 1 is based on is a combination car, so it's both an ambulance and a hearse. They were used so rural hospitals could borrow them off of local funeral homes in emergencies.
I think it's pretty smart they chose a combo car thematically, fits both the ghost/death part and on-call part of the Ghostbusters.
That’s why when Ray originally gets Ecto 1, it is in hearse black, but when they upfitted it to Ghostbusters standard, it gets painted ambulance white.
@@digitalrailroader With red tailfins and trim.
100% true, as my late step grandmother was an EMT for a small rural hospital near Washington Georgia till early 90's when she finally retired, and when my mother, and stepdad got married in 89, they still had a deal with one of the local funeral homes using their last 2 1968 Cadillac hearses as ambulances if there was ever some kind of major event like a tornado, car pile up, etc.., and the hospital ran out, they could just slap the magnet stickers on the cars, plug in a light/siren to the cig outlet, grab med kits off they went, and the owners of the funeral home where are also certified EMT.
It's illegal to transport dead bodies in ambulances where I live.
@@LMB222 What country do you live in?
One student in my high school, early 1970's, drove a hearse to school. His parents had a funeral home and it was the 'old' hearse. A hearse in a high school parking lot was a bit morbid, but we all talked, with envy, about all the available space in the back for 'parking' on a date!
How many gothic girls they could catch 😏
I'd love to curl up in one all night
I wish you included a reference to the offbeat 70s film Harold and Maude. Harold originally drove an old Cadillac hearse, but after his mother got rid of it and gave him a Jaguar E-Type, he modified it to look like a hearse. I love that car.
Yes, great hearse and great movie. czcams.com/video/DPqxNzhyp7w/video.html
Yup!
Just mentioned the Jag shooting brake myself.
The film is from '71.
Harold and Maude was an intriguing movie on so many levels. His Jag was tastefully done.
Without a question, the best looking one!
A 1959 Superior that was, my favorite out of the 59/60 Cadillac professional cars, for those chrome curved back corner windows😍 The jag is meh imo
Even as a kid, I was fascinated by "professional" cars: Hearses, Limos,Taxis,Poilce cars. A lot of people would be "creeped out" at the thought of owning a hearse as it had DEAD BODIES inside of it. This would NOT bother me. I live in a house that was built in the early 1870s. In 150 years I'm sure that a few people have croaked in it. AND, In the "old days", Hosting the viewing at home was not uncommon, So I'm gonna guess that a corpse or two have been in the very room I'm in right now. My grandfather (a war veteran AND police officer) once said to me, "Don't be afraid of the occupants in the graveyard. It's the ones that are LIVING you have to watch out for!" 💀Happy Halloween! 💀
Our local funeral home has a 40’s era hearse. It is also a muted gold instead of black. Kinda of a hot rod look, without being silly or disrespectful. My Dad said several times that was the hearse he wanted. However when he died the car was in the shop. I was very happy that they got the job done on time. It took a lot of effort on their part.
Ed, there is hope. I grew up in rural California. My home town funeral home's owner is also a rancher. With a cowboy mortician, its not to surprising he has a 1880s horse drawn hearse. That's not his only funeral car. But if requested he'll carry you through town by horse. By the time we go I hope there are still options like that.
My grandfather would say, From the day you are born, till you ride in a hearse, things are never so bad, they couldn’t be worse ….😂
This brought back 1970s memories of a house painter in town who used a 1950s hearse as a work truck. Perfect for carrying long ladders!
A used fire truck would be better.
best dinner content on youtube tbh
Great video. I believe back in the 1950s and 60s etc. a hearse and an ambulance were built on the same basic vehicle. Sometimes they were literally the same vehicle in a small town. Which could certainly save time.
Lol. See my post above (or below)!!!
Ed's description of a hearse as "an automotive Charon" (0:32) is just brilliant.
There's an obscure reference to mythology.
Cadillac made specific 'commercial' chassis/part body cars for 3rd party companies to make hearses, ambulances or 'flower cars'. They had larger brakes, if older (pre-1968) large finned front brake drums, larger brake boosters, longer driveshafts, differently tuned transmissions, larger radiators, additional transmission coolers, larger size and cord layer tires that could take heavier weights. A full hearse/ambulance was very long and very heavy, I helped work on 2 of them in the 1970's when I used to work in garages/gas stations. You had to be careful setting up the frame pad lifts so didn't put too much strain on the chassis or was unbalanced on the lift. Funeral homes from the 1970's to the 1980's sometimes used Chevrolet El Caminos as flower cars with some add on fittings sometimes done by the hearse makers. Also in the 1960's to 1980's, many hearses could be in not only black but silver, white, very rarely in light blue. I suspect in the future and already in some rural areas, long wheelbase or stretched Cadillac Esclades will be the main platform for funeral cars.
My great-grandpa had a horse-drawn hearse when he was an undertaker. I've seen pictures of it quite a few times
I fell in love with the XK-E hearse in Harold and Maude. 😂
Love your hearse review. I had the occasion to drive an empty hearse once and I have to tell you, those power brakes are super powerful to stop that vehicle. Ed, always post interesting and sometimes controversial car content. You are a genius as a CZcams creator. Love your channel and look forward to every video you post.
Good brakes depended on the coach builder! I have driven modern cheap conversions with terrible brake shuddering when driving in the mountains. I prefer to pay the price for quality!
Commercial chassis used truck brakes and heavier duty stuff. Passenger chassis were nothing special
When the quit with the "75" chassis it was up to the coach builders to add decent brakes. An idiot at the office decided to buy us a used '05 Cadillac by Federal. Nearly killed us driving through mountains! Factory brakes very lame! We dumped that thing asap! I told them to stick to Superior!
It also likely had the hydraulic load levelers.
Park on an uneven surface, hit the button and the coach levels itself.
I think another important occassion where a hearse entered the pop culture, was the movie "Harold and Maude". In which the protagonist Harold, a teenage weirdo from a rich family, wants a hearse as his car and ´of course - gets one.
I also wanted to buy a hearse at one point, a Mercedes hearse to be precise, and a pre 70s model. In those days Mercedes did not build estate cars, so a hearse was the only alternative. They were huge inside but still with all the Mercedes quality and comfort, and usually had not a lot of milage. But they were too expensive for me back then.
Edward, I want you to know this… You are my absolute favorite CZcams channel!
These are the episodes I like
Dude cracked me up with "plenty of room in the back for the stiff one". Got me again with "wooden coat"!
14:25 Grandpa Munster drove a coffin dragster.
Sad not to see any reference to what I feel is the most iconic hearse in film, the E-type Jag shooting brake from 1971's Harold and Maude. (then I realize this movie is more than twice Ed's age!)
I begin to consider how close I may be to getting a ride of my own... Yay
"Stiff one in the back" too funny. This is very well done and creative on a touchy subject while very informative and, frankly, enjoyable. Kudos.
You would love the movie Harold and Maude. He drives a Jaguar XKE hearse.
Best car channel on CZcams if you ask me. Keep it up Ed.
I think this is one of your best episodes. Cleverly put together, entertaining and informative. Best handling of the macabre I’ve seen in a video, yet. I don’t know if it’s our Dutch decent that I feel a relatable kinship or just the presentation of the subject matter.
Regardless, thanks for the great video. Felice los Dias de los Muertos.
I was watching the funeral of Queen Elizabeth and was quite impressed that they loaded her coffin into a Jaguar funeral coach. That was one of the nicest Jaguar renditions I've ever seen. I want one ! Love your channel...Keep up the good work Ed.
I believe (from the television funeral commentary) that the Queen herself had a big say in such things - she wanted to go out in style!
That was a Daimler hearse. Daimlers and Jaguars are nearly identical.
@@BritIronRebel Oh, now I'm annoyed at paying insufficient attention to the grille!
@@steved3702 Outwardly, that's nearly the only difference. 👍
@@BritIronRebel Yep, my eye was better tuned when XJs and their predessors were still seen on the roads.
