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The Funeral King of Tupelo: Funeral Director Steve Holland Steals the Show in Netflix Crime Saga

Spoiler alert: This article contains lots of details about the Netflix series Kings of Tupelo: A Southern True Crime Saga, but honestly, even if you read this and then watch the show, you’ll probably still have questions. Trust us. It’s …. a LOT.

The official Netflix synopsis of The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga simply does not do this three-part documentary justice. “In this bizarre true-crime tale, an Elvis impersonator’s conspiracy theory sets off a feud that spirals into an attempted presidential assassination,” Netflix teases. Talk about an understatement. As it turns out, there is so much more to the story — and most of it will be of great interest to deathcare professionals. (Shout out to ASD’s Jess Ferren for the tip!)

In fact, everything that happens between the explanation of Tupelo, Mississippi’s truly disturbing adoration of Elvis impersonators and the envelope of deadly ricin powder sent to President Obama is all about body donation programs, funeral homes, and funeral director Steve Holland — who, in our humble opinion, is the real star of the show.

Holland, who has been in the funeral business for more than 40 years, owns Holland Funeral Directors, with one location in Okolona, Mississippi and another in Tupelo. And to give you a preview of Holland’s larger-than-life personality, here’s how he describes his Tupelo facility in Kings of Tupelo:

“This was the largest nightclub/beer joint/speakeasy called the Western Connection; many of the locals called it the Western Infection or the Western Erection, and mom just almost died when I suggested that we buy this devil’s project and convert it to the Lord’s work.”

Holland is outrageous, outspoken, and right at home among Kings’ cast of characters, which includes conspiracy theorist and Elvis impersonator Kevin Curtis, Curtis’ family members, local  authorities, and the Elvis-loving people of Tupelo.

The show details how Curtis, while performing janitorial duties in the morgue of a local hospital, finds a refrigerator full of body parts — including the “barcoded severed head” of a guy Curtis had supposedly seen in the ER waiting room the previous night. Believing he’s stumbled upon a global conspiracy of underground for-profit body-part sales, Curtis begins what he calls a “one-man crusade to spread the word about this billion-dollar industry that no one knows exists.” He even drafts an anti-body-brokering bill that he hopes will be introduced to the Mississippi House of Representatives. 

What Curtis discovers, though, is that the representative to whom he is directed — the “only man in Mississippi who could make [the bill into] law” — is none other than local funeral home owner Steve Holland. Holland served the 16th district from 1985 to 2020, passing legislation supporting organ donation as well as proposing a bill to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”

Curtis becomes convinced that Holland is involved in and covering up the body-selling conspiracy — despite the fact that Holland actually wrote the original guidelines for his state’s completely legal, above-board, and not-for-profit organ and body donation program. So what did Holland do when he received Curtis’s proposed bill?

“When I read Kevin’s House bill the first thing I thought was, ‘Another fool lives in my district.’ He’s just frickin’ totally insane, I mean he’s in outer space,” Holland says in Kings as he symbolically rips a piece of paper to shreds. “Ladies and gentlemen, House bill 3361 is totally stupid. It’s garbage, It’s trash. But it is safe to say that if Mr. Curtis’ brain was for sale, it would be worthless.” 

Nope, Holland is not at all shy about saying what he really thinks, and no topic is off limits — including his chosen professions of politics and deathcare. Here are just a few of the unforgettable gems Holland shares in Kings of Tupelo:

• “If I had been born in 1776 I would have been the leader of the f*****g Revolution; I would just castrate the opposition.”
• “Truth be told, I could f*** a bull moose on the south steps of the Lee County Courthouse and gain ten percent of the vote.”
• “Yessir, I’m the Mississippi undertaker; I’m the taxidermist for humankind.”
• “I see everybody in this county, one way or the other.”
• “I am a freaking unbelievable embalmer.”
• “I’m claustrophobic so that’s the first reason I’ve never liked caskets, and beyond that they go in the ground. Try disinterring one of these that’s been in there 10 years. Huh — you’ll change your mind about spending $3,000 for one then.”

In one segment, Holland answers the phone at his funeral home, responding to the caller with, “We can have it here, at the church; we can have it at a bar, a whorehouse; it really don’t matter where you wanna have it — just make sure your undertaker’s invited.”

Later, as Holland shows off his memorabilia-covered “Elvis wall” and the embalming room, someone calls to him from out of the camera’s range, to which Holland replies, “Oh, we’ve got a body? Three? Yeah, we better get outta here. Oh, it’s Gladys? I know she had the diabetes.”

Now, these aren’t all the Holland-isms we’re treated to during the three-episode saga that is Kings of Tupelo, but you get the idea. While some may think that Steve Holland isn’t exactly the most appropriate person to represent the deathcare profession to Netflix’s nearly 300 million subscribers, we think he’s perfect for this particular role — which isn’t a role at all, but the surreal reality of his life and career. If nothing else, he adds a little humanity and humor to the perceived deadpan demeanor of directors. We can see how, as Holland says in Kings, he truly “puts the fun in funerals.”

Last week Funeral Director Daily published this article titled “Know your customer — How’s their credit”.  That article delved into the American consumer credit profiles and why, before extending credit, you needed to know the consumer you are dealing with. . . and how difficult that is in today’s market.

The article also looked into a hypothetical situation of what might happen if a family chooses $10,000 worth of services and then can only come up with about $2,000 in cash and or credit card credit to pay for those services.  It was mentioned that that would be a difficult discussion if it was taking place at the arrangement table prior to signing the statement of goods and services.

I mentioned that there are times when credit has to be extended and that situation might be one of them.  However, prior to that time you would have had to build a strong operating funeral home so you have the ability to extend this credit, without damaging your ability to pay your bills.

So, it is only natural that you do what you can to turn the services you conduct into cash as soon as possible so you have that strong base which allows you to pay suppliers and take the discounts, pay off your loans without penalties, and handle all payables on a current basis.

Most funeral homes look to their efforts in the preneed business as a guarantee of future business.  However, I also came to recognize preneed funding as, not only a market share guarantee in the future, but a great way to improve cash-flow along the way.  When we serviced preneed accounts at death many times we had the check for services on the way prior to us conducting the funeral service and in a business where cash is king that always let us build our cash which in turn allowed us to take maximum discounts and build greater profits.

Last week, however, I was also reminded of how fast that insurance assignements can get cash to your funeral home and work in the same way in strengthening your cash position.  And, many times insurance assignment funding, when accessed, has other intangibles that can make the cash even better than in a preneed account.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

A lot of funeral homes don’t use insurance assignment funding for funerals because they think the process of getting the money is cumbersome.  In today’s internet and cell phone world nothing could be farther from the truth.  Insurance assignment funding is a great way to get cash. . . as with preneed accounts, into your bank account many times before the service is even conducted.

Here’s what a lot of funeral home owners don’t understand about insurance assignment funding according to our friends at C&J Financial:

• About 6 in 10 families have insurance available to them
• Only about 16% access this insurance for “Funeral Payments”
• Families that do access their available life insurance for funeral costs spend 31% more on the death care services

So, if you want to get your cash quicker and at the same time allow families to know that they have more available for the funeral expenses, how about having one of the first questions at the arrangement conference be asking the family if you can help them access their life insurance proceeds as quick as possible?

The people at C&J will help with all the processing and in most cases can pay the funeral costs within 24 hours of verification of the policies. . . Quite simply, they will handle everything for you and get that cash to your funeral home very quick.

Some cynics might say that the financial issues should be left to the family, but I would argue that helping to unlock available funding to pay for the funeral services may be very welcome by the family and should be considered a “Service” you can provide to your families in need.

If you don’t have the arrow of “insurance assignments” in your quiver of tools to help families coping with loss, maybe it is time to look into it.  You can learn more about insurance funding here.

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