In a kind of epilogue, we see the real Bernie Tiede as Jack Black interviews him, presumably picking up hints.

NEWYORKER: Funny and Funnier

Bernie Tiede (Jack Black), stout and soft-spoken, works as an assistant funeral director in the small town of Carthage, in East Texas.

NEWYORKER: Funny and Funnier

In Carthage, Texas, in 1996, Bernie Tiede (Jack Black), a young man with beautiful manners, works as an assistant funeral director and brings consolation and light to his small town.

NEWYORKER: Bernie