Anna Nicole Smith Update

Thanks to Jeff "Always on the Job" Meyerson for the link.

Over-the-top farewell for Anna Nicole Smith - 03/02/2007 - MiamiHerald.com

NASSAU - There were supposed to be 300 guests and a parade of stars. Hundreds of locals and tourists gathered near the church preparing for a show, hoping to spot Hugh Hefner, Patti LaBelle, Boyz II Men or Michael Bolton.

But fewer than 100 guests -- and no stars anyone could recognize -- turned up for Anna Nicole Smith's funeral in Nassau on Friday, an extravagant ceremony that brought the world's eyes onto the simple Baptist church and the now-famous hillside cemetery where she is buried.

Bahamians, who have grown tired of the media attention during recent weeks, now consider Smith part of their community. On Friday, they mourned her as one of their own.

Hundreds showed up at the church to watch the arrivals, and about 1,000 people, mostly locals, pressed against the barricades surrounding Lakeview Memorial Gardens, where the burial took place inside a green tent, the view blocked by stretch limousines and SUVs.

Undaunted, the crowd made itself a part of the spectacle, erupting in cheers and chants of ''LAR-RY DAD-DY'' when Smith's ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, arrived, and lustily booing when Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, pulled up. Vendors trawled the crowd, hawking candy bars and ice cream, fruit medley and plastic containers of tuna salad.