The Philly family whose unusual Father’s Day tradition taught 26 million people to laugh through grief

Anyone visiting Shalom Memorial Park in Huntingdon Valley in recent years may have stumbled upon a curious sight: A gravesite party.

It started as a picnic, then a barbecue, and eventually on Father’s Day 2024, it was a pool party with a beach ball, floaties, and a kiddie pool. That’s how millions first met the Rosenthals — a Bucks County family that has gone viral on TikTok for their offbeat and funny approach to grief.

Robin Rosenthal (who declined to confirm her age of 71: “She can Google it! She’s a reporter, she knows what to do.”) and kids Sam, 32, and Emma, 29, have regularly visited husband/dad Mark Rosenthal’s grave on Father’s Day, anniversaries, and other special occasions since he died in 2010 from a sudden heart attack weeks after his 60th birthday.

The tight-knit family of jokesters worked through their grief together in therapy and found ways to remember Mark through laughter and tears. During the pandemic lockdown, Sam and Emma moved back to the family home in Jamison, and that’s when the TikTok idea arose.

Sam had long believed his mom had a great personality for TikTok. He and Emma were both aspiring stand-up comics, and Emma got a master’s in comedy screenwriting in Chicago. But when they first pitched the idea of filming daily family antics for social media, Robin was self-conscious and reluctant to appear on camera.

After some encouragement (and more jokes), she eased up and began enjoying the fun activities with her kids. Now, “the internet’s mom” is practically a local celebrity — and she loves the spotlight.

“I get recognized everywhere, and people say to me, ‘Oh, I love Mark. What was Mark really like?’ They all know his name. Millions of people know Mark’s name,” said Robin. “It’s unbelievable, and it makes us tremendously happy, and it makes his brother and sister happy, that he is not forgotten.”

Robin (who grew up in Southern California) and Mark (from Long Island) first met in Los Angeles, when they both worked at Saks Fifth Avenue. They moved around a bit when their kids were young before landing in Bucks County in 2000 as Mark got a job at Bloomingdale’s.

The Rosenthals’ breakout came last year when their unconventionally hilarious Father’s Day video that opened with Robin speaking directly to Mark: “I told you, Mark, I’m gonna have fun, if you die, that’s your problem. I told you, you’re a grown-ass man, go to the doctor already.”

Then Robin proceeded to explain the “fry salad” they brought from various fast food spots (Arby’s, McDonald’s, Five Guys) to sprinkle on the grave. “Mark, there’s all different kinds here from all your favorite junk food places that killed you!” Robin said in the video. “Okay so we wanted to bring back some good memories of you and the enemy — the fries.”

The sarcastic, surprising humor resonated widely: The TikTok earned more than 26 million views and even led the Webby Awards to name the Rosenthals as “most viral” honorees this year. Their videos have also been cathartic for thousands of others struggling with grief.

“A lot of people that didn’t know how to express their grief reach out to us, saying, like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know I could laugh about my loved one. People didn’t know that you can go to the cemetery and, like, not cry,” said Emma. “I think it’s cool that we’ve shown a different side of grief, because grief isn’t always sadness.”

Buoyed by the positive reception, the Rosenthals have turned their antics into a content business with 1.7 million followers on TikTok and about 800,000 more on Instagram. And they keep brainstorming new video stunts, particularly at the cemetery.

“Sometimes we’ll see people across the way [in the cemetery] and see them looking — we know what we’re doing is not normal and it’s crazy or whatever,” said Sam. “They’re there, like, crying and grieving, and they look over and we have, like, a kiddie pool.”

This year, the Rosenthals filmed their Father’s Day video a few days early to avoid rainy weather expected on the holiday. As they set up, a cemetery staffer approached them to say that she loved their videos and encouraged them to continue their creative efforts.

For their latest video, the family focused on Mark’s passion for golfing. They set up a driving range (with foam balls) on the gravestone and Robin dressed up as a caddy.

One big addition: A 6-foot-tall cardboard cutout of Mark.