Rock royalty attend funeral for Chris Cornell

Rock royalty attend funeral for Chris Cornell



Pharrell, Brad Pitt and Josh Brolin were among the celebrities who arrived at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to say farewell to Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell on Friday.

They were joined by such rock luminaries as Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield of Metallica, Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters.

Also present were Christian Bale, Courtney Love and Bush's Gavin Rossdale - as well as Cornell's former bandmates, Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil.

The celebrity crowd filed in solemnly under overcast skies to join Cornell's wife, Vicky Karayiannis, and their children, Toni and Christopher, in mourning.

As chauffeured cars and SUVs passed through the exclusive cemetery's guarded gates, Soundgarden music could be heard playing from a portable speaker outside, where around a dozen fans had gathered.

Rows of white chairs and floral arrangements were set out on the cemetery's Fairbanks Lawn, while Audioslave's 'Like a Stone' played from speakers.

Among the crowds inside, Men in Black 3 and No Country for Old Men star Josh Brolin was seen with slicked-back hair and a sharp black suit offset by a dark purple tie.

He was seen laughing at one point and - later, looking more somber - helping Vicky across the lawn. He later delivered a eulogy to the crowd.

Brad Pitt arrived in a sharp white shirt and black suit.

Avengers and Mission: Impossible star Jeremy Renner sported a similar slick quiff to Brolin, while ex-Batman Christian Bale arrived in a black shirt and scruffy beard and Rossdale kept it simple with a black suit and tie.

Grohl, meanwhile, brought a little rock edge to the affair, sporting a silver crucifix over a tight gray collarless shirt and what appeared to be a velvet jacket. Linkin Park's Chester Bennington brought his own sense of style with a black bow tie on a black shirt and suit.

The rocker's funeral came just over a week after Cornell hanged himself in the bedroom of the MGM Grand Hotel in Detroit, aged just 52.



Outside the gates, Melody Andrade brought her four-year-old son Jude to pay respects to Cornell. The pair wore matching T-shirts that read, 'Say Hello 2 Heaven.'

'I feel like this is just as big as the death of Elvis or John Lennon. That's why I had to bring my son,' Andrade said. 'There will never be another. He's a modern day Freddie Mercury. I needed some closure on this.'

Cornell was cremated after a private ceremony on Tuesday; his ashes are being interred at Hollywood Forever next to Johnny Ramone, the lead singer for punk band The Ramones.

Decorated with bouquets of flowers and several red roses, Cornell's gravemarker read, 'Voice of our generation and an artist for all time.'

His remains also join those of countless other stars laid to rest there, including actress Jayne Mansfield, actors Douglas Fairbanks and Rudolph Valentino, and filmmaker Cecil B DeMille.

Eulogies were delivered on a dais by those close to Cornell, including Tom Morello, Matt Cameron, Chester Bennington,  Kim Thayil and Josh Brolin, surrounded by four large portraits of the late musician.

'Chris was as melodic as The Beatles, as heavy as Sabbath and as haunting as Edgar Allan Poe,' Morello, Cornell's Audioslave bandmate, said during his eulogy.

'The demons he wrestled with were real, but he harnessed those demons and rode them like a mother-flipping chariot of lightning strapped with Marshall stacks to make some of the greatest rock 'n' roll of all time.'

They all spoke of the rocker's compassion and his delight in his three children. Cameron said he and Cornell had 'so many normal dad conversations' about the Cornell kids: Christopher, Toni and Lily.

'Losing my brother and artistic soulmate will always pale in comparison with you three kids losing your dad,' Cameron said. 'Let it be known that I am here for you and will forever be in your lives.'