I've ride Japanese shrinelike hearse at my fathrer's funeral ceremony. Its face was Toyota Century, but it was based on Toyota Hilux. It had very sharrow passenger seats small truck's instrument panel and rear leaf spring. There are also real Century, Caddilac and Mercedes funeral vehicle but fake one is populer than real one.
I strangely like Hearses. They are incredibly elegant and beautiful cars.
The oddball hearses I have seen here include some unmodified 90's Buick Roadmaster and some Minivans. Also hearses based on a Mazda 6 and Hyundai Sonata of all things.
Lot of funeral homes dug the Roadie wagon as a cut rate hearse.
To be fair, a Sonata is a full size car. I actually think a hearse based on one of the newer Genesis models would look very sharp.
@@jayschafer1760 the Buick Roadmaster sedan would like to argue your full size claim lol.
It's amazing to think that you're just 25, as you do a really great job with these videos. Your narration, sense of humor and historical research combine very nicely. I've done voice over work for nearly 20 years, so I have a strong sense of what I like and don't like. If CZcams had been around when I was 25, I hope I would have done as good a job.
Close to where I live in the UK is a fleet of the strangest and rarest cars I've ever seen on British roads - hearses (and limos) based on the Australian Ford Falcon. Bear in mind that I have never seen another Australian market car, so they really are a bizarre occassion whenever they show up.
Interesting. There have been a few occasions when Aussie cars have been officially imported into the U.K. in limited numbers (and with even more limited success). I remember seeing a U.K press advert for the Falcon from the seventies.
Down the street, from my old house, is a funeral home that has a hearse made from a Dodge Caravan (complete w/ the landau bar). And every time I walked by their parkin' area, I pondered as to whether I wanted to take my last ride in a minivan!
I agree. I see that often now with all types of vans. Some just use them for hospital/airport pickup but what's it matter I guess because now they just buy an escalade and have a removable wooden floor and a stick on landau bar. Then walah back to family SUV Monday morning. Kinda cheesy but with popularity of cremation now they don't make the money they once did.
When I was a kid there was a saying “don’t you laugh when a hearse goes by or you’ll be next to die.” In the 70s and 80s Light Blue Buick and Cadillac hearses were very common and popular. I always assumed these were for the family that had more of the celebration of life thought process or was the car they chose Mom to have her last ride in. Great video!
The lighter colored and more plain hearses were primarily used for transport from either the home or hospital rather than being used in most funeral ceremonies. That role has been replaced by the simple panel van here at this point though
Why would you laugh at a hearse?
My grandmother always told me stories that her father helped a hearse maker in the small town she lived in and they would drive to the beach and everyone would be so confused to see teenaged girls coming out of a hearse wearing swimsuits.
Ha
_It's a miracle!_
You can't get any more appropriate than this!
Put the FUN in funeral cars. HA HA HA Love it. Them ole black Caddy hearses are so iconic and also take centre stage in them horror movies.
definitely my favorite episode, i really love hearses and i'm saving money to buy an old one as my first car
Look for my comment about hearses as used cars!
Make sure you add a sign: Richard's Funerals. Stop driver for free measure and quote.
“Once someone is dead it’s someone elses bread” 😂
01:54 - When I worked for Pierce Brothers in the late 1970s we _never_ referred to such vehicles as 'hearse', they were always a "coach" or "funeral coach".
In the garage bay of the Van Nuys Boulevard location was a gorgeous, immaculately kept (though no longer used), hammertone grey 1959 Cadillac coach.
I Had a 1960 Cadillac Hearse from 1980-87 it was a Superior Coach Combination car, white with ALL Windows and Drapes, really liked the Curved Rear windows and the Chrome around them and the back door,
Funeral trolley cars or trolley hearses are also worth looking up. Major cities had them at the turn of the century when few people living in the city owned cars. There was a spot along the side of the trolley car where a casket could be inserted into the streetcar, and there were bench seats for 32 mourners. The Mt. Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia had a trolley loop where I imagine the funeral trolley would stop. I imagine that other cemeteries had similar trolley loops or trolley stops in the past.
There's an example you can see at the railway museum in Perris California. I think the car is called Descanso. I'm sure someone has put a video of it here on CZcams.
Bro love your hard work and your editing is really good and i love your commentary. You earned a new subscriber
Hearses have their own charm. People have a natural respect for them, and their creators have that respect as well. It's similar to limousines, when purpose meets design.
Thank you for this video! I always wanted a hearse... Now I have one. 91 Caddy S+S in silver. 57,000 miles on it. It is all stock, and quite beautiful!
Mortuary: Bring us ya dead!
Old guy: I'm not dead yet!
the cadillac limousines were for the most part not based on commercial chassis. the series 75 was build by cadillac itself. it shrared some components with the commercial line, but the chassi itself was actually a bit shorter. there were some extra long limousines offered by superior and co, in the late 80s and 90s but the image you show in the video is a regular cadillac series 75 from the 1960s
I've always wanted a Herse with matching Flower car, ever since I was 10 or 12 when I saw the movie Harold & Maude, Rj in Oz
Should've mentioned Harold's 1971 Jaguar hearse from Harold & Maude. Coolest hearse ever.
HELL YEAH
THE FUNNY DUTCH MAN
Awesome video. I would love to see more of these exotic ones. But you missed the coolest hearse ever: the hearse based on the Jaguar E type from the movie Harold & Maude.
The conversion of a Jaguar E-Type roadster into a hearse appearing in "Harold & Maude" should be appreciated.
I'm a lucky man, have a 1961 Cadillac S&S Victoria right in the garage, complete with a casket and curtains, white walls. Life is good.
i live in the mountains so full size suvs like suburbans are used alot as hearses. which it makes sense as some graveyards require a 4wd. we also have some vans that are funeral cars here as well. they have the padded top and s bar but other than that stock van or suv.
Well i never was so early…
I always love the style and form of the 70's Lincoln based hearse. The lines, the simplicity, the grim beauty of it is such a classic
This video has inspired me, my new goal in life is to buy and build my own 1959 or 1960 cadillac hearse with a big block motor and cams
Excellent episode!👍🏼
One other thing about hearses, Miller meteor and maybe some others did a replica of the vinyl top called Crinkle Coat. It was a wierd paint technique that looks VERY similar to vinyl, it's very matte and the crinkles are deep and random. It fits the landau bar well. My 1962 had it, check out my walk around if you want to see! Great video ed well done :)
I have used typewriters with crinkle coats on them for years. You see it on '30s-'50s movie projectors and cameras.
My fascination with death stemmed from my love for cadillac hearses, it's is to me one of the most beautiful cars
Wonderful, Ed, as everything you do! So much knowledge and interesting examples wrapped in great humor! Keep it coming and a BIG thank you!
Hey Ed, I suggest you looking at "1933 Cadillac V16 Hearse Eureka". It's a concept, but looks pretty interesting. It's drivable in a game Mafia 1, where I first saw it.
Hey Ed, that was a great episode of "special cars". Thank's a lot for that! Harold and Maude could have fit with the Jaguar Hearse into this episode as well. :-)
Worth mentioning the Jaguar X Type hearse used in the movie Harold and Maude.
I ABSOULTLEY love hearses, and want a vintage one as a every day car. Spacious and fun =)
🎃 Happy Halloween!! 🎃 Thanks Ed for this death defying video!! Of course you know why witches don't have babies?? Because warlocks have Hallow Weenies!!! 🎃
One special car you may not know of. The xke hearse from the movie Harold and maude
Absolutely Love that you did History of the Hearse
Thanks for all your videos. Your voice is pleasing. Your comments are entertaining. Well done
Have to mention maybe the best hearse conversion ever: Harold's Jaguar E-Type in "Harold & Maude." So so great. Interesting to me that Brits and maybe Europeans have glass windows around the casket, but in the U.S. we always have opaque hearses. I kind of prefer the glass look.
Fun fact: the width of train tracks where actually chosen by the width of the wheels of racing chariots in rome.
This to be the funniest of your videos to date. Let's say you have a grim sense of humour. You had me in stitches.
I remember the Corvette, actor Bud Cort's character in the off-beat 1970's movie, "Harold And Maude",
transformed into a hearse. It was one of the most uproariously funny moments in the film. Have to wonder where it ended up after the movie.
It's a pity that Ed didn't mention what was in my opinion the coolest hearse there ever was. If you haven't seen the 1971 film 'Harold and Maude' by the late great Hal Ashby: first, do yourself a favor and watch it, it's a great film, but more importantly it features not only the 1959 Cadillac Funeral Coach from 6:14, but also something just as impractical as it was stylish, a Jaguar E-type hearse. Yes a hearse based on a 1960s British sports car, you can't get any better than that.
My favorite film of all time!!!
Terrible movie. Too many people loving it, makes no sense
In the movie Harold and Maude, they made a Jaguar into a hearse.
They drove it over a cliff and destroyed it near the end of the movie. (I recommend watching it, It's a pretty good film.)
No, it isn't
Ghostbusters movie was my favorite when I was a kid and for me there was a mystery why does in the beginning it was a black car outfitted with sirens and red beacons which makes sense on an ambulance and it's how Ray Stanz character called it. The mystery stood for couple decades untill I suddenly found a site of special vehicles collector society where it was explained that in small provincial towns it was often that the single car was used for both ambulance and funeral duties. It was mind-blowing since I live on a different continent, but I found it pretty rational)
On Time for the Spooky day
The Japanese hearses are actually pretty cool
“And almost like an accident many of the big waterfall grills unintentionally looked like shiny gravestones"
I died on that part 🤣
I really enjoy every one of your videos! For a guy from The Netherlands, you know a lot about American cars! You've taught me a lot that I should already know, especially since I'm from Detroit! Keep up the great work!😀
Wonderful video . I like hearses. There are so beautiful cars . Thank you for showing !!!
I plan to be cremated but after this Halloween episode I may have to have an old Hearse carry the plastic box to the spreading spot.
Thanks for a great and funny look at the Hearse History.
this was excellent, thanks for posting.
That was fun! Thanks for posting.
Interesting analysis. I would also like to add that Hess & Eisenhardt was the same builder of JFK's infamous convertible which he was assassinated in. During the 1960s used hearses became popular with musicians and bands who needed cars to haul all their instruments. And as far as Buddhist hearses in Japan and Asia go, the trend actually dates back as far as the 1950s, with 1930s Cadillacs or Packards being prime bases for conversion.
Perfect, Ed! Loved that hearse with the carved wood drapes (would love to have one!)
Some interesting history, Ed! Thanks for the video. Many of these cars we have never seen before.
Another excellent video Ed.
May you live another 100 years for if you were to leave us any sooner; those of us who have come to laugh and enjoy this channel would truly feel the loss.
Ok so this is one of the best channels on CZcams. Thanks again ED.
When I was 16 in 1974 ,my cousins boyfriend was using his puppy's 1952 Packard hearse to haul band equipment. 17 " TIRES straight 8 flathead engine ,with a provision in the grill and crankshaft for a hand crank start! It 4 speeds on a column as hitter! This car was huge in everyday!
You really research everything you write about extremely well! thank you.
Mijn complimeneten voor je leuke interessante video's Ed. Mooi om de geschiedenis en achtergrond achter de verschillende US automodellen uit te lichten
I fixed up a 79 Cadillac Miller hearse for a haunted attraction my sister was building. The commercial chassis is longer and the rear end was a 12 bolt, just like was used in GM pick up trucks. It worked out well after a few modifications, my sister could transport an automated coffin "ride" around in it for her attraction. I ended up shipping it to Sweden where she built her attraction.
thanks for this video ed. reminded me of the ford granada hearse i had for a few weeks (i used it as a van to move house) his name was mort and i used to leave a rubber skeleton in the back holding a sign saying "the driver's been lost for 30 years"
I think the Rolls Royce Phantom made the best hearse, my mum was carried off in one of those, really classy and dignified.
Our father’s last voyage was in a Volvo 740 which was itself at the end of its life. Our mother I transported by myself to the crematorium in a funeral trailer on my S124 Mercedes estate. When she died I was working at a funeral home. I liked this job.
Absolutely brilliant! Very Interesting! 👌🏻 love the styling and themes of old cars! I feel ya!