Why Sharon Stone Walked Out of a Friend's Funeral Before Making a Speech

Sharon Stone reflected on an "early experience" with death after her high school prom date died in a drunk driving accident.

"They had asked me to speak at his funeral," Stone, 68, said on CNN Podcasts' "All There Is With Anderson Cooper" episode, released on Thursday, June 25. "I walked up to the podium, his casket was there. His mom had put our picture in his pocket."

She continued, "Then, the entire football team came and filed in, and stood in the back of the funeral home. I looked at them, and they looked so young. I just remember thinking, ‘You're all children.'"

Stone had this "incredibly weird thought" at that moment.

"I will never be young again," she said. "I got down off the podium and left. I didn't talk. I just got down and walked out of the funeral home and walked down the street and left."

Her prom date, Ray Butterfield, died while riding his motorcycle. According to Stone, a drunk driver "ran him off the road" and continued driving.

"His motorcycle flipped over and he broke his jaw," Stone continued. "Because this drunk did not stop, he choked to death on his own blood. There was nothing else wrong with him."

The actress recalled working as a manager at a Bob's Big Boy restaurant the night he died.

"I had closed out the register and come home quite late, one or two o'clock in the morning, and I knew something was terribly wrong," she continued. "I remember sitting in the living room, on the edge of the sofa, against the arm of the sofa all night. Just at dawn, as the sun started to come up, the phone rang."

Butterfield's mom called Stone at home and started crying.

"I said, ‘Is he dead?' And she said, ‘Yes.' And I hung up the phone," she remembered. "I just knew."

Throughout the podcast episode, Stone reflected on the several losses she's had throughout her life. The actress looked back on the day her mom, Dorothy, died at age 91 in July 2025.

"My mom was holding on and holding on, and I finally realized, I have to let go. I need to release my mother," she said, in part. "I need to stop walking in the room. I need to go upstairs and ignore my mother so she will die. And I need to detach and release. And she's only going to die if I let go."

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This story was originally published June 26, 2026 at 2:22 PM.