Walter White isn't the first fictional character to get an obituary

(Image credit: (ITV for Masterpiece))

last updated 10 January 2015

While this may seem like a unique situation for someone who existed for only entertainment purposes, Heisenberg is actually the second fictional character to get such a real-world honor. A dapper Belgian detective pioneered that meta niche nearly 40 years ago.

Hercule Poirot was one of crime writer Agatha Christie's most famous characters. The short, bald, mustachioed detective first popped up in Christie's 1920 novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles. He went on to appear in more than 40 of the English author's novels, short stories, and compilations. Though Christie quickly grew tired of her main character — even calling him a "detestable, bombastic, tiresome, ego-centric little creep" — she continued his storyline because the public adored him so.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective who became internationally famous, has died in England. His age was unknown. Mr. Poirot achieved fame as a private investigator after he retired as a member of the Belgian police force in 1904… At the end of his life, he was arthritic and had a bad heart. He was in a wheelchair often, and was carried from his bedroom to the public lounge at Styles Court, a nursing home in Essex, wearing a wig and false mustaches to mask the sings of age that offended his vanity. In his active days, he was always impeccably dressed. (New York Times)

Lauren Hansen produces The Weekâ€™s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox