MERV GRIFFIN - BEST TOMBSTONE EVER !

Hollywood legend Merv Griffin is still getting laughs — from beyond the grave.

As one of his final wishes, the late talk show king asked that his granite grave stone bear this tongue-in-cheek inscription: "I will not be right back after this message."

Now his irreverent last words are drawing crowds to the tiny Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles — which is also the last resting place of Hollywood legends Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin, Carroll O'Connor and Jack Lemmon.

Told that Merv is still getting laughs in the graveyard, his company spokesperson Marcia Newberger told The ENQUIRER: "Merv would have wanted it exactly that way."

Merv died Aug. 12 at age 82 after a long battle with prostate cancer. He left a $1 billion estate — and a legacy of smiles